A REMARKABLE TRIAL

West Coast Times, Issue 346, 1 November 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

A REMARKABLE TRIAL

(fkom the note-book or a deceased

LAWYER.)

One of the most extraordinary and „ most interesting trials of Avhich I find any account in my note-book took place in the Northern Circuit very little less than fifty years ago. It is instructive in many points of A'iew. To those who believe that they see the finger of Providence especially pointing out the murderer, and guiding, in a sloav but unerring course, the footsteps of the avenger of blood, it Avill afford matter of deep meditation and reflection.

In the year 17 — , John Smith (I use fictitious names') Avas indicted for the wilful murder of Henry Thomson. The case was of a most extraordinary nature, and the interest excited by it almost unparalleled. The accused Avas a gentleman of considerable property, residing upon his own estate, in an unfrequented part of shire. A person, supposed to be an entire stranger to him, had, late in a summer's day, requested and obtained shelter and hospitality for the night. He had, it was supposed, after taking some slight refreshment, retired to bed in perfect health, requesting to be aAvakened at an early hour the following morning. When the servant appointed to call him entered his room for that purpose, he was found in his bed perfectly dead ; and, from the appearance of the body, it was obvious that he had been so for many hours. There was not the slightest mark of violence on his person, and the countenance retained the same expression which it had borne during life. Great consternation was, of course, excited by this discoA*ery, and enquiries Avere immediately made — first, as to who the stranger Avas — and secondly, as to how he met with his death. Both were unsuccessful. As to the former, no information could be obtained — no clue discovered to lead to the knowledge either of his name, his person, or his occupation. He had arrived on horseback, and AA'as seen passingthrough, a neighboring village about an hour before he reached the house where his existence AA r as so mysteriously terminated, but could be traced no farther. Beyond this, all was conjecture.

With respect to the death, as little could be learned as of the dead man ; it was, it is true, sudden — awfully sudden ; but there was no reason, that alone excepted, to suppose that it Avas caused by the hand of man rather than by the hand of God. A coroner's jury was, of course, summoped ; and after an investigation, in which little more could be proved than that I have here stated, a verdict was returned to the effect that the deceased " Died by the visitation of God." Days and Aveeks passed on, and little further Avas known. In the meantime, rumor had not been idle ; suspicions, vage, indeed, and undefined, but of a dark and fearful character, were at first whispered, and afterwards boldly expressed. The precise object of these suspicions was not clearly indicated ; some implicated one person,some another; but they all pointed to Smith, the master of the house, as concerned in the death of the stranger. As usual in such cases, circumstances totally unconnected Avith the transaction in question, matters many years antecedent, and relating to other persons, as Avell as other times, were used as auxiliary to the present charge. The character of Smith in early life had been exposed to much observation. While his father Avas yet alive he had left his native country, involved in debt, known to have been guilty of great irregularities, and suspected of being not 0A r er scrupulous as to the mode of obtaining those supplies of money of which he Avas continually in a* ant, and which he seemed somewhat inexplicable to procure. "And he had left in youth his fatherland ; But from tlie hour lie waved his parting hand Each trace wax'd fainter of his course, till all Had nearly ceased his memory to recall.

* * # * " He came at lust in sudden loneliuess, And Avhence they knew not, why they need

not guess ; They more might marvel, Avlien the greeting's

o'er, Not that lie came, but came not long before. Years had roll'd ou, and fast they speed away To those that wander, as to those that stay. He came ; nor yet is past his manhood's prime, Though sear'd by tou, and something touch'd

by time."

Ten years aud more had elapsed since Ids return ; and the events of his youth had been forgotten by many, and to many Avere entirely unknown ; but, on this occasion they Avere revived, and, probably, Avith cjnsiderable additions : and, in five, the magistrates Avere induced to commit Mr Smith to gaol, to take his trial for the wilful murder of Henry Thompson. As it Avas deemed essential to the attainment of justice to keep secret the examination of the Avitnesses Avho were produced before the magistrates, all the information of Avhich the public were in possession, before the trial took place, Avas that Avhich I have narrated. Such was the state of things upon the morning of the trial. Seldom, perhaps, had speculation been so busy as it was upon this occasion. Wagers to a considerable amount were depending upon the event of the case; so lightly do men think and act with reference to matters in vvUich they are not personally concerned, even though the life of a felloAv-creature is involved in the issue.

