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besatisfied in your owt minds—no reason- able doubt must linger them—or you must not not find the prisoners guilty. You must look into and try to weigh carefully for what it is worth the shifting mass of testimony which has been laid before you. For, suppose for one instant, that you make a mistake? How terrible will be the re- sult! Then,if{there is any reasonable doubt about the truth of the evidence you will—you must—lean tc the side of mercy and exercise in this case that attribute of the Evorlasting God.

Mary Ellen Byers is the first witness, and she says a conversation took placejbetween the men in the wagon and; Rose Chiverie and Suse Inglis. But if you find her in- correct upon that point you must surely re- gard her as suspicious upon all other points. Two men arefsaid by these women to have held a conversation with two women during nearly half an hour on a bright night. Now, if you find that the alleged conver- sation did not take place at all what must you think of their testimony ! Have these women been contradicted? Let us see. Poor Suse Inglis! No considerations of shame or anything of that sort would pre- vent her from saying whether or not she was conversing with two men after night- fall, and she swears positively that she never spoke to the two men in the wagon. Then there is Rose Chiverie. No consider- ations of shame would keep that blooming widow from talking in the night with men on the street: and she swears positively shie did not converse with the men in the wagon at all. Then there is anether—-whom I place among the respectable witnesses — Mr. John Hughes. He was walking near by; and he did not hear anything of the alleged conversation. [am not aware that Dave Inglis was ever up for drunkenness, and he is not, that I am aware, one of those who beat their wives. He says that if a conversation had taken place, as alleged, he could not help seeing it gomg on. Now, what ~be- comes of the statements of Mary Brown,

with her black baby, and Mary Ellen Here

Byers with her white baby. are no less than four’ witnesses who contradict, point blank, what

what these prostitutes have said regarding the conversation. This has to do with the credibility of the witnesses by means of whom the case against my clients is sought to be established. What, then, becomes of the statement of Mary Ann Ryan and the much-swearing Mary Brown? ‘‘False in one, false in all.” That is the true prin. ciple. When a person has sworn false in one instance, you may be pretty sure that he will not scruple to swear false again. Then again, similar contradictions occur in the statements respecting the exclamations of the men after the shots were fired. In fact the witnesses do not agree in any essential particular of the case. Mary Brown and Mary Ellen Byers say the men exclaimed ‘‘ Take that, you black son,” etc. Suse Inglis, Rose Chiverie, J. Hughes and Son Cusack, all agree in saying they heard nothing of the kind. And they were all nt at the time. Even poor little mily Byers would not swear that she heard the exclamations referred to. Gentle- men, I do not think I ever beheld a sadder sight than when that poor little black child was brought in here to swear away those men’s lives. Her evidence, if true, bears strongly against, at least, one of the prisoners. She was not examined in the Court below. Every denizen of the Bog who could be thought of, from Son Cusack down to Pop Eye, gave evidence at the preliminary examination. But five long months elapsed before Emily Byers was produced. And it is to be noted that at the time the preliminary examination was going cn—when everything connected with the unfortunate affair must have been fresh in the memories of those who witnessed it, little Emily Byers told Mrs. Burris that she did not know James Millner ; but that, if she did (mark the animus of the little thing) she would soon swear against him. Couple this fact with the fact that neither Mary Ann Brown—steady swearer that she is—-nor any one else, said anything in the evidence they gave in the court below about Emily Byers jumping up behind the wagon. Mary Brown says she forgot it then, but she remembers it five months afterwards. It is well, gentlemen, that the hearing of this case is not longer postponed, for the longer the time, the more the wit- nesses for the prosecution remember. But neither Suse Inglis, Rose Chiverie, Emily Ryan,J. Hughes, nor Son Cusack will swear that they saw Emily Byers or any one else hanging on tothe wagon. And does Mrs. Burris come here to commit perjury! Or is she to be believed when she says *‘I asked Emily Byers if she was up swearing against Jimmy Millner, and she told me that she did not know Jimmy Millner.” Or are the others whe swear that Emily Byers did not jump up on the wagon any less worthy of credit than Mary Brown and that poor black child Emily Byers ! Now, gentlemen, we come to amore im- rtant point—that of the clothes the men in the wagon wore. They say that one of the men had a light coat on. Mary Brown speaks of the one nearest to her as the one who wore the light coat. Lilly Ryan, on the other hand, swore that the one who had the light coat was furthest from her and had a dark hat on. In fact the evidence upon this point is told in no less than four diifer- ent ways. Four girls have put the men in the wagon in four different positions at the same time. Now, just let us see what Mr. Higgins says. He says when Johnston came home that night he had on dark clothes. Larter says both the men were dressed in black or dark suits. Other witnesses agree in saying that both Johnston and Millner were dressed in dark clothes. Need I say more? No; 1 feel that I might even now leave the case in your hands. You could not, as honest men, take away the lives of these prisoners on the strength of evidence such as this. But I now go on to touch upon a more deli- cate subject. Iam now going to invade the fold and take out the little lambs who ate under the care of the chief shepherd,

