The Virginia gazette (Williamsburg, Va.), 1772-11-12 00:00:00

VIRGINIA
GAZETTE.
Open to ALL PARTIES,
but influenced by NONE.
RELATION of a remarkable DISCOVERY of MURDER. FROM THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE FOR AUGUST LAST.
Mr. URBAN,
I HAVE met with so very singular a relation of the discovery of a MURDER, committed some years ago in Guernsey, that I cannot omit sending you an account of it, to be preserved in your Magazine. The truth of it is unquestionable. The Clergyman of the place where it happened gave the relation, and many people still living, who remember very minutely every material circumstance, will readily confirm it.
About the year 1726 John Andrew Gordier, a Gentleman of French extraction, and of considerable fortune, in the island of Jersey, was upon the point of marrying the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Guernsey; but, on a sudden, he was lost to his friends and relations, as well as to the Lady who was to have been his bride; and, notwithstanding the most diligent enquiry in both islands, with every possible search that could be made, not the least intelligence could be obtained, either of his death, or his retreat. It happened, however, that, after a time, when all discourse concerning him had subsided, his body was accidentally found in Guernsey, by some boys in traversing the beach, with two wounds on the back, and one on the head, thrust into the cavity of a rock, whose mouth was so small, that it must have been with difficulty that the body could be made to enter it. This discovery, with those evident proofs of murder, alarmed the two families. The former enquiries were in vain renewed; not the least light, either to countenance suspicion, or to ground conjecture, could be gathered, to trace out the murderer; and all that could be done, was to pay the last duty to the remains of the unfortunate youth, by solemnizing his funeral with all the marks of unaffected sorrow.
The mother of the young Gentleman remained inconsolable; and the Lady to whom he was soon to have been wedded, pined in secret for the loss of the only man in the world whom she could love. She was, indeed, courted by a young merchant; but though she was, in a manner, constrained by her parents to admit his addresses, she was inwardly resolved never to give him her hand.
The mother of Gordier, who never ceased to ruminate on the catastrophe which had befallen her son, was not a little solicitous for the welfare of the young Lady, whom she looked upon as her daughter-in-law, and whom she regarded with the greater tenderness, as she heard how severely she was affected by the sudden disappearance of her intended husband.
Some years afterwards, being told that the young Lady's life was in danger, she resolved to cross the sea that divides the islands, in order to afford her every consolation in her power, by condoling with her, sharing her griefs, and thereby endeavouring to alleviate the sorrows of her heart. As attendants in her voyage, Mrs. Gordier took with her a beloved brother, and an only surviving son. When they arrived, they were advised by the apothecary, who attended the young Lady, not to surprize her by an unlooked-for visit, till she was prepared by degrees to receive it: But, notwithstanding all the care that could be taken, the sight of the mother brought to her mind the full remembrance of the son, and the shock was too great for her weak spirits to bear: She fainted upon the first approach of Mrs. Gordier, and it was with difficulty that she was brought to herself. The mother was curious to know every little circumstance that attended the last interview of the young lovers, and of all that had passed since the discovery of the murder of her son, and the young Lady was no less earnest to prolong the conversation; but her fits returned at almost every period, and she could only say how tenderly they parted, and with what ardency she expected his promised return the next day. It was no small concern to the afflicted mother to see the poor Lady in this weak state, dying, as she plainly perceived she was, of a broken heart; and the company present could not forbear vehement execrations against the author of this double distress.
Mrs. Gordier, all on a sudden, burst into a flood of tears, on seeing a jewel pendant to the young Lady's watch, which she knew her son had purchased, as a present to her, before he left the island of Jersey. The violence of her grief was observed by the young
Lady, who had just spirits enough to ask her the immediate cause. Being told that the sight of a jewel, the presentation of which to his beloved bride was to be the pledge of their mutual happiness, revived in her mind her irreparable loss, the young Lady was seemingly struck with horror and astonishment at the declaration, and, touching the jewel as with an expression of contempt, sunk into the arms of her weeping visitor, and, without uttering a single word, except only M. Cl-e-r-k, breathed her last.
