that he was doing a wrong act, he would be amenable to the justice of his country, and guilty in the eye of the law. That, in his (Baron Martin's) opinion, was a correct statement of the law. He should not allude to Bellingham's case, because many were of opinion that that was an unsatisfactory trial. In Offord's case the late Lord Lyndhurst told the jury that they must be satisfied, before they could acquit the prisoner on the ground of insanity, that he did not know when he committed the act what the effect of it, if fatal, would be. With reference to the crime of murder, the question was, did he know that he was committing an offence against the laws of God and nature? In Oxford's case Lord Denman said, "Something has been said about the power to contract and to make a will; but I think that those things do not supply any test. The question is, whether the prisoner was labouring under that species of insanity which satisfies you that he was quite unaware of the nature, character, and consequences of the act which he was committing; or, in other words, whether he was under the influence of a diseased mind, and was really unconscious at the time he was committing the act that it was a crime." His lordship further said, that the jury must judge of the act by the prisoner's statements, and by what he did at the time. Unless they were satisfied-and it was for the prisoner to make it out-that he did not know the consequences of his act, or that it was against the law of God and man, and would subject him to punishment, he was guilty of murder. His lordship then went most carefully through the evidence. The prisoner's letters appeared to be the most sensible letters he had ever read. Again, the reason the prisoner gave for his act was, "She should not have proved false to me." Now, if his real motive was that he conceived himself to have been ill-used, and either from jealousy of the man who was preferred to him, or from a desire of revenge upon her, committed the act, that would be murder. Those were the very passions which the law required men to control, and if the deed was done under the influence of those passions, there was no doubt that it was murder. The prisoner's expression that he should be hanged for it indicated that he knew the consequences of his act. Another reason he gave for what he had done was, "The woman who deceives me must die." If a young lady promised to marry a man, and then changed her mind, it might be truly said that she deceived him; but what would be the consequences to society if men were to say every woman who treated them in that way should die, and were to carry out these views by cutting her throat? The prisoner claimed to exercise the same power over a wife as he could lawfully exercise over a chattel, but that was not a delusion, nor like a delusion. It was the conclusion of a man who had arrived at results different from those generally arrived at, and contrary to the laws of God and man, but it was not a delusion. Evidence, indeed, had been given of an actual delusion in the prisoner's mind in supposing that there was a conspiracy against him. That was an apt and common instance of delusion. There was also evidence of insanity in the maternal line, and it was true that insanity was hereditary, and did descend in families. The object of that was to show that it was possible and not unlikely that the hereditary taint might exist in the prisoner. All the evidence, however, failed to show the existence of any delusion in the prisoner's mind which could explain this act. None of his family conceived him to be mad. It was clear that such an idea had not entered into their mind, or they would not have recommended him to go and see Miss Goodwin. They treated him as sane from beginning to end, as a proper person to contract matrimony, and re-engage the affections of this young woman. The account of his state of mind upon receiving her letters was most probably correct. Most

men would probably suffer in the same way under similar circumstances. It had been said by one of the witnesses that the prisoner did not know the difference between good and evil. If that was a test of insanity, many men were tried who did not know that difference. In truth it was no test at all. The idea of a conspiracy was a delusion; but the mere setting himself up against the law of God and man was not a delusion at all. The question for the jury was, "Was the prisoner insane, and did he do the act under a delusion, believing it to be other than it was?" If he knew what he was doing, and that it was likely to cause death, and was contrary to the law of God and man, and that the law directed that persons who did such acts should be punished, he was guilty of murder.

The jury then retired, and, after an absence of five minutes, returned into court with a verdict of “Guilty" of wilful murder.

The prisoner was then called upon in the usual form to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him.

Baron Martin, having put on the black cap, said,-Prisoner at the bar, after every possibility in your favour has been urged with an ability never excelled, you have been found guilty of wilful murder, and in that verdict I entirely concur. If the defence which has been set up in your behalf had prevailed, it would, in my opinion, have been attended with consequences dangerous to society. If it entered into the minds of men that they might take the life of any woman who was fickle, the results would be fearful. I have now only one duty to perform. With regard to that I have no discretion, but am under an absolute necessity of fulfilling it. I beg of you to take advantage of your opportunity to make your peace with God. I have no desire by any comment of mine to distress you or any other persons, but will, without saying more, pronounce the sentence imposed by the law. His lordship then, with much emotion, passed sentence of death upon the prisoner.