Lord Mansfield's charge to the grand jury upon the subject cf this murder excited a good deal of attention. He had recommended them, if they entertained reasonable doubts of the sufficiency of the evidence to ensure a

conviction, to throw out the bill ; explaining to them most justly and clearly that, in the event of their doing so, ii any additional evidence should, at a future time., be discovered, the prisoner could again be apprehended and tried for the offence ; whereas, if they found a true bill, and, from deficiency of proof, he was now acquitted on h's trial, he could never again be molested, even though the testimony against him should be morally as clear as light. The grand jury, after, as was supposed, very considerable discussion among themselves, and, as was ruoiored, by a majority of only one, returned a " true bill." 'After the charge, it was conjectured that the proofs offered to the grand jury must have been strong to authorise such a finding ; and a strong impression in consequence prevailed that there would ultimately be a conviction. The counsel for the prosecution opened his case to the jury in a manner that indicated very little expectation of a conviction. He began by imploring them to divest their minds of all that they had heard before they came into the box : he entreated them to attend to the evidence, and judge from that alone. He stated that, in the course of his experience, which was very great, he had never met with a case involved in deeper mystery th&n that upon whL'h he was then addressing them. The prisoner at the bar was a man moving in a respectable station in society, and maintaining a fair character. lie was, to all appearance, in the possesion of considerable property ; aud was above the ordinary temptations to commit so foul a crime. With respect to the property of the deceased, it was strongly suspected that he had either been robbed of, or in some inexplicable manner made away with, gold and jewels to a very large amount ; yet, in candor, he was bound to admit that no portion of it, however trifling, could be traced to the prisoner. As to any motive of malice or revenge, none could by possibility be assigned ; for the prisoner and the deceased were", as far as could be ascertained, total strangers to each other. Still there were most extraordinary circumstances connected with his death, pregnant with suspicion at least, and imperiously demanding explanation : and it was justice, no less to the accused than to the public, that the case should undergo judicial investigation. The deceased, Henry Thompson, was a jeweller, residing in London, wealthy, and in considerable business ; and, as was the custom of his time, in the habit of personally conducting his principal transactions with whom he traded. He had travelled much in the course of his business in Germany and Holland ; and it Avas to meet at Hull a trader of the latter nation, of whom he was to make a large purchase, that he had left London a month before his death! It would be proved by the landlord of the inn where he resided, that he and his correspondent had been there ; and a wealthy jeweller of the town, well acquainted with both parties, had seen Mr Thompson after the departure of the Dutchman ; and could speak positively as to there being then in his possession jewels of large value, and gold, and certain bills of exchange, the parties to which he could describe. This was on the morning of Thompson's departure from Hull, on his return to London, and Avas on the day but one preceding that on Avhich he arrived at the house of the prisoner. What had become of him in the interval could not be ascertained ; nor Avas the prisoner's house situated in the road Avhich he ought to have taken. No reliance, however, could be placed on that circumstance ; for it was not at all uncommon for persons who travelled with property about them to le;n r e the direct, road, cA T en for a considerable distance, in order to secure themselves as effectually as possible from the robbers by whom the i emote parts of the country were greatly infested. He had not been seen from the time of his leaving Hull till he reached the village next adjoining Smith's house, aud through which he passed, Avithout even a momentary halt, lie was seen to alight at Smith's gate, and the next morning* was discovered dead in his bed. He now came to the most extraordinary part of the case. It Avould be proved, beyond the possibility of a doubt that the deceased died by " poison "■ — poison of a most subtle nature, most active in its operation, and- possessing the wonderful and dreadful quality of leaving no external mark or token by which its presence could be detected. The ingredients of which it Avas composed were of so sedative a nature, that, instead of the body on Avhich it had been used exhibiting any contortions, or marks of suffering, it left upon the features nothing but the calm and placid, quiet of repose. Its effects, and indeed its very existence, AA'ere but recently known in this country, though it had for some time been used in other nations of Eur< pc ; and it Avas supposed to be a discovery of the German chemists, and to be produced by a powerfull distillation of the wild cherry tree, so abundant in the Black Forest. But the fact being ascertained, that the cause of death Avas poison, left open the much more momentous question — by Avhom Ava,s it administered ? It could hardly be supposed to be by the deceased himself; there was nothing to induce such a suspicion ; and there was this important circumstauce, which of itself almost negatived its possibility,