The manner of her expiring seemed to involve a mystery. All present were astonished. The confusion which her death occasioned stopped, for some time, all further utterance; but, when every means had been used to restore her, without being able to bring her to life, and when the effusions of sorrow, poured forth at her death, had for a while ceased, all who were present began to speak what they thought of her behaviour in her last dying moments. Mrs. Gordier, who was totally unacquainted with the soft and delicate temper of the deceased, could not help dropping some unfavourable expressions concerning her manner of leaving the world, which she thought plainly enough indicated a knowledge of the murder. Her own parents, who were present at this last affecting scene, fired with indignation at the insult offered to the unspotted innocence of their darling child, could not help resenting the ungenerous interpretation put upon the last closing moments of her blameless life. A scene of trouble and mutual reproach ensued, which is easier to conceive than to relate. When the commotion, however, was a little abated, and reason began to take place, the friends of both families very cordially interposed, and endeavoured to reconcile the mothers by a cool examination of the circumstances that occasioned the unseasonable heat.
Young Mr. Gordier recollected that he had heard his brother declare that the jewel in question was to be presented to his bride on her wedding day; and therefore, as that had never happened, his mother might be justified in her suspicions, though perhaps the Lady might be innocent. The sister of the deceased calmly replied, that she believed the warmth that had happened to be founded on a mistake, which she thought herself happy in being able to correct. The jewel, she said, which her sister wore, was not presented to her by Mr. Gordier, but was a present to her, some years after his unhappy death, by Mr. Galliard, a very reputable merchant in Jersey, who had very assiduously paid his addresses to her, encouraged so to do with a view, if possible, to relieve her mind, by diverting her affections to a new object; that as many jewels have the same appearance, that purchased by Mr. Gordier, and that presented by Mr. Galliard, might probably not be the same. Mrs. Gordier very readily acquiesced; and, having had time to recover her temper, fell again into tears, and, in the most affecting manner, apologized for her late indiscretion, adding, at the same time, that if it was the jewel purchased by her son, his picture was artfully concealed within it, which, by opening, would put the matter beyond a doubt. The sister, nor any of the family, had ever seen it opened, and knew nothing of such a contrivance. Young Gordier, in a moment, touched a secreted spring, and presented to the company the miniature enclosed, most beautifully enriched. The consternation was now equal to the discovery. The mystery was unravelled. It was instantly concluded that the horror of the murder must have struck the deceased, and the detestation of the murderer overcame her. The contempt with which she wanted to spurn the jewel from her, and her desire to declare from whom she had it, all these circumstances concurred to fix the murder on Mr. Galliard, who having been formerly her father's clerk, the last word she attempted to utter was now interpreted to mean the cl-e-r-k.
The Clergyman, who was present, and who gave this relation, being the common friend of Galliard and the family where he now was, advised moderation and temper in the pursuit of justice. Many circumstances, he said, may concur to entangle innocence in the snares of guilt; and, he hoped, for the honour of human nature, that a Gentleman of so fair a character as Mr. Galliard, could never be guilty of so foul a crime; he, therefore, wished he might be sent for, on the present melancholy occasion, rather as a mourner, than as a murderer; by which means the charge might be brought on by degrees, and then, if innocent, as he hoped he would
appear, his character would stand fair; if guilty, care should be taken that he should not escape. He added, in support of his counsel, that a man, once publicly charged with murder, upon circumstances strong as the present appeared, though his innocence might be clear as the sun at noon day to those who examined him, yet would never again be able to redeem his character with the world, let his whole life after be ever so irreproachable.
