“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 The hand was withdrawn when I awoke.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. Patrick is 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 adjoining to 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.”