The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-11-01 00:00:00

LIVERPOOL MICHAELMAS SESSIONS.

(From our Second Edition of Friday.)

CROWN COURT—Fetnsv.
This morning being fixed for the trial of Gomez Pelavo, the
Spaniard, who occasioned the late explosion at the Postiitfice by
enclosing fulminating silver inietters intended to be sent to-in-
dividuals in the fiavanuabr: the Court at an early hour, note
withstanding the unfaVourablr state or the weather, was crowd-
ed:arid'seveyal ladies attended to hear the trial.
Shortly after nine o'clock the prisoner. was placed at the bar.
He is a little; sallow, and mean-looking individual, of very dirty
appearance.
Mr. • .
i
riSpaniard, Bruno Vidal, 'was *then sworn
ter.,as nterpr&

The indictment charged the prisoner as Joseph Gomez Pe-
layo with having put four packets into the letter-box, which
contained each, one ounce weight of fulminating silver and
small particles- of- brass, the prisoner well knowing that the
packets contained the aforesaid quantity of the said materials,
and well knowing that such packets were likely to explode, and
if they exploded, were calculated to endattger human life ; and
whereby Daniel Barnard, being employed in the Postoffice to
stamp letters, was, in stariiping these I!4terri with -the Postoflicd
stamp, dreadfully 'scorched and wounded, and had one of his,
eyes destroyed by a dreadful explosion caused thereby,;' where:
by the said Daniel Barnard had suffered great pain and au-
guish.
The interpreter was then directed to inquire if the prisoner
understood English ? at which the prisoner shook his head. He
was then asked in Spanish if he uuderstood Spanish, and, re-
plied, f' Yes." - • • •
On the indictment being translated to the prisoner, he 'said
the packets did not contain half an -ounce of fulminating, sil-
..ver. After the-indictment had.beeu interpreted to the prisoner,.
he said he was -Not Guilty. - . . The jury was then sworn. •
Mr. Venables and Mr. Cottingham appeared for the crowd,:
and Mr. Murphy defended the prisoner.
Mr. Cottinghatn read the indictment as above. -There were
also several counts varying the indictment. •
Mr. VENT A BLEs then openedthe case. He said, by the read-
ing of the indictment, the Court was almost put in entire pos-
session of the facts, which it became his duty to state to them.
He should endeavour, as concisely as possible, simply to stated
the facts. • Ile begged•them to dismiss from their minds any;
thing wltitit they might-have heard respecting the.transactien -
out of mark,'. and attend
.only to the evidence to' be theu pro-
duced. 'The'-facts of-the case would be clearly shown to then, ;
it was only necessary for them, in his opinion, to attend to the
evidence to be given on oath, and they could come to no other
conclusion, but that the prisoner was guilty. Let them, as En-
glishmen, try this man as they would an Englishman. The
learned gentleman then proceeded to detail the facts at length,
as they wid be found in the following evidence of the witnesses.
William Augustine Bond deposed to-being clerk in- the Li-
uerpool ppstotliee. He was on duty on Saturday, the 24th of
Sept. Ou the evening of that day lie found-six letters placed
on his desk ; he marked each of those letters, postage not paid,
in red ink. It was customary to do So with letters the postage
of which was not paid. The three pack-ages produced were a
part of those. He enclosed two of the letters in one envelope,
and one in another. He did not know the weight of the pack-
ages. He made the remaining three up'in another packet, and
inclosed them ih an an envelope,' addressed to the dead letter
office. Atter this he left one of the letters on the stamping ta-
ble. and. a'packet. A person named Barnard was stamping let-
ters that evening in-the postoffice, and he directed hint 'osta:up
the letters on his desk. One of the letters produced was one
that he had stamped. He had stamped the packet containing
three letters himself, and put them in the bag. About twenty
minutes after -he had directed Barnard to stamp the letters "
he happened- to be looking at the stamping table when ,1
he observed a stream of- white• Vapour proceeding from it.
and at the same instant there was a tremendous explo-
sion. It put out the lights of the office, broke five squares of
glass, knocked one of the clerks down, and he saw Barnard
reel, tutu half round and fall on his face. He went to him and
assisted hint up. He found blood streaming from his face, and
his left hand hilt finger much lacerated. fle was conveyed
into an inner office, and a medical gentleman sent for. He
then assisted in ricking up some envelopes of letters'which
were strewed over the stamping-table and the floor. The frog-
meets produced: were those found. Upon four of the fragMents
'his own writing was. discernable. There was " postage not
paid," and ," Inspeetor of dead letters, dead letter office, Lon-
don," in his hand-writing, on the fragments of the envelope.
Ile was employed in the Postoflice on. the 231. The three let,
tors produced were dropt into the receiver at the Postoffice on
the 2,3 d, between eight and ten in the morning. He knew that
from the stamp. After the explosion Mr. Banning was made
acquainted with the circumstances, and it was decided-to
send an express off to London to avoid accident with
those which had been sent off. One of the packets which
had exploded was marked 2i oz. weight, and the other 24
