The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-06 00:00:00

COUICT.-(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURT.
ALLEGED MURDERS ON BOARD THE TORY.

Before Mr. Justice WILLIAMS and Mr. Justice CnEsswELL.)

George Johnstone, late captain of the ship Tory, was
again placed at the bar this morning, charged with tLe
wilful murder of Thomas Reason on the high seas.
Mr. JERVIS then rose to address the jury. He could as-
sure the jury that he rose on that day with undiminished
anxiety to address them on behalf of the prisoner at the bar.
At the same time that anxiety, he felt bound to say, did
not in any degree arise from any doubt of the efficiency of
the tribunal before which he pleaded. He trusted for their
indulgence, and he would require their indulgence the more
that it was a prerogative in that Court to allow his Learned
Friend. her Majesty's Attorney-General, to reply, but he
had yet the satisfaction of knowing that that prerogative
would be exercised in the fairest and most candid manner.
He besought the, jury to dismiss from their minds any pre-
conceived opinions which might have been induced by the
circumstances as read iii the public prints. The offence
charged was a most serious one, being that of wilful murder,
alleged to have been committed under the most painful cir-
cumstances. But that offence, by these very peculiar cir-
cumstances, might be mitigated to manslaughter. It was
not his purpose to enter into any lengthened inquiry as to
the mode in which the evidence of the witnesses was given,
but he might allude to the fact that discrepancies of the most
startling character existed, discrepancies which however he
would not bring prominently into the foreground, for he
agreed with his Learned Friend the Attorney-General that
allowances should be made for the excited feelings of
those who were actors in those transactions. What-
ever might be the nature of the offence committed,
the main, and indeed the sole question for the jury was,
whether, at the moment this offence was committed, the
prisoner was in the full possession of his senses—whether he
committed that offence with malice aforetfiought, or whether
it did not rather arise from the mania under which he
laboured. In either case the alternative was a dreadful one
for the unfortunate man himself ; for if the verdict of the
jury brought him in guilty of the first crime, his life was
forfeited; and if the milder verdict were returned, the
scarcely less painful punishment of imprisonment for life
was the consequence. He would now crave their patience
while he endeavoured to revie v the character cf the crew,
and the evidence which they had advanced in that Court.
And, in the first place, he could not help remarking that the
tenduct of the crew was most unaccountable. Here was a
man, a single man, arming himself, placing himself in anta-
gonism with all on board, cutting and wounding, and even
proceeding to inflict death on some, and this during a time
when, according to their own evidence, he was under the
influence of drink, and yet no effort is made to place him in
confinement. The Lerrned Attorney-General had indeed en-
deavoured to shadow forth an excuse for them, but an
excuse that in his (Mr. J.rvis's) opinion was a most
unsatisfactory one. Surely the better solution of the mystery
would be, that the men were aware thatthey bad been guilty
of the mutiny which had been one of the exciting causes of
the evils which followed. Let it be remembered by the jury
that the death of &untied took place in September, and yet
it appeared that after that the ship was boarded by the
captain of an English vessel, who was allowed to depart
without any complaint being made against the prisoner.
Let it be remembered that when the ship was at Fayal no
complaint was made to the consul there or to the harbour
master. Could any other reason be advanced for this silence
excepting that which lie (Mr. Jervis) bad assigned? The
defence which he intended to make was, that at the moment
the prisoner committed this offence he was in a state of mind
rendering him incapable of distinguishing right from wrong.
Sundry causes might lead to this state .of mind. He was
aware that some causes could not be urged in mitigation, as
for instance an inordinate attachment to drink, which, al-
though causing madness to such a degree that the mind was
incapable of understanding what the hand was effecting, yet
that in the eye of the law was no mitigation of the instance.
Madness they knew was divisible into twe classes, namely,
physical and moral madness, and here he could not do better
than read to them the opinion of a distinguished author on this
subject. He referred to Ray's " Treatise on Medical Jurispru-
dence" the art icleinsanity. The Leai.ned Genll, man then Tn,!ed
the work in question, to show the marked difference between
madness brought on by physical causes, as idiotcy, &c., and
that caused by an exaltation of the mental faculties. He
also quoted the opinion of Dr. Connolly, and other eminent
authorities. These authorities appeared to point to the ease

of this very prisoner, for they showed that fear would •
unhinge the mind as to produce madness. UnhappilY,
was that these diseases which were thegreatest scourges we
not always slow and progressive ; they came on suddent
and without warning. Each case had, however, its owls p
culiar phases, and it was for the jury to use their own be
judgment in the matter • or, in the words of the grea ht
Matthew Hale, "to see thatl they were not on the one al
guilty of inhumanity to the prisoner, or on the oth
that their judgment was not misled by any It 3,
due desire to exhibit mercy towards ,
let them ever bear in mind that it was greatly better tu
many guilty men should escape, than that one innocent MI,
should suffer.. He was not prepared to bring forrrarda
evidence of persons learned in these causer, because h It
that now that the exciting causes which had led to that ft
sation of reason no longer existed in the prisoner's mind, it 1
t.
