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death in consequence of his having received a gun shot wound; that it was for their consideration, whether the prisoners at the bar were guilty of the murder of that man, or not; and that it was also for their consideration, whether the cases of the prisoners admitted of any distinction whatever.

shot; that it was in consequence of that shot the man came by his death. And if the gentlemen of the jury believed that the muskets which Kinch and Watson had were loaded with powder only, or with blank cartridges, or any think that would not commit murder, (for only one of the shots seemed to have taken effect) their case deserved to be distinguished from that of the prisoner Shields. And if they were of opinion that he it was who fired the shot which was the cause of the man's death, he did not see any thing in the case that could excuse, alleviate, or justify the act. He fired the shot at his peril, and was answerable to his country for the consequence. The unfortunate man who lost his life, did not appear to have been involved in the riot, or in making the bonfire, and ap peared by the evidence of his master to have been employed about his business until 9 o'clock.

It had appeared in evidence, that on the evening of the 14th of July last, a number of evil disposed persons appeared in Kevin'sstreet; that they lighted a fire at the Fountain and acted very improperly; but, however culpable or criminal their conduct appeared to have been on that occasion, it could not justify any person in taking away the lives of those who were there assembled. They had heard from the testimony of several witnesses, who had appeared before them, that the prisoners had come down on that occasion near to the bonfire, armed with muskets; and concurrent testimony appeared, that they fired several shots; but the last shot appeared Mr. Baron George concluded, by observto have been the fatal act by which the de-ing, that if the gentlemen of the jury, upon ceased man, who was standing at the bonfire, the evidence laid before them, should be of lost his life; and it had been sworn, that the opinion that all the prisoners at the bar went prisoner Shields was the person who fired that out with a murderous intent, they would shot. It was a very extraordinary circum- every one be as guilty as the person who acstance, that of all the muskets only one tually fired the shot, and then they would should be the instrument by which any mis- give such a verdict as justice and the law dechief was done; and it seemed probable, manded; and he directed them upon the that the other muskets were not loaded, or whole of the evidence, to consider whether several other persons would have lost their | Shields fired the shot by which the man was lives, for there were a great number of per- killed, and if they believed the shot was sons round a fire. A witness had informed fired by him, it would be then for their conthem, that he received several wounds with sideration whether Shields alone committed slugs or chewed shot; and the gentlemen of the murder, or whether he was joined in the the jury must have observed when he came commission of it by the other two prisoners. upon the table, whether he had any appearance of a wound at all. The witness on giving his testimony said that he had been wounded on the cheek, and if so, it was to be presumed they would have made impressions which would have been then visible.

There was one circumstance which he would mention, that appeared very much in favour of the two prisoners, Kinch and Watson;on the examination of one of the witnesses, he said, that before the last shot was fired, some persons cried out, "Shields, don't you fire, for if you do there will be murder." Then did it not seem, as if the other muskets were loaded differently from the one out of which the last shot was fired? Several witnesses had sworn that the last was the fatal

The Jury retired about 3 o'clock, and the Judges having waited some hours, and perceiving no likelihood of the Jury agreeing in a verdict, adjourned the Court until nine o'clock next morning leaving the Jurors locked up.

The Jury, after remaining in until near two o'clock next day, acquitted Kinch and Watson, but not agreeing in a verdict relative to Shields, was discharged;-the prisoner was accordingly remanded for trial the next sitting of the Commission;-and then the Court adjourned until Saturday, the 4th of December following.

* See the next case.

653. The Trial of WILLIAM SHIELDS for the Murder of THOMAS RYAN; before the Court holden at Dublin under a Commission of Oyer and Terminer, on Monday December 6th: 43 GEO. IIl. A. D. 1802.*

Sessions House, Green-street: Monday, De

cember 6th 1802.

John Parker,

The following Jury were then sworn. Josias Philips, Present. The Hon. Mr. Justice DAY; the Mark Saunders, Hon. Mr. Justice Fox.

Counsel for the Crown.- Mr. Mac Nally; Mr. Jonas Greene; Mr. Ridgeway; Mr. Bethel.

Samuel Dunbar,
William Hatton,

James Gibball,
H. James Williams,

Francis Darlington,

Philip Bere,

John Hill

Henry Lemaistre,

Joseph Harrison.

