nother Ministerial Defeat ! THE 8 TRIAL OF THE DOG, FOR BITING THE NOBLE LORD; WITH THE WHOLE OF THE EVIDENCE AT LENGTH. Caken in o == 3 I o m BY THE AUTHOR OF THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE NOBLE LORD'S BITE." ILontrcm : PRINTED BY AND FOR W. HQNE, 67, OLD BAILEY, TUREE DOORS FROM LUDG ATE-H 1 1 I . 1817. Price Two-Pence. THE TRIAL, C/N thp morning this important Trial was to take place, the Court was crowded at an early hour. As soon as the Judges and Counsel were assembled, the Prisoner Honesty was brought into Court, hea- vily ironed. Notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, such was the undauntedness of his character, that he did not seem at all abashed. The most effectual precautions were therefore deemed necessary; he was accordingly fastened to the bar with a halter round his neck in a respectful position ; and the Court, with a view to preserve its own dignity, and that the prisoner might clearly see he had a fair and impartial trial, ordered that he should Avear spec- tacles, and be muzzled. The names of the Special Jurymen appointed to try the prisoner were then called over by the Associate, and the following sworn in. THE JURY. Christopher Contract, of Threadneedle-street, Paper-maker. Peter Pension, of the Regent's-park, Esquire. Gregory Guineaman, of the Old Alms-houses, Dealer in Straw. Luke Lickspittle, of Dirty-lane, Gentleman. Thomas Taxem, of Stonecutter-street, Grinder. Abel Assessor, of Trump-street, Colourman. Caleb Collector, of Hanging-sword-alley, Dry-salter Claudius Commissioner, of Billingsgate, Duller in Gunpowder. Ephraim Eitherway, of Turnstile, Dealer in Sweets. Talesmen. Stephen Standfast, of Goodman's-fiehis, Anchor-smith. Charles Conscience, ol Sidncy's-alley, Plane-maker. Francis Fairman, of Hampden-place, Surveyor. The Information being read, charged " That the Prisoner Honesty, being notoriously, or otherwise, an animal of a wicked, depraved, and most malicious mind and disposition, and most unlawfully, wickedly, impiously, and maliciously envying the,peace of mind, and high and happy estate, of the Noble Lord, and devising, contriving, and intending to disturb, worry, hurt, harm, maltreat, injure, abuse, annoy, torture, and do bodily or other wrong or mischief to the said Noble Lord, whilst the said Noble Lord was sitting up, or standing prostrate, or turning his back upon himself, or lying on or upon or near his own place or seat in his own House, him, the said Noble Lord, with his teeth, and with sticks, staves, pitchforks, knives, swords, guns, and pistols, or with some or one of them, or with some other weapon or weapons, did bite, and thereby, that is to say, by the said bite, or otherwise, on or upon the said Noble Lord, or on or upon a certain noble part or' him the said Noble Lord, did make a vio- lent assault, and rend, or tear, or inflict a certain mark, wound, bruise, or bite, to the grievoui wrong and injury of the said Noble Lord, or of his said noble part, against the form of the statute in that case made and provided, and against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his crown and dignity." The Counsel for the Crown briefly stated to the jury, that tfiis was no common case; the information charged that the N e L d had been bitten by Honesty, the prisoner at the bar, in a place thought secure from such attacks in his own house. His L -p had thereby sustained great injury : such apprehensions were entertained by his colleagues, that it was deemed n- to tie h s L p up, until it was clearly ascertained whether he was infected or not. The N e L d's reputation mid em- ployment were suspended; and he was an object of dread to all who usually acted with him. His L p would be produced as a witness. The learned counsel said, if the prisoner was found guilty, he had no doubt the Court would sentence him to the severest punishment it could by law inflict. Me should be happy, however, if the respectable jury acquitted the prisoner, because suspicion would no longer attach to h s L p; but in that case it became the duty of those who possessed the power to prevent the prisoner from being at large to disturb the peace of society. THE NOBLE LOUD examined, (in e strait waistcoat.) Q. Will you state how this unfortunate affair happened ? A. I can scarcely tell. I was at my house in Westminster when I was attacked. (His L p here mentioned some of the particulars re- lated in the pamphlet entitled The Official Account of the Noble Loid's Bite.) Q. Your L p has no doubt that the prisoner did you the mi-chief? A. None whatever. Cross-examined. Q. Will your Lordship swear that this affair happened in your own house? A. Certainly. Q. You swear it is your