Is it your belief now, that it was or was not, his hand writing?—It is exactly the same as it was then.
And it is now your belief that it was his hand writing?—I cannot say I firmly believe it, because it was not signed.
You are only asked whether you so acted as if it was his hand writing?—I did not communicate it to anybody but Mr. Patrick.
Did you communicate to Mr. Patrick that you had received a letter from Mr. Church?—I did.
Cross-examined by theCommon Serjeant.
The search which you made for this letter was not until last Thursday?—Exactly so.
For any thing you know, might it not be in your house now?—I have no reason to believe that it is, for I did not leave a drawer or place unsearched.
LordEllenborough.—As far as evidence can go of the loss of an original letter, to let in the copy, we have it in this case; for I asked her whether she made diligent search after the original, and she says, she has made diligent search.
Mr. Patrickexamined again byMr.Marryatt.
Were you acquainted in October last with the hand-writing of Mr. Church?—Yes.
You told us you made this copy from the letter you had from Mrs. Hunter. Was the letter from which you made this copy, and which you returned to Mrs. Hunter, in your belief, the hand-writing of Mr. Church?—It was.
Mr.Marryatt.—Now, my Lord, I propose reading this copy of the letter in question.
The following letter was then read in evidence:—
“October6, 1816.“Dear Mrs. Hunter,“My heart is already too much affected. Your letter only adds affliction to my bonds. But I forbear. I would have called on you this morning, but I was too low in mindto speak to any friend but Jesus!ThereI am truly comfortable. Pardon me; but I make no remarks on what you have been told. I must bear it, though I am able to contradictthree thingsI would rather not. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick have always dealt kindly to me. I am only grieved that dear Mrs. P. whom I really loved, that she should try to injure me in the estimation of those who are real friends to my dear children. The thought affects me. Why hurt my poor family? But I am too much depressed to enlarge. I shall never forget their kindness. God will reward them, as he has many who have dealt well to me. But he will resent cruelty in those who have and are still trying to degrade me. Mrs. P. will live to see it. Dear Mrs. Hunter, I am grieved at heart I cannot relieve your mind. I am truly sorry to lose you as a hearer, because your soul has been blest; and you know both the plague of the heart and the value of Jesus. May he be increasingly present to you in his person, love, and grace! Farewell, my dear kind friend! The Lord Jesus will reward you for your love to me, and your kindness to mine. God is not unrighteous to forget your work of faith and labour of love. With many tears I write this. May we meet in glory, when no enemy shall distress my mind, nor sin nor death shall part us more! I need not remind my dear friend that I am aChildofPeculiar Providence; and thatheartof eternal love, and thatarmof invincible power has protected me—has called me to himself; and for every act of straying, will correct me withhis own hand, but will resentevery other hand, sooner or later. This you will live to see.“Adieu,dear friend,accept the starting tear,“And the best wishes of a heart sincere.“Your’s, truly,“Till we shall meet above.”
“October6, 1816.
“Dear Mrs. Hunter,
“My heart is already too much affected. Your letter only adds affliction to my bonds. But I forbear. I would have called on you this morning, but I was too low in mindto speak to any friend but Jesus!ThereI am truly comfortable. Pardon me; but I make no remarks on what you have been told. I must bear it, though I am able to contradictthree thingsI would rather not. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick have always dealt kindly to me. I am only grieved that dear Mrs. P. whom I really loved, that she should try to injure me in the estimation of those who are real friends to my dear children. The thought affects me. Why hurt my poor family? But I am too much depressed to enlarge. I shall never forget their kindness. God will reward them, as he has many who have dealt well to me. But he will resent cruelty in those who have and are still trying to degrade me. Mrs. P. will live to see it. Dear Mrs. Hunter, I am grieved at heart I cannot relieve your mind. I am truly sorry to lose you as a hearer, because your soul has been blest; and you know both the plague of the heart and the value of Jesus. May he be increasingly present to you in his person, love, and grace! Farewell, my dear kind friend! The Lord Jesus will reward you for your love to me, and your kindness to mine. God is not unrighteous to forget your work of faith and labour of love. With many tears I write this. May we meet in glory, when no enemy shall distress my mind, nor sin nor death shall part us more! I need not remind my dear friend that I am aChildofPeculiar Providence; and thatheartof eternal love, and thatarmof invincible power has protected me—has called me to himself; and for every act of straying, will correct me withhis own hand, but will resentevery other hand, sooner or later. This you will live to see.
“Adieu,dear friend,accept the starting tear,“And the best wishes of a heart sincere.
“Your’s, truly,
“Till we shall meet above.”
Mr.Marryatt.—My Lord, that is the case on the part of the prosecution.
Mr.Gurneythen addressed the Jury on the part of the defendant, as follows:—
May it please your Lordship—
Gentlemen of the Jury—Gentlemen, I must agree with my Learned Friend, in entreating you to bestow your most serious attention upon this case, and in requesting you to consider (which, indeed, my Learned Friend fairly confessed you ought to bear in mind), that as the charge is heavy the proof ought to be clear; and that you will take care that your indignation against the crime shall have noinfluence upon your judgment respecting the person accused. That is a duty, Gentlemen, which is one of the most important, for a Juryman to attend to in this species of case, but it in one of most difficult performance; for such is, and such I trust ever will be, the feeling of abhorrence which Englishmen entertain against this detestable crime, that it is extremely difficult indeed, when a person is accused of it, to consider the case which in laid before us, in that dispassionate and unprejudiced manner, which is essential to the administration of justice. We all wish that no such occurrences could exist; and if a wish could blot them out of existence, we should be almost tempted to form that wish: but, Gentlemen, when these cases do come before us, they claim our very serious attention; and more particularly on this account, that it is a charge which, whenever made upon an individual, depends almost always upon the testimony of one witness, and where there is but one witness to make the accusation,—I mean one witness to the fact charged, so that the person accused can have no witness in his defence;—that, however innocent a man may be who is accused of this crime, provided the party is in a situation in which he cannot shew that he was fifty miles off at the time, it is quite impossible for him to have a witness to negative the fact. It must stand or fall upon the testimony of the principal witness, whose testimony, however, I need not tell you, is to be watched most scrupulously, and to be compared with the evidence of other witnesses; and if found inconsistent with the testimony of other witnesses, it is hardly then to be carried to the extent of full credence and of conviction.
