The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-29 00:00:00

give evidence which might have the most fearful result to
a man with whom she was on terms of friendship. Ab•
solutely none. Therefore it was unavoidable she should do
so, and it was almost trilling with the jury to endeavour to
produce such an impression. With respect to Mathews—
What evidence is there to impeach that given by him. He
had heard his learned friend most eloquently say that he
did not seek to impute a complicity to Mathews, but what
was the object in pressing so strongly upon his cross-ex-
amination. He had implied that Mathews was instigated
in all he had said by the hope of getting a reward ;
but ho would ask what would be the use of offering rewards,
if persons when they came forward and gave the required
information were to bo disbelieved, and the worst motives
imputed to them. Mathews never had a quarrel with
Muller. Can it, therefore, be believed that he had come
forward to take away his life by means of false evidence P
Was that at all likely Then great stress had been laid
on certein incidents in Mathews' early life; but, after the
most searching cross-examination, all that had been elicited
was that nine or ten years ego he had suffered 21 days'
imprisonment. A great point was made ab .ut the
hats worn by Mathews. Why, cabmen being out
generally five hcurs to other people's one, it did
not appear at all strange to him that they should wear out, I
and be in possession of a greater number of hats than other i
persons. He had never seen a cabman use an umbrella,
and he doubted whether his learned fr fend or any gentleman
on the jury had witnessed such a thing. Did any person
disbelieve the statement of Mathews that he bought a hat
for Muller? Why, it appeared to be proved most incontes-
tibly that ho had done so. If Mr 'Walker had really made
but two hats with the peculiar lining of which so much has
been said, it would go to prove that either Muller or the
cabman must be the murderer, but his learned
friend had put for ward a very ingenious theory,
that the discarded hat of Mathews, the cabman—a hat too
bad for him to wear---had been picked out of the dusthole
and worn by the person who had committed the murder.
If it had been Mathews's hat it would not have fitted Muller,
because when he tried on the cabman's hat, and asked him
to buy him one similar to that which he wore, ho told him
it was too small, and therefore he had to bring him a larger
one. With respect to the hat found on Muller, Mr
Digance, from whom Mr Briggs invariably bought his hats
for the last 30 years, stated most positively that it corre-
sponded in size and shape with that ordered and
supplied ; but the manner in which it had been
out down prevented him identifying the hat more positively,
because the part where the name of the unfortunate gentle-
man had been placed was removed. Then, again, had it
been proved that Muller ever bought a hat at Mr Digarce's.
He did not recollect him; but if he had become possessed
of the hat by second-hand means, why was not the place
where he purchased it stated. But passing on towards
other portions of the es idence—the watch and chain. Those
articles were, at the lowest computation, worth over £10;
and where, he should like to know, was Muller, notwith-
standing that Haffa had said he had seen him in the pos-
session of money, to get sufficient to buy such articles
as well as to pay his passage to America P His
learned friend had said that the prosecution had altogether
failed to show that Muller struck the blows. Of course,
he had stated that he should not be able to do that in his
opening speech, because, as all of them knew, murders were
not committed within the sight and view of third parties,
The jury would, in the discharge of their duty, have to
examine the stick carried by Mr Briggs, to see if that was
likely to have been the weapon by which the injuries had
been inflicted ; that was a question entirely for them. The
tailor's shears found in the prisoner's box had come upon
him by surprise, therefore ho should not say they were
on the prisoner's person on the night of the murder.
His learned friend had said that it was most unlikely
that a person of the height and size of Mr Briggs should
have been overcome by such a slight young man as the
prisoner, but according to his view of the case Mr Briggs
stood no chance. There was no evidence of a struggle. The
shirt-front and collar was a little disordered, but that was
all. Had there been the terrific struggle spoken of by his
learned friend, Mr Briggs' clothes would have been torn to
shreds. He was of opinion that the first blow, from some
weapon he did not know what, fractured Mr Brigg's skull ;
