The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-21 00:00:00

THE PRE SS, AuGusT 21, 1858.

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nearer to him than I was. Clavering struggled with
him with a swordstick in his hand." (A very formid-
able swordstick was here produced.)
The CORONER : What do you mean by " struggling
with him ?"
Witness: The deceased caught hold of the sword-
stick, and Clavering told him to mind what be was
about, as he hail a swordstick in his hand. lie
repeated this two or three times. The night was
very dark. I did not myself see the sword leave the
sheath, but I saw the man strike two or three blows
at Clavering, and one came right down on his head.
I then saw that Clavering's sword was drawn, and it
seemed to me he was endeavouring to keep the man
off the point. I then thought I saw something
glitter like a knife or a polished pistol in the unfor-
tunate man's hand. I sang out, " Take care, Harry,
he has a knife or pistol in his hand, so look out." I
grasped my own stick tighter, and got a little nearer
to the man, to see what it was he held in his hand.
I heard Clavering say distinctly to the man, "Take
care, or I may do you an injury." He subsequently
said, " This is the third time I tell you—take care I
do not do you an injury." The man made another
rush after• that warning, and fell. I never saw Claver-
ing strike a blow or make a thrust, but I saw him
retreat to the side of the path. When I saw the man
fall I said, " Come along, Harry, I expect there are
more of them about." He replied, " Hold a minute
until I pick up the end of my swordstick." I did not
know until then that it was with the sheath of the
swordstick that the deceased had struck Clavering.
We then went on. Clavering said, " I fear I may
have pricked the follow." I said, "Nonsense, Harry,
I was close to him, and I could swear you never•
touched him ; I expect his drunkenness has been
the cause of his fall." He said, " Well, I don't
know, but I will see directly whether there is any
blood or stain on the point of my sword—possibly he
may have got pricked in the arm while rushing on
me." I said, " Well, if that's all, it will do him no
harm, and serve him very well right ; but I could
almost swear you have not touched him." A cart
was passing at a slow pace in the direction of Acton,
and Clavering sang out, " There is a drunken fellow
on the roadside ; take care, and don't go over him."
I also sung out, "You had better pick the fellow
up and put him in the cart." After going on a little
further we came to a light place on the road, and
Clavering said, " Hold on until I see whether that
fellow was really pricked or not." Clavering then
drew the sword and we examined it minutely, and
there was no mark or stain of blood of any descrip-
tion on the sword, and I remarked, " There, you see,
I told you you had never touched the man," or " he
was never touched." Clavering said, " I am very
glad of it; but it' he had been pricked, it would have
been his own doing." I then observed that a little
bit had been chipped out of the sheath of the sword-
stick. Before this I had said, "Shall we go back
and look at the fellow?" Clavering said, " No; I
don't see the use of it." That is all I have to say.
The CORONER : Then, gentlemen, I am bound to
tell you that on every ground it is right that we
should adjourn this inquiry, in order to have addi-
tional evidence.
The FOREMAN of the JURY : May we not cross-
examine Captain Miller?
The CORONER: I cannot allow him to be cross-
examined. It is a most important case, and I must
bind the witness over in heavy recognizances to
appear here again. He volunteered the statement
he has just made, and I did not think it necessary
to caution him as to what he was about to say. But
after the statement be has made, and considering
that he was present during the affray, I think it
would be wrong to cross•examine him. I therefore
propose to adjourn until Thursday next, and as both
Captain Miller and Lieutenant Clavering must ap-
pear before me, it is possible they may avail them•
selves of legal assistance.
Lieutenant CLAYERING then stepped forward and
said : I have only got to say that, if a man has run
through another intentionally, his conscience must
accuse him ; but I will take my oath, and may God
strike me dead it' I tell a lie, I never pointed my
sword towards him. Ho struck me three times.
The CORONER: I think you had better say no more
at this moment.
Lieutenant CLAVERING : I wish to make that state-
ment before my countrymen.
Captain MILLER: Am I to consider myself a cul-
prit in custody ? I am quite ready to appear. I
knew nothing of the matter until I read it in the
newspapers.
The CORONER : I certainly cannot allow you to
leave the room until you have entered into your re-
cognizances to appear on Thursday.
Captain MILLER: I am quite ready to appear.
The CORONER (to Mr. Tarleton): Did Lieutenant
Clavering give himself up to you?
Mr. TARLETON : Ho went to Sir Richard Mayne,
and from information I went to Inverness•terrace,
where he made a statement, and said he was willing
to go before a magistrate. I met him by appoint-
ment, at the Brook Green station. We then went