recovered its natural equability. He would now go over .
facts of.the case as established by the evidence.with the vte
of testing the real circumstances which had led to that sell
of offences for which the unhappy man now stood before t.t,
bar of that Court. The Learned Counsel then recapitula ,
the leading circumstances, and contended that as the prison
had shown in his conduct before the month of September
e,
strict propriety of demeanour, and. an almost total absty.
from intoxicating liquors, his after conduct could
t
be accounted for by the fact that in that met
reports had been brought to him of an intended inutinY_s.
murder. Then itwas that his personal danger, and the clang.
to the great trust reposed in him, drove him to madness, hi
he rushed upon the deck armed, pursued the melt '4l°
offended him around the ship ; loaded some with irons, al
caused another to co rumit self-destruction byleapingeyerbesi:
the elate
After that period calmness again returned, for
causes had ceased to exist, and thus it as until the sn
v, fah
arrived at Faye]. Then voluntary communications o
aro,
intended mutinies were made, and this again renewed,,f eo,
reruemtrances, stirred up the feelings which had
mom,t'''-
mant, and changed the whole man into a raging eert
Reason, who had, in his opinion, particularly aggrie(
him, was called down to the cabin and :tapee
with a bayonet, and when dead he called upon hirn,"!.—ie I
again, to prove that he had bot.killed him. jou,'"
prove his insanity beyond a doubt, he afterwards
aloud in the 7, presence of his victim, stabbed the hod,' t
times, and threatened to do to others as he had done b;
unfortunate man who lay before them. But refer,eni,c:
been made to the false entries in the log-book. Th'sr
cb
ceived to be but another proof of the prisoner's man'Tieje
stances were on record of extraordinary cunning
by the insane, and he need only to refer to the et's' .errt
tioned by the celebrated Erskine. A madman bad lo'for
bills of indictment against certain persons, and his ;3„1,`
ante betokened every indication of sanity (13,r,"Aed
earlier stages of ,the trial. He was afterwards suttPieeti
a long and rigid cross-examination, and it was onlyCr(
true chord was touched that he averred be vi3,oot.
Almighty. After instancing other cases in pointy the it, pr
Counsel concluded by imploring the jury to give t t tl
soner tile benefit of any doubt that might exist asZeet
state of his mind rut the time these melancholy °
circumstances occurred. , erif
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said, that although tue,e'e of
lege undoubtedly remained with him of replying t° ti
servations made by the Learned Counsel who defso4- eft
prisoner, yet it was one sparingly exercised, and i' 'ef b
listening with very great attention to the renaarls3
Learned Friend, was satisfied to leave the case in the pis
of their Lordships and the jury. ieett
Mr. Justice WILLIAMS, before entering with great tlqatbt
ness into the evidence of• the different witnesses, °wit;
the state of the law as- regarded exemption fry 'be
la
punishment on the ground of insanity stood thus eel
exempted the mind where it was in that state that 01
son committing the offence was not aware that the
was committing, namely, the taking the life of a fell°:t ; sr
ture was a praiseworthy, an indifferent, or a criminal %sloe
in reference to insanity produced by habitual or ecc.tein,
intoxication, he (Mr. Justice Williams) should e'aer
have directed the jury to find against a prisoner ,1111,e1 1
latter circumstances—but where insanity was inul'a
habitual. intoxication, where, in fact, the mind lin-irittle
pleteiy destroyed by a continued indulgence in sccotlo
liquors, the law did not hold that such a person was ,400
able, and, therefore, not amenable to capital Pur''-tesPr
The question for the jury was then to say whether , pb:
sonar at the bar was in a state of to be aware er'eteie
he was doing off the Island of 'Ascension. Haying %eget
thus much, he would now read the evide:ce, The differ°
Judge then commented upon the evidence of the Leta Vii
witnesses. Having recapitulated all the facts, 111°. etieti
Judge, in conclusion, said that it was not his iii`e-or'
trespass on their time by any general remarks, rd jell
which, to the best of his ability, he had anticinete
opening of his charge. There was one point,
which he would revert—that was the nature and 'VI y t'
the acts done by the party accused. Undeubt, isc
violence and extravagance of those acts n'
constitutece sr
only a portion of the case, was but an ingredieets
not the case itself, for if the atrocity of the:sut cOO
to be taken as a proof of insanity, then persons order
mit the most extravagant and violent deeds in
attachedio .urf we'
cape the punishment which the law awarded. ThVio
the
aware of the deep responsibility which attached tier
duties. If they entertained any doubt that the prif, tb!
