Part 75
To substantiate this defence two men were called, named Daly and Palmer, to the former of whom, when a prisoner, and to the latter also, who had seen him in the prison, he had repeatedly admitted that he had spoken falsely, and had got up the charge for the purposes above mentioned: while another man further swore that Fuel's character was such that he could not be believed upon his oath.
Mr. Byles having replied upon the whole case,
Mr. Justice Park elaborately, and with the utmost impartiality, summed up the lengthened chain of evidence in an address which lasted to a late hour. At the close of his lordship's address, which was delivered in a tone and with a manner which showed how deeply the mind of the learned judge had been affected by the painful nature of the inquiry, the jury, after a short time spent in deliberation, returned a verdict of "Guilty."
The prisoner was then immediately sentenced to transportation for a term of seven years.
FRANCIS LIONEL ELIOT, EDWARD DELVES BROUGHTON, JOHN YOUNG, AND HENRY WEBBER.
INDICTED FOR A MURDER COMMITTED IN A DUEL.
On the evening of Wednesday the 22nd of August, 1838, a duel took place on Wimbledon Common, which was unhappily attended with fatal consequences. The principal parties to this melancholy transaction were Mr. Francis Lionel Eliot and Mr. Charles Flower Mirfin; and they were accompanied, the former by Messrs. Young and Webber, the latter by Broughton and another person, whose name, we believe, was never ascertained with certainty, and also by Dr. Scott, a medical gentleman, who attended to render that professional aid which it was deemed possible might be required of him.
The circumstances which led to this duel are stated to be the following:--During Epsom races, 1838, both Mr. Mirfin and Mr. Eliot attended that far-famed sporting meeting. On the Derby-day they were returning to town, Mr. Eliot driving a phaeton, and Mr. Mirfin a gig, when, by some accident, the two vehicles came in contact, and Mr. Mirfin was overturned. In the fall some of his ribs were fractured; and, on getting up, an altercation arose, and offensive language passed, which ended in Mr. Eliot striking Mr. Mirfin a blow on his already injured side, of which injury, however, it is due to say, Mr. Eliot was ignorant. The pain at the moment was excessive, and Mr. Mirfin had only a faint recollection that the name of the party with whom he had come in contact was Eliot; but he had been unable to obtain his address, and therefore had no clue to his discovery, although extremely anxious to call him to an account. Months rolled on, and only on one occasion, till Tuesday night the 21st of August, had he obtained a transient view of Mr. Eliot, in a cigar-shop, but almost instantly lost sight of him. On Tuesday night, in company with two friends, he entered the saloon in Piccadilly, and while he was there he heard the name of Eliot mentioned. The name at once struck him, and, on looking at the party by whom it was acknowledged, he recognised him as the person whom he had so long sought, and from whom he had received a blow. He immediately requested one of his friends, Mr. Broughton, to address Mr. Eliot, and call the matter to his recollection Mr. Eliot admitted the fact, and offered to make an apology. It would seem, however, that neither party was in a situation to enter upon the subject then, and it was agreed that mutual friends should meet at the Opera Colonnade Hotel at twelve o'clock on the next morning to discuss the matter. Mr. Mirfin then proceeded to his residence, No. 2, Pleasant-place, West-square, Lambeth, where he retired to rest. At the time appointed the friends met, when an objection was made on the part of Mr. Eliot to meet Mr. Mirfin. A firm determination having been expressed, however, that such meeting must take place, on a second application to Mr. Eliot he acceded to the proposition, and a hostile meeting was arranged for the same evening, on Wimbledon-common.