what could he do after that ? The counsel for the defence had
pressed a notion on the jury that the murder was committed
by two men. That might be so; but they (the jury) would
have to say whether the evidence did not point the other
way. If, however, the murder was committed by a num-
ber of persons, was it likely they would have left his
pockets unrifled and the diamond ring on the finger of the
murdered gentleman P 'With respect to the evidence given
for the defence, ho thought that given by Mr Lee the most
extraordinary and of such a nature that it must completely
astound the jury. ha was a man on familiar terms with a
gentleman who was afterwards found murdered---a man
who saw two men in the carriage with him when
bo was about starting on his journey—two men
whom he said he could identify, and yet he gave no infor-
mation to the police, because he felt disinclined to be
bothered in being mixed up with the prosecution, His evi-
dence in the first instance had been well considered by the
Crown, and it was thought of so uncertain a description
that it could not bo relied upon, and therefore it was dis-
carded; but now when he was called for the defence he
appeared to have a vivid recollection of that of which he
had not before. He also said the train waited a longer
time than was usual at the station on the 9.h July, but they
had it in evidence that the train, on the contrary, was late
that evening, and therefore it was not at all likely to stay a
longer time than ordinarily at the platform. The evidence
to prove an alibi was very unfortunate. To what did it
amount P—the clock in a brothel, the keeper of the house,
and one of the unfortunate girls residing therein. Supposing
the time spoken of was true, it was a strong fact in favour
of the prosecution, because it would enable the prisoner to
be at Bow as near the time alleged by the witnesses for the
prosecution. 'What might be the impression on the minds
of the jury he knew not, but he implored them, if they had
a doubt as to the result, to give it to the prisoner; but if,
on the contrary, they were free from doubt, then he felt
they would fearlessly discharge the duty they owed their
country.
The court then adjourned for refreshment.
On the reassembling of the court,
Chief Baron Pollock, as presiding judge, commenced his
summing up. He said—The prisoner, Franz Muller, was
indicted for the wilful murder of Mr Thomas Briggs, and it
now became their duty to say on the evidence that had been
laid before them whether the charge had been brought
home to the prisoner at the bar. Some remarks had been
made upon the comments of the press on the case, but he
for one should not feel disposed to assent to any restrictions
being placed upon it; and, so far as the jury were con-
cerned, he thought, provided they had read many of those
statements which had been published, they were better
furnished to perform their important duty than if they
were totally unacquainted with the facts of the case, What
he was called upon to do on the present occasion was to state
to them the law of the land, and then they would have to
draw their own conclusion. Ho entirely agreed with what
had been said by his brother Parry, that it was far pre-
ferable that many guilty men should escape rather than an
innocent one should suffer; but they must take the utmost
care that the guilty did not entirely escape. The counsel
for the prisoner had stated that the case for the prosecution
had not been made ont—that several links in the chain were
wanting—that surmises have been substituted for facts,
and probabilities for certainties, but if they should be of
opinion that the guilt of the prisoner had not been proven
to their entire satisfaction, then undoubtedly the prisoner
was entitled to his acquitance. Of one fact there could be
no doubt, namely, that a gentleman named Briggs was mur-
dered in a carriage on the North London Railway, and a great
mass of circumstantial evidence had been placed before them,
Their duty was clear, as what they had to say was whether
that murder was committed by the prisoner. He then pro-
ceeded to read and comment upon the evidence, remarking
very strongly on the untruth told by the prisoner relative
to his possession of the watch end chain. A great deal
of diligence on the part of the gentlemen who had under-
taken the prisoner's defence had been displayed in getting
together a number of second-hand hats which originally
had been made by Mr D:ganee, but he thought it would
have been much more important had they endeavoured to
procure evidence to show how the prisoner became pos-
sessed of the hat, where he bought it, and who altered it,
it would have been more satisfactory.

