CHAPTER XXXVII

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 46, 27 May 1875, Page 7

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE TRIAL. OP m'doUGAL

Menzies having escaped, and that so effectually as to defy every effort to discover him, it seemed, as if Mr M'Dougal alone was' to bear the penalty awarded by the law for a crime so heinous as that which the two merchants had committed. It will be remembei'ed that panic stricken and in despair, he had at the time of his apprehension confessed all, both to the messenger who took him and to the Justices by whom be was examined. The confession was written down in the form of a declaration and signed by him, therefore there could be no question as to his guilt, and the awful punishment of death novjj stared him in the face.

Now it was that he bitterly repented having emitted and signed such a declaration. But for that he saw there might have been some hole for escape, but now all such were shut up by his own act. He thought his confession would secure mercy for him — on the contrary, it but the more surely sealed his doom.

As a last desperate resource he feigned insanity, wanting it to be believed that his declaration was false, and the result of an unsound mind. To convince the jailers and authorities that his reason had fled he raved and yelled, barked like a dog, tore his hair and his clothes,, and was guilty of all kinds of violence and extravagance. Day and night he continued this desperate effort, greatly to the annoyance of those who had charge of him, who had no belief in the reality ofliis mental derangement, and treated him with rough impatience- and contempt.. It behoved the authorities, however, to have him examined by medical men, and for many weeks he was subjected to close observation and tests of various kinds. The proverb that " doctors differ," which seldom fails in any case, was abundantly exemplified in this, Eight of tbe most eminent medical men in the country were brought together to say if in their opinion John M'Dougal was sane or insane. Four of them confidently asserted that he was, and four as confidently asserted that he was not, but only feigning madness. What was to be done in such a case 1 Insanity is always a bar to trial. If M'Dougal was bereft of" reason he could not be brought to the bar on a charge of ship sinking, therefore the question of his mental state required to be settled, and this was the first issue which the jury would have to determine. So convinced was the public prosecutor that the madness of M'Dougal was not real, but a sham resorted to for the purpose of evading the penalty of his crime, that, in the belief that the jury would so pronounce it, he made full preparations for the trial by collecting, selecting, and arranging such evidence as would be needed to secure his conviction.

One would have supposed that Captain Duncan and his mate, Bannatyne, would have been apprehended and charged with the same crime. They were the parties - who had directly committed it, and it might naturally be inferred that they would share in the punishment. But, as the authorities had resolved to proceed under the statue, these men could not be indicted, for the statue was directed against the owner of the vessel, and not those in his employ or acting under his instructions. The, captain and the mate might have been charged with a crime at common law, and been heavily punished, but this was a case of such magnitude and importance that tbe Lord-Advocate was resolutely determined to have the more terrible design of the stature manifested, and, by the execution of M'Dougal, deter others in all time coming from committing a like offence.

Now this could be done only by treating the captain and mate, not as criminals, but as witnesses against M'Dougal. Their testimony and the prisoner's own declaration would be sufficient to prove the crime.

Duncan and Bannatyne were only too glad to accept these terms, and readily- consented to disclose all the particulars of the sea-frauds. This rendered unnecessary the evidence of Victor Moredant, of Jack Blossom, and Jeff. Their testimony would have gone to show that the captain and the mate had sunk the Friends, but as these worthies were to declare this themselves, no further proof of the fact was required. To Victor and to. Jack also this was a great relief, for, though they would not have shrunk from the duty of appearing in the witness-box, it would have been to them a most painful position and doubly painful io Mr Moredant, whose intimate friend M'Dougal had been. Most thankful, therefore,were our friends at Beeehwood when they received intimation through Mr Gilbert that they would not be called on to appear at the trial.

M'Dbugal's ruse was not without advantage to himself. If it might not avert his fate, it at least delayed it, for weeks and months' were consumed in trying to discover whether his "mind was deranged or not. He was kept in .close confinement in Glasgow jail for more than six months ; but at length, . the beginning of February he was hand-

cuffed, heavily ironed, and conveyed to Edinburgh, there tp be tried. Not, however, before the High Court of Justicery, but by" a Court of a different description which was then in existence for the purpose of dealing with crime committed on the high seas. The ndminalhead of this tribunal was the Judge-Admiral, bub the practical work was really done by a subordinate official called the Vice-Admiral, and he it was who was to preside at this important trial.

For important it was considered in all legal arid commercial circles. The magnitude and excessively dangerous character of the crime, the position of the prisoner — so long and so widely known among Glasgow merchants, and the controversy which had arisen among medical men regarding his state of mind — all combined to attach an interest to it of the strongest chai'acter.

It was not, however, till three months after his conveyance to Edinburgh that he was brought forth to trial. During that time he was frequently visited in prison by the most eminent doctors in Edinburgh, aud their unanimous opinion was that his mind was perfectly sound . It was a bright quiet morning near the middle of May, and the Court Room was crowded to suffocation. The talent of the Bar was arrayed in full force for the prosecution and the defence. For the Crown was the Solicitor-General, and with him two Advocates- Depute, who afterwards became well known,and rose to eminence on the bench— John Hope, subsequently Lord Justice- Clerk, and Duncan M'Neill, who became President of the Court of Session, who was elevated to the House of Lords* and died but a short time ago. On the side of the prisoner were John Archibald Murray, afterwards Lord Murray, and J. S, More, who became and long continued to be Professor of Law in the University of Edinburgh.

These men were all comparatively young at the time, but they had distinguished themselves for talent. They were working for renown, and, in a case so important, each was determined to do his best for the side on which he stood. The prosecution, being well as • sured that M'Dougal was guilty, was strenuously resolved'to secure the conviction ; while the advocates for the prisoner, knowing the- difficulties they had to contend against, and the fame to be gained by success, bent their whole energies to the work of defence. When M'Dougal was brought into the dock he was pale, haggard, and wild enough in -aspect to confirm the idea that he was a madman. But a deep and steadfast study of his manner and appearance showed that he was conscious — ay, fully, terribly conscious — of his position and all. that it involved. He did his utmost tb sustain the part he had assumed kuowing how vitally important it was to him to do so, but the terror of his mind was too great for art to hide, and the silent conviction of most of those who gazed on him was that his insanity was' counterfeited. This impression was confirmed as the proceedings went on, for it could be seen by the flushing and paling of his face, and by its shifting expression with what intense- interest and absorbing closeness he was following them — a shadow falling on his dewy brow whenever a point was made out against him, and a look darkening towards despair as the refuge in whioh he 'had tried to take shelter was beingdemolished.

The first stage of the trial was nothing less than a battle between -the doctors, each set adhering to their views with the keenest professional persistency, though it was noticed that those who stood out for insanity were least able to stand the fire of cross-examina-tion so searchingly directed against them by John Hope and Duncan M'Neil.

The battle, kept up chiefly by the feeling of professional jealousy, was keen and protracted, for it went on for two days. When the evidence on both sides was finished, Mr M'Neil delivered an address to the j ury, which was felt on all hands to smash the theory of insanity to atoms, and the ghastly look upon the prisoner's face as -he listened to it, formed a significant commentary on its truth. True insanity would havegiven him a vacant, indifferent, unconscious expression through all the scene, but his heaving breast, his laboured breath, the nervous twitching of his muscles, and the deadly palor of his countenance betrayed the truth.

The jury— forming their conclusion as much probably from their observation of the prisoner as from the medical evidence and the speeches of judge and advocate— returned a verdict on this issue, declaring that the prisoner was of sound mind.