Mr. Mac Nally.-My Lords, and GentleAgents. Mr. Kemmis, Crown Solicitor; men of the Jury;-I am counsel for the Mr. Leonard Mac Nally.

crown; and I am happy to find that one of the objections of the counsel for the prisoner

Counsel for the Prisoner.-Mr. Egan; Mr. is now removed, by the appearance of Mr. O'Driscoll; Mr. Bushe; Mr. Giffard.

Agent. Mr. R. Newell.

THIS day the Court met, pursuant to the adjournment of Saturday last, and proceeded on the trial of William Shields.

Mr. Giffard moved that the rule entered into on the discharging of the former jury should be read, in order that he might be enabled to understand, under what circumstances they had been discharged, in case any point should arise as to the legality of his client being put a second time on his trial. He was necessitated to trespass a little on their lordships' time; having received his brief but a short time previous to his coming into court, he was not fully acquainted with the circumstances of the case.

The Court ordered the rule to be read; which imported, that in as much as the jury could not in any wise agree, and that the justices were about to depart from the county, the business having been finished, the said jury were ordered to be discharged, and that the prisoner Shields was thereby remanded, in order that he might abide his trial at the next sitting of the commission.

Mr. Giffard stated that there was another difficulty under which he laboured, which was, that Mr. Egan, Mr. Bushe and Mr. O'Driscoll, to whom he said he was junior, were absent.

The Court said the prisoner had such long previous notice of the time at which he was to be tried, that he ought to be prepared; that perhaps the gentlemen whose absence was lamented by Mr. Giffard would shortly arrive, and that at all events they considered the prisoner as having a very able advocate in Mr. Giffard.

* See the preceding case.

O'Driscoll, a gentleman, the advantage of whose abilities, Mr. Giffard seems to think so necessary; and it certainly must be of great utility to the prisoner.

I shall state to you, gentlemen, the facts with which the prisoner stands charged; and when I have concluded, I shall have satisfaction in reflecting, that if it was not my duty to extenuate the crime of which he is accused, I at least have not endeavoured to aggravate it, by any unnecessary observations. But, gentlemen, I shall first call your attention to one observation, which I think will be of as much service to the prisoner on his trial, as it will be to public justice; it is this; that you should divest yourselves of any impression arising from any thing that you may have heard or read of this business, previous to this time; that you will confine yourselves to the facts which shall be laid before you, and that you should not draw any conclusion or inference from any thing but the evidence which will be this day produced to you; and their lordships will agree with me, and with the opinion of that learned character lord Mansfield, that a jury should be divested of all prejudice, and that they ought not to receive any impression but what would be sanctioned by the testimony of credible and respectable witnesses.

The prisoner standscharged with murder,one of the greatest crimes of which human nature can be guilty. But, gentlemen, in proportion as the crime with which a man stands charged militates against the laws of society, the greater ought to be your circumspection in receiving evidence of his guilt; and you should well consider of the credibility of the witnesses giving such testimony.

I am sanctioned in the observation I am going to make by the opinion of several judges, that if a man commits homicide, the onus

by means of which Ryan was killed; and, gentlemen, it will lie upon him to show (as i have before observed to you) if the facts shall be proved by the evidence laid before you un der what authority he shot the deceased man; whether it was in defence of his life, whether it was unavoidable, or through necessity; but, gentlemen of the jury, if it shall appear to you, that those shots were fired with an intent to kill any person, I know of no law which could possibly justify the act; and if there is such a law, I am yet to be instructed in it, by the gentlemen on the other side. This, gentlemen, is the case you are to try; and it is a case of a most serious nature, and on which depends the life of the prisoner at the bar.

