The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-11-09 00:00:00

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LONDON; THURIg #it„,NOVEMBER 9, 1820.

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GRCUANTAVI74I. OR nasumrrirs

EPIDENGE.

The ennAilence expressed by the acrasers and the
enemies of the (Nees, *a the inferences thee have
been pleased to draw front circumstances which have
been developed in the coarse of the pending pro-
ceedingt, nusapperteti by any prinddi:cct of the fact
in question, induces as to spew. is the retuarkable
occurrences that attended the 'following trial. with
what caution, whet is called, circumstantial evidence
should be rereivell s

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth a person was ar-
raigned before Sir John Deer, Lord Chief Jamie, of
the Court of Cifinumn Elz;as. upon an indictment
air the murder of a man who dwelt in the setae parish
with the prisoner. 'the first witness deposed, that on.
a certain day mentioned by the witness, in the morn-,
ins. as he was going through *Asa which he partV
calmly described, at some distance from the path. he
raw a person► lying, creasing to he either dead or
drunk: that he went, and found him actually dead,

two wounds appearieg is his breast, and his shirt and
clothes mach stained with blood ; that the wounds

appeared to have been given be the puncture of a fork
ur some such instrument : and looking about he disco-
vered a fork. lying near the corpse; which he took up.
and observed it to be smirked with the initial letters of

the prisoner's nauw. The witness at the same time
prwluerd the fork in court. which the prisoner owned

to be leis.

A second witrwss del,ose4l, That an the amain, of
the 'lay on which the deceased was hilted, he had

risen early with an intention to go to a neighbouring
usatket.town ; and as he was standing in his house,
the door being open he say Cie prisoner go by, dressed
in a suit of cloatha. the cola ur and fashion of whirls
he described ; that he (the witness) was prevented
from timing to market, and afterwards the first wit-
IIeSS brought notice to the town of the death anal
wounds of the deceased, and of the prisoner's fork
being found near the corpse; that upon this report the
prisoner was apprehended and carried before a justice
of the peace, who was then present in court ; that he
(the alfilleems) followed the prisoner to the justice's
heelleineel attended his examination. during which he
oisserred the change of raiment which the prisoner had
made since the time he had seen him in the morning ;
that at the time of the examination, the prisoner was
dressed its the same deaths which he hal on at the
trial; and that on the witness's charging him with
having changed hiss closers% he gave several evasive
answers anal would have denied it: that upon his men-
tioning this circumstance of the change of dress, the
justice granted a warrant to search the prisoner's
house for the cloathes described by the witness, as'
having been put aif since the morning ; that after i
diligent search the vrrytleathes which the witness had
described were alisrovered all bloody, concealed in
straw bell. Ile then produced the bloody cloathes ie
court which the primmer owned to be his. and to hall
been thrust inw the straw bed. with an intention to
rouser:al them on wining of their being bloody.
Tbe prisoner being called upon to snake hisidefenee,
gave the following narrative to the court as contain-
' ing all he knew codeeruing the usannce, and circum-
stance of the death of the deceased, yin. " That he
rented a close in the same parish with the deceased.
anal that the deceased rented another clime adjoining
:o it : that else only way to his close was through that
of the deceased, and on that day when the murder was
committed. he rose early in the morning to go tai work
in his close, with his !ark in Isis hand. and passing
through the grunnd or the deceased he observed a man
at some distance from the path, lying Ins if dead, or
drunk ; that he went to see what condition the person
was in, and found him in the last extremity with two
wounds in his breast, from which a great deal of blood
had issued; that in order to relieve him, he raised him
up and with great difficulty set hint in his lap; that
he told the deceased he was greatly concerned at his
unhappy fate, and the snore sh, as there seemed too
much reason to apprehend he load been murdered ;
that Ise entreated tie deceased to discover if possible,
the occasion of his misfortune, assuring I' lse would
use Isis utmost endeavours to bring the murderer to
Justice; that the deceased seemed to he sensible of
what he said, and in the midst of his agonies, at-
tempted to spe.k, h:st being seized wits a rattling in
his throat, after a 11.,ral 'struggle, he gave a dreadful
groan, anal vomiting a great deal of blood, panne of
which fell on his (the prisoner's) (loathes, he expired
in Isis arms ; that the shock he felt an account of this
accident was not to he expressed; anal the rather, as
it was well known there had been a difference between
the deceased and himself, on which account be might
possibly be suspected of the murder : that be ttsere-
fore thought it advisable to leave the ,lereesed in the
condition he was, aid to take no farther notice of the
matter; th-et in the confusion he was in. whets
he left the place, lee took away the fork of the deceased,
and left his own in the room of it, by the side of the
corpse; that, being obliged to go to his work, he
thought it hest to shift his dismiss: anal that they
might not be seen, he confessed he had hid them in
the place, where they were found : that it was true, he
had denied before the justice to bare changed his
deaths, being conscious that it was an ugly circum-
stance that might be urged against hint. and being
unwilling to he brought in trouble, if he comb' help
it. Ile concluded his story wills a sulemn declaration
that he had related nothing but the truth, without
adding or diminishing one tittle, as he should answer
it to liod Almighty." Being called upon to produce
his witnesses, the prisoner answered with a steady tom-
penes! countenance. anal solemn tone of voice, that he
had no witness but Mod anal his own cons:-fence.
The Judge then proceeded to deliver his charge to
the Jury, its which he pathetically enlarged on the
heinousness of the crime. and laid greet stream on the
twee of the evideere, which, although circusastastial
ouly, he declared he thereat to be irresistib7e, aid