| You will look below the blue coats of the men and the gold braid of the Marshal. it, is your bounden duty to judge of the credi- | bility of those men. And, in view of the | Fact that there is scarcely one of them but

has been in jail for wife-beating and | drunkenness, what confidence can you) have that they have told the truth |

about the so-called confessions of the pris- | oners? The evidence of 4 confession is, | under certain circumstances, the weakest | that can be given to a jury. And when, | for the evidence of a confession, you have to trust to the faulty, treacherous recollec- tions of such men as Shea and Bradley, it is of the weakest possible description. Some words may be left out of a statement |

significance. truly a terrible thing if yon were to send these two young men to the gallows upon the mere recollections Shea and Bradley have of certain words, which, they say, the prisoner made use of when arrested Shea is, lL have ao doubt, an honest old fellow, but he has no brains at all. His

does his duty much as a soldier goes through his drill—without any thought at all. He has probably been under the influence of a prepossession which has misled him. Pre- possessions often mislead the clearest minds. For instance. suppose you go down to the wharf on a dark night to wait for the steamer. A light appears in the distance. Perhaps it isin one of the houses on the other side or in one of the vessels in the harbor. But at once every one looking cries out ‘‘Here comes the steamer.” They thinking it is the steamer because their minds are prepossessed with the idea that the steamer is coming; while in reality it is not the steamer nor anything which would make them think it was the steamer if they were not expecting her arrival. This is ex- actly the way the policemen regarded the words of Johnston. They were prepossessed with the idea that he was guilty ; and every word he uttered was interpreted by them as a proof of his guilt. Dr. Carpenter, in his work on Mental Physiology, quotes the fol- lowing instance of this sort of mental pre- possession :—

‘* «It happened once to the writer to hear a most scrupulously conscientious friend narrate an incident of table-turning, to whigh she ap- pended an assurance that the table wrapped when nobody was within a yard of it. The writer being confounded by this latter fact, the lady, though fully safisfied of the accuracy of her statement, promised to look at the note she had made ten years previously oi the transaction. The note was examined, and was found to contain the distinct statement that the table rapped when the hands of six persona rested on it! The lady's memory as to all other points proved to be strictly correct ; and in this point she had erred in entire good faith.’ "—Hours of Work and Play, p. 100. There are also the prepossessions of fear and the prepossessions of hope. Dr. Car penter, in an article on the ‘‘Fallacies ef Testimony,” which appeared in the Con- temporary, says we may recognize the same influence in matters which are constantly passing our observation, and a better illus- tration could scarcely be found than in the fellowing circumstance mentioned to me as having recently occurred in the practice of a distinguished physician :—

‘©The head of a family having been struck down by serious illness, this physician was called in to consult with the ordinary medical attendant ; and after examining the patient and conferring with his colleague, he went into the sitting room, where the family were waiting in anxious expectation for his judg- ment on the case. This he delivered in the cautious form which wise experience dictated: ‘The patient’s condition is very critical, but I see no reason why he should not recover.’ One of the daughters screamed, ‘ Dr. —— says = will die Anether cried out, in a jubi- ant tone, ‘Dr. —— says papa will get well.’ If no explanation had been given, the two ladies would have reported the physician’s verdict in precisely opposite terms, one being under the influence of fear, the other of hope.”

The prepossessing idea in the mind of one of these young ladies was that her father would get well; so she interpreted the doctor's words to mean that her father could recover. The prepossessing idea in the mind of the other was that her father was going to die and she thought the doc- tors words contained no ray of hope. The prepossessing idea in the minds of the police- men was that Johnston was guilty; and, in accordance with their predominant idea, they set down every word he uttered asa proof that he committed the crime. Now, it is not right for anyone engaged in this trial to say whether or not he believes the prisoners to be innocent or guilty. You alone must say that when you come to give your verdict. But a counsel may, I think, say what construction he believes should be placed upon words used by a prisoner. Now, it is stated that Johnston, when arrested, and cowed down by the police, said : ‘*I don’t care for myself, but I am sorry for my father and mother.” Is that the language of conscious guilt? Are these the words of a murderer! I think not. The guilty man is perpetually think- ing of himself. You never saw a hardened criminal who, in difficulty himself, cared much for his father or his mother. The prisoner when arrested does not seem to have been anxious about himself. He was

some of the circumstances may be sup- | w; pressed-—which may materially change its | And, gentlemen, it would be |

gone eat a oa i aenahed

wom

idea that Johnston is guilty, You will not, feeling the responsibility of Your position. as yeu do, you cannot hang the prisoners on such evidence as this.

