The Muswell Hill Murder. the skill with which the Lord Chief Justice first extracted from the jury a special verdict and then directed them to return a general verdict of guilty in their findings. That he was strictly within his legal rights in taking this course is certain, and it was fortunate that he took it, for the jury were evidently dis posed to acquit the defendants, a result which would have been unjust and would have ex
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ercised a mischievous influence on England's position in South Africa. This deeply inter esting trial will not be without consequence of a permanently beneficial character if it in duces England to take early steps towards defining her relation to her numerous and in creasing " charterlands " in such a way as to obviate any questions as to whether the For eign Enlistment Act applies to them in future.
THE MUSWELL HILL MURDER. A CRIMINAL cause celebre of the most sensational and romantic order has just been concluded at the Old Bailey. Muswell Hill is a small suburb in the north of London. As its name indicates, it stands on an elevation and is, it may be added, still imperfectly brought within the range of the manifold activities and life of the great me tropolis of the British Empire. Woods are to be found in its vicinity; the weekly service of trains to it is not very extensive, and on Sundays ceases altogether; and there are numerous houses surrounded by large gardens and plantations, which have, as yet, successfully resisted the attack of the equalizing and leveling villa or flat. One of these houses is — or, perhaps, in view of possible changes it should be said was — named Muswell Lodge. It is an irregular building, grouped round about a square tower, at the top of which there is a small glass conservatory. On the north side it is bounded by the highroad, while on the south and west, beyond the garden, stretches a wide area of tolerably dense woods, sepa rated from the Muswell Lodge gardens only by a wooden paling, a ditch, and a dense hedge. At the time when the present story com mences, the owner and occupant of this property was an old man of over seventy years of age, Mr. Henry Smith. Although he had friends in the neighborhood, and was highly esteemed and liked — especially
by the little children, for whom he had always a kind word when he met them play ing in the wood — he lived alone, protected only by a spring-gun, which his gardener, a man named Webber, adjusted the last thing at night, and by electric bells on the lawn and walks. He was reputed to be very rich, and had, in fact, a considerable sum of money, about £115, in the house at the time of his murder. One night in February last, Webber placed the spring-gun in readi ness as usual before leaving off his work. He returned at half-past ten and saw that everything was right. Next morning when he came to the Lodge and sought admit tance no one answered. He scrambled into the garden and proceeded to the window facing the lawn. It had evidently been tampered with. He looked in and saw someone lying on the floor. Webber at once gave the alarm; friends assembled and an entrance was effected. Then a ter rible sight was revealed : old Mr. Smith lay dead on the floor, his limbs bound with strong ligatures, and his face and head, which were covered with a bag, bearing clear traces of having been battered with burglars' jemmies. His drawers had been rifled of their contents. Further inspection by the police discovered two jemmies stained with blood, a bull's eye lantern, the wick of which had been mended with a piece of shirt or dress flannel, and footmarks in the garden. For some weeks the public