tint no phial, or vessel of any kind had boon discovered, in which the poison could have been contained. Was it, then, the px'isoner who administered it 1 Before ho asked them to come to that conclusion, it would be necessary to state more distinctly what his evidence was. The prisoner's family consisted only of himself, 'his housekeeper, and one man servant. The man servant slept in an outhouse adjoining the stable, and did so on the night of Thomson's death. The prisoner slept at one end of the house, and the housekeeper at the other, and the deceased had been put into a room adjoining the housekeeper's. It would be proved, by a person who happened to be passing by the house on the night in question, about three hours after midnight, that he had been induced to remain and watch, from his having his attention excited by the circumstance, then very unusual, of a light moving about the house at that late hour. That person would state most positively that he could distincly see a figure, holding a light, go from the room in which the prisoner slept to the housekeeper's room ; that two persons then came out of the housekeeper's room, and the light disappeared for a minute. Whether the two persons went into Thomson's room he could not see, as the window of that room looked another way ; but in about a minute they returned, passing quite along the house to Smith's room again ; and in about five minutes the light was extinguished, aud he saw it no more.

Such was the evidence upon which the magistrates had committed Smith ; and, singularly enough, since his committal the housekeeper had been missing, nor could any trace of her be discovered. Within the last week the witness who had seen the light had been more particularly examined ; and, in order to refresh his memory, he had been placed, at dark, in the very spot where he had stood on that night, and another person was jjlaced with him. The whole scene, as he had described it, was acted over again ; but it was utterly impossible, from the causo above-mentioned, to ascertain, when the light disappeared, whether the parties had gone into Thomson's room. As if, however, to throw still deeper mystery over this extraordinary transaction, the witness persisted in adding a new feature to his former statement — that after the persons had returned with the light into Smith's room, and before il was extinguished, he had twice perceived some dark object to intervene between the light and the window, almost as large as the surface of the window itself, and which he described by saying, it appeared as if a door had been placed before the light. Now, in Smith's room, there was nothing which could account for this appearance : his bed was in a different part ; and there was neither cupboard nor press in the room, which, but for the bed, was entirely empty, the room in which, he dressed being at a distance beyond it. He would state one fact more (said the learned counsel), and he had done his duty: it would then be for the jury to do theirs. Within a few days there had been found in the prisoner's house the stopper of a small bottle of a very singular description ; it was apparently not of English manufacture, and was described by the medical men as being of the description used by chemists to preserve those liquids which are most likely to lose their virtue by exposure to the air. To whom it belonged, or to what use it had been applied, there was no evidence to show. „

Such was the address of the counsel for the prosecution ; and during its delivery I had earnestly watched the couuteuauce of the prisoner, who had listened to it with deep attention. Twice only did I perceive that it produced in him the slightest emotion. When the disappearance of his housekeeper was mentioned, a smile, as if of scorn, passed over his lip ; and the notice of the discovery of the stopper obviously excited an interest, and, I thought, an apprehension, but it quickly subsided. I need not </ctail the evidence that was given for the prosecution ; it amounted in substance to that which the counsel stated; nor was it varied in any particular. The stopper was produced, and proved to be found in the house ; but no attempt was made t.o trace it to the prisoner's possession, or even knowledge. When the case was closed, the learned judge, addressing the counsel for the prosecution, said he thought there was hardly sufficient evidence to call upon the prisoner for his defence ; and if the jury Avere of the same opinion, they would at once stop the case. Upon this observation from the judge, the j my turned round for a moment, and then intimated their acquiescence in his lordship's view of the evidence. The counsel folded up their briefs, and a verdict of acquittal was about to be taken, when the- prisoner addressed the court. He stated, that having been accused of so foul a crime as murder, and having had his character assailed by suspicions of the most afflicting nature, that character could never be cleared by his acquittal upon the ground that the evidence against him was inconclusive, without giving him an opportunity of stating liis own case, and calling a witness to counteract the impressions that had been raised against him, by explaining those circumstances which at present appeared doubtful. He urged the learned judge to permit him to state his case to

the jury, and to call his housekeeper, with so muuh earnestness, and was seconded so strongly by his counsel, that Lord Mansfield, though very much against his inclination, and contrary to his usual habit, gave way, and yielded to the request.