The individuals whom we have named accompanied the principals to the intended scene of action; and a fitting spot having been selected, the
## parties proceeded to adjust the preliminaries. After some conversation
among the parties, in which Mr. Mirfin refused to consent to receive a verbal apology, the ground was measured, twelve paces, and the principals being placed in their positions, each provided with a pistol, at a concerted signal both fired, when the ball of Mr. Eliot's pistol passed through Mr. Mirfin's hat, whilst that of Mr. Mirfin went harmlessly by his antagonist. Mr. Mirfin then impatiently demanded another pistol, having previously declared he would face a dozen shots rather than submit to the insult he had received. The second fire quickly followed, when Mr. Mirfin, placing his hand on his side, exclaimed, "He's hit me!" and then, staggering a few paces back, fell into the arms of Dr. Scott and his second. The former soon ascertained that the wound was fatal, and in a moment the unfortunate man breathed his last. The ball had taken a transverse direction, and had passed through his heart. The fatal result being ascertained, Mr. Eliot and the two seconds left the ground in the same carriage, and some casual passengers coming up, the body was lifted into a cabriolet, and immediately driven off the ground. It was conveyed to Pleasant-place, and, with the assistance of Dr. Scott, who resided in Rockingham-row, Kent-road, was laid on the carpet in the parlour, when another medical gentleman, a Mr. Smith, was sent for, and the body was stripped, but all hope of recovery had vanished. It would seem that application was subsequently made to Mr. Reed, an undertaker in the London-road, to prepare a coffin, and to convey the body for interment to a distant part of the country. This he declined; and finding the cause of death, he felt it his duty to inform Mr. Young, a constable in the neighbourhood, who communicated the fact to Field, a police-inspector, who placed the corpse in charge of one of his men until a coroner's inquest could be held.
On Saturday, the 25th of August, an inquest was held on the body of the deceased, which was continued by adjournment until the following Tuesday, when the circumstances which we have detailed were proved in evidence; and from the statements of the witnesses, the various parties whose names have been mentioned were shown to have been concerned in the affair. The duel appears to have been conducted, however, upon perfectly fair principles, and there was nothing in the conduct of any of the persons present to induce a supposition that any ungentlemanly advantage was taken on either side. Mr. Scott, the surgeon, entered into a detailed account of the whole transaction, which differed in no material degree from the general statement which we have given. The jury returned a verdict of "Wilful Murder" against all the parties concerned as principal or seconds; the verdict as to the latter, however, only referring to them as being accessory to the offence.
At the ensuing session at the Central Criminal Court, indictments were preferred against the various parties concerned; and it being understood that Mr. Broughton would surrender to take his trial on Friday the 21st of September, on that day the court was much crowded.
Upon Mr. Broughton being called, however, he did not appear, and his absence was stated to be accounted for by the indisposition of Mr. Clarkson, who had been retained as counsel on his behalf; but Messrs. Webber and Young presented themselves, and declared themselves ready to take their trial. They were defended respectively by Mr. Adolphus and Mr. C. Phillips, while Mr. Chambers conducted the case for the prosecution.
The whole of the facts were then again proved in evidence; and eloquent appeals having been made on behalf of the prisoners by their counsel, a great number of highly respectable witnesses were called, who gave them excellent characters for the general humanity of their disposition.
Mr. Justice Vaughan, in summing up the case to the jury, remarked upon the circumstances which had attended the duel. He observed, that it should have been the bounden duty of all those who had acted as seconds, or who were present, to have interfered to prevent this fatal meeting; and that, at all events, after the first shot, even supposing the mistaken ideas which might be entertained with regard to wounded honour might be deemed to have rendered the affair so far excusable, they should have positively refused to suffer any further proceedings. The principals in such cases were the mere tools in the hands of their seconds, and upon the latter rested the more serious responsibility. The learned judge having also offered some observations upon the omission of Mr. Scott to attempt to prevent the duel, said, that it sometimes occurred that the feelings of the man were in opposition to those of the judge, and considering that everything in this case appeared to have been conducted with what was deemed fairness, he could not but feel some compunction in stating, as he was bound to do, that persons who had acted under such circumstances as those which had been disclosed were guilty of murder. The question of the prisoners being connected with the case was one for the jury, and one upon which their decision was required. The jury, after some consideration, found the prisoners "Guilty," and at the same time declared their opinion that Mr. Scott himself should have stood at the bar with them. Mr. Justice Vaughan expressed himself to be of the same opinion, and sentence of death was then recorded against the prisoners.
They were instantly conveyed to the interior of Newgate, where they were placed, in obedience to the usual course, in the condemned cells. The application of their friends to the crown, however, soon procured their liberation from this disagreeable confinement; but the sentence of death was only removed upon condition of their undergoing twelve months' imprisonment in the House of Correction at Guildford, one month of which was to be passed in solitude.
On Friday, the 8th of February, 1839, Mr. Broughton surrendered at the Old Bailey to take his trial, and pleaded "Guilty" to the indictment. Sentence of death was recorded against him; but in this case, as in that of Webber and Young, the punishment was reduced to twelve months' imprisonment.
