The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-08 00:00:00

THE TRIAL OF O'DONNELL.

In London, on Friday in last week, at the Central
Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Denman, the trial
of Michael, otherwise Patrick, O'Donnell, 43 years of
age, described as a labourer, upon an indictment
charging him with the wilful murder of James Carey
in a British ship on the high seas within the jurisdic-
diction of the Admiralty of England, was commenced.
There was a very large attendance of spectators in
court, the admission to which was by means of cards
issued by the Under Sheriffs. A large body of polir
were on duty within and without the cotiit, and
vigilant precautions had been taken to prevent any
obstruction to the trial, or any failure of justice.
There were present upon the Bench with the Judge
the Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir Robert Carden,
Alderman Sir Thomas Dakin, Alderman Sir Andrew
Lusk, Mr. Alderman Stone, Alderman Sir Reginald
Hanson, Mr. Alderman Savory, Mr. Sheriff Clarence
Smith, Mr. Sheriff Cowan, and the Under• Sheriffs.
The Lady Mayorees and many other ladies occupied
seats in court. There was a large representation of
the Bar,

The Attoraey.General (Sir Henry James), Mr.
Poland, and Mr. R. S. Wright, instructed in person
by Mr. A. K. Stephenson, the Solicitor to the
Treasury, appeared for the prosecution on the part of
the Crown ; Mr. Charles Russell, Q.C., and Mr. A. M.
Sullivan, instructed by Mr. Guy, were counsel for the
defence, and with them in consultation were General
Pryor, of the United States Bar, and Mr. M'lnerney,
of the Irish Bar.

The prisoner was placed in the dock shortly after
ten o'clock in the custody of five warders. He was
well-dressed and had a healthy and bronzed appear-
ance. On being informed by the Deputy-Clerk of
Arraigns (Mr. Avory) that he was at liberty to chal-
lenge any of the jury whose names were about to be
called, be replied that he would leave it to his solicitor
to do that. There were several absentees from the
jury panel, but no challenges were made on either
side, and a jury having been empanelled and sworn,
the trial commenced; all witnesses, at Mr. Russell's
recriest, being ordered oQt of court. The prisoner, it
should be stated, pleaded "Not guilty" at the last
seg4ions, and, consequently, no ftuther plea was
taken.

The Attorney-General, in opening the case, said the
evidence to be given in support of the charge would be
direct and distinct, the crime having been committed
in the presence of those who would be called as wit-
nesses. The prisoner was charged with the murder
of Jemee Carey, about whom it would be unneces-
sary to speak, because his conduct and character had
been a prevailing topic of conversation in this country.
In order to secure Carey's safety it had been deter-
mined by the Government to send him to the colony
of Natal, where it had been thought he could live
unknown. In the early days of July his wife
and family had been shipped in London on
board the Kinfauras Castle. At Dartmouth Carey
joined the ship, the whole family passing under
the name of Power, and it appeared that the
voyage to the Cape was completed without incident,
and apparently without any one having known his
identity. On board the vessel, having joined at
London, was O'Donnell and a young woman who
passed as Mrs. O'Donnell, No evidence would be
given that O'Donnell knew' that Carey was on board
the ship when he joined, and there would be no attempt
to show that O'Donnell, when he left the country, had
intended to murder Carey. On July 28 the prisoner,
the woman, and the Careys had been transferred to the
Melrose. Apparently, on the arrival of the Kinfauns
Castle at the Cape, it had become generally known
that James Power was James Carey. That the pri-
soner was aware of this fact would be proved by evi-
dence, because a witness would be called to prove that
at Capetown he told O'Donnell that Power was Carey,
and gave him a portrait of Carey. O'Donnell then said,
"I will shoot him," That portrait of Carey had after-
wards been found in O'Donnell's possession. The ship
then sailed, and on the following day, Sunday, July
29, the prisoner, Carey, and Mrs. O'Donnell were to-
gether in the fore cabin, on apparently frieraily terms.
Suddenly, it would be shown, the prisoner drew a
pistol at d fired repeatedly at Carey, who ultimately fell
to the ground and died. It must be admitted that it
was the prisoner who had taken James Carey's life.
The defence, he believed, would be that the act was
done in self-defence, but unless there was immediate or
obvious danger of grievous bodily harm there was no
justification for taking the life of another, That that
darger was present there was apparently no evidence.
There was no sign of any struggle having occurred,
but even if there had been any necessity for the pri-
soner to inflict the first and mortal wound upon Carey
there could not have been any necessity for the inflic-
tion of a second wound as he was staggering away, or
to fire a third time at the wounded man as he fell upon
his knees. In fifteen minutes after the firing of the
first shot Carey had died.
The first witness called was James Parish, officers'
servant on board the Melrose, who witnessed the
shooting of Carey by O'Donnell in the cabin.
Examined by Mr. Poland, he repeated the evidence
published on the occasion of his appearance at Row-
street, In cross-examination by Mr. Russell, the wit-
ness said that the incident took place in a very shcrt
apace of time. He was in the act of coming out of his
own cabin into the general cabin when he heard the
first shot, but he had got outside of the door. He
had noticed Carey and O'Dornell talking together in
the saloon some time before the shooting incident.
Carey was lounging against the side of the cabin, about
a yard distant, when O'Donnell fired the first shot.
When he fired the second shot he took steady aim at
two yards distance, Carey then being in the act of
staggering down the saloon, Mrs. Carey, who had been
in her cabin whed her husband cried "Oh, Maggie,
I'm shot," caught Carey just as he was falling to the
floor. Carey had made no attempt to seize the pistol.
He did not notice young Carey go to his father's cabin
after the shooting incident. In re-examination by the
Attorney-General, Parish said he noticed no sign of
quarrel between O'Donnell and Carey.

