The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-07-24
Decision Rendered in the
Norris Case.
Jury OUT "a HOURS
t{ouId Have Been DISCHARGED if sbe
Jurors Had Been Out An Hour
Iatcr-NOrriS Congratulated
by Friends on His
AcguitaI.
july 10 19UG

July 10. 1906.
.he trial of NJ. T. Norris. CHARGE
With burning the house of his wife
rt.r Moncure III Wake county, fol
fl. purpose of collecting an insur-
..a.. policy thereon of $500. Wake
Superior court had a long and tedious
day. which brought out little in the
Hl. Of new evidence, but limited at
.,u.atipnaI developments as the cam
..f-u of the defense unfOIded itself.
fine efforts of the lawyers for Mr.
+.Gris We're vigorously devoted to at
t..uptIug to show, first, the alleged
u.tI zeal of the Insurance Department
a.. bringing the prosecution in the in
forests of the insurance and
second, in attempting to show the per
.IrIuus activity of one j.. J.. Thomas.
the star witness for the State in the
IuvHminary hearing, but whom the
.,fcusc now thinks the State will not
puJ ON the stand.
10 will be remembered thai at the
preliminary hearing Mr.. Thomas
snOro that sOOn after Mr.. Norris had
Jeff the house. he was passing and saw
tNrrCim the CLEAN of fire. which he
took to be Il candle, and that soon
afterwards the blaze broke out.
While the trial magistrate had the
cas-. under consideration, however.
Thomas paid Il visit to the home of
Mr. Norris and made Il statement to
him which was put in the form of an
alhdaNlt by Miss Nivienne Strong, a
visitor at Mr.. Norris home, to the eff
feet that Thoma had stated that since
tt-tilying he had become convinced
that the light he saw in the house was
moonlight reflected on the glass in
stead Of fire.
The calendar disclosed the fact that
the night i'll question was dark and
when he witness Thomas again APP
peared he SO far Miss
Strong statement as to say that he
had merely told Mr.. Norris that, if
there was q moon hat night, he would
say that it was the moonlight instead
of FIRE that he saw.
Now. although Thomas is sum
moUed as Il witness, he was not sworn
yesterday with the other witnesses for
the state and the defendants attor-
ntyS are proceeding on the assumption
that he will not be placed on the
stand. In fact, in the heat of the
long tIibuster which distinguished the
hearing yesterday, Judge Womack for
the defense shouted across the room
to the solicitor that they were going
to force the State to put Thomas on
as q witness
The character of the questions fired
at several witnesses by Mr.. Newton
Holding was in several instances such
as 10 be practically tantamOunt to q
charge of corruption on the part of
Thomas.
The entire day was consumed with
few intermiSsionS with WrangleS be
tween counsel. who INDUCED in much
court house abuse which was so nat
uIal as ever once to apparently mis-
lead the Judge who declared that
there was being too great an eXhibi-
ton of temper. MesSrS. Spruill, Hold
ing, Jones and Colonel HinsdaIe were
frequently on the firing line in these
spatS.
The cross-exanlinations by Mr..
Holding, of Insurance Commissioners
Young and Assistant Commissioner
Scott were long and provocative of
much impetuOus charge and counter
charge from counsel. At times the is
aH" was entirely clouded and after sew
eral disputes which ragged for minutes
At a time. When lawyers, Judge and
witness were practically GREATNESS, the
slonographer had to be called on to
give enlightenment as to what 1t was
all about.
Although many of the questions
asked by the defense were ruled out
10y the court as incompetent, the real
issues of the day as to the motive OF
IN" prosecution and the attitude of
h"maS were in reality we'll presented
l' the jury who sat and listened
J' the discussion.
bn the whole the relative pc
RODS of time consumed in the giving
.i testimony and in argument and
regal fecriminatiOns was about in the
IdtIn of one to ten.
commissioner Young was kept on
inc stand for a long period and the
discrimination of Deputy Com
N#l--1tl4pr Scott uIn wa shown 10
..tE' relied in his Investigations on
Ii"maS M to have followed the SuS-
"Iru of the latter'S wife that Mr..
MOTHS had been offering money to
Witnesses was relentless.
Dc Was at the conclusion of the
discrimination of Deputy Scott
..ti court finally adjourned at half
Introduction of Testimony.
TN" nrst witnesses introduced We're
N". Cecil Holloway and Messrs. Nc
-+tl and Briggs, clerks in the office
WI the North Carolina Home Insur-
'..r Company, whose testimony was
'i merely for the OF eS-
""I|hlnE he issue of the policy TOR
~tt hundred dollars. Then followed
Il. Jones. who had occupied the
''d' as d Sub-tenant of Thomas, who
...ei from Mr.. Norris, up to within
levy months of the date On which it
burned. Mr.. Jones testimony re-
''@d almost entirely to an estima-
.i as to the physical condition of
premises and the arrangement OF
rooms in the house that was de-
'.'3'd. His testimony, on the whole,
me same as that given by him
the magistrate on the prel1m-
nearing, although from the
Ut the stenographer he was con-
"|"j"d in several particulars.
asked whether he had not made q
''e4t with reference to the floof-
ff the purpose of making the jury
.'\" that it was old, when he had
wards stated hat it was SOUND.
responded with acerDlty thal
"ia not wish them to consider IL
another point when the witness
.]'i that the doors were SO hunS
lielf hinges as to leave cracks. Mr..
h; u, exclaimed in a question 70
' mat he had made up lis state