Yesterday week a murder case of some interest was heard
be- fore Mr. Justice Brett, the accused man being George Blampied, a shipwright in the docks at Chatham, who had, as no one attempted to deny, killed a brother workman, James Catt, by a blow from his adze, on the 16th April last. The interest of the case arose from the question raised as to the prisoner's sanity, and from the almost imperious manner in which Mr. Justice Brett endeavoured to force the old legal theory as to responsibility upon the jury,—directing them to find him guilty unless they saw evidence that Blampied's mind had been so far affected that he was either unable to apprehend the signifi- cance of the act he had committed, or to realise that that act was wrong. In fact he directed them to regard a maniacal impulse, not accompanied by intellectual delusions, as not bearing on the legal aspects of the case. It was proved in evidence that Blam- pied had denied committing the murder immediately after it was done, and had charged Catt with having committed suicide with his (Blampied's) adze,—an impossibility, apparently, if only because the blow was inflicted on the back of the head, where it could not have been delivered by the victim of it. This looked like guilt on Blampied's part. but the most explicit evidence was given on his behalf to the effect that he was, two or three years ago, for some time in a lunatic asylum, and had even been treated for melancholia since his discharge from it. The jury insisted, in spite of the peremptory character of the Judge's charge, on declaring the accused man irresponsible for his actions,—so that Blampied was ordered to be detained in a lunatic asylum during Her Majesty's pleasure. The jury, indeed, submitted deferentially to the Judge's directions,—and then promptly ignored them.
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