probandi lies upon him, and he is bound to show under what circumstances he committed it, and to produce evidence of his having committed that homicide under circumstances that might excuse or extenuate it; and if he fails in such proof, the law will supply the malice necessary to constitute the crime of murder; and gentlemen if it shall appear to you upon the evidence, and if you shall be of opinion that the prisoner committed the homicide mentioned in the indictment, I shalf submit to their lordships as to the law on the subject; you, gentlemen of the jury, are judges of the facts, but as to the law upon the subject, you are bound to act under the advice and by the direction of their lordships. I will now state the material facts, as they will appear in evidence before you, against the gentleman at the bar; they are these; I shall state them shortly, and I will not take up your time by stating circumstances not material to the issue of this trial. On the 14th of July last a bonfire was lighted in Kevin'sstreet, at the Fountain, about 11 o'clock at night; a man of the name of Thomas Ryan, who had been in the service of alderinan Stamer, in whose house he was employed until a short time before that hour, and had left alderman Stamer's house to go to his lodgings, in the neighbourhood of Kevin'sstreet, stopped at the bonfire, and while he was standing there, peaceably looking on, close to the Fountain, three shots were fired, and then a fourth, which was the fatal shot; a ball entered his forehead and went out at the back part of his head, and he expired without a groan.

I would not wish to suppress any fact material to the fair and impartial investigation of this matter, and will therefore state to you, that the day on which the deceased man was killed was the anniversary of an event which happened in another country, I mean the French Revolution; and the 12th was the anniversary of a day no less remarkable by the abdication of king James, and the acces sion of king William to the throne. There was an opposition of miscreants belonging to two different factions, whose politics I shall not at present descant upon, and to this opposition an unfortunate and innocent man fell a victim.

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the day following?—I did: you attend on the coroner's inquest on

sir.

Did you see surgeon Rorke there?-I did,

him dead?-I saw him before he returned to When did you see him last, before you saw alderman Stamer's for the last time, on the evening of the 14th.

Mr. James Rorke sworn.—Examined by
Mr. Bethel.

Did you go in a professional capacity to any place on the 14th of July last?—I did, sir; I went on that day to see a man in the crane-yard, in Kevin's street.

Was he living or dead? -He was dead.
Had he the appearance of being wounded?
He had.

Of what nature was the wound?-It seemed to have been inflicted with a gun, or some such instrument, charged with combustible matter; and the contents of which instrument entered his forehead, traversed the brain, and came out at the back part of his head.

Mr. Mac Nally.-What you want to get out of this witness, I will ask him: Was it a mortal wound?—It was.

Michael Johnston sworn.-Examined by
Mr. Ridgeway.

Be so good as to answer the questions I shall ask you. Your name is Michael Johnston?—It is, sir.

Where do you live?-In Kevin's-street.
Did you live there on the 14th of July last?

I am instructed, gentlemen, to state, that the prisoner at the bar, with several other persons, crossed the street from Cathedrallane to the Bishop's palace; that they passed under the shade of the dead wall, enclosing the Bishop's palace, unknown to any of the persons who were at the bonfire; and I understand, that when the party came nearly opposite to the bonfire, the prisoner Shields gave-Yes, sir. orders to the rest of the party to fire ;---expressions were made use of which I shall not now state to you, but I will leave the relation of it to the witnesses who will appear before you ;---and that, in a short time after, the prisoner, singly and individually, fired a musket,

Do you remember the evening of the 14th? I do, sir; I went home and threw myself on the bed, for I was unwell.

How far do you live from the Fountain?— About forty or fifty yards I believe, on the opposite side to the palace.

You were not very well on that evening ?--I was not.

How long did you remain on the bed?-
Until 10, or a little after 10 o'clock.

Now, upon what occasion did you get up?
I heard huzzaing quite loud.

Did the noise appear to proceed from the people at the Fountain? So I thought.

After that did you see any persons pass by? -I turned about, and saw some persons about 20 yards from me, at the corner of Cathedral-lane.

How many persons were there?—About 9 or 10.

Were they armed?-They were, they had among them four firelocks.

Did you observe them do any thing?--I saw Mr. Shields jump forward from the middle of them.

Then you swear the prisoner Shields was of that party?—He was.

Had he a firelock in his hand?-He had. What did you next observe?—I heard him swearing by the Holy Ghost that he would make a lane through the crowd that were at the Fountain.

Are you certain now, Johnston, that you heard him use that expression?-I did indeed, sir.

Did you do any thing in consequence of it? -I turned about and took my hat which lay upon the table at the window, and ran down stairs as hard as I could.

Did they observe you?-Yes, they could not but see me: they pursued me, and I ran down to the Fountain, and clapped my hands, and told the people that if they did not run away there would be murder; and the words were hardly out of my mouth, when I saw 9 or 10 persons near the cooper's.

