11 JULY 1840, Page 5

Zbe ftthropolis.

The trial of Edward Oxford lbr high treason was commenced in the Central Criminal Court, on Thursday. Persons were admitted by tickets, and the Court was completely filled, without confusion, SOGI1 after nine o'clock. Many people of rank were accommodated with seats on the bench ; and among them were the Duke of Brunswick, Count Nesselrode, Lord Colchester, Lord Uxbridge, Lord Cantelupe, Lord James Stuart, Mr. and Mrs. Fox Mettle, and Mr. E. J. Stanley. 'fhe Judges were Lord Denman, Baron Alderson, end Justice Pat- teson. The Recorder was also on the bench, Tlie Counsel for the Crown were the Attorney-General, the Solicitor General, Sir Frede- rick Pollock, and Mr. Wiehtman ; for the prisoner, Mr. Sidney Taylor and Mr. Bodkin. Mr. Mottle attended as solicitor for the prosecution ; Mr. Pelham acted in the same capacity for the prisoner. Oxtbrd was brought into court, and advanced with a :milk to the lair. lie east his eyes quickly around, smiling all the time, and then listlessly leaned against the front of the dock and began playing with the herbs with lvhich it was strewed. The Deputy Clerk of the Arraigns re.al the indictment as follows- !, Edward Oxford, von are indicted, and the indictment states that you, being a subject of ou; Lady the Qneen, heretofore to v. it, on the Itet day of June, in the year dour Lord 1891, within the jurisdiction of the Central Cri- minal Court, as a fuse traitor to our seit! Lady the Queen, nediciousd■• and traitorously, with force and arms, Sec., did compass, imagine, reel intend to bring and _put our said Lady the Queen to death ; mid to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect your most evil and wicket; t ca mm and treasonable compassing and imagination aforesaid, you, as such false traitor as aforesaid, to wit, on the !aid 10th day of' June, in the year of our Lord 1810 aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction or the said court, with force and arms inaliciomly and traitorously did shoot off and discharge a certain pistol, the same thi it and there being loaded with gunpowder and a certain bullet, and which pistol you (lieu and there had and held in one of your hands, at the peNoii of our said Lady the Queen, with intent thereby and therewith maliciously and traitorously to shoot, assassinate, kill, and put to death our said Lady the Queen, and thereby then and there traitorously made a direct attempt against the life of our said Lady the Queen; and further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect your most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassing and imagination aforesaid, you, the said Edward Oxford, as such false traitor as aforesaid, afterwards, to wit, on the said 10th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1840 aforesaid, and within the jurisdiction of the said court, with force and arms maliciously and traitorously did shoot off and discharge a certain other pistol, the same then and there being loaded with gunpowder and a certain bullet, and which pistol you, the said Edward Oxford, then tind there had and held in one of your hands, at the person of our said Lady the Queen, with intent thereby and therewith maliciously and traitorously to shoot, assassinate, kill, and put to death our said Lady the queen, and thereby then and there traitorously made a direct attempt against the life of' nor said Lady the Queen, arzainst the duty of the allegiance of you the said Edward Oxford, against the thrm of the sta- tute in that ease made and provided, and against the peace of our said Lady the Queen, her crown, and dignity. How say yam, Edward Oxford, are yca guilty or not guilty ?"

The prisoner, in a firm and distinct tone, answered, " Not guilty." The following gentlemen were then sworn in as jurors. No chal- lenges were made either for the Crown or the prisoner- ]. John Palmer, 7. Charles Armistead, 2. Daniel Prittie, 3. Richard Henry S. .1111,5 Moore, 9, ;Joseph Patrick, 4. John Nlaxted, 10. joseili 5. William Potter, IL George William 'Martin, Samuel 'Mitchell, 12. Thomas John Peet.

The Attorney-General stated t mc case for the prosecution. He ex- pressed his satisfaction that the gentlemen placed in the jury-box possessed the entire confidence of biell parties, indicated by the fact that no challenge had been given. Ile explained that the trial would he conducted in the manner prescribed by an Act passed in the fortieth year of King George the Third's reign ; wide! provi,led. that where the overt act of treason was a direct attack upon the lif`e of the Sovereign, the trial should he cooducted as common trials for murder. This Act

only gave the life of the creig,n the protection enjoyed by the meanest of' hi;; subjects, and did ev.ety v..ith the of two wit- nesses to the ov.,2rt net and other forms, very proper to he observed in eases of a political character. lie understood frimi time affidavit on which the motion for the postponement of the trial was granted, that a plea of insanity AItella be raised. Two questions would then arise. First, whether, Hipposing the prisoner to he accountable for his actions, he was guilty of the offence laid to his charge ; and secondly, whether, at the time he committed the net, he was accountable to the law for his actions. The burden of proof in the first case rested entirely with the prosecutor, for the prisoner was presumed to lie perfectly innocent until his guilt was established by clear mill unqiiestionable testimony.

.And unless the Jury disbelieved the witneries lie should call, it would,

he thought, be impossible to come to ally idlier c.nielusion than that the prisoner was guilty. The Attorney-General proeeetied to state some of tile eircumstauces of Oxford'e life up to the time of the alleged treason— The prisoner, the Jury would perceive, was a very young man, about

eighteen or nineteen years of age, though from his appearance it ii mild !lawny be

supposed he had reached that It ,voill.1 appear tic it he was born, as he un- derstood, at Birmingham, hut eanie when very yoems to London. De went to school in Lambeth, mitt html imwe been in the service of several publicans in the capacity of baramm. That ivas not, as bad been stated, the situation of a pot-boy, but that of superintentlieg the im-hos:s of a pot lican ; and when he %vas tailing of what had been stated telt or e eat, lie most very respeetfully 11,2;f of the Jury to dismiss from their re midLctint all that they might have

remi and heard upon the subject, and to li,‘ entirely Ily the evidence which would be laid before them. They would not act in any degree upon

ivhat they might have heard er read expre, iv,: intlignaticn at the crime im- puted ti.) lmimui, or any ati :mitt to mitigate that crime. The prisoner went first as barman to a ittibliemi—to li I I. who, he understood, :it o»tt time kept it publie.housa at Hounslow. It. me." emit to a publican in the City in the same capacity; oftertv,irds he was in a simihir situation at a publie-house in Oxfbrd Street. He then went into 1,cideee at No. ti, \V eel Plare, \Vest Setiore, Lambeth ; and thot lodging emit ineed It he his home until the offence with which he was nw.v cliaspol was co:m.111,d. It would appear that lie had deliberately tied mmpile to time au et I.. 'opt upon the life of the tlavereign. On the -Itti of 'Ala.:, it thi ; ra-emit eta:'. e hen lie w i hivimtg at this lodging, he honed t a pair um it person a time name of Ileyes, living in Black- friars Rood, for the suet of t woo pounds; et the same time he also bought a powder-flask. It would :the, nppeor tit evil!. ece that he 1tractise:1 shooting at a

shooting-galloy in Leicester i"epsire, at anoti.er ti the end at another at the \di A-entl a the town. Ito Weihtesiley, time tti of done, just one week

