Thomas Skinner was next examined.—“I work for the landlord of the Red House; and about half-past six o’clock on the morning of the 8th of January, when going to my work, I saw the flash of two pistols at one and the same time, and I heard the reports of both. I was nearly three hundred yards distant. I turned my back towards them, and one of the bullets appeared to pass me. When I went towards the place where the firing was, I saw four men bringing up a man on a board. They asked me if the house was open. I told them it was not, and they desired me to knock the people up. I did so; and then they brought the wounded gentleman up, and placed him in the house. He groaned very much, and said, ‘Don’t shake me.’”
Several other witnesses were examined; and the following statement, signed by the prisoner, was put in and read:—
“The prisoner, Richard William Lambrecht, being cautioned by the magistrates to be careful of what he said, and to offer nothing to criminate himself, said, ‘What I state is the whole truth. I was acquainted with Mr. Clayton. I saw him receive a horse-whipping, which he did not resent. I mentioned it to Mr. Clayton on Christmas evening, and after that he sent me a message, to which I returned another by Mr. Odell. Another person, nearly a fortnight after, took it up, and was my friend in the business. After that, the meeting took place; and Mr. Byrne, when on the ground, came up to me, and said, ‘Is it come to this?’ and I said, that I would make a written apology to no man. After the business took place, I went up to Mr. Clayton and shook hands with him, and he said, ‘I forgive you, my dear friend; I forgive you.’ The message to me by Mr. Odell was from Mr. Clayton; but Mr. Odell advised Mr. Clayton not to fight, refused to have anything to do with it, and was not on the ground. I offered an apology through my friend. I said, I regretted what had taken place; that the words were uttered in a moment of intemperance, and that I was willing to apologize; which was refused by the other party. I sent this message through my friend. The answer I received was, that it must proceed, as nothing would be taken but a written apology. As far as I know about the business, both our pistols went off at the same time. It was a chance shot, as it was dark, and we could not see.”
Several witnesses were then called, who had long known the prisoners, and described them as persons of a humane and peaceable disposition.
Mr. Justice Bayley summed up, and closed his observations on the evidence with telling the jury that the question for them to decide was, by what means did Mr. Clayton come by his death? If they were of opinion that he came by his death by a bullet from the pistol of Mr. Lambrecht, and that Mr. Lambrecht met him on the ground with the intention, if the difference could not be settled, of putting his life against Mr. Clayton’s, and Mr. Clayton’s against his, he was bound, as a lawyer and a judge, to tell them, that Mr. Lambrecht was guilty of the crime of wilful murder, and that they were bound to find him guilty of that crime under the present indictment.—With respect to the prisoner Cox, Lambrecht’s second, however desirous he might have been for a reconciliation, and however he might have expected that an apology would be accepted, still, if he allowed himself to continue on the ground when he found that reconciliation was hopeless, and acted on the occasion as a second, he must be considered as aiding and abetting in that transaction; which, in the case of Lambrecht, amounted to the crime of wilful murder.—Then, with respect to the prisoner Bigley, Mr. Clayton’s second, he acted as a go-between, and no other person was there on the part of Mr. Clayton. What, then, was the common purpose of the parties at the time, and was Bigley aiding and abetting? If the common purpose was, that the life of Lambrecht and Clayton should be respectively put in hazard, then Bigley was as much aiding and abetting as Cox. The learned Judge concluded by telling the jury to take the case into their careful consideration; and if they were satisfied that Mr. Clayton came to his death by the shot of Lambrecht in the duel, and that Cox and Bigley were aiding and abetting on that occasion, they must find, or at least ought to find, a verdict of guilty.
The jury, after deliberating in the box for a few minutes, expressed a wish to retire. Before they went out, one of them said, they wished to know whether they might return a verdict of guilty generally, or whether they must say guilty of murder? Mr. Justice Bayley told them, that if there had been any circumstances in the case to reduce the crime to manslaughter, he should have stated them for their consideration; but he had found none. The juryman who had asked the question said, that the object of it was, to know whether they might find a verdict of manslaughter. The jury, after deliberating three hours and a half, returned a verdict of “Not guilty.”
