The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 6, 1862.

• polite, was then called to prove that the prisoner
had made certain statements relating to the fire,
which did not, however, appear to be very material,
and this closed the case for the prosecution.
Mr. Ribton then proceeded to address the jury
for the prisoner. He said that the case was un-
doubtedly one of a most extraordinary character,
and the way in which the prosecution sought to
establish the case against the prisoner appeared to
be by proving that no one else in the house had done
the act. He did not, of course, desire for a moment
to impute guilt to any one ; but it was obvious that
if the act had been committed by any one else, that
person would deny it, and if the prisoner had been
examined, and she had been asked the question, she
would have given the same answer they did. He
was then proceeding to observe upon the absence of
anything like direct evidence to support the charge
against the prisoner, when he was stopped by
The Jury, who expressed their opinion that the
evidence was not sufficient to support the charge,
and they therefore found the prisoner not guilty.
The learned Judge said he did not desire at all
to object to the verdict, but he could not help ob-
serving, in reference to a suggestion that had been
thrown out in the course of the case, that it was
absurd to suppose that the act could have been com-
mitted by Miss Milligan, especially when it ap..
peared that she would be so great a loser by it.

THE GAROTTING CASE IN IVATERLOO-

PLACE.

Yesterday two young men, who gave the names
Bermondsey, and Dennis Murphy, 12,
of Henry, Chandler, 9, Victoria-place, Smith's-
buildings, Waterloo-road, tanners, were
Smith's-
bungs, dbienr gess:.
brought to Marlborough-street Police-court, and
placed at the bar before Mr. Knox, charged with
being concerned, with others not in custody, in vio-
lently assaulting J. Pilkington, Esq., M.P., on the
15th July, in Waterloo-place, and stealing from his
person a gold watch and chain, his property.
Mr. E. Lewis was for the prisoners.
Mary Hodge, 15, Friar-street, said—About one
o'clock on 15th July last I was in Pall-mall, near the
statue, close to the Athen wain Club. I was alone, and
I pointed out the spot to the police. I saw a gentle-
man go past. He was not exactly young. I believe
he was dressed in black, I saw a woman named
Amelia go up to him. I saw her put her hands in an
improper manner on him, but he did not want her,
and told her to go away. She went on him a second
time, and came back to Chandler, who was close
by, and said, " I've got his jerry," and Chandler
replied, " Very well, I'll settle him." With that
he up with his fist, and knocked him down. The
other man was with him, and he came up, and they
both used him shamefully. They put their arms
round his neck, and nearly strangled him. The men
and woman went to a public-house, and the watch
was sold to one of the prisoners' brothers.
Mr. Knox—How do you know that ?
Witness—Amelia told me so herself. The gentle-
man was not able to go away. I gave information
to the police and the soldier on guard.
Mr. Knox—Did you know either of these pri-
soners before ?
Witness—l knew them both as perfect thieves.
Cross-examined by Mr. Lewis-1 am a married
woman. My husband is in the 27th Company Royal
Engineers. I was about some business in Pall-mall
that night, and I could not get home before. I had
been to King's-cross on business to my cousin.
You miy find out the business.
Mr. Knox—You must answer the question.
Witness—l went to Mrs. Drummond's, No. 2,
Somers-street. I do not know the time I went there
but I believe about nine o'clock. Cannot say when'
I left. It might be about twelve o'clock.
The witness, who is an Irishwoman, gave her
evidence with great sharpness.
Mr. Knox said the witness was cutting her own
throat by her manner.
Cross-examined—lt was her business why she
was at Pall-mall on the night in question, and why
she went to Pall mall on her way home to Friar-
street, Blackfriars-road, from King's-cross. The
witness here spoke with so much flippancy to Mr.
Less is that
Mr. Knox said she was conducting herself
abominably, and he must have more decency while
giving evidence.
Cross-examination continued—Had never been in
trouble at the Mansion-house. Never lived with a
man named Toby. Was standing in Pall-mall about
ten minutes before she saw Amelia. Knew Amelia
as a thief. The police had pointed her out to her
as a thief. Had often been to Bow-street to see a
]ady friend. Had not spoken to Amelia on that
morning. The first thing she saw was the gentle-
man knocked down like a brute. That was enough
for her to see. Did not say the watch was taken
first. The watch was taken when the gentleman
was standing on his feet, before he was knocked
down. Let the gentlemen come and speak for him-
self, if he is alive.