The greatest part of the company seemed to approve of his advice, and his reasons; but it was visible, by the countenance of Mrs. Gordier, that she, in her own mind, had prejudged him guilty. However, in conformity to the advice that had been given, Mr. Galliard was sent for, and, in a few hours, the messenger returned, accompanied by Mr. Galliard in person. The old Lady, on his entering the room, in the vehemence of her passion, charged him abruptly with the murder of her son. Mr. Galliard made answer coolly, that indeed he well knew her son, but had not seen him for many days before the day of his disappearance, being then out of the island upon business, as the family, in whose house he now was, could attest. But this jewel, said the mother (shewing him the jewel open as it was) is an incontestible proof of your guilt. You gave the deceased this jewel, which was purchased by my son, and was in his possession at the time of his death. He denied ever seeing the jewel. The sister of the deceased then confronted him; and, taking it in her hand, and closing it, this jewel, said she, you gave to my sister in my presence, on such a day (naming the day, the hour, and the place) pressed her to accept it; she refused it. You pressed her again; she returned it, and was not prevailed on to take it, till I placed it to her watch, and persuaded her to wear it. He now betrayed some signs of guilt; but, looking upon it when it was closed, he owned the giving it, and, presently recollecting himself, said he knew it not in the form it was first presented to him: But this trinket, said he, I purchased of Levi the Jew, whom you all know, and who has travelled these islands for more than 20 years. He, no doubt, can tell how he came by it. The Clergyman now thought himself happy in the counsel he had given; and, addressing himself to Mrs. Gordier, I hope, Madam, you will now be patient till the affair has had a full hearing. Mr. Galliard is clear in his justification, and the Jew only, at present, appears to be the guilty person; he is now in the island, and shall soon be apprehended. The old Lady was again calm, and forced to acknowledge her rashness, owing, as she said, to the impetuosity of her temper, and to the occasion that produced it. She concluded with begging pardon of Galliard, whom she thought she had injured.
Galliard triumphed in his innocence, hoped the Lady would be careful of what she said, and threatened, if his character suffered by the charge, to refer the injury to the decision of the law. He lamented the sudden death of the unfortunate young Lady, and melted into tears when he approached her bed. He took his leave, after some hours stay, with becoming decency, and every one, even the mother, pronounced him innocent.
It was some days before the Jew was found; but when the news was spread that the Jew was in custody who had murdered young Gordier, remorse, and the fear of public shame, seized Galliard, and the night preceding the day on which he was to have confronted the Jew before a Magistrate, he was found dead, with a bloody penknife in his hand, wherewith he had stabbed himself in three places, two of which were mortal.
A letter was found on the table in his room, acknowledging his guilt, and concluding with these remarkable words: "None but those who have experienced the furious impulse of ungovernable love will pardon the crime which I have committed, in order to obtain the incomparable object by whom my passions were inflamed. But thou, O Father of mercies! who implanted in my soul those strong desires, will forgive one rash attempt to accomplish my determined purpose, in opposition, as it should seem, to thy almighty providence!"
L O N D O N, August 27.
A CONSIDERABLE number of the merchants trading to the British colonies, having prepared the following address to the Earl of Hillborough, a committee from them waited on, and presented it to, his Lordship on Tuesday.

CONSIDERATIONS on the NEGRO CAUSE, commonly so called, addressed to the Right Honourable Lord MANSFIELD. By a West Indian.
