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    No. 4.22, April 24, 1858 J THE LEADER. 3...

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    THE TRIAL OF BERNARD. This protracted an...

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    CRIMINAL RECORD. Wife-Murder.—A woman na...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Accidents And Sudden Deaths. An Eccentri...

    entering which he perceived the body of his sister lying dead upon a box , while close to her head stood a covered saucepan in which was a quantity of decomposed coffee : It was evident that the old lady could not have met her death by violent means , as the slightest mo vement of her body would have caused the saucepan to fall- The floor of the room was sprinkled with blood just below the dead woman ' s left leg and arm , which yrere hanging over the side of the box ; and it was likewise discovered , on further examination , that the flesh bad been gnawed off the knuckles of the right hand . A candle , part of the grease of which was devoured , stood by

    the side of the box properly extinguished , from which it would appear that the old lady had lain down to rest in her clothes , and had been attacked by rats and mice while asleep , the wounds being of so severe a nature as to cause death . Three bank-notes of 51 . each , a bunch of keys , and some loose gold and silver money , wrapped in different parcels , were found upon her person , and several pieces of meat , cooked and uncooked , together with bread , vegetables , and an unusually large number of candles , were in the front parlour cupboards ; but the house was in a most filthy and wretched -state , and almost whollv devoid of furniture .

    A ticket-of-leave convict , named Rodgers , living near Belper , was making his way home a few days ago across some fields , and was in the act of getting over a fence , when the owner of the field ( who is also a constable ) called out to him . Rodgers knew that the police were at that time looking after him on a charge of felonj-, and , being alarmed , he ran off towards the river Derwent , which flows through the fields . He was pursued by the constable , and , leaping into the water , swam more than half way across , when he became exhausted and was drowned .

    Seven men were washed overboard from the bowsprit of the packet Solent in the Gulf of Mexico during a violent gale . Five men manned one of the boats , and she was dropped into the water . One of the seven men washed overboard was washed on board again ; two held on at a single round life-buoy , and kept themselves above water ; and another was able to swim . These three men were saved ; the other three out of the seven were drowned , and amongst them was the boatswain . An alarming explosion occurred on the morning of Friday week in one of the coal-pits on the estate of Lord Vernon at Poynton . Two hundred and forty men were in the pit at the time of the catastrophe , and three were killed . The others were extricated in about two hours : they were then in a state of stupefaction , but have since recovered . The explosion is supposed to have arisen from the removal of the top of a Davy lamp by one of the workmen .

    Mrs . Simms , wife of the station-master at the Strctton station of the Midland Railway , has been killed on the line . She was running across the railway just at the time the Leicester coal train with empty waggons was passing . The engine knocked her down , and the wheels of the carriages cut the body into numerous pieces . The husband was standing on the embankment close by at the time , and was the horrified spectator of his wife ' s death .

    No. 4.22, April 24, 1858 J The Leader. 3...

    No . 4 . 22 , April 24 , 1858 J THE LEADER . 393

    The Trial Of Bernard. This Protracted An...

    THE TRIAL OF BERNARD . This protracted and most important trial came to a termination last Saturday afternoon . Lord Campbell , having summed up the facts of the case with great care and minuteness , concluded thus : — " In the address of the learned counsel for the prisoner , it was not insisted that these balls were to be applied to any discovery relative to gas , and ho said that they were not for the purpose of assassination , but to be used as instruments of war . He said that there was in contemplation a revolution in Italy ; that Bernard , with others , was engaged in it ; and that ho was assisting in collecting instruments of war in Paris for the purpose of that revolution . Now , gentlemen , if these grenades wore for military purposes—if that should bo your opinion—I think your verdict should bo Not Guilty , because , although it would bo an offence against tUo laws of this country for either natives or foreigners residing hero to ' plot or to prepare the means of invading » foreign country , still that is not the offence now laid to the charge of the prisoner . The offenoo with which he is charged is that of being necessary to a plot for assassinating the Emperor of tho French , which produced the death of Nicholaa Battio , one of tho Garde do Paris , whoso life was sacrificed upon that occasion ; inul , unless you beliovo that tho prisoner was implicate ! in that conspiracy , I think ho is entitled to your verdict . But if you boliovo that ho , being acquainted with Alleop , and knowing thut Allsop h » d got tboso grounded , assisted in having them transported to Brussels ; if you bejjoyq Mi at . Ji ? bought the materials for making tho ful"" mitiating ' p ' owilor ; "ifyoTrbolioVe - that-hoMn-this-countr-y - —and uguin I warn you that you nro only to find him guilty of acts committed . In this country—if you believe that he , living in England and owing a temporary nllogianco to our Sovereign , aontovoron tho 2 nd of January revolvers , with a view to their being used ii » consummating the plot which had boon formed against tho llfo of tho Ernpcror of tho Fronoh 5 if you should' boliovo that ho engaged with Rudio to join tho parties then naaemblod At Purls , they wishing to have a fourth man to assist thorn ; and if you believe thnt ho gave money for

