The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-30 00:00:00

THE PROSECUTION OF MR. EYRE.

MARK= DRAYTON, FIIDAT.

The proceedings against Mr. gyre were resumed
base this morning, the room in which they are held being
more densely crowded than ever, a large portion of the
space &liven& to the pubic being occupied by bodies.
At • quarter past tea Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bast.,
chairman of the Shropshire quarter sessions, took his seat
ore the bench, accompanied by the magistrates who sat'
yesterday and on Wednesday.
Eyre entered the court accompanied by his linseed
counsel and Lord de Illaquare.
Mr. Stephen for the preffeention, and Mr. Poland for the
Mince ware ano present out the *peeing of the court
At 90 minutes past 10 Mr, Giffard, Q.C. rose
ply tee the defence. The learned counsel cesehigid
by amiy :—" Whit is. be &deemed of—the munise. et'
Gordon! le the nape of motility, and justiser I
deny any such acculatiou,' and Mr. Byre is either a mur-
derer situated by wicked—mat wielnicl—malice, or St
Um mast persecuted man this perishcindery Ye sem.
(Sensation. ; trust that no wm'lls of mine—l am me
that no words of mine—will arftM the feeliogs of iny ,
to do &Riffling that is fnoomrieterit with • eourt of pledge,
and if from time to time j have bean slightly throws I
my own balsas in addressing you, I can only sey that
I . would—if I have' been thrown into a 'WO 'ef
feeling I Gould not etentrol— I would have argsied
this matter es t dried of questions. Wein
of philosophers, but if, in adverting to the Meuse
stitch I stride, sad ,whisi I wow We 7ysean Wiwi-
-01p—erimpibe lay liana& no isOise**.
upon him to make out, there is a print facie case that Mr.
Eyre has been actuated by a wicked, depraved, malignant
spirit—that he has killed, or acquiesced in killing, George
William Gordon, from a wicked and corrupt motive. I
have accepted the issue on my learned friend's own
ground, and I ask whether he has satisfied the bench at
the proof which was on him in that respect. I
say, sir, that no one could have listened to
the description of the difficulties that took place without
feeling admiration for the man who surmounted them all
with courage, consideration, and humanity, and there was
only one person of whom he never thought at all in all
that he did, and that, to his honour be it spoken, was him.
self. He cores not what tribunal he appears before,
whether the prosecutor there who now wears the mask really
appears in hm true colours or not ; and I say that through.
out the whole of the direful time lie did his duty as •
man, and I can use no higher term. I ask you to dismiss
at once this moat scandalous and most unfounded charge ;
'for I Amid be sorry, indeed, for his sake
that it could be supposed even for an hour that
five of his fellow-countrymen sitting judicially
in say court could say there was even • prima facie case
of murder, defined as it has been by my friend, and &Nai-
-1 Need in by Mr. Eyre. Not that I fear that any tribunal
will come to any different result to that which I feel well
assured you will come to to-day, but because ! should regret
that the sanction of your approval should be supposed for
an instant to lead to the belief that be has been capable
of deserving such a charge, and the deep malignant guilt
that it involves—however miserable the prosecutor, how-
ever mean ! I know not, nor do I care to know, or ask to
know—every malignant and mean person can inflict a
wound. I cannot, sir, bring myself to think much of those
who are promoting this malignant prosecution. I ask you
with your authority to interpose and stop it. I say it is
• most malignant and mean conspiracy to prostitute the
forms of law, and I ask you to save the administration of
justice from the scandal of so foul a result. "
The learned counsel, who had spoken nearly seven hours,
was greeted with a burst of cheering which the officers
with difficulty repressed.
After consultation, the Chairman (Sir Baldwin Leigh-
ton) said—We have very anxiously considered the evidence
we have before us, and we have listened with the attention
which they so well merited totbe speeches and observations
which have been made by the learned counsel on either
side, and we have now to announce that the evidence
which has been adduced before us does not raise in our
minds a strong or probable presumption of the guilty
malice imputed to Edward John Eyre in the alleged mur-
der of George William Gordon, and we are confident that
if the same evidence was brought before a jury a verdict
of acquittal would be
This was received with a bunt of cheers, which the
Chairman, by the moat urgent entreaties, could with dif.
acuity repress. The Chairman continued, "It now only
remains for us to direct the discharge of Edward John
Eyre. Mr. Eyre, you are discharged.'
Mr. Eyre rose and bowed, but said not a word. Lord
De Blaquiere, who has been with him, cordially shook him
by the hand, and the ex-governor, with much feeling,
silently thanked both Mr. Hardinge Giffard and Mr.
Poland for their exertioes, the latter learned counsel
having been most assiduous in " helping " the case.
The large crowd cheered most lustily on the decision
being announced, and so high did feeling go that the
church bells rang a merry peal of congratulation imme-
diately after the bench broke up.

a ad
*llk

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