Bluenose Justice: True Tales of Mischief, Mayhem and Murder

Christopher English is a history professor at Memorial University of
Newfoundland.

This collection of 14 case studies is directed to the popular demand for
easily digestible stories of crime and criminals, which are a staple of
weekend newspaper supplements. The tales occasionally rely on anecdote
and sometimes descend into “Time-speak.” (A protagonist in the libel
action taken by Angus Walters, captain of the schooner Bluenose, against
the Hearst newspaper corporation is described as “a rotund 46-year-old
former newspaperman.”)

The best of these accounts are the longest. Jobb may not add to what we
know of Joseph Howe’s successful defence against a charge of criminal
libel in Halifax in 1835, but he tells a good story, and the episode may
be unfamiliar to a national audience. While the emphasis is on
narrative, there are some attempts at critical analysis. And Jobb asks
relevant questions about the conduct of Supreme Court judge Edmund Dodd,
who appeared to lead the prosecution of Nicholas Martin, a man accused
of murdering Dodd’s lawyer son, Archbold, in Sydney in 1853.

Illustrated and presented in a clear and readable format, these tales
offer an entertaining diversion.