The National Register.
London, England, 1813-12-12 00:00:00

798

N kTION,

re expressed his dislike to Milli:item butthopgist well•of Sir F.
Burdett. Witness then told hint, that be would bring
himself
either to thegallows or to a madhouse ; prisoner seemedindifferent,
and said the world was wide enough. He also received another
letter from him of date October Si, in which lie termed himself a
a.rvaut of the Lord, and that the terrible days of the Lied were at
band : in this he asked for a hiatr of '5;0•101.-which would be, repaid
'With interest ; he 'gel the mime), 'hi would be his friend.
bnt if- not his'inenty.'
.:WilteSs • then -'applied to Mr. Haslam,
Medical" gentleman, who saw piiantier (MCC ;% after, which he re-
ceived another letter of !late Cstli ofNovenibitri slating, " that he
had a large bill against hini for -gratitude; and that the balance was
in Ids favour. !ladness in his mind, watea misfortune ; in his own
(the prisoner's) was a disgrace. He vile witness) had moldered
' his reputation in this Commercial w orld,,and he must have satisfae-
lion ; that an nffidavit must be made, that be had never-been mad,
'• and that a medical man had not heel) called in to decide upon his
lunacy ; and that ha wanted 10,0001. u ithin tour days." There was
also a milli letter, without .date or signature, but having the
post-mark of Ist of December, containing the words" get your will
made." •
Witness.said, that Ten difference as to the management of business
bad appeared in the prisoner till he left him, which wa' before the
third letter. After the reed ipt of the last letter, be had him put
into a private marl-horse (Mile's), where he remained or 3 months
and from thence had been sent to St. Luke's; had not seen the
prisoner at either of these places ; had seen him last Tuesday, but
had Do conversation with him, being call( d away, and saw no part
of the transaction tha toting, took place.— To a question from Mr.
purney, said, that upon any other subject than peace he would talk
rationally enough.- •
James Charles was next called, whose evidence was nearly to the
same purport n WI what he gave before the Coroner.
George Metcalf (the tir-t itness) was again called, and stated
that Presto had a ',tick in his band, which he held downward, and
struck low as if he meant to strike the prisoner, but could not say
whether he struck him car not. The pistol was fired in the twinkling
of an eye, and Presto fell with his head upon the *tips.
. Question by the Court.—le your two former examinations, pm
said that Presto struck tire prisoner on.
.the legs: now you say you
are not certain. " I said so. then, because I thought so "
• James Tew gave a similar evidence to what he had .formerly
given, upon the coroner's inquest.
• Mr. W. Headinton Csurgeon) depesei to. the, death of .Presto
being caused by a wound he ha -i received from n pistol.
D..Cartw right a police-pfEeer, who took the prisener into custody,
deposed to his having said that he would have shot any man whs. bad
attempted to seize him.
The Judge here addressed the counsel, and said, that if the pri-
soner were no,.:ne, he mu,. t of. course be acquitted: and if he were
not insane, yet as the deceased had no -right to seize his person, he
(the prisoner,) havine committed no crimt, lie conld not have been
guilty of mural.. The counsel (Mr. Abbot) raid, be had no wish-to
argue the ease.
The prisoner (mho hail been trking notes daring the whole of the •
time) being eased upon for Isis defenee,,said he was art injured roam;
that he had been taken to Miles's madliense, and. afterwardp to St.
Luke's, vtiherc he bad teen kept four months, and then told he was
to be set at libei t; awl. afterwards Me.tfaigh did. not think ban
well eeough, tlieugh they physician said he was, ancj on that .account
lie had loot, en out. whiehbe sllould not have done, had theprowise
made to him been kept. The witnesses had said they saw .hini
throng a glass, fire a pistol, but they Marl sworn to what they could
mot have seen.
Mr. Haslam (of Bethlehem Hospital) stated, that he had seen the
prisoner on the Atli of October., 181; by desire of his uncle, under
a feigned mane; had remained with hint about two boar,' • and
thought him decidedly insane-. He bad seen, him again; and Isis
opt-
itiun, if it wanted any confirmation, Os re:dinned. Upon his cer—
tificate the prisoner had been taken to Hoxton, wheredie had seert
Lim a,deseu of times —ln answer to w question from the counsel,;
said. that upon common topics all madmen would converse rawly.
. Had seen no lucid interval in the case of the psi o.eer. He bad .
• said that the prisouer was an incurable madman,
swot therefore no.
• medicine le al been given. He believed the prisoner thought be had
slone rigid, awl thin Ire had
,no idea of moral-guilt.
Mr. Drury. apothecary to St.. Pike's hospital; gave its sabstabre
she same ryideisct as upon his examination beraie the evroner.
The prisOuer put several .question,s to this witness respeeting tilt
opieion he had giVesi of Isis insanity.
• Dr.. Sutherland, physician to St. Pike's Hospital, was of opinion
that the prisoner; was had, sccu . hisu un.,the 3011-;