own house? A. I do. Q. You are the master of it? A. I am. Counsel for the Crown. We will prove it directly, if necessary but the fact of it's being his L p's house is notorious. Counsel for the Prisoner. Perfectly so ; we admit it : we were only iinxions to have it from the witness himself. Q. You carry on business there ? A. A very extensive one. Q. What is the nature of this extensive business? A. I really cannot exactly answer the question. Q. Is it not a Common house? A. Sir? Q. Is il not a bad house? A. It is a Club House. Q. How ate its Members made. A. In various ways; there are no settled modes : sometimes they make one another, and some make themselves Members. Q. Is it not a house of ill fame? A. It is a preparatory school for young gentlemen. Q. Is it not a Flash House? It is a very good house; there can- not be a better. Q. Is it not frequented by spendthrifts and swindlers, and people who fabricate false reports? A. I have seen persons of the greatest respectability there. Q. 1 ask you again if it is not a notorious house for the resort of pickpockets? A. It is impossible for me to know every body. Q. I ask you upon your oath, if it is not a place of public prosti- tution, the known receptacle of prostitutes ; and whether they are not under your protection? A. t claim the protection of the Court. The Court. I am afraid the Jury must be content with the wit- ness's refusal to answer. Q. Pray, my L d, how long have you been acquainted with the prisoner ? A. I don't know. Q. Then perhaps you can tell how long it is since you have not been acquainted with the prisoner? A. I cannot recollect. The Court. You cannot press these questions ; the witness is evi- dently unwilling to answer. He would lose his character by acknow- ledging the intimacy; and he is not bound to criminate himself. The Witness. I am not intimate with the animal. Prisoner's Counsel. I dare say not; but I will ask you when you were, intimate with him. Witness. I do not know ; it is many years ago. Q. Here in England ? A. No. Q. Where then? A. At Belfast, in Ireland. Q. On what occasion? A. When I was a Member of the Whig Club there, and took the Test. Q. Did you see the prisoner's face when he bit you? A. I did not; I was afraid to look up. Q. Then it might have been one of* the animals of your own ac- quaintance that bit you ? A. Oh, no, that's impossible, their bite^ are never more than skin-deep, and give no pain. Q. Pray, were you not bitten by the Prisoner in the same place some years ago, and got the better of it ? A. Yes. Q. Have you never expressed great horror of the prisoner, when you heard him mentioned ? A. Yes ; and I have done so because I always felt the old wound begin to ache. Q. Then it might have been your apprehension of the prisoner's presence that re-opened your wound I A. I do not think it was. I was greatly agitated ; I said L was bitten ; and all my friends shunned me for fear I should bite them. I have been in a Strait waistcoat ever since. Re-examined. Q. You have been put under this restraint in consequence of the prisoner's attack upon you? A. Yes; on no other account. Q. And your sensations are extremely painful IA. They are. I feel remarkably queer about the throat, with a constant horror and dread of being suffocated or strangled! Cross-examination resumed. Q. But you do not think you are in such danger of being hanged as the prisoner ? A. I hope not. Q. I have no doubt you hope so. Do you think it possible for the prisoner, Honesty, to escape hanging or starving in these times ? A. I do not. DOCTOR REYNOLDS examined. Q. When you attended the last witness, did you think him in danger? A. Yes. Q. What were the symptoms? A. A continued raving against Ilie prisoner by name, and a determination to do him mischief. Q. In what state was bis wound ? A. Very bad. It was a great laceration. I applied the proper dressings, salt and gunpowder, and withdrew. Cross-examined by the Prisoner's Counsel. Q. Did the wound appear recent? A. There was great inflammation with a tendency to mortify. Q. Was it a newly-made wound? A. It bled much, and looked angry. Q. Answer my question-, Sir. In your opinion was it a fresh wound? A. The blood was fresh, with a bluish tinge, but that might have been the reflection of the patient's coat. Some had been preserved in a basin; it indicated an alarming state of the system; there was no appearance of buff. Q. Attend to my question. I ask you, upon your oath, if it was a fresh wound? A. The wound was not seen by me till after it had In i n made ; and I wish to swear with caution. Q. How long have you had that wish ? A. Sir? Q. You have sworn a great deal in your time, I am informed?