Then comes the evidence for the defence. But I must not forget that I am associated in this ease with Mr. Palmer, and he will direct your attention to it. here leave the case to you, feeling confident that you will not convict my clients on the strength of the evidence adduced by the prosecution. to suppose for one instant that you will allow such evidence to have any weight with you. prostitutes and the swaying recollections of policemen do not afford sufficient ground- ork for a conviction in such a momentous caso a3 this is. Gentlemen, I am speaking for these twos young men; and I ask you not to consign them to a disgraceful death and a dishonored grave. i amspeaking for this gray head, all furrowed with the marks of care and toil; I am speaking for an honored father whose earthly hopes will be blighted if his son be convicted; I am speaking for the lonely

head is like a piece of wood. He probably ymopees who, on her bed of sickness, is

waiting to hear—oh! how anxiously—your verdict. Oh let her never hear that her boy must die the death of a murderer. You remember what was done when last # man suffered the extreme penalty of the law in this city—how the rope broke and the man was hung up like adog. Will you, care you, on the strength of the evidence before you, let these boys suffer as he did ! Gen- tlemen, I have spoken to you strongly be- cause I feel strongly. I did not intend to appeal to your sympathies or to go outside of the evidence. Indeed the fact that the mother of my client is lying on her deathbed was imported into the case by means of the evidence. Oh! gentlemen, let not her last hours be agitated by thoughts of her boy in his death struggle. Gentlemen, you will spare these two young men.

[We have been obliged to considerably condense Mr. Hodgson’s address, and to leave out altogether sume of the finest parts of it. When he concluded, many of those in the Courtroom were in tears. |

i ES tdi

Almost a Dreadful Catastrophe.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT NO. 2.

An accident which miraculously escaped an attendance of fatal results occurred on the railway, between Mt. Stewart and Royalty Junction, yesterday. The George- town train is usually connected with the Souris train at Mount Stewart—the first taking the passengers and freight of the last to this city. Yesterday morning the train from Souris was detained by. snow on the branch. The Georgetown train arrived at Mount Stewart on time, and seeing no signs of the Souris train, proceeded directly on the way. At Bedford Station she came in contact with a heavy snow block. Strik- ing it first she proved unable to pass through. The train was then backed ; the passenger cars were left about fifteen chains from the bank, and the locomotives went forward to force a passage. In the third attempt to pass the engines were thrown a few feet from the rails. All efforts were made to replace them. It could not be quickly done, anda brakesman was sent back with a signal to warn the approaching Souris train of the fact.

An hour after the train first struck the passengers—six first class and six second class—leisurely sitting in their respective cars, heard a whistle quite near. Nocom- motion was created by this, as they thought it was the locomotives returning to the cars after making a passage. A moment later they were horrified to see the Souris train swiftly bearing down upon them. She struck the first class car with a dreadful thud, carrying it three-quarter ways upon the snow-plow, tearing away the after trucks, breaking the rear door and destroying the couplings, railings, etc., between the two cars.

Three men and a young lady were sitting in the rear of the first class car. Seeing the train appreach the men opened the rear door with all haste and jumped from the platform. One of the number who did not jump far enough was completely cov- ered with snow, and, until he recovered himself, it was thought he had been ran over. He received a slight injury to his wrist by being struck with the side of the snow plow. ‘The young lady attempted to escape to the second-class car, but, ere she had gone half the length of the first-class, the train struck, and, as the car mounted the snow plow, she turned a clumsy somer- sault and was landed among the seats at the lower end of the car. She escaped with slight injuries to her back. Said a cool and collected passenger, who was recover- ing himself in the second-class car, and who saw the young woman lying among the seats : ‘‘ That one is off the track, anyhow.” The other woman, who was sitting near the front door in the first-class car, held on to the seat and escaped unhurt. A gentle- man, dressed in ‘all gaity, with beaver kids, ete., standing at ease in the baggage. room, reading posters, tariff regulations and such like, was the first to fall in that apartment. He fell towards the apartment

only sorry that his father would be troubled | and his mother distressed. He felt that! the blow which had fallen upon him would | fall upen thein also, and he expressed his. sorrow. Now, gentlemen, is not this the, more reasonable interpretation to be put on | Johnston’s words? I was reading last night | an account of the martyrdom of a Christian | who was accused of treachery to the Em-' pire, because he refused to sacrifice to the genius of the Empire. He was heard to say, ‘‘I do not care for myself, but only for my father and mother;” and cn uttering these words he was seized and condemned to be torn in pieces. | And you are asked to condemn this man be- cause when arrested he expressed sorrow fcr his father and his mother. Gentlemen, we

must have stronger evidence than this —

You want to know who these policemen) based as it is upon the ever changing recol- |

are, Is their evidence to be believed?