Fide, end SYDNEY died .n the Sealfoldr'

inferior to the meet positive proof : that the pri-
mmer bad indeed contrived a very. plausible story, but
If such allegations were admitted, in a cue of this
Mad, no 'powderer would ever be brought to kis-
Ike. such bloody deeds being generally perpetrated
In the dark, and with the greatest secrecy : that the
present rase was exempted, in his opinion. from all
possibility of doubt, and that they ought not to hesi-
tate one usoeueet about hiding the pawner guilty:.
The Forman begged of his Lordship, as it was a
ease of life and death, that the Jury might be at li-
berty to withdraw. and upon this 'notion, an officer
was sworn to keep the Jury. This trial came on in
Ile morning, and the Judge having sat till nine at
night, expecting the return of the Jury, at last sent
tlr officer, to enquire if they were agreed in their vet.-
likt, for his Lordship would wait no longer for them.
answered. that eleven of them had been of one
from the Lest, bet their Foreman was of a diffe-
rent opinion, and was unalterably fixed in it.
The messenger no sooner returned, hat the cam-
pliiaing member*, alarmed at the thoughts of being
confined all night, and despairing of bringing their
iliimenting brother over to their wry of thinking,
agreed to secede to his opinion, and basing acquaint-
esl hint With their resolution, they sent an 41ifi 'er to
detain his lordship a few minutes, and then went into
Court, and by their foreman brought in the prisoner
—Not (Wily.
Li, Lordship could not help evpressing the great-
est surprise and indignation at this um-xpected verdict.
and, after giviog the jury a severe admonitiuss, he
refused to record their verdict, and sent them back
*grin, with direr.; that they should he larked up
all night without tire or candle. The whole Mange was
publicly laid on the foreman by the rest of the mem-
hers, and they spent the night in loading him with re-
, fleet' , eta bewailing their fate in toeing ast.ociated
with so hardened a wretch but he temainetl finite hp-
; I devilde, ronstatitly ilectiring lie would staffer death
rather than change his opinion.
As soon as his Lordship cause into ('Dart the next
morning, lie sent again to the Jury, on which all the
rifest' memhers joined in requesting their foreman
to go again into Court, assuring him they would ad-
here to their former serdiet, whatever was the copse-
(peace ; and upon being reproached for their former
inconstapcy, they promised never to desert or recri-
minate their foreman any 1114IfI. Upon this, they pro-
ceeded into Court, and again brought in the prisoner