Mr. Eliot, the surviving principal in this affair, was a gentleman of highly respectable connexions--his father being a major-general in the army. Mr. Mirfin, it appears, had formerly carried on business in Tottenham-court-road as a linen-draper, but subsequently retired from business upon a competency. His connexions were of great respectability, his father and brothers being engaged in trade in the north of England of a similar character with that in which he had been concerned. Mr. Broughton, we believe, was a relation of Sir John Delves Broughton, Bart., a general in the army, and descended of an ancient family.
Mr. Eliot succeeded in making his escape to the Continent, and has not yet surrendered to the indictment preferred against him, which, therefore, still remains in operation.
CHARLES KINNAISTER, AND OTHERS.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES.
The atrocious cold-blooded massacre of which these persons were guilty is scarcely equalled by any event of a similar character. The scene of the murder was the colony of New South Wales,--the victims were the unoffending aboriginal natives of the country,--the miscreants by whom the savage scene was enacted were Englishmen, who, however, from their sanguinary disposition, do not deserve that they should receive such an appellation. Fortunately for the vindication of humanity, the unparalleled barbarities of which they were guilty were discovered, and their perpetrators brought to justice.
The names of these monsters in human shape were Charles Kinnaister, William Hawkins, James Perry, Edward Foley, James Cates, John Russell, and John Johnson. It would seem that all of these were convicts, and had been transported from this country. They had been assigned as stock-men or shepherds to some of the settlers in the interior of the colony. In the month of June 1838, these ruffians, influenced or induced by what motive has not been discovered, beyond a determination to extirpate the unhappy natives, set out on horseback in pursuit of their helpless victims. They were traced in their progress inquiring after blacks, and at last arrived at a hut near the big river, beyond Liverpool plains, occupied by the first-named prisoner, Kinnaister. Here they discovered that a little tribe of about thirty natives, men, women, and children, including babes at their mothers' breasts, were congregated in the bush, unsuspicious of danger and unconscious of offence. This was on Sunday the 10th of June. They immediately approached their victims, who, terrified at their manner, ran into Kinnaister's hut for protection, crying for mercy; but they appealed to hearts of stone, who having thus caught them, as it were, in a trap, dismounted, followed them into the hut, and, despite of their entreaties, tied them together with a rope, with the exception of one woman. This was done without a word being uttered, and with a cool and bloody determination.
[Illustration: _Australian Aborigines slaughtered by Convicts._
_P. 479_]
When all were thus secured, one end of the rope was tied round the body of the foremost of the murderers, who, having mounted his horse, led the way, dragging the terrified group after him, while his infamous companions guarded them on all sides. Groans and tears burst from the wretched beings, whose worst fears were excited. In vain, however, did the aged and youthful of both sexes appeal for compassion. Their doom was cast. Onward they were dragged till a fitting place in the bush was reached, and then the work of slaughter commenced, and, unresisting, were these hapless wretches, one after the other, brutally butchered. Fathers, mothers, and children, fell before the previously sharpened swords of these self-appointed executioners, till all lay a lifeless mass, in death clinging to each other with the throes of natural affection. But one shot was fired, so that it was presumed one only perished by fire-arms. The precise number thus immolated has not been accurately ascertained, but it is computed that not less than thirty lay stretched on the ensanguined earth. The demon butchers then placed the bodies in a heap, kindled an immense fire over them, and thus endeavoured to destroy the evidence of their unheard-of brutality. Fragments of the unconsumed bones, however, still remained; but even these were collected, and attempted to be hidden from human eye. But the vengeance of Providence was not to be thus thwarted; and although for a time these miscreants imagined they had effectually disguised their horrible work, circumstances led to their detection and apprehension. Birds of prey were seen hovering about the spot where the unconsumed remains yet existed, and stock-men in search of their strayed cattle were thus attracted to the locality, supposing they should find their carcasses. In this way it was that the ribs, jaw-bones, half-burnt skulls, and other portions of human skeletons were found--while symptoms of the conflagration in the vicinity were likewise detected. This led to inquiry, and ultimately to discovery of the horrible truth. The place was fifty miles from the nearest police-station, but the whole of the villains were apprehended, and their own admissions and conduct previous and subsequent to the bloody work, added to a chain of circumstantial evidence, left no doubt of their guilt. It chanced, too, that on the night previous to the murders, a heavy rain had fallen--and traces were thus discovered of horses' hoofs, as well as of the naked feet of the wretched natives, on the way to the field of death.