The boatswain, Thomas Jones, was next examined
by Sir Henry James. He had been playing with
Carey's child at the entrance to the saloon, with his
back towards O'Donnell and Carey, when he heard
the report of a shot. Looking around, he saw Mrs.
O'Donnell sitting at the side of her husband, with her
hand upon O'Donnell's shoulder, while Carey was
staggering away ; and he afterwards saw O'Donnell
firs a second and third shot at the retreating man,
hitting him with the second shot in the shoulder, and
with the thiri in the small of the back. About the
time of the second shot Carey had shouted, " Oh,
Maggie, I am shot!" but he did not see Mrs. Carey
come out of her cabin, When O'Donnell put the
revolver into his left aide pocket, he went up to him,
but said nothing to him, only taking the revolver from
him. Then he went up to Mrs. Carey. who had come
to her husband's aid. The accused said, "Shake
hands, Mrs. Carey. I did not do it,' • and he believed
they did shake hands, Young Carey was in the cabin
when the first shot was fired, but he did not see what
became of him. Witness was in the cabin for ten minutes
before the shooting, but saw or heard no indication of
a quarrel. They were drinking, and he believed
Carey had just drunk O'Donnell's health. He saw no
other revolver on the occasion, than the one used by
O'Donnell.

Thomas Francis Carey, aged 15 last April, son of
the murdered man, deposed that on the 4th of July he
went on board the //informs Castle at London with his
mother and six other brothers and sisters. Hie father
came on board the vessel at Dartmouth on July 6.
They had been booked in the name of Power 'and
went to tbe Cape of Good Hope. He saw the prisoner
on board the ship, in the company of a young woman
who passed as Mrs. O'Donnell. On July 28 they were
all transferred to the Melrose, O'Donnell and Mrs.
O'Donnell being with them. On the Sunday afternoon
he was in the saloon, and saw his father there at about
half-past tbree. O'Donnell and the young woman were
also in the saloon, seated on the settee. His father was
standing at the door of O'Donnell's berth. He (the wit-
ness) Was standing near the " companion " cl me to the
witness Jones, who was playing with his little sister.
Before the shots were fired he heard no high words pass
between O'Donnell and his father. He saw O'Donnell
draw a revolser from his pocket, and tire at witness's
father, the bullet striking him in the neck. His father
then staggered, and the witness ran to his mother's
cabin to get his father's revolver. His mother was there,
and he asked her to open the bag which contained his
father's revolver. His father took the revolver ashore
with him at Madeira and replaced it in the bag when he
came on board again. Having got the pistol he went
out of the cabin, his mother having gone out before
him. As he went out of the cabin the prisoner
O'Donnell fired a second shot. His father was then
staggering away, and when the third shot had been fired
had fallen into Mrs. Carey's arms. The witness did
not give the pistol to his father because he saw he
would not have been able to use it. The second officer
afterwards took the pistol from him. After the second
shot he believed his father called out, "Maggie, Maggie,
O'Donnell has shot me." After his father had been
lifted from the ground his mother went up to 0' Don.
nell. The prisoner then said, "Shake hands, Mrs.
Carey, your name is not Power." He could not be
sure whether O'Donnell added, "I was sent to do it."
It might have been, " I did not do it." His motber
did not shake hands with the prisoner. The woman
who was with the prisoner said, "No matter, O'Don-
nell ; you are no informer." He had seen O'Donnell
using a pistol on the voyage to shoot flying fish with.
The witness gaB. then subjected to a lengthy and
severe cross-exam!natiae, in the course of which he
said he saw the prisoner draw the pictol from his left-
hand-side pocket, and fire with his left hand. He
could not be sure which hand he fired with, but be-
lieved it was with his left hand. When the first shot
was fired he ran
.to his mother's berth. His father,
when he went on shore,
.carried the pit in his
"revolver pocket." He did not know that there was
any suspicion of his father's real name being known
during the voyage. He knew the pistol was loaded
when he saw it. He saw the sr.stol on board the
Melrose when his father and mother want to get some
money from a travelling bag, in which it also was.
The bag was kept locked, and he beh i oved t had been
kept for holding papers and mono:. The Kinfauns
Castle arrived at Capetown op Friday, the 27th of
July, at an early hour in the morning. His father
went on shore upon that day. He knew his father
did .et then take he revolver with him. His father
told him before he went ashore that he would not take
the pistol with hies, because he would have to pay 10e.
duty for taking it through th 3 Custom-house. He be-
lieved they went back to the ship at aboet one o.clock.
In the evening they again went ashore, this titus
in
c,,mpany with hie mother and O'Donnell. That night
they all slept on board the Kinfauns Castle. The
next day, which was Saturday, he was not sure that
his father went into the town. The Melrose was a
short distates away, and when they went on board he
took the bag, whicn was locked, with him. He (the
witness) went into the town on Saturday, where be
thought he had met Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell. He did
not remember having seen his father drinking with
O'Donnell on that day. They had done so on Friday