before the day nanted in the lie went 1,1 n hop kept by a person of' the name of Gray, w :tit whom the primner luta (item: thy been a schcrolfellotx, and who resides in Bridee limed, Laini-th, and there he bought half-a-litinalred copper caps to use in firing piteds. Ile asked Gray at tha seine time where he could buy some bullets. Ile was tell u her: Indicts wow to he hall, ii ml he said himself that lie had some gunpowder. 0:1 the evening a 'Tuesday, the 9th of June, he was se mu with a pistol, which he himself snot CI to he loaded; and when lie was asked what he mean, to do with it, he refit-el to tell, but said he had been loMes at is target. I hm Oho A ttornes • Sirlicral) now value to 1Vedinitsday, the loth iii June. The Jery were proliahly aware that it was the custom of her :Majesty (buten Victoria, since her union with his Royal Iligliness Prince Alhert, frequently to take nit airing with her Royal consoit in the nfternoon or evening in the Parks, without any military escort, and morc after the manner of private life. This circumstance was, he believed. generally known to all her ;Majesty's loyal subjects, and especially dm- e litimg within the distrirt. It would appear that on this Wednesday, about four o'clech, the prisoner went into the park ; that lie saw l'rince Albert returnitig Coen Vhetiwis'., im:111 going to Buckingham Palace; that the prisoner went up Coietitution liii, and ther.! remained, expecting the approach of the (loom. A hout six o'clock, her Majesty. aceempanitil iv lier Royal consort, lett the l'ahwe in a low open carriage, with four horses and two out- riders, who went ladoreoind with no other attendants. item Majesty was Feld on the left side of the carriage and Prince Albert on the right. Iler ciirriuge titmice up Constitution 11111. Ahmit one Inintlad and twenty yards, er one-third the di:dance between tl:e atel the Triumphal Arch at Hyde Palk Corner, was the prisoner Edward ()shwa walking backwards and for- wards, with his arms tinder the lapels of Ids coat. Ile WIN on the right hand side of the road, opposite the iron railings (Vim elm divide the road teom the Green Pai I:. When the carriage approached, be turned round, nodded, then drew. a pisted from his breast, and, as the carriage was nearly opposIte hitn, he Ms- chargi.il that pistol. Thu providence a God averted the blow from her Ma- jesty ; the hall whizzed by on the oppe3ite side, and in al: probability her Ala- jesty was quite unconscious at that moment that any attempt had been made upon her life. The carriage proceeded. The prisoner then looked tack, as if to ace whether any person was standing near enough to see him, and drew another pistol, but whether with his right or left hand seems uncertain ; he aimed it, however, at her Majesty. It would appear that her Majesty saw him aiming at her, for she stooped down. Again the providence of God preserved her Majesty. The prisoner fired ; the ball was heard to whiz along, but it missed its object. The Queen immediately drove on to allay any alarm that might arise in the breast of her august mother on hearing the perils to which her Majesty had thus been exposed. There were a great number of persons at the time on the left-hand side of the road, between the road and the gardens of Buckingham Palace. It was well known that curiosity and loyalty daily led many persons to that spot in the expectation that her Majesty would show her- self to her loyal subjects. Amongst those persons, there was a man of the name of Low, whom he should call before the Jury. This man immediately rushed across, seized Oxford, and took his pistols from him. This person was for the moment believed to be the offender by another individual whom he should also call, and who said, " Why, you confounded rascal, how dare you shoot at our Queen ?" Upon which the prisoner said, " It was I who shot at her." He was immediately taken into custody, and taken to the station. house, where he voluntarily put the question, " Is the Queen hurt ?" and on being told the Queen was not hurt, he was asked whether there were not bullets in the pistols, and he admitted at once that there were bullets. When he bad been secured, and when it had been ascertained that his lodgings were, as he had said, in West Place, West Square, a Policeman was immedi- ately despatched to search them. The prisoner occupied a room on the first pair back. The door of the room was open. The Policeman found a box which undoubtedly belonged to the prisoner. That box was locked ; but I shall show that he had in his pocket a key that fitted it, and that he acknow- ledged that it was his box, as were also the contents. The box was opened, and in it were found the following articles: a sword and scabbard, two pistol bags, some black crape, a powder-Flask, three ounces of powder, a bullet-mould, five leaden bullets, and some percussion-caps marked, and which had been bought by the prisoner from Gray., his schoolfellow. There was also linnet a pocket-book containing some papers. The box and its contents were brought to the station-house and shown to the prisoner, who stated that the papers be- longed to him, and that he meant to have destroyed them in the morning before he went out.

He would now direct the attention of the Jury to those papers. The first was without a date, and headed " Young England." Then followed " Rules and Regulations"—

- 1. That every member shall he provided with a brae of' pistols, a sword, a rifle, and a dagger. The two latter to be kept nt the committee-ruom. " 2. That every member must, on entering, tako the oath or allegiance to be true to the cause he has joined,

" 3- That et my member must, on en:eying the Meow., give a signal to the sentry.

" 4. That every officer shalt have a factitious name; his right name and address to be kept with the secretary. " 5. That every member shall, when be is ordered to meet, lw armed with a brace Or pistols (loaded) and a sword, to reiol any attack, and also be prurided 'Oh a black crape cap, to cover his face with—his marks of distinction outside. " 6. That whenever any member wishes to introduce any new member, he must give satisfactory accounts or lam to their superiors, and from thence to the c tttttt sel. 7. Any ntember who can protium an lusadred flies, shall be promoted to the rank of captain. " 8. Any member holding communications with any country agent:3, must instantly forward the intelligence to the secretary.

" 9. That whenever coy member is ordered down the country or abroad, he must take various disguises w ith him, (as the labourer, the mechanic, and the gentleman,) all of which Ise can obtain at the commillea•i•oom.

" 10. That any member wishing to ;s1nit himself for more than one month, must obtain leave from the comnutmler-in-chief.

11. That no member will be allowed to speak during any debate, nor allowed to :task 3110re than two questions.

" All the united rules kept at the Committee-room.

" 1.1sT us eioNCtem. sisoliEns.

Factitious Names.

" President Gowrie, " Generals Frederick

Justinian Augustus Aloarto Ottani Colman Anthony Kenneth " Captains Ossetian

Godfrey Mil :on " Council 1 latilbal LVio' Ernest iniis

tltletts Augustin " Lieutenants Hercules Ethelred Neptune Ferdinatid Mars Nicholas Gregory

" Marks of Distinction.

" Counsels—A large white cockade. " President —A black bow.

" General—Three red bows,

" Captain—Two, red bows.

" Lieutenant —One ditto. " A. W. Storm. Secretary.

In the same pocket-book were three letters addressed by Smith, the secretary, to Oxford. These, also, the Attorney-General read to the J ury-

" Young England, May 16. 1939.

" Sir—Our Commander-in-Chief was very glad to find that ?pat answered his ques- tions in such is strtightUirivanl manner ; you will be ccanted to attend on the 21st of this month, as we expect one of the (multi.v agents in town out business or importance. 110 sore and attend. " A. W. Swan, Secretary." " P. S. You must not take an .y notice fo the bfly. nor ask him any qv, Amis." Addressed—. Mr. Oxford, at Mr. Minton's, High Street, Marylehoile."

The next letter was dated 11th November 1839, and was addressed to Mr. Oxford, at Mr. Parker's, Hat and Feathers, Goswell Street.

Young England, Nov. 14, 1839. " Sir-1 ain sury elad to hear that you improve so nthell in pow up nudes. Your ;speech tbe last time you ware heia• was beautiful. There was another tam introduced last night by Limn ena itNI sirs, tu tine, Mil, gentlemanly looking mint it is said that Ito is a military officer, but his mune has tint yet transpired. Soon after he was intro- duced, we were alarmed by it vielent knoeking at the door; hi an instant our faces were covered, we cocked our pistols. nod with straw it net ords stood waiting to Din erasure] to receive the enemy. While Sc e stood over the lire with the papers another stood with lighted torch to tire the Ionise. We then sent the old woman to optic the door, and it proved to be some little ho)s who kueeked at the door stud ran away. " A, W. Smrrit, Secretary. " YOIS must attend on Wednesday next."