not in a condition to enderstand what he was de `11,561/1
they would acquit him of the capital charge; but olio
they must find him guilty. He was not about to Job
them as to those particular duties. They were, !no:
most fully aware of them ; but he knew of nothing l'e-tule°,"
the circumstances could guide them better than a car
re tbe"
sideration of the evidence which had been adduced hu
The jury then retired.•
On the re-entrance of the jury, r
The Clerk of the Arraigns asked if they found the P
Guilty, or Net Guilty? in
Foreman of the jury—Guilty, being at the time
of temporary insanity. lest eitljo
The Learned JUDGE explained that the juryill 00
find him guilty of the capital charge, or acquit D
3/6°
ground of insanity. ;)
1e.,,0t
The jurymen, not comprehending this Ih—n e%V
were again requested to retire ; after a few minutes:4l,
in the most hopeless helplessness, and a vain ende pr'
the part of the Judge, to make them understand tw-
ciple of law, they eventually retired.
The jurymen re-entered a second time with the eta'
verdict :—" Not Guilty, on the-ground of insanity II
committed the act." Dot
Pr'
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that they would 1'
ceed on any of the other counts.
The prisoner, therefore, remains at the dispv—
Queen, which is literally imprisonment for life.

SIR R. PEEL'S SPEECH.—III an ExtraoidinarY
on Wednesday last, we were enabled to present otn read;
with the Premier's speech. delivered on the previffteclA
at considerable length. This we were able to do fht.to
an express train, arranged by the proprietor nt 11,
evening paper, and Mr. Wheeler, the news agen
chester, whose praiseworthy exertions on such
occasion we feel bound to record.—Bo'ton Chronte". oeet
PARISI' OF KENSINGTON.-011 ThursdaY,!gsli.,
of the inhabitant rate-payers of the parish of 1"t; tio
botts, Kensington, was church, ursuant to public 11'..,$ciclelib
vestry room of the old " To take into c0"0,„1 org
the petitioning both Houses of Parliament, in sP„P,ry,,
measures proposed by Sir Robert Peel, Bart., 1" De
liament, on Tuesday, the 27th ult., which ere
into consideration of the House of Commons onifortiii,
9th of February, inst." Mr. Churchwarden 8e',.41.,00t:t
called to the chair. After some discussion Pet""6l in ll'
Legislature were agreed to. It was then cartl,csoltee
petition to the House of Commons should be P.',.r,,115/
li
Mr. G. Byng, M.P., and that Colonel T. Wood, e 11000
quested to support it ; and that the petition to the
Lords be presented by Lord Radnor. The 01°
broke up. at t of
RAMSGATE'—On Saturday morning was
harbour by the crew of the Morning Star lioceT,;l3l',;sn't
this port, the crew and bedding of the brig 11-Prle Dot
Austrian vessel, Givroich master, coal laden frew.la'oe
to Leghorn. It appeared that the Star was crujo be,l'
the Goodwin Sands at daylight on that morning', sn't OA"
descried a crew on the sal,ds, twelve in 'numb" ho',A4
happily succeeded in getting them all into tbeit oio:ocir
safely landed them here. It is a great pity that.n'e6ei_f tli°
rewarded for an act of this kind, in saving the lictoifL
fellow-creatures, this being the second case ,agerceril
Morning Star saving the crews of vessels.—Ken44, I*,tef t
FORTIFICATIONS OF LIVNRPCOL.—The nO' #ren' itto
•tft
which are about to be erected at the northern,.,, let 1,
the decks, will be so situated as to cross their m:t. bale to'
of the fort on the Rock Perch, and to corninn,.°ossib'
narrow channels by which alone Liverpool is 13.1-. Olt
hostile force. itorn°re
TIM I3LACKFRIARS PlER.—YesterdaY -
ands °lief ti`e,
grand jury at the Central Criminal Court fo'll'oltfotr!'ef,
against the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Colltswioti
City of London, for erecting a certain nuisance ftoor
tion on the river Thames, called the Blackfri34o 0
The bill contains twelve counts. The prosecm, n't
toted by the Waterman's Steam Packet Contl,loecloal,
MUSIC.—Much excitement has been nr„, 00
musical world by the appearance of an operas. 1-the e°,oov.,oi
possessing many excellencies, scarce indeed ll otiog7fe,d
films of late years. It is the production of :Ch delflorr
man, a Mr. Alexander Mitchell, who, altliOng It Dio re„fr,
sight, is endowed with singular musical powers:4
heard by most of the leading vocalists and ins '4lO
formers, amongst whom Mies Rainsfortb, .; tire;ect,'
Burdini, Mr. Stretton, Mr. D. King, Sir ller'f,'cpre'rirets
other eminent amateurs, all of whom pace ;;je i 6
highest admiration of this gifted work. Its t'bss
sbl
in itself, and essentially dramatic. The libretto svco 0
pronounced upon by competent authorities to be )11(
music to which it is associated. <s.