Now, Gentlemen, the story which this young man has told you, is, upon his statement, a very extraordinary one, of the attack made upon him. Were any attack made upon him by Mr. Church, it would indeed be most extraordinary under the circumstances which he has stated. He represents himself to have been previously acquainted with him—that he had been one of his hearers—and yet from the hour of that acquaintance commencing, to the moment of this supposed abominable attack, that Mr. Church had never, either by word or gesture, made any indecent overture to him of any kind, signifying his intention, or had done any thing whatever to ascertain if he, the prosecutor, was ready to gratify any brutal of unnatural passion he might form. Now, it is a very extraordinary thing, that it should be supposed, that a person should get out of his own bed, and go to the bed of another, and commence the attack with the indecencies described by the witness, without any preparation of any kind whatever,without having any reason to believe, that the object of his attack would accede to his base, and unnatural purposes, with the full knowledge, (one should think,) that he was encountering certain detection and punishment, by the resistance that every man would be likely to make, to such an abominable attack; and it is, to be sure, most extraordinary to observe in what manner this is done. The young man states that he did not see the face of the person—that he felt the arm, and found that it was a shirt sleeve; but he did not feel any part of the flesh, so as to make any distinction between male und female; but he concludes that it was the shirt of a man, because the arm was covered down to the wrist. And when my Learned Friend, Mr. Marryatt, supposed that females are not covered down below the elbow, I have only to say, that I certainly always thought that females in their night clothes were covered down to their wrists. I ever understood that was the case; and therefore a person awakened out of sleep, in the fright that such a circumstance was likely to produce, and finding the arm of the person making the attack covered down to the wrist, would not, I think, be very well able to say whether it was the sleeve of a shirt or that of a woman’s bed-gown; and that is all the means of knowledge which the witness has, as far as regards feeling the person.
Now I go on to the next evidence of identity. The next is the voice of the person who, he tells us, said in a feigned female voice, “Don’t you know me, Adam? I am your mistress.” Now, recollect, Gentlemen, the voice, it is thought, is a female voice; and whether it be feigned or not, depends upon his judgment and capacity of forming an opinion at a moment when he was in the greatest alarm and agitation; because if it was a female voice, then the voice was not feigned, and it could not be Mr. Church who was in the room. Now, I don’t mean to suggest (far be it from me) that it was Mrs. Patrick; but it is rather extraordinary and somewhat remarkable, considering the industry and the acrimony with which this case has been got up against Mr. Church, that they should not have produced Mrs. Patrick as a witness, and that they should think it right to withhold from your observation the other maid servant, who slept with Adam Foreman’s sister. I think it is rather remarkable, that considering the industry with which I know this case was got up, they have not thought fit to produce that other female before you as a witness in order to say, “I was not out of my bed room that night, and I did not go into the apprentices bed room.” Now, I think, that considering that the Prosecutors must have been aware of the powerful effect of such evidence, it is most surprising that theydid not call forward the other persons in the house that night as witnesses, for the purpose of shewing, by their testimony, that they remained in their beds during the whole of that night, and for the purpose of giving some colour of probability to this very extraordinary and incredible story. But, no, Gentlemen, they choose to leave the case to the testimony of a frightened young man, wakened out of his sound sleep, and who, without seeing the face of Mr. Church, ventures to swear that the feigned female voice which he heard was that of the Defendant. I think, Gentlemen, in a case in which every thing depends, not so much upon his veracity, but upon the accuracy of his judgment in the course of his observation upon circumstances, with respect to which he was very little likely to draw any very accurate conclusions, that that servant ought to have been produced here, the more especially when the young man from the Pottery, going afterwards through the house for the purpose of seeing who was there, did find the female servant’s door ajar; a circumstance not observable with respect to any other room in the house.
Now, I come to the next observation of identity; and I do think it is a most extraordinary one. There is a lamp, it seems, in the footpath of the terrace, five or six yards from the door. My Learned Friend, Mr. Bolland, inquired what sort of a lamp it was—whether it was a parish lamp, or a gas light? And he found by the answer, that it was the worst kind of lamp in the Metropolis—a parish lamp. Well, then, there is a dull parish lamp, five or six yards from the door, which gives a light through a large window—No, through a fan-light! and the person, whoever it is, opens the door to go out, and, as the door is opened the Lad sees that the person has a shirt on. Now, I beg to ask you, as men of sense and of experience in the world, whether it was possible for him to see whether that garment was a shirt, a shift, or a bed-gown—was it possible? Recollect, the light is not in the room—there is some light in the passage. The back of the person is towards him; and he is to tell you that it is Mr. Church, although he only saw his back! But then the next observation after the shirt, is as to the height of the person. Why, Gentlemen, nothing magnifies more than fright: nothing! We, all of us, have often heard the descriptions of persons in great fright. They always magnify the objects they see. If a person is robbed, the thief is amonstrous tall man! Why, Gentlemen, fright does magnify every object; and, therefore, we must make allowances for the situation in which this young man was placed at the time. He is disturbed in his sleep—the thing happens in a moment—and he sits up in his bed in a greatfright—and he tells you it is Mr. Church, because of the height of the person he saw. Now if you can say that a person in that station is capable of distinguishing between a tall and a short person, I think it is a great deal too much in a case of this sort. But what has the person on his head? My Lord Ellenborough asked the question,whether it was a man’sor woman’s night-cap? and he says, “I cannot tell whether it was a night-cap or a handkerchief.” And upon being asked the colour, he says, “I cannot tell.” And there does not seem to be light enough to distinguish whether it was white or coloured. From this circumstance, therefore, Gentlemen, you will judge what sort of light there was to distinguish objects.
Now, Gentlemen, we come to the confirmation of this extraordinary story, particularly by Mr. Patrick. It is quite clear that Mr. Patrick has conceived some great anger against Mr. Church, on account of supposed slander of the character of his wife. Mr. Patrick himself is quite satisfied that his wife is not guilty, any more than the maid servant. But Mr. Patrick is angry, because he says, that Mr. Church has slandered the character of his wife. Why then, Mr. Patrick goes to Mr. Church, and he has some conversation with him. He tells him that he has seen some letter, but he does not mention what letter—he has seen some letter in which he, Mr. Church, has said that he could denythree pointsin the boy’s story: and he puts questions to him, and he states to you, that Mr. Church having distinctly denied the indecent attack upon the boy, yet that he nevertheless admitted that he was in the room. Now, Gentlemen, upon that subject I must necessarily give you some evidence, as well as upon another part of this case; for I understand that Mr. Patrick distinctly stated to Mr. Thomas, who accompanied him as far as the house of Mr. Church, and whom he joined directly after he came out, that Mr. Church was not at all implicated; for on that occasion Mr. Thomas said to him, “Well, is there any thing against Mr. Church?” Upon which Mr. Patrick answered “No: Mr. Church is not all implicated.” Mr. Patrick has denied it. I am told that Mr. Thomas will positively state that to have occurred. I am told so. Then, Gentlemen, if Mr. Patrick be contradicted in that most material circumstance—if you discredit him upon that part of the case, how can you give him credit in that part upon which my leaded friend fastened, as the confirmation of the story of the boy—“that he admitted to Mr. Patrick, that he had been in the boy’s room.” But the contradiction will not end there, Gentlemen. You have already one very important contradiction in the case;for the boy went directly to the Pottery, and he made a communication to West; and I asked him distinctly, and more than once, whether he stated to Mr. West that the person who attacked him in the manner he had described, had his hand upon his private parts? and he said that he had distinctly told Mr. West, that Mr. Church had laid his hand on his private parts: but, when West came to be examined, he told us that the boy did tell him that Mr. Church had behaved in a very indecent manner to him: but that he never, before the search was made, nor in the course of the night, nor from first to last, said a word to him about that circumstance.
Now, Gentlemen, that is a very strong contradiction of the story told you to-day by this man; and if that induces you to disbelieve him, or to doubt respecting his evidence, it will be impossible for you to find the Defendant guilty of this charge.
