The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-18 00:00:00

Wild said nothing more than that it appeared to him that there
must have been something in the pistol to compress the powder.
S,orne allowance should be made, too, for the excitement of
the witnesses, who, seeing her _Majesty cruella and brutally as-
sailed, gave him hen custody, and were no doubt much
excited against him The witnesees. Troutree and Lavinia
Biancherd carried the case no farther. The next witness was
Win. Richards, who stated nothing whatever relating to the
case. Then came Inspector Russell, who searched the-prisoner
and found nothing of consequence, as Col. Wild said, except a
small quantity of gunpowder. Suppose now that her Ma-
jesty's sacred lite Ilea not been concerned in this case, as
would to God it had not, but that this were a case between two
private individuals, and that the prisoner were charged with
shooting at another person with a bullet, he shell's!. if eutsb
had, been the case, he did not know, but he should have
deemed it his duty to have submitted to their Lordships that
there was not evidence enough to carry the case to the Jury.
It was a notorious fact that the man Oxford, after
what he at tempted some time ago, was now better
off than ever he was before. Might it not, then,
• be inferred that the prisoner, a young man in great (Es-.
tress, without a penny to pay for his lodgings, might
be induced, by a desire for notoriety, he might alaiost say Ina-
thecr
n pitiansretioc,
eaadtn
tdohiettirrol;) oiapLjseeosootk:
. atin
and eti
said,
d whatin gh eds condition,idn s undtao\ thaes hi
pointed had
" I don't care; they may
take me if they like. I was a fool not to shout." Would the
Jury think that there was any bullet in the pistol then ? Weuld
they believe that if there had been a bullet in it, he would have
called attention to himself and invited his own appreheneiou.
knowing that the ball would be enough to constitute his guilt ?
Or would they not rather believe that, unloaded, Ire areseetrd
the pistol with the desire of being apprehended, that his
late sad and wretched life might be changed for a
more comfortable one ? In that case the prisoner had
asked wantonly and foolishly and richly deserved robe punished,
and no doubt he would be punished as he deserved. He, too,
would then entreat the Jury to exercise their manliness, and
protect the prisoner, and he would beg of their Lordships to
stand between the prisoner and the Attorney-General's speech,
Aou de joie! A symbol of loyalty ! Had they not heard rue..
in their ears from one end of the country to the other the bate':
nest of this crime ? Had they riot been told that Oxford should
have been executed, and then this would not have occurred?
Had they not been told that they (the Jury) must
be armed with manliness to convict the prisoner. lt, eresele.
sion, he begged of them to throw from them all indueemeats
to convict, and the prejudices which had been east over this
case ; and might the Almighty aria them with marl.
liners enough to stand between the Crown and the prisoner,
between the man anti the justice af the country. The verdict
would be theirs, and it. would be handed down to posterity ac
theirs ; the speech of his Learned Friend, with his inducements
to them to convict, would also be handed down. He sat down
in a firm reliance upcn the clemency and mercy ot the Jury ;
and he had no doubt the justice et the country would be vin-
dicated by their verdict.
This was the cane for the defence.
At this part of the proceedings the Jury retired for a few
minutes. On their return,
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL rose to reply. It now devvelved
upon him to address a few words to the Jury in reply to the ar-
guments contained in the eloquent and very excellent address
of his Learned Friend. He willingly conceded that this trial,
important as it was, must be conducted in the same way
as every other criminal prosecution ; and he scat sure
that his Learned Friend (Mr. Clarkson) must have
misunderstood his Learned Friend the Attorney-General,
if he understood him to say that the burden of the
proof did not rest upon the prosecution. Every man must
be presumed to be innocent till he be proved guilty, and no
doubt the burden of proof rests with the prosecution. Yet if
the facts against a prisoner be so strong as to require explanat,on,
and the prisoner were unable to explain and clear up the facts
against hint, he world say that the inference would be that the
prisoner was guilty ; and his Learned Friend said nothing more
than that he should present strong evidence to the Jury ;
and if the prisoner were unable to clear up the facts
{,roved against bin, he should ask . them as
awn of sense, calmly, but fairly, to give their verdict
upon that. evidence. They roust upon the evidence say whether
the prisoner be guilty or not guilty. The ari,oner having left
his lodgings on Friday, and having purchased a pistol, gun.
powder, awl a flint, was found presenting a pistol at her Majesty
on the Sunday. On Alrieuay the prisoner was preyed to have
fired a pistol at the carriage of her Majesty, arid Colonel Arbuth-
not deposed that the pistol was pointed direct to the Queen.
