The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-23 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—March 22,

(Before Mr. Payne.)
A SCENE IN COT, RT,
Robert Griffiths, 24, cabinetmaker, was indicted for steal.
ing six knives and six forks, a stock, a die, a plough-plane,
and six irons, the property of Martin James Boon.
Mr. J. P. Wood prosecuted ; Mr. Pater defended the
prisoner.
The prosecutor is an ironmonger and tool-dealer living at
No. 45, St. John-square, and the prisoner rented a room at
the back of his shop for six or seven months, and ho used to
look after the shop while the prosecutor was out on business.
During that time a quantity of tools were missed. The pri-
soner was suspected of stealing them, and George Ranger,
police-constable 199 G, took him into custody, telling him
he was charged with stealing a stock and die. He said at
first he knew nothing about them and attempted to run out
of the shop, but he was followed and taken to the station-
house, The policeman then went to the prisoner's house,
and in a portfolio found 70 duplicates for tools, three of
them relating to the tools then produced. The prisoner was
asked how ho accounted for so many duplicates relating to
tools, and he said some of them belonged to him, but the
greater portion of them belonged to the prosecutor.
During Mr. Pater's cross-examination of a witness, the
foreman of the jury remarked he thought the learncu. coun-
sel had no right to insinuate that witness was hot speaking
the truth.
Mr. Pater said it would be better for the foreman not to
get into collision with him, and insisted upon his right to
cross-examine the witness with a view of eliciting the truth,
and in his address to the jury with great emphasis exclaimed
—" I thank God there is more than one juryman to deter-
mine whether the prisoner stole the property with which he
is charged ; for if there was only one, and that one was the
foreman, from what has transpired to-day, there is no doubt
what the result would be."
Mr. Payne said that was a very improper observation for
Mr. Pater to make to the foreman of the jury, and if he
went on in that strain he should consult Mr. Bodkin, the
Assistant-Judge in the other court, as to what should be
done.

This sort of thing being continued,
Mr. Payne left the court to consult Mr. Bodkin, and on
his return he said—l have consulted the Assistant-Judge in
reference to this matter; but it is his opinion that at this
stage it would not be fair to interfere, as it might prejudice
the case against the prisoner at the bar; but when it is con-
cluded we shall then consider what course should be taken
as regards Mr. Pater.
Mr. Pater said there ought to be a fresh juryman in the
place of the foreman who had acted so improperly.
Mr, Payne—You are only repeating your former insults.
Mr, Pater—And I shall continue to do so to the end of
time. Things have arrived at such a pitch that lam bound
to resent, and as a great number of the remarks which have
fallen from the bench have been applied to me, 1 feel it my
duty to speak my mind boldly, and I will always do so, no
matter what the result may be. I am entrusted with an
important duty, and although the duty of the jury may be
more important than mine, yet still mine is an important
duty, for you are sworn to return a true and just verdict,
and according to the evidence. I have to do a duty accord-
ing to my own conscience and the interest of the client com-
mitted to my care, and I thank God I have discharged that
duty to the best of my ability, and which I shall continue
to do as long as I have the honour to wear a wig and gown,
Notwithstanding the interruption I have received from the
toreman of the jury,let us now approach the fact cf the case,
and see how the evidence points to a conclusion to warrant
you in returning a verdict of guilty. My learned friend Mr,
Wood, in opening the case, asked you to return a verdict in
favour of the Queen, but the Queen cared very little what
result they arrived at, and I do not know why the name of
the Queen was introduced, unless it was to give extra
weight to a case that it did not possess. He then went over
the evidence, and called upon the jury to acquit the prisoner.
Mr. Payne summed up the evidence, and the Jury found
the prisoner guilty, but recommended him to mercy.
The prisoner made a long statement that he had been
driven to the commission of the offence through poverty.
Mr. Payne sentenced him to be imprisoned and kept to
hard labour for eight months.
The Assistant• Judge then came and took his seat on the
bench.
Mr. Payne said—There is a matter connected with this
case to which I have felt it to be my duty to draw the at •
tention of the Assistant-Judge and the magistrates. Mr.
Pater made use of some observations towards the foreman
of the jury of a personal character. Those obserlitions
were--" I thank God that there is more than one juryman
to determine whether the prisoner stole the property with
which he is charged ; for if there was only one, and that
one the foreman, from what has transpired to-day there is
no doubt what the result would be." The foreman was in
that position ; but although he wished some other person to
take his place, his brother jurymen considered that to be un-
necessary, and he remained. These personal observations
were highly unjustifiable on the part of Mr. Pater, and I
have thought it right to bring them under the notice of the
Assistant-Judge. I, therefore, wish the opinion at the
learned Assistant-Judge as to what course he would recom-
mend should be taken.
The Assistant-Judge—Such things as these are most
painful, and tend greatly to embarrass the administration of
justice. I trust that Mr. Pater will withdraw the observa-
tions,

