The Sun.
London, England, 1824-01-07 00:00:00

THE TRIAL of THURTELL and HUNT.

mere fact could at all prejudice him—it ought
not, for he could adduce Statesmen and others as
apologists. He remarked strongly upon the
impropriety of the recent publications, and
expressed his conviction that his conduct
through life had only been prejudicial to
his own family. lie had never attempt-
ed the injury of others, and he trusted he
should be able to convince the Jury, by the

(RECEIVED BY EXPRESS THIS DAY.)

SECOND DAY.

THE PRISONERS' DEFENCE.
The Court having met this morning according
to adjournment, at nine o'clock,

Mr. Justice PARK rose, and said, John Thur-
tell, the case for the prosecution is now closed,
have you any thing. to say, this is the time and
moment when you must address your reply to the
evidence.
THURTELL—My Lord, I have something to say,
I should wish to speak to my solicitor.
Mr. Justice PAnK—Certainly you shall.
After some conversation

attendance of honourable men, that he was not
the character represented to them, who must have
read the infamous slanders of the press. He was
accused of an appalling crime—one which, on
reflection,would excite the feelings of the most ob-
durate and hardened heart; but he had been repre-
sented as divested of those feelings. The heart might
feel relief by momentary sorrow ; but if the Jury
could dive into his feelings at that moment, he
felt convinced that they would pity him ; but if
they were to judge of him from the calumnious
accounts which had been promulgated, they must