    that purpose—then it will be for you to say whether he had a guilty knowledge of what -was intended . It is for you to draw your own conclusions from the facts stated in the evidence ; The verdict must be yours and yours alone . You will , without considering our own Government at home or any foreign Government , draw your own conclusion from the evidence . You will likewise consider the letter in the disguised hand written after the assassination was attempted , and when all the circumstances were known ; and you will consider whether that letter may not afford evidence of a bygone conclusion and bygone purpose on the part of the prisoner . I will only advise you not to allow yourselves to be led away by the notion that , if you come to the conclusion that the party accused had

    that guilty knowledge , that he was an accomplice in the conspiracy , a verdict in accordance with that ' opinion will interfere with that asylum which it has ever been the glory of this country to afford to persecuted foreigners . That glory , I hope , will always belong to this country . But , gentlemen , that asylum amounts to this : that foreigners are at liberty to come to our country , to remain in our country , and to leave our country at their own will and pleasure , and that they cannot be disturbed by the Government so long as they obey the laws . They are under the same laws as native-born subjects ; if they violate those- laws , they are liable to be prosecuted and punished in the same manner as any native-born subject of the Queen . Treat Simon Bernard exactly as though he were born in the metropolis of the empire to which

    vou belong ; treat him as you would a native-born subject ; let his case be exactly the same , for I do not believe , in point of law , bis being a foreigner makes any difference whatever . At all events , it will be your duty to treat him precisely the same as a native-born subject , as if it had been Allsop ; and , if you find that he was implicated in this conspiracy , and that be had a guilty knowledge and guilty purpose , and did plot with others the death of the Emperor of the French , I think it will be your duty to find a . verdict of Guilty . With these observations I leave the case in ycur hands . If you have any reasonable doubt of the guilt of the prisoner , give him the benefit of that doubt ; but , if you have not , then , by the duty you owe to yourselves and your country , you will find the prisoner guilty of the offence with which he is charged in the indictment . "

    The jury were then about to retire , when Bernard , an a warm and excited manner , and with violent action , said— " 1 declare the words which have been used by the Judge are not correct , and that the balls taken by Georgi to Brussels were not those which were taken to Paris . I have brought no evidence here , because I am not accustomed to compromise any person . I declare that I am not the hirer of assassins ; that Rudio has said at Paris , on his trial , that he himself asked to go to Orsini . I wns not the hirer of assassins . Of the blood of the victims of the 14 th of January there is nothing on my heart anv more than on any one here . We want only to crush " despotism and tyranny everywhere . I have conspired , and I will conspire everywhere , because it is my duty , my sacred duty , as it is of every one ; but nevernever will 1 be a murderer ! "

    , The jury retired at twenty minutes to three o ' clock , and returned into court at four . Their faces were very pale , and a deep silence testified to the solemnity with which all in court regarded the coming verdict , whatever it might prove to be . The Judges , who had retired at the same timo as the jury , were sent for , and the Clerk of tho Arraigns then put the usual question . To this , the foreman of the jury answered , "NOT GUILTY . " Tho scene that followed was one of the most extraordinary that has been seen in an English court of justice for muny years . The audience burst forth into a loud and long-continued cheer , in which even some of tho members of the bar joined ; and this was repeated again and again . Men waved their hats , and ladies the lattestanding their

    their white handkerchiefs , r on seats to give greater emphasis to the ovation . Lord Campbell and the officers of tho court in vain endeavoured to still tho tumult ; and tho cheers wore soon augmented by tho glad vociferations of those outside , who had by that timo heard the result of the trial . Bernard ' s eyes glistened and his framo trombled with strong emotion ; and at longth , when silence was restored , ho said , in a loud voice und with energetic action : — I do declare that this verdict is tho truth , and it proves that in England there will always bo liberty to crush tyranny . All honour to an English jury ! I lie choeriiiK hero burat out again , and Bernard wus temporarily removed from the , dock , when silence waa restored , und ho was brought back . anothor indictment

    Mr- Simon : " There is against tho prisoner , on which tho evidence would ho exactly tho same . I prosuino the Attornoy-Goneral will not proceed with it . " — Tho Attorney-Gcneral : " It ia not » tho-iiUontiou , oUKB .. & 9 , ttaio r rocoed furthor with thttt indiotmont . "— Mr . Simoiir ^ " PorliTps""tird- ~ Attornoy Gunoral will allow a verdict of acquittal to be taken . That is the usual course . "—Tho Attorney-General : " Understanding that tho more utuiul , though not the uniform coumo in to consent to a vordiut of acquittal umlor hucH olreumstancos , Iwill consent to that verdict being taken . "— The Lord Chief Justice : That is what I Hhoultl liavo recommondod . "— Tho Clerk tlion road tbo indictment , charging tho prisoner with tho murder of Eugene Rlguer . Bornard Boomed somewhat astonished

    at this proceeding ; but his solicitor explained to him that it was only formal , and he pleaded " Not Guilty . " The jury thereupon immediately returned a verdict to that effect . The greatest excitement ( say the daily papers ) had prevailed in the court during these proceedings ; and when the second verdict was returned , the cheering recommenced , and there was once more a general waving of hats and handkerchiefs in the galleries . The Judges were evidently quite disconcerted , and made a hasty retreat from the court , the Lord Chief Justice not even addressing one word to the jury or paying them any compliment for their long and patient attendance . The verdict , however , seemed to give satisfaction to almost every one , and the jurymen , when they got into the street , were loudly cheered .