Mr. Pater—Let me first inform your lordship of a fact
that has not been brought to your knowledge, for you were
not present when this interruption occurred. The foreman
on the previous day interfered in the same unjustifiable
manner, and a learned friend of mine took the first oppor-
tunity of challenging him, and he was removed front the
jury box. I can form no opinion as to his reason for doing
so, unless it arises from an inability to control bis own tem-
per. I conscientiously stated my opinion, that if there had
been but one juryman to decide the case an adverse verdict
would certainly be returned, and when he interfered by
making observations, such conduct was unchecked by Mr.
Payne, The foreman said he knew the object of such in-
terruptions by counsel, and after the observations which
fell from the Bench, I do not feel warranted in withdraw-
ing the observations, and adoptin3 the course suggested by
the Assistant-Judge.
The Assistant-Judge—This is a gross dereliction of duty,
for the use of such language is perfectly unwarrantable. I
should recommend Mr. Payne to treat these observations
from Mr. Pater as a contempt of court, and unless they are
withdrawn I should recommend that a fine of £2O be in-
flicted on him, and returned to the Court of Exchequer,
and the Barons of the Exchequer will determine whether
the privilege of counsel is to bo abused in that way. He
hoped it would act as an example, not much needed, be-
cause such conduct was confined to a very few individuals.
Mr. Pater—l have acted conscientiously, and I decline
to withdraw the observations.
Mr. Warton—l wish to say a word. I confirm Mr. Pater
in what he has said. The foreman was challenged by me
for improper conduct the day before.
The Assistant-Judge—To challenge a juryman is the
right of counsel, but it was a very different thing to abuse
him.
Mr. Payne—l saw nothing in the conduct of the foreman
to justify the observations made on him.
Mr. Pater—l wish to make a few observations.
Mr. Payne—l must decline to hear you, unless you with-
draw the observations. D 3 you do se ?
Mr> Pater—Certainly not.
Mr. Payne—Then I fine you £2O.
Mr. Pater—l can now say that the opinion I have
formed of you is concurred in by every member of the bar.
Mr. Abram—l do not concur in it.
Mr. 'Wood—Nor I.
Mr. Pater—You (Mr. Wood) prosecuted. The matter
shall not rest here. I shall bring the subject under the
notice of Sir George Grey, and very probably your removal
from the bench will be the result.

The Murder in Marylebone.

At the Marylebone Police Court yesterday, Arthur John
Devine, aged 21, of no settled place of abode or occupation,
was brought up, charged on remand wi.h murdering Joseph
Duck, aged 62, in Little Chesterfield-street, on the }tight of
the 10th instant.