BETWEEN CAPTAIN SMITH AND STANDISH O’GRADY, ESQ.
March 17, 1830.
At the Commission Court, in Dublin, on the 21st of August, Captain Smith and Captain Markham, of the 32d regiment of Foot, were tried for killing Standish O’Grady, Esq. in a duel. Mr. North stated the case for the prosecution. The late Mr. O’Grady, a young gentleman of about twenty-eight years of age, and a member of the bar, had, on the 17th of March, ordered his horse, for the purpose of driving out and taking his morning exercise. He was riding up Nassau Street, towards Merrion Square, when he met a cabriolet with Captain Smith and Captain Markham in it. Mr. O’Grady was riding on the left-hand side, which is adjacent to the wall of the College park. There was a carriage on the other side of the street, which narrowed the way the cabriolet should pass, and brought it near the wall, by which Mr. O’Grady was riding. It pressed so near that side, that, in trying to pass it, he was obliged to put his horse on the pathway. In the attempt, the horse missed his footing, and he feared would have fallen and thrown him; and he leaned forward to right himself in the saddle. He had in his hand a small whip; and, in pressing forward, it struck the head of the cabriolet. In this collision, Mr. O’Grady did not say one word to the gentlemen in it. The horse recovered its footing, and he his seat; and he went on at a gentle walk. The gentlemen in the cabriolet drew up as suddenly as its rapid motion would permit; and Captain Smith having jumped out of it, with the gig-whip in his hand, overtook Mr. O’Grady a little beyond Morrison’s Hotel. He did not call him; he did not expostulate with him; but he struck him on the back repeatedly, with great violence,—not once or twice, but many times. When he turned, he saw Captain Smith running back to his cabriolet. He asked him, who he was? Captain Smith said, he knew him well; but, on the question being repeated, he said, “Captain Smith, of the 32d regiment.” Mr. O’Grady rode to his father’s house, and sought for a military friend, Lieutenant Macnamara, of the 8th Hussars; who, in the course of the day, had an interview with Captain Smith, and Captain Markham, who acted as his friend. The meeting took place at six o’clock in the morning. It was understood, that no persons were to be on the ground but the principals and their seconds. Captain Markham acquainted Mr. O’Grady, that the signal to be given was, “Ready!—fire!” When the arrangements were completed, the principals came into the field, at a signal to that effect, and took their places on the ground. The pistols were placed in their hands, while Captain Markham and Lieutenant Macnamara stood by as seconds. Captain Markham then gave the first signal; but, from whatever cause, he did not give it in the terms fixed on. He said, “Gentlemen, are you ready?” or, “Are you ready, gentlemen?” Mr. O’Grady conceived the words were to be, “Ready!—fire!” and that this was a preliminary inquiry. Captain Smith, however, did not labour under this mistake: he levelled his pistol, and covered Mr. O’Grady for a few seconds. Mr. O’Grady, perceiving his antagonist prepared, raised his pistol; but, before he had levelled it. Captain Markham, whose eye was upon him, gave the signal. Captain Smith fired, and Mr. O’Grady fell. He lived till about three o’clock on the following day, when he expired.
Evidence was adduced in corroboration of the above statement. The jury returned a verdict, finding both prisoners guilty of manslaughter; and they were sentenced to be imprisoned in the gaol of Kilmainham for the space of twelve months. The announcement of the sentence was received with cheers from some parts of the court. Captain Smith, who, during the latter part of the trial, had evinced considerable emotion, as soon as the sentence was pronounced, clapped his hands to his forehead, and in an agony exclaimed, “Oh God! my God! take my life! Is it come to this?” Then, throwing himself into Captain Markham’s arms, he cried, “Oh Markham! my dear Frederick, have I brought you to this? Oh! I wish to God they would take my life! Shame and disgrace, and every thing else, have come upon me!” The unfortunate gentleman then covered his face with his handkerchief, and burst into tears. Judge Vandeleur added, that, in passing the sentence, he ought, perhaps, to have said, that the conduct of the prisoners, when in the field, was such as to leave no stain upon their character.