Albert Francis Ollerdessen was brought up in the U. 8. Court for China on Monday before the Hon.
8. Lobingier, Judge, charged "for that he did on August 4 on the Bubbling Well Road unlawfully and feloniously kill a human being involuntarily and without malice by driving a motor-car without due caution."
Mr. Haskell appeared for the prosecution and Mr. S. Fessenden for accused.
Accused pleaded guilty.
Mr. Fessenden said that Mr. Ollerdessen having pleaded guilty to this charge of involuntary manslaughter he (counsel) would like to make a statement to the Court. This charge of involuntary manslaughter was the lowest or least serious degree of any charge of manslaughter under which it would be possible to proceed against a As His Honour was aware manslaughter ould be caused by 'a lawful act or by a lawful act in an unlawful or negligent manner. In this particular case Mr. Ollerdessen was operating a motor-car on the streets of Shanghai which was a lawful act. He collided with this matshed under which this unfortunate Chinese was working and as a _result of that collision the man died. The circumstances of the case were such that. technically, there was a certain amount of negligence on the part of the accused.
But what he wished to make clear to the Court was that the degree of negligence which took place in this instance was of a very low degree. There was nothing in the circumstances of the case to show that Mr. Ollerdessen was guilty of any wanton disregard of human life or that he was operating his car in a reckless or dangerous manner.
How rae Accipest Oeorner.
Briefly, the facts of the matter were as follows:—Mr. Ollerdessen had stopped his car at the florist's next to the Olympic Theatre on Bubbling Well Road. He stopped there to buy some flowers. Having bought the flowers he got into the ted it westwards. lent happened at the corner of Carter and Bubbling Well Roads Mr. Ollerdessen said he was not. going over 15 miles per hour, which speed was within the regulations applying to that section of Bubbling Well Road. Located two-thirds of the distance from the south side of Bubbling Well Road at the junction with Carter Road was a small canvas structure erected by the Telephone Ca. As Mr. Ollerdessen approached tha structure he had the bundle of flowers on the seat beside him. Tt was a windy day and the paper in which the flowers were wrapped blew open, Mr. Ollerdessen took his eyo off the road for an instant to attend to this bundle and in the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.