Gentlemen, I asked the boy at first, whether, instead of going to search in request of Mr. Church, he and the potter, West, had not gone to search for thieves? and he answered me, “Yes.” But afterwards, he gave us some explanation, and said, “that he did not search the house particularly for thieves, but made a search to find if any body was about.” Now, Gentlemen, upon this subject I am also enabled to give you some evidence, because I understand that both the boy and West distinctly stated, when they were before the Magistrate, that they did go and search the house for thieves, and that they made no other search but for thieves. Now, if there was any search made for thieves—if there was any notion in the mind of this boy that thieves were in the house, it would be quite impossible that he could be correct in the story he has told you to-day. And whether he has not magnified the thing—whether something which he has supposed to have happened between sleeping and awake that never happened—whether he has not been giving you a connected account now of what he had a confused notion then—is for your consideration.
But there is another circumstance respecting the case which is very important. The transaction, if it ever did take place, took place in the night of the 25th of September. On the 9th of October, and not until the ninth of October, does Mr. Patrick go to Mr. Church. There is a lapse of a fortnight. The witness whom I shall call to you will state, that after coming out from Mr. Church’s, Mr. Patrick expressed himself satisfied that Mr. Church was not implicated. Now let us try that by the conduct of Mr. Patrick and of this boy. This is the 9th of October, and until the 12th of November no charge before a Magistrateis made. I beg to ask you whether the conduct of Mr. Patrick, in forbearing to make any charge before a Magistrate until the 12th of November, is not the strongest evidence that what my witness will state to you is true? That he was then satisfied that Mr. Church was not implicated in this abominable, odious, and unnatural transaction. Gentlemen, such charges ought never to be slept upon. No, not for an hour. If there be such a charge as that, and if it be really true that such things have taken place, no man ought to rest on it for a single hour.—The charge ought to be made directly. But, what excuse is urged for this delay? “Oh,” says my learned friend, “At last the transaction reached the ears of the apprentice’s father.” Why, you wont suppose that the apprentice’s father had just returned from an East-India Voyage, and that the transaction coming to his ears on the 11th of November, he brought forward the charge. Gentlemen, there is no pretence for such an excuse. The boy slept at his father’s. He did not sleep at his master’s. Did he return to his father’s house? His father lived within a quarter of a mile of Mr. Patrick, and he was in daily intercourse with his father, and had abundant opportunities of conferring with him upon the subject; and yet, for six weeks, no steps whatever are taken to bring Mr. Church before a Magistrate. My learned friend then told you that the father was the person who made the charge: but he has not called the father. The only person who appears here as the prosecutor is Mr. Patrick, and not the father; and they have not ventured to call the father as a witness; and there is no pretence made for the delay of this charge, unless it was that at this interview with Mr. Church, the prosecutor, Mr. Patrick, was satisfied, as I am told he expressed himself to be to the person who accompanied him, and waited at the door till he came out, that there was no ground for implicating the Defendant in this charge: and, Gentlemen, I say that his sleeping on the charge for upwards of a month after that interview with Mr. Church, is the strongest evidence that at that time he was satisfied of his innocence, and that this charge is brought forward on account of some anger, or some supposed declaration respecting Mr. Patrick’s wife, which would make him extremely angry. If you find, Gentlemen, that there were no other motives than this to induce a charge of this kind, I have no doubt you will immediately acquit the Defendant.
Gentlemen, I have no further observations to make. The charge is most odious. The crime is most odious; and if it can be more attrocious in one person than another, it is in a person who is a public teacher of religion. If such aperson, in defiance of every law human and divine. In contravention of those Sacred Scriptures, which it is his duty to read and expound, and having read and expounded them he can be found so far to forget every law of human nature and every principle of virtue, by the commission of this crime, he must be the most monstrous and attrocious of the human race, and no punishment can be adequate to his offences. But the punishment which must await him, would be infinitely worse than standing in the Court below to receive sentence for the completion of this attrocious crime; because I think that compared with instant death for the consummation of the crime, the being doomed to live the object of scorn, of hatred, and abhorrence by every human being, must be a punishment infinitely worse. Gentlemen, that is not too great for such monsters: but before you find the Defendant to be such, be satisfied by the whole of the evidence of his guilt. Compare the evidence on one side and on the other; and if it raises a doubt in your mind, the Defendant is entitled to the benefit of that doubt, and you will find him not guilty.
Mr. John Thomaswas the first witness called for the Defendant,and being sworn,was examined by theCommon Serjeant.
Is your name John Thomas?—Yes.
Where do you live?—In Prospect-place, West’s-square, St. George’s-fields.
In what way of business are you?—An appraiser and undertaker.
Have you known Mr. Church long?—Yes.
Were you one of his hearers?—Yes.
Were you acquainted with Mr. Patrick?—Not till the report was made respecting Mr. Church.
Did you know him as one of the congregation attending Mr. Church?—No, I cannot say I did.
Were you with Mr. Patrick on any day that he went to Mr. Church’s house—I mean on the 9th of October?—Yes, a few days after the report.
Did you go into the house with him?—No, I did not.
You were at the door?—I staid outside.
Had you learnt from Mr. Patrick that he was going to Mr. Church’s upon the subject of this business?—Yes.
By LordEllenborough.—Did he tell you that he had a letter, and was going to make inquiries of Mr. Church?—He called upon me at my house to go with him.
By theCommon Serjeant.—And told you he was going to Mr. Church’s upon the business of this inquiry?—Yes; indeed it was my request that he should. Mr. Thomas wentto speak to his wife; and it was at my wife’s request and Mrs. Patrick’s I believe that he went.
Your wife joined in her request?—Yes.
How long might his interview with Mr. Church last—how long was he in the house?—He seemed to be a long while; not much less than an hour.
As near as you could guess, the time, was it near an hour?—Yes.
When he came out did you put any questions to him respecting what had passed between; him and Mr. Church?—Yes.
What questions did you put?—I asked him what Mr. Church had said.
What answer did he give you?—He said that Mr. Church did not say any thing. He said Mr. Church seemed very much confounded on account of the cause, he supposed, but he said nothing about it; that it would be injurious to the cause of God. He did not say thecause of God, but I only supposed he meant the cause of God.
By LordEllenborough.—Did he use the words “cause of God?”—No, he said Mr. Church seemed very much confounded or confused.
Then the rest is all imagination of your’s?—We both imagined alike. I don’t know that these were exactly the words, for I cannot call to my mind what he did say; but it was conjectured the cause of God, and which we heard afterwards was abused abroad.
You are now called, Sir, for the purpose of contradiction. You are recollecting the effect, you know, of a conversation and communication with Mr. Patrick, and you must say truly what passed, if you can recollect it.—I don’t recollect all that passed.
By theCommon Serjeant.—When you were stopt in your account of what passed, you were going to say something. You were asked whether Mr. Church had said any thing to Mr. Patrick which Mr. Patrick related to you. What did he say?—He said, No. He said Mr. Church seemed very much confused.
What did you ask Mr. Patrick next?—“Why,” said I, “what do you mean. Why, if you know any thing against the man, did you not charge him with it? I would have been very faithful with him, and charged him with it.”
What answer did Mr. Patrick make to that?—He said he did not know; he was not the person.