Addressed—" Mr. Oxforti,ni Mr, Farce, Hat and Feathers, Gomel] Street."

The last was addressed to Mr. Oxford at Mr. Robinson's, Rog-in-the-Pound, • Oxford Street, the last place at which the prisoner was before he took lodgings in West Place.

" Young England, April 3. 1840. "Sir—Ion nre retmested to attend tonight, as there is an extraordinary meeting to be holden, in consequellee or having received sante communications of an important stature from Hammer You must attend, and if your master w ill not giro rpm ham'. ?pm must come in difionee of him. "A. W. Sturm, Secretary.' Addressed—. Mr. Oxford, at Mr. Robinson's, Hog-in-the•Pountl, Oxford Street."

Under these circumstances, he would ask the Jury, supposing the prisoner to be accountable for his actions, whether they could have any doubt of his guilt ? The balls had not been found, though marks on

the wall were discovered which some conceived to be made by the bullets. He attached, however, little weight to this evidence, as he he, lieved himself the balls had gone over the wall. He could show that k. Oxford was not skilful in the use of pistols ; and in the flurry of the moment be probably directed the pistols unsteadily. But could there be any doubt that the pistols were loaded ?— He buys bullets, he had them at his lodgings, there was also a mould in which to cast bullets in his box ; Le had been tiring at a target ; he had Nei, practising at a shooting-gallery ; and at the time, Whatever he might have said

since, after asking whether the Queen was hurt, he voluntarily declared that the pistols were loaded. Gentlemen, under these circumstances, it appears to

Inc that if the prisoner was at the time accountable for his actions there can he

no doubt of his guilt. But it is for you to hear the evidence that shall be given, and you are the judges of the fact."

Then came the question, whether the prisoner was of sound mind at

the time he committed the act, and not with reference to any subse- quent tune. For if he were insane, then he would be entitled to arc acquittal. It rested, however, with the party raising the plea of i.• sanity to sustain it clearly and satisfactorily- " It must be shown on his behalf, not only that he was at times guilty or strangeness of conduct or of extravagant acts—not only that violence had been done by him, or offences committed—but it must be shown that at the very time, the particular time, when the offence charged was committed, he was not an accountable being; that he was then labouring under some delusion, that he could not distinguish right from wrong, and that he was unconscious of com- mitting any offence. Such, I apprehend, is clearly the law of the land, as it will be expounded to you by my Lord Denman and his learned brethren ; and, as this law is expounded to you by them, I have no doubt you will consider yourselves bound. But it would be most dangerous to admit the plea of in- sanity, merely when it is shown that the prisoner labours occasionally under a degree of excitement, and that at former times he has been guilty of violence, if at the time when the crime is committed the party was not actually labour. ing under a delusion, but was aware of the object he had in view, if Ile knew well the means by which he proposed to accomplish it, and if he was perfectly aware of the consequences. I may tnention also, for your information, gentle. men, that by the law of England, if exemption be claimed front a criminal charge on the plea of insanity, there is a greater necessity that mental aberm. tion should be proved than in civil transactions, in which it is sought to annul a contract or to take away the management of a man's affairs. In criminal matters it must be proved that the insanity is existing at the time of the crime, and that it is connected with the crime committed. In civil matters it is enough to show that the party is of unsound mind, although it is not CCM. meted with the particular transaction."

Lord Coke laid it down that " absolute madness and total depriva- tion of memory " were necessary to constitute that species of insanity which would exempt a person from the penalties of high treason, but Sir John Campbell would not construe these words strictly, as total absence of memory could only be found in very rare cases. Lord Hale said, that " total alienation of mind, or total madness, excuses the guilt of felony or treason ; but " partial insanity seems not to excuse the committing of any offence in its matter capital." Harrison, in his " Principles of the Criminal Law of Scotland," (and the law was the same in England,) says it is necessary, in order to make out the plea of insanity, to prove that the insanity " is of such a kind as to deprive the prisoner of his reason as applied to the act in question. if, though somewhat deranged, he is able to distinguish right from wrong in the particular case, he is liable to punishment." The Attorney-General referred to the cases of Edward Arnold for shooting at Lord Onslow, Earl Ferrers for murdering his steward, and Bowler, found guilty of maliciously shooting ; although in Bowler's case a commission of lunacy was produced. These cases showed that not partial insanity or insa- nity in the family could excuse the guilt of felony or treason. lle was prepared to find Mr. Sidney Taylor quoting the ease of' Hatfield, who, in the year 1890, was tried for shooting at King George the Third, in Drury Lane Theatre: but it was proved that Hatfield had, when a soldier, received wounds in the bead, and when he recovered called himself King George, and felt for his crown • that he had been at times in a state of frenzy, violently mad, and }lad threatened to beat out the brains of his son, a child eight years old, of whom he was pas- sionately fond, " for God had ordered him to do it."

It remained to be considered whether the prisoner, Edward Oxford, was insane at the time of committing the alleged act of treason. He knew no grounds on which the prisoner could claim exemption from the punishment due to a crime of the deepest die. Was he in a state of insanity at six o'clock on Wednesday, the 10th of June ?—for that . was the point to be clearly made out. The Attorney-General referred to his conduct before the Privy Council, his cross- examination of the witnesses, and his comments upon the evidence, to show that he was in cool and perfect possession of his senses. Then was the time for him to say there were no balls in the pistols, but he made no such allegation— Upon these filets it would be for the ;Jury to say, whether, at the time the act was done, he was in a state to be accountable for that act. Ile contended that if his will, if his contracts would have stood good—if he was 011 that day in a condition to be intrusted with the management of his own affairs—if, in short, with regard to all civil matters, he could be considered as a reasonable being, it fbrtiori in a criminal proceedins. he was responsible for his acts, lie was sure the Jury would come to a right anti just conclusion upon the evidence ; and that though they must feel compassion for the unhappy youth now at the bar, they wouhl remember they had it duty to perform, and that they would perform it with firmness, and the country would have no reason to regret any • verdict they might pronounce.

[It was noticed that during the first part of the Attorney-General's speech, Oxford seemed careless and indifferent ; but he was agitated and anxious when the different kinds of' insanity were described.] The examination of the witnesses then commenced. The first waS Samuel Parkes, whose deposition at the Hoine Office was given in full in the Spectator of June 20th. Ile repeated that testimony, with some additions. In his deposition he said " there was a whizzing noise in front of my eyes:" in Court he said—" On the report of the pistol, I heard distinctly a whizzing or buzzing noise between my face and the carriage." He described the footway on which Oxford stood, as six or eight inches above the road—on a level with the centre of the road. The " line of the carriage reached to about the middle of her Majesty's back."

Joshua Reeve Lowe repeated the statement in his deposition. On his eross-examination lie said that the carriage was quite low and open ; that the prisoner was within three yards of it when he first saw the smoke ; that the prisoner took deliberate aim, and that the carriage was going very slowly ; he fired the second pistol up the road after the car- riage, which, since the first shot, had advanced about eight yards. Albert Lowe gave the same testimony as at the Home Office, Elizabeth Stukely, housekeeper to Lord Bexley, saw the prisoner fire the pistols. She was on the edge of the footpath, within a yard of the

carriage, wheu the "flash of the second. pistol came close past her." By "flash" she meant that " something whizzed past her.' After- wards she said that by " flash " she meant light and smoke," and that she could not tell " what whizzed past her ear—her right ear."