—Not tinilty.
The Judge, unable to conceal his rage at a verdict
which appeared to him in the most iniquitoas light,
reproached them with the severest censures, and dis-
'misled them with this coatis( regestion—•• That the
bitted of the deceased lay as their dom."-
The Judge enquired, both of the sheriff and the
minister of the parish, into the character of the fore-
man, who each gave him an excellent character.
These accounts rather increased his Lordship's per-
plexity; he therefore desired a con'erence with the
juryman. The juryman and his Lordship having met,
and retired to a closet, the judge asked his reasons
for acquitting the prisoner. • The juryman said as he
was under no compnision to avow his reasons, he ex-
pected his Lordship would engage non his honour,
to keep what he was about to unfold, as secret as him-
self had done ; which his Lordship having promised
to do, the juryman then proceeded to g:se him the
following account. The lieceas.nl being tithent:ln
of the parish, where he (the juryman) lived, hr
hail, the morning of his decease been in hit ( hr
juryman's) grounds amongst his corn, and Is al
done him lunch injustice, by taking re than his
due, and acting otherwise in a most arbitrary Insa-
ne; ; when he complained of this arbitrary treatment
he was not only abused with scurrilous Isugnar-, but
the deceased likewise struck at him several time with
his fork, and actually wounded hint in two places,
1 the scars of which wounds be then shewrd his Lord-
, ship. The deceased seemed bent on mischief, and lie.
(the juryman) having no weapon to defend hints •If,
had no other way to preserve his own life, but hy
closing in with the d . 11, and wrenching the 6,ric
, out of his hands, which having effected, the tlereas;tl
r attempted to mover the fork, and in the scuffle
. received the two wounds which had occasiond
his
death.
lie said he was inexpressibly concerned at the ac-
cident, and especially when the prisoner was taken up
on suspicion of the molder that the -forauer
being just over, lie was uun Wing to surrender himself.
because his farm and affairs would have been ruined,
by his lying in a pm' so long : that he was sure to
have been acquitted on his trial, for he had con-
sulted the ablest lawyers on the case, who all agreed.
that as the deceased had been the agressor, he
would only h • found guilty of manslaughter : it srlit
true he had suffered guatly in his own mind on the
prisoners account ; het being well assured that im-
prisonment would be of less ill ronsequeses to the
prisoner than to himself, he had suffered the law to
take its course. Ant! in ceder to render the prison-
er's confinement as easy as possible, hr hail given hint
every kind of assistance, and hail wholly seoppoarel his
family ever since; but to get hint cleared of the charge
against bins, he could think of no other expedient
than precuring-himself to be molted tos the jury,
and sat a; the head of them, which with great labour
and expense he bad arcompliehel, having all along
determined in his own breast, rather to die himself,
than to suffer any harm to be done to the prisoner."
Ilislaorsiship expressed great fatisfactiod at this
aeettunt,and after thanking hit, for it, and tenNing
tide ftsrtiter stipulation, that in case his LorOship
happen to survive him, he might then 1w at
lii tattler this story, that it might b; delivered
down to immurritv. the conference broke np.
The *peen lived 15 years afterwards; the judge
'squired after him every year. and hariwaitsg to sur-
vive him delivered the above relatios.