night. He believed his father had the key of the bag.
When he (the witness) ran to the cabin after the first
shot the probability was that the bag would
be locked and the key in his tather'a possession.
The bag, however, was not locked; but whether
locked or not he could get the revolver out of it. He
did not mean that he had burst it open, or that he
could do so. He could get the revolver out of the bctg
by forcing open one of the corners. He had seen the
bag opened in that way by the carpenter of the
Kinfauns Castle. The carpenter had opened the bag
with a key, he believed; hut he saw him pull open
the corner of the hag. The bag had been injured at
Port Elizabeth after his father's death, when it had
been burstoper,by order of the magistrate to obtain
th It the 2100 cheque which had been given to his
father by the Government. He could not say who
had seen the pistol in his possession until Beecher,
the second officer, had taken it from him. After
Beecher had asked him for the pistol he told him he
had not got it. Beecher then searched him, but could
not find the pistol upon him. Beecher searched him
again, found the pistol, and took it from him. He
told Beecher that he took the pistol because he wanted
to get it out of his mother's way. That was true. He
had now said that he got the pistol to give to his
father. Both statements were true. He stated at
Bow•street that O'Donnell said, "I was sent to do
it." When he said so he was aware that his mother
had sworn that O'Donnell said so. He had sworn it
for that reason, but was not now certain what the
words were. He did not know a cabman at Port
Elizabeth named Young. He did not recollect a man
there saying to him, " You are a fine fellow for not
having shot O'Donnell after he shot your father." He
dad not say, "I ran to get the revolver, but it was
gene ; my father had had it," or words to that effect,
He did not know that the prisoner said at Port Eliza.
bah that his father had a pistol in his hand at the
time. He did not remember it.

Mr. Russell asked that a man named Walter Young
should be called into court, and on Young coming for.
ward the witness said : I do not remember having Been
him before.

Re•examined by the Attorrney•General : He would
positively swear that he had not picked up a pistol
m the floor after his father had been shot. He
had answered all the questions put to him at Bow-
street. (The witness's evidence given at 'Sow-street
with regard to Carey's pistol was then read over.) He
believed his father had kept the pistol in his pocket for
some time.

In answer to his lordship witness pointed out how
he could have forced open two of the corners of the
bag while it was locked and taken out the pistol.