William Clayton, a cabinet-maker, and George Brown, a Policeman, stated the well-known particulars of the prisoner's capture. llrown said,

when Oxford was asked at the station-house whether there were any balls in the pistols, he replied, " there were balls." Cross-examined— Brown admitted, that he could not say those were the exact words. The garden-wall opposite to which the prisoner stood was IS or 20 feet high. He had made a minute search of about 100 yards by 25 on the other side of the wall. Pour or five others searched with him. The dust was taken to the Palace and sifted, but no bullets Were found.

Charles Smith. a Policeman, heard the prisoner reply to one of the crowd, who asked whether the pistols were loaded, " If your head had come in contact with them you would have found whether there were balls in them or not." The purchase of the pistols and the gunpowder was proved.

Sir Henry Wheatley, Keeper of the Queen's Privy Purse, went to the station-house soon after Oxford had been taken there. Oxford came forward and said, " Is the Queen hurt? " He told Sir Henry, that he was a bar-boy, but had been out of place ten days.

Lord Uxbridge saw the prisoner at the Station-house-

" At the opening of the cell-door, where I found him, he addressed me by saying, Is the Queen well ?' I answered, glow dare you ask such a ques- tion? ' He said he had been at a public-house in Oxford Street for about four months, and that be had left it about a fortnight. He said he had been shooting a great deal lately ; that he was a very ,7ood shot with a pistol, and a better shot with a rifle, lie said the pistols haebeett given to him on the 3d of May, and something else also, which he went on to inform me was money, and that he could have as much more as he pleased.. I said. ' You have now fulfilled your engagement.' He said, ' No, 1 have not.' I said, You have, as for as the attempt goes:"

Thomas Lawrence, a perfumer, nodded and smiled to the prisoner, who smiled at him in return. The only important part of this mass's evidence was, that he heard a person named Roche tell Oxford, that he (Oxford) was more fit to fire at a hay-stack than a target. The Honourable J. Oliphant Murray discovered a mark on the garden-wall, about as !arse as the palm of his band, which appeared to have been made by a bullet fired in a slanting direction. Mr. W. Owen Stanley gave evidence to the same purport. J. W. Linton, a boy who lived in the Waterloo Road, was an old playmate of Oxford, who had shown him some handsome pistols (the pistols were produced.) They had been together to a shooting-gallery, where Oxford had half-a-dozen shots at a target. The man at the gallery found the balls. Samuel Hughes, a Policeman, produced the bullet-mould, powder- flasks, and other articles, also the " Rules and Regulations fbund at Oxford's lodgings.

Mr. Pox Musk stated, that Oxford made and voluntarily signed, the following deposition at the Ildme Office-

" A. great many witnesses against me. Some say that I shot with my left, others with my right hand, They vary as to the distance. After I firesl the first pistol, Prince Albert got up as if he would jump out of the carriage, and sat down again, as if he thought better of it. Then I fired the second pistol. This is all I shall say at present. EDWARD OXFORD." Counsel for the prisoner asked Mr. Maude whether the Government had made inquiry about the secret society ?

The Court said—" That is a question you can hardly ask." Mr. Manic added, that he never found any reluctance in the prisoner to answer questions he had put to him. The case for the prosecution closed with Mr. Manle's testimony. Mr. Sidney Taylor then addressed the Jury for the prisoner. It was now, he said, their duty to consider whether the evidence for the Crown had produced in their minds conviction of the prisoner's guilt, or whe- ther it did not leaven reasonable doubt of his guilt. He meant to show that at the time the act was committed, the prisoner was not in sound mind, but au important issue was to he determined before the necessity arose of substantiating the plea of insanity-

. It must be proved to their satisfaction that the risoner had relly com- mitted the grave crime with which lie stood charg,ed. That crime was the highest that was known to th,.; laws of this country. It was a crime which subjected the prisoner to the highest punishment of the law under circum- stances of a most solemn anti appalling nature. If the Jury should feel it to be Their duty to pronounce a verdict of guilty agaim t the prisoner, the sen- tence of the law would be that he should lie taken trwn the place where he now was to the place of execution, drawii on a hurdle ; that his !load should be severed from his body after he had hung by the neck till he was dead, and his quarters would be plautal at the Queen's disposal. Ile hoped that the Jury would bring all their reasoning powers to bear on the case, awl that a consci- entious anxiety would Waco them to hesitate long before they condemned any one of their fellow creatures, not to say a lny like. hint who now stood at that bar, to a fate so dreadful as this.

This was the first instance in which a person had been deprived on a trial for high treason of those securities which Rs,: old law provided. He was not " covered," like Hatfield. "with the whole armour of the Ian-." It was not, he thought, needlessly that the prisoner had been protected with those forms and defences which were now removed. In the present case there had been a natural ebullition of public feeling ; but he trusted the Jury would divest their stands of all that had been done or said out of doors calculated to raise a prejudice against the Prisoner. Mr. Taylor then called attention to the facts, as given in evidence. He contended that no proof had been adduced that the Pistols were loaded. In the evidence of the witnesses there was great discrepancy as to the distance of the prisoner from the carriage ; but it was quite clear from Isis position that had the pistols been loaded the bullets must have struck the wall opposite or time ground. If, however, the Jury adopted the Attorney-General's suggestion, that the bullets went over the wall, there was an end of the case; for then Oxford must

have aimed so high above the Queen's bead, that he could have had uo intention of hurting her. But no bullets had been found, nor a par- ticle of metallic substance on the wall; which must have been visible

had the bullets struck the wall even ism an oblique direction. It was equally incredible' even on the showing of the witnesses for the prose-

cution, that the bullets could have passed over the wall. Under these circumstances, was it not most probable that the pistols were never loaded at all ?—in which case the prisoner would be entitled to an ac- quittal. Lord Abinger had recently directed aJury to acquit a prisoner who had put it pistol to the head of the prosecutor and threatened to blow his brains oat, because there was no evidence that the pistol was

loaded with ball ; so he contended that if Oxford's pistols were only loaded with powder and wadding, he must be acquitted. He protested against that part of the evidence which related to questions and an- swers by the prisoner in the hurry, and confusion of the station-house ; and contended that the prisoner s question, " is the Queen hurt?" might very naturally be put, because she might have been hurt by the wadding— There was a somewhat similar case to the prisoner's in I 7n, the King versus Falwardq, tried at the Ohl Bailey Sessions. The culprit in that case came be- hind a young woman that he had known. who was then walking with another person, and discharged two pistols at her hack. There were two slight contu- sions discovered on examination, and the /prisoner, on being arrested and searched, was tbund to have two other pistols, " loaded to the muzzle," in his possession, with which it was supposed he intended to kill himself after he had killed his victim. 'Yet, notwithstanding all this—ssete i distending, too, that the prisoner expressed his satisfaction at the idea of having slain the young woman, and his regret on learning her escape, the Jury acquitted him of the intention to murder on the ground that the pistols were not loaded with balls. Was not that a stronger case than this ? In that Case, RS in this, the prisoner wits of unsound mind, and the Jury would not go further in the case because of his insanity. It was for the Jury to say wInqlier the evidence was sufficient to show that the prisoner had loaded the pistols with ball, and pointed them at the Queen to take her life. If they \Vele not of this opinion they must acquit the prisoner. Should they be of opinion that the pistols were loaded, and that he lied pointed them, which he trusted they would not be, he should then have to show them that the prisoner Wan not in a sane state of mind and the Jury would have to consider whether he was in a condition to be accountable tbr his actions, and liable to the course of the law.