813

before the magistrate at Hammersmith, where some
evidence was taken, and the further hearing adjourned
until Friday at two o'clock.
Lieutenant Clavering was then bound over in his
personal surety for 500/., and Captain Miller in 300/,
to appear at the adjourned inquest on Thursday.
The CORONER : Then the inquiry must be adjourned
until Thursday next, when I hope the whole of the
evidence will be completed. The case is one of great
importune?. The public attention is intensely directed
to it, and 1 recommend the jury between this and
Thursday not to enter into any discussion with other
persons upon the features and general character of
the case, as they have at present only heard one side.
The case was then adjourned until Thursday.
The following is a report of the proceedings at
Hammersmith police-court:—
Mr. Henry Augustus Clavering, aged thirty-four,
a gentleman residing at No. 61, Inverness•terraee,
Bayswater, was charged, upon his own confession,
with causing the death of John Gates, of No. 12,
Great James-street, Lisson grove, by stabbing him
with a swordstick ►n self defence, on the night of the
9th instant, in the Uxbridge-road, Acton.
Mr. Superintendent TARLETON, of the T divisors,
stated that on Sunday last, in consequence of infor-
mation he bad received, he went to No. 61, Inver-
ness-terrace, Bayswater, where he saw the prisoner,
who made a voluntary statement, upon which he
appointed to meet witness at the Hammersmith
police station that day. fhe prisoner attended
accordingly, and repeated his statement, which had
reference to his killing a man on the night of the 9th
instant. The prisoner also gave him a swordstick,
which be now produced.
The prisoner's statement was here banded to his
worship, but it was not read aloud. It was to the
effect that, about ten o'clock on the night of the 9th
inst. he went out with a friend (Captain Miller, of
the Royal Navy) for a walk to Acton and back again
bef ire going to bed. On reaching Shepherd's bush,
instead of proceeding along the road to Acton, they
turned off to 'l'urnham-green, with the intention of
taking a short cut across the railway into the Acton-
road and so return home that way. Upon their
arriving at the Pack Horse public•house, Turnham-
green, they had something to drink, and asked their
way. They proceeded along the road pointed out,
and found it very dark. They subsequently met two
men, and again asked their way. They took the
turning the men directed, which they afterwards
found to be the road by the side of the railway. They
became rather alarmed, as they had seen some rough
persons at the public-house. They turned into the
Priory-lane, and there beard a man cursing and
swearing. This man sprang upon him (the prisoner)
and in holding up his swordstick the sheath, a black
thorn stick, came off. The man then struck him
with the sheath across the head and shoulders, each
time springing back. He (the prisoner) told him
that he was a determined man, and would defend
himself with the sword. The man then sprang at
him again; but this time he slipped and fell off the
path. He (the prisoner) picked up the sheath, and
placed the sword in it. They walked away, and he
remarked to his friend whether he had not pr►cked the
man. Before putting the sword in the sheath he
looked at it, and did not perceive any blood. After
proceeding a short distance he met two men in a
cart, and lie told them to be careful, as there was a
drunken man lying in the road. He then went home
and heard nothing more until he read the account of
the matter in the Sunday papers. He then imme-
diately proceeded to Sir Richard Mayne.
Sergeant MANSELL, No. 1 T, said : About twenty
minutes to twelve o'clock on the night is question he
received information, and went to the railway bridge
towards Shepherd's bush. He there found a man
who was afterwards identified by his son. He was
quite dead, and a quantity of blood was oozing from
his mouth. The doctor examined the body, and
afterwards made a postmortem examination. A
wound was discovered about two inches from the
right nipple, and it passed right through the heart
on the other side. There was also a very small
wound upon the stomach, the flesh just being touched.
Such a weapon as the swordstick produced would
cause these wounds. Witness had met the deceased
about ten minutes before, and he was then drunk
and singing.
Mr. EDWARD GATES, the son of the deceased, said
he saw his father alive and in good health on the
same night. He knew that his father had a contract
with Mr. Reeves, the florist, at Acton, to put in some
glass.
Mr. 'Namur said at present the only evidence
against the prisoner was that furnished by himself.
He thought the bail—himself in 2001. and Captain
Miller in 1001.—for his appearance on Friday
was quite sufficient.
The prisoner was then liberated.
On Thursday the inquiry was resumed, when
Lieutenant Clavering and Captain Miller were again
present, and were cross.examined by the foreman of
the jury.