On the 15th of November, the prisoners were put upon their trial before the Chief Justice, Sir James Dowling, charged with the murder of a black, named Daddy, the remains of whose gigantic frame had been observed and distinguished among the discovered ashes. Every possible means had been adopted to secure the acquittal of these atrocious malefactors by an association, which had been formed with the ostensible object of preserving the property of the settlers from the incursions of the blacks. The pretence for the diabolical murders which were committed was the supposed aggressions of the natives in killing and spearing cattle; and every instance of violence of this description was carefully brought forward to secure the liberation of the prisoners, by a verdict of acquittal. The strong prejudice which was excited against the aborigines was not without its effect, and in spite of the evidence which was adduced, the jury found the prisoners "Not Guilty."
There were still other indictments against them, however, which remained to be tried, and in the month of December they were again arraigned. Upon this occasion they were not quite so fortunate, and the men above-named were declared to be "Guilty," and sentence of death was instantly passed upon them. Renewed efforts were now made in their favour; but their horrid guilt being proved beyond a doubt, Sir George Gipps, the governor, determined that the law should take its course, and on the 15th of December, 1838, the convicts underwent the execution of their sentence.
ARCHIBALD BOLAM.
TRANSPORTED FOR MANSLAUGHTER.
Few occurrences of the nature of that which is now before us, have attracted more marked attention than that of the dreadful and most mysterious death of Mr. Joseph Millie, assistant-clerk in the Savings' Bank at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The discovery of this event took place at two o'clock in the morning of Friday the 7th of December, 1839, when flames and smoke were observed to be issuing from the offices of the Savings' Bank. The aid of the engines having been procured, the fire was in a short time extinguished, and the police then entered the house, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of the conflagration, and that all danger was passed. Upon their going into the clerk's office, they were astonished at perceiving Mr. Millie lying extended on the hearth-rug, with such wounds upon his person as left no doubt that he had been murdered. His skull had been literally smashed in, and his brains were scattered about the room; and what was more singular, his pockets were found to be filled with coals, as if the object of his murderer had been to prevent the discovery of his dreadful crime, by securing the destruction of the body of his victim by fire.
In the adjoining room, they were more alarmed to find that Mr. Archibald Bolam, the actuary, was also lying on the floor, apparently insensible. He was lifted up, and some slight wounds were discovered in his throat, which passed through his stock; but before many minutes had elapsed he was sufficiently recovered to give an account of the mysterious affair. He said "I have lately had two or three anonymous letters, threatening to do me harm; and one was put under the door of the Savings Bank, last evening, after dark, saying that something would happen to me at home. In consequence of this, though I generally get my tea at the bank, I went home, the other clerk, Millie, having previously gone to his tea. I returned about half-past seven o'clock in the evening, and finding the door locked as I had left it, I opened it, and put the key into my pocket. When I got into the bank I saw Millie lying on the rug, and I thought he had fallen asleep. He also has a key, and sometimes locked himself in. I then went towards my desk, intending immediately to go and speak to Millie; but while I was about to open my desk, I thought I heard some one coming behind, and was in the act of turning round, when I received a blow on my right temple from a man in disguise, with his face blackened. I immediately started up, and ran shouting towards the window, intending to give an alarm, on which the fellow followed me, and said if I stirred, or made the least noise, he would serve me as he had served the other man. He struck me again when I was near the window; and when I was down, I felt a knife at my throat. Shortly after this I became insensible for a while; but afterwards my recollection seemed to return, and I heard somebody in the other office, as I supposed, going about and making a noise. I dared not make the least outcry. I burnt the threatening letters which I had previously received. The one which I found last night under the waiting-room door I left upon my desk. I cannot well describe the man, excepting that I think he was under the middle size, and spoke roughly, but apparently in a feigned voice. I had a few shillings in my pocket, and I think 4_l._ 10_s._ in my desk, which was left by Mr. Airey to deposit on Saturday. In the inner safe I had a further sum of 80_l._ of my own, which I kept to meet current expenses." Further than this, Mr. Bolam said he had no recollection of what took place.
A story so extraordinary at once excited suspicion, more especially when it was discovered that the apparent object of the supposed murderer, namely plunder, had been left unfulfilled. The greater part of the papers and books of the bank were discovered to be undisturbed, and uninjured by the fire; and although the outer door of the strong-box was standing open, the inner lock was still fast. The key of this lock was stated (by Bolam) to have been left by him in his desk, but it was now nowhere to be found.