Attempts had been made to kill her Majesty's grandfather, hut not by persons in sound mind ; and he trusted the result of this trial would confirm the general belief, that no person in his senses would lift his hand against the life of his sovereign. Mr. Taylor then went into an el-alto-ate examination of the cases of Margaret Nicholson, Hatfield, and Lieutenant Curtis, to show that tiny all premeditated the attacks they made on the life of George the Third, and took the surest means of exeeuting their intention, yet in each case the offender was judged in- sane. At that time, also, events in France had excited the public mind, and a motive might suggest itself for ueting the part of a regicide ; but what motive could any sane person have for killing the Queen of Eng- land? An attempt had, indeed, been made to implicate the prisoner its some plot, because certain papers had been found in his box— The Jury had heard the Attorney-General 01/01 that pert of the case, but he submitted that the documents which bad been found by no means went to show that the prisoner belonged to any political society whatever. In flict, it was dearly proved that 310 such snel,tv was in existence, and ir there had been any such, he would ask the Jury if it t:ould have been hit undiscovered by an active and vigilant police ? With all the nwans and powers which the Govern- ment possessed to bring such a society to light, proof of its existence would. have been 'insight Iwbsre the Court. Ile would fearlessly ask the Jury, then, if they believed for (me moment that the young man at the bar was connected with any political soviety without havitig its metsbers dragged into the light of day; and he would ask, ton, in what state of society would we live if such a youth as the prisoner at the bar could be turned into the agent of a political association? Ile was quite sure that the Jury would go along with him in declarims tint there was not a shadow of evidence to prove that such a society ever had existed, except in the heated imagination of the stripliog at the bar. It would lie shown that all the papers to which he referred had lwen written by the ristmer himself—were the creations of his own foolish fancy; and he would ask, had the agents of the Government been able to trace him to have hemp connected with any political club held in the nighttiine, in any obscure building, for the purpose or concealing their machinations? With what view, this were these papers /produced in court, if not to establish such a fact against the prisoner? But, being here, he considered they furnished the strongest with net against the prisoner in proof of Isis insanity. Now, lie would ask -the Jury tr they considered, that with all the boundless wealth and influence of the Government to procure evidence and information—he did not mean to say improperly to obtain it—hut if with all their power, they failed to produce evidence of a treasonable nature, had he not a right to say tint no Koch evi- dence could be obtained, and that the prisoner at the bar was labouring under a mental delusion.

As to the letters signed Smith, they would be proved to be in the pri- soner's own handwriting.

It was evident from the manner in which Oxford acted, that he could, not have been the selected agent of plotters against the Queen's life- Thi. misuser went to a Iplace where the Queen's carriage leas expected to - • as ti there be walked up am; down, with Ids arts, folded, until the carriage arrived, when he tired the pistols at her Majesty. Now could the Jure believe that the prisoner, if in a sane state of mind, would have gone to such a !place for such a purptete, as it' he really courted publicity, and was anxious to draw down upon his devoted head the terrors of the law ! It w;e: shit ed that there was an open railing near the spot. Now would not the pri-oner have stood within that railing, and tired thence, trusting to his chance tif escape across the park, had he heel) of sane mind ? Ile dm not, however, take any such pre- caution, hat went in the public manner described by the witnesses, awl C0111- 311113etl 11111:3 1111d desperate act alleged ag;i:1-t him; awl after he led com- mitted the act, Ni hat then was his conduct, is bell the excitement of the ermine was over, and the natural fi-cling to preserve It life might be supposed to have induced him to consult hi, safety by !light But did he the ? iNti; he stood.

his ground, and when another person we-- io.tead of him, as if he was

determined that he would have all the no;,eri.•ty as well as all the penal conse- quences of the act, he ;It once sirs-hired, •■ it Wns: I who did it." Might he not have naturally expectod that the indignafina of tin crowd at such an attempt on the biloved Queelt would have induced those around him to have torn hint to pieces on the spot ? But no thought of that hi iii hall induced him to fly ; be stood firm, and in rendered himself up at once to await the OM sequences of his act, and braved the danger of the inflamed spectators, bad they chosen to Inca exercised their indignation upon him. He asked the Jury, then, if any sane man or hoy would have acted thus?

He would show that a predisposition to insanity existed in the pri-

soner, and he was just at the age when insanity would be likely to show itself; and possibly the attack on the Queen was the first unmistakeable indication of the disease—

It would be shown that insanity was hereditary in his family, and that his • paternal grandfather was more than once confined in a strait.waisteont, and died in a lunatic asylum. As to the fattier also, it would be proved that his acts were so strange, that if lie was not actually placed in a state of confinement, he ought to have been. Every person at all connected with lunatic asylums knew that a very large proportion of the patients inherited the disease from their family ; and would it he sight, he would ask, that the law should be brought to bear against such persons, and that man's vengeance should follow God's visitation ? Ile was quite sure, under all the circumstances, the Jury would come to the conclusion that the act of the prisoner was not that of a sane Person, that he was not answerable fiir the offence charged in the indictment.

Witnesses were culled for the defence when Mr. Taylor had con- cluded his speech. The first was Sandman Kent, a carpenter. He knew Oxford's grandfather, who was a sailor. In 1799 he was raving mad and the witness assisted to bind him down with cords. He smashed two clocks on one occasion and demolished almost every thing in the house. He ran after witness with a spit. He was admitted to Green- wich Hospital ; where he walked about like other pensioners.

Sophia Oxford, widow of the prisoner's grandfather, confirmed the 'evidence of her husband's insanity. He was always worse after drill king. When at Greenwich he was attended by Sir Richard Dobson for an attack in the head, which, she believed, affected his mind. He was mot tipsy when he broke the things, only enraged because her relations would not give him a treat.

Sophia Bartlett, daughter of Sophia Oxford, said her father was not saltogether mad, but strange and eccentric. Once four men Were em- ployed to put a strait-waistcoat on him. She bad a brother who was sometimes light in the head, and had been placed in the Naval Asylum at Greenwich, he was employed to keep one of the gates, and he called himself St. Paul, not St. Peter.

Hermit Oxford, mother of the prisoner was the next witness.. She

Lad married her husband when they were both twenty years old—

I was acquainted with him for about six weeks before Our marriage, lie be- came acquainted with me at the Hope and Anchor public-house at Binning-

