The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-22 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT—KINGSTON, MARCH 21.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Coleridge.)

This morning having been appointed for the trial of
the four Frenchmen who were charged with murder
arising o'ut of a duel that took place in October last at
Egham, considerable interest appeared to be created in
the proceeding, and the court was crowded long before
the usual: hour for commencing business. A great num-
ber of Frenchmen were' among the spectators, among
them were M. Louis Blanc, together with a great many
of the French refugees.
At 10 o'clock the prisoners, Edmund Allain, 36, de-
scribed as; a wine merchant ; Etienne Barronet, 46, not-
ary, Emanuel Barthelemy, 29, engineer ; and Philippe
Eugene Mornet, 42, labourer, were placed at the bar, and
the indictment which charged them with the wilful mur-
der of Frederick Cournet, was read over to them.
The prisoners all pleaded not guilty, and elected to be
tried by a jury composed half of foreigners. An inter-
preter was sworn to explain the evidence to them.
Mr. Locke and Mr. Knapp were counsel for the pro,
secution ; Mr. M. Chambers, Q.C.' defended Allain ;
Mr. Parry and Mr. Ribton defended Barronet ; and Mr.
Ballantine and Mr. Needham were counsel for Barthe-
lemy and Mornet.
The learned counsel, in opening the case for the pro-
secution, said, that although the prisoners had exer-
cised their privilege of being tried by a jury partly
composed of foreigners, yet he was satisfied that
all the gentlemen who occupied the position of
jurors, would be actuated solely by the desire to
perform their duty, and to uphold the law of the
country in which they lived, and that they would decide,
the present case just the same as if four Englishmen
were placed at the bar instead of four foreigners. He
then proceeded to state that the prisoners were charged
with having caused the death of one of their countrymen
in a duel ; and he said that, by the law of England, the
killing of a fellow creature under such circumstances was
held to amount to murder, and, subject to the ruling of
his lordship, the only question, as it appeared to him, the
jury would have to decide was, whether the prisoners
were proved to have been concerned in the duel ; and if
they were, whether as principals or seconds, as they were
commonly termed, their offence according to the law of
England would amount to murder. If he should make
out this fact to their satisfaction, it would be their duty
not to shrink from returning a verdict of guilty ; the
punishment that would follow such a verdict would, of
course, be left to other hands, and no doubt the clemency
of the Crown would be extended to the utmost in such a
case. The jury, however, had nothing to do with the
result, and he was satisfied that they would return a
verdict in accordance with the oath they had taken.
The learned counsel then proceeded to state the facts of
the case as they afterwards appeared in evidence, observ-
ing that the evidence would tend to show that Barthe-
lemy and the deceased were the two principals in the
affair, that Allain and Barronet acted as the seconds
to the deceased, and Mornet and another Frenchman
named Brisson, who had made his escape, had acted
in the same capacity for Barthelemy. He said that
there was one circumstance in connection with the trans-
action which would lead to an inference that there had
been some unfair play, which was that it appeared that
only one pistol had been discharged, and upon the pistol
used by the deceased being examined after the occurrence
it was found to have a piece of rag in the barrel placed
close to the breech so as to prevent the powder from ex-
ploding. He should not be able to prove by any evi-
dence how this rag got into the pistol, but it appeared
quite clear that it could not have come there by accident,
and it certainly appeared to be a very suspicious circum-
stance. He concluded by saying that he should lay all
the facts before the jury, and when they had heard the
evidence he should produce, and had heard from his
lordship the law with regard to the subject, he felt as-
sured that they would perform the important duty that
devolved upon them in a manner satisfactory to their
own conscience and to the country.