y

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814

The FOREMAN asked Captain Miller if he thought
it possible for any one to get a sword out of a man's
body into which it had been thrust seven or eight
inches without altering the motion of his hand ?
Was there nut some jerk on the part of Lieutenant
Clavering ?
Captain MILLER said he observed nothing of the
sort. He continued, in reply to other questions, to
say Clavering and he examined the swordstick at the
first light place they cams to on the road. They
had not gone anything like a mile before they exa-
mined it. They were only a short distance from the
body before they met the cart. They had got through
the railway arch which crosses the Acton road before
they did so. He should think they were from the
body about twice the distance along the Acton-road,
from the end of the Priory-lane, which abuts upon
that road, to the railway arch, before they met the
cart, which would be about 200 yards. They did not
ascertain whether the cart stopped and took the body
up ; they were too far off to see whether it did or
not.

A JURYMAN asked Captain Miller if he was sober
at the time.

Captain MILLER said he was as sober as a bishop
(a laugh), and Lieutenant Clavering was also per-
fectly sober.
The witness withdrew, and at the suggestion cf
Sergeant Ballantine, and also at his own request,
Lieutenant CLAVEIUNG was called, and in reply to
questions put by Sergeant Ballantine, said :—I am a
lieutenant in her Majesty's navy, and have served in
China and elsewhere. Captain Miller, a friend of
mine, was on a visit at my house at Bayswater on
Monday week. lam a married man and have two
children. Another officer, Captain Skipwith, was
also steying at my house on that day. About ten
o'clock in the evening a walk was proposed, and,
though I had taken a good deal of exercise during
the day, I said I was game for a walk either to
Harrow or Acton. My aunt had formerly resided at
Acton, and I knew the road perfectly well. We
wanted to take the first road round by the Pack
Horse to the railway, but having passed that we went
by a longer road, instead of taking a shorter cut,
which had been my usual way in going to the rail-
road. That led us to the station house, where we
asked the road, but got no answer. We then found
we were at the end of Priory-lane. We turned down
the lane, and did not hear the noise until we got
nearly to the top of it. We heard a man cursing
and swearing, as if be had been fighting somebody
or had lost something. We had not then seen him.
He was on the further side of the road, towards the
railway bridge, and a good deal in advance of us.
On emerging from the lane we turned towards
London. Then Captain Miller said, " Stop a mo-
ment, let that fellow pass on ; he seems to be a
bad character." The man was then about ten
yards in advance of us. We stopped imme-
diately, and then the man made a nish towards us,
coming across the road as he did so. Capt. Miller
was then on my right side, and we were quite close

together.
Sergeant BALLANTINE : What did the man say

or do ?

Lieutenant CLavEarrto : He said, " What the
13— are you doing there ?" I said, quite quietly,
" We are two gentlemen taking a constitutional walk
home atter dinner, and allow us to pass on our way."
He muttered some imprezation, and I then said,
" Take care, for I am armed with a swordstick."
He then grasped at my swordstick, exclaiming,
a You —, I will do for you both." He wrenched
the sheath off my swordstick, made a spring back,
and then sprang on me, and struck me with the
sword-sheath on the right side of my forehead a very
violent blow, which slightly grazed the skin, though
it was made through my hat. He also stuck me a
blow on the right shoulder, but the violence of that
was broken by the rim of my hat. I wore a stiff, low-
crowned, wide•awake hat. He then sprang back to
make another blow at me. I pointed my sword up-
wards, and he struck it a violent blow with the
sheath, so much so that I thought the sword was
broken. He sprang back to aim another blow at me.
I then said, " I am a strong and determined man,
and if you strike me again I may do you a personal
injury." I cannot recollect whether I said " I may "
or " I will do you a personal injury." I think I used
the words " I may." He made another spring at me,
and alter coming forward two steps he fell. I was
two yards at least from him when he fell, so that
whatever injury may have been inflicted upon him
must have been inflicted at the third blow, when he
struck my swordstick.

Sergeant Bia.narrrNE : Were you, upon your oath,
conscious at that time that you had inflicted auy
injury upon the man
Witness : Upon my oath, I was not. When he
fell he let the sheath out of his hand. I did not see
him rise again. I then marls a grasp at the sheath
and passed on, thinking the man would get up again.
I said to Captain Miller as we walked along, " I hope
I have not pricked that fellow in the arm." The
effect of the blow of the sword•sheath on the blade of