By LordEllenborough.—Repeat that in Mr. Patrick’s own words. Attend, and wait to hear the question. Be so good as to suppose that you were narrating the conversationas it occurred with Mr. Patrick. Instead of saying,He, sayI. Attend now.
By theCommon Serjeant.—What further did he say? and give his own words.—He said, “I don’t know: I am not so proper a person as you,” or words to the same effect. I said to him, “What did he (meaning Church) say respecting the report?”
What had the report reference to that you spoke of?—The report respecting this transaction.
What answer did Patrick make to that? What did Patrick say to you when you put the question, as to what Church had said respecting the report?—I said to Mr. Patrick, says I, “what did he say respecting the acknowledging the report”—that is, what did Mr. Church say to Mr. Patrick about acknowledging the report that had gone abroad respecting him. He said, “It was false.”
Do you mean that Church said it was false?—I mean that Patrick said that the report was false.
By LordEllenborough.—That is not the answer to the question put by the Gentleman. Did Church say that it was false?—I never saw Church upon the subject.
By theCommon Serjeant.—When Patrick made you an answer, did you understand that answer to be, that Church had said the report was false, or that Patrick himself said the report was false?—Patrick himself.
Patrick himself said that the report was false?—Certainly.
Did you then put any other question to Mr. Patrick?—I did.
What other question did you put?—I said, what answer did Mr. Church give respecting its having been reported that he was in liquor—that he made an excuse that he was in liquor?
What answer did Mr. Patrick give to that?—He said it was false. He said there had been a great deal of exaggeration.
Did you after this put any question to Mr. Patrick, whether he, Mr. Patrick, thought that Mr. Church was implicated in the transaction or not? Did you put any such question to him?
LordEllenborough.—Did you use those words, or words to the same effect?—No, I did not I put these words to him—“Why,” says I, “you did nothing! Did Mr. Church acknowledge nothing to you?” “No, Sir,” says he, “he did not.” Then he said Mr. Church had not mentioned a word about it.
Did you make any observation to him, or he to you?—I don’t recollect any thing in particular. I said, says I, “Asyou can bring nothing against him, let us pray for him, and if he had the least idea of such a thing; and as you say you cannot bring any thing home to him, and can’t prove any thing, that is all we can do. Let us pray that he may not be guilty of such sin.”
LordEllenborough.—Did you say, pray for him, if he was under any such temptation?—Yes; pray for him, if was under any such temptation.
The Common Serjeant.—Did Mr. Patrick after that deliver any opinion to you whether he thought Church was implicated in the transaction or not?—No, he did not.
Did you at any other time see him, and hear him say any thing about this transaction?—No.
Did any thing more pass at this meeting than what you have told us? No.—Yes, Sir. I ask pardon: I met him in June last, coming over Waterloo-bridge. I did not at first know him; and he spoke to me, and he said, “My name is Patrick.” I said, “Mr. Patrick, why what are you doing with Mr. Church?” “Why,” says I, “I hear you have brought something else against him: what is that?”
LordEllenborough.—There is no contradiction of Mr. Patrick in this. He was not asked to this (continuation of the answer). “Why,” says he, “Sir, I should not have done it, but that Mr. Church has spoken more disrespectful things respecting Mrs. Patrick.” He said he should not have done it, but that Mr. Church had said many disrespectful things of Mrs. Patrick.
Cross-examined byMr.Marryatt.
Was it the Sabbath after the 27th of September that you first heard of this?—I believe it was. It was within two or three days after.
I think we have learnt that upon the Thursday night Mr. Patrick came home, and that on the Friday morning the boy communicated to him what had happened. Now on the Saturday, was not this matter currently talked of about Mr. Church?—No, I believe not.
You mean that you heard of the report two or three days after the thing happened?—Yes.
You then heard of the report?—Yes.
You told us that you were desirous that Mr. Patrick should call on Mr. Church?—Yes.
Then he did so, at your desire?—Yes.
Did Mr. Patrick bring the boy to you, and offer to have him brought face to face with Mr. Church?—I believe he did.
Mr. Patrick said the boy was outside?—Mr. Patrick calledat my house in the course of the morning, and he sent him, and he said the boy was outside.
Did he wish you to see the boy?—Not particularly, I believe.
For what purpose did he bring the boy?—To go to Mr. Church’s?—I supposed so.
To go with you or with him, or with both of you to Mr. Church’s?—I was to go with him, and therefore the boy followed.
Did the boy go with him into Mr. Church’s house?—He staid outside the door. He walked on the other side of the way, opposite to where I was.
But he waited whilst you waited?—Yes: we both waited outside.
Ready to go in to Mr. Church’s when you were wanted?—Yes: Mr. Patrick was to go in and hear what Mr. Church had to say; and then we were to go in, too.
And he took the boy with him, in order that he might be taken in and see Mr. Church face to face?—He brought the boy with him, and I suppose that was his intention.
Did you decline introducing the boy to Mr. Church?—I had no particular acquaintance with Mr. Church?—I was only one of his hearers, and I thought it would be too great a liberty for me to go to him. Mr. Patrick wanted me to go in alone to Mr. Church, first.
Did he not invite you to take the boy in with you?—He said nothing about that; I don’t recollect any thing that he did.
Why did you tell me, then, that you supposed the purpose of bringing the boy was that he should be introduced to Mr. Church?—No doubt about that. I don’t know any other reason he had than that, for bringing the boy.
Did he say so?—I don’t know that he said that that was his reason. He said he had the boy there.
Do you remember your declining to go in with Mr. Patrick to Mr. Church’s?—I told him I had no particular interest in the business. I had no intimacy with Mr. Church, except hearing him. I thought I had no business to be interested in the knowledge of the fact, being only a hearer. I thought therefore that my visit would be obtrusive.
Because you had no particular interest in the business?—Why, I certainly had no interest in it.
And therefore you declined going in and taking the boy with you?—I saw no necessity of so doing, as he did not acknowledge himself guilty of any thing bad.
By LordEllenborough. But the boy being there, had you not the curiosity to examine the boy?—I did not, it being delicate subject.
Did you not think it important to come at the truth upon the subject, as the boy was there and you might have examined him yourself?—If Mr. Church had confessed any thing, I should have thought it my duty to take the boy and have them face to face.
But I should have thought that the circumstance of his not confessing would be the reason why you would take them face to face; or else why should you take the boy at all. But Mr. Church not having confessed any thing, you therefore would not examine the boy.—Was that your reason for not examining the boy?—Yes, my Lord.
By Mr.Bolland.—But if he confessed any thing, you would have taken the boy to have them face to face?—Yes.
Your object was to take the boy and have them face to face, if Mr. Church acknowledged the crime?—Yes.
But surely when you found that Mr. Church had acknowledged his fault, then there would be no reason for taking the boy to have them face to face?—I should have thought it proper to take the boy in, if Mr. Church acknowledged his crime. I wished the boy in fact to come in with us; but when Mr. Patrick came out and said that Mr. Church did not acknowledge any thing of it, I did not think it necessary to have them face to face.
Then you did not think it right to have the boy in?—I never spoke to the boy.
You never asked the boy about this transaction?—No.