.The interpreter was then directed to read the direCtions of
the three letters which had been sent;to the London 'Postoftice
on the Friday. One -letter, marked A, was directeil to. " His,
most excellent Sir, Don Miguel. Governor of Hit'vannah," with
the initials in the corner, E. S. P. M., being the initials in Spa=
nish fur "to be delivered into his own hands." Another letter,
marked B, was similarly addressed to " Most excellent Sir, the
Captain-General Governor of Havannah." The third letter,'
marked C, was addressed " to the Widow of the deceased Don
Aulanbranfo, Havatinah." On the envelope of the -letter A.
was, "Of the greatest importance," and, in the corner, the ini-
tials of the prisoner, J. G. P. The signature of the letter was
Joseph Goniez Pelayce and-it was•clated Liverpool, 22d of Sep-.
tember, 1836. On the envelope of the fragments found was the
address, "to Don.Carsa Novell a, merchant,.in Matanzas," with
the initials E. S. P. M. There was also another letter envelope,
hearing the same address. And another fragment of a direc-
tion, which was so torn as not to he perfectly readable., Some
letters- found in the trunk of the. prisoner were thenlanded to
the interpreter, and in one of them was found the.addresses of
the various letters which contained the silver..
The witness was then cross-examined at some, length on • the
various parts of his evidence without eliciting any thing very
material. He knew that the letter which had exploded was-the
one he had placed in the stamping table from the- fragments.
He knew the letters which had gone to ,London-had been put
in the postoflice between the hours of eight o'clock and•ten.on
Friday morning from the letter B in the stamp, which remained
always during those hours in the stamp.
Re-examined.—lle could not tell whether the letter had
been stamped with unusual force from the stamp.
Mr. 'William James Page ii.a clerk in the dead letter office
in. London.. -He went to the office on Monday morning, the
26th of September. He found a package of letters un his desk,
and received at the same time a letter from 11r. Banning, which
he Opened first. Iticonsequence he opened the packets with
great care. He found in leiter V a Waterloo cracker and a
small round packet of fulminating silver., If the packet had
been opened, in the usual way, he had no doubt it would have
caused the letter to explode. The packet of fulminating silver
was a circular package, larger than a crown piece, two pieces
of paper gummed together round the edges, and enclosing ful-
minating silver. [The production of the silver in court caused
quite a sensation, and it was ordered to be taken out.] Upon
the wafers of all three of the letters was the impression J. C. H.
If he had not received Mr. Banning's letter, he should have
opened the letters in the usual course of business. The letter
marked C was the only letter which contained the silver.
Michael Conway.—Knew the prisoner. He first saw him on
Tuesday, the 20th; soon after 12 o'clock. He came ashore from
the Virginia Packet. Witness showed him a lodging card, and
he said lie wanted a room, with a lock and key, and he took him
to Mrs. O'Hara's, in Ternple-court, where he left him. There
was a bolt inside his door. lie was to call on him next morning,
to go for him to the packet to get his trunk. The custom-house
officer was not on board, and he could not get his trunk. Ha
then came ashore, and he told him to show him the Post-office,
which he did, and prisoner said "-that will do." They then re-
turned to.the packet ship. The prisoner-then went down into
the,steerage, and got the box produced (something like a cigar
box). He then went with the box to the prisoner's lodgings,
and prisoner said he wanted to write a letter, and -sent him for
sOtne paper. They then went on board again to get prisoner's
tillnk, and they got it from on board the ship. On the Friday
lie called on the prisoner again between 9 and 10 o'clock, and
they went down to the Saracen's Head, and Mr. Fox, the chief
book-keeper, spoke to the prisoner in his own language, and
forwarded the prisoner and his box to London for 30s. On the
Saturday morning he called again on the prisoner, and he was
to call again at 3-o'clock, and he took his coach trunk down to
the coach-office. The prisoner than told him to call on him at
6 o'clock to show hint the Post-office, as'he had some letters; to
put in. It was' 0 minutes to 7 before he called, and the pri-
soner was getting his tea. The prisoner theu went up stairs,
and brought down something in a handkerchief. H e then went
with hint to the Post-office, and they were thereabout 7 o'clock.
and the prisoner put in several packages out of his handkerchief
into. the Post-office; the prisoLer said they were for a Spanish
country.
. .
The witness was then cross-examined as to several of the faets,
but nothing material was elicited. The reason the prisoner
wanted him to show him the office again was, he should not
he able to find it. The paper which he had got for the prisoner
to write on was a blueish thick paper. The Birmingham mail
was just starting from the Postoffice when the prism yr put the
packages in: He saw him distinctly put them in. He Was
close to him at the finite. lie dropped the into the letter slit
at the Postoffice.
lte-examined.—The slit was just opened as they got there:
He saw the same trunk on Sunday last at the Postoftice which
he not from on board the Virginian and had taken to the pri-
soners lodgings at O'Hara's.