PRICE Smis

ARcric EXP EMMA%

.—.....
We have been politely favOured by a Gentleman •.e
otitsgow with the following Letter. which he Trent: I
yesterday (Friday, Nov. :Is s---. .
Griper. at ties, 10d Sept. ISP.
Lat. 011. 074—Lone. 110. litt.„W. ltalin's Ray.
I am quite well. and have enjoyed perfect healet :-.11
the voyage, although it has beet) a hard fagging pic.e
of service fur all hands. .
After having encountered the usual delays o!' an
icy pea, vsl.g.it through the ice In Balfin's Ray, sty
the first week of August, 11119, we got into La.sew •t-
Sound; by toe second week we got beyond where
the ships bad been in the former voyage (they haeto:
reached 82 deg. For 83 deg. W. and were sto,trea
laud.) We were now as far se 90 deg. anti.,: 'g .1
stop as bat ice. whlcii delayed us some time. bs. ::-
ter repeated trials. we et last succeeded in gett.tr:
through a passage into the long 1 ted for Polar S. :
ite
NS MUM was es much tom the 1. re wo' ' 1
admit of.--lay the lie vi weel o 1 eon iii -1.:-.;. I
reached as far West as 113 deg. W. when we w..: •
completely stopped by i:e. Winter set iLt about ..: .•
middle of September. A harbour was then t.:
auxiously looked for, which we were fortunate en .... :
to put the ships into by the 26th September. It :.% • t
a close shave as to time. The sea, ta. the 1 i'.. •:
oihater amongst the ice which we had hitherto !.7t-
vigated, were now entirely frozen ov.r. The slii.s
were housed over, and all things pivotal-ea f'rl ,•
winter. which thank God, we passed pretty co tit% :-
ably, though cold. We lived on board t, c , hi:..t.
Our greatest degree of cold was, in January, :,..'. :..-
grecs below zero. Our iheina teinlierenti• Cr 1.!
mouths, was 11 de.;. above zero, Valtrenhe;t. I t.lt
the Ist Angnst, we got oat of the harbour, at, : .le-
sinned our cltrtiong to get to westward : reached 1 -.:
deg. W. in the latitude s.f 74. N. ; hut all cv,i• ••
tations ended un the 23d September, I:4211, ‘::.• i
.vinter re-appeared, and no hopes left. We tor a• .
our heads to the eastward, and have gist thus fir 't
L.ur passage home. Our discoveries are toasty. t t
Geography—Magnet—Birds —"Beasts— Fishes,
&e. ; but no inhabitants iii the Polar Regime:. 1 i
latitude we nintered at, is 74 deg. 47. min. N.—!
tieg.l9 win. IV.—desiguated Melville islanl.—:i; / as-
ge .i.. Cosa kr).
The extremity of Lancaster Sound, 4n the N. '.V.
corner thereof, it laid down by Captain R-ots in la:.
71. dr. 19. min. N. and in lung. b 3. deg. 50. min. ', .
Crum th:s it %timid appear. if the accounts which .v
have received concerning the discovesy side,: arc e s
reel, that Commodore Parry has wintered 4..,2 g t
graphic miles (31 deg. 10 min. long.) west oft .
extreme boundary of that Sound, as supposed
Captain 1t0..; tunel/. its 115 deg. W. lot%
said
73. deg. N. lat. This pace is 2MO Fe igrapide nines
to the westward of north frptu the mouth of Cs_w
Inane River: Whether it is on an island or the t;
II
limos' we have not yet keened ; but it is most to -
bablv the former; and if so, there appears it I V -
•
sun to doubt hut that the sea cut rottuds North A n
rica, as the Russian navigators trent the wear 4 i '
have penetrated through inland st•ag, ii,:::.• •ii
lielseitig's Stri.i:s and the Icy Cape, to about 15:s .le:..
W. long. where they learned that a S:rait ten i1a..4
rowing in length, and lying in a N. 1:. direction, e,11(1•
mutiicated with the great Ocean. The land whero
Icy Cape stands will thus be found to Ise on an }.:land ;
and there is therefore little reason to doubt tine cont.-
unity of Sim trout the Strait went issued to B.Liao
Way, thrutigh the channel by which tile Lise ir,•:.
Ships have penet.ated to the westward ft sat tha; Ilpv.
Whether that Himmel, however, is open and free front
ice. and consequently lit for navigation, we !:now
not : but Coomod .re Parry's account will perhaps af-
ford us come certain date on which to ground our
opinion. Ili. areount of his voiage will he anxionfly
expected, Unit Cannot fail to be e‘trentely ioterestio4
Whether use leas been farther to the westward th tit
where he is said to have nit (Ted ire know not as vet :
Lot that point is fully $OO geovaphical miles f:.1.,.
by Cape, tae extreme point of Cosa:es uavigati et
north warn!.

St NO:LAI: AND VA t aL Aret Du ...—Priday morning
the fol °wins; est rortlinary circumstance took parr
at the ltus; of William Turner, E.g. at Reigate, Sur-
rey Turner was in the benevolent practice of
giting away 'iliac to the t o r inlsahitatits of the place.
and euetrogs: the rest It the family of a man nal. e t
Veotertos. t ■ the morning in que ti la, this man's
datialtier, a girl about 12 ye.tr• old, went to 14.0
hoot eas Lomat to fetch her milk : the maid serv.int
tou.t t..e vessel. ni h which she proceeded to the dairy,
kitting the girl standing on the stone pavement in
the scullery. Presently afterwards she was alarmed.
by a noise, which scented to rouse from the *railer% .
awl, on lookin4 into the rents, she missed the rail.•
girt, and obserted that a part of the llootiog ha
.iveu way, discovering a vast ssbterrauean reef.**
of tern great depth. She could not then discern fat
girl, hut ehe gave an intutediate alarm, and Wales.
were procured is, descend, fur the purpose of explau•
ing the vault, %hick, however, was fur some onto
found impossible, owing to the strung (teal effluvia
that issued from the place. This baring in saute de-
erre abated, a person ',entered Joan the (yen-.
13g, anal {mild the body of the girl at the bottom
a distance of 30 or 40 feet, 'site %hal, apparently
Crum sutfoeation. The account this person gave of
the place was, that it resembled a cesspool. or well
(for which it probably had been used ;) but what is
very %inviter, tile ezi?,tenee of this dancer/me hole
was shove .er unknown to the presem fussily. sad a
• ore 'Lau ortlin•try; number of persons had passed sad
reolissed that spot Miring the nournidg. The rafters
under the pavement wen found mach deesys4.—.-.0.
Coroner's laiaest was as Someday bold on ties hotly
of Asa Yeasts's. before, C. Jstanott, Esq., at toe
White Hart Tavern, Reigate, sad tie Jury returned's
verdict "Accidental Death."