Mr. Knox said—The evidence of the witness is
one tissue of impertinence. At first I thought she
was drunk, but she says she is not. It is impossible
to put any faith in what is stated ; especially where
life and limb are put in peril. A more disgusting
exhibition in a witness-box I never before witnessed.
Mr. Superintendent Hannant said the witness
Hodge cam© to the station-house, and made a state-
ment that she witnessed the assault on a gentleman
in Waterloo-place. She said the two prisoners,
and a woman named Amelia, were the parties. The
superintendent here gave the statement made at the
police-station by the witness, which varied in
several important particulars from the statement
above made.

Mr. Knox said there was a contradiction between
the statements.

Mr. Hannant said the witness took him to Water-
loo-place, and pointed out the place where she said
the gentleman was knocked down. The place was
about 100 yards from where the transaction oc-
curred, and was also on the other side of the way.
He could not imagine the motive the witness could
have for making the charge against the men. The
charge was a very serious one, and he did not feel
justified in not entertaining it, though he had his
doubts about the veracity of the witness.
The witness was recalled, and told to conduct
herself with more propriety.
Re-examined—Both stories were true. Did not
know which of the three said " I have got his
jerry." Amelia did not say so. She said, "I have
not got his jerry. I'll go back and get it."
Mr. Knox referred to his notes, and pointed out
the entire discrepancy between this and the pre-
vious statement.

Mr. E. Lewis—Well, tell us which is the truth.
Witness—You may take his worship's statement.
It was Murphy put his arms round the gentleman.
I was near enough to see that the two men were

together. The woman was not with them. I don's

know which of the two men took the watch. I did
not see who put his arms round the gentleman. I

screamed a dozen times for the police.
The superintendent said the men were bad
characters. One of them had been convicted.

Mr. Knox said, had the charge been one of ordi-
nary importance, the way the witness had given

her evidence would have caused its dismissal as soon

as she had made her statement. The task was im-

posed on him of discharging the two prisoners, who,
even if they had been returned convicts, and shown

to be the very worst of characters, could not have

been held in custody on evidence such as had been
given before him. The woman had perjured her•-

self and contradicted herself in every way. She had
given two versions of the same story, both incon-