Mr. Patrick never gave any opinion whether Mr. Church was implicated in the transaction; but in answer to a particular part of the transaction, he said that Mr. Church asserted that it was false?—Yes.
Did you see the letter sent to Mrs. Hunter?—No.
I mean the letter about the three points of the boy’s statement which Mr. Church said he was able to contradict?—No.
Mr.James Reevessworn.
Examined by theCommon Serjeant.
Were you the Clerk attending the Magistrate when the charge was made before him;—I was.
Who was the Magistrate?—I must refer to the book—(Witness produced a book.)
That is your minute book in which you enter the proceedings of the day?—Yes.
Who was the sitting Magistrate on that day?—Mr. Serjeant Sellon appears to have been the Magistrate on the 19th of November, as it appears by the book.
This being a charge of misdemeanor, do you find by your book that any account was committed to writing of what thewitnesses said?—No; it was not. It is merely a note, or entry of the names, as follows: “Warrant for a misdemeanor, parties appeared by the Officer, and ordered to find bail.”
Cross-examined byMr.Marryatt.
Was that the Magistrate by whom the warrant was granted?—Yes.
Was the oath administered before the warrant was granted?—Yes; there had been anex-parteexamination to grant the warrant on the oath of the party.
That is in another book?—It is; that is left behind; I do not know any thing of it.
But there is a deposition on oath prior to the granting of the warrant?—Yes.
Re-examined by theCommon Serjeant.
The depositions in cases of misdemeanour you don’t take in detail?—No.
Were the depositions taken in writing in any book which you have not here?—I am not aware of that.
LordEllenborough.—You were not told to bring it?—No.
Was that the only information upon which the warrant was granted?—There was nothing taken down in writing when all the parties were before the Magistrate.
Were the depositions taken down before the warrant was granted?—Yes.
Then, after the warrant was executed, and at the time of the examination when the Defendant was there, you took no minutes?—No farther than the names of the parties; and what I have here.
Mr.Woodsworn.
Examined byMr. Gurney.
Were you present at the examination of Mr. Church before the Magistrate?—I was.
What are you?—A hatter, near the Elephant and Castle, in St. George’s Fields.
LordEllenborough.—Did you take the testimony of the witnesses down in writing?—No.
Mr.Gurney.—Did Foreman, the boy, in the account he gave before the Magistrate, say for what purpose he searched the house?—He said that he went out to the Potter and told the Potter that there were thieves in the house, and that the Potter and he came to search the house. He was asked a question by Mr. Sellon, whether or no he searched the room where Mr. Church slept. He said, No, he didnot search that room. Mr. Sellon said, “Why not search that room?”
What answer did he give to that?—The answer he gave was that the Potter wished to break the door open. Mr. Sellon said, “Did you try the door to see whether it was open, before the Potter talked of breaking it open?” He said, No: he did not wish to disturb his mistress.
Whilst the Potter was examined, did he say what was the alarm that Foreman gave to him; did he say what was the alarm?—I cannot charge my memory as to that.
Mr.Gurney.—My Lord, this is the case of the Defendant.
Mr.Marryattthen replied to the Defendant’s case, as follows:—
May it please your Lordship, Gentlemen of the Jury—My learned Friend has almost admitted the case on the part of the Prosecution, in the nature of his address to you, by saying, in effect, that if you believed Mr. Church to have gone into the boy’s chamber at that unseasonable hour of the morning, he could hardly come there for any purpose but that ascribed to him by this Indictment. At least, if my Learned Friend did not make that confession in terms so explicitly as I have given them, certainly he has not offered in his address to you the smallest explanation of so very suspicious a purpose. And although I invited him, when I first had the opportunity of stating this case, to assign any possible reason, except that which is imputed to the Defendant as matter of crime, why he should be in the Boy’s room under such circumstances, we have had no motive assigned, nor any suggestion of apology or excuse offered for such conduct.
There is an improbability in this case it is contended; because there had been no overture of the same description made to the lad before this period, nor any circumstance, by which an indication of the Defendant’s unnatural propensities, prior to this transaction, could be inferred. Gentlemen, we have lived some time in the world, and we have seen that men, with these diabolical passions, make those overtures, not unfrequently, to persons they never saw in the whole course of their lives, until some occasional meeting—sometimes in the Parks—nay, sometimes, even at public assemblies; and yet so extraordinary is the phrenzy with which men of these propensities are hurried, there is no accounting for their conduct on these occasions: certainly there is no amounting for the conduct of this Defendant in going into the boy’s chamber, except that which his abominable and unnatural lusts can suggest, and which are imputed to him by this indictment. Gentlemen,in the first place, was he there? Why it is suggested that the boy’s fright had magnified the powers of his vision, and that he must have mistaken the Defendant for his mistress, or for the maid servant, who slept with his sister. Now, Gentlemen, we have it in evidence that Mr. Church is a man near six feet high: a man of considerable size, and distinguishable from the boy’s mistress, who is a little feminate figure; and also very distinguishable from the maid servant, whom my learned friend, Mr. Gurney, wishes you to infer was the person who entered the prosecutor’s room, because the maid’s chamber door was not shut; although there was no question asked by the Defendant’s Counsel, as to the intimacy of this young man with that servant maid. I admit that the servant’s door was not fast; but my Learned Friend did not inquire whether the servant’s door had been left open or fastened, when the servants went to bed; nor was any inquiry made whether the lock of that door was defective, as sometimes happens to be the case with the servant’s rooms in a gentleman’s house; for deficiencies of that description are not so immediately remedied as in the more preferable rooms of the house. Gentlemen, could the young man by any possibility mistake the female figure of the maid servants or of his mistress, for the man he described—a man that is of considerable size—near six feet high, and a very striking object in point of height? Most unquestionably there is no pretence for supposing, that there could be any body else but Mr. Church in the room at that time. Now what is the conduct of the young lad on that occasion? He goes down to West, the potter, immediately, and states to him, that Mr. Church had behaved indecently. I admit that, in the course of conversation, he mentioned some of the particulars of what occurred, which the potter says he does not recollect. The boy goes on further, and states particulars that he had related to the man, which the latter says had not been mentioned to him; and what is more probable, than that in giving an account of a conversation which took place so long ago as the month of September last, that the one may add half a sentence which the other does not remember? But was not the statement that the lad made at the time to the second witness, West, (though the latter does not recollect the whole of what passed) that Church came into his chamber, and conducted himself with indecency towards him? They then return to the house; the lad and he examine the house for the purpose of ascertaining whether any body else is there; no other male person sleeping in the house; and they find all secure and safe; and yet it is to supposed, that they went in search for thieves! Whythe result of the search would decide whether the object of the search was to see whether there were any thieves in the house—for neither a door nor a window had been opened, nor was there any aperture at which a thief could gain admittance. It is clear, therefore, that there was no other male in the house except Church, the party indicted; nor is there now any colour for supposing that there was any body else there of his sex but himself. But, it is said their object was to search for thieves, and that the alarm was for thieves, and that the Boy, when he went before the Magistrate, gave some account about searching for thieves. Why, in his examination here to-day, when he was asked whether he and West did not go back together to the house and search for thieves, he very naturally said, “Yes, Sir:” but why did he give that answer?—Because there was another proposition put to him, which appeared as material as that with respect to the search for thieves, and accordingly he answered in the affirmative. It is true that he did admit at first, that he went to search for thieves; but when he came to give the explanation to the answer, he states that he did not particularly search for thieves; and after a little cross-examination by the same Learned Counsel, it appeared that the object was not to search for thieves, but merely to ascertain that there was no other man in the house that could possibly commit this indecency, this outrage against religion, morality, and nature. But the man who was called last, named Wood, is called to state something that passed before the Magistrate; and, according to his representation, there was something said about going to search for thieves. It is observable, however, that he did not take up the whole story told in the testimony of the lad, nor did my Learned Friend examine him as to the anterior part of his statement: and from this it must fairly be inferred, that the most material part of the boy’s testimony given to-day, and that given before the Magistrate, was consistent, and not to be shaken. For you may be quite certain, Gentlemen, that when my Learned Friends on the other side content themselves with catching at the smallest variance in the testimony of the witness from his original statement; it is a decided proof that the most important part of the case is not to be shaken, and is incapable of contradiction. The material part of the evidence remains untouched by any shadow of doubt as to its credibility. My Learned Friend rests satisfied with the contradiction upon the subject of what passed between the Potter and the Boy, but which, I say, is wholly immaterial as it affects his credit; and the only further objection he makes to his testimony is, that his evidence of to-day does not correspond, in some minuteparticular, with his examination before the Magistrate. For the reasons, however, which I have given you, Gentlemen, you will dismiss these trifling matters from your serious consideration.