. ham, and I married him against the consent of my friends. Both before and after I was married ta him he acted very strangely ; and previous to our mar- riage be attempted to draw a razor across his throat, and threatened to shoot himself with a double-barrelled pistol, Nvhich he said was loadest with slugs. I promised to marry hint at the very time that the Princess Charlotte was lying dead ; hut before the day appointed for our marriage I said I would not be his wife in consequence of some inquiries respecting him, and he then pulled out a bundle of bank-notes, threw them into the fire and watched them until they were consumed. Ile was in a great rage before he did it because I would not take the money to purchase Mine furniture. Before we were married he was found in the street with all open razor in his baud. Ile was crying andseetned in a very desponding state, and in that state he was taken home by a watch- Man. ANY we were married he did not mend in the least, and during my pregnancy of my second child he used to make all sorts of flees and grimaces at toe, and when the child was born it used to distort its flee in the same way, and never showed any itelication of sense or reason. That chill died when it was two years and nine months oh a ; and while 1 was pregnant whh the pri- soner my husband used to make the same grimaces. Ile was always torment • big and annoyieg me. I never did any thing to vex him, hut, on the contrary, was too kind end attentive to him. Ile was a gold chaser by trade, and could cant twenty guineas a week. Ile bought a horse on one occasion, and used. to lead it about the parlour. When I was pregnant with the prisoner my bus. band threw a quart pot at me and hit me on the head. I fell down from the effects of the blow, and. was inseusible some time. When we were living at 'Birmingham he stripped the house of every article of furniture, without any quarrel between us, and thou went to Dublin, where he spent a sum of money which he took with him. When he returned, be pushed me from hint and re- fused to take my hand. Ile ithvity.s acted contrary to what he was told to do. When I was in distress for money he used to laugh, awl had a sort of superna- tural look with him. I knew him to take laudanum twice, and Olt one of the occasions he was very ill. Ile died on the 10th of dime 1820. I saw his father on that occasion, and he scolded me Ihr having the hotly opened withmit getting any thing for it. The prkoner was born on the 0th of April 1822. \Viten he was scot ti years of age lie used to burst out crying for 110 cause. lk continued this befit front three or four years of age up to the present time. He would sometimes get into a violent rage without any cause, and he would knock mid destroy any thing be might have in his hand. The first day he broealit pistols home he pointed one of them at me, and on another occasion he leVelled ii loaded gun at me. 1'," hen a child he burnt his face with gunpowder, and he was very fond of tiring or little cannons. After his fits of passion he would burst out into fits of laue hter, which appeared to be quite involuntary. My customers complained of hi, conduct, Mild 1 lost my business entirely. At other times he a ai penitent. When he was not under such excitement he was very reserved, and would not speak, and used to he very angry with me if I spoke to him. I went into flue service of Mr. Prescott, the banker, as coo-

housekeeper, when I lest sight of the prisoner for some time. Alter that I pieced Lim under the care of a person of the name of Salmon. I re- anaieed with 'Mr. Peeseott for a year and in half, and after that time the pri- soner appeared more calm and collected." Mr. Baron Allersott—" lion long is that ago ? " Vitae ss—"About eight years." Examination continued—" The prianner was in the habit of going on to the roof of the houses, and throwing things at persons paseieg. lie was once taken to the Station .house for getting up behind a carriage tied alarming a lady." Lord Dennian—"I[ow long i$ that ago ?" Witness—" A bout six yeais ago." The prisoner never, to my knowledge, belonged to any club or society. I

left London for Birmingham about flow weeks before this affair omit-red. Ile had left his situation about is week betine that time. Ile received 2d7. per annum wages. Ile also received a suit or mourning wlien his mistress died, which enabled hint to obtain the clothes be now wears. l'pon one occasion lie resented a pietol at Inn ; 1 then asked him why be spent his money so foolishly ? When he replied that the pistol did not 'belong to him, it belonged to a ye lona man for whom he was taking care of it. lie has always been repent- ing portions of' plays. lie wanted to go to sea, and was going to leant nevi- oettion. Ile :all he should like to walk about the deck and give orders, and I should like to Fee the name of my son as Sir Edward Oxford iii the papers. I do not know whether theru was any thing in the pistol he presented at sue. Ile bled my nose the day before I went to Birmingham. I know his handwriting. The paper shown me is in his handwriting, (the Rules and Regulations of the Society.) The three letters are also m hits handwrIting."

The cross-exumination of this witness by the Solicitor-General did ot elicit any thing material. Mr. Taylor having stated that the examination of other witnesses would occupy considerable time, the Court adjourned at eight o'clock to eight o'clock the next morning. Lord Denman said he had been unwilling to interfere with the pri. goner's mother, but he thought it would be better in the examination of the other witnesses, rather to ask whether they had formed any opi, nion as to the state of mind of the prisoner, and the grounds on which they formed that opinion, than to lead them into the whole history of his life its order to elicit some eirmunstances which might bear upon the ease. He did not wish to interfere with the defence, but he threw it out as a hint for the consideration of counsel.

The trial was resumed yesterday. The Court was not crowded, and few ladies were present. The first witness was Sarah Summer, a widow, living in Church Row, Houndsditeh, W110 knew Oxford's father. She had seen him ride a horse round his own parlour, and throw the dinner out of the window. All her family mused to say he was mad.

Charles Marklew, Mrs. Oxford's brother, had seen Oxford's father kiss his children, go out of doors, and drink off a quantity of laudanum. Dr. Birt Davis was sent for, and he administered some remedies.

Baron Alderson asked if Dr. 13irt Davis was alive?

The Doctor was immediately put into the witness-box, and con- firmed Marklew's testimony. He was questioned respecting the psi.

FOler-

Mr. Bodkin—" Do you think that a man firing two pistols at her Majesty, and then admitting he had done so, and entering freely into conversation upon the subject, could he in his sane mind ? " Witness—" I think he must be mad."

Baron Alderson-44 Without making any other inquiry ?"

Witness—" A man running the danger he would his in, and making such an admission, I think would be a proof of madness. If 1 found that a man had written such papers as are now produced, jest before he committed the act, it would strengthen my opinion." [The papers referred. to were those found at the prisoner's lodgings.] Cross-examined—" I don't recollect what remedies I prescribed to the pri- soner's father when he took the poison. The circumstance is impressed on my mind front the fact that he was a man of Colour. I don't recollect how far ;kr. he was overpowered by the laudanum. I answered the questions put to me by the prisoner's counsel as a medical mom and not as a magistrate or a coroner. The circumstances that were referred to showed a medaed tendency to insanity."

By the Court—" I derive that opinion from the circumstances in which the crime was committed. It was done openly ; no attempt at escape or conceal- ment ; no caution ; the party delivered himaelf up immediately ; the admission that there were balls in the pistols." Baron Ahlerson—" I don't think that is admitted ; that is a question to he discussed."

Witness—" Also the absence of motive."

Lord Denman—" Really I don't think we ought to go iuto this. It is a matter solely for the Jury." Baron Alderson—" A medical matt's province is merely to speak to medical facts upon which be grounds his opinion." Lord. Denman—" As to the fart of the papers, there may be a question whether they are genuine or not. They may be merely petters made up for the purpose of it defeuee."

Several witnesses from Birmingham confirmed the accounts of the wild conduct of the prisoner's father. George Sandon, a tailor, front Birmingham, stated that the prisoner had been under his care for twelve manths in ISa0. lie did not think him right in his mind. When he boxed his ears for doing any thing wrong, he would laugh in a peculiar way, instead of crying. Benjamin Walker, a schoolmaster, bad Oxford under Isis care. He considered hint of unsound mind—very troublesome, and unlike other boys.

Clarinda Powell kept the King's Head at Islington. Oxford had beets in her service— On one occasion the prisoner bad turned off all the gas-lights when the 110110 was full of company, and I was obliged to come down stairs at the risk of my life, for I was very ill at the time, and confined to my bed. When I came down I found hint eryime violently. Ile was frequently very absent, and some- times appeared as if he did not know what he was about, or whether he said yes or no to questions put to hini. lie used to read a good deal, principally ECM voyages.

Joseph Day, a corporal its the Grenadier Guards, quartered at Hounslow, knew Oxford ; who behaved in a very strange way. Once he asked him, "jeeringly," whether lie would "rather be post in front of a cannon-ball, or knocked down with it poker."

Mary Ann Forman Wits servant at the Shepherd and Flock, where Oxford was : when reproved for a mistake, he would burst out crying and then laughing.

Other witnesses gave similar testimony in nearly the same words. Susannah Phelps, Oxford's sister, said it was her opinion, and that of evesybody else, that he was not of sound mind. Ile once put a pistol to her head, as she lay in bed. Ile used to get books from a library. One was the " Black Pirate," and the other " Jack Sheppard." He and John Linton used to write letters to little girls. Emily Chittington, nurse-maid at the Hog-in-the-Pound, received a letter from Oxford, to be forwarded with " speedility." It contained the following lines-

" Rttmentltor thy Ithille- The postage hi p.tia!"