The soldier also said that the pistol teas pointed at the Queen,
and Col. Fitzgerald said that he pointed the pistol at the open
part of the carriage tellers. the Queen sat. Go e, who rode 6or
7 yards behind the carriage, thought that the pistol was directed
at.the centre of the hind wheel. Now he did not think that the
evidence of the grooin on that point, who was riding six or
seven yards behind the carriage, should at all effect the evident e
of Colonel Arbuthnot, the private soldier, and Coaniel Fitz-
gerald. Then came the question which had been raised, and
which constituted the defence of the pi ;t was stared,
that though he purchased the pistol, preserit ed it ors Sunday at
the Queen, and on Monday fired it, at th.) distance of seven
feet, the act was an cut. one—at any rate etas not of the
character to constitute the crime with which the priseper was
charged. He (the Solicitor-General) maintained, thai the evidence
of the soldier who had been eighteen months it: the Guards,
.upported as it was by the testimony of Colonel Ai butt:not. arid
Calonel WM!, was enough to lead 'hem to the. hire:emir: that
there was a ball or some other niischievous ina•erod in the
pistol. His Learned Friend said, Where was the ball? If
the pistol had been loaded it must have hit some one, or some
part of the carriage." That did not necessartly foliow ;
it woulddepend entirely upon the aim which was taken, whether
the ball should hit any part of the equinig,e.
But what was the inference, if a pistol were dise:rargeir at the
Queen at the distance of seven feet? Was not the inferenve
that the pistot was loaded? The Learned Counsel toe the
defence disclaimed that this was a harmless frolic ; he tidmiited
,t was a wicked ast ; but he asked for a motive. Thee doctrine
asking for a motive for crime was a most dangerous 0k4..
It it were admitted, many crimes would pass unpunished ; turf
f it were dangerous in ordinary cases, how rameh
nure dangerous ins such cases as this? Who t.t.,tild
ell the motive of Fieschi? Of his guilt there could
he no doubt; yet who could tell his motive?
What was the motive which the Learned Counsel fur the de-
fence had attributed to the prisoner? Why, that becauee a
man who two years ago had fired at the Sovereign had been
found mad, and had gratified his morbid love of noto-
riety, that therefore the prisoner had a desire to gra-
tify his morbid love of notoriety, with a hope of being
as well provided for as Oxford had been, Could any
sane mail have acted thus ? It he had not been protected t.y
Colonel Arbuthnot, who could tell what might have been the
consequences from the indignation of the bystanders? Insanity
was not set up, and yet what sane man would have taken volun-
tarily upon himself the character of an assassin merely for the
sake of a morbid love of notoriety. They should Lea at this as a
question of common sense, and looking at it as men of
sense, as men of the world, he asked in what
light could they consider it ? If Ire had been ap-
prehended on the Sunday, where would have been his
notoriety, if a pistol without a bell hail been found on him ?
Why, even the wadding of the pistol fired at that distance,
might have done serious injury ; but he did not rest
upon that. He admitted that there was no direct
proof that the pistol was loaded ; but he asked them
whether, under all the circumstances they could come
to any other conclusion than that the pistol was loaded? If
they believed that he had a criminal design, they must find him
guilty, but if, under all the circumstances of the case, they
should be of opinion, that he had no criminal design, then they
must acquit him. They had an impartial duty to perform, ri.it
only to the Sovereign, but to the public at large ; every mem-
ber of which was deeply interested in the safety of the see-
vereign. To their hands he committed the case, satisfied that
they would execute impartial justice between the Crown arid
the prisoner at the bar.
Chief Justice TINDAL then proceeded to sum uia the
case, and said that in all cases of high treason the law required
the proof of the commission of certain overt acts. In this eases
the overt act constituted the treason itself ; it was the shooting-
off and discharging a certain pistol, loaded with gunpowder and
a bullet, or some other destructive substance, at her Majesty ;
and another count charged him with discharging a certain
loaded pistol at her Majesty. If it should appear satisfactory to the
Jury that the pistol was lor.ded with a bullet., there cou;d be very
little doubt as to the guilty intent of tire prisoner ; therefore, the
first question to he considered was whether the pistol was loaded
with a bullet or any other destructive substance. There was a
second question to be considered, which was whether, although
the pistol was only loaded with gunpowder and wadding, it was
fired so close to her Majesty, as to be calculated to do her
severe bodily harm ; then also an overt act would be made nue
If the Jury were satisfied of neither of these positions,
then their verdict must be in favour of the prisoner.