The following evidence was then adduced :
M. Francois Pardigan said —I knew the deceased. I
last saw him at a quarter to eight o'clock at the Water-
loo Railway station on the morning of the 18th of Octo-
ber. I saw him dead on the following morning at the
Barley Mow at Englefield-green. I know three of the
prisoners—Barthelemy, Barronet, and Allain ; the two
latter were with the deceased when I saw him at the
railway station. I also saw a gentleman of the name of
Brissot in company with the deceased on the morning of
the 18th, and I heard the deceased ask him if he " ac-
cepted." The deceased asked me to accompany Allain
and Brissot as an interpreter to hire a pair of duelling
pistols. We went to two shops, but they refused to let
pistols on hire. We asked for pistols that would fire
with precision—shooting-school pistols. We went at
last to a shooting-gallery in Leicester-square, and the
proprietor consented to let us have a pair of pistols on
hire, and Allain and Brissot examined them. The owner
of the pistols said that they had been used the same day,
and they were not clean. M. Brissot took the pistols
away with him, wrapped in brown paper, and they were
taken to my lodging, where Allain and Brissot cleaned
them. Allain and Brissot each cleaned one of the pis-
tols, and I gave them a piece of white rag for the pur-
pose. I took the rag from a drawer myself. It was
about the size of a pocket handkerchief. I gave them a
large pencil uncut, and they used that to clean out the
barrels of the pistols, after I had cut some notches in it
with a penknife. They tied the pistol to a small walk-
ing-stick, and by this means they cleaned the barrels of
the pistols ; and when they had finished, each of them
blew down the barrel of the pistols and put their finger
to the touch-hole, and then said it was well. As the
rag became dirty they tore off a portion and threw it
into the fireplace. After tf• e -:e:stols were cleaned they
were placed in an envelope, ar.u. Allain and Brissot said
it was necessary to seal them, and when they were
wrapped up in paper thirteen seals were placed upon
them, and they wrote on the paper, "Allain, thirteen
seals—Brissot, thirteen seals." Allain then put the
seal into his pocket, and the parcel containing the pis-
tols was given to Brissot. I recognise the paper, and
the seal now produced as the same made use of upon the
occasion.
By Mr. Chambers—l knew M. Barronet first during
the Exhibition in 1851. I saw him very frequently at
that time. I have always heard that he was a man of
very good reputation and character, and a man of hon-
our and a gentleman. He also had the reputation of
being a kind and humane man. From what I saw
relating to the pistols, everything was done with perfect
honour and integrity by both parties.
Re-examined—l never saw the pistols from the time
I have mentioned until they were produced before the
magistrates at Chertsey.
Mr. H. Hand said—On the 18th of October I was the
proprietor of an exhibition in Leicester-square, called
the Assault d'.A rms. On the 18th of October I lent a
pair of pistols to three foreigners, and I furnished them
also with twenty-two bullets, about the same number of
percussion caps, and some gunpowder in a flask. The
pistols were afterwards returned to me and I now pro-
duce them. When the pistols were hired, the parties
said they wanted them for practice. I can only recog-
nise the last witness. Ido not know any of the priso-
ners. The pistols were not clean when the parties took
them away, and I told them so. The pistols were brought
back to me on the 19th of October, and I paid them back
about 61,155. They had deposited 81. with me, and I de-
ducted U. for the hire, and the remainder for the flask,
which was not returned. I examined the pistol, and
being told that one was loaded, I put a cap upon it, and
tried to fire it, but it would not explode. I tried it a
second time, but still it would not go off, and I then un-
loaded it by unscrewing the breach of the pistol, and
discovered a piece of rag between the powder and the
nipple, which prevented the former from exploding. It
was impossible to discharge the pistol while the piece of
rag was at the bottom of the barrel.
The witness produced the piece of rag he found in the
pistol, and M. Pardigan said it was of the same descrip-
tion as that used by the prisoners Allain and Brissot to
clean the pistols.
M. Denis said—l keep a coffee-house in Old Comp-
ton-street, Soho. All the prisoners were in the habit of
coming to my shop. On the 4th October I saw M. Bar-
thelemy there, and he inquired how my business went
on, and I told him that M. Barronet, M. Cournet, (the
deceased), and another gentleman boarded with me. He
then said he had a letter he wanted me to give to M.
Cournet and I gave him a sheet of paper and pens and
ink. He began to write, and in a short time he said he
could not complete it as he wished to look at one of the
last letters of M. Cournet. I asked him if he knew
Cournet, and he said he did not ; and I told him he was
a fine robust man. M. Barthelemy then raised his arm
as though in the act of levelling a pistol, and he said—
"At this I don't fear the first comer." He then went
away, and said that he should probably return in about
an hour or an hour and a-half. M. Barthelemy slept at
my house on the night of the 18th of October, and he
went out about a quarter past six o'clock the next
morning.

