Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-08

that too many people were present
for any private conversation. The
principal witness in refuting this was
Henry B. Owen, brother of the dead
woman, who testified that Paul and
Henry not only were alone in one por-
tion of the veranda, but that he later
observed them alone within the house.
Thursdays Proceedings.
Chesterfield Court House, Va, Sept.
For five long hours in hot and
murky court room, Attorney Hill
Carter with plea Of both pathos and
argument sought the hearts of twelve
jurymen in an effort to secure the ac-
quittal of Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., in
dicted for the murder Of his wife on
the lone Midlothian turnpike last
July.
and for tomorrow the great battle Of
the trial, the clash between Harry M.
Smith, Jr., of the defense and L. O..
Wendenburg of the commonwealth,
close friends and notable lawyers, Is
scheduled, a verdict being expected
some time during the night.
From the depths Of an argument In
which he unsparingly denounced
Paul Beattie, cousin Of the accused,
as a weakling and falsifier, Mr.. Car
ter at times shouted to the jury as he
leaned over the bar but when the
day was drawing to a close his voice
sank to whisper Of impassioned ap-
peal
IF you gentlemen Of the jury" he
said in measured tones, "can within
the sanctity Of your oath prevent the
- he
the lips Of the aged father, his heart
already bleeding from the stab Of
the dagger which took away a life.
If you can, I say, spare him the son
whom he loved so dearly, ask you
within mercy to bring in a verdict OF
not guilty"
The lean man of wrinkled brow
and sunken cheeks who sat beside his
accused son, dropped his eyes and
raised his fan to conceal the tremb-
ling Of his lips and the quick gulps Of
emotion that followed. Young Beat
tie stared hard at the jury, his face
wax-like and still. For moment all
was silence in the court room. Final
ly Judge Watson looked at his watch,
glanced through the windows at the
long shadows on the ground and with
out further comment adjudged court
adjourned until nine o'clock tomor-
row when the final lap in the race for
the life of Beattie will be run.
The day began with the reading by
Judge Watson of the instructions to
the jury. They were more vital than
usual Particular attention was drawn
to the frailty Of the alleged confession
of Henry to Paul and the manner In
which 1t came-in Jail from an incar-
cerated witness to the common
wealth's attorney. Other points in the
story Of Paul which related to the
conversations Of Paul or meeting OF
the two cousins alone unsupported by
witnesses were held up as requiring
careful scrutiny.
Twenty-one separate instructions
were given the jury by Judge Watson.
Eliminating the routine and custo-
mary ones as to what is murder, the
degrees Of murder, the presumption
Of innocence, the weight to be given,
pro and con, to circumstantial EVIL
dence, and the necessity for the con-
elusive establishment Of its case by
the state, the court submitted a doZ-
en- paragraphs dealing with reason
able doubt all Of which are condens-
ed into the twenty-first, and conclud-
ing and most definite instruction Gas
the lawyers phrase it) as follows:
Upon the trial of the criminal case
by a jury, the law contemplates the
concurrence of twelve minds in the
conclusion of guilt before a convic-
ton can be had. Each individual
Juror must be satisfied beyond rea-
sonable doubt of the defendants guilt
before he can, under his oath, con-
sent to a verdict of guilty. Each jur-
or should feel the responsibility rest
ing upon him as a member OF the
jury and should realize that his own
mind must be convinced beyond
reasonable doubt of the defendants
guilt before he can consent to Ver-
dict of guilty. Therefore, If any in
dividual member Of the jury, after
having duly considered all the evil
dence in the case and after consulta-
ton with his fellow jurors, should
entertain such reasonable doubt OF
the defendants guilt as Is set forth
in the other instructions In this case,
1t is his duty not to surrender his own
convictions simply because the bal
ance Of the jury entertain different
convictions.
For a time today 1t seemed as II the
entire plan Of the trial would have
to be rearranged when the statement
came that man who had been en-
ployed as a farm hand on the planta-
tion Of farmer on the Midlothian
turnpike had been an eyewitness to
the crime and was prepared to come
to Richmond to tell Of seeing the
crime. The prosecution, however, an
nounced that it considered that its
case had been so effectively presented
that further testimony was unneces-
Sary and that the new witness would
not be called but that the case would
10 tn1AV
The story Of the witness was given
to the press.
The writer, who until a few days
after the murder of Mrs Beattie, was
a farm hand employed on a place
near the scene OF the crime, said that
he actually saw young Beattie kill his
wfe-saw him knock her from the
with the butt Of a shotgun
and then shoot her as she lay insen-
sible on the ground. He wrote that
Reattie threatened him when he
found that he had witnessed the deed,
of clothes and money with which to
go away. Though he kept quiet at
first because he was afraid, the man
says now he does not want Beattie to
escape punishment and is willing to
testify.
At the outset the prosecutors were
inclined to think that this was just
another crank's letter, of which many
have been received by both sides since
the trial began. An investigation was
started, however, and several of the
writer's statements were soon corrob-
Grated. The Chesterfield farmer men
toned in the letter acknowledged
that a man Of the name used by the
writer was employed by him until a
few days after the murder, and fur
ther declared it was a fact that the
farm hand was chasing a runaway
cow on the night the crime was COM