The Sun.
London, England, 1830-10-09 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY, Ocr.B.

TRIAL. OF CAPTAIN lIELSIIAM.
(Concluded from our Paper of yegtorday.)
The Rev. James Crowther, brother to the de-
ceased, proved that he saW the dead body at Bou-
logne on the .sth of April. He also proved that
his brother was a native of Great Britain, and that he
bad been a Lieutenant in the Ist Foot or Royalg.
This closed the case for the prosecution, which
Occupied from ten o'clock to a quarter to three.
Before the defence was entered upon,

Mr. ALLEY took an objection toy the indictment,
and contended at considerable length that the Act
of Parliament upon which it was founded applied
only to natural-born British subjects. Now it had
not been fully proved in evidence that the prisoner
came under that description, and even his own ac-
knowledgment of his being an Irishman was not suf-
ficient evidence of the fact. _ _

•
Mr. Jamie BAYLF.Y, however, overruled the ob-
jection, and the prisoner being called upon for his
defence, addressed the Court and the Jury in a dis-
tinct and impressive manner, occasionally referring
to a written paper whieh lay before him. • He went
over the circumstances which bad led to the duel,
and solemnly declared that prior to the meeting he
entertained no feelings of ill-will towards the unfor-
tunate deceased. He complained of the expo*
statements which bad been circulated to his preju-
dice, and spoke of the respectability of his connec-
tions in Ireland, and the pain which his unfortunate
situation brought upon his- aged mother and friends.
The depositions taken'in France were then offered
by Mr. ALLEY; but their being read in evidence was
over-ruled by the Judge. Witnesses were then called
for the defence.

Mr. Sleig, examined .by Mr. ADOLPIIUS—He
rated that he was an oflieer in the British army,
and that he was a member of two clubs in Boulogne.
Knew both the prisoner and Mr. Crowther; the
former was a member of both clubs. Saw Mr.
Crowther at a billiard-room about two days before
the duel took place. He came into the room and
spoke to two gentlemen who were there, and went
out with one of them. Witness had some conver-
sation with Colonel Conway on the subject of Mr.
Crowther's admission► to the room, and the Colonel
produced a letter, which he said he had received
from Mr. Crowther ; in consequence of which wit-
ness waited upon Mr. Crowther, and delivered to
him the letter which Colonel Conway had received,
saying, that Colonel Conwayhad no desire to injure
him, and, referring him to Captain Helsham, as the
author of the report to his prejudice. Captain Hel-
sham subsequently acknowledged that It had pro-
pagated the report, adding, that the impression upon
Isis mind was that he was correct.- Mr. Crowther
denied the truth of the report, but admitted that
he had been knocked down, and said that he, had
called the assauber to an account. Captain Helsham
then observed, that these affairs were not in general
conducted without a friend ; adding, " Give me a
reference to the party who acted for you on that oc-
casion; and if he was satisfied with your conduct,
I shall be ready to offer you an apology." Mr.
Crowther replied, that he had employed no friend,
but had done it through the mediuM of the public
papers. Captain Helsham then said, " I have a pro-
posal to make," and mentioned the names of three
gentlemen who were at Cheltenham at the time,
one of whom was Mr. St. George. Mr. Crowther
admitted that lie knew the gentlemen mentioned,
and Captain Helsham then proposed that he
should write to Cheltenham to these three
gentlemen, and if the reply of any of any of them
was satisfactory, that he would then apologize. Mr.
Crowther refused that proposal, and Captain Wl-
sham then proposed that Mr. Crowther should
write, but that gentleman said he would have no
letters on the subject. Captain Helsham then said,
" Refer me to the newspapers in which you called
this per Son to an account ; show me one of them,
and I shall then be ready to make you any apology,orif
not satisfied with titer, I willgi we you any other satisfae-
tion." Some conversation ensued about the possibility
of getting the newspapers, and it was agreed that Mr.
Crowther should go to :England and procure them,
or extracts from them, at Peel's Coffee-room, and
the last words Mr. Crowther said were—" Very
well, I shall start to-night." This was on the 31st
of March, the day before the duel. Witness uas
very well acquainted with Captain Helsham about
four years ago, but since them had dropped all
friendly connection with him.
Croto-examined by Mr. OURNF:Y—When I waited
upon Mr. Crowther from Colonel Conway, I knew
that Captain Helsham was going to wait upon him
also. Mr. Crowther explained that he had been
knocked down by a person by whom he and a young
lady with whom he was running away had been
pursued, and that he, having failed to obtain the
address of the party by whom he had been assaulted,
he put ass advertisement in a newspaper to discover
him. The occurrence mentioned by. Mr. Crowther
had taken i►lace about six years before the meeting
at his lodgings. At that interview Captain Het-
sham said that be did not think be would be called
upon to meet Mr. Crowther until the stigma was
removed to which allusion had been made. .