By Mr. Ballantine—l have been five years in Eng-
land, but I only speak a very little English. Very few
of ray customers are English. I had known Cournet
about seven or eight months, and he breakfasted and
dined at my house, but did not sleep there. Barthelemy
rarely came to my house. After the arrival of M. Bar-
thelemy I frequently heard Cournet talk about firing,
Jane Pettingall said—On the morning of October 19
I went down to Windsor upon business by the eight
o'clock train, in the morning. f was in a second-class
carriage. The train arrived at Windsor about nine or
half-past nine o'clock. Three foreigners were in the
same carriage. Two of them were the prisoners
Barthelemy and Mornet. They conversed together in
French during the journey. I understood what they
said. The name of Cournet was mentioned, and I heard
one of the gentleman say he would kick him and cane
him to death, and I saw Barthelemy take his right hand
out of his coat pocket and look at it, and say, "Je ne
suis pas agit4e.” M. Mornet had a, cloak on, but I ob-
served nothing particular about his appearance.
Francis Farquharson said—l am a guide at Windsor.
I was at the station on the arrival of the ten minutes
past nine train on the morning of the 19th October, and
I saw six gentlemen, who appeared to be foreigners, get
out of the train. I believe the prisoners were some of
the gentlemen I saw. I afterwards saw the dead body
of a man who was one of the same party. When the
six foreigners got out of the train they walked up the
street in two parties of three each. One party went
into the Red Lion, and the other into the Adam and
Eve. I followed them, in the expectation of getting a
job. The two parties came out of the houses I first saw
them go into, and went to two other houses of entertain-
.

ment:and they soon afterwards came out together, and
all the six walked away in two parties towards Eagle
field-green. On the same afternoon three of the gentle-
men came back to Windsor. Two of the prisoners
(Barronet and Mornet) I can recognise, but I do not
know any of the others. These three gentlemen went
away by the trlin for Lond9n, and I observed before

they started that the prisoner Mornet had something like
an umbrella wrapped up in his cloak.
Margaret Perkins—My husband is a labouring man
at Egham. On the morning of the 19th October I was
going across the Englefield-green about twelve o'clock,
and when I came to a place called Priest's-hill I saw six
gentlemen, who were apparently foreigners, standing
together. They then all came out into the main road,
and, after they had taked together a short time, they
went towards Priest's-hill. The four prisoners were of
the party, and the deceased also was among them. Two
of the party went into a field, and I heard a whistle,
and the rest of the gentlemen joined them in the field,
and I observed them cross another field, and then I saw
nothing more of them. I saw the deceased soon after-
wards at the Barley Mow, and I recognised him as one
of the party.
William Herbert said—l am a labourer, and reside at
Barham, in Berks. On the 19th October I was in the
neighbourhood of Englefield-green, near Priest's-hill,
when I heard several foreigners talking in a meadow,
and I stopped to listen, and in about five minutes I
heard the report of a firearm. I only heard one
report, and then a man halloed, and I saw a man
come up the hedge into the road. I cannot recog-
nise either of the prisoners as that man. A medical
gentleman named Hayward came up, and I accom-
panied him and one of the foreigners into the second
meadow, where I saw a man lying upon the ground, who
was bleeding from a wound in the side, and the prisoner
Allain was endeavouring to sop up the blood. I wished
to carry the deceased to the Barley Mow, at Engle-
field-green, and Allain and Mr. Hayward accompanied
us there.
By Mr. Chambers—The prisoner Allain seemed very
sorrowful, and to be in great distress of mind at what
had occurred.
Mr. Hayward—l am a surgeon, and reside at Egham.
I was passing up Priest's-hill on the 19th October,
about a quarter to one o'clock, when the prisoners Mor-
net and Barthelemy came up to me. A third man was
with them. One of them asked me the road to Windsor
in broken English. When I'got to the top of the hill,
a third foreigner ran from the field into the road. The
person was Barronet. He asked me to accompany him
to place where, he said, his friend had been wounded by
a bullet. I believe he had been told before that I was a
surgeon. When we got into the second field I saw
ournet lying on the ground, and Allain was attending
to him. I saw that he was wounded on the right side,
and that there was a corresponding opening on the left.
The deceased was removed to the Barley Mow, and in
about three-quarters of an hour Barionet went away.
The prisoner Allain remained until he was taken into
custody. I stayed with the deceased until fivo o'clock
in the afternoon. The three men I first met came in the
direction from the field in which the duel was fought. I
saw the body of the deceased after death, and ascertained
that his death was evidently occasioned by being shot by
a pistol ball.
