The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-03-20 00:00:00

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• 310118144114 r. WIMP ; . , •
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BeiGlitON mutta.a.1
the Grand Jury hasingyeiteeday ignored the Bill
or ;144.4ttuent against James Day, a privete.soldier
In the.'2,l4t regiment of Koval .ticoich Fuzileers, end*
James Whits and Mut Williams, two respectable itkr '
habitants Of: Brimhtmn, the formic charged ei a prig-,
cipal iu tbe, wilful merdee Of Thomas Ito•leti: is tile!
parish 41 Brightheisestone, on the sth of •Nusemblr,
last, and the two latter as accessiries thereto, they
were this morning severally arraigned upon the Co!
rikuer's Inquest, in order to take their trials. They
severally pleaded Not Guilty. The Prisoners bad.
ail been admitted to bail. and surrendered this morn-
ipg.,iDay was placed within the duck, and the others
(who were men of very respectable appearance) were
attempted from this ignominious ceremony, and stood
is the piece allotted to Attornies.
. Owing to-the frequent discussion; of this case, and
the universal interest E.:cited thereby, the Court was
Crowded to eacess, although it was generally report-
ed, last night that no evidence would be offered in
mopport of. the prosecution. pis report seems to
Nave been well founded.
Mr.COUKTIIORTE (with whom was Mr. BOLLARD)
'tad been retained for the prosecution; and in a short
address to the Jury, stated, that, upon consideration,
it had been found expedient not to press the present
prosecution. He was relieved from the painful duty
of stating, and supporting by evidence, the case which
be had been instructed to bring forward against the
persons now before the Court, and, therefore, he felt
great pleasure in discharging the threefold duty now
left to him to perform : first, to spare his Lordship
the trouble of taking any evidence ; next, to save the
time of the Jury ; and, thirdly, to put an end to the
anxious suspence of the individuals under accusation.
This resolution had beer) formed in consequence of a
deliberate investigation of the charge, as presented
upon the record of the Coroner's 'lnquest, which, upon
examinntiots, was found defective in a moat material al.
livitStine, namely, that it neglected to ascribe the death
of the deceased to the wound received from the bayonet
of the person charged as principal in the murder. This
was. an objection so obvious, even to the most ittes-
perieuced lan er, as to be completely insuperable,
and therefore it had been resolved not to press the
matter further, inasmuch as the result must be equally
beneficial to the accused. Anxious, therefore, to
spare the time of the Court awl Jury, and also soli-
citous to relieve the Defendants from their perilous
aiteatie.l, he had, in conjunction with the experienced
*judgment of Ids Learned Colleague, thus taken the
earliest opportunity of announcing his intention of
calling no evidence on the part of the Crown. Un-
doubtedly the Coroner, to whom the defect in the
inquisition might he ascribed, was free from all impu-
tation, both in esperience and judgment. The fact
was, the inquisition had been framed upon a prece-
dent, contained in- a modern treatise on criminal
pleading of' great and deserved merit—that of Mr.
Starkey, which contained the precedent in question,
as being sanctioned by the unanimous opinion of the
reehe Judges. It was impossible, however, for any
lawyer to contend, that a precedent so defective
,could be sanctioned by the authority of any Criminal
Court. 'the inquest now under consideration omit-
ted to allege that the death was the consequence of
the wound, and therefore it would be a useless
waste of time to persevere in a prosecution which
must sooner or later terminate in acquittal. Under
these eircumstatices, he felt it a duty which he owed
to the Court.aed the Prisoners to abandon the prose.]
cut ion.
Mr. Baron GRAIIAM Said, he thought the Learned
Counsel for the prosecution had done themselves infi-
nite honour, by the candid and gentlemanly manner
in which they had voluntarily stated an objection to
the form of the proceedings, in the propriety and
soundness of which every Lawyer most agree. Hie,
Lordship was of opinion that the objection was in. -I
superable, notwithstanding the grave authority upon
which it was founded—and therefore had the prose-
cution gone further, he should have felt it to be his
duty to prevent the case going to the Jury.
• Mr. TvnnT, who appeared as Counsel for Mr.
Williams, acknowledged the honourable and liberal
manner in which the procedings had been stopped by
the Counsel for the prosecution. lie felt it necessary,
however, to state, on the part of his Client, as well
.as the other persons under accusation, that no one
:could more deeply lament the fate of the unfortunate
man who had lost his life, than they did—a misfor-
tune it•hicli had arisen sol.•ly from accident, and was
the lamentable casualty arising from the discharge of
the Defendant's public duty.
Mr. Baron GRAHAM said, he was justified in stat-
ing, that as far as he could collect the circumstances
of the case, as well from the depositions as from the
statements elsewhere, the Defendants were wholly
free from blame, the misfortune having arisen, as ap-
peared to him from accident.
The Defendants were alrfound—Not Guilty, and
; immediately discharged.
Mr. Ballantine wac.Coonsel for Day, and Mr.
Meath for Mr. White.
ATTLINIPT TO MURDER..
John Maynard was indicted under the Black Act,
9 Geo. 1. and under Lord Ellenborough's Act, for
wilfully and maliciously presenting a loaded pistol
and shooting at John Itobden, in the parish of Ash
bornitam, on the 1 Ith of January, with intent to
murder, or do him some grievous bodily harm.
The 11/Union Serjeant and Mr. Bowen conducted
vie prosecution, and Mr. Andrews conducted the de-
fence. '
It appeared in evidence, that the Prosecutor was
in the service of Lord Ashburnham, as under game-
keeper, and having been informed by another under.
keeper, named Clarke, on the evening of the I let of
January, that there were some poachers in Furnace-
wood, the property of Lord Ashburnham, he went
thither, and rouse-the Prisoner concealed, lying on
his hands and knees, having just discharged a fowl-
ing-piece. Ile immediately attempted to take him
into custody, fell boon him and held him down, and
called for 'the assistance of Clarke. Whilst in this
attitude the Prisoner polled a pistol from ender his
smock-frock,-and tenting it over his shoulder in the-
direction of she Prosecutor's head, he discharged it,
but fortnately without effect, as the Prosecutor's
• bead happened at the moment to be turned another