Christopher Day, assistant to a tailor, was five or six yards from the Queen's carriage when the pistols were fired. Ile did not see the first shot, but the second time the pistol was levelled higher than the car- riage.

Richard Macdonald, a corporal in the Nineteenth Regiment, was in the Park when the attack on the Queen was mode. Ile was taken to look at the mark on the wall. Ho saw two marks, which seemed to have beeu recently made, but not by it ball.

Dr. Hodgkin was then examined by Mr. Sydney Taylor-

" I have been a physician fiur tburteeu years. I have lectured on morbid anatomy, and I have written works on pathological anatomy. Supposing!. came committed without a motive, the person committing it liabla to lose Ins life, and he gives himself up to justice and seems reckleas of consequencese- I should think the facts of such a case would lead to a strong suspicion of his i beim.. insane. Supposing, besides this, that there hod been strange tbdusions in 1 the individual, and hereditary insanity was in his family, I should think that 1 would strengthen the suspicion. There have been instances of persons Lawn- log suddenly insane whose conduct had previously been only eccentric. Grounding my opinion upon all these facts, I should suppose the prisoner of unsound mind. I should consider this kind. of insanity of the description which the French call lesion de la .volonte, or which has been called likewise morbid propensity." Sir F. Cross-examined by ir ollock—." The term lesion de la volontj may be translated, disease of the will, or morbid propensity. I don't think I have ever ant with a case of morbid .ope.nsity without physical disease. I think com- mitting crime without a motive Is a sign of insanity ; but4 do not think doing king without a motive is an indication of insanity." ash thing by Mr. S. Taylor—" Lesion of the will is an acknowledged

state of insanity." Ev Lord Denman—" I consider this a medical question, because it requires ,careibl comparison of states of mind to come to a correct conclusion." By Mr. Baron Alderson—" It is extremely difficult to discover the line where unsoundness begins and eccentricity ends; it is almost impossible to do so."

Dr. John Conolly, physician to the Haswell Lunatic Asylum, had eight hundred patients under his care. He had conversed with the prisoner at the bar, and considered him of unsound mind. Cross-ex- amined by the Attorney-General, Dr. Conolly said— I saw him the day • before yesterday for the first time. I conversed with him for, perhaps, halt an hour. That is the only private examination I have ever made of him. I du not think that in all cases a person of unsound niind should be put under restraint. It depends entirely on the character of the in-

dividual. Dr. Chowne and Mr. James Clarke, and the Honourable Pox

Maule, were present at my interview with the prisoner. He answered the questions put to him quite willingly ; but his answers were very unsatisfactory. 'Whelk I spoke to him of his trial, he said, Trial, when ?' as if he did not knew any thine about the trial. When I asked him if he was not aware that he had commitied is very great crime in shooting at the Queen, he replied, • 1 midis as well shoot at her us any one else.' I did not take notes of the eon- ver'sation with the prisoner. lie said he was attached to his friends. 1 made .some notes wlen I went home of the general impres,don of the case upon noy mind. I did not make him do any suin in arithmetic." By the Court—" I examined the head of the prisoner, and fbund the upper part of his forehead of buch a formation as frequently indicates an imperfect development of the brain."

The witness, by the direction of Lord Denman, read the notes which he had ma.'.e. They remarked neon the formation of the anterior part of the head ; the apparent acuteness, but total inability to reason, manifested by the pri- soner; his total insensibility respecting the affections, and to the heinousness of his offence.

Dr. Chowne, physician to the Charing Cross Hospital and Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence, gave the following testimony-

,‘ I should consider the conduct a the prisoner an extremely strong indiea- tion of unseund mind. I consider doings an net without a motive, a proof to some extent of an unsound mind. That state or insanity has been well described by the terin 'lesion of the It is sometimes called moral in- sanity. I have patients often conie to elm sult me who are impelled to commit suicide, without any motive for so doing. They tell me they are happy and .comfortahle in other tespects, hut that they have a strong desire to commit suicide without knowing a hy. This state of mind is ea incompatible mitt, an at:tactless of milli!, and ao abilit.y to attend to the ordinary affairs of life. Front the ccnversatioa I have had suit h the prisoner, I am decidedly of opinion that lih; state of mind is a mixture of insanity mid i ubecility. Ti laughing and erying are an evidence of the same state of mind." Cress .esamiiied by the Solicitor- General—" In such cases I do prescribe. The laughing end crying are connected with hysteria and imbecility. There ere other symptoms of hysteria; one of which is what we call the glans has- tericta, leensidered tliat the prisoner was labouring under a mistake in sup- posing that it could not be prayed that balls were in the pistols. I told IMn that sad: proof was easy, mal tried to convince hint of the danger of his posi- tion, RIIII that his crime was likely to be followed by capital punishment. lie replied that he had been decapitated (wee already, tie a cast had been taken or his heath He said during the conversation thnt there were no balls in the pistols. I told hint it would be easy to prove flint there were. Ile said it was impossible. His manner was that of an imbecile person. He was continually playing with a pencil and a piece of India rubber. Ile had been drawing what appeared to he a sketch of a landscupe. I also submitted hint to the mith- metical test. Ile was rosily in casting up, but not in in subtraction."

The last witness was Mr. James Clarke, it surgeon-

" I have heen in practice four years. I have lifd some experience in the treatment of insane persoes. I have been in the habit of attending the soner's family for two years. I accompanied Dr. Conolly and Dr. Chowne the day befme.yesterday, The opinion 1 have formed of the state of the pri- Boner's mind is, that lie is in us state of imbecility. This judgment has not been formed by the interview olene, hut front other circumstances ; i mum de- cidedly of opinion that le• is unsound mind. When I have visited ti:e family, his mother has told Me there was SOIIIC Hang very row:ski:tile :thout him. The leughing attracted my attention. it was a sort of hysteric laugh, which was frequently an accompanhnent of insanity. His mother told me on one occasion, that she feared he was going into the same state as his flatter was. His manner during the interview was much of the same character as I had before observed—great insensibility to all impressions. On one occasion, when I visited the prisoner's mother, the prisoner took no notice of me, and behaved as if' he did not see me. His mother said, llow rude you are, why do you not speak to Mr. Clarke ?' lie appeared absorbed and unconscious. She spoke to him a second time, and still he took no notice. On her speaking to him a third time, he jumped up with great violence of manner, and threat- ened' to stiek her.' In cases of hereditary insanity, it had been noticed that It frequently showed itself at the period of puberty, betweeut the ages of four- teen and twenty." Cross-esateined by Sir F. Pollock—" I never prescribed for the prisoner, nor recommended any course a diet. Dr. Chowne, Dr. Conolly, mid myself assembled together previously to, and for the purpose of going to have an in- terview with flueprisoner. I was present when the prisoner was brought up at the last session, and heard an affidavit 'read for the postponement. I was not asked to make an affidavit DI vself."