THE VERDICT.

The jury retired to consider their verdict at a quarter to

After an absence of a quarter of an hour they returned
into Court with a verdict of " Guilty."
Sentence of death was passed in the usual manner.
At the conclusion of which Muller said, " If the Eentence
is carried out I shall die an innocent man."

The following is the conclusion of the evidence adduced
yesterday, which appeared in our Third Edition lest
evening :

Mr Digance, hatter, of the Royal Exchange, examined
by the Solicitor-General—Mr Briggs was a customer of
mine for nearly 30 years. Every hat he has had has been
made to order, I took an order from him for a hat
in September, 1863. The one now before me is
lower in the crown than that ordered by Mr Briggs.
The other parts of it correspond. The hat originally
was a little too easy. and I placed some tissue paper under-
neath the lining, a portion of which now remains. [This
the witness pointed out to the jury.] The hat has been cut
down from an inch to an inch and a half. The piece has
been removed, and then the upper part of the hat has been
stitched on to the brim. The silk has been pasted over to
hide the stitches. The hat has not been cut down as a
hatter would do it. I am certain of that. I never
knew such a thing to be done, but suppose it had
to be performed by a hatter, ho would use gum and
then put it on a block and pre. s it down with a hot iron.

'hat has not been done in the hat before me. The altera-

tion has been very neat]) performed, and apparently by a
person who understands sewing. The hat, with the excep-
tion I have spoken of, corresponds in every particular
with that I made for the late Mr Briggs. When
a hat is ordered the name of the person so ordering it is

placed on the band of the article. That is the portion that
has been cut from the hat I now hold in my hand.
Cross-examined by Sergeant Parry—lt is not an unusual
thing to put tissue-paper underneath the lining of a hat
that is too easy. I know nothing of a second-hand trade
in hats. My hats might get into the hands of secondhand
dealers, as servants sometimes sell their masters' hats. The
two second-hand hats now submitted to my inspection were
originally made by me. They are very old affairs. One of
them is, perhaps, about 7 years old. Mr Briggs generally
had a new hat once a year; he was a very carefto. wearer.
Some more second-hand hats were here shown to the
witness, and he identified them all as being zue,aufactured
by him.