But it seems that Mr. Patrick has been guilty of some mis-statement as to what occurred in the early stage of this proceeding; and we have Mr. Thomas called, as it is said, for the purpose of contradicting him, as to the result of some conversation which passed between them after the interview at Mr. Church’s house. Gentlemen, it is some what singular that Mr. Thomas, who was one of the Defendant’s hearers, and interested himself so much in this case, that when the boy is brought to give him information as to the complaint which he had to make against Mr. Church, he does not make the least inquiry into the lad’s account of the transaction, nor does he express any desire that the lad should be introduced to Mr. Church. We have it in evidence from himself, that on the day when Mr. Patrick called upon Mr. Church, he waited with the lad on the outside of the house; and although Mr. Patrick brought the boy for the express purpose of having him confronted face to face with the Defendant, still Mr. Thomas does not ask a single question of the lad, nor does he go into any examination upon the subject.
Gentlemen, that this case was immediately blazoned about very early is clear, though it was not carried before the magistrate so soon; because we find that when Mr. Patrick came home on the Thursday night, though he did not speak to the boy until the next day, the Friday, yet the subject was generally mentioned to his wife before he returned, and therefore the matter might have got wind before it was fully explained by the boy to his master on the Friday morning. It is quite clear that it was known to the congregation on the following sabbath, and according to that letter which has been read to you, (upon which I make no comments, except so far as it bears on Mr. Patrick’s testimony), the Defendant, Mr. Church, had written on the 6th of October to Mrs. Hunter, Mrs. Hunter having previously written to him on the subject, for he begins by referring to the letter which Mrs. Hunter had addressed to and expresses regret that he shall lose her as a hearer in future: so that Mrs. Hunter therefore, amongst other persons, was acquainted with the rumours, because from him this letter comes, from which it appears that she had written to him before; for it begins by stating—“My heart is already too much affected: your letter only added affliction to my bonds.”—Gentlemen, I only dwell upon this circumstance in confirmation of Mr. Patrick’s statement,that Mr. Church could contradict, not the whole of the report, but three points of the boy’s statement. This letter having come to the knowledge of Mr. Patrick, in which these three points are alluded to, and being desired by some of the congregation to pay the Defendant a visit, he accordingly resolves to call upon him. On that occasion he introduces himself by stating, as the apology for his calling, that he had seen a letter from the Defendant, in which he stated that he could contradict certain points of the boy’s story. The Defendant you will observe does not contradict the fact of his having written such a letter, but he goes into an explanation with the witness as to what are the points of contradiction; and then he states that so far as his having laid hold of the boy, and his having told the lad that the person who addressed him was his mistress, the whole was a mis-statement; and these, Gentlemen, are the only points of denial upon which the Defendant rested in his interview with Mr. Patrick, to whom, however, he admitted distinctly that he was in the boy’s chamber, though he denies the subsequent part of the transaction, which the boy to-day has solemnly sworn to have taken place.
Now, gentlemen, I ask again, if he was in the boy’s chamber, for what reason or proper purpose could he by possibility go there? And if he was in that room, can you have any doubt of the truth of all the circumstances which the boy has positively sworn?—If it was a person of the male sex who entered that apartment, it must clearly have been the defendant; for there was no other man in the house. It appearing distinctly that Mr. Patrick was absent from home on that night. Then I ask you, whether there is any ground for disbelieving the boy’s story, who, immediately after the disgusting scene he has described, goes to the pottery, tells his story to the workman, and stays there the remainder of the night, chusing rather to lose his rest than stay in the house with Mr. Church, under the liability of a further encounter for the same detestable purpose. The reason which the boy has given for not alarming the house, is not an unnatural one. We have it in evidence that Mr. West, feeling a manly indignation at what had happened, manifested a disposition to pull the unnatural offender out of his bed, and turn him into the street. But the boy, apprehensive that such an occurrence might give an alarm to his mistress, persuaded the potter to abstain from his purpose, and they accordingly did not enter the defendant’s door.
Thus, gentlemen, the testimony of the prosecutor is consistent in all its parts; for although Church denied some circumstances of the transaction as stated in his letter readto-day, yet every main and important feature of the transaction is confirmed by collateral circumstances. Mr. Patrick’s evidence is a direct corroboration of the boy’s story, from the moment that the transaction first took place down to his examination of to-day. But if, gentlemen, as I said before, you feel any reasonable doubt of the purpose for which the defendant came into the boy’s room, it is your duty to acquit him; but, on the other hand, if all the circumstances of the case conspire to imprint upon your mind that the defendant had clearly no other purpose, but a guilty and unnatural one when he entered that apartment, it is your bounden duty, disgusting as it may be, to pronounce a sentence of condemnation, whatever consequences may result to the defendant in the judgment which he shall hereafter receive.
Lord Ellenborough delivered his charge to the jury as follows:
Gentlemen of the Jury—This is an indictment against John Church for an assault upon the person of Adam Foreman, with intent to commit an unnatural crime with him. There has been a considerable body of evidence laid before you, against him as well as for him: and it is for you to say in the result, after giving that evidence due consideration, whether the defendant has committed the assault with intent to perpetrate the atrocious crime imputed to him by the indictment.