Reexamined by Mr. Bodkin—" The bodily health of the prisoner was good." The Solicitor-General replied. Ile examined the whole body of evi- dence with great care and minuteness, directing attention to all the cir- cumstances which went to inculpate the prisoner and taking especial

caMs to satisfy the Jury that the pistols were really londed with ball, it contended that the balls must have gone over the wall, and that the fact of Ito bullets having been found did not invalidate the positive and distinct testhnony of witnesses who swore that they heard the whizzing General took the same line of argument as the Attorney-General, and adduced additional authority and precedents in support of it. He then dissected the evidence offered to prove the prisoner's insanity, contrast- ing it with those parts of his conduct which indicated a clear intellect

hie

and remarkable self-possession. From the fact that Oxford was never known to talk about his conspiracy, he drew the inference that the existence of the society of " Young England" was not a delusion of the brain, but that the had knew all the time it was a foolish fabrication. The father and grandfather were violent men, who acted like maniacs-.-- when they were drunk ; but on the other hand the Jury must have been struck with the self-possession and clear-headedness of the prisoner's mother and sister. Oxford had behaved very foolishly in several places where he lived as barman ; but he was trusted by his employers, and did not leave one of them on account of mental incapacity. He laughed and cried frequently ; but it did not appear that he laughed when he was boxed or beaten, or that he cried when he was pleased. Like other Diens', his laughter flowed from joy and his tears from sorrow. There was nothing like insanity in this. [Our space forbids more than this brief indication of the points in the Solicitor-General's adroit and ela- borate speech.]

Chief Justice Denman charged the Jury. He went over the princi- pal evidence, directing attention to the most important parts of it, and. particularly to the uncertainty which remained as to whether the pis-

tols were loaded with ball. The question of the prisoner's sanity he left entirely to the Jury, mentioning that Dr. Conolly, from his great experience, might be supposed to be a good judge, and he had declared his belief that the prisoi.er was not of sound mind. At the same time, he cautioned the Jury against the dangerous doctrine that the commis- SiOn of a great crime without an apparent motive was in itself proof of insanity. Ler(' Denman put his own view of the question Of insanity very clearly— Ali the circumstances would have to be taken together, and they would decide only after summing up the whole. If they thought he was at the time labouring under any delusion, which prevented him from judging of the effects of the act he bad committed, they could not find him guuibty. lie might be labouring perhaps under a delusion which affected every part of his conduct, and Wa3 mmuut din:deli to 011e object alone. If that were the case, and if the disease affected him at the time the act was committed, then he could not he held accountable thr it. One cannot say ■diat a person labouring tinder suck a delusion may do; and the motive, in that case, woulut not be apparent. With regard to the motive, a love of notoriety had heen suggested; but might this absurd sort of love of notoriety not as well have been gratified by firing pistols unloaded as loaded ? And if they were unloaded there could not be au off:Awe. lfut although he laboured under a delusion, it' he fired the loaded pistols at the Quvea, knowing the result which would follow his conduct, and although forced by his morbid desire for notoriety to the act, he would be responsible for his conduct and liable to criminal punishment. lie left three questions with the Jury—

t is for you to (Iv t unnine, whether the psisoner did fire the pistols, or either of them, at her )1aiesty, and whether the pistols, both or either of them, were loaded with a bullet. Supposing, gentlemen, that you should come to a satis- factory conclusion that the pistols, or one of them, were levelled at her Majesty, and that they or either of them were loaded, then the defence which has been set up raises the further inquiry whether, _at the time the prisoner conesitt set the act, he was responsible for it.

We take from the Times report, the fullest of those before us, the =vomit of the subsequent proceedings, mhieli were very remarkable. The Jery retired to consider their verdict, a»1 having been ahsent from the court also! it three •q uart ess of an hour, they returned at a quarter-past six o'cloek, when their names Isere called over, and the Foreman of the Jury re- turned the following special verdict—'' We find the prissner, Edward Oxford, guilty of discharging the Unit tents of two pistols, but whether or not they were loaded with ball .11as not been satisfactorily proved to us, he being of unsound, state of mind at the time."

The Attorney-General, as soon as the verdict was delivered, referred their Lordships to an act of Parliament, the 40th of George Ill., which provides that persone acquitted on the grounds of insanity shall be imprisoned during his 3lajosty's pleasure. The learned gentleman said he presumed that the Jury iotended to acquit the prisoner on the ground of insanity by the verdict they gave, mid therefore he applied to their Lordships under the act of Parlia- ment.

Mr. S. Taylor submitted, that the act of Parliament in question did not apply to the present no,ti, inasmuelt as the Jury had agitated the prisoner of the Mrence with which he was charged by negativing the fact that the pistols wsre loaeed with bullets.

'Flue Attorney- (iuneral contended, that if the contents of the pistols were discharged at the Queen, he apprehended that the overt act charged in the indictment was sufficiently supported for the purpose of calling to the aid of the Crown the act of Parliament in question, in order that the prisoner might hue cantined as a lunatic duriog her Majesty's pleasure.

Mr. S. Taylor said that the indietnont illegal that the pistols were loaded with leaden ballets, awl the July had declared that that fact had not beems proved to their satisfaction ; it therefore followeil that an acquittal must take place. The Attornev-General observed, that ill the Jury had seid by their verdict was that they Jul not know whether the pistols were loaded with bullets or not, but they declared that the prisoner was of unsound mind at the time he dis- charged them. The defence of the prisoner was that he was insane, and evi- dence had been gone into to establish that fact. Now, although the Jury had aermitted the prisoner by finding that he had not committed the act alleged against him, yet they were still called upon to $ay, at the time the act was done, whether the prisoner was sane or insane.

Mr. Taylor declareul that the Attorney General had no right to alter the wording of the act of Parliament in order to stilt the purposes of the Crown. The l'OrrnS fit fiCti of the offence had not been proved—namely, that the pistols were loaded with ball; and in a prosecution of this kind, where the prisoner's life was at stake, it was not fitting on the part of the Attornsy-General to stand up a lid endeavour to visit the prisoner with perpetual imprisonment whets thus :JUIN f01111t1 11111 not guilty.

Mr. Hodkin contended, that as the principal averment in the indietinent had heen negatived by the jury, the prosecution necessarily fell to the ground, and the prisoner was necessarily acquitted.

Lord Denman said that the Jury were in a mistake. It was necessary that they should form an ophdon 113 to whether the pistols were loaded with bullets or cot; but it appeared that they hail not applied their minds to that point, and therefore, it would lie necessary that they should again retire to the room, and say, " AY," or " No," did the prisoner fire a pistol loaded with ball at the 'Queen fir that, in truth, was the question at issue.

The threman of the Jure said, that they could not decide the point, because

consider their verdict, and during their absence the question was again argued, and it appeared to be the opinion of thelearned Judges that the Jury were bound to return a verdict of guilty or not guilty upon the evidence brought be- flare them.

noise, which bullets would make. With respect to the degree of insanity there was no satisfactory evidenee produced before them to show that the h nmst be proved to excuse the guilt of the prisoner the Solicitor- list ohs were loaded with ballets. After considerable discussion upon the point, the Jury again retired to re-

The Attorney-General observed, that it would be monstrous to suppose that a person like the prisoner should be again let loose upon society to endanger the lab of her Majesty or her subjects. The Jury having been absent nearly an Lour, returned into court, and found the prisoner " Guilty, he being at the time insane."

Mr. Baron Alderson—" Then you find the prisoner guilty but for his insanity ?" The Foreman—" We do, my Lord." Lard Detunan—" The Court asked you this question, Do you acquit the prisoner on the ground of insanity ?' " The Forernatt—" Yes, my Lord, that is our intention." Lout Denman—" Then the verdict will stand thus, • Not guilty, on the ground of insanity.' "

The Attorney-General—" That being the case, I have now humbly to move your Lordships, on lichitif of the Crown, that the prisoner at the tar, Edward Oxford, be confined in strict custody during her Majesty's pleasure."

Lord That is a matter of course."

The prisoner, who had retnained unmoved during the whole of this orpiment, " walked briskly front the bar, apparently glad that the trial was over."