Margaret Carey, wife of the deceased, examined by
Mr. Poland, detailed the circumstances of the voyage
to Capetown. On Sunday, July 29, when on board the
Melrose, the prisoner asked her to call her husband
down from deck. The prisoner then asked him to
have a bottle of beer. The witness next went into
her cabin with her baby and remained there. Five
or ten minutes later she heard the first shot fired,
but thought it was the cork of a bee: bottle. When
the second shot was fired she put down the baby
and ran into the saloon. As she did so her husband
staggered into her arms and said, "Oh, Maggie, I am
shot; O'Donnell has shot me." As she came out f
her cabin her son Thomas ran in. She fell on the
floor with her husband, but afterwards rose and
went up to the prisoner. She said to him,
"O'Donnell, did you shoot my husband ? " He said,
"Yes, Mrs. Carey ; don't blame me, I was sent to do
it." The woman then said, "Never mind, O'Donnell,
you are not an informer." She knew her husband
had a revolver, but had never seen it. She had heard
the prisoner say that he sold his revolver at Capetown
for £3 16s.
Cross-examined : She did not remember having seen
the man Young (who was again ordered to stand for-
ward) before. She had been driven several times about
Port Elizabeth, but not by him.
Naham Marks, hotel keeper at Capetown, deposed
that he was on board the Melrose on July 28. He
there saw the prisoner and James Power. He was in-
formed on board the Melrose that Power was James
Carey. At about three o'clock the following day he
was on deck, and Carey asked him for a newspaper he
was reading. He lent it to him, and soon afterwards
young Carey called his father downstairs. He (the
witness) also went down in the saloon to get some beer.
O'Donnell was then in the cabin, sitting by the side of
Carey. There was no sign of a quarrel between the
men. He returned on deck and then looked down the
hatchway into the cabin. Carey appeared to be talk-
ing in a very excited manner, "laying down the law"
apparently. Subsequently witness saw him standing
up against O'Donnell's cabin apparently quite calm, and
about ten minutes afterwards he heard the report of a
pistol, and saw Carey staggering towards his cabin.
Carey did not appear to have a pistol in his hand.
Witness then ran below, and as he was going heard
the third shot. When the first shot was fired Carey
was standing almost at the foot of the companion-way
looking towards his child, who was playing with
Jones. He saw through the hatchway down into the
cabin as Mrs. Carey was coming out. He went into
the cabin, and saw Mrs. Carey go up to O'Donnell
and ask him why he had shot her husband. O'Donnell
said, "I could not help it, Mrs. Carey."
Robert Cubitt said he kept the "King's Arms,"
North Walsham, Norfolk, and assisted his father in
carrying on an ironmongery business. He and his
brother were passengers on board the Sinfauns Castle.
He did not know prior to his arrival at the Cape that
Power wi s James Carey. On arriving at the Cape
witness and his brother went ashore. On the after-
noon that the Melrose left they went into a beershop,
the keeper of which made a statement to witness with
reference to Carey, and gave him the likeness now pro-
dueed of Carey—a supplement of the Weekly Free-
man. He found that the likeness resembled James
Power. With his brother he wet to the docks from
which the Melrose was to t-tiat. He saw the prisoner
there, and asked him if he had set u that portrait. He
said he had not, and witness proouce it and showed
it him, Prisoner said, "I'll shoot him." He asked
witness for the portrait, and he gave it him. It was
the time be took the portrait that he said, "I'll shoot
him." O'Donnell went aboard, and the ship sailed
about a quarter of an hour afterwards.

Crass-examined: O'Donnell ha-I used his revolver on
the voyage, and made no secret of possessing it. When
he made use of the expresion, "I'll shoot him," he did
so in a pleasant manner, smiling at the time, and
witness did not then think seriously of it.

Mr. R. E. F. Beecher said he was the second officer
of the ship Melrose, and on the 29th of July was on
the bridge, when at a quarter to four he heard a shot
fired. He at once went into the saloon, but before
he got there he heard two other shots fired close
together. The prisoner was sitting on the settee.
Witness caught hold of him by the right wrist,
and saw the boatswain take from prisoner's pocket
the pistol produced, of which three chambers had
been recently discharged. Prisoner was taken to the
bath-room, where witness took from his waistcoat
pocket a cartridge. Some short time afterwards
witness was on deck, and he took from young Carey
a bull.clog pistol, which he took down immediately
and gave to the purser. While the pistol was being
taken from the prisoner he said they were not to be
frightened, as he was not going to hurt anybody.
In cross examination witness said a box which was
found in the prisoner's trunk, and which was subse-
quently said to be a galvanic battery for the prisoner's
left hand, which was partially paralysed, was thrown
overboard. Young Carey denied having a pistol on
him. When witness took it from him he said he had
taken it lest his mother might use it and shoot some-
body, and he had several times repeated that.

Some further evidence having been adduced, the case
for the prosecution was brought to a close, and the
court then adjourned.

The trial was resumed on
.Ssturday morning. The
jury, who had spent the mnight in the Cannon-st t
Hotel under the supervision of the officials of the
Court appeared in their box exactly at ten o'clock, and
after two or three witr,esses had been recalled to give
evidence on some minor points, the case for the defence
was opened.
Walter Young, examined by Mr. Sullivan, said: I
am a cab proprietor at Port Elizabeth, where I was
horn, I remember the arrival of the Carey and
O'Donnell people by the Melrose Castle. My oah
was engaged by the stewasd at the Port House to
drive Mrs. Carey and one or two of the boys. I
took them to Penfold's, a lodging-house, to see the
rooms. I often after that drove Mrs. Carey and her
son Thomas Francis. I remember meeting Thomas
Franc's Carey. One day he came up to me. I
said to him, "You are a fine fellow. Why didn't
you shoot O'Donnell when he shot your father ?"
He answered, "I hadn't the revolver. I went to get
it in the cabin, and when I got there it was gone,
because my father had it." I said, "It is a bad job.
It is quite likely you will have to go to England, and
if you had shot him there might have been no more
about it." That was after the examination before the
magistrates at Port Elizabeth? I mentioned it on the
cab-stand.

