The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-07 00:00:00

' - what evidence he had in corroboration and in
noes .. ^f the charge.
further slpposs ' so be permitted to cross-
Mr. Hutchinesin preSeets
examine the prosectors •
Mr, Sleigh observed that Mr. Hutchinson /snips
cross-examine his client if he pleased; he would be
found perfectly prepared to answers
Mr. Ingham said he ought to have dismissed the
charge on the previous er.smination, and repeated
that uolese strongly confirmed it was useless to go
on with the prosecutioti
Mr. Hutchinson said that if the charge were now
dismissed it was only natural until something
occurred to shake their belief that the public would
think the prisoner had committed the offence, but
that the legal evidence was not sufficient to send
him before a jury. He wished to disabuse the public
mind in that respect, and show prosecutor as un-
worthy of credit.
Having obtained permission,
Mr. Bury Hutchinson then proceeded to cross-
examine the prosecutor as under:—
Mr. Hutchinson—What is your age now P
Prosecutor-4 am 21.
Mr. Hutchinson—For what were you being edu-
cated at 16 ?
Prosecutor—For the Church.
Mr. Hutchinson—Where were you at the age
of 16?
Prosecutor—l cannot say clearly.
Mr. Hutchinson—Oh, yes you can. You must
know where you were. Where were you staying
then ?
Prosecutor—At the Rev. Mr. Margate's, I be-
lieve, near Cambridge.
Mr. Hutchinson—How long were you there ?
Prosecutor—Nearly two years, I think.
Mr. flutceinson--What did you leave there for,
as you were being educated fel.. the Church ?
Prosecutor—Because I intended to go into the
army instead.
Mr. Hutchinson—Oh, you intended ; who told
you you were to enter the army ?
Prosecutor—No one, I decided on that course
myself.
Mr. Hutchinson—Where is your home?
Prosecutor—Wherever I am staying.
Mr. Hutchinson—That is no answer; where is
your home ?
Prosecutor—At my uncle's, near Bury.
Mr. Hutchinson—How long have you lived there?
Prosecutor—l cannot say.
Mr. Hutchinson—Will you pledge your word to
the Court that you have lived with your uncle 12
months.
Prosecutor—No.
Mr. Hutchinson—Now, will you tell the Court of
any relation with whom you have stayed 12 months.
Prosecutor—Yes, my mother, at Cromer.
Mr. Hutchinson—Then your home is not near
Bury St. Edmund's.
Prosecutor—No.
Mr. Hutchinson—When I ask you where your
home was, I mean where did your parents live ?
Prosecutor—l have no parents.
Mr. Hutchinson—You had, then ?
Prosecutor—Yes, my mother, at Cromer.
Mr. Hutchinson—When you left there, how long
did you stsy with any of your uncles ?
Prosecutor—l cannot say; I stayed with several.
Cross-examination continued—l cannot say how
long I stayed with any of my uncles. Do not know
whether I stopped with any of them six months.
When I was at Bury I stopped at the Angel Hotel.
It was not a public-house; it was the largest hotel
in the place. I had lodgings there. I never stayed
anywhere 12 months.
Mr. Hutchinson—Then you made up your mind
to enter the army at 18 ?
Prosecutor—l did.
Mr. Hutchinson—Through whose influence were
you to enter the army ?
Prosecutor—l asked General Wyndham to pro-
cure me a commission.
Mr. Hutchinson—How came you to know Gen.
Wyndham ?
Mr. Sleigh here interrupted, and said he really
must appeal to the magistrate whether this was to
be permitted. Any cross-examination which
might touch his client's morality or good conduct
might be as lengthy as his learned friend wished,
hut he really must object to his travelling away
from the issue, and putting such questions as were
quite foreign to this investigation. His friend (Mr.
Hutchinson) had ample scope to examine upon his
client's moral character, but he (Mr. Sleigh) must
appeal to his Worship to stop such a desultory
examination as he was indulging in.
Mr. Hutchinson observed that he was asking
questions touching this young man's character and
credit, as Mr. Sleigh would see presently.
