Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (7) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 right hand ; had been charged and con victed of stabbing. Re-examined by Mr. Powers : Could see anyone sitting on the doorstep from where he was sitting. By His Honor; Wasnotin the habit of goingabout with a knife in her band. Mr. C. Powers addressed the jury 011 behalf of the prisoner. Mr. Real addressed the iury for the prosecution. He carefully analysed the evidence and combatted the views put forward that the wound was inflicted by accident. The prisoner, he contended, was guilty of intentionally inflicting grevious bodily harm. His Honor summed up lucidly aud ably. He dwelt 011 tbe circumstances which wentto showthat prisoner iicted without coercion 01* even the consent ot her husband, aud was not incited to the deed by undue provocation. The three witnesses in their evidence concurred on substantial facts,though they differed in mere matters of detail, and he deemed their testimony truthful on that very account. His Honor laiddownthe law relating to 'intent' and denneu grevious bodily harm, and the lesser offence of 'unlawfully wounding.' He further instructed the jurythatif they had any reasonable doubts they must givethe prisoner the benefit thereof. The jury retired it 3 p.m. butdidnot agree until the clock struck six,when V they returned into court with a verdict \ of 'guilty of intent to do grievous bodily S fearm.' - \ Prisoner was remanded for sentence, [Murder* Billy Barcoo, an aboriginal, and Wig ton Davy, a stalwart half-caste, were placed in the dock charged with mur dering Billy Barlow, an aboriginal, at Gayndahon 22rd July. Mr. F. B. Sheridan, instructed by Mr. Stafford, appeared for the prisoners, who pleaded not guilty. The following jury were empanelled Messrs. John Duulop, Archibald Camp bell, A. (Jickowski, Charles Eve, J. H. Campbell, Lars Jacobsen, M. Kruse, D. gpiden, R. Edwards, P. Hansen, J. Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (8) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 Steffensen, A. Hubert. ^ , The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. Real, opened the case by stating the facts, but was subjected to constant interruptions bv Mr. Sheridan, who was at length silenced by His Honor, who considered the interruptions tf- the formal opening of the case as very improper. Constable John Kelly deposed : That Lhewas stationed at Gayndah ; on 23rd July he went to thebed of the Burnett river, aud there sawthe dead body of Billy Barlow ; a man named Morgan was ?with me (DickyDutton produced and ? identified as Morgan) ; Barlow bad a deep wound in the forehead, an inch deep, and another wound four or live inches long ou tbetopof bis head ; Mor gan and I buried the body with its clothing 011 ; I arrested the prisoner at Mount Debateable ou 10th August; they were both together ; they said nothing when I charged them with the murder of Billy Barlow ; I searched prisoners and found a knife on Billy Barcoo [knife producedj Katey Law (a half-caste Chinese and aboriginal) deposed : That she was mar ried to a Chinaman namedKai : know the prisoner and knew Billy Barlow ; saw Barlow on the 22ndJuly at the bed of the river near Gayndah ; there were there the two prisoners, two gins, two old gins, Charley tbe half-caste and his gin, and an old blackfellow ; it was 12 o'clock at night ; I was asleep when Barlow came to the camp ; his camp was a milefromours ; he said ' Davy, getup and have a nip;' Davy gotup and drank out of the bottle Barlow had ; Barcoo had a uip,too,so did Barlow, who thencom menced a row ; don't know what they said ; Barcoo thenwent to his camp two or three yards away ; Barlow followed, and knocked him down and took his nullah from him ; Barlow then hit Davy with the nullah ; Davy was in my camp with me ; I was living with him ; Davy got holdof a spear and as Barlow went to hit him again, Davey speared him Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (9) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 through tbe right arm ; Barcoo then got a heavy nailed nullah and hit Barlow on tbe back of tbe head, andhe fell ; I then gathered up my things and went to where I bad hidden my children under a hollow log ; an I was going I heard Barcoo say ' Davy,we'll cut his throat ;' I said ' No, Davy, don't youdo it ;' Bar low was sitting up then ; Davy came after me in ten minutes ; I saw Barcoo again at daylight, with Billy Barlow's gin with him ; the gin was not at our camp the previous night ; I went to town next evening and stayed there a week ; when I went back I saw Barcoo and Davey, and said to them 'Who hit Billy Barlow ou the Lead with a toma hawk?' Barcoo said' I did,I hit him twice with the back of it ; I stopped with Davy till he was arrested. Cross-examined by Mr. Sheridan : I have been living with Davy for G years, aud considered myself bis wife ; I was married fo a Chitiumau a long time be fore, but I gave him up ; there was 110 grog in the camptill Barlow came ; there was no money in the camp, and we had not beeu to the public-bouse that night ; the blacks did not go often to the public house (witness was then subjected to a long cross-examinatiou ou the details of the row) ; Barlow was a big, quarrelsome fellow ; when he was going to hit Davy he said he was boss of all the black fellows ; I would likeDavy to get oft, but he should have bis puni'sbmeut. CharleyPepper, an aboriginal : Said be spoke English and knew the oath ; he worked at Wetherou Station ; saw pri soners, Barlow, and a number of gins at tbe Burnett River camp ; one gin was his; Davy had four gins there, three half-caste and one blackfellow; it was a Wednesday night. Witness corroborated most of the evidence of Katey