Cross•examined by Sir H. James: I have one cab
and four horses. I should think I drove Mrs. Carey
a dozen or fifteen times. I know her well by sight,
and I think both she and the boy knew me.

-
Then, according to your opinion, when they said
they did not know you, they must have been telling
an untruth ?—I was panic•struck. I have no friends
in England or Ireland. I never beard .of a pistol
being found on young Carey until the conversation.

Then why did you ask the boy why he did not shoot
O'Donnell if you did not know he had got a pistol /
I heard people saying tha they bad piqols in their
possession. I did not hear from anybody that young
Carey had a pistol. It was quite likely that a boy of
15 would carry a pistol.
- -

- -
By the Judge : It was just a guess of mine. I did
not know whether he had a pistol or not. I had never
heard what the boy said at the police court.

Sir H. Jame!: Tell me the exact Words young Carey
used to you 2-140 told me he went to the cabin for a
pistol, and when he got there it was gone, as his father
had it.

What did you mean by saying that if he had shot
O'Donnell he would have heard no more about it 7--I
only spoke in chaff, and thought nothing would come
of it.

-- ---
I s it your view that the boy ought to have shot
O'Donnell ?—lt is my viaw if he had anything to do it
with. If anybody shot my father I should very likely
take the law into my own bands. I way sent for by a
Mr. O'Brien, a solicitor, on tbe Saturday before the
Norham Castle sailed, and made a statement to him.
I knew he was the solicitor for O'Donnell. The mur-
der of Carey was talked about at Port Elizabeth.
Amongst the passengoss was Mrs, O'Donnell. She
left the vessel before I did. I came on to London. I
have never driven her. -

_
By Mr. Russell: My father was a Kentish man,
and my mother, I believe, was from Oxfordshire.
Is there any reasn for the suggestion that you are
of Irish extraction ?—No ; I belong to the Church of
England. (Laughter.)
I don't know that that is conclusive. But are you
directly or indirectly connected with Irish affairs or
Irish parties?—No. I was born in South Africa, and
have lived in Port Elizabeth all my life.
This concluded the evidence.

Mr. Russell, Q. 0., then addresaed the jury on

behalf of the prisoner, and said that he should have
been glad had the great responsibility rested upon
some one of greater experience in that Court. He
asked the jury for their patient, almost sympa-
thetic attentimi. The prisoner admitted that he
caused the death ot the deceased, but denied that
he had cmninitted murder; and until the verdict
was passed no man was entitled to say that he was
guilty of the charge, which he had denied. He
hoped the jury would approalh the case free from
impressions formed outside the Court, free from
opinions expressed outside, and free from prejudice
which might have been excited by irresoonsible
statements- ptit before the public, and judge the
issues of the case fairly and strictly with reference to
proven evidence and facts in the case. If ever there
was a case, the present was one, in which the jury
should make up their minds to discard all but that
which they had heard in Court. The questions to be
decided were—Was the act of the prisoner murder? or
was it committed in self-defence—in the sense that the
shot was fired in view of reasonable apprehension of
present danger to life and limb? If he could, as he in-
tended to d), show that physical violence was exhibited
on the part of Carey, the jury could not, of course, let
the prisoner go free, but still they should not say that
his life was to be forfeited. Mr. Russell, alluding to
a number of statements in the public Press, said that
he should demonstrate the utter falsity and ground-
lessness of the suggestion that the prisoner went on
board the Kinfauns Castle as an emissary of others to
wreak their vengeance, and that he had tracked the
steps of Carey like a sleuthhound.

Mr. Justice Denman intimated that, although the
counsel doubtless knew what was best for his client,
he thought that the reference to statements in news•
papers was rather wide of the mark, and that the jury
could be trusted to confine their attention only to
that which had been brought before them during the
progress of the case in Court.

Mr. Russell believed he was within his right to
refer to contemporaneous events and matters bearing
on the case in hand. The learned counsel drew a
comparison between the character of O'Donnell and
Carey, and said that the former was a quiet, honest
labourer, who had detected that " Power " was the
informer Carey. He admitted fully that the vilest
creature was entitled to the protection of the law.
But James Carey was a cruel and treacherous man,
who, if he found himself face to face with a person
who had detected and denounced him—cspecially
if the person was an Irishman—would not scruple
to use any weapon at hand, for he was utterly
regardless to the sanctity of life and was pro-
minently associated with the murder of Mr.
Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish. That man
VMS execrated by all honest men of all countries.
He left his country unpardoned by his Queen, un.
repentant and desperate, with his hand against every
man's and every man's conscience against him. He
was a man who, if the circumstances arose to make it
necessary in his point of view for the preservation of
his own worthless life, would not hesitate to use any
weapon, however deadly, upoa whatever provocation,
however slight. Dealing at length with the facts of
the case, Mr. Russell argued that the place and time
of the alleged murder were not such as it was probable
the prisoner would have selected, when the deed could
have been committed in the dead of night ors board
ship, or a few days later when he could have had the
security and shelter of the bush. The learned counsel
was proceeding to allude to a conversation the prisoner
stated that he had had with the deceased, when

