Tup: Maori Tuhi, the murderer of Miss Dobie, paid the penalty of his crime with his life, but the Nathe Wharepa. who cruelly murdered his European wife at Chatham Island, is not to be hanged, the sentence of death having been commuted to imprisonment for life We hardly perceive on what solid grouuds the sentence has been so com muted. Somebody (to use the words of the New Zealand limes) has sug gested that possibly YYLarepa was insane. Well, there was no evidence given at bis trial to prove his insanity. Nobody acquainted with Wharepa's past life ever supposed him to be insane. In fact, the theory of insanity is utterly without evidence to support it Then it is said that his wife, whom lie murdered by hacking her body almost to pieces, had committed adul tery. That would have been a good plea had Wharepa caught his wife actually in the commission of that social crime, and killed her there and then. 'J he law allows for the natural passion and indignation of the husband in such a case, and the offence has often properly received only nominal punish ment. But Wharepa deliberately went into his own house, where the woman was all alone, and hacked at her with

an axe till she died. And we do not know that any positive evidence of adultery on the part of the woman was given. On the whole, we can see no good grounds for interfering with the sentence of the law. Wharepa ought to have been hanged.
