The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-06 00:00:00

Ohs" x Said, " ifyon know all about it, I need say
nothing more ;" and I walked back to the front of
the shop, and I said no more. That was the whole
of the conversation which took place between us.

It did not last ten minutes, and he left almost
directly, I was not at all excited, at ci expressed
myself as Ido now. I never said to him that she
was improperly associating with other men; nothing
of the kind.

The learned Judge—Do you mean that you never
said that to anybody at any time
Plaintiff—No, my lord.
Mr. Huddleston—Were you " guilty of repeated
acts of violence ?" (reading from the certificate
stated in the plea of justification) ; did you threaten
her life or often assault her ?
Plaintiff—No.
Mr. Huddleston (still reading from the plea)—
Did you sleep with a drawn sword, &c.?
Plaintiff—No ; the only sword is the one I have
mentioned, and an old sword-stick with the handle
on.

Mr. Huddleston—Did you ever threaten to mur-
der any one who approached you ?
Plaintiff—No.
Mr. Huddleston—Did you ever threaten to stab
her ?

Plaintiff—No.
Mr.Huddleston—Was your appearance then as it
is now, for I see he says you had a wild and staring
look ?

Plaintiff—lt was as quiet as it is now.
Mr. Huddleston then elicited further from the
plaintiff that he had on several occasions consulted
solicitors about his wife, and that solicitors had
attended police courts for him. There was no in-
terview between him and Dr. Semple besides what
he had stated, before he was taken. He had never
had three days' illness, except from a cold. He
was not at all given to drinking. The plaintiff
went on to state that two days after this interview
with the defendant—that is, on the 30th of July—
he was coming home at 11 at night from some
neighbours, with whom he had hpan
tie was going into his house with a latch-key.
A man was lounging against the door, and said,
"Is your name Hall ?" I said (continued the plain-
tiff), " Yes ; what do you want with me ?" He said,
" Some of y our friends have got a supper, and are
very jolly, and want you to come and join them."
(Laughter.) I said, " You must make a mistake ;
you cannot mean me." I put the key in the door,
and found it was fastened. One of the men placed
himself before me, and said, " You must go with
us ;" and he threw his arm round my neck, and
another round my waist, and they tried to force me
into a cab which instantly drew up. I struggled
desperately, but they carried me off the ground to
the cab door. I resisted violently, and put one
arm through the coach door and one through the
spokes of the wheel. Then my neighbours and
friends came out and got round me. The men said
to the police they had a right to take me, and
showed a paper which the policeman said he could
not read by that light. I insisted on my being
taken to the station, or their being taken. When
we went to the station—with a crowd of 50 people
—I said to the inspector, " These men say they
have authority to take me, be kind enough to look
at it." He did so, and said," Yes, Mr. Hall, it is a
legal document, and I would advise you to go
quietly with theta." Upon that advice I acted and
got into the cab. The men then got into it with
me and drove towards Fulham. On the road they
stopped at a public-house, and said, " You gave us
a pretty good busting and we are getting thirsty,"
and they would like something to drink. They
had some brandy and water and I some beer, and I
paid for it all, but I thought they might have put
something in the porter and I threw it out of the
window. (Laughter.) We went to Munster-house
Asylum, Fulham. We got there between 12 and
lin the morning. I was placed in a ward among
a lot of other madmen.
This unconscious slip caused some merriment.
The plaintiff went on to say he was put in a
ward with a lot of madmen, the keeper being with
them ; and he wished particularly to state, as
showing what the keeper must have thought of
the state of his mind, that he lent him (the plain-
tiff) a razor the next morning to shave himself.
In the evening of that day he saw Dr. Stone. That
was on the Thursday. He had no communication
with friends or relatives till Saturday. They had
called, he believed, but had been forbidden to see
him. On the Saturday his daughter called, and was
kindly allowed to see him, and bring him a clean
shirt. On the Saturday he was taken before the
Commissioners_ amieTwnin estfir enrirlionf -o/s the
asylum (who behaved very kindly to him), told
him he was discharged, and invited him, as he had
been so worried, to go down with him to Worthing
and stay a few days with him, which he did, and
stayed four days, taking his meals with the family
and spending his evenings with them. Then he
went home and was again subject to annoyance by
his wife. He remembered Dr. Webb and Dr.
Semple coming. That was on the 27th of Septem-
ber. Dr. Webb came first and examined him. After
that, Dr. Semple came. At that time the plaintiff
said he had instructed his attorney to commence an
action (which had been in fact begun in August)
and, in consequence of his attorney's advice to have
no conversation with him he walked upstairs. The
plaintiff continued :—When I got upstairs I found
him behind me. He said, " Now don't run away,
poor fellow. ;Laughter.) lam not going to hurt
you"—(laughter)---patting me on the back. (Great
laughter.) I pushed by him, got downstairs into
the shop, and sent for two of my neighbours and said
when they came, " No w, Dr Semple, anything you
have to say you can say it in the presence of these
gentlemen." He commenced speaking, and my
friends pushed me away and said, " You had better
say nothing." I went on one side, but heard my
wife running on, and saying, "Dr. Semple, can't 1
take goods out of the shop and pawn them ? " Yes,
Mrs. Hall, certainly," he said, " you can do what
you like." Then I got further away, for I felt in-
clined to make a reply, and I got near to the door.
I don't recollect his saying anything as to my charg-
ing my wife with anything. I -went out and walked
across the road. My wife had had a summons
against me at Marlborough-street the same day
before Dr. Semple came, in which she charged me
with having kicked her. That was false. Dr.
Semple and three other medical men appeared,
and my wife appeared with attorney and counsel,
and I was attended by my solicitor, Mr. Lewis.
I heard questions put to my wife by Dr. Semple in
my presence. I heard him ask her, " Now who
found the money for this ?" She only smiled. The
plaintiff went on to state that he had found con-
cealed among his wife's papers the certificate he
now produced. It was beneath the pillow of his
wife's bed ; she had absented herself from his for
six years.
This certificate was then put in and read. It
ran thus :
" I hereby certify that Mrs. Hall is an illused
woman, and that there is no truth in the infamous
charges brought against her, but that she deserves
the sympathy of her friends and of the public."
This WAR Aigncd by the defendant, Dr. Semple.
This concluded the examination in chief of the
plaintiff, which had lasted about an hour and a
half, and throughout the whole of which he cer-
tainly had shown the most perfect sense and self-
collectedness.
Mr. Sergeant Pigott then cross-examined him.
Unhappy differences, he said, had existed between
his wife and him for six years, and she had refused
to share his bed.
Mr. Sergeant Pigott—Are yon subject to violent
passion ?
Plaintiff—No ; but when excited on some few
occasions I may have expressed myself with warmth,
as most men have.
Have you no: been in the habit of ill-treating
your wife
v nifoe:
No, ill-treating her—not to use that word.
Have You never struck her?—No.
Kicked her P--N o. 1 was accused of it at Marl-
borough-street.
H you not struck her on the breast ?—No.
Were you intimate with one Harriet Sarson
Yes.

Was she godmother to two of your children ?
yes. He went on to state that ho had allowed his