By Mr. Chambers—The three men were at least 150
yards from M. Barronet. He did not tell me what was
his object in going to London.
By Mr. Parry—Allain appeared in great distress of
mind. He talked of M. Cournet as an old friend. The
deceased died about six o'clock. He appeared to be
very much devoted to Allain, so long as his senses re-
mained, and I never saw more real feeling than was
evinced both by Allain and Barronet.
Charles James said that he met three foreigners on
Priest's-hill on the morning in question, and they told
him that there had been an accident, and asked him
where they could get a cab or some other conveyance.
Two of the men he saw were Mornet and Barthelemy.
By the Court—Priest's-hill was about three miles from
Windsor.
Mr. John Madigan, the station-master at Windsor,
deposed that on the morning of the 19th of October, he
was in the office prior to the starting of the half-past
two o'clock train for London, when he saw the prisoners
Mornet and Barthelemy and another man, who also ap-
peared to be a foreigner. Mornet carried his cloak with
something like a sword wrapped up in it. These three
men took their seats in a second-class carriage, and in
about five minutes Barthelemy came to the station, and
he walked along the train and looked into all the carri-
ages, and then he changed his ticket, which was a
second-class one, for a first-class ticket. After the train
had started, he received a communication to the effect
that a duel had taken place, and he sent a telegraphic
message to London by the Great Western Railway, and
on the same evening Barthelemy, Barronet, and Momet,
were brought down to Windsor, and he recognized them
as the persons he had seen in the afternoon • and he ob-
served to the policeman that in taking Barronet they
had taken the wrong man. He thought at the time, by
his coming to the station after the other three, that he
had nothing to do with them.
John Underwood, a police-constable, proved that
upon the receipt of the telegraphic message by the Great
Western Railway, he stationed himself on the platform
of the South-Western Railway upon the arrival of the
3.25 train ; and in consequence of the description given
to him he took Barronet, Barthelemy, and Mornet into
custody. The two latter got out of a second-class car-
riage, and the other prisoner came up to them, and he
did not see where he came from. The clothes and shoes
of all the prisoners were very dirty. As they were
going towards the Tower-street police-station, a fo-
reigner who was standing in the Waterloo-road came
up to him and offered him a SON ereign if he would let
his Mends go. He told him be could not do that, and
Mornet was then about to hant is cloak to some per-
son who was following him, but he took it away from
him, and found two swords wrapped up in it.
John Noble, a constable of Windsor, proved that
from information he received he put the telegraph in
motion, and afterwards proceeded to London, where he
found the prisoners Barn:met, Barthelemy, and Mornet
in custody, and he conveyed them back to Windsor.
He found some percussion caps in the possession of the
prisoner Barronet. Upon the prisoner Barthelemy being
searched two right-handed gloves, both of which were
split across the palm, were found in his possession.
Mary Day deposed that she was called into the Bar-
ley Mow to lay out the body of the deceased, and she
found a bullet in the bed.
Mr. Biddlecombe, the superintendent of the county
police for the district, said, that from information he re-
ceived, he went to the Barley Mow public-house about
six o'clock in the evening of the 19th of October. He
found the deceased quite warm, and apparently just
dead. The prisoner Allain was sitting by the side of the
bed. A gentleman who was in the room told him who
witness was, and De pointed to the deceased and said,
"My friend." Witness assisted in undressing the body,
and saw that a bullet had passed through the clothes of
the deceased, and also completely through his body.
He likewise found the half of a railway ticket, from
Windsor to London. He took Allain into custody, and
found in his possession a powder flask, nine bullets, a
quantity of copper caps, and a seal, all of which articles
he produced. He likewise found upon the deceased a
passport in the name of Bouquet. Witness was present
at the magistrates' office when the prisoners were under
examination, and upon one occasion Barronet and Allain
handed in a statement, which they afterwards signed.
Mr. Locke was about to put in the statement as evi-
dence, but Mr. Chambers objected to this being done
until it was shown that no inducement or threat was
held out to the prisoners before they made it.
Edgell, one of the magistrates before whom the
inquiry took place, was called as a witness, and he
stated that when the prisoners expressed the desire to
make the declaration, he cautioned them in French, and
made them distinctly understand that by the law of
England they need not make any statement unless they
pleased, but that if they did it would be used as evidence
against them.