Law, and related the conversation which began tbe row, the gist of it being that Barlow spoke ' seotty words ' about a gin, Molly, belonging to his camp, whom he suspected Barcoo of beiug sweet upon ; Barcoo explaiued that the lady in ques tion was drunk and asleep at that moment, aud could not be disturbed, whereupon Barlow commenced active Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (10) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 hostilities, which was carried ou with much vigor aud heavy weapons on both sides until Barlow tried to run away, but was repeatedly knocked down by tbe prisoners' nullahs. When Barlow was properly 'grassed,' prisoners went away to their fire ; after a while Barcoo went to where Barlow was lying and cut him under the knee with a knife; Barlow cried out oh ! oh ! ; Barcoo after that proposed to cut his throat, aud all tbe ginssung out ' Don't do it, he die directly Davy told everybody to go, aud not to tell ; we went away, but Davy and Barcoo saidthey would stop to see if Barlow got up again ; I saw a tomahawk without a handle in the camp; Davy's gin took it awaywithher. Cross-examined by Mr. Sheridan : The tomahawk aud knife used were not mine; I saw the knife (produced) in the camp ; I did not see any tomahawk used that Bight; when Barcoo first struck Barlow, Barlow was sitting on Davy and using a nullah aud belamon on him ; Barlow had takeD them from Barcoo ; the nail headednullah was Davy's, and Barcoo did not use it ; if Katey Law says Barcoo did use it she tells a lie. Hetty, a young half-caste gin was next placed in the box, but appeared to be un able to comprehend the nature of the oath. Mr. Sheridan raised the point whether the law which renders a wifes evidence against her husband inadmissable does not apply to blackfellows ; if so, Hettv being Davy's gin, could not give evidence. His Honor said the law did not con template the matter. He should, how ever, hold that a blackfellows first gin was his legal wife, but his subsequent gins could not be regarded as wives. He shouldtake Hetty's evidence. Witness having made a formal de claration, deposed : I am one of Davy's gins ; Davy bad Kitty and Lizzie as gins before he had me ; Kitty was first ; he had black gins before that; (witness gave evidence generally corroborrative and added) ; saw Charlie when we were leaving camp; Charlie had a tomahawk and butcher kuife ; he gave them to Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (11) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 and butcher kuife ; he gave them to Barcoo and said, 'You kill him, be beat me at Mount Perry' ; Barcoo went to where Barlow was lying, and hit him twice on the head with the tomahawk ; he then gave Charlie the tomahawk and kuife back. Cross-examined by Mr. F. Sheridan ; I stopped iu camp all that day ; there was no grog there until Barlow brought it. Richard Thomas Morgan, of Gayndah, deposed : I have known the prisoners and Barlow about 14 years ; I went to the Burnett River on 23rd July, and saw there the deadbody of Barlow ; it was not longdead ; saw two large wounds in his head such as might be inflicted with tlie back of a tomahawk ; brains were protruding from each wound; I helped to burythe body; subsequently we exhumed the body for further ex amination 12 days afterwards and ex amined the injuries. Mr. Real tendered a statement made by Barcoo, as evidence. Mr. Sheridanobjected to the statement of au aboriginal being received. His Honor ruled the statement not admissable. Dr. D. W. O'Counor deposed that he had heard the evideuce and considered that either of the two wounds on the head as described wouldcause death. Cross-examined : I have known people exaggerate in describing wounds, bijtnot as a rule. This closed the caselor the Crown. No witnesses were called for the defence. Mr. Sheridan addressed the jury for the defence. He pointed out that blackfel lows prosecuted by the Crown were placed in a position of inability to call evidence or otherwise prepare a defence. He dwelt on the unfortunate social posi tion of blackfellows, and commented in solemn terms on the fact that Parliament voied year after year large sums for the maintenance of native police, money I voted by Parliament to givefree license for the shooting down of blacks, for crimse Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 - 1947), Friday 25 September 1885, page 2 (12) National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146859772 such as that charged against such poor men as those two now in the box. Inci dentally, the learned Counsel drew har rowing pictures of blacks being shot down in the public streets, and described the shooting of five blacks on the Marybo rough wharf— witnessed by himself— for the alleged theft of two figs of tobacco. He claimed the acquittal of the two pris oners on the ground that Barlow's death was the result of a free fight started by himself. His Honor, in summing up, claimed from the jury the same careful and impartial verdict that they would give if the prisoners were their fellowcountry men. He travelled over tbe evidence, and pointed out that if a fatalwound was inflicted in actual self-defence against a violent assault, the law reduced the crime to manslaughter, but if weapons and violence were employed with fatal effect after a lapse of time,there was evidence of malice, and tbe crime was murder. His Honorread over the wholeof the evidence, and pointed out that the wit ness Charley being implicated, the jury must uot place too much reliance on his evidence. The jury, after half-an-hour's delibera tion, brought in a verdict of man slaughter against both prisoners. His Honor sentenced Billy Barcoo to two year's hard labor, and Wigton Davy to eighteen months' hard labor.