Pending, however, the time limited by law for the execution of this sentence, some proceedings of an extraordinary character took place. On the day after the trial Mr. Baron Martin addressed to Sir George Grey, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the following letter:

"Nottingham, Dec. 13, 1863.

"Sir,-George Victor Townley was convicted yesterday before me at Derby of murder, and sentenced to be executed. I have directed a copy of my notes to be made for you, should you desire to have it; but there is a full report of the trial in the newspapers. The conviction was in my opinion right; but Dr. Forbes Winslow and Dr. Gisborne were examined at the trial, and both deposed in the strongest manner that the prisoner is now of diseased mind and absolutely insane. I think it right to call your attention at once to the subject, with a view to a correct opinion being formed as to the propriety of his

execution.

"I have, &c.

"SAMUEL MARTIN."

Upon receiving this letter, Sir George Grey, as he afterwards stated, read carefully the evidence given at the trial, but being not so much impressed with the statements of the two medical witnesses as the judge appeared to have been, he

wrote to him to inquire whether he had formed, from the evidence given at the trial or from the demeanour of the prisoner, any opinion of his own as to whether the prisoner was insane, and whether he thought that further inquiry ought to take place. To this letter Baron Martin returned the following answer :

"Norwich, Dec. 18, 1863.

"Sir, I have received your letter of the 17th inst., requesting me to inform Sir George Grey whether the impression produced on my mind by the evidence of the two medical witnesses on the trial of George Victor Townley, coupled with the demeanour of the prisoner, was such as to induce me to believe that the prisoner is now insane, or that there is such reason to believe him so as to call for further inquiry. I cannot say that I have formed any decided opinion upon the point. The demeanour of the prisoner afforded me no means of arriving at one. He sat during the trial with his head depressed; I scarcely once saw his countenance; and he never spoke. I should not be justified in saying that the evidence of Dr. Forbes Winslow and Dr. Gisborne is not correct, but I certainly think, and have thought ever since the trial, that there ought to be further inquiry.

"I enclose a copy of my notes of the evidence. You will find that of Dr. Winslow and Dr. Gisborne at page 25 and following pages.

"Horace Waddington, Esq."

"I am, &c.

"SAMUEL MARTIN.

In consequence of this answer, Sir George Grey addressed a letter to the Commissioners of Lunacy, requesting them to inform him what their opinion was as to the prisoner's then existing state of mind. The answer of the Commissioners, which was dated December 29th, reached Sir George Grey just fortyeight hours before the time appointed for the execution. It was not very explicit or distinct in its terms, but it stated that in their opinion the prisoner could not, for certain reasons given, be considered as being then of sound mind, but that according to the law laid down by Mr. Baron Martin, which was in unison with the highest legal authorities on the subject, he was responsible for his actions. Upon that report alone, Sir George Grey stated, he should not have felt justified in interfering to prevent the execution. But by the same conveyance which brought this report, came also a certificate signed by three magistrates, and also by a surgeon and a physician, which was in the following

terms:

66

'Derby County and Borough Gaol, Dec. 27, 1863.

"We, the undersigned, William Thomas Cox, Thomas Boden Forman, and Thomas Roe, being three justices of the peace for the county or borough of Derby, as hereunder described, hereby certify that we this day attended at the County and Borough Gaol, situate in the said borough of Derby, and with the aid of Henry Goode, of Derby, aforesaid, Doctor of Medicine, and Thomas Harwood, of the same place, surgeon, then and there proceeded to examine and inquire into the mental state and condition of George Victor Townley, confined in the said gaol under sentence of death; and we, the said William Thomas

Cox, Thomas Boden Forman, Thomas Roe, Henry Goode, and Thomas Harwood, further certify that the said George Victor Townley is insane.

"W. T. Cox, Justice of the Peace for the County and Borough of Derby.

"T. B. FORMAN, Justice of the Peace for the Borough of Derby. "THOMAS ROE, Mayor of the Borough of Derby.

"HENRY GOODE, M.B., M.R.C.S.

"THOMAS HARWOOD, Surgeon and Apothecary, and Medical Officer of the Derby Union."

This certificate had been prepared in conformity with the Act of the 3 and 4 Vict. c. 54. It was however irregular in some particulars, and a second certificate, which was technically correct in form, was forwarded to the Home Office the next day. There was very little time for deliberation; the execution of the sentence was imminent, and Sir George Grey, conceiving that he had no alternative but to comply with the statute thus put in force, at once signed a respite, which he forwarded to Derby, and followed up this step by issuing a warrant for the removal of the prisoner to Bethlehem Hospital.