* A. I am sorry you have been informed so, Sir. Q. Ob, no doubt of it ! A. Sir, I claim the protection of the court. I've done the state some service, and they know it. I have tin- honour to receive a pension to be received at court to be a freeholder, and a grand juryman. Q. Do you understand the nature and obligation of an oath? A. Certainly I do ; I am shocked to have it doubted. Q. Then pray tell me, how many oaths you swore in Ireland against your friends -what oath you took here as a grand juryman what oath you have just taken as a witness and why, upon your oath, you do not answer my question. Counsel for the Crown. I entreat that the witness may not be hurried in this manner. His feelings are distressed. I perceive he is a friend of the last witness, a gentleman of nice honour, and a postmaster, and will shortly kiss hands upon going abroad as a Consul. Counsel for the Prisoner. Take him away ; I have done with him. DOCTOR OLIVER called. A letter was put in from this witness, stating, that he was neces- sarily absent, doing moral duty in the north ; but he pledged his morality, us a moral man, for the truth of some statements afterwards made in his letter, which the Court refused to hear read. MR. C NN G examined. Q. I believe, Sir, you can relate something of tiiis matter? A. \ can; I was in the house when it happened. I heard my noble friend cry out, and ran to his assistance. He was convulsed, but not speechless. I gave him all the assistance in my power. Q. Do you know the prisoner at the bar? A. Not at all. Q. Have you any doubt of his being the culprit? A. None vt hatever. Cross-examined. Q. You are intimate with the N e L d who suffers ? A. Very. Q. How long ago is it since you fought a duel with him? A. This is a most ungentlemanly question. Q. Answer it, Sir. A. I protest I did not expect this. Q. Will you answer the question or not? A. I cannot tell. Q. You say, you do not know the prisoner; look at him, and tell me if you never saw him before? A. If I have, it is many years ago. Q. How long? A. Soon after I quitted Oxford; during Lord John Townsend's election for Westminster. Q. At what place did you see him? A. At the King's Arms, in Compton Street, Soho. Q. Pray, Sir, how came you there ? A. He was at the election- committee held there. Q. And what carried you there? A. I beg to be spared the answer. Q. We can do without it. You know the N e L d's house? A. Yes. Q. Is it not a house of ill-fame, frequented by idle and dissolute people and prostitutes ? A. I have ever considered it a most useful establishment for training and initiating young persons, and the sons of noblemen to business ; for giving them early experience in the ways of the world, and qualifying them for public life. Q. Did you ever see the prisoner there ? A. Never. GABRIEL GRAB examined. Q. You are a thief-taker ? A. I took the prisoner into custody. Q. You had much difficulty in finding him ? A. A great deal. I " my brother traps touted for " ' Q. Did he resist when you seized him ? A. He shewed his teeth, and my brother traps touted for him every where. and growled in a most terrible manner; but I clapped the hobbles 01 him, and got him safe. Cross examined. Q. I believe, Grab, some of the newspapers gave you great credit for your conduct in that affair. A. Pretty well, Sir. Q. Read this, Grab, in the Courier ; and tell me if it is an authen- tic account of your services. (Reads ) " THE MONSTER. " We are extremely happy to announce the discovery and apprehension of the brute who lately so cruelly assailed the NoJ>le Lord, who is now lying in a most dangerous condition from his wounds. As soon as the atrocity had been committed, every exertion wab made to take the offender: the search was not confined to London, hut extended to the remotest part of the king- dom, without effect; at length by. the vigilant perseverance of GRAB, die patrole, tin's eminent service is accomplished. This active Otlicer received private authentic information, which enabled him to secure the dangerous beast, at the very moment when he was about to sally forth, and in all proba- bility commit the most horrible outrages i Grab was severely wounded in the struggle; but, having made sure of his prey, he put heavy irons upon him, and, supported by a numerous escort, lodged him in a place of strong confine- ment. We have pleasure in being able to state that this praiseworthy officer has been promoted." 