Mr. Ingham really cou:d not see the use of such
questions. There must be some limit to cross-exa-
minations, but it was hard to know where to fix
that limit. He trusted, however, Mr. Hutchinson
would bee the necessity of strictly confining hlmaelf
to the question before them.
Mr. Hutchinson said he would do so, and then
resumed the cross-examination as under :
Mr. Hutchinson—Do you know Captain Wynd-
ham ?
Prosecutor—l do.
Mr. Hutchinson—How do you know him?
Prosecutor—l knew him while I was staying at
Cromer,
Mr. Hutchinsor —How did you procure your
commission ?
Prosecutor—l asked General Wyndham to pro-
cure it for me.
Mr. Hutchinson—And you were so elated, the
learned counsel says, at his procuring your commis-
sion, that you became so intoxicated as not to know
what you were about on the night you gave this
man in charge. Was that so?
Prosecutor—lt was.
Mr. Hutchinson—Was this your first acquaint-
ance with soldiers?
Prosecutor—No.
Mr. Hutchinson—Have you ever been charged
by other soldiers with taking indecent liberties with
them ?
Prosecutor—No.
Mr. Hutchinson—Will you swear it ?
Prosecutor—Yes. I was accused by a drunken
man with something of that sort.
Mr. Hutchinson—What do you mean by that?
Prosecutor—l do not know.
Mr. Hutchinson—What did this drunken man,
as you call him, say ?
Prosecutor—l shall not repeat the conversation.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did he not charge you with
inciting him to consent to the commission of an un-
natural offence ?
Prosecutor—He did.
Cross-examination continued—l cannot say for
I certain where I found this drunken soldier. I be-
lieve it was at Knightsbridge. This was two or
three months before I got my commission. It had
not been intimated to me that I should have one
then. I took him in a cab, he did not take me. He
was not drunk ; I was. I asked him to take care
of me.
Mr. Hutchinson—Where were you staying then ?
Prosecutor—Must I say ?
Mr, Hutchinson—Yes; you must answer me.
Prosecutor—l was staying at the Rev. Mr.
Hughes's, 61, Finchley -road.
Mr. Hutchinson—Were you going home to that
place ?
Prosecutor—No ; I was going to Bury, if I re-
member rightly.
Cross-examination continued—l don't know what
time this was ; it was night; it was certainly past
nice. I was net going by train that night. I had
no lodgings in town. I meant to have slept at the
Tavistock Hotel.
Mr. Hutchinson—Where did you ask this sol-
dier to take you ?
Prosecutor—l don't know ; I went to the Hay-
market in a cab.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did you get more drink ?
Prosecutor—l suppose I did.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did you make the soldier drunk?
Prosecutor—l do not know. I gave him wine.
Mr. Hutchinson—Where did you go after you
left, the Haymarket?
Mr. Sleigh again interposed, and asked the ma-
gistrate to stop such questions, which he main-
tained were perfectly irrelevant to the charge.
Mr. Hutchinson however again assured the ma-
gistrate these were must important questions and
continued—Where did you go afterwards with this
drunken soldier ?
Prosecutor—l really cannot say.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did you go in the cab
Prosecutor—l cannot say,
Mr. Hutchinson—You were too drunk to remem-
ber.
Prosecutor—l suppose I was.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did you go to 63, Seymour-
street, Euston-square
Prosecutor—No.
Mr. Hutchinson—Will you swear it ?
Prosecutor—l can almost do so.
Mr. Hutchinson—Almost. Do you know where
you slept that night ?
Prosecutor—l did not sleep at all.
Mr. Hutchinson—Did you sit up all night ?
Prosecutor—I gave the soldier in charge.
Cross-examination continued—l believe I took
him to Euston-square p olice-station. I do not know
how I got from the Haymarket there. I suppose I
drove t here.
Mr. Hutchinson—Nov, upon your oath, did not
this soldier threaten to give' you into custody for an
iudecant act towards him, and did you not then
charge him with robbery ?
Prosecutor—No, he made no such threat.
Mr. Hutehinson—Did he not accuse you of inde-
cent conduct ?
Prosecutor—He said something about it.
Mr. Hutchinson—When did you accuse him?