It will be recollected that the deceased, who had amassed a
little property to retire upon, was picked up in Little Ches-
terfield-street in an insensible state, and bleeding profusely
the D division. Two sovereigns that were shortly before
from wounds on his head, by Police.constable Crowley, of
seen in his possession were not in his pocket. His watch-
fob was cut away, and his watch, chain, and seal gone. His
neckerchief and pocket-handkerchief were also missed,
The evidence gone into on the former Occasion having
been read over, the following testimony was adduced :
James Burgess, potnian, Marquis of Granby, Great
Marylebone• street, said—l saw prisoner on the night of
had a piece of wood or
I replied I would look.
backed Vettoce
kdo nff
reaos
med
ha yaH
chair
rp3fpol
earrr,
a,c
ahhna9dm.
asked
keller
dehjneadsil
te the tap-room a little
and perhaps I could
after nine, when he went away and returned after I came
and on my return
hsiaraidhtahveereonwee.re swvoasbrcoaklelendoahwaiarys:
let him
prisoner had gone, and I missed one of the legs of the chair.
The iron bar used for a poker was lost on the samo night.
I missed it after the prisoner went away the first time.
Thomas Jay, deputy lodging-house-keeper, 5, Circus-
street, carpenter—Early on Fl iday morning, about half
past one, prisoner appliet for a lodging. The beds were all
full, and so he was not admitted. I saw him next day in
the kitchen. He was free with money, and paid for beer
on Saturday evening. Some one said, "You are pretty
well up for money," and he said he had received 30s. from
a laundress either in Woodstock-street or mews.
James B carman, lodging at 5, Circus street—On
Friday morning I got 111) at a quarter-past four, and I let
prisoner in at five o'clock He told me that he had picked
up a watch, chain, and ssal in Regent-street, but he could
not tell whether they wire worth anything; if they were
he would pay for a few tights' lodgings in advance.
James Elmslie—l liv) at Circus-street. I got up at 20
minutes after 5, and I found prisoner in the kitchen. He
said to a man we call "Coachman" that he bad found a
chain and seal and a si,k handkerchief in Regent-street.
The seal now produced looks like it. He was free with his
money, and paid for stems for dinner for other people. He
was throwing half•crewris about the kitchen, I saw him

with several shilling I. I suppose he must have spent a
sovereign or 255. on the Sunday and Monday.
George Hine, carter, lodging in Circus-street—Prisoner
came to my bed at half-past six in the morning. He awoke
me, and said, "George, I want you to fetch me some break-
fast." As I came down he put a sovereign into my hand.
I fetched broad, tea, sugar, and meat. I changed the so-
vereign in the Red Lion, Edgware-road, and had some
brandy. I brought it to the prisoner. When I got back
he said, "You can keep half a' Jane' (half a sovereign)."
I gave him the change in silver On Friday morning he
gave me a handkerchief, and said if I did not pawn he
would. I replied, " You may as well give it to me, as it is
not worth much. He did give it, and a man named Elms-
lie pawned it. Afterwards he gave me a watch-chain and
seal, and I took them to Woolwich. Before I went there I
picked up with a man in Chapel-street, Edgware road, and
he sold the seal for a shilling, which be gave to me. When
I brought back the watch and chain on Saturday afternoon
from Woolwich I saw the prisoner in Circus-street. I gave
him the watch and chain, and he went to the back place
and returned with the cases broken up and the works out.
On the Sunday some one was reading about the murder,
and the prisoner said, " What rogues they must be !"
Inspector Thomas Edward Hindes—" On the 15th I went
with Sergeant White to Circus-street, where I apprehended
the prisoner. On the 16th I received a duplicate from the
witness Hine for the handkerchief ; the seal from 67,
Church-street, Woolwich ; and the pair of boots belonging
to the prisoner I received from a man named Taylor. There
is a spot, apparently of blood, on one of the boots.
Sergeant White, 16 D—On the 11th inst. I received this
iron bar (poker) from Mrs. Adams, at Marylebone station,
On examining it I found eight or nine greyish hairs at the
end. There are three or four there now.

Mary Adams, living at 6, Little Chesterfield-street—A
little boy, named Dingle, gave me this iron bar on Friday
afternoon, and I took it to the station.