The Attorney-General objected, on the grqund that
the counsel was making himself a witness in the case.
Mr. Justice Denman did not think it was admis.
Bible to state the prisoner's account as to what he said
to the deceased. The proposal was entirely new ; it
was open to the greatest objection, and there was a
great preponderance of judicial opinion against it. At
the same time, there were sufficient authorities in
favour of allowing Mr. Russell to state in detail what
his instructions were, so as to make it necessary for him
(the judge), if there was objection, to reserve a case
for the consideration of the Court for Crown Cases
Reserved upon it. Bub be scarcely thought that there
was any real cause for the objection.
Mr. Russell (the Attorney-General having with-
drawn his objection) proceeded to say that, according
to his instructions, the prisoner desired to avoid fur-
ther companionship with the deceased, but, when
pressed for reasons, at first evaded, and then said, " I
don't want to have anything to do with an informer,
and you are James Carey, the Iriah informer,"
Carey then put his hand to his pocket and pre duced
a weapon, which the Crown had thought tit to
provide him with ; but the prisoner was too quick
for him, and shot the deceased. If that was a
true statement of the case, then the prisoner's
life could not be forfeited to the law. Mr.
Russell then asked the jury not to rely upon the
evidence of the chief witness for the prosecution,
Parish, and went on to deal with the other evidence.
If, he said, the state of the things he had described
justified the first shot in self-defence, or was reducible
to manslaughter, then the second and third shots
could not be made to convict the prisoner, for they
were to be considered as parts of the first act. The
vital points in the case were—had Carey a revolver
at the time of the alleged murder, and did he
draw it? There were reasonable ground for affirm-
ing both these points. The learned Counsel concluded
his able address by saying—This man, standing as he
does friendless and alone, stands almost within the
shadow of the scaffold. Can you, will you, ought you
—for this is the important point—to save him? You
ought not, and I say this as his advocate, if, after care-
ful, anxious, and thcrough examination and considera-
tion of the facts of this case, you come to the conclu-
sion that the finger of duty points sternly, conch],
sively, irressistibly to a verdict of guilty. But if,
after that careful consideration, a doubt remains—if
you feel there are parts of that evidence, and vital
parts, upon which you cannot stand, for they seem
to crumble away beneath your feet then it will
be your duty to say, whatever suspicions you
I aye, that the prieooer is entitled to the benefit
of the doubt which remains present to your minds
after anxious, solemn, I would almost say your prayer-
ful consideration of the facts of the case. The law
gives him the benefit of the doubt, and justice requires
that he should have it. I make no appeal to you for
mercy. Yours is not the prerogative of mercy : but
you are administering a law which is itself merciful,
which esteems it to be a less grievous thing that the
guilty should at times escape than that the innocent
should perchance suffer. In the spirit of that law,
with all the earnestness of which I am capable, I
appeal to you on behalf of the prisoner.
The Attorney. General then replied on behalf of the
Crown. He contended that the evidence did not sup-
port the only ground on which O'Donnell could rely—
that he killed Carey in self-defence. Looking at the
whole of the evidence, not one witness had spoken of
any trace of a quarrel. The only approach to it was
the testimony of Marks, who some five minutes pre-
viously to the shot saw Carey demonstrating with his
hand, and what he termed "laying down the law."
And yet they were told that in the presence of the
man who would not associate with him, and yet in-
vited him down to drink, he suddenly drew a revolver.
The prisoner deliberately stated that he snatched the
pistol from the hand of Carey. He (the Attorney.
General) would ask two questions. When was the
pistol snatched, and what became of it? Was it
snatched before he shot Carey, and, if so, where was
the necessity of shooting Carey at all? If he snatched
it the danger from the deadly weapon was gone.
He (the Attorney-General) would ask the jury to
study carefully the statement made by the prisoner
and to take his lordship's ruling with reference to
shooting an unarmed man not once, but three times.
Let them consider the probabilities of the case. Mr.
Russell had taken a great deal of time with the history
of Carey and the duties of juries, but he had not
dealt with the facts of the case. The question was
one for them. It was admitted that the pistol
bought by Superintendent Mallam in Dublin was that
which was found in young Carey's pocket. Turning
to the other evidence, the Attorney-General said Mrs.
Carey might, naturally, in her great grief put a wrong
construction upon the words used, but the woman who
was traveling with O'Donnell did not for a moment
suggest self.de.ence, but justification, for she turned
to the prisoner in seeming commendation, saying,
"Never mind, O'Donnell, you are no informer.' They
could not pass by the evidence of the witness Cubitt
without denoting as, at ad events, a coincidence that
the man who said he would shoot Carey, on his por-
trait being shown him, was actually the man who
did, in the end, shoot him. He did not attempt
to rival the eloquent appeal for justice that
Mr. Russell had made to them. His friend had
asked them to take care that justice was done to
the prisoner; but there were other persons concerned
besides that man. He agreed that they should be
careful that no man's life was taken by the law unless
they were certain of his guilt. Even though they
could have no sympathy with the man who was dead,
if they had not the courage to do their duty it would
be calamitous. Infamous as Carey WAN he was en-
titled to the protection of the law- Mr, Russell had
spoken of perilous times and of crimes arising out of
them. But there were none the consequences of
which would be so fatal as those which would arise as
the result of juries shrinking from doing their duty and
preventing the law and the authority of the law
asserting itself above all political considerations, and
above all consequences affecting individuals.

