After Mr. Scott was wounded, Mr. Christie’s friend apprised Mr. Patmore, that, in the first fire, Mr. Christie did not direct his pistol at Mr. Scott; but this circumstance not having been observed by Mr. Patmore, nor communicated to him at the time, and the parties being still unreconciled, a second fire unfortunately took place, which terminated as above stated. On Sunday Mr. Guthrie extracted the ball. Mr. Scott lingered till Thursday, the 4th of March, when he expired. On the same evening, the coroner’s inquest sat on the body; upon which occasion Dr. Darling stated, that Mr. Scott, referring to his wound, had said, “This ought not to have taken place; I suspect some great mismanagement; there was no necessity for a second fire.” After a short pause, he proceeded—“All I required from Mr. Christie was a declaration, that he meant no reflection on my character; this he refused, and the meeting became inevitable: on the field Mr. Christie behaved well, and when all was ready for the fire, he called out—‘Mr. Scott, you must not stand there; I see your head above the horizon; you give me an advantage.’ I believe he could have hit me then if he liked. After the pistols were re-loaded, and every thing was ready for a second fire, Mr. Trail called out—‘Now, Mr. Christie, take your aim, and do not throw away your advantage, as you did before.’ I called out immediately, ‘What! did not Mr. Christie fire at me?’ I was answered by Mr. Patmore, ‘You must not speak; ’tis now of no use to talk; you have nothing now for it but firing.’ The signal was immediately given: we fired, and I fell.” The deceased expressed himself satisfied with Mr. Christie’s conduct; whom he described as having been very kind to him after he was wounded.
Mr. Pettigrew stated, that Mr. Christie asked him what he thought of the wound. He replied, that he feared it was mortal, in the hearing of Mr. Scott; when Mr. Christie addressed Mr. Scott, and expressed a wish “that he had been in Mr. Scott’s situation, rather than Mr. Scott should have been wounded by him.” Mr. Scott then said, “Whatever may be the issue of this business, I beg you will bear in remembrance, that everything has been fair and honourable.” On being asked, if he did not hear it said on the ground, by Mr. Christie, that he had fired down the field, he replied—“I did; to the best of my recollection, Mr. Christie said, wringing his hands, apparently in agony, ‘Why was I permitted to fire a second time? I discharged my pistol down the field before; I could do no more. I was compelled to fire in my own defence.’” These expressions were made in consequence of some altercation which took place between the seconds. Mr. Christie took Mr. Scott by the hand after he was wounded.—The Coroner having summed up the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of “wilful murder” against Mr. Christie, Mr. Trail, and Mr. Patmore.
On Friday, the 13th of April, Chief Justice Abbott and Mr. Justice Park having taken their seats on the bench, at the Old Bailey, Mr. Gurney, who was their counsel, announced that Mr. Christie and Mr. Trail attended to surrender and take their trials, upon an indictment found by the grand jury against them for murder. They were immediately placed at the bar, and pleaded “Not guilty.” Mr. Patmore did not make his appearance. The case for the prosecution was opened by Mr. Walford; who observed, that if the jury felt any doubts as to the identity of the prisoners, or thought the whole affair was gone through in heat, then they would acquit the gentlemen at the bar. Dr. Darling then repeated the evidence he had given before the coroner. After which, Mr. Christie and Mr. Trail being called on for their defence, stated, that they should only call witnesses to speak to their general character and habits of life. A number of most respectable persons then bore testimony to the general benevolence and humanity of their dispositions.
Chief Justice Abbott then, after stating to the jury the nature of the indictment, proceeded to instruct them as to the law of the case. The accusation charged three persons as aiding and concurring in the death of Mr. Scott: two individuals only appeared; but if the jury believed that the individuals at the bar were really two of those who had aided in the commission of the crime, it mattered not by whose particular hand the pistol had been discharged. The distinction, in cases of duels, between manslaughter and murder had been very clearly and correctly marked out by the learned counsel for the prosecution: if persons in heat of blood went out and fought with deadly weapons, then the law, allowing for the frailty of human nature, deemed the party killing guilty of manslaughter only; but if, yielding to a false notion of honour, they went out upon deliberation and in cold blood to fight, then the death of one man fixed the crime of the murder upon all concerned; upon seconds (frequently the more culpable parties) as well as upon principals. The first question then was, were the gentlemen at the bar two of the parties known to have been in the field at the time when the shot was fired? and next, was the duel fought in heat of blood or upon deliberation? His lordship then recapitulated the main points of the evidence, and upon that evidence left the fact of identity to the jury. It was possible, he said, that the real perpetrators of the crime might have escaped from the field before the arrival of Mr. Pettigrew, and that the prisoners at the bar might have appeared accidentally at the moment; still the onus of showing that such had been the case lay in some measure upon them. Upon the second point, the feeling under which (assuming the identity) the duel had taken place—of the time or place at which the quarrel originated there was no evidence. The declaration of Mr. Scott, at the moment of his fall, that all had been done fairly and honourably, was, although the law would not recognise such ideas of honour, entitled to the attention of the jury; and there was another circumstance, arising out of the words of the supposed Mr. Christie, to which their consideration should be directed. They were these—“Why was I allowed to fire a second time? I fired down the field at first; what could I do more? I was compelled to fire in my own defence.” Now, the circumstances were not such as would, in law, acquit a man as having fired in his own defence; but the words might have an operation upon the feeling under which the second shot had been fired. It was possible that Mr. Christie, having forborne to take aim the first time, might have fired his second shot under an impulse of immediate anger, produced by the failure of his pacific proceeding; and in that case, although his adversary fell, the crime amounted only to manslaughter. The Lord Chief Justice concluded by recommending the jury, in a case of doubt, to take the side of mercy; and by observing, upon the excellent characters which the prisoners had received, that, unfortunately, men of the most exemplary humanity and benevolent feeling were too often induced to take part in transactions which led to the loss of life on one side, and to remorse and repentance during life on the other.
The jury, after a deliberation of twenty-five minutes, returned a verdict of “Not guilty.”
BETWEEN VISCOUNT PETERSHAM AND THOMAS WEBSTER WEDDERBURNE, ESQ.
April 21, 1821.
A paragraph having appeared in the public journals, alluding to an altercation between Lord Petersham and Mr. Webster Wedderburne, and hinting that his lordship had undergone personal chastisement, Mr. Wedderburne was called upon to contradict the statement in question. The following is the correspondence that passed between him and Lord Foley upon the occasion:—
“Sir,
“Upon my return home, at six o’clock this evening, I first saw your publication in this day’s morning paper, and, in consequence, lost no time in dispatching an express to Lord Petersham, at Brighton; who will instantly, upon receiving my letter, return to town, and that moment you shall hear from me. I write this, sir, to account for what may appear a delay on the part of Lord Petersham in not writing to you the moment your publication appeared.
“From yours, sir, &c.