Moses Charles Dingle, 7, Paddington-street, picked up
the bar in a puddle of water, in Little Chesterfield-street, at
about four feet from where deceased was found. It was
close by some blood.
Mrs. Adams recalled—l knew Mr. Duck. He lived at
No. 2. He had a chain with one seal hanging to it. It
had a red stone with letters deeply cut in. The portion of
the seal now produced is the same.
William Francis Fuller, M.R.C.S., house-surgeon to the
Marylebone Infirmary—On Friday morning week, the 11th
March, at an early hour, the man Duck was brought in
partially insensible. I found he had three transverse cuts
on the back of the head. They were not done by a very
sharp instrunaent. He died at six o'clock on Friday even-
ing. The injuries, I imagine, must have been done by an
instrument like a hatchet or a hammer. I don't think the
iron produced could have caused the injuries.
Cecil Henning, assistant to Dr. Clarke, divisional
surgeon D division—l saw deceased on the morning of the
11th. I found him with three cuts, recently done, on the
back of the head, and each cut laid the head bare. I should
think the poker now produced might have caused the
wounds.
James Farris—l keep a laundry in Woodstock-mews,
and the only one of that trade in the mews. I have not
employed or paid the prisoner any money within the last
twelve months.
This being the whole of the evidence,
Mr. Yardley said—Prisoner, you are charged with the
wilful murder of Joseph Duck—you have heard the evi-
dence given against you; you can say anything you may
think proper in your defence, but I must tell you that what-
ever you do say will be taken down in writing, and may
be given in evidence against you at your trial.
Prisoner—l say I never trusted Hine with any money of

mine, because I had a bad character of him. The people in
the kitchen said he (Hine) stole a pair of boots in Molyneux-
street from a young chap, and that is the reason he went to
Circus-street to lodge. Hine said he was not going to get
nailed by Teddy White (the sergeant), because ho said he
heard that Teddy was after him, and that was the reason he
kept away from there. That is all I want to say.
Mr. Yardley—You are committed for trial.
Prisoner then burst out crying, and buried his face in
his pocket-handkerchief, and so was led out to the cells by
Anster, the gaoler.
A dense crowd had assembled to see the prisoner go away
in the van to Newgate.

THE BRADFIELD RESERVOIR,

-,,_

(Front the Mechanics' Magazine.)

The first essential to the construction of a good embank- 1
ment is excellence of material, Unfortunately the Loxley
valley, whatever its other advantage, in this respect was
lamentably deficient ; clay for puddling was scarce and bad.
The hills at either side consist for the most part of a loose
blue shale, which no care can render impervious to moisture,
or lapse of time fairly consolidate. Nevertheless, nothing
else was to be had, and, such as it was, it must be used,
The works were undertaken by Messrs. Craven Brothers.
under terms of which we as yet know nothing, The engi-
neering difficulties involved were very moderate. 'No springs
were encountered, no slips of any magnitude took place.
Dykes have been made before now of poorer stuff than shale.
Sand, loose earth, even shingle, has served a good purpose
in the time of need, and as the dam was not called on to
sustain any pressure due to water, until its constructors
thought fit, the practical details of its formation involved
none of those troubles met with in the building of sea walls,
or the rearing up, tide by tide, of embankments intended to
rescue land from the sea. Even after its completion,
when in actual use, it was exempt from the action of
waves, as nothing worthy the name could be formed on a
narrow land-locked pond of a few score acres. Like
all similiar structures, it consisted of a central wall of clay
puddle, supported on either side by retaining banks, in
the present case formed of the shale or earth dug from the
bottom and sides of the valley. l n length the embankment
extended about 400 yards, with a height of nearly 9Dft. The
top, we are told, was extremely narrow. The width of the
base is variously stated. The Times, with its usual disre-
gard for scientific accuracy, sets it down at but 40ft. From
more reliable resources we are inclined to estimate it at
about 270 ft. or 300 ft. Inasmuch as the embankment was
not destroyed frem below, was not "blown up," in fact,
this is a matter of minor consequence--at present, at least.
The Sheffield Waterworks Company has, it appears, of late
found full employment for its capital, and from this reason
no doubt economy became a matter of paramount impor-
tance. Now, had the embankment been formed of much
better material than loose shale, its proper width at the
bottom should have been, at the very least 4001 t. As it
was, the course to be pursued was clear. The shale was in
itself wholly unreliable. It only remained to make the
puddle-wall strong and thick, carefully rammed and solidly
beaten together foot by foot, and inch by inch ; using the
shale merely as a retaining wall, in quantity on the outside,
and as a protecting covering to prevent attrition within. We
fail to discover that any such emirs() was pursued. Most of
the evidence goes to show that the puddle-wall was inferior,
both in workmanship and material, while the embankment
when finished wanted breadth of base—in a word, it was too
weak. The inner side was protected by a thin pavement,
of small sandstone blocks laid without cement. We pre-
sume the slopes were concave on both sides, as they usu-
ally are in such structures. Now the formation of a wound,
for such we may call it, 1,200 feet long, 90 feet high, and
400 feet broad at the base, is a rather expensive undertak-
ing, and we have every reason to believe that the deposit of
shale was curtailed as much as possible. The pressure on
the embankment when the reservoir was full must have
equalled more than the seventh part of the weight of the
dam. Nothing retained it in its place and prevented it from
sliding down the valley save the friction—due to its weight
on the surface which supported it. We cannot estimate the
co-efficient of this friction at mo.e than half the insistent
weight, and we therefore find that the margin of safety al-
lowed, even while the soil of which the dam was composed
remained free, or nearly free, from moisture, was run very
fine indeed. It is the fashion unhappily just now to leave
little margin of safety in any of our structures, and it would
not be difficult to find embankments held to be good, re-
garded as models, and thought worthy of every confidence,
where the lino of safety is quite as nearly approached, when-
ever the reservoirs of which they form a part are full, as it
was in the Bradfield bank. When we consider the Bradfield
dam was afflicted with congenital weakness, that it was a new
structure, not firmly consolidated—if shale ever can consoli-
date—it is not difficult to comprehend how the accident, so