The learned Judge, in summing up the case to the
jury, said they were now approaching the termina-
tion of thia case, which although in one sense it
was a long case, for it had occupied their attention for
two days, was in another respect a short one, the evi-
dence which they had to consider lying within a small
compass. It was evidence upon which they might in
a very short time arrive at a result one way er the
other. No doubt, through his counsel, the prisoner had
admitted that Carey was killed by himself, subject of
course to what he, the learned counsel, had said in his
arguments, that this killing was under circumstances
which did not amount to murder. He was not quite
sure but that this man might not have lost his life
owing to the morbid love on the part of some newspapers
to dog the footsteps of any one who might have become
totortous. The learned judge proceeded at consider-
able length to review the evidence given by the pro-
secution. Toon:tail Carey had undoubtedly varied
considerably in his statements. He was a witness
who was likely to form an excited or exaggerated view
of the actions of any one who had killed his father.
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astute lad. Altogether, he considered that this wit-
ness was one whose evidence they would recaive with
care. He looked upon the evidence of the witness
Cubitt and his statement upon looking at Carey's like-
ness that he would shoot him as of considerable im-
portance. The Attorney-General had with some force
remarked that, supposing the prisoner's theory that he
fired in self-defence was correct, there was no reason
why the second or third shots should have been fired
when, according to all the witnesses, Carey was stag-
gering away. The law of England laid it down that it
wa, just as much murder to kill a man who might•
have died within an hour as to kill a man who other-
wise might have lived 40 years. Upen this point the
evidence of Dr. Ensor as regarded tile third shot
as inflicting the fatal wound was of great importance.
In most cases where the defence set up was that of
self-defence there were witnesses to support it, but in
the present case they had no witnesses who purported
to tell them anything about the ease excepting those
called for the prosecution. The case, he thought,
should be decided as any other ordinary charge of

murder, and without reference ti anything which had
taken place in Dublin. If there was any cogent
ground which they as reasonable men considered ex•
isted for doubt, of course they would give the prisoner
the benefit of it.

The Jury retired jubt before seven o'clock to con-
sider their verdict, taking with them the bag, re-
volver, bullets, and other articles produced in the
case. The prisoner remained for about twenty
minutes standing in the dock and looking round the
Court, when the Judge, remarking that the Jury
might be some
,time absent, said the prisoner might
either retire or be seated. To this the prisoner re-
plied, at the same time t Ailing a chair, "I am as wil-
ling to sit as not to hear what it is." At twenty
minutes to eight the Jury sent a communication to
the Judge, who desired they might he brought into
Court.

Mr. Justice Denman, addressing the jury, said they
desired some further explanation of the law, and had
sent him a question. They suggested the possibility
or rather the case of a man who hai a deadly
weapon in his hand, and that another person who
thinks he is about to use it against him shoots
him—whether that would be a case of manslaughter
or murder? It might be neither. If they c )uld
honestly come to the conclusion from the facts
proved before them that Carey pointed a pistol
and was about to take the life of the other man,
aud then that the other, honestly believing he was
about to be shot, pulled out his revolver and fired
in order to prevent himself being shot—if they bad
this belief, and did not think it was a mere tale to get
him out of difficulty, then he would say it would be
neither murder nor manslaughter, but honest self-
defence. The question seemed to depend on the point
where was the evidence of anything amounting to an
act done by Carey which would induce the prisoner to
think that? He did not see any other answer he could
give. The manslaughter was a totally different matter.
The verdict might be reduced to manslaughter if in the
course of a quarrel or fight, or in hot blood, when
people were quarrelling, and when one was brandishing
a pistol against the other, the other was shot. However
wrong or reckless it might be to use the pistol, the act
would be manslaughter. As regarded the theory of
manslaughter, he was obliged to tell them that sup-
posing two men had a fight, and one had so far got
the best of it that his opponent was disarmed and at-
tempted to run away, and he was followed up, shot,
and killed, one could not hold that this would be in
the same category as the other case. This was impor-
tant, for in this case there was evidence of three shots,
two of which were in the back, and the doctor had
told them that it was the lower or last shot which in-
flicted the fatal wound.