    The utmost excitement prevailed in the neighbourhood of the court during the whole afternoon . Men might be seen running along the chief thoroughfares , shouting , " Acquitted ! acquitted ! " Omnibuses stopped for a time , that the riders might learn the news ; and there were wavings of hats and many exclamations of pleasure . In a very short time , the evening papers had distributed the result all over the metropolis , and the telegraph had flashed it across the land . The verdict has given general satisfaction . Bernard , having been released on bail , was present at Wyld ' s Reading Rooms , Leicester-square , on Tuesday

    night . He was received with very warm congratulations , and made a speech on the occasion of his health being drunk . He said : — " Gentlemen , I thank you for this demonstration . You do not drink my health , but the health of your own country ; you drink to liberty . But my mouth is shut until after my last trial ; I must not speak . Yet I must express my gratitude to you and the jury who tried me . I relied firmly on a jury of Englishmen . I must speak no more . I thank you from my heart . " This speech was received with cheers . Three cheers were then given for Mr . Edwin James , and three cheers for the jury . The scene was one of great excitement .

    Criminal Record. Wife-Murder.—A Woman Na...

    CRIMINAL RECORD . Wife-Murder . —A woman named Mary Turner has been murdered at Rochester by her husband , a labouring man . Some feeling of jealousy had been excited in the mind of the husband by the fact of his wife being verymuch in the company of a young single man uamed Taylor ; and the fatal act had its usual preliminary of drinking . The husband and wife had been carousing at a public-house for some hours , during which time they appear to have been on good terms . They left between twelve and one o ' clock , and no quarrelling was heard in the course of the night by the other lodgers in the same house . At six o ' clock , however , a heavy fall on the floor of Turner ' s bedroom w as beard by one King and his wife , who slept beneath . King immediately got up , and was proceeding up-stairs when he met Turner coming down without his shoes , and the lower part of his clothes

    covered with blood . The latter remarked , " Bill , I have done it , " and afterwards added , " I have murdered my wife . ' * King went up into the room , and saw the woman lying on the floor with her throat cut . A razor also lay on the floor , and beside it was a poker broken in two , as if from a violent blow . The husband said be meant to give himself up to the police , and King went with him to the station . It appears that in the course of the night Turner missed his wife , and , going out , found her ( in company with Taj'lor ) at the public-house where tboy had been drinking during the evening . He returned home , and waited till sho came in ; and , on her entering the room , he attacked and murdered her . Afterwards , he again went to tho public-house , and told Taylor of what he had done . The inquest has terminated in a verdict of Wilful Murder , and Turner has been committed bj' tho magistrates for trial .

    This Docblb Muiidisr nha . ii Taunton . —John B . iltor Bucknall , tho young man arrested under suspicion of murdering his grandfather and grandmother at Creoch St . Michael , as mentioned in our last issue , has boon , examined before tho magistrates , and committed for trial . The coroner ' s jury have also returned a verdict of Wilful Murder against him . Tho prisoner had himself called tho attention of a Mr . Morris , on tho morning when tho murder waa discovered , to tho fact of his not being able to got Into the houso . Mr . Morris , young Bucknall , and the father of tho lnttor , wont to tho pluce , and found all tho doors fastened . Sinoko was seen to

    issue from tho roof of a cellar wlicro tho body of tho old man was afterwards found 5 and at length an entry was forced . The accused wont in with his father and Mr . Morris . Old Buuknall wns thon found with hla body lying on » omo liny , which was smouldering , and tho ylothoa of tho corpse wore just breaking out into a flame . Ho had been shot through tho head . Mrs . Bucknall . waB-touna-InJ ^ KjiB ^ itgtalrs ^ wlth her throat cut , « nd her face and hands alao wortnflSar ^ TWnniljJ-eot-of-the--murder aouma to have boon robbery ; for tho house boro pvidoncoH of having been rifled . Tho circumstantial evidence of several parsons tonda to implicate young liuuknallwho reserves hia defence for tho trial .

    , This IIubukb . at Poutbmouth . " -Wo have already Announced tho capture ( under suspicion of guilt ) of a brother of Mr . Hart , or Howard , tho person lately ahot at hla own door ftt Portsmouth , A long Investigation

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 24, 1858, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24041858/page/9/