The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-03-07 00:00:00

e prison

:tion with

He was then charged upon the coroner's inquts
the same offence, to which he also pleaded " Not Guilty
A chair was then placed in the dock tor the prisoner, upon
which he immediately sat down, and throwing his head back
nneared to be asleep ; he remained in the same situation
ine the whole of the Solicitor-General's opening address,
examination be appeared
hey said.
Follett) then rose and

Lttentively to

TOR-GENERA

Lords,

Gentlemen of the Jury,

most solemn

her or not the

important duty.
over at the bar b

❑ilty of the awful trim'

with which

.men, that I shall best

and to the public, on w

its 9n J
ce to t

with Lord Haddington, whom he left at
e to Drummond's banking

he Admiralty, and proceec
louse, at Charing-cross, on his return from which, when
sear the Salopian Coffee-house, the prisoner at the bar dis-
I a pistol almost close to his person. (The learned
- - " Drum-

r. Drummond

t fall ;

lingered for some

Id esteemed, and valued. He ,a as of a disposition so amia-
e, that it was impossible he could have any personal ene-

eman seemed to t

ill naturall

ntlemen, what

risoner to deprive of life a bt
Drummond was not only without any per-
but he did not fill any prominent situation
ore the public. He did not hold that situation in public
which would render him obnovious to political enemies,

ould induce the r

g so un-

_ was the private secretary of the principal minister of
le crown, an inmate of his house, and constantly passing
herefrom to the public offices in Downing-street and the
eigbbourhood, about which the prisoner was observed to be
Atering and watching. You will be satisfied from the facts
f the case, from the threats used by the prisoner before he
ommitted his crime, and his declarations afterwards, that it
vas not the life of Mr. Drummond that he sought. You

will be satisfied that it was the life of Sir Robert Peel that he
desired, and that it was his life that he believed he was taking
when he discharged the pistol at the person of Mr. Drnmmond.
Gentlemen, the nature of his crime is not altered by this
circumstance, but it affords a reason for it. I need not tell
you that he is guilty of murder, although he might have mis-
taken the person against whom he discharged the pistol. Of
the guilt of the prisoner—of the fact of his having deprived
Mr. Drummond of life—it is impossible I can suggest a
doubt ; it is impossible that any doubt can be suggested that
the crime was committed, and that that crime was murder.
But I cannot conceal from yon, because I know from appli-
cations which have been made to this court, and the deposi-
tions which bave been made on behalf of the prisoner, that
it is intended to rest the defence on the plea that he was
insane at the time he committed the crime; and, gentlemen,
it will be your painful duty—for painful it must be—to de-
cide whether he was in that degree of insanity at the time he
committed that crime which would render him not a respon-
sible agent, and not answerable to the laws of his country.
This defence is a difficult one at all times ' • for while, on the
one hand, every one must be anxious that an unconscious
being should not suffer, yet, on the other hand, the public
safety requires that this defence should not be too readily
listened to; and above all, the public safety requires that
the atrocious nature of the act itself, and the circumstances
under which it was committed, should not form any ingredi-
ent in that defence. There are few crimes that are commit-
ted, and above all crimes of an atrocious nature like this,
that are not committed by persons labouring under some
morbid affection of the mind; and it is difficult for well-
regulated minds to understand the motives which lead to
such offences in the absence of that morbid affection of the
mind. I believe that the truth of this remark will be more
especially proved when attacks are directed to persons hold-
ing high and important stations in the nation. If you look

into the page of hikory, and direct your attention to those
cases in which such persons have been deprived of life, you
will be satisfied of the truth of that proposition. But we

need not look far back ; occurrences of our own times fur-
nish us with sufficient instances for illustration. If you look
at a neighbouring country, you will see there that persons in
broad day, in the crowded streets of the metropolis of
France, without any precaution for their own safety, without
the midst of the people, close to
King, have discharged heir wea-

of the

person of the Sovereign of the country. What
motive had they ? We know of none but that of an ill-regu-
lated mind, worked upon by political feeling. We have seen
instances in France of parties having laid plans to assist
yes in their escape, discharging infernal instruments
3f Paris, regardless of how many or what lives
provided they could reach t

pons at a

person of the
ntlemen, to show that
rime itself afford no

_ ivat the parties committing it are not
) the faws of their country. But I know that
defence on the part of the prisoner will not
that evidence will be offered to show that
:ane state of mind at the time he
committed the crime; and knowing that, I feel that I ought
in this stage of the case to refer to some authorities, and
state my view of the principles of the English law. t will
be open to my learned friend, whose powerful assistance I
am happy to see the prisoner will have, to comment upon
that, and to differ from me if he thinks lam wrong. It has
been the custom in theie cases to refer to proceedings of au.
thority, and to the dicta of judges who have tried similar
questions : not that I mean to say for one moment that it is
a question of law ; on the contrary, the question to be de-
cided by you is a question of fact, a question of common
sense and belief. The whole question will turn upon this—
'if you believe the prisoner at the bar. at the time he com-
mitted this act was not a responsible agent—if you believe
that when be fired the pistol be was incapable of distinguish-
ing between right and wrong—it you believe that he was
under the influence and control of some disease of the mind

Is for ho

rest upon this, t
the prisoner_was not in a

nted him from being conscious that he was com-

witting a crime—if you believe-that he did not know he was
violating the law both of God and man, then, undoubtedly,
he is entitled to your acquittal. But it is my duty, subject
to the correction of my lord, and to the observations of my
learned friend, to tell you that nothing short of that excuse
can excuse him upon the principle of the English law. To
excuse him, it will not be sufficient that he laboured at the
time under partial insanity, that he had a morbid disposition
of mind, which would not exist in a sane person ; that is not
enough, if he had that degree of intellect to enable him to
know and distinguish right from wrong, if he knew what
would be the effects of his crime, and consciously committed
it, and if with that consciousness he wilfully committted it.
With regard to the authorities upon this point, observations
have been made to the effect that they have attempted to
define the law too strictly. That observation was made
without regard to the object of the authorities. It is impos-
sible to lay down beforehand any definition of the madness
which will excuse the crime of murder; the disease assumes

,nd such various shapes, and acts in such

noosite wayi, that you cannot define it. But you may lay
e principles of law which are applicable to it ; and
laid down, and uniformly laid down in the same way

down t

that it is a question for the jury to take into their considera-
tion whether the party was a responsible agent when he corn-
, whether he then knew right from wrong,

mitted the crir

whether he was conscious that he was offending against the
law of his country end nature, and whether he did it wilfully.
Gentlemen, the public safety is the object of all law ; the
public safety is intrusted solely to the protection of courts of
criminal judicature, and to juries who administer justice
under the law; and it is with a view to the public safety
that the law is laid down by legal anthorities principally for
. .

the guidance of juries who have to decide upon questions of
this nature. The learned gentleman then referred to several
decisions to prove his statements as to the law of the case,
and proceeded to lay before the jury what was known re-
specting the prisoner during his residence in Glasgow, and
which was detailed towards the close of the evidence for the
prosecution, and which we subjoin :

which has already appeared respecting the
unfortunate ifisassination of Mr. Drummond was then given,
after which theiollpvving depositions were taken as to the

Win Gins;

Robert Gordon exam
brass founder, resid
soner fcr t