The Sun. — 1846-09-25 (London, England)

ATTORNEY- GENERAL, in rising to address the 347, said that he need only remind them of the nature :f heir duties in order to induce them to throw aside t;::erY preconceived opinion, and to judge of the case by a evidence which would be adduced before them. The Jury. 3 would have gathered from the indictment that the oefendant was charged with manslaughter, in that he, wilh,t,he 18th of July, did, by his careless conduct, Ile in charge of a locomotive engine, cause by throwing death of a gentleman, named William Hind, '33' throwing him out of a carriage on to the Watform of the Stratford station on the Eastern Counties ailway. He need not refer at length to the cases which Were recorded, and which bore a striking analogy to that under their consideration, but he might incidentally mention a judgment by Lord Hales, who laid down that a Person who wantonly rode an ungovernable horse into a crowd, and who caused death thereby, was guilty of murder; and if he rode carelessly into the same crowd, RTld death ensued, he was held to be guilty of man',laughter. He (the Attorey-General) was of opinion Lnat this rule would govern n them upon this occasion. He Would not detain them further with preliminary obscrItltions, but at once proceed to state the circumstances Which they were that day called on to consider. The defendant was what was called a " fitter" and occa140aal driver on the Eastern Counties Railway. He was generally stationed at Stratford, and this the jury would observe would form a particular and important feature in the case. He was in the habit of driving an engine Or a considerable time before from Stratford to HornOrd, and and crossing a bridge not far from the station, Where the telegraph could be distinctly observed by the Person entrusted with the engine. On Saturday, the 18th of July, the defendant was instructed to take an ngine over to Romford, and he was accompanied by a fireman of established character and conpetence, who had 17011 engaged in the company's service for two years efore. While the prisoner remained at the Romford station the train for Ipswich lett, and the prisoner, Whose engine, with five or six empty trucks, was on a followed in five or six minutes after. The prisoner at first went, in obedience to orders, cautiously enough, but soon after, as he (the Attorney-General) Would be in a condition to prove, he was observed driving at a furious speed, although he Was aware that the train was only a quarter of a mile before him. He came in sight of one of the e'Znals, which was so arranged as to show that he was to F° on at a more moderate speed, and the prisoner while P ~sght of the signal-man did go slower accordingly. He 'no Attorney-General) would row point out the distance at which the signal nearest the station could be seen before arriving at Stratford. This distance was above four hundred yards, and Captain Coddington, Who was ordered by the Board of Trade to examine into the matter, proved by the very engine that was driven by the prisoner that there was ample power to stop the carriages before arriving at the Stratford station. The prisoner had neglected paying attention to the signal Which was exhibited, and the result was that the engine rushed into the train which still remained at the station, and the death of Mr. Hind was the melancholy consequence. Having thus briefly detailed the circumstances of the case, he would now call witnesses to prove the facts as they were alleged by him. James Backhcuse, coach-spring maker to the Eastern Counties Raile ay, proved that the death of Mr. Hind resulted from the injuries caused by the concussion at the Stratford station. Mr. Bush corroborated this evidence. Cross-examined by Mr.