Mary O'Hara.—ls the wife of John O'Hara, and lives at No
24. Templelane. Recollected the prisoner coming to her house
on _Tuesday, the 24th of September; it was between ten and
twelve o'clock in the forenoon. He wanted a room with a lock
and key. . She let him a.room with a bolt. He was to give her
3s. a dziv, board and lodgings. On Wednesday- morning, on
making his bed, she found a patrol
.pistols under his pillow. She
saw the prisoner's trunk, and had since Seen the same trunk at
the Postoffice. She saw•the prisoner take a blunderbuss out of
the trunk... She remembered his going out on. Friday morning.
She remembered his asking for a brush to sweep his room. He
afterwards came down stairs and put a few slips of paper on the
fire • it was, about .four o'clock on Saturday. The paper made
rather a whizzing noise on the fire. She asked him if he was
going to shoot her; he said he would not hurt her. This wit-
ness corroborated the statement of the boy calling at night. •
Cross-examined.—Their house was a good Way from the past-
office. The paper 'thrown in the file made a whizzing
John O'Hara; the husband of last witness. The pi-menet
wanted to sell a trunk he had.. He saw him-take a blunderbuss
out of the box, which the prisoner said was loaded. He made
him unload it, and there were 22 balls in it, and some powder.
On,Fridav morning he wanted something out of the prisoner's
room, and knocked at his door, which prisoner opened. The
prisoner was writing, and there was a box on the bed. He
thought he saw !inn put a paper on the bed. He had a seal, the
initials of which were J. 0. H. It was on the kitchen window
when he let the prisoner his room. He had never used it whilst
the prisoner was with him. He missed the seal after the pri-
saner left his house. •
Mr. Maitland Wilson Boyd is employed in the General Post-
offite, in London. He was present when the prisoner was 'ex-
amined at the Post-office, when a conversation took plaCe in
French. He asked prisoner if he had not come to Liverpool
in the Virginian Packet. He said he had, and that he 'had
put some letters in the post. He replied in French, " peut etre
(AIL!' He asked him if the packages which had come to Lou-
den were in his hanthwriting, and he said they were. On show-
ing him the letters which had been put in on Saturday, he said
be had put none in•the post. He also said that letter C con-
taining ,the silver , was not in his handwriting: The prisoner
said he came from Madrid and had lived at Paris; He came
from the Havanuah.to Liverpool. He asked where he got a
seal found on him, and he said "at Liverpool." The' impres-
sion on the seal. was J. 0. H., and the same as was on the
wafers of the letters. He had no doubt but the impression on
the wafer was produced by the seal. •
• ..
Cross-examined..—He could not say but .the impreSsinn was
faint, and similar to the seal. He answered his questions ren-1
dily. He said the letters A B were in 15i& handwriting, but pp,
sitivelYdenied that C was. The impression of the seal was not
so strong on the C letter as the others.'
Re-examined:—=In his, opinion it would have been dangerous
to have made a strong impression.
George Th miss Joseph Ruthven deposed to being a Bow-
street officer. On the.lst of October he went with another of-