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Is it Misadventure? | THE COURT ONLY HAS THE POW- ER TO DECIDE | And We Have Absolute Confidence in | The Court. By R. H. AMPHLETT LLEADER. f THE OCCURRENCE. | A motor truck belonging to the Central Factory taking eanes :o La Grange and driven by ir. Milton .Jaezbs, a property owner and resident of Christiansted, eol- | lided with a low eart in which wo per- sons, a man and a woman, ere driving. | The man ret his death: the woman es- | caped without any injury. Ttis took | place eariy Thursday morning in the | vicinity of Waeel-of-Fortune whzr2 the | road is narrower than in most places. | THINGS IN JACOBS’ FAVOUR. 1 When one gets “‘in trouble wih the law’’ there are two iactors to be reckon- | ed with and tiaese factors are erntireiy apart from ‘‘the trcuble’’ what ver na- tare it might be. The (3etors are - THINGS AGAINST and THINGS FOR. Let us mention just a few THINGS | FOR Jacobs. He has an excellent char- | acter as a citiz>n He is sober, industri- ous, and one of the most hard-working | men. He is highly respected and es- | teemed by the entire community. He | has served in the Militéa; was pronoted | to the rank of corporal; and given com- | mand of "‘outposts’’ to assist the volice | in locating da gerous characters. He | detests eri ne of every shape or form. | As a chauffur he has a record second to | none in the .e parts, and has, by sneeia} | requests, diiven more prominent people calling at chis -island than aaiy other | chauffeur. Al these thines, and more, | stand to Myv. Jacobs’ eredit in his ‘‘trou- I ble with th> law.”’ | It is not uuar function to pass judgment | in this or in any other case—that is for | the Court; out .he law not only gives us the rignt o “‘privilege commu:zication” l on public matiers, but all couris and | American ! :2al lights desire to see¢ such | “privilege communications’ as they | show that the press and peopie have l mor: than a passingz interest in '‘the | greatest powver for good or evil on earth | —law’”’ (See Hateh V Lane, 105 .Mass. | 344) ; MURDER DEFINED. Homicide is the killing of a human be- ing by a human being. Jt is of two kinds. (1) juscifieble or excusable (as in self- defease), and (2) felonious. Felcaious homicide is homicide without justifcation and is either (1) murder, or (2) man- slaughter, [Mauslaughter is again oivided into [2] voluntary, or [b] involunrtary. Let us consid=r thes> terms briefly. Mur- ‘ der 'is homicide with malice afore- ' Sl. Ukl xX AN S thought. ‘*Malice gfore‘h‘ought is a le- gal phrase with an historical meaning entirely different to thay emploved n or- dinary ianguage. In subsrance itis ‘‘a state of mind depraved, devoid of all the senses of social duties, and fatally bent on evil’”’, [kood’s Criminal Law) Jus- tice Stephens before all the judges of England uftered the following dictur: “*Mens rea, [guilty mind] n.eans in the case of murder. Malice aforethought.’”’ ERGO, where rhere is no ‘mens rea’, no malice aforethoucht, no real intent or constructive inwen:, there is no murder within the meaning of the law Voluntary manslauzhter is murder committed intentionally in the heat of passion which was occasicned by orveat provocation. On this score Mr. Justice Christianey, a man famous the world over for his knowledge of eriminal law, in handing down a decision before the Supreme Court of Michigea emphasized that the passions must be aroused, the temper rufiled, the proveeation great, 2nd tne Kkiliing the direet cause of the provoecacior to render a murder volun- tiry mansiaavnter. Without each and every oae of tu2ase causes, says Chris- tiancy, there can be no vhluntary man- slaughter. Involuntary manslaugihter is the killing of a hnmaa heing in doing an unlawful act not in itself sutficient to furrish the implied malic¢ necessary in law to render the act murder. What is an unlawful aect that is nct sufficient to furnish eonscractive malice? Disregard everything eise and take negligence. Cau mere negligence be an unlawful act? Yes. ['he cases arve numerous vhich show the varicus kinds of careless ess or inattention that are construed as negligence in law, The courts hold that "‘turning a vicious and dangerous animal ljose’’, ‘‘driving an automobile at reckless speed in public places’’, ‘‘operating defective machin- ery’’, ‘'sleeping at a switeh, failing o turn it in time, thereby occasioning the loss -of life, imb, and property of hun- dreds or thousands’’, being ‘‘reckless when in charge ofa common carrier’’, constitutes negligence. A commo car- rier 1s one who by virtue of his ecalling, and as.a regular business, urdertakes to transport persons or commoddities from plece to place (Fuller V. Bradley, 25 Pa. 120;. On all these fast-travel- ling machines there is a “"working limit”’ set by law; based upon the endurance of the average human being and even in che absence of expressed law, there is some caijed equity which says that the endurance of human beings must be taken in consideration everywhere. Whetner to nod while driving a truck that travels snail-like and tat too after apwards o1 eleven hours of driving is “‘recklessness™ and “‘unlawful’”’ within the measuring oi the term where in- voluntary rmanslaughter is in considera- tion is a- question for the Court; and we have ARSOLUTE CONFIDENCE IN THE COURT. ; B There 1s a quotatiou which has been employed so often that it can justly be called the authority on the law of negli- gence. ‘‘There are many cases in which death is the result of an occurrence in itself unexpected but which arose from negligence, or inattention. HOW FAR. the AGENT of such MISFOR- TUNE IS TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE DEPENDS upon the inquiry whether he was GUILTY OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE at the time.”” (Wharton’s Criminal Law). Then there is death by misadventure. This subject received very learned dis cussion at the hands ofa famous lowa judge; and it was pleaded in ‘“The Gantz Case’’. To paraphrase Delmas, ‘‘the voleano of California’’, the law is the essence of pure reason; it exists not to punish but to vindicate and justify. Honour the dead. Use the written law with “‘extenuating appurtenances’’. If that fail employ the “‘unwritten law’’ the law. that stands for GOOD CITIZEN- SHIP. The law recognizeb by the highest courts of the world under pecuiia~ cir- cumstances. Jacobs is out on a bail of $500.00, and so uch is oublic sentiment with him that $5000.00 would have been raised were it necessary. All .his is only the ''privilege com- munication’” which the law gives to Jonrpalists or in fact the general pubhc. Tre court conly can decide. In THE MAJESTY OF THE LAW—‘THE UN- WRITTEN LAW-- "’/ in THE HONOUR OF ITHE COURT T 0 RECOGNIZE THAT ILAW-—in the INTEGRITY OF THE MAN, WHO CONSTITUTES COURT AND LAW-GIVER w 0 APPLY that law, however, we have ABS"1 UTE CONFIDENCE. TELEGRAMS gl, CROIX STAIION Reme, March 16th.- A new ministry has be2n formed. : London, March 10th.—— he {Jnder-See- retary of State for the Colonies in the House of Commons today said that the question of preference between the West Indies, Canada and the United Kingdom had been under consideration by ‘he West Indian Associated Chambers of Commerce. Jamaica las not so far given any preference to Canada or the United Kingdom. l.ondon. March 10th~-The reception on tlie Exchange Market by the Supreme Council’s genera! findings on the econ- omic situation was somewhat qualified today by the absence of immediate psl- liative me=sures. The fact of the recog- nition that Germany must be supplied with raw materials and eredits in order to prevent her collapse, was considered 2 good point and the German mark-: ex- change appreciated this.