Now, assuming the fact to be that Mr. Church was in the room at the time this offence was supposed to have been committed, that alone imposes upon him the necessity of giving some explanation for the occasion which brought him there. If, in addition to the fact of being there, which he admits, himself, to be true, you should believe the boy further in his statement that such an overture was made to him, and that the hand of a man was put upon his private parts in bed, you will have to say with what other purpose than as an inducement to the commission of an unnatural crime, it had been placed there. That is, supposing you believe the facts as stated by the young man. I should apprehend that no reason can be suggested for such an indecent intercourse (supposing it did take place) with this man’s person unless it was a prelude or inducement to the committing of the crime imputed to the defendant. Now the main question for your consideration will be, whether that which is sworn by Foreman, and confirmed by Mr. Patrick, is truly sworn. I think too much stress has been laid upon the circumstance,stated about the searching for thieves, which it is said, on the part of the defendant, was the avowed object of Foreman in returning to the house. It was very natural and highly probable when he apprehended, if he did truly apprehend, that a male person had come into his room and had accosted him in the manner he stated, that he should be clearly satisfied before he went farther in communicating to the potter the indecencies offered to his person, that there was no other male in the house, and seeing that no other male could come into the house at that time of night, unless he came for this purpose and no other. In this point of view, I think it is not at all unnatural or improbable in his conduct, even if he had said that he had gone in search for thieves; and, if you recollect, his evidence was, “that he had searched the house, not for thieves in particular, but to see if there was any body in any of the rooms.” “I did not think of thieves,” says he, “because I knew who it was,” and so on. He now says, that at that time he knew it was Mr. Church, and therefore he did not think of searching for thieves, his object being, in searching the house, to ascertain whether there was any other male in the house besides the one to whom he attaches the crime imputed by this indictment.
Gentleman, I shall now proceed to state to you the evidence as it has been given on both sides.
Adam Foreman, the first witness, states, that he shall be twenty years of age the first day of December next. “I am an apprentice to, Mr. Patrick, the potter, of Vauxhall; I have been with him about five years. I have known the defendant, John Church, by sight about two or three years. He is a preacher, and I have attended as one of the congregation in the chapel where he preaches; I have often seen him. I sleep generally at my father’s house, but when my master goes out of town I sleep at his house. The defendant Church lives near his chapel in St. George’s Fields. The defendant came to sleep at my master’s on the 25th of September last.” It seems, Gentlemen, he came there by invitation from Mr. Patrick, having weak health, and it being more convenient for him to sleep in better air. “He slept there on the night of the 25th September; I slept there also, that night. I don’t know whether the defendant had been there before; I cannot say whether I had seen him there before. My master was out of town that night, but where I cannot say. The persons who slept in the house that night were Mr. Church, my mistress, the children, and the two maid-servants; there was no other man in the house except Church and myself. My bed-room was the front parlour on the first floor, over the kitchen. Itwas not usually a bed-room, but I slept there because there was no other bed-room that I could sleep in. A temporary bed was put up there for me. I went to bed at near one o’clock. There was a kiln burning, and I was obliged to sit up to let the man in to the kiln when he came. It was necessary for me to sit up to attend that kiln, and to give the man the key. That man’s name is Thomas West. I went to sleep directly I went to bed. I had not been asleep more than half an hour, before I was awoke by some one putting his hands under the bed clothes, and laying hold of my private parts. He laid hold of me very tight. I put my hand out of the bed clothes and caught hold of him, and asked him who he was. I said, who are you? I laid hold of him, as near as I can guess, by the upper part of the arm; and I felt lower down, and found by the sleeve that he had got a man’s shirt on. I had a hold of him by the upper part of the arm, and running my hand down to the wrist, I found he had a man’s shirt on. The wrist was buttoned. I knew very well it was man, because he had got a man’s shirt on. The person, whoever it was, said, in a feint voice like a woman, “Adam, don’t you know me? I am your mistress.” It was not Mrs. Patrick’s voice. I knew the voice directly I heard it to be Mr. Church’s. He fled from the room directly; he went out of the room in a hurried step. I got out of bed and put on my small clothes and shoes, and went out to the door. As the man opened the door, I saw by the lamp that it was Mr. Church, and he had only his shirt on. The lamp is outside of the street door, on the Terrace, and throws a light through the fan-light of the hall door. It is a parish lamp. At the time I saw Church by the light of the lamp I was sitting up in bed: I had not then left my bed. I saw that the person who went out through the door had a man’s shirt on. I did not see his face at all; his back was to me. I then got up and put my small-clothes on and shoes, and went to the pottery to get the man to come up to the house. I told Thomas West what had happened. He was in the pottery, and was there I before went to bed. The person who went out at the door shut it after him. I saw him by the light of the lamp when he opened the door. There was no light in the room; the light came from a lamp on the terrace. That lamp is about five or six yards from the door of the house on the terrace. The terrace, on which my master’s house is situated, is a row of houses raised above the road. The lamp is upon the terrace opposite to the door. The light from the lamp is given to the passage through the fan-light over the door. When the man opened the door and went out, I saw him by the light from the lamp. I could not see theface of the person, but I saw that he had a shirt on. I was rather alarmed. It all took place in a minute. It was not long about. I don’t know how long he had been there before I awoke. From the moment I awoke it took place as fast as possible. I immediately went to West. We did not know whether any body had got in or not. West and I directly came and searched the house for thieves. We went and looked at every chamber door in the home except Mr. Church’s and my mistress’s. We looked at the door of Mr. Church, and that of my mistress. They were both shut. We found all the doors in the house shut except the servant’s, which we found on the jar.”
Now, Gentlemen, great stress is laid by the learned counsel for the Defendant upon this circumstance. It is suggested that it might be Mrs. Patrick, or one of the maid servants who entered the room. It appears that one of the servants was the prosecutor’s own sister, and it was not likely to be her that went in. It is said the prosecutor’s counsel ought to have called the maid servant and Mrs. Patrick to negative the supposed circumstance of their having gone into the room. Now, this observation is to be made, that it was open to the one side or to the other to have called the maid servant, and have proposed that question to her. It was clearly open to the Defendant, if he chose to call the maid, and to have asked her that question; and it was equally open to the counsel for the prosecution. It was also open to both sides to have called Mrs. Patrick. It is probable that the prosecutor’s counsel did not like to expose her to the pain of an unnecessary examination, because the Defendant might have called her as a witness for himself.
“I went and told West that Mr. Church came down into my room, and behaved in a very indecent manner. I told him that Church had been there and laid hold of my private parts. I did not search the house for thieves in particular, but to search if any body was in any of the rooms. We searched the house. We looked all over it to see if there was anybody in any of the rooms. We searched the house, but not for thieves in particular. I did not think of thieves, because I knew who it was. We did not go into the maid servant’s room; we only looked in. We found the door open and looked in. The maids were in bed. One was my sister. The door being a-jar, we pushed a little, and we saw that they were a-bed. We did not speak to them. We did not search the house for thieves, because I knew who the person was. The reason of my searching the house was because I wished to be quite right before I made the accusation against Mr. Church.We found that there was no other man in the house but Mr. Church. There was no door, no window open, at which any other man could have come in. The light from the Terrace came through the fan-light over the door. The lamp gives a pretty fair light to the hall, and shews a little light up the stairs. The time when the person opened the door and went out, was the time that I got a view of his person. I did not hear him when he first came into the room. I was awakened by the application of his hand to my person. He was standing by the bed-side on the floor. I did not call to him by name, or give him to understand that I knew who he was. I did not see any part of his face, but I saw his back as he went out of the room. He was a person that appeared to be the height of Mr. Church. I cannot say what height he is. I cannot say exactly whether he had a night-cap on. I think it was a handkerchief tied round his head. I could not tell what sort of a handkerchief it was, whether coloured or not.”