Thurtell stood up, and bowing, said, may it conceive that during the last forty years his na-
please your Lordship, and Gentlemen of the lure had been gradually reversing, and that now
Jury, under greater or more appalling dint- it. had arrived at a complete change and lost all
her influence ; but there was one who could
culties than ever perhaps any man addressed be appealed to who knew to the contrary,
himself to your attention, do I stand before you and that it was only the promulgation of
t
the victim of horrible calumny, to vindicate myhose direct falsehoods that was likely to injure
him : to him he trusted, and by his guid-
character from the foulest charge that could be mice would leave his case, prejudiced as it
preferred against any man. I in this most .was, in the hands of his Judge and the Jury.—
awful moment of trial, I have the consolation He here made some powerful and affecting allu-
sions towards the manner in which he had been
that I stand here, I may say, enjoying one of
educated and the circumstances of his life. His
the first institutions of this free country, that father was a man respected and beloved by all
of Trial by Jury, and that I stand before who had the honour of his acquaintance, espe-
cially by those who well knew him, and in his
lf2 enlightened men, whose fiat will be imawed
(Thurtell's) infancy had taken every pains to
by distinction, and whose opinions are unbiassed instil the principles of virtue and morality
—whose feelings are pure—and who will fear. in his youthful mind, And for years he fol-
lessly give their opinion,-1 say, the great-
lowed the dictates of his father, and which
would ultimately have caused him to be respect-
est benefit I can in this moment possess— ed by society. He had served his country with
that of Trial by Jury. Unfortunately, Gentle- fortitude for a number of years, and had faced
the enemies of his King and Country, in whose
men, I have been branded as a man, whose vil-
service he had been wounded, and had under-
tinier have been matured by thinking and by zone severe privations, during which period he
age, and although I have no doubt you, Gentle- had been the friend and companion of the
men, possess the best feelings of our nature,
most honourable characters, among whom he
was respected : this alone ought to have en-
yet branded as I have been by everybody—
titled him to the cornmisseration and protec-
by that boasted Free Press whose curse or tion of that vehicle which was held up as
whose benefit is carried from one extra- the protection of public abuses, and not to its
mity of the Globe
to the other, designated by basest calumnies :
i lenged with,—a crime at which the heart must
But what bad he been elle'.
this great engine of the liberties of Europe, as a revolt—that of raising his arm as an assassin
man habituated to crime—as a foul, cool, deli- against his friend. The commencement of his miss
fortunes might be attributed to his having
berate, sanguinary, remorseless, villain. Aye, I say,
entered into a commercial business with a ro-
as an atrocious, savage, gross murderer, capable
mantic disposition, and eventually his Solicitor
of sed _Wino' my friend into a sequestered place, turned traitor, when his prospects were brighten-
to:,
and the; e, while calmly speaking,
to burl ing, and ultimately he was persecuted by his
him
creditors, and in consequence of not being able
God.— him before the tribunal of Almighty to answer the demands of his Bankruptcy, he
Oh„-taentleman, how can I, with all these atro-
was led into connections where he became
dimes calumnies Hurried on my head ex ect their dupe, and, in the course of time, when
, p
he had a fresh prospect in life, he discovered
an unbiassed Jury--it would indeed not he an
enemy in the ranks whoconsiderably
expected from the most virtuous feelings of injured him, and this was his professed
our nature, that a man could enter that box friend. He here alluded to a trial that had re-
and ' look on me in any other way than as a ctently taken place before the Learned Judge
now on the Bench, when he had been involved
villain, because the press has said so, But under disagreeable circumstances, as having
G entlemen, I am confident, and it is the attempted to defraud his
spirac but Jury mi ,
creditors, by a con-
Y, the Ot be assured that
only hope that bears me up, that you will net, and
the conspiracy was not on his part, but it
do not, possess any hatred to me ; but that would be Proved that Barber Beaumont was the
you will calmly consider my case. Gentlemen, person who formed a conspiracyagainst
him,
you must not heed what has been said Paid persons to swear
—lon must and that he had hired and
not suppose me capable of this crime, because falsely against him. After he had indulged in
the strongest invectives against that individual,
the press have said villany—m-
e characteristic, he said this was time individual who had attempt-
nay, an innate principle of my nature, ed to him-thisinjureraisedtile protector of public
banner of rebellion
grew with my strength, and was refint:sa at it
and abuses who
; but he would
before the Sovereign's palace
matured by my age ; they have traced me to not allude to this any further as it would
my infancy, but I shall appeal to you, Gentle- shortly be brought before the Lerd Chief Jus-
men, as fathers, whether, trained atice of the King's Bench. He had also been
s a
I
have represented as having been at the house in Mau-
-1 been hi a high rank of life, under the care of chester-buildings, by a person named WoOds,—
mother,
an eminent and religious father and He could prove this to be utterly devoid of
who from my first moment of sense, raised mv truth, and that at the time represented, he
e was at Norwich, where he had been to visit a
instilled
little accents to Heaven, who carefully lovely and interesting young Lady to whom he
virtuous principles, and who taught me to reve- was attached. He had been too much vilified
settee the laws of my King and my God arid prejudiced by the press, which had turned
' that which might have been brought forward in his
who, in my young days, checked any act or
-- favour, into exaggerated accounts which operated
conduct that was likely to excite any principle of to his injury, and quite different to what would ap_
vice, and a father who, by well-directed correc- pear before the Jury, and made it, as it were, that
the organs of his nature had been completely re-
tion in my verging into manhood, also taught me
versed, but he hoped that the Jury would
erase en-
to pursue his honourable example, arid which I deavour to from their mind what they had
shall prove by evidence of Gentlemen of the first heard, and the end must be favourable.
over the evi-
respectability was my aim of conduct ; all that can Before he cominenced reading
deuce, and making remarks thereon, he would
beattributed to me was an improvident generosity. beg leave of the Court to allow him to return
I again ask you, although weighed down and over- his most grateful thanks to the High She-
whelmed with calumny, whether I could, under riff and the Magistrates for their kind atten-
tion to him. Sincerely did he regret that
such circumstances, leap at once into the commi.s. any misunderstanding had existed between the
sion of a crime,—the murder of my friend,—under Rev. Mr. Lloyd and his solicitors. He would
circumstances as atrocious,as cold blooded, as they also beg leave to return his thanks to the Rev.
Mr. Franklin, Chaplain to the Gaol, for he was
could possibly be,-011, no! God Almighty knew, indebted much to that Reverend Gentleman
that after this deed of blood, he could not coolly for his impressive exhortations, which ena-
plunder his friend, any more than he boasted bled him to appear that day with forti-
tude, and boldly assert his innocence, and
of this brutality immediately alter the horrid deny the foul imputations against him. He
crime was perpetrated. Is there a soldier, is there would also express his gratitude to Mr. Wilson
an Englishman, that would not revolt at such a the gaoler, who though last, not least, of his
friends, never would he forget his kind treat-
dastardly soul as his is represented to be? Better,
ment ; his heart, indeed, should be cold before
indeed, would it have been had he fallen in the it would cease to beat for the welfare of him and
field, than that his poor father and afflicted his respected family.
Here some noise in the Court occurring,
family should now mourn his loss.
Mr. Justice Pante said he wished silence could
He had been represented by the press as a be preserved.
sporting character, and held forth to the world as Thurtell then proceeded—He would now, he
one capable of the basest crimes ; but, in this re- said, call the attention of the Jury to the evidence
specs the reports had been exaggerated and on the, part of the prosecution, which he observed
,
was replete with contradiction. Hi' then corn-
many devoid totally of foundation, and he could menced with the evidence of Mr. Mason, in his
assure the Court that he had not witnessed a rellew of it nothing material struck us:—this gentle-
man, he said, had proved that a party had searched
prize fight, a horse race, or a sporting exhibition,
for the body, but did not succeed in finding it until
during the last three years; but even if it were told by Hunt, and who had a better right to
so, he did not conceive that the statement of the know than those who did the act; for Hunt, Own