Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-07-25
EV ENING STAR.
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

celebrated case, to which he had before al
Iuded, Of Lord Ferrers, who was hanged at
Tyburn for the murder Of his servant. That
case stood forth in English annals as an exem
plifcation Of the justice of the people, and of
the impartiality with which they carry out the
laws. Even in that aristocratic monarchy
this Lord Ferrers, though of royal blood, and
tried by his fellow-peers, when they looked at
the quality Of the act they pronounced him
guilty, and he was hung upon the tree at Ty-
burn. Ferrers died an example of infexible
justice under the English law. Reverting
from this case, OF member of Parliament to
the parallel one now presented Of a member
of Congress, he spoke Of the laws insulted and
outraged by the act of the prisoner, and Of
his victim sweltering and Wondering in his
bloody grave
After dwelling impressively upon the grave
duty resting upon the jury, Mr. Preston went
on to recapitulate the circumstances of the
killing at Wizards, presenting a mental pic.
ture Of the dining room on the morning of the
Majesty seated quietly at one of the round
tables; Of the entrance of Herbert and Gardi-
ner rather late for breakfast and out of humor;
of the request to the humble individual, Rior
dan, to let them have some breakfast, and
id soon; of the probability that Jerry Rior-
dan, influenced by the angry threatening
manner Of Herbert, did act id quick, and
without the delay Of approaching the costumed
monarch, (the French cook,) went 70 the
cOlOred persons in the kitchen, and got Dor.
ton Of the breakfast. He had all this men
tally before him, and could also suppose that
Tom Heating, hearing his fellow servant, the
humble, the obsequious Jerry, thus abused,
should have some feeling, and on being ad-
dressed in the same manner, should have
answered you have one servant waiting on
you already, that is enough !" Nor was this
70 ar rh h.
bility of any gentleman. Gardiner, the
friend Of Herbert, admits that thereupon Her.
bert rose and advanced towards Heating with
apistol in his hand. The old distich ran
LET the world say what It will,
Dame Nature will be Nature still,
Nature asserts her prerogative and We can
not wonder if when Herbert approaches Keat-
ing thus and calls him as Gardiner says, a
id scoundrel," or rs another witness testi-
fes, ga id Irish son of a bitch" that
Heating should make some repulso. Herbert
approaches the deceased with loaded pistol;
will any one on earth say this was needed
1t required an effort Of the will to draw that
pistol from the pocket, and that act is indica-
tive of what that will meant. 1t had its
meaning; the design was to make the de-
ceased sensible that he had a pistol, and if
needs be, would use it The most rem ark able
fact is that the deceased did not do more than
proach of Herbert with a deadly weapon, ma
ture gave him the right to arm himself to the
best advantage
The question has been asked by the defence
why, if Herbert sought blood, he did not shoot
deceased when he first approached him
The answer is simply this to step up and
shoot Tom Heating at that time would have
been deed Of such unmixed quality as no
man would have dared do. Though at the
mn oS
malice may have been there, be dare not do it.
When he put his hand upon the chair, as
Gardiner says, to sit down, but as others tes-
tify for the purpose Of throwing it, Heating
took up two plates. What would you have
him do? To stand and be shot down like a
dog! He would like to know who would not
take up something? A man expressing i'm
measurable contempt for him, and at the same
time holding deadly weapon in his hand
would not the servant naturally say to him.
self, This man would just as soon shoot me
as a dog"
The reply of Heating, as testified to by G ar.
diner, was quoted. Unless the servant was
utterly bereft of manhood, he would make
some reply. Considering the difference in their
positions, we could sooner excuse grossness
from him than from the lips Of a gentleman
GARDENERS evidence was no. likely to be in
favor Of the other side. If he had any bias
1t would be In favor of his friend whom he
had known from boyhood
Mr.. Preston quoted from Baron Gilbert on
the subject of bias in his work on evidence
If ever man stood on slippery ground-un-
eorroborative ground-on ground where, in the
language Of the authority referred to, he could
" slide into perjury" it is this man Gardiner
testifyiDg to save his friends life He would
not pretend to say that Gardiner would testify
TO that which is false, but he did say that the
bias with which he came here to save bis
friend life, would give a coloring to his evil
dence. The Persians worship the rising sun
never the setting sun. He whose sun is set,
and is laid in a bloody grave, is likely to have
few worshippers. We should take with allow
ance the testimony which seeks to throw the
odIum Of this transaction upon the man who
has gone down to the tomb
Proceeding to the question of malice, Mr.
Preston contended that the conduct of Her
bert on this occasion was that of one regard
less of social duty and bent on fatal mischief
We might regret the necessity which brings
us to this conclusion; but the facts are there,
and the jury were to judge from those facts
1t was, he thought, an aggravatiOn of the
deed that Herbert did not at the time of rising,
use the pistol, but returning to the table de-
liberated modify over the matter. He con-
tended that this was improperly designated as
an ARRAY; it was an attack Though this
man Herbert had been stricken down with
that loaded pistol in his hand; slain, if you
please, that would not constitute an ARRAY.
The parties were not on equal terms, Herbert
having loaded pistol, the certain instrument
OF death in most cases
commenting upon the testimony of Deve-
nois, he urged that it stood uncontradicted
II Devenois were a man Of bad repute it
would have been easy to get men to prove it
~ DeVenois came in and separated the par
ues, ne must know the fact-he can't be mis-
taken man, who says he didn't see him
DO II, may very easily be mistaken.
touching upon the tsbleaux arranged by
Coi; Mckay, and his dramatic representation
VI me position of Herbert, bent to the ground,
and heating standing erect at the time of the
nnng, be argued the impossibility of the
parties having occupied these positions as de-
monstrated by the evidence Of DR.. Miller,
VINO teStites that the line Of the ball was an
exact plane.
Upon the question Of self-defence, he urged
there Is no self defence about it to call it
seii-defence would be to startle the public
Judgment FaE &c of Il