Re-examined—The hat, cut down, is a superfine hat, and
cost one guinea. Those eubmitted to we are some of
second rate quality,
Sergeant Parry—Quito so; my elk et is otly to show
that Mr Digance's hate got into the second-hand trade.
Frederick William Thorn, a hat-maker—l manufacture
hats for Mr Digance. The one placed in my hand is my
manufacture. It bears my private mark. A poi tion of it
has been cut away since it left my hands. I made it for
Mr Digance. I have known instances in which hats have
been cut down, but then a hatter would nit use paste, as
in this instance. Mine are first-class hats. I have
different marks for each of my customers. I can't say how
many hats I make in a year for Mr Digance. They would
amount to many gross.
Sergeant Tanner recalled—l tried the hat found in the
railway carriage on Muller's head, and found it fitted.
Mrs Blythe recalled—The last true I saw the coat with
a velvet collar was on Thursday, the 14th of July.
Sergeant Parry then rose to address the jury for the
prisoner. He said it now became his duty to address them
in the performance of his very onerous and responsible
duty, and he did so in the firm and unshaken convic-
tion that the prisoner would have a fair and impartial trial.
The conduct of a certain portion of the press in publishing
articles the tenor of which would leave it to be believed that
there was no doubt of the prisoner's guilt, he could not but
think was highly objectionable and unfair, bee iuse those
articles were read, and exerted a prejudice which it was
nearly impossible to surmount. He implored them, if they
had read any of those articles, to cast from themany impres-
sion they might have made; and after that appeal he should
pass to the performance of his task. He was not going to
imitate others who have damaged themselves, damaged their
clients, and damaged the profession to which they belonged
by making a solemn declaration as to the innocence of the
parties for whom they were interested, If he was to make
a solemn as, everation that the young man was innocent of
the charge of which he was accused, they (the jury) would
treat it as it deserved, and supposing his learned friend the
Solicitor-General was to make a solemn declaration that the
prisoner was guilty, they would treat that declaration as
they would his asseveration. He felt that the evidence
that had been placed before them to convict the prisoner
of the crime with which he stood charged, had altogether
failed, and when they heard the evidence he should lay
before them, he felt they would not have a doubt about his
being innocent of so heinous a crime as that of murder.
His learned friend had laid great stress on the evidence
relative to the hat. He seemed to think that if ho could
but prove the hat found on Muller to be that of Mr Briggs',
it would be conclusive evidence against the prisoner, but
that was but his theory; therefore, before they (the jury)
could be of the same opinion, they must be so free from
doubt that not the shadow of any uncertainty remained in
their minds. The evidence that seemed to press hardly
against the prisoner was that of Mrs Repsch,
but it did seem exceedingly extraordinary that
Muller's hat should be the one that seemed to have such
intense curiosity about it. It seemed to him most extraor-
dinary; but taken for what it was worth, he did not think
it was of a nature to make a deep impression upon the
minds of sensible men. With respect to the witness
Mathews, it had been thought that in defending Mailer he
should attempt to involve Mathews in the murder; but
such a thought never for a single moment entered his
mind. The real perpetrator of the murder was known by
but One, to whom all hearts are open, and from whom no
secrets are hid. Was it likely, therefore, that he, with
his finite knowledge, should attempt to fix that crime upon
such a person as Mathews. What appeared to him to be
most extraordinary is that Mathews should have purchased
two of the hats made with that peculiar lining, and of which
only ono other was in existence. Why should not the hat
found in the railway carriage be that of Mathews, but by
that he did not mean to imply that it was on his head dur-
ing the murder. They had it from him that ho had left
his old hat at Mr Downs's ; was it, therefore, an impossi-
bility for that hat t get into the hands of second-hand
dealers ? Ile thought not. If that should be so, and
there was nothing to disprove such a surmise, it was just
possible that it might have been on the head of the mur-
derer of the 9th of July, but certainly it would not do
lightly to assume that the hat was Muller's. Mathews had
told a peculiar story about the manner in which he became
acquainted with the prisoner—did they believe him ? Did
they believe that he, a cabman, in constant attendance at
the railway stations, cab-stands, and. by his own admis•
mien, public houses, should remain in perfect ignorance of
a murder, which had caused a thrill to pass through the
country, of the most appalling nature ? He did not think
they would hastily commit themselves to Mathews' evi-
dence. It was surrounded by the greatest doubt, and
therefore he felt certain they would weigh well every parti-
cle of it before they acted on it to the prejudice of the pri-
soner. There might be certain suspicions about the hat
being Muller's, but their euspicion would not do. The
ownership of that hat must be brought Imam clearly and
unmistakably—totally devoid of doubt and uncertainty.
Mr Digance, with respect to the hat found in Muller's box,
could not speak positively even to that. He said in his
evidence "I will not undertake to swear that I sold that
hat to Mr Briggs, I cannot swear to it since it has
been cut down," And would they, the jury, by their verdict.,
say that it was. lie thought, as calm and reasonable men,
they would not. What evidence was there to show that
Muller did not take two hats with him to America? Was
it clear that he (lid not ? If so, he should like to have that
evidence pointed out to him, because he would fairly own it
had escaped him. With respect to the possession of the
watch, where was a place more fitted for the disposal of
stolen property than the quay or dock from which an emi-
grant ship was about to start ? Neither did it appear very
' extraordinary that when a person is suddenly accused of
being ire the possession of stolen property he should at first
deny it; and, having purchased the watch under peculiar
circumstances, it was to be expected that a person
of Muller's boastful disposition should assume a confidence
which was not consistent with tru h. With respect to the
chain, was it likely that Muller would go to Mr Death's
with a chain which had but 24 hours before been taken from
the body of a murdered man ? Was it likely that a
sane man would do such a thing ? Certainly not. Muller,
without the slightest suspicion, having purchased the chain
as he had the watch, wished for something more taking to
the eye, and this would account for the open manner in
which he went to Mr Death's. It was a very unfair in-
sinu ttion of his friend Mr Giffard to infer that Muller car-
ried stones in a parcel with which he intended to sink his
bloody clothes when the vessel was at sea. Why, the bundle
was left for 24 hours in the possession of a third party.
The prisoner was not so completely without funds as had
been implied, because one of the witnesses (Haifa) swore
that previous to the 9th of July he saw him with a consi-
derable sum of money in his possession. There was another
circumstance which he thought would carry conviction to
their minds that the prisoner was not the man who com-
mitted such a diabolical murder. Mr Briggs was a gentle-
man of about 12st 81b, and standing 5 feet 9 inches; was it
probable that he could have been overcome by such a snipe
of a man as the prisoner ? He did not think that