The prisoner then addressed tho jury, and entreated their patience for a short time. He repeated to them that he never could feel satisfied to be acquitted merely because the evidence was not conclusive ; and pledged himself, in a very short time, by the few observations he should make, and the Avitness whom he should call, to obtain their verdict upon much higher grounds — upon the impossibility of v his being guilty of the dreadful crime. With respect to the insinuations Avhich had been thrown out again t him, he thought one observation would dispose of them. Assumirg it to be true that the deceased died from the effect of a poison, of which he called God to witness that he had never even heard cither the "name or the existence until this day, was not every probability in favor of kis innocence ? Here was a perfect stranger, not known to have in his possession a single article of value, who might either have lost or been robbed of that p-operty Avhich he Avas said to have had at Hull. What so probable as that he should, in a moment of despair at his loss, have destroyed himself ? The fatal drug vvas stated to have been familiar in those countries in which Mr Thomson had travelled, while to himself it was utterly unknown. Above all, he implored the jury to remember that although the eye of malice had watched CA'ery proceeding- of his since the fatal accident, and though the most minute research had been made into CA'ery part of his premises, no vestige had been discovered of the most trifling article belonging to the deceased, nor had even a rumor been circulated that poison of any kiud had ever been in his possession. Of the stopper, Avhich had been found, he disowned all knowledge ; he declared most solemnly that he had never seen it before it was produced in court ; and he asked, could the fact of its being found in his house, only a few days ago, when hundreds of people had been there, produce upon an impartial mind even a momentary prejudice against him ? One fact, and one only had been proved, to Avhich it was possible for him to give an answer — the fact of his having gone to the bedroom of his housekeeper on the night in question. He had been subject, for many years of his life, to sudden fits of illness; he had been seized with one on that occasion, and had gone to her to procure her assistance in lighting a fire. She had returned Avith him to his room for that purpose, he having Avaited for a minute in the passage whilst she put on her clothes, which would account for the momentary disappearance of the light ; and after she had remained in his room a few minutes, finding himself better, he had dismissed her, and retired again to bed, from which he had not risen when he Avas informed of the death of his guest. It had been said that, after his committal to prison, his housekeeper had disappeared. He avowed that, finding his enemies determined, if possible, to accomplish his ruin, he had thought it probable they might tamper AA'ith his servant : he had, therefore, kept her out of their Avay ; but for Avhat purpose? Not to prevent her testimony being given, for she Avas now under the care of his solicitor, and would instantly appear the purpose of confirming, as far as she was concerned, the statement which he had just made.

Such Avas the prisoner's address, Avhich produced a A r ery powerful effect. It Avas delivered in a firm and impressive manner, and its simplicity and artlessness gave it an appearance of truth. The housekeeper Avas then put into the box, and examined by the counsel for the prisoner. According to the custom, at that time almost universal, of excluding witnesses from court until their testimony was required, she had been kept at a house near at hand, and had not heard a single word of the trial. There was nothing rcmarkalle in her manner or appearance ; she might be about thirty-five, or a little more ; Avith regular though not agreeable features, and an air perfectly free from embarrassment. She repeated, almost in the prisoner's own \vords, the story that' he had told of his haA'ing called her up, and her having accompanied him to his room, adding that, after leaving him, she had retired to hei own room, and been a\A r akened by the man servant, in the morning, Avith an account of the tniA-cller's death. She had now to undergo a cross-examiuation ; and I may as well state here that Avlnch, though not known to me till afterwards, will assist thj reader in understanding the following scene. The counsel for the prosecution had, in his O Avn mind, attached considerable importance to the circumstance mentioned by tiie witness who saw the light, while the prisoner and the housekeeper were in the room oi tho former, something like a door had intervened between the candle and the Avindow, which AA'as totally irieconcible Avith the appearance of the room when examined ; and he had half persuaded himself that there must be a secret closet which had escaped the search of the officer of justice, the opening of which Avould account for the appearance alluded to, and the existence of which might discover the property Avhich had so mysteriously

disappeared. His object, therefore, Avas to obtain from the housekeeper (the only person except the prisoner avlio could give any clue to this) such information as ho could get, Avithout alarming her by any direct enquiry on the subject, Avhich, as she could not help seeing its importance, Avould have led her at once to a positive denial, lie kneAV, moreover, that as she had not been in court, she could not know how much or little the enquiry had already brought to light ; and by himself treating, the matter as immaterial, he might lead her to consider it so also, and, by that means, draAV forth all that she knew. After some few unimportant questions, he asked her, in a tone and manner calculated rather to awaken confidence than to excite distrust —