THIS writer says, being a West Indian, he was led somewhat interestedly to attend to the arguments lately offered in the court of King's Bench, in the case of Somerset the Negro versus Knowles and others. His object therefore was information; but (he adds) without meaning to lessen the labours, or to depreciate the merits of the learned counsel concerned therein, the lights thrown on the case did by no means appear to him as, on either side, decisive of the point in question. And our author gives the following, among other reasons, for his opinion:
It was said, I remember, by one of the counsel, that the present state of slavery among Negroes was totally different from the ancient condition of villenage; that it was a new species of slavery utterly unknown to the common law of England. In this opinion I readily coincide, and agree with the learned Gentleman. The next question is, what do acts of Parliament say on this head? I believe it must be said for them, that they are, enactively, if I may be allowed the expression, silent. If this be so, then the conclusion will operate in the nature of a plea to the jurisdiction of your Lordship's court. If the case be unknown to the common law, and acts of Parliament are silent thereupon, what basis must your Lordship's judgment take? where there is no law there can be no remedy. If the common law be defective, it is the business of acts of Parliament to supply the defects; but until those defects are supplied, sub judice  est , and the matter must remain undetermined. Your Lordship may however tell me, that, where positive law is wanting, whereupon to ground the decisions of a court, recourse may be had to the maxims and principles of law, to the spirit of the constitution. The result of this, my Lord, at best is but matter of opinion; besides, cases founded on the self same principles, will often have very different determinations, according to the difference of circumstances, and the alteration or change of times. Thus, if it had even been an original maxim of the common law, that slavery was incompatible with the frame and constitution of this country, yet it does not therefore follow, that occasions have not since arisen to combat with this principle, and to justify particular conclusions differing from these general premises. The impressing of seamen, my Lord, is an idea as heterogeneous to the nature and essence of this government as slavery painted on the blackest ground can be. It is slavery itself, in its very definition; and what signifies the name, says Hudibras, since the thing is the same? But the indispensableness of the measure has nevertheless (to continue the metaphor) given colour to the practice, and it is now seen in another light and view. But to return, if your Lordship should be of opinion, for opinion it must be, if there is no positive law to ground your judgment upon, that Negroes in this country are free, I will place in opposition to this, the opinions of the late Lord Chancellor Hardwicke, and his predecessor the Lord Chancellor Talbot, to wit, that Negroes in this country are not free. Your Lordship perceives that I take your opinion upon supposition only; the other opinions are well known facts. To search then for the grounds of your opinion, without the certainty of its being so, would be now premature and unnecessary; but, knowing the opinions of these two great oracles of law, it is of necessity to conclude, that they had the most sufficient foundation for them, seeing that it is allowed on every hand, that no opinion was ever given in any case whatever with greater solemnity, or more deliberation, than these were. Now, my Lord, to investigate the reasons, of these opinions, is one way, perhaps, to arrive at the truth; but to follow men, like these, in their researches, is a procedure fitted only to abilities such as your Lordship's are. However, conjecture is open to all, though positive knowledge is but the gift of a few. Upon this consideration, then, I shall venture to suggest what might in part have led the ideas of these great and wise men to the conclusion which they have drawn, namely, that Negroes in this country do not become free. I have before stated, my Lord, and have agreed with one of the learned counsel, that the condition of slavery among Negroes is unknown to the common law of this land; that it is a new species of slavery, which has arisen within, and not beyond the memory of man, as is necessary to the descriptive quality of this kind of law; and, therefore, being not under the comprehension, it cannot be within the absolute provision of it, however reducible thereto, it may be made by analogy, implication, or construction. I have said too, that acts of Parliament are silent on this head. I have repeated what I had before stated and said, in order to draw this inference; that although the slavery of Negroes is unknown to the common law of this country, and acts of Parliament are silent thereupon; yet the right which Mr. Stewart claims in the Negro Somerset, is a right given him by act of Parliament.
I must now then apprize your Lordship, that from this instant it is my intention to drop the term slavery. It is an odious word, that engendered this law suit, and now feeds and supports it with the fuel
of heated passions and imaginations. Instead then of such prejudiced and unpopular ground, whereupon the case has hitherto been made to stand, I shall take the liberty to remove its situation, to change its point of view, and to rest it on the land of property; from whence, perhaps, it will be seen, not only in a less offensive light, but where also it may find a foundation more solid and substantial for its support.