He does not say positively whether it was a light or a coloured handkerchief, but he says he could not tell. He did not see whether it was coloured or not.
“We went to Church’s door, but we did not touch it, nor did we go in. West wanted to go into the room and pull him out.”
That is confirmed by the testimony of West himself.
“I objected to West’s pulling him out, because I was afraid of disturbing my mistress. She would have been very much alarmed.”
That was the account he gave in his original examination before the magistrate, as the reason for his not going into the room.
“Church never had any conversation with me, nor did he ever make any overture of this sort to me before this time. There was nothing particular in his manner or in his conduct towards me before this time. I have never spoken to him at all since. I saw him attend before the magistrate. There I spoke in his presence, but not immediately to him. I did not hear him speak before the magistrate. I have given the same account before the magistrate that I have now done here. I know no other circumstances from which I could collect that it was a man. The hand was withdrawn when I awoke. By the height of the person I saw, I could ascertain whether it was or was not the height of my mistress or any of the female part of the house. Mr. Church was a great deal bigger than any body there. I don’t think he is quite six foot. He is a tall and stout man. There was light enough by the lamp to see the outline of the man, so as to be able to say that he was a tall person. Mrs. Patrickis quite a little woman, she is quite different person from the person I saw in the room. I am quite clear of that. The maid who slept in the room with my sister, is about as tall as I am; not quite so tall. I am quite sure it was not her. There was no other maid in the house.”
This is the evidence of the first witness; and you observe he says, he is quite sure it was not any of the females of the house who came into his room; and he is quite sure that there was no other male person in the house besides himself and the Defendant Church; and he is certain that it was not the maid nor his mistress.
The next witness examined is Thomas West. He says, “I am workmen to Mr. Patrick, the potter. On the morning of the 26th of September last, I relieved Adam Foreman at the Kiln. I relieved him about half past twelve o’clock in the morning: he left me shortly afterwards for the purpose of going to bed. I saw him again in about half an hour. He was only part dressed. He had his small clothes, his shoes, and one stocking on. He came to me in a very great fright, and bid me light my candle. He appeared very much alarmed, and bid me light my candle and come along with him up to the house. He told me, as we were going along the garden, that Mr. Church had been to him, and behaved in a very indecent manner. He did not explain how. He unlocked the door, and we went into the house together. When we got into the house he put the remainder of his clothes on. We then went and searched every room in the house, beginning at the bottom and going upwards to the top, except my mistress’s room and Mr. Church’s. We went into all the rooms except Mr. Church’s and Mrs. Patrick’s. We did not go into Mr. Church’s room or that of my mistress. We did not open the door of either of those two rooms. When we came to Mr. Church’s door, I said, “I’ll go and pull him out; shall I?” The Lad said, “No, for fear of disturbing my mistress.” In consequence of that observation of the lad’s, I forebore going into the room. Foreman then came along with me into the Pottery. He came down stairs; locked the back door, and staid with me the whole of the remainder of the night at the Pottery ’till the morning. We searched in all the rooms of the house for the purpose of seeing if there was any other person in the place. We found no window or door open at which any body could have got into the house. I saw them all secure and fastened. When Foreman came to me, he did not explain what Church had done to him; he only told me that Church had behaved in a very indecent manner to him. I did go to search for thieves in the house. When he told me that Church had behaved in a very indecent manner to him,I went to see if there was any other person in the place. Foreman did not tell me he believed that there was thieves in the house. I am quite sure he did not explain in what way Church behaved to him. He did not tell me that Church came to his bed side, and laid his hand upon his private parts; he never from first to the last, either in the course of the morning when staying with me, or after we had been to the house, tell me what Church had done, and that he had laid his hand upon his private parts. I went before the Magistrate some time after this; I believe it was six or seven weeks.”
Gentlemen, there would be a great deal in the observation upon the circumstance of the parties not going before the Magistrate until six or seven weeks afterwards, if the matter had been kept a secret. But it is not kept a secret; so far from that, it was quite notorious. And here is a letter, in the hand-writing of the Defendant himself, dated the 6th of October, in answer to a letter of Mrs. Hunter; and it appears that the subject had been ventilated and circulated, for some days before, and had become the topic of general discussion amongst the Defendant’s congregation; because it appears that Mrs. Hunter had written a letter herself to the Defendant upon it. There is nothing, therefore, in the observation of the Learned Counsel for the Defendant as to the tardiness of going before the Magistrate.
He says, “The Lad then went with his father. The Lad generally slept at home at his father’s house. The father lives about a quarter of a mile from Mr. Patrick’s. The Boy did not sleep at his father’s the next night; but he did the next night after that. We did not go to the Justices until about six or seven weeks afterwards. I did not communicate with Mr. Patrick upon the subject before I went to the Justice.”
The next witness called is Mr. Patrick. He says, I am a Potter, at Vauxhall; the boy, Foreman, lived with me all the time I have been in the pottery business; that is, between five and six years. He slept in my house only occasionally, and that was whenever I went out of town. As there was no other male in the house on those occasions, he used to sleep there for the purpose of giving the key to the Potter in the morning. I was absent from home on the 25th of September; and on that occasion the Boy slept in my house; he slept upon a chair bed in the front parlour; it was a temporary bed for a nurse occasionally. I knew the Defendant, John Church; I first became acquainted with him when I came to reside at Vauxhall; he is a Baptist Preacher, and I attended his chapel; and that was the way I became acquainted with him. His residence is adjoiningto the Chapel. In the month of September, the Defendant came to sleep at my house. He complained occasionally of ill health; and thinking that he was ill, I asked him, out of friendship, to take a bed at my house, as I thought the air would be of service to him. I returned home on the evening of the 26th of September, and on the morning of the 27th the Boy made a communication to me respecting this transaction.
So that you see, Gentlemen, the Boy makes this communication to his master at the earliest moment he has an opportunity of speaking to him.
“Several of the congregation afterwards applied to me, and at their request I went to Mr. Church on the 9th of October.”
But, Gentlemen, the 9th of October is not the first time that this matter was mentioned; for it appears to have been in circulation at the time that Mr. Church wrote the letter which has been given in evidence.
“That was the first communication I had with Mr. Church on the subject. Church said he took it extremely kind of me in calling upon him. I said he might take it as he pleased, as I did not come willingly, but that some of his congregation thought that I ought to see him on the business.”
You observe, Gentlemen, that it was at the request of some of the congregation that he went; and, in a subsequent part of the evidence, it appears that Mr. Thomas, one of the congregation, had expressly desired him to call upon the Defendant.
“I told him, I waited upon him, having seen a letter, wherein he denied three particular points in the Boy’s statement. He then denied, in the fleet place, having taken hold of the Boy, and in the second, his having said to the Boy that he was his mistress. The third point I didn’t particularly recollect; but in the course of conversation he admitted that he had been in the Boy’s room. He denied that he had had hold of the Boy, and that he had told the Boy that he was his mistress. I told him that of these two points the Boy was positive, and I had no reason to doubt any thing that he said. The Defendant said ‘that he was very sorry for it; the worst of it was, it confirmed ancient reports.’”