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day befutelie broke out. In answer to a question from 'lir. An.
drews, said, that madmen were generally inveterate against those
who had confined then,. -In answer to a apiestion from the Cnurt,
as to the capacity of the prisoner to judge between right and wrong,
the answer was decidedly in the negative,
Mr. Gurney °tiered the record of the Coroner's bluest, as evi-
dence.
Mr. Abbott objected to it; he distinguished it from the judge-
ment of a commission of lunacy allowed as evidence in the case
of the King v. Bowler, because, in a commission of that sort ap-
pointed under the great seal, the fact of sanity or enmity is
the circumstarce given tor enquiry, anti therefore, their at tentien
is drawn to that point. On the contrary, a Coroner's Jury have
merelyto enqaire how a particular person came by his death . and any
question which they may choose to start, as to the state of mind of
the supposed murderer, is purely and tutirely collateral.
Mr. Andrews followed, anti urged, that the judgment in the case
of the commission of lunacy was filial, which was not the case with
the verdict of the inquest.
,
Mr. Gurney Mal Mr. Alley contended, that the Coroner's Jury
. had as much right to enquire ilto the tact of the sanity of the party
as they bad into the circumstances of the murder. Nor was the
judgment of a com Mission of lunacy final, fOr it might he traversed.
• The learned judges (Sir S. Le hlane and Mr. Baron Graham)
.flowed the objection of Mr Abbott, observint that they rei.olleted
no instance of a verdict of an inquest being given iii evidence to
contradict a charge.
The prisoner tio•e asked to be :Mowed to put a question to T)r.
Sutherland, and being permitted, iaterrocated him whether he had
not, in July last, written a letter, respecting his confinement to. his
uncle.
Sir S. Le Blanc then summed up, and in the course of his re-
capitulation observed, that the prisoner must be acqiiitted of the
capital part of the charge. Before the time of Ineedihg for the
ciatistable it did not appear that helad committed any breach of the
pew) nor did it appear that he was breaking the peace at the time
whesitjagicenstable attempted to apprehend him. The constable,
thoreforec,cepld not be considered as acting under legal process,
tied, thertfose,:kie death occasioned under such circumstances, was
ettlY etiondaughter. Whether ,the prisoner was even giiilty to that
.estent, must depend on his state of mind at the time of the com-
mission of the act. A mats might be insane on a particular subject,
or have his mind• perverted on one or two
_points, and yet be
able to distinguish wright from wrong. If, however, his mind
' was altogether so diseased as to kse unable to form a right jtidg-
ment, and such was the opinion of Mr. HaAlian. and the ether medi-
cal Gentlemen, with respect to the malady of the prisoner, in that
rase he'cras not amenable to the criminal jurisdiction of tire country,
He thee summed tip the evidence minutely.
The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict. Not Guilty
out the around of the insanity of the prisoner at the time of firing
the pistol.
The Court ordered the verdict, with the reason for it, to be ',cord-
ed : and said it would make the usual order with respect to the
prisoner. • .
Wednesday; the Sessions ended, when the Recorder passed Berg
Once of Death on
John Drewe May, for forgery ; John intoner, for stealing a
letter out of the Post Office, containing a Bill of exchange ; John
Keene, otherwise Wright, and Henry Thornton, for Ninety ;
James Daman', -for stealing privately in a shop CFP.. ; • William onld-
lug, for a burglary ; James Taylor and William Luck, for sheep-
stealing ; Peter William -Ploomer, for forgery ; Mary Franklin,
for privately stealing in a shop ; William Benham, William
Worrell, and Jamei Walsh, for burglary.. .
Mr. May, upon being brought to the bar, and asked what he' hard
to say, why. sentence of death should not be passed, brie Ily addressed
the Court. He stated, that the Mien nee in. his situation now, from
what it had been a few day 4 since, when he had stood in the same
. place with: the confident hope of acquittal, -was so great, that he
-was scarcely able to arrange his ideas, or to clothe them with lan-
guage.. Though, on his own account, he hatl no wish to live, strip.
ped of the unblemished reputation lie had formerly
_enjoyed ; yet
for the sake of his family, for the sske of his parents, and of near
and clear connections, he wished his life to be spared. He acknow.
leitgetthe had been found guilty after a long and patient trial : and
hoped that the ham cootinemeet he had undergone, and the anxiety
fil.nniiiiil, with which it had been arrompanicd, would be looked
illion-liti-rtime expiation, even upon the seppasition he hued been
gulltyssof4he jimmied crime. _ lie humbly expressed leis hiTes.
that the Learned Jiidge weal represent his ease fii the Prince Rem
.SCets ittid the tirennsittadces with which it had been accompanied.

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