The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-16 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK.

CHAYOZ OF ATTEMPTED FHATRICIDE.—CharIes Braham,
a manufacturing operative chemist, in Alfred-street, Grange-
road, Bermondsey, was charged with attempting to shoot
his brother with a rifle-barrelled gun.
William Brabam, on being sworn, deposed as follow, :
The prisoner is my brother, and we reside in the same house.
On the previous day we were both in attendance at the
Southwark County Court in a case in which I was to have
been called as his white's, and after our business was over,
we left the court and spent a portion of the evening to-
gether. The prisoner and I usually slept in the same
retired room,
and he to bed before me on the preceding night, and
after I had fastened up the doors and windows at the lower
part of the hones, I went up stairs to go to bed, but finding
the room door locked on the inside, I rapped repeat-
edly to get in, but finding that I could not, I
then forced open the door. The moment, however, of my
entrance, the prisoner jumped out of bed, and snatching up
a rifle gun which he always kept near his bedside, levelled it
at au and Arad, Fortunately, honour, b inland mob and

Scaling this to be the ease, he (prisoner) then commenced an
attack upon me with the butt end of the weapon. I re.reated
from the room, followed by the prisoner, still vowing ven-
geance against me, and when I got near the steircese he
levelled a blow at me, and the tro-k of the gun sulkier the
bantisters broke it in pieces. I called out for assistance as
lou-ly as I could, when a next door neighbour came to my
het? and he brought a watchman's rattle with Lim, and
the latter b.ing sprung, a policeman soon arrived on the spot
and I gave the prisoner into custody.
Mr. Secker.—/dad you any previous quarrel with the
prisoner ?
Complainant. —We had a few words together relative to
money matersand some clothes which he had belonging to
me ; bat it wu the last of my thoughts that he would have
attempted to take away my life.
Mr. Secker.—Might not the prisoner have mistaken you
for some other person on finding that his bed-room door had
been burst open ?
Complainant. —Not at all, air. Ile well knew me, for I
had previously told him that I would force the door if he
did sot open is for use. After he had aimed • blow at my
head wi'h the butt cad of the gun, which struck the ban-
nisters and broke the stock, he threw the barrel on the floor
and seized one of my fingers between hie teeth and held it
there until I wes compelled to strike him to make him let
it go. Tne eomplalnant added, lam certain that the pH-
Kiser would have murdered me bad not our next-door
neighbour hastened to my assistance on hearing the report
of the gun, and saved me from further violence.
Mr. Seeker (to the prisoner)—Have you any questions to
ask your brother ?
Prisoner—Yes, air ; I wish to ark him if he was not in
the habit of sleeping in another bedroom, and not mine ?
Complainant—There was another bedroom, in which a
young man slept who was in your employ. 1 have slept in
that room, but I usually slept in the same room with you,
red you were aware that I intended to sleep there het,
night.
Prisoner—That is all I wish to ask him at present ; but I
wish to sate that my brother made a most unprovoked
attack upen me before I attempted to have recourse to any
violence. Tee Gets era these —I went to be-: first under i
the impress:on that after the c roplainant had locked the
doors down stairs he would have retired to his own
room—the one I have just mentioned. Instead, how-
ever, of his doing so he came up and burst open my
room door and literally dragged me out of bed,
using great violence, pulling me by the ears and by
tho heir of the head—(he here exhibited marks of violence
on his ears, and also a cut on the forehead, to certify the
truth of his assertione). I was provoked at his conduct, and
by way of protection I certainly did arm ray-elf with the gun
(produced), which was not load.d at the time, and made •
plow at him with the butt-end, but did not hit him.
Mr. Becker (to complainant)—Did you pull hint out of
bed in the way he has described?
Complainant—l did not ; I admit that I fared open the
door, but I did not use any violence whatever towards
Lim.
Mr. Sacker—The prisoner now asserts that the bun was net
lead. d. Is that true or false ?
Complainant—The gun was loaded with sitter shots cr
slugs ; I cent say wh:ch; and +he report was sufficiently
loud for these in the adjoining house to hear it dis-
tinctly.
Prisoner—l deny the assertion of the weapon being
loaded ; the fact is, the gun has not bed a charge in it for
the last 10 months. Although I a.lmit that I was in a
passion, still I had no intention of seriously injuring my
brother.
' Policeman 256 then stated that he bad since examined
that part of the house where the outrage was alleged to
hate token place, but he could not perceive any marks in
the walls, the flooring, or staiezase, t 3 denote that either
slags or shot had been di charged from • gun.
Mr. Hardman, a solicitor, entered the court at this stage
of the examination, and intimated that he attended on the
part of the prisoner, who had received great provocation from
his brother; and to his (Mr. H.'s) personal knowledge the
complainant had been drinking to excess on the previous
day, ani was to have given evidence in a case in the South-
wark County Court, but owing to the condition to which Le
had reduced himself, he (Mr. H.) declined calling him into
the witness box. Under these circumstances he trusted that
if the magistrate had made up his mind to send the cue for
trial, he would at all events accept of bail for the prisoner's
appearance to answer the charge.
Mr. Seeker said he shouid remand the prisoner and he at
the same time directed that summonses should be issued to
compel the attendance of the persons alleged to have heard
the report of the gun.
The magistrate, on the application of the prisoner's soli-
citor, admitted him to bail, himself in SOL and two sureties
of 401. each, to appear at the next examination.