The jury again returned into Court at a quarter to
nins, after having made two communications to the
Judge. Mr. Justice Denman said they had asked the
meaning of malice aforethought, in doing which they
had opened up the whole law of murder, At consider-
able length the learned Judge read the opinion of
eminent authorities, and told the jury that they must
take it that there must be an overt act to justify a man
in killing another. It was for them to say whether there
was any such evidence that this man should think he
must shoot to save his life, and so do the deed in self-
defence. With regard to manslaughter, it was not
only the intention to take away life, but the intention
to commit an unlawful act that would constitute
murder. There was no evidence, but only such infer-
ences as had been suggested of provocation by Carey.
The evidence would seem to show that five minutes
before the shooting they were speaking in a sort of
excited way, but there was no appearance of wrestling
or shouting or the ordinary aspects of a quarrel. Of
course there.was the difficulty that the prisoner, not
content with one shot, whatever the origin of that one
shot, fired three shots, and it was for them to say if
they could escape from the conclusion that he did in-
tend to do acts of deadly import towards the man
who actually was killed by one or other of the shots.
He hoped they would come to a verdict, simply be.
cause to discharge a jury after two days' inquiry was
in itself an evil ; but if they were not satisfied of the
guilt of the prisoner he would be the last man to ask
them to find a verdict of anything, whether murder or
manslaughter.
The Jury retired for a second time about nine
o'clock, and returned into Court very shortly, when
the foreman, in reply to the usual questions, said they
found the prisoner Guilty of Wilful Murder.

The Clerk of the Court asked the prisoner, who had
risen, and stood with folded arms facing the Judge, if
he had anything to Pay why sentence of death should
not be passed upon him, but the prisoner simply made
a gesture of dissent.

Mr. Justice Denman assumed the black cap and
proceeded to pass sentence of death. He said that the
jury had come to the conclu9ion that prisoner fired the
pistol and killed James Carey, under such circum-
stances that it could not be properly said that he did
it in peN-defence or did it in such a way as to reduce
his offence to manslaughter. He must say that he did
not disagree with the verdict. It would be a most
lamentable thing if in any court of justice it could
for one moment be laid down that to take the
life of a man—wicked though he might be—full
of crime, and hypocritical, and abominable though
he might be—was justifiable, and that it was
justifiable in another man armed with a deadly
weapon to kill the man simply because he was
wicked and abominable. There would be no civiliza-
tion, no happiness in this world, if such a doctrine
could for one moment be laid down in a Court of
justice. He feared it was only too plain that the pri-
soner had been induced by bad writing and bad advice
from p,ople as wicked as Carey himself to think that
he would be justified in taking, and could take, the
life of this man, and that contrary to the law, and
because he abominated his wicked deeds he could
make himself the executioner of a fellow-creature, con-
trary to the law and in violation of every minciple of
right. Hit' Lordship then passed sentence of death in
ttit umal form.

The pri, Der : Can I speak, u.y Lcri ?
Mr. Justice Denman: No, you cannot.
The warders who were in the dock with the pri-
soner then c'osed round him, and were about to re-
move him when he shook them off, exclaiming "Stand
back, men." The officers of the gaol, however,
again seized him, and he was taken from the dock
struggling cespPrately, and loudly crying out,
"Three cheers for Ireland and the United States.
To h with the Britishers and the British Crown.
It is a --plot against me." When the warders were
taking him along the underground passage leading
from the dock to the prison of Newgate the prisoner
was E till heard struggling and shouting out, "You're
a fine lct of you are. It's all a conspiracy
against me."

Soon after he had been removed to his cell O'Donnell
was visited by the Rev. Father Fleming, a priest
attached to the Roman Catholic Chapel in Moor.
fields, who remained with him for a considerable
time. On Sunday he talked freely with the warders,
and said the evident hesitation of the jury had given
him a hope that he would escape the extreme penalty.

On Tuesday morning the Sheriffs of London and
Middlesex and the Under-Sheriffs, on whom devolves
the duty of making the arrangements for the execution
of prisoners convicted of capital offences within the
city of London and the county of Middlesex, went to
the prison of Newgate for the purpose of informing
the prisoner Patrick O'Donnell that the day appointed
for carrying out the sentence of death was Monday,
Dec. 17, at the usual hour of eight o'clock. The
prisoner received the announcement with composure,
and is stated to have merely replied that he was
prepared.