sistent with each other; in short, the whole of her

story was a mass of shameless perjury. It was im-
possible that, the Queen's subjects could be detained
In custody on such unsupported evidence, and he
sirnid, therefore, order the prisoners to be dis-
emlred.
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711 E MILITARY MURDER AT BRIGIITON
At the Lewis assizes on Monday, before Baron
Martin, John Flood, 22, a smart-looking young fel-
low, a private in the 18th Hussars, was charged
with the wilful murder of John O'Dea, on the Bth
of June, at Brighton.
Mr. Roupell anti Mr. Lumley Smith conducted
the prosecution ; Mr. Ribton defended the prisoner.
The learned counsel for the prosecution, in open-
ing the case to the jury, said he was quite sure from
its very serious nature that they would give it their
most serious and careful attention, as the life of the
prisoner undoubtedly depended upon their verdict.
He then stated the circumstances under which the
charge was preferred, which lay in a very small com-
pass. The prisoner and the deceased, it appeared,
were both privates in the 18th Hussars, three troops
of which regiment are stationed at Brighton, where
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comrade, named Hughes, at the entrance of the bar-
racks in Church-street. According to the military re-
gulations it appears that ten rounds of ammunition
are served to each man in one packet, but they are
not allowed to open this packet; and when they
are on guard their carbines are not loaded. After
the prisoner had been on guard a short time he
asked his comrade Hughes to change positions with
him, as he said he wanted to see some one come in
I at the gate, and he should be better able to do so,
and Hughes did as he was requested. In a few mi-
nutes the deceased and another private soldier
named S wires, came into the barracks, and the pri-
soner called out "Is that you, O'Dea ?" The de-
ceased replied, " Yes, Flood," and the prisoner
stepped forward, presented his carbine at him and
fired, and the ball passed completely through his
body and struck against a wall behind. He ex-
claimed, "Oh God, .I am shot," and fell to the
ground, and he was taken into the barracks, and
medical assistance was promptly obtained, but it
was of no avail, and he expired shortly afterwards.
The prisoner did not attempt to make the slightest
effort to escape. His piece was smoking when he
was secured, and upon his being taken to the guard-
room he said in a composed tone, " All right, cor-
poral, lam not going to run away." There was,
of course, not the slightest doubt that the prisoner
was the man who shot the deceased, and upon his
packet of cartridges being examined it was found
that one was missing. After he had been locked up
a short time he inquired of one of his comrades who
came to see him whether O'Dea was dead, and upon
his telling him that he was not, but he was afraid
he soon would be, the prisoner replied "If he is
not dead, I hope that he soon will die." The
police were sent for, and the prisoner was
given into the charge of the superintendent,
who asked him if he had been drinking, and he at
first said that he had only drunk one pint of beer,
but he afterwards said that he had had three
pints of beer during the day, and a glass of rum,
but although the prisoner appeared to be in a sort
of studid state it was the opinion of those about him
that he was perfectly sober. The prisoner was then
removed to the police-station, and, as is usual in
such cases, a police-constable, named Neeve, was
placed in the cell with him during the night. It
appeared that while they were in the cell the pri-
soner inquired of the policeman whether O'Dea was
dead, and upon his answering that he did not
know, the prisoner said he was sorry that another
was not with him at the time he shot him, for then
he should go to the gallows comfortable. He then
said he had ,not the least notion of doing what he
had until six o'clock, and he also said that in the
early part of the day O'Dea, the deceased, had
threatened to give him a thrashing, and he told him
he was not a fighting man and he would not make
a blackguard of himself. Upon the prisoner being
examined before the magistrate, and his being asked
whether he wished to make any answer to the
charge, he volunteered the following statement :
" Yesterday morning, at nine o'clock, I went on
guard, and when I returned to the barracks I took
my ammunition out of the pouch and placed it on
the window, as I did not want to carry it about as
it was so hot. I went on duty again at eleven
o'clock, and O'Dea came to me, and abused me,
and threatened me. When I went back to
the barracks I put the cartridges into my
pouch for fear the sergeant should come and ex-
amine me. The carbine was not loaded by me, but
it was fired by me. That is all." With regard to
the statement of the prisoner that he had not loaded
the weapon, it appeared that although he was not
actually seen to do so, yet that during the afternoon
he had been observed lying down in the barrack
room covered by his cloak and a rug, and that he
had his carbine with him, which he ought not to
have had, but which should have been pieced in the
rack ; and as the weapon was a breach-loader, it
was stated that he could have easily loaded it at this
time without any one being aware that he was doing
so. The only assignable motive or provocation for
the commis.-ion of the crime by the prisoner appeared
to be this :—ln the regiment to which he belonged,
and generally throughout the army, it appears to
be the custom that the horses and accoutrements of
the men who are on guard shall be cleaned by some
of their comrades, who are told off, as it is termed,
for that purpose; and that the men belonging to
the 18th Hussars were in the habit of holding a sort
of mock court martial among themselves and pun-
ishing any of their comrades who did not properly
perform their duty or misbehaved themselves. On
the day this affair happened it seemed that the duty
had devolved upon the deceased to clean the pri-
soner's horse and accoutrements, and that he com-
plained to the prisoner that he had left him a very
dirty saddle to clean, and the prisoner replied that
the saddle was quite clean when he left it, and the
deceased then said that he should have him tried by
court-martial.
The evidence that was adduced completely bore
out the above facts, but it was elicited by Mr. Rib-
ton, in cross-examination, that these court-martials
among the men were held without the knowledge
or sanction of the officers, and that upon two occa-
sions the prisoner had been so tried for some petty
offence, and that he had been stripped and flogged
in the barracks by one of his comrades, with his
doubled belt, according to a sentence that was
passed upon him. It also appeared that the prisoner
had been four years in the regiment, and that he
bore the character of a quiet inoffensive man, and
that the deceased was a very violent man, and that
he was continually abusing him, and that he had
gone to him while he was on duty on the day the
affair happened and made use of bad language to
him, and he was served with a sort of formal no-
tice that he was to be tried by a court-martial for
leaving his saddle dirty, and was told that he would
be flogged as he had been before. It likewise ap-
peared that during the afternoon of the Bth of June
the prisoner had drank two pints of ale, and that
while he was on guard some girl with whom he
was acquainted took him a couple of glasses of rum,
and there is no doubt that he was to some extent
the worse for liquor when he committed the act.
Mr. Ribton, at the close of the case for the pro-
secution, made a most able and eloquent address to
the jury for the prisoner. He said the isssue they
had to decide was a most awful one, for upon their
verdict it would depend whether the wretched man
at the bar, who might be said only to have arrived
at the very dawn of life, was to be consigned to the
scaffold, and be deprived of his existence by an ignd-
minous dear b--a fate that must inevitably follow it

