ROTORUA TRAGEDY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1611, 25 November 1905, Page 3

ROTORUA TRAGEDY.

DESPERATE DEED BY ENRAGED HUSBAND. CAMPBELL RELEASED. JURY'S SYMPATHETIC LETTER TO AN INJURED WIFE.

to Gisborne Times.) Auokland, last night. The trial of Androw Campbell, boardinghouse keeper, Rotorua, on a oharge of killing Robert Hislop, a busbman from Gisborne, with a pea rifle, was resumed to-day at tho Supreme Court before Mr Juetioo Edwards and a jury. Mr Martin defended. [ Annie Campbell, prisoner’s wife, said 1 that up to Maroh 12th Hislop behaved ail right, Then there ooonrfed a dispute about Hodgson's breakfast. She heard Hislop toll Hodgson there wae no fish, but I she knew there was, and went In to get

somo and servo it. Hislop said, “ You’ve made mo out a liar. I’d like to put my fist through you.” Sho told him Mr Campbell would be informed of this, and be replied with an oath, “You'll be sorry if you tell him—you'll rue this day.’’ He also oallod her by vile expressions. Her husband,' on aooount of Hislop’s inoroased abuse, ordered him to go at onoe. Hislop continued to use vile expressions to hor,

and her husband took hold of him to pul

him out. Hisiop naught bar husband by the arms, and forced him against the dresser. She oalled out, “If you don't lot my husband go, I'll hit you with this sauoepan.” Finally ho left. Hor husband ■then wont away to send a telegram. She begged him no! to go, but he said he would only be a few minutes, and bo oould not see Hislop about. Soon after he had gone Hislop oamo to tho door, and she said,

11 Weren’t you told not to oome hero again ?’’ He replied, “ I’ll see you rue it before I go away.” He oame baok towards bor, and she backed away. Then hepioked up a knife from the raok and enid, “ Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to put it through you.” She snatohed the' knife from his hand, and threw It through the slide. Sho also picked up another knife aud threw that also through the slide. He thou caught her by the back of the neck and throw her down on the floor. She swooned. When she recovered Hislop was standing up against a dresser, smoking a oigarotte. He said to her, “ Not dead yet, you— — ? You will be before tho end of the woek. You can prepare your children, for you won’t be with them long.” Hor little girl then came in, and she told her to run to tho post office quiokly and toll her father to hurry baok. Her husband arrived, aud ordered Hislop away. After some trouble be left. Ia the evening be returned and entered the'dining room, when, banging his fist down on the table, he shouted,l’ll break up the bappy home.” The police were sent far, blit oould not be found. In order to esoape from him she ran out of the room and wont, not into her own bed-

room where he wonld probably have sought for her, but into another bedroom. He came along, and through a craok of the door she saw him light a match and look into her room. Finally he waa coming to the room where she had taken refuge, and she ran ont. He called to her, 11 What man have got in there ?” She ran u her husband, and complained to him of these insults, and a constable oame aud ejeoted him. Hislop then began to station himself at the back*of the house, where he oould watoh her working, and insult her her husband ereoted a screen to obstruct the view. Next day this : screen had been pulled down by somebody, J and she re-ereoted it. Then Hislop stationed himself at the front fence, and abused her whenever he saw her. When she weDt into the streets he followed her, and chased her whenever she tried to j get out of his eight. In consequence | she rarely left the house. He also wrote . disgusting sentences about her on the ( walls of outhouses, and on an electrio ( light pole outside the house. She per- f auaded her husband not to take the matter ( to Court, because she knew it, would spoil ( their business to have dirty talk like that ( made public. Once when sho was getting some ooal he threw a lump of wood at j her, and called ont, “ You old moll, ( you think you are getting off nicely, but before another day is over you will be a j dead woman.” On October 26th hor hueband went away by train, and as she was sitting at the window Sowing Hislop called her by slanderous expressions, and oame into the house and continued his filthy talk. At tea time she told her husband, who, usually a quiet, even-tempered man, threw down bis koife and fork, rose np from the table in a rage, paced the floor with hiß hand to his head, and said, “ I’ll have to put a stop to thiß. I can’t stand it any longer.” Then one oi the little girls said, “ There’s someone knocking at the door.” Her husband answered the knook, and oame back saying, “ I’ve shot ihe This was the first time in her life sho had ever head him Bwear, and she judged from it that he bad been driven almost mad.” Mr Tole : Here was a man using this foul language to you, threatening to put a knife into you, and throwing wood at you ; wby did you allow these insults to continue? Why didn’t you take proceedings ? . Witness : For the sake of the business. If we lost our business we would have had nothiDg to live on. Mr Tale : Bat you see the man was finally shot in a passion ? Witness.: Yes, it’s my fault. Alfred Johnson, a painter, said that while painting the house next door he saw Hislop through Campbell’s kitobeu window, struggling with his arms round Mrs Campbell’s waist for over ten minutes. Then Mr Campbell came, and Hislop was ejected, cursing Mrs Campbell, Subse» quently witness asked’ Hislop, “ What were you doing with the cook in the 1 kitoheo ? ” Hislop replied.. “It wasn’t the oook; it wae Mrs Campbell. I was giving bet a ronee down,” . Mr' Tole: When you saw the man ' improperly handling the woman in tbe 1 kitchen for ten minutes, why didn’t yon > go to her assistance ? 1 Witness: I interfered with one man, i and want never to do it again, i Mr Tole : But these were not man and

wife. . Witness ; I thought at the tunp they were, and it was not my business to interf£>Mr Tole: Rotorua is a remarkable plnoe. Nobody there seems to think it any of their business oven when a man goes about swearing like a roaring lion, and using filthy expressions. Numerous witnesses testified to hearing Hislop ■ threaten to drive tbi Campbells out of Rotorua. William John McCauley, a bushman, said that Hislop told him fie would either seduce or kill Mrs Campbell, Wi* o6l * B •told Mrs Campbell and advised her pever to go out at night alone, ' The judge summed up stroDgly in prisoner’s favor,' saying that if tlpy

believed the evidence, there to warrant them in finding that ' tmpbell acied under provocation likely o make any deoent man lose entire sell control. For five months the Campbells were presented with disgusting letters, bombarded with vile imputations hurled across the front fence, from the neighbors’ back yards, along streets, on telegraph poles, in outhouses, and broad cist in Rotorua, Physically Campbell was but a child in Hislop’s hands. Otherwise violent fights might have ended the matter, bjjt Campbell, having sought police and leg'l pro?

teotion unsuccessfully, believed the only remedy rested with himself, At the height of the burden Hislop appeared at the door, and asked for his—the worst iosult possible to a man’s wife. Ths jury, without retiring, found the acoußed guilty of manslaughter, aod found that he shot Hislop. not infendjog fa kill, but was maddened by provocation to take any measure to resent the insults from whioh be believed the law would pot pro teot him, They strongly recommended him to mercy. The judge told Campbell that though slaying another man was a very serious matter, yet in view of the extraordinary oiroumstanoes, and the jury’s findings, with which he agreed, he felt justioe would be satisfied with a sentence of twenty-four hours, beginning from lhs beginning of the session. As the term had therefore spired, be would be, discharged, v .

Tho jury OBked that a lottor ho forwardod I to Mrs Campbell, hoping that hor character would not suffer from tho untrue, vlio asporsions. and expressing tho oonviotion that tho ovidenoo clearly showed hor faithfulness to hor husband and a oloau moral life.