called, occurred. The thickness of the bank at a distance

of some 12 or 15 feat from the top, must have been com-
paratively insignificant. The reservoir had never been full
before. However carefully the first part of the work had
been executed, it was natural enough that this, the upper
portion, exposed to a comparatively trifling strain, would
receive less attention, less labour. As a result of all these
circumstances, tending to the one point, water found its
way into the very heart and substance of the dam ; there,
acting as it always does in such cases, it dissolved the sole
bond which held the upper sections of the dam to those
which were lower. It reduced the co•efyicient of friction
to such an extent that the upper portion of the embank-
ment seems to have been pushed fairly off the lower por-
tions on which it rested, to which it never adhered. The
water found a vent at once through a wide chasm, and
quickly wreaked its fury on the external slope of the em-
bankment, down which it poured, tearing it up as though
it had been so much running sand. The total destruction of
a vast section of the embankment followed in a moment,
and then commenced those horrors which England will not
soon forget. It has been urged in defence of those who are
responsible, that the event must be attributed to the pre-
sence of an unusual quantity of water in the reservoir ;
to the recent formation, and almost incomplete state
of the embankment ; and to the inclemency of the
weather. The reply to all these arguments is clear. if the
embankment was not intended to sustain the strain, why
was it piled up to a height of 90 feet ? If it was not in a
fit state to receive the pressure due to this immense depth of
water, why was the water suffered to accumulate ? We are
told that up to the last the engineer in charge was reluc-
tant to draw off the water, as by doing so he ran the risk of
being unable to fill the reservoir again during the spring.
Every cubic foot stored up represented so much pecuniary
value, which he was unwilling to waste. We trust that
this assertion is unfounded. At the eleventh hour we find
him endeavouring to blow up part of the embankment with
gunpowder. Alas I all power in the matter hid
,by that
time been taken out of the hands of man. A Government
inspector has been Sent down to investigate every particular

connected with the construction of the dam. How it occurs
that the last gentleman who found his way to Bradfield,
Capt. Tyler, on a somewhat s milar errand, passed the
work, we know not, unless it is that so little information is
to be got from looking at the outside of any work con-
structed of earth. The efficacy of such inspections is more
than doubtful, and we feel much inclined to regard them as
a delusion and a snare.