It is a matter of course, my Lord, to say that you are well acquainted with all the acts of Parliament relative to the Royal African company of merchants, from their establishment by charter in the reign of Charles II. down to the present time. Now, my Lord, the end of this company was trade; the object of that trade Negroes, as the preamble to the act of the 23d of Geo. II. c. 31, thus expressly declares: 'Whereas the trade to and from Africa is very advantageous to Great Britain, and necessary for supplying the plantations and colonies thereunto belonging with a sufficient number of Negroes, at reasonable rates, it is therefore enacted, &c.' Whatever then, my Lord, is matter of trade, your Lordship knows must be matter of property. The idea of the one is necessarily involved in the other. But, my Lord, these acts have not been content with this general construction; they have gone farther, and have themselves set the mark and stamp of property upon Negroes. Whether, my Lord, the legislature is justifiable herein, or whether it has authority by the laws of nature to do this, is not for me to determine. It is, perhaps, a right, like many other civil rights, established by power, and maintained by force; but this is matter of speculation for the speculative. I contend only, that the fact is as I have stated it to be; and as it will appear by the statute of the 25th of Geo. II. c. 40, which was made for application of a sum of money therein mentioned, granted to his Majesty, for a compensation to the African company for their charter, lands, forts, castles, slaves, military stores, and other effects; and to vest the lands, forts, castles, slaves, military stores, and other effects, in the company of merchants trading to Africa.
Here, my Lord, the legal nature of Negroes, if I may so speak, is fully established, and clearly ascertained by act of Parliament. Your Lordship perceives, that they are vested as goods and chattels, and as other effects are, in owners prescribed for them. It is observable too, that the very term slave is made use of, and recognized by this act of Parliament; but inasmuch as this is irrelative to the present question, so also may it be said not pointedly to fix the idea of slavery, but descriptively only of such things as shall be deemed the property and effects of this company. The statute, my Lord, of the 5th of his present Majesty, ch. xlv. enacts, that such parts of Africa as were ceded by the last treaty of Paris, with the goods, slaves, and other effects thereunto belonging, and which were, by a former act, vested in the African company of merchants, shall now become the property of the crown; so that the King, as well as this corporation of merchants, are, by the law of the land, possessed, and are now the actual and rightful owners, of a very considerable number of Negroes, under the description of canoe men, castle slaves, women, children, carpenters, and other artificers, particularly set forth in schedules annexed to the aforementioned acts. It is also enacted, that the trade to Africa shall be free and open to all his Majesty's subjects, without preference or distinction; and it is further provided, that these acts shall be deemed and received as public acts, to be judicially taken notice of by all judges and others to whom it may concern, without specially pleading the same.
Upon this state and exposition then, my Lord, of these several statutes, it would seem that I am fully warranted, by their authority, in my idea, that the right which Mr. Stewart claims in the Negro Somerset, is a right given him by act of Parliament; and confirmed in my proposition, that this is a case of property.
But, my Lord, in order fully to establish this doctrine, it may perhaps be expected, that I should not only show what the law is, but that I should prove also what the law is not; and this must necessarily lead me to reason somewhat more closely on the subject.
I am aware it may be objected, my Lord, that property in Negroes so vested, is a property created in Africa for the use and purpose of the colonies in America; from whence a question will be deduced, whether Negroes are property in England?
It appears, my Lord, that a trade is opened with the sanction and under the protection of Parliament, between the subjects of Great Britain and the natives or inhabitants of Africa. The medium of this trade, on the one hand, are manufactures, goods, wares, and other merchandise; on the other, captive Negroes, or slaves; which, for these commodities, are given in barter and exchange. It will be allowed I presume, my Lord, that these British traders, or merchants, have an absolute property in their merchandise; to truck and to traffic with this merchandise is the legal institution of the trade; it will be absurd then to deny that they have not an equal interest in the thing received, as they had in the thing given. To avoid this dilemma then, the objection
recurs; that, in Africa they may have an interest, in America they may have the same, in Europe they have none; but assertion without proof, is argument without weight. Where is the law that has drawn this line of distinction? Is there any act of Parliament, or clause of an act of Parliament, that has fixed and described the zones or climates wherein property in Negroes may be had, or where it may not be had? Until I am better informed, my Lord, I must take for granted, that no such law exists; and if no such law does exist, the manifest conclusion is, that where property is once legally vested, it must legally remain, until altered or extinguished by some power coequal to that which gave it.