000 023 026 . Yes, fli Is is a rorv good account, Sir. Q. Well, Graf), there was a reward offered for tfie prisoner's ap- prehension ? /. Tin-re was: a proclamation was issued, offering t t'500 on his being taken: and a reward of 500 on the discovery and apprehension of any person harbouring and secreting h im. Q. You say you had great difficulty in finding him] A. Vtty great. Q. Was he not described and named ? A. Yes ; but the description was incorrect. The name was nothing; for we did not know where to look after such an animal as Honesty; he was described as a monster. (I. And when and where did you find him. A. In the middle of the day, sitting on Black friars Bridge. Q. How did you know him. A. A poor man was giving hi:n ;i bit of bread, patting him on the head, and calling him by his u. me. Q. What did you do thru ?- A. I went up, and knocked him down; he attempted In yet up; 1 knocked him down again; h began to row I, ami \ hand-cuffed him, ami took him to the watch-house. (1. And uhcre had lie been \;vVty// A. Lord bless you ! nowhere. I and my brother officers had seen him every hour in the day, but did not know it was him we wanted. Counsel for the Prosecution. We shall call no more witnesses. DEFENCE. Prisoner's Counsel. Gentlemen of the Jury, The unhappy Dog Hourly, the prisoner at the bar, is wholly innocent of the offence laid to liis charge. He needs no speech to defend him. I will produce incontestible evidence to prove that he is not guilty. I ask you to ^el rid of your prejudices, and suspend your judgment*, and I will coin nice you tir.it my unfortunate client ought not to be hanged because he has a bad name. The only crime of which he is guilty is poverty ; but you are not trying him for that. Poverty is a great crime, the master crime, the crime of all others most easily punishable, and therefore most frequently and most severely punished in this world. But I repeat, you are not trying him for that. I exhort and charge you upon your oaths to forget the prisoner's poverty, and a true verdict give according to the evidence. The first witness 1 shall call is the keeper of the N e L d's house. Tin- I)uoir urr.PKK c.iamined. Q. Do you know the prisoner at the bar. A. I have seen him. Q. Were you in the honse, and present, when the > e L d was bitten 1~A. I was. Q. Was Honesty in (he house then? A. Yes; but it was known only to a few of the Club. Some members told the N e L -d of it. H s L p started, and listened, and heard the prisoner's voice. The prisoner was on the other side from that where h s L p was. H s L p was greatly agitated, he became convulsed. 1 saw him writhe a great deal; he gnawed his flesh, and bit himsttf. Mr. C nn g came up, and assisted in getting h s L p off. The witness did nut think h s L .p ever saw the pri- soner. He no doubt heard his voice ; that created h s L p's alarm. The prisoner was not near h s L p. He was near a party of gentlemen quite on the opposite side. Witness is certain the prisoner was not on h s L p's side of the house. Is certain h s L p bit himself. Witness thinks h s L p's friends have nothing to fear from him, but would not like to go near him himself. If h s L p were bitten by the prisoner, wit- ness would not be in danger himself; but 'thinks h s L p's friends would. Cross-examined. Q. Do you positively swear that the prisoner did not go over to the N e L -d? A. I do. I had my eye on the prisoner all the time he was in the house. He never left his party for a moment. Q. Suppose the prisoner had bitten h s L p do you not think H s L p would have gone mad ? A. No. Re-examined by the Prisoner's Counsel. Q. Suppose the N e L d had bitten the prisoner, do you suppose he would have gone mad? A. Yes. Other witnesses fully corroborated the last-mentioned testimony, and gave evidence to the prisoner's character. The Counsel for the prosecution said, he felt great disappointment in the turn the evidence had taken. As he found he could not ob- tain the verdict he wished, it would not be beneficial to the coun- try or the prisoner to proceed ; he therefore left the affair to the Jury in its present state. Verdict NOT GUILTY. As soon as the verdict was delivered, the hall rang with acclama- tions. The Noble Lord was released from his strait waistcoat; and the Court directed that the prisoner should be at liberty to be confined in Horsemonger Gaol until he should cease to be sus- pected of being suspicious; with further liberty to see the Surry Hills daily if he could ; to play on the flute if he knew how ; but not to sing bow, wow ! THE END. Just Published Price FOUR-PENCE, BY THE AUTHOR OF " THE TRIAL OF THE DOG." OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF THE NOBLE LORDS BETE! AND HIS DANGEROUS CONDITION; WITH WHO WENT TO SEE HIM, AND WHAT WAS SAID, SUNG, AND DONE, ON THE MELANCHOLY OCCASION. Pnblialted for the Instruction and Edification of all Ranks and Condit of Men. I'KINTl-lD BY AND FOR W. HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY, Three Doors from Ludgate-HiU.