(The Learned Judge then read his notes of the evidence at
length.) With regard to the identity of the prisoner these
could be no doubt. It was clear that he was tlie person spoke
to by all the witnesses, that he was seized with the pistol in his
possession, which pistol lie had recently nischarged. The evi-
dence of the Pearsons was most extraordinary. It was for the
Jury to place their own construction upon the conduct
of the prisoner on the Sunday in presenting the
pistol at the Royal carriage, and upon the ex-
pressions he made use of on that oseasion. The
question, however, would resolve itself almost entirely
into the question of the intention of the prisoner at the bar on
the Monday, according to the view they took ot his conduct on
that day. They would ',insider, either that his conduct on
the Sunday, betokened that of a man determined to persevere
in the perpetration of a horrible crime, or that it was Milieu-
five of a man in a state of desperation who was desirous of be-
ing taken into custody. If they were satisfied that the pistol
loaded with ball, or sonic other destructive substance there would
be c- difficulty in the case. If they should be of opinion that
the piston was loaded with powder and wadding only, then they
would have to consider whether it was discharged so close to
her Majesty as that if the wadding had struck her it would hav:
done her some bodily harm, or if it 'was discharged with the
intention of doing her some bodily harm. If they should he
ot opinion that such was the case, they must find the
prisoner guilty. It was a question not of law but of
tact, and was for the Jury alone to deterniir.e.
If they should feel convinced that he had committed the
offence with which he stood charged, it would be their duty to
bring in a verdict of guilty, without regard to consequences,
but if they should be of opinion that the scales of justice hung
even, then they would give the prisoner the benefit of the
doubt.

The Clerk of the Arraigns—Gentlemen of the Jury, please
to consider your verdict.
The Jury having consulted fur a few minutes iP the boa,
The FOREMAN said— Nly Lord, I think that we had better
retire.

Chief Justice TlNDAL—Certainly, Gentlemen.
The Jury then retired at twenty minutes to four o'clock to
consider their verdict, and returned into Court at five mi. ures
after five, and brought in a verdict of " Guilty on the second
and third counts; we think there is some doubts on the first."
Chief Justice TINDAL—Do you find him guilty of the
first overt act, that the pistol was loaded with a bullet ?—We

do not.
Do.
was charged with some you find him guilty 09 the
pinsto Wes do.
secCohndiefoJvuerstticaect
de-
structive substance ? Foreits.s
Chief Justice Tusuan-1
your opinion, therefore, that
loaded with something else s.
be d
es wadding the pistol was Foreman—lt is.
thatnA Ithe
and powder?.
I wished distinctly to ascertain Chief Justice TINDAL your
opinion on that point.
The prisoner, who turned pale when the verdict was deli-
vered. eras called on.
The Clark of the Arraigns—John Francis, you stand con-
victed of high treason. What have )ou to say why the Court
should not give you judgment to die according to law.—The
prisoner who seemed dreadfully affected returned no answer.
Silence was then proclaimed, and the three Judges (Chief
Justice Tindal, Mr. Justice Matteson, and Mr. Baron Gurney)
having put on their black caps,
Chief Justice TIN proceeded to pass sentence of death
upon the prisoner in the following terms : —John Francis, a
Jury of your country have, after a patient investigation, found
3ou guilty of the crime of the deepest and the most detestable
nature known to the laws of this country—l meat' the crime
of high treason ; and for that crime I have now to pass upon.
you the judgment of the Court. It is useless, in your case, to,
enlarge upon the nature of your offence, for the heart the.;
could imagine so dreadful a crime must be callous to every con-
sideration of virtue and humanity. Any attempt, there-
fore, to aggravate tile nature of your offence must
be necessarily useless. It is only owing to the manifest
intetlposition of that Almighty God, who bath slid that
he will be a shield and a protection to those Prince=
who put their trust. in him, that the
.nation . not at.t
ff
this moment cu f. ring the greatest a—
iliitstion in SCOW.