During the time you Avere in Mr Smith's room, you stated that the candle stood on the table, in the centre of the room ? — Yes.

Was the closet, or cupboard, or Avhatever you call it, opened once or twice, while it stood there ? — A pause : no answer.

I will call it to your recollection : after Mr Smith had taken the medicine out of the closet, did he shut the door, or did it remain open ? — He shut it. Then it was opened again for the purpose of replacing the bottle, was it ? — It Avas.

Do you recollect how long it was open the last time ? — Not above a minute.

The door, when open, would be exactly between the light and the window would it not ?—lt? — It would.

I forgot whether you said the closet was on the right, or left hand side of tlie AvindoAv ? — The left.

Would the door of the closet make any noise in opening ? — None.

Can you speak positively to the fact ? Have you ever opened it yourself, or only seen Mr Smith open it ? — I never opened it myself. D ids you c\ r er keep th-ikey ? — Never. Who did ?— Mr Smith always. At this moment the witness chanced to turn her eyes towards the spot where the prisoner stood, and the effect was almost electrical. A cold damp sweat stood opon his brow, and his face had lost all its color ; he appeared a livingimage of death. She no sooner saAv him than she shrieked, aud fainted. The consequences of her answers flashed across her mind. She had been so thoroughly deceived by the manner of the advocate, and by the little importance he had seemed to attach to her statements, that she had been led on by oue question to another, till she had told hin all ho wanted to know. - During the interval (occasioned by her illness) to the proceedings, the solicitor for the prosecution left the court. It was between four and five o'clock when the judge resumed his aeat upon the bench, the prisoner his station at the bar, and the housekeeper hers in the witness-box ; the court, in the interval, had remained croAvded with the spectators, scarce one of whom hud left his place, lest, during his absence, it should be seized by same one else.

The cross-examining counsel then addressed the witness: — I have very few more' questions to ask of you ; but beware that you answer them truly, for your oavii life hangs upon a thread. Do you know this stopper ? — I do. To whom does it beloug ? — to Mr Smith. - When did you see it last ? — On the night of, Mr Thomson's death.

At this moment the solicitor for the prosecution entered the court, bringing with him, upon a tray, a watch, two money-bags, a jewel case, a pocketbook, and a bottle of the same manufacture as the stopper, and having a cork in it; some other articles there were in it , not material to my story. The tray Avas placed on the table in sight of the prisoner ami the Avitness ; and from that moment not a doubt remained in the mind of any man of the guilt of the prisoner. A few words will bring my tale to its close. The house where the murder had been committed Avas between nine and ten miles distant. The solicitor, as soon os the cross-examination of the housekeeper had discovered the existence of the closet, and its situation, had set off ou horseback, Avith two sheriff's officers, and after pulling down part of the Avail of the house, had detected this important place of concealment. Their search Avaa Avell reAvavded ; the. whole of the property belonging to Mr Thomson Avas found there, amounting in A r aluc to some thousand pounds ; and, to leaA r e no room for doubt, a bottle Avas discovered, which the medical men instantly pronounced to contain the very identical poison which had caused ths death of the unfortunate Thomson . The result is too obvious to need explanation.

This case presents the, perhaps, unparalleled instance of a man accused of murder, the evidence against whom Avas so slight as to induce the judge and jury to concur in a A'erdict of acquittal, but who, persisting in calling a Avitness to prove his innocence, Avas, upon the testimony of that very Avitness, " convicted and executed."

A wretch told us the other day thafca friend of his had stolen a violin, and was brought up to the bar of music and fined six notes. He was immediately placed under a rest.

A woman in Pennsylvania has petitioned for a divorce " because she and her husband do not agreo in politics."

Killing with kindness. — Smothering your sweetheart with kisses.