CHARLESTOWN (SOUTH CAROLINA) October 8.
Many and great losses are sustained in this province, in consequence of the late failures in Europe, but happily the sufferers are most able to bear them.
A letter from Placeen in the Voightland (in Germany) of the 4th of June last, represents that country in such extreme distress, that the inhabitants could not procure provisions under the following enormous prices, viz. rye at twelve dollars per bushel, barley at eight, and oats at four.
NEW YORK, October 26.
A letter from a Gentleman in St. Croix to a friend in St. Eustatia, concludes thus: "Our General is one of the best and most humane men that ever governed a country. He has taken every step in his power to help the unhappy sufferers. He stands by to see the poor people, who lost their all, supplied with the King's provisions. His purse is always open to the distressed; he visits, in person, the sufferers, and affords them all the consolation he can possibly think of. The poor, instead of being spurned from his gate, are courted, and requested to make known their grievances. May his days be long and happy! is the wish of every inhabitant of this island."
How happy must those subjects be whose Governors become the fathers of the people? Cicero, when he was hailed the father of his country, did not appear with greater lustre than Jan De Windt, Esquire, Governor of St. Eustatia, and Ulrich Wilhelm Van Roepstorff, Esquire, Governor General of St. Croix, now do. Their truly tender humanity sets them far above the Roman; and for which we hope they will receive that eternal reward which Kings cannot confer, nor none but the virtuous aspire to. It would be injustice to the worthies of our own country not to mention their names with honour; but so long as the names of McCall and Kemble, Hunter and Emra, Welsh, Moore, and Ellis, remain, they must be esteemed.
PHILADELPHIA, November 2.
Extract of a letter from London, August 27.
"You may hug yourself that you are settled in Philadelphia, and not in London, as the distress among the merchants and traders in this city is beyond conception. Capital houses are breaking every day, and nobody knows whose turn will be next, so that all confidence, between man and man, is at an end, and when it will be restored God only knows. To explain this matter a little, I must remind you that the chief part of the trade of this city is carried on upon credit, and that paper of various denominations is employed to supply the place of money; this paper credit has been carried too far, both by persons of property, and those of none; and this circulation was got beyond all bounds, as the bank was very free to discount to any amount, on what they called good paper; but when Fordyce, the banker, blew up, it was then discovered what an immense chain of circulation was carried on, and a great part of it without any solid foundation. The Scotch banks, in particular, had issued an amazing sum in paper, which, though secured in some sort by great landed estates, yet could not be discharged in any reasonable time, and they depended on the bank of England for their currency. The bank, alarmed by these discoveries, were determined to stop their hands, and for a while no paper could be discounted, and, even to this time, they discount very sparingly. This refusal of the bank put the whole city into convulsions. People were stopping every day, and many of them finished their lives a l'Anglois , as the French term it. One house, by this means, overset another, and many solid houses were obliged to demand time, because they could not discharge their paper at so short a warning. I have been something tedious in this description, but I could not, off hand, bring it into less compass, and I thought you would wish to have this matter investigated."
WILLIAMSBURG, November 12.
Last Monday morning died, in the 47th year of her age, Mrs. SARAH PITT, whose many virtues through every varied scene of private life did honour to the principles she professed. Taught, by early experience, that afflictions and disappointments were the lot of humanity, her constant study was to rise superior to them by a humble acquiescence to the dispensations of Providence. Her bosom "tremblingly alive" to every tender sentiment of connubial and maternal affection, she discharged the duties of the wife and mother in such a distinguished manner as must make her memory revered, and her loss forever regretted, by each of those relations. Prudence guided every action of her life, and blessed with an uncommon