they returned a verdict of guilty upon this charge.
He then proceeded to state that all he could
attempt to do was to endeavour to induce the. jury
to find him guilty of the lesser offence of man-
slaughter, and he said it appeared to him that there
were circumstances in this melancholy case that
would justify them in coming to that conclusion.
The learned counsel then referred to the facts
given in evidence, and said there could be
.no
doubt that the unfortunate deceased was a vm-
lent man, and that he had
repeatedly in-
sulted the prisoner ; and that the latter,
although he had been admitted by
his officers to be
a good soldier and a well-behaved peaceable man,
had been subjected to a great deal of ill-treatment
at the hands of his comrades. He submitted, there-
fore, that at the time he committed the act he was
smarting under the treatment he had received from
the deceased, and that the act might be considered•
to have been committed in hot blood, which would
justify the jury in acquitting the prisoner of the
crie of wilful murder, and convicting him of man-
slaughter only.
m
Mr. Baron Martin, in his summing up to the jury,
said he felt it his duty to state that a great many
of the topics that had been introduced by the learned
counsel for the prisoner ought to be dismissed alto-
gether from their consideration, and
they must act
upon the law as he
should lay it down to thew, and
without any regard to the consequences of the ver-
dict they might pronounce. The learned counsel
bad complained that in this country a jury could
not in such a case as this find that the murder was
committed under extenuating circumstances; but
he must observe that a verdict of guilty, if it was
accompanied by a recommendation to mercy by the
jury, amounted to the same thing; and if there
really were extenuating circumstances in the case
such a recommendation was always attended to by
the Crown. His lordship then briefly alluded to
the facts that had been deposed to by the witnesses,
and he said that it was very probable that the de-
ceased had made use of rough and threatening lan-
guage to the prisoner; but the law of
t consider England did
not for a momen that this was any justi-
fication for taking human life, and it
appeared to
him that if they believed the evidence the offence

of the prisoner amounted to the crime of wilful
murder.

The jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict,
and were absent about an hour. Upon their return
into court they found the prisoner Guilty.
Mr. Avery, the deputy clerk of arraigns, then
asked the prisoner in the usual form whether he had
anything to urge why sentence of death should not
be passed upon him.

The Prisoner replied—l was greatly excited by
the way in which I had been treated, and by drink,
and did not know. what I was doing. lam now
very sorry, and repent what I have done.
Mr. Baron Martin, having put on the black cap,
addressed the prisoner, and said that after a long
and careful trial, and a most able speech by the
learned counsel on his behalf, he had been convicted
of the crime of wilful murder, and the jury had con-
sidered everything that had been urged in his favour
most attentively before they came to that decision.
It appeared to him that no one who had heard the
evidence could have come to a different conclusion.
It was clear that he had received some offence from
the deceased, and that he brooded over it, and this
and the drink he had taken had led to the commis-
sion of the act ; but these were circumstances that
afforded no justification, and it appeared to him that
there was nothing in the case which reduced the
crime to one of manslaughter. The real fact, no
doubt, was that having, as he supposed, received
some ill-treatment at the hands of deceased, he de-
termined to revenge himself upon bim, and carried
out his intention in the most deliberate manner.
It was now, therefore, his duty to pass on him the
sentence of the law, and at the same time he felt it
right to say that he could not ht,ld out to him the
slightest, hope that mercy would be extended to
him, and he should be leading him astray if he were
to do so. When one man shot another in the manner
he did, if ever the punishment of death was to be
inflicted, it appeared to him it was impossible to
avoid it in such a case, and he therefore exhorted
him to prepare to undergo the great change that
inevitably awaited him. His lordship concluded by
passing sentence of death in the usual form.
The prisoner, who seemed to be very much af-
fected, and who cried bitterly during nearly the
whole time of the trial, almost fainted when the
sentence was pronounced, and he was assisted from
the dock by two of the turnkeys.