The statement was then given in evidence. It was to
the following effect :
" Whatever may be the consequences of the severity of
the English law against duelling, of which I was ignorant,
I declare that I was the second of M. Cournet on the 19th
October ; that the obligations of sincere friendship I enter-
tained for him would not allow me to refrain from accom-
panying him in this fatal rencontre. He was my best
friend ; I had found so many noble qualities in him. I did
all I could to aN oid the rencontre, but I had to obey the
laws of honour, friendship, and the customs of French
duelling. Were Ito pass the remainder of my life in pri-
son, I would never disclose the name of the person who
was the adversary of M. Cournet. Now that I know the
English law, honour forbids me from mentioning the name
of an antagonist, if he cannot or will not do so. I am a
prisoner, but I will never quit a prison by making a decla-
ration hich is repugnant to my character and habits.
(Signed) " BARRONET."
The following statement, made by the prisoner Allain,
was put in :
" I adhere to this declaration, and it is quite in confor-
mity with my sentiments. (Signed) "ALLAIN."
This closed the case for the prosecution.
Mr. M. Chambers then made a most eloquent speech
to the jury on behalf of his client, Barronet. He com-
menced by declaring that his learned friend who ap-
peared as the counsel for the prosecution had, in his
opinion, not correctly stated the law in reference to the
matter now under inquiry, and that he had wrongly de-
scribed it as stern and cruel, for such it must be if men
were to be convicted of murder under the circumstances
had been detailed in evidence that day. The law of Eng-
land, on the contrary, was merciful, and made great allow-
ances for the infirmities of human nature, and did not re-
quire from mankind more than mankind was capable
of performing. The law of England also mercifully
considered that foreigners might be ignorant of the cus-
toms and the laws of this country, and, therefore, gave.
them greater privileges than were conferred upon
Englishmen upon that supposition. What, then, were
the circumstances of the present case ? Here were four
unhappy exiles'from their own country, a portion of a
great number of others similarly situated, who had been
forced to seek a shelter and asylum in England, charged
with a most serious offence. He would observe that
this was the first charge that had been made against any
of these men of having made a breach in the law of the
country in which tl • • were sheltered, and he could not
help remarking the appeared to him that this was
very much to their 1: ()Jour. The prisoners were charged
with the offence of murder, upon the supposition that
they were present when another person was killed in a
duel, but he denied that this was sufficient to support
such a charge, and contended that it was necessary to
show some malice on the part of the persons accused.
Surely, he said, there ought to be some distinction made
between tile seconds of the party who was killed, and
the seconds of the party killing ; and if the law did not
make such a distinction, he thought the jury would do
so He asked them if it was according to common
sense or humanity to convict of murder a man who acted
a' second to another, who was perhaps his dearest friend,
if that man happened to be killed, when it was perfectly,
clear that the second had no intention whatever of kill-
ing him, but that, on the contrary, his death was a
source of the utmost grief and misery to him ! It
appeared to him that the mind of a sensible man
would revolt at coming to such alconclusion. They
were called upon to brand as murderers men who
had only done what had been done on many other
occasions by persons infinitely above them in station I

and rank. He could mention many instances where
the usages of society had compelled men of the
very highest positfon to go out to fight a duel, which,
in some instances, had been attended with fatal results,
and yet there had been no conviction for murder. A
person who killed another in a duel had never yet been
ranked with those criminals whose horrid crime rendered
them objects of disgust to the whole of the community,
and he felt satisfied the jury would come to that
conclusion upon the present occasion. [The learned
counsel was then about to mention the names of parties
who had been engaged in different duels attended with a
fatal result, when the learned judge interfered, and said
he was not justified in doing so, as he was, in point of
fact, giving evidence which was not admissable.] Mr.
