The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-10-04 00:00:00

CASE OF MR. BARNES.

The situation of Mr. Barnes, who stands committed for fe-
loniously receiving a Ea) note, alleged to have been stolen by
tlon Vickers from her mistress, Mrs. Hampton; has excited a
great sensation amongst his friends, but more particularly, as
indeed it might be expected, amongst his creditors. 'The latter
class of persons, from their previous knowledge of him as a
tradesman, conceive him to have been incapable of the act im-
puted to him; and acting on that belief, the following circular
was issued as soon as he was committed to Newgate :
In consequence of circumstances which have recently oc
curred, we deem it expedient that all persons connected with
the affairs of Mr. Barnes should take an early opportunity of
enquiring into those circumstances, and of expressing their
opinion thereon.
" We therefore most earnestly beg the favour of your attend-
ance at the Boar and Castle, Oxford-street, to-morrow evening,
at six o'clock, precisely.
" (Signed by four creditors.)''.
The meeting was accordingly held, and was attended by
about twenty-five creditors, some of them of the first eminent
in the trade. A statement—the particulars of which it would
be imprudent to publish before the trial—was then made of, the
proofs which will be brought forward in his defence. Accord-
ing to that statement the case will be one of the most extraor-
dinary ever brought before a court of justice; and certainly,
"if" it be substantiated; will furnish a complete refutation of
the charge of felony. Several gentlemen spoke in terms of ap-
probation of Mr. Barnes's conduct as a tradesman, and of the
necessity of not at present interfering with the due course of
his trade. Ultimately two resolutions of which the following
is the substance, were agreed to and signed by twenty creditors.
"Ist. That every individual present cheerfully bears testi-
mony to the honour and integrity which have hitherto charac-
terized Mr. Barnes's conduct in the course of his business.
"2nd. That impressed with a deep sense of his conduct,
this meeting feels justified in doubting that the charges brought
against Mr. Barnes can be substantiated, and in the hope and
belief that, at the proper period, he will be able to produce
such evidence as will entirely remove the unfavourable impres-
sion created by the ex-parte statements which have gone forth
to the public, this meeting feels it to be its duty to maintain by
every means in its power the reputation of that individual dur-
hip., his present unfortunate situation."
The meeting then broke up.—( True Sun.)
Liu a late number of the STAN DA r.D we briefly alluded to this
case, and as the merits of it are still to be the subject of a judi-
cial investigation, we did not intend taking any further notice
of it. until the trial had taken
place. Upon an es-parte state-
ment, two magistrates agreed in opinion that bail could not be
taken, and if they were wrong in coming to that decision, either
of the judges of the three courts, or At of them in succession,
might order bail to be taken on a writ of habeas corpus being
served upon the keeper of New gate. We do riot mean to hazard
an opinion upon the guilt or innocence of Mr. Barnes; but we
do most seriously protest against. the interference of these men,
however eminent they may be in the silver and jewellery trade.
Their interests, as creditors, may, doubtless, be seriously affected
by a conviction; but that is no valid reason why the course of
justice should be interrupted by this species of partizanship.
The law presumes every man to be innocent until a jury of his
countrymen have found him guilty of what he is charged withal;
therefore the resolutions entered into by this meeting are, to say
the least of them, unnecessary. What do these people mean
by "this meeting feels it to be its duty to maintain, by every
means in its power, the reputation of that individual during his
present situation ?" Do they mean to try the case themselves?
The trial of Thurtell was postponed on account of the great
excitement of the public mind, in order that justice might be
administered with that cool and temperate judgment, without
which it ceases to be justice. In the case of Mr. Barnes, there
• is a most palpable and, we think, unwarrantable attempt to
prejudice its merits, to excite the public mind, and to prevent
the cool and even course of the law. If, then, in the former
case, the trial of a criminal ought to be postponed on.account
of a prejudice raised against him from the supposed enormity
of his guilt, in that now under consideration, the prosecutrix is
equally entitled to demand a postponement on account of the
prejudice which this meeting is calculated to excite against
her, and the evidence that she may have to produce. We think
no offence so heinous as an attempt to interfere in any way
with those to whom the constitution has confided the execution
of justice. We repeat, that we do not mean to offer an opinion
as to the probable guilt or innocence of Mr. Barnes.]

Innwkr ROBBERY.—On Saturday night, about eight
o'clock, as a gentleman's servant was returning, on horseback,
front Liverpool to Waterloo, he was attacked, near to Saud-
hiils-bridge, by three highwaymen. They dragged him from
his horse, and, after striking him, robbed him of the money
he was taking to his master, and the contents of a basket he
had with him. The horse galloped down Sandhills-lane, and
was afterwards caught on the sands. On the same night ano-
ther horseman was attacked, probably by the same footpads.--
The horse was a spirited one, and, by a sudden plunge freed
its rider from the grasp of the villains.
On the sth of July last, Fernando Benancio, an Indian
cacique, labouring nuder-a powerful access of fever, was ad-
mitted as a patient into the hospital of Buenos Ayres. In his
train was a younger Indian, named Francisco Yunquel, who,
being attached to the chief, was allowed to wait upon and reside
with him during the progress of his cure. Yunquel was an un-
adulterated son of the Andes, and, in the indulgence of a na-
tural curiosity, strolled without restraint through every part of
the establishment. In a fatal hour he reached the door of the
dissecting-room, and just at the moment, too, that a lecturer
was illustrating by the knife upon the subject the lesson which
he was giving to his class. I-human dissection, though per-
mitted- by necessity and encouraged by science, is a sight ap-
palling to nature, and upon the unsophisticated savage of the
Wilds it produced thp most disastrous effects. Poor Yunquel
thought that the opelititor and his assistants were engaged in a
deed of murder he immediately raised the war-whoop of his
tribe—called out the gualichu with a maniacal voice, and draw-
ing his knife rushed upon all who were engaged in the dissec-
tion, The first victim was a graduate of some distinction in the
profession, whom he despatched at once; the next was an un-
fortunate patient who happened to be present, and the third
was a soldier, who stood sentinel at the &or of the devoted
chamber. The frenelico then rushed into the wards of the hos-
pital, and would have dealt death more extensively, if his mas-
ter, apprised of the tragical events, had not thrown himself in
his way, and by the threat, conveyed in their own language, of
instantly shooting him dead, brought him to a sense of his situa-
tion. This affair has created a great sensation at Buenos
~/I,yres.—Bivmos Papery, July 7.