This proceeding, however, on the part of the Secretary of State immediately produced an outburst of surprise and dissatisfaction on the part of the public. The evidence given at the trial respecting the supposed insanity of the prisoner had been received with much incredulity, and the settled opinion of the great majority of the nation, which was strongly upheld by the newspaper press, was, that Townley, at the time he committed the crime, and from that time down to the period of his trial, was in a state of mind which made him fully responsible for his actions and justly amenable to the penalty of the law. A loud outery was raised as to the danger to society which the remission of punishment to such a criminal was likely to produce, and the injustice of the respite became one of the most popular topics of the day. Attention was also forcibly directed to the provisions of the Act under which this result had been brought about; few persons seemed to have suspected that such a law was in force, but when they learned the fact the public was loud in condemnation of its policy. When it further transpired that in this instance the Act to which the prisoner owed his escape had been set in motion at the instance of the attorney who defended him at the trial, the mischief of such a state of law appeared in a still stronger light, since it was perceived that it would be no difficult matter in any similar case to find the requisite number of magistrates and medical men, who, either from bias or favour to the prisoner, or misplaced humanity, or obliquity of judgment, might be induced to put their hands to the document required for his deliverance. In the present case the leading magistrates of the county expressed in decided terms their disapproval of the act of the certifying justices, though their dissent could not of course be of any avail against the certificate which had been given. It is but fair to those who thus certified, to add, that Sir George Grey, after calling upon them to explain the grounds on which their interference had been founded, expressed himself quite satisfied that they had acted in the matter with good faith and under a conviction that the prisoner was really insane, though it was clear at the same time that the movement for procuring the certificate had emanated from the prisoner's own attorney.

In this state of things, and while the ferment in the public mind still continued, Sir George Grey, having acted in strict accordance with the law by

respiting the execution, resolved on taking another step with a view to ascertain the actual state of the prisoner's mind. Acting with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, he directed four medical gentlemen of much experience in cases of lunacy, viz., Dr. Hood and Dr. Bucknill, the Visitors of Chancery Lunatics, Dr. Meyer, of the Broadham Criminal Lunatic Asylum, and Dr. Helps, Medical Superintendent of Bethlehem Hospital, to visit Townley, to investigate his state of mind and report thereupon. These gentlemen accordingly, having had two interviews with the prisoner, made their report to the Home Office, which in very clear and explicit terms stated the conclusion they had formed, that he was of entirely sound mind. The question then arose in what manner the prisoner ought under existing circumstances to be dealt with. It was undoubtedly competent for the Government, and consistent with the Act under which the respite had been granted, to authorize the execution, now that the cause for its suspension was shown not to exist, to be carried into effect. On the other hand, such a measure would have been contrary to the established usage, under which the respite of a capital sentence is always understood to involve a commutation; it would have carried an appearance of great rigour to have departed in this instance from the custom, and would have probably excited a reaction in the public mind not less strong than the previous ebullition. Acting upon these views, the Home Secretary, upon receiving the report of the four medical Commissioners, forthwith announced that the capital sentence on Townley would be commuted to that of penal servitude for life. The opinion of the public generally acquiesced in this decision. The necessity for altering the law, which had been shown by this example to admit of such mischievous operation, became at the same time fully apparent, and the Government at once declared their intention of applying to Parliament at the commencement of the ensuing session for that purpose.

VI.

COURT-MARTIAL UPON LIEUTENANT-COLONEL

CRAWLEY.

The trial of this officer by a court-martial at Aldershot Camp, which began on the 18th of November and continued no less than twenty-one days, was an event which for a long time previously to its taking place, as well as throughout its protracted proceedings, excited the keenest interest, not only in military circles, but throughout the whole community. In the preceding session of Parliament the charges against Colonel Crawley had been repeatedly made the subject of inquiry and comment in both Houses; they had been descanted upon in no measured terms by the newspaper press, and the excitement aroused in the public mind, at what appeared from the highly-coloured narratives which reached this country to be a case of outrageous oppression and cruelty, rose to such a pitch that nothing less than a public investigation in England could have satisfied the incensed feelings of the nation. A court-martial having been decided upon by the Commander-in-Chief, orders were sent out to India that both the accused officer and a large number of the officers and men of the regiment which he commanded, the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, whose evidence might be needed at the trial, should