Chambers went on to say that he yielded immediately to
the direction of the court. His only object was to show
that notwithstanding what had been said about the in-
flexible character of the law, killing in a duel had never
been looked upon as an ordinary murder, and the rea-
son was clear why it could not be so. He then referred
to the facts of the case, and said that, so far as a second
was concerned, it was always regarded as the great-
est proof of friendship a man could afford to attend an-
other upon such an occasion ; and that, so far from his
anticipating a fatal result, in a great many cases
it was the object of a second to effect a reconciliation
between the parties, and avert the possibility of any-
thing serious occurring. For all that appeared to the con-
trary, in the present case, this was all that had been
done by M. Barronet ; and he put it to them whether,
under such circumstances, he ought to be convicted of
the crime of murder. It was only by a fiction of law
that the charge of murder could be at all supported, but
he submitted that it was a fiction far to strong for the
jury to give effect to, to say that a man was guilty of
murdering his dearest friend, when it was clear that his
only motive was to assist and protect him as far as laid
in his power. They had it in evidence that after the
fatal occurrence, Barronet evinced the deepest misery
and sorrow for what had occurred, and that he remained
with his dying friend up to the very last moment, and
the jury were cared upon to convict this man of murder-
ing that friend. Upon this view of the case he asked the
jury for an acquittal. for the prisoner for whom he ap-
peared ; but he would also ask for it upon the ground
that there was nothing to show that Barronet had acted
in any other way than a piece-maker ; and that even
upon the evidence for the prosecution, there was nothing.
to show that he was present even when the fatal shot
was fired.

Mr. Parry and Mr. Ballantine also addressed the jury
for their respeclive clients. They repeated a good many
of the argrments used by Mr. Chambers, and both the
learned counsel contended that it was clear the strict
letter of the law in cases of duels could not be carried
out, as it was repugnant to common sense andto the feel-
ino.bs of jurors, and indeed every one concerned in the
administration of the criminal law. They also called
the attention of the jury to the circumstance of the piece
of the piece of rag being found in the pistol, and Mr.
Parry said that he was surprised that his learned friend
Mr. Locke should have mentioned the matter, inasmuch
as it was perfectly clear, from all the circumstances, that
that the piece of rag musrhave remained in the pistol by
accident at the time it was cleaned, and that if blame
was to be attached to any one, the seconds of the deceased
alone were responsible, as it was their duty to have seen
that the weapon was properly loaded ; and if there really
had been anything wrong, they must be supposed to
have sacrificed their own friend.
Some witnesses were then called to speak to the cha-
racter of Allain and Barronet, and they described them
as having been persons of honour and respectability in
their own country.
- Mr. Justice Coleridge, in summing up the case, said
that after the long speeches they had heard, and ie ob-
servations that had been made by the learned counsel for
the prisoners upon the subject of the law, he felt it right
to remind the jury that he and they both sat there to
adminster the law under the obligation of an oath, and it
was their duty to do so fearlessly and conscientiously.
It was very painful for a judge to have to sit and dis-
pose of so serious a case, and he must confess that he
was surprised to hear learned counsel, of great expe-
rience and great talent, tell a jury the law was that
which they knew it was not, and, to speak plain
English, mislead them, and endeavour to induce them
to find a verdict which they knew could not be
justified either by the facts or the evidence. The four
gentlemen at the bar were Frenchmen, but they resided
in this country, and were therefore subjects of the Queen,
and bound to obey the law, and he would tell them what
the law was upon the subject of the present case, and
he believed they would be of opinion that it was not only
in accordance with the law, but also with the dictates of
common sense. The law was this—lf one or more per-
sons went out together, armed with deadly weapons. for
the purpose of committing an unlawful act, which
fighting a duel undoubtedly was, and the death of one
of the parties ensued, it was in the eye of the law
murder in every person connected with the transac-
tion, and this applied equally to the seconds of the de-
ceased as to those of the survivor ; in fact, they were
all held to be responsible for that which might be ex-
pected as the natural result of the act they were about
to commit. If, therefore, the jury should believe that
the prisoners, or either of them, were proved to have
acted in this manner, they would be justified in finding
them guilty of murder ; but if the evidence was not sa-
tisfactory as to their identity, or upon any other point,
they would then say they were not guilty.
The jury retired at a quarter to seven o'clock, and re-
turned into court in about an hour with a verdict of
guilty of manslaughter.
.

The learned Juage addressing the prisoners, said they
had been convicted, after a very long and patient inquiry,
of the crime of manslaughter, and it was now his duty
to pass sentence upon them for that offence. He ob-
served that they had already been in prison more than
five months, and he thought it probable that, b ng
foreigners, they were ignorant of the law of this country
upon the subject of duelling, and that, therefore, they
might have been misled ; and, taking all these circum-
stances into consideration, the sentence would be much
lighter than otherwise would have been. He then sen-
tenced all the prisoners to be further imprisoned for the
space of two months.