Colonel James Conway was then sworn and ass.
mined—He stated that he was residing at Bou-
logne in March, 1820, and was aware,of the differ-
ence between the prisoner and Mr. Crowther. Wit-
ness had a conversation with Mr. Malony in a pri-
vate room, and he (witness) übserved to that per-
son that it. was a pity two young men should light
upon a matter of so little importance, and added,
that he should advise Captain Helsham not to melt
Mr. Crowther, to which Mr.Malony most distinctly
replied, that if Ciptain Helsham refused a meeting,
he should be compelled to it, and said, that the,
.usual means adopted upon those occasions should be
resorted to, namely.—posting him in the town,. and
a public horsewhipping. "Captain Helaham came
into the room at that very time, and beard the oh-
.fiervation. Witness did not hear Captain,Helsham
say, " I caution you, Sir, that if I am compelled to
fight, I will make it a Metter of besiness.' Such
an expression could not have been . used fit his (wit 4
ness's) presence: .
Cross-examined by Mr. C. PHILLIPS.,...WSI a
Lieutenant-Colonel the 63d regiment. Never
sent Captain Helaham to Mr. Crowther. The wit-
ness was here handed a note, which ho acknow-
: hedged was in his handwriting; audit having been
read by the dicier of the Court, the witness said it
had escaped' his memory that ho had sent Captain
Helsham to Mr. Crowther. Was quite certain that
he did not propose to Mr. Malony that he should
fight Captain Heisham, end to the best of his re-
collection he did not say that Mr. Crowther was an
unfit person to meet Captain Helsham, Witness
was very much averse that any fighting should take
place, and did all ho could to prevent it. 'Witne'ss
remembered officers of justice coming to his house
at Boulogne, to look for Captain Helstrarn, and re-
collected telling them that, he had left the house the
camebefore.night t
o h
s Itheomuesme bien Englandredalsothtaot
look
kcerrta
so fjus-tice
Cap-
tain Helaham. WoUld not swear that this took
place within 'four months, but rather thought it was
tbheeforyeeatrhe
witness'ssnoo soma
e saytl Pnlemu ins
whether he -went 11)8 ap officers.
morningclaineep:bi ors evening
16:1 fd:
- conch, Was positive, .however, that he did not
make his escape by the back door, while the officers
were obtaining admission iit .the front. The pri-
g loner was connected with witness.
By the JUDGE--The prisoner is married to my

laughter. Tie marriage took place since the
ransuetion. _ _ .

John Rooks, a lad, examined by Mr. A I.LEY-
Was present at the euel, and stood about 100 yards
from ►he parties. When Lieutenant Crowther fired,
witness turned towards Captain Heisbam, and saw

