The Sun. — 1861-03-13 (London, England)

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—EXETER, MARCIE 12. MURDER BY A SGLDIEft. Robert Hacked, :aged 29, a private in the Gist regiment of Foot, was indicted for the wilful murder of Henry Jones, a sergeant in the same regiment, at Plymouth, on the sth of January last. Mr. Cox and Mr. Lopes prosecuted ; and Mr. H. T. Cole defended the prisoner. The facts of the case were of a simple character. The prisoner is a private in the Gist Regiment, and the deceased was a lance sergeant in the same corps. They had served together through the Indian campaign, and the prisoner had earned a medal for his good conduct in the field. On the sth of January Jones, the prisoner, and others were in the messroom of the barracks at Millbay, Plymouth' Hacked had brought a pensioner with him, who had also been in India, to whom he gave his dinner. Whilst at dinner the conversation turned on the Delhi prize money, and in the course of the conversation Jones, who was a jocular man, said that the pensioner would spin a similar yarn the next day for another such dinner. The prisoner said nothing at that time, but left in a few minutes, and did not return again for several hours. At about half-past five he came to Eho i3urraeli, room, and, according to the evidence of several witnesses, he was drunk. He said, "I am much obliged to No. 3 and No. 4 mess for insulting my friend" (the pensioner). Upon this Jones made an observation, to which the prisoner rejoined, " It was all your fault, Marry." Jones, who was lying down on his bed, made use of some coarse expressions, whereupon the prisoner said that if he was not a sergeant, and if it were not for his getting 50 lashes, he would smash him where he lay in his cot. The prisoner then left, and in a few minutes returned again with his rifle and pouch. Jones went in an inner room, and whilst standing about 30 paces from' the prisoner, the latter put his rifle, not to his shoulder, but to his hip, and shot the sergeant through the back, crushing ;the backbone, the bullet passng out of the bowels. The poor man lingered a few minutes and expired. Wnen taken intoscustody the prisoner said he did not intend to shoot, ergan t Ite ew did,a s an Jones,d intendedbut to t o another have shot witnesssev several lBßoitdh ethrsat h . tpiri eo cheeds best that ho fa tt et rhme sprisoner sa tn od this deceasedun h aunhapbeenpyon d event. Mr. Cole, for the defence, made an able speech. He contended that the prisoner, whilst in a morbid state of drunkenness, had brought his rifle into the barrack-room, and had accidentally discharged it without any deliberate intention to kill the deceased. His lordship having summed up, The jury, after deliberating three-quarters of an hour, found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to death. The case lasted till five o'clock p.m.  The flowers in Covent-garden surpass those of every other country, for the reason that every improvement in their enj_ ture is instantly adopted. From the same cause Herring's magnetic brushes and combs surpass every other means for restoring grey hair to its original colour, and curing the most inveterate cases of neuralgia and nervous headache. They do this with almost undeviating; certainty. N.B.—Countertette are being made. ()glees, 32, Basiughall-street.