lection of a policeman preposaessed with the |

adjoining the baggage-room ; four others who were in the same apartment fell en top of him, and all the loose baggage, buckets and traps fell on top of them. None was hurt except the first gentleman, who was

slightly cut on the side of the head.

When it was discovered that none of the passengers or train hands were seriously hurt, and when all got out of the cars, a general wordy row took place between the passengers of the Georgetown train and the Souris train hands. The latter swore by all things holy that they never saw the signal, owing to the smoke and drift. The brakesman who was sent with the signal deposed, in strong terms, that he was not to blame, as he did all in his power to make them see the flag. It soon ended. The trains were righted as quickly as possible and arrived itt the City at 6 o’clock.

It would be insulting to you |

The conflicting statements of |

a ORE NRT ES

ae

CLEARING SALE

Gentlemen, [ |

-AT THE—

London House

———— 30‘

In pursuance of ‘the principle that

all goods should be turned into cash during the season in which they are bought, we offer our mag- nificant Stock at prices to ensure a speedy realiza- tion.

This year’s sale offers to all econ- omic housewives Special Induce- ments.

Never was econ- omy more needful

Never was the opportunity bet- ter.

Never were the prices so low.

And in anticipa- tion of the speedy adoption of the

NATIONAL POLICY,

with a largely in- creased tariff, “a word to the wise is sufficient.”

TERMS GASH,

On or Before Delivery.

AMES & Cb

Charlottetown, Feb. 4, 1878.

ee

al Sa

DRY GOODS,

CLOTHING, ETC.

The Whole Stock in Trade

OF THE LATE ROBERT ORR.

-TO BE—

SOLD OFF AT COST,

_—CONSISTING IN PART OF—

Dress Goods, Shawls, Mantles, Millinery, Silks, Velvets, Hosiery, Gloves, Linens, Winceys, Shirtings, Sheetings,

Prints, Grey and White Cottons, Hats and Bonnets, Furs, Blankets, Flannels, Pilots, Beavers, Coatings,

Tweeds, etc., etc. etc.

——_ -

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Hats, Caps, Linders and Drawers, Scarfs, &e.

Cotton Warp, Small Wares, Xe.

The above Stock must be cleared out from this date, and our Customers, and the public generally, can depend upon getting Bargains.

John McPhee,

Administrator. Charlottetown, Feb. 4, 1879.

FOR SALE,

— HOUSE and Premises occupied by the Subscriber, at the head of Queen Street. For further particulars apply to the owner on the Premises, or to ALEXANDER

Brown, Esq. i. DONALD McKENZIE, Ci’town, Feb. 3, 1879—2aw

NOTICE.

WING to ill health I shall be unable to return to the Island before Mareh, and I would respectfully request my customers to reserve their orders until that time. Mean- while —_ porny Gopriog to communicate with me can do so addressing let Post Office box iss, Montreal. pense a _ JOHN H. CATHRAE, Agent for Reinach’s, Nephew & Co., Teas, London, England; Wilson, Matheson & Co., Dry Goods, Glasgow. Feb. 3, 1879—6i pat 2i

FINAL NOTIGE.

LL amounts due the Subscriber, not paid:

by the 15th Feb | for without further — a

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| Sign of th Charlottetown, Jan. 31, 1879 4i —

Harvie's Almanae

READY FOR DELIVERY.

WHOLESALE AND §RETAIL

Flarvie’s Bookstore, QuEEN Square. Ch’town, Dec. 12, 1878—

Wants, Lost, Found, Sr.

Advertisements cana das headi in space in not exceeding half an inch, will be insert. ed for Ten Cents per day.

OST— Between McKenzie’s Confecti Store and Welsh & Guess’. eines LAR Y'3 a containing a small sum of ey. e finder will be leaving it at this Office. ee Feb, 4, 1879—2i

VW AsreD—A DENTAL STUDENT _ A young man, desi ‘ne Dentistry, and suitably qualified, aate

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