him raise his arm and fire directly.
Cross-examined by Mr. CLARKSON—Stood close
to the trench where the pistols were loaded. Heard
Cavell Hel-ham order a coach, end went to the
ground, thinking that something was coming on.
Alhonse Hanoupin, a Frenchman, sworn, and
examined through the medium of an interpreter—
Was in the wood near the Column when the duel
took place. , Saw one of the gentlemen fire, and the
other gentleman fired directly. The two shots were
like those tired from a double-barrelled gun. The
last gentleman did not take any aim.
Crosssexamined by Mr. GURNEY—Was at the
time in the service of a lady named French, whom
Carrin llel,rh,sin used to vi.it daily. He (the
Captain) was at her house the night before the
duel, and also on the morning it took place; but he
came and went away immediately.
A great number of respectable persons, in-
cluding military anti naval °Meer', professional gentle-
men, a Magistrate of the county of Kilkenny, Mr.
Chesterton (the Governor of-the House of Correc-
tion), Mr. Webb (the comedian), and others, united
in giving the prisoner an excellent character for
kindness, generosity, and humanity.
At half-past six o'clock Mr. Justice Ka Lev pro-
seeded to charge the Jury, end after desiring them
to dismiss from their minds any reports ro the pre-
judice of the prisoner which they might have heard
before they entered the box, his Lordship called
their attention to the points to which they should
apply themselves in their consideration of the case.
The points were these :—First, they must be satis-
fied that both the prisoner and the deceased were
natural-born subjects of this realm; secondly, they
must be quite certain that the deceased was killed
by the hand of the prisoner; and thirdly, whether
the prisoner had so acted as to be guilty of the
crime of murder. Intentionally using means calcu-
lated to produce death, if that result ensued, did
most undoubtedly constitute the crime of murder.
Wsith regard to the present case, it appeared, be-
yond all doubt, that it had arisen out of a duel ; now
he (Mr. Justice Bayley) was bound as a lawyer to
tell the Jury, that if parties went out to fight a
duel, and that death was the result of that meeting,
the surviving parties in the transaction were equally
guilty of the crime of murder, whether fair or foul
Means had been used. The Learned Judge then
proceeded to read over the whole of the evidence,
commenting as he proceeded upon the various points
which that evidence presented.
The Jury having remained out of Court for the
space of übout twenty minutes, returned with a ver-
dict, finding the prisoner Not Guilty.
The announcement of the verdict was received
with evident satisfaction by the Court ; and seine
persons so far forgot themselves as to clap their
hands; upon hearing which Mr Justice BAYLEY
called upon the Sheriff to take any person into
custody who had acted in this most unbecoming
Manner, observing, that although he had no fault
whatever to find with the verdict which had just
been pronounced, it was most essential to the ends
of justice that its course should neither be diverted
nor influenced by the opinions of persons who were
inertly spectators there. lie repeated that he had
no doubt but the jury had pronounced a just and
proper verdict.
• The prisoner, who possessed throughout the day
a great share of fortitude and self-possession, with.
out any attempt at effect, was immediately sur-
mended by his friend., who shook him most cor-
dially by the hand. He retired accompanied by
several of them through the body of the prison, and
got into a coach at the door of Mr. Wontner's pri-
vate residence. The Court was crowded to excess
during the entire day, and such was the interest
which the trial excited, that most of the persons,
amongst whom were some, well-dressed females,
never left the Court during the ten hours which the
trial occupied.

POLICE 'INTELLIGENCE. •

• QUEEN.SQUARE.

Yesterday Simeon Carter, a baker, of Robert-
street,.Chelsen, was charged, before Messrs. GRE.•
001tiE and WHITE, with assaulting William Ingle, a
lad in the employ of Mr. Levi, the well-known con•
tractor for turnpike tolls around the metropolis.
The complainant stated that on Friday last, about
two o'clock in the afternoon, the defendant passed
through Queen's-elms turnpike in a one-horse cart,
without paying or producing a ticket. Witness ran
to the side of the cart to ask him for. the money,
when the defendant cut him across the back with his
whip. Witness took up a stone and threw it at
him, when he jumped out of the cart and beat him
with the but-ends of his whip, and knocked him
down ; when he got up, he again struck him with
his whip, and lashed him with the double thong, hit
his head against the wall, and knocked him down.
His, muster came uP", and asked him for the toll,
when he made use of a vulgar expression.

Mr. Levi? jun., of No. 39, Brom. pion-square, con-
firmed the statement of the complainant.
The defendant in reply said, that he had paid the
toll in the course of the day. The complainant called
out to him, and being conscious. of having paid the
toll, he did not stop, when the lad threw a stone at
him and hit him on the back. He certainly then
got out and hit him slightly with the whip.
Mr. WIIITE asked the defendant if he struck him
before he threw the stone?--The defendant replied
that he did not, for he never. came near enough to
the cart to be struck by. him. •
Charles Lister, in the employ of the defendant
who was in the cart at the time, was called as a wit-
ness on behalf of his master, and on being questioned
by Mr. White, said that the complainant came
near enough to the cart to stop the horse if he
pleased, but he would not exactly take his oath
whether his master struck him with his whip or not
before the stone was thrown,
Mr. Levi said that, heketivi the defendant, who
frequently passed through the gate; but it was a
black horse he paid for ID the morning, and a grey
horse was in The cart when the payment was de-
manded.
Mr. WIIITE said that he did not approve of the
toll-collectors stopping persons when they knew
their address, if there was a dispute about the pay-
ment of a toll, as they might easily have a remedy
without causing a' disturbance in the road ; at the
same time the complainant'was doing no more than his
;duty in seeing that, the toll was peid, or that the de-
fendant had a ticket for lila exemption; and it Wits
'the duty of every passenger to satisfy the toll-Col-
lector that he had paid. When the defendant had
got through the gate,:he ought to have stopped and
satisfied the collector, and not have cut him with his
whip : and, as an example, to the public, he should
fine the defendant in the tall penalty of Efl.
The defendant wished to appeal.
Mr. GREGORIS LOW 11iM there was no appeal, and
and the money was paid.