r°llos aft
DEATH OF A SUPESINTENDENT OF • 09 el
metropolitan police force, as well as the Pubi:oct'is'eteQ`its'
rienced a severe lose in the sudden death of mi,z,petil 110,A•
telligent officer, William Fitzmaurice Pierse, C,
of the H division. He expired on Sunday eve,"oet ;Avis'
sidence, 17, Princes-street, Spitaltields, after
sidered a mere temporary illness of three 6'.7 ope. red
widow and family to lament their loss. "f<itrti„ern
RECRUITING FOR THE ROYAL ARTlLLq„coral A tre;oB
geant and four gunners and drivers of the -I_:aijoec,,;of,:',l,
left Woolwich yesterday for Gloucester, to beAbnolto
under the command of Captain Gore- t'',eelcleen.f.ter
country lads have joined the garrison thiVgtor lti4
verhampton and Kingston-on-Thames. '"`tigin, CaPote
and his recruiting party have removed front Atio vitoo,
ness. Captain Turner has proceeded to L°LicaptsilifteL ifie
.NeYett will move from Louth to Warwick-,„aboeiorty
and party have commenced recruiting:at 1 13
eesr-111,
arid Lieutenant Clarke is reported to have at
S
.
young men ready to send to head-quarter

----------- _,..di, •
BIRTHS. .„ „, 81'" 40 •.1
On the 3(411 ult., at Wycombe, the wife of 101'4— roe,
of a son.
On the 30th ult., at Bath, the lady of John gel° 131"
of a son. douglitli;:0111 4.1
On the 31st nit., Mrs. P. Vernon Harcourt, 0%,,-• 11.131$ 101
On the 31st ult., at Rutland-gate, the wife a r". tilc
of a daughter, still-born. p ele-gsl`l6°!' fi°l3t)
On the Ist inst., in Stanhope-street, H} de .3- di 0,
of John Bishop Culpeper, Esq., of a son. ___„en. the 1$ , Pli'.
On the 3d inst., at Holly House, Turnhana-g+' ' "eel.
Gaunt Lye, Esq., of a daughter. ~ pAreY4' ipifs
of ~ 0
On the 3d inst., the wife of Mr. T. Bisgood,
coin's Inn-fields, ef a daughter. 'Virg• JI V • rip deo
_i.
hotO°
On the 3d inst., in Torrington-square, -e---' J. f Ty-
a boy and a girl. the lad,' o
of 0 00.
On the 4th inst., at Truman's Bratvert,
On the 4th inst., at Woburn-8q Buxton, Esq., of a daughter. 00011
1•101
~,..oing I"lfer' 01. •O
At the end of August last, on the Ae-,--- voitl
Wales, Captain Thomas New, aged 38. •,,.. JO', 00,00'
ghs.a ' ,ei.e /of _qr.*
On the 2ith ult., at Weens House, Boxber,,,, the, tore t 3;
On theist inst., at Cheltenham, Sarah I!! ...,,,,,.110_, of •
Henry Adolphus Shuckburgh, 40th Regimele!lu.."coooe,' jor
On the Ist inst., the infant son a Ittr.W''•a )tt•
tin's-lane.dllsiiter P
/jay, the a :Or,
_k
On the 2d inst in Regent-street'
~• a sorl lcle
Locke, aged 5. , the Ora 0, e
On the 2d inst., at Erith, rent, George . e ,rion ..,,„
•Ii
Simpson. ortiOd-Pl" ' ix,
, o
On the 2d inst., in Park ere, r„,e I 24. , sep
son of the late John W-burton, M• I,7;ae, ~. .::-'-,'-' lih
,1,. r- ..',,'.•-• -\'''l'''',','ll ri6ll. 010' 10$
Of the itev. J. I .e,,,,, is 1,e,.,,r ..,t 1,11- •• ,40, ',tee ,/
------.----, lIIRI TO Ira% d, to iliek-,pe'
London : Printed and i'ublished t.:Y ._‘ . i 12, str vcidily,
Strand, Printer, at T 1 Sun Otilcoe,x43loooo, ~
of the Savoy, In the County t 1"---rg• W. liallowee.
I L 6. 1846. .