it was possible, and ha thought the jury, as men of
common sense,would be of the same opinion. The murder,
in his mind, was not the result of sudden impulse. On the
contrary, he thought it was a most premeditated and de-
liberately arranged affair. In evidence he should show,
beyond the possibility of doubt, that there were two men
in the carriage in which the late Mr Briggs travelled. But
when his learned friend said the prisoner must have sud-
denly seized the stick of Mr Biggs and beat him about the
head, and having stolen his watch, threw the body out of
the carriage, why it was ridiculous to suppose such a thing.
The learned sergeant said he should call Mr Leigh, who
saw persons with Mr Briggs in the carriage, at Bow, and
that he went on Saturday night, the 9th of July, at nine
o'clock, to visit a young woman named Eldred, whom he
knew, and who resided at Stanley Cottage, James-street,
Vassal-road, Brixton. If the jury believed this evidence it
would enable them to relieve the prisoner from the conse-
quences to which ho stood exposed. He should also call an
omnibus driver, who remembers that at 7 minutes to 10
o'clock on Saturday night, three or four months ego, a man
got into the omnibus, who had a carpet slipper
on ono foot. It was right to say that the omni-
bus driver could not fix the date, nor could he
recognize Muller, whom ho had seen in ptison.
The fact that the man would not pledge himself to the pre-
cise day, and that he would not swear to Muller, showed
that he was the witness of truth. Every effort had been
made to find the person from whom Muller purchased the
hat, but ho rcgrUted that those efforts had not been at-
tended with success, The learned sergeant commented
upon the fact that no marks of blood had been sound
upon Muller, while it was evident that the assailants
of Mr Briggs in so severe a struggle must have
been coveted with blood, and concluded by ex-
pressing a hop that in thus bringing the facts
before the jury, ha had properly performed his duty. Ile
reminded them that it the case was not clear to their
minds, they ought to return a verdict of not guilty. In
such a case as this, where the life of a fellow-creature was
impending, the utmost care and caution ought to be exer-
cised by Christian men.

At this stage, 10 minutes to 4, the Court adjourned until
9 o'clock to-morrow morning.

Liverpool Cotton Market—This Day.

Market very excited, at a further advance of sid
per lb. Sales, 15,000 to 20,000 biles.

SHIPPING-TIIIS DAY,

LONDON, Oct. 29.—Wind this day at noon—North-
Easterly; moderate breeze and floe weather, but rather
cloudy.

SWANSEA, Oct. 28.—Wind S.E.—Sailed—Annie Roger,

far Nassau.

Orr PLYMOUTH, Oct. 27.—Wind B.W.—Arrived—
Liverpool, from London for New York.
Qt3BENSTOWN, Oat. 29.—Wind S.W.--Arrived—China,
screw steamer, from New York.

NEWPORT, Oct. 28.—Wind N.W.—Arrived—Swift,
from Gloucester for ltio Janciro —Osborne, from Bristol
for St Thomas—Australia, from Dunkirk for St Thomas—
Julia, from Bristol for Port-au Prince. Sailed—Melrose,
for New York.

Course of Exchau,ge,—Yesterday.

Amsterdam
Ditto
Rotterdam — 12 1t
Antwerp ... —2& 80
Brussels — 25 80
Hamburg .. 13 104
Paris .. .. .
to
25 Su
12 1 k
12 3U
12 30
281

•auhturt oublaiuo
lenna

11 18
12 2
12 2
25 85
25 85
13 1O

'riesto
'etereburgh

25 35
25 85
25 82}
121
12 35
12 35

Berlin -
Madrid
Cadiz
Leghorn

-46 t 46i
- 47 47t
- 26 0 26 6
•- 26 21 26 71

M atm
~