The persons you saw at Cathedral-lane Yes.

What expressions do you allude to?-He said" by the Holy Ghost he would fire."

Do you know who fired the shot?—I do not.

Was the deceased man, Ryan, killed by the shot?---He was, he fell in a little heap of sludge, that was fornent Mr. Segrave's door, and I cried out that the man was murdered. Were you subject to sickness ?---Yes, I got a paralytic stroke, and am very weak. Mr. Ridgeway...-Were you at the inquest?

---I was.

Where?---At the Crane.

Did you see the surgeon there?--I did not take particular notice.

At the time that you went up to the bonfire, did you see any riot?---I did not see any riot in the world.

Did you hear any noise or huzzaing ?--- I heard a noise when I was in bed.

Did you see the man after he was killed?--
Yes, I saw him dead.

Michael Johnston cross-examined by
Mr. O'Driscoll.

You had no motive whatever, I presume, on this or the former trial, but to do an act of public justice?-Just the thing; I had no other motive whatever.

Did you hear that all Shields's party were yeoman?---I know that Shields was a yeoman.

Pray, sir, do you know a man of the name of Kinch, whom you swore against on a former occasion ?-- I did not swear against him. Did you see him among the party ?---I did not.

Do you not believe that this man came out in defence of his own life, and for the protection of the neighbourhood ?---I never heard it.

Did you never hear that persons were huz?-zaing for the French revolution ?---I did not. Did you live in the street on the 12th and 13th ?---I did.

Did any thing else remarkable happen? Yes, three shots were fired by the party, and I do think that the muskets were not loaded with ball, or some one would have been killed; I then heard some one cry out, "Shields, Shields, if you fire there will be murder." Was that before or after the three shots were fired?-It was after.

Did the prisoner do any thing after that?Shields said," by the Holy Ghost I will fire;" a shot was then fired, and the man fell.

Where was he standing at that time?--I thought he was standing nearer the Fountain than to the Crane.

Did he advance forward ?---He appeared to me to jump forward from the flags into the

street.

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Did you hear any thing about a tree of liberty?---I did not.

When you went up to the Fountain, did you see any thing like a tree of liberty?--I did not see it.

Do you believe there was one there ?--- It might be so.

Do you believe that they had a tree of liberty?---I do not know any thing about it. Do you believe it?--I do not.

What made you awhile ago say; that you did not doubt but they might have had a tree of liberty?--I do not know what it is.

Well, it is any green branch that they might call the tree of liberty: but you said awhile ago, that you did not doubt but that they had a tree of liberty, and you said just now that you believed they had not any such thing; be so good as to reconcile this seeming contradiction to the Court and the gentlemen of the jury; I am sure you can do it?--I do not know what a tree of liberty is.

Did you ever hear what it was?---I did hear something about it, but I cannot recollect what it was.

And do you not believe that eleven out of twelve of the jury did not believe one word of what you said upon that occasion?

You were asleep from 6 till past 10 o'clock; did you hear that a party were going through the street, calling for bloody heretics and orangemen, to the terror of the Protestant and loyal inhabitants of the street?---I always keep myself to myself, and never heard any thing about it.

Did you ever hear that the Protestants were called bloody Orangemen, and that the yeomen were called bloody yeomen?--I did not, nor would I stand by to hear it.

Do you believe there was a mob in the street?-There were some people about the bonfire; and I heard shouting.

When you went up to the bonfire, how many persons were assembled ?---I cannot tell.

Were there 20?---I cannot tell, for the huzzaers all dispersed when I went up to them, and told them there would be murder if they did not go away.

Did you see any disturbance on the 13th, the day before the man was killed?--I did

not.

Did you on the 12th ?---On the 12th I saw Shields dancing round a pitch barrel that was lighting.

Mr. Mac Nally.-I object to that question; it certainly cannot be a fair or proper question to ask any witness.

Court. It certainly is not a proper question to be asked.

Mr. O'Driscoll.-I ask you, on your oath, do you not believe that many people in the neighbourhood wished for the death of the prisoner on account of his loyalty?—I do not; the man never injured me, and I do not wish him any injury.

Have you not heard, and do you not believe, that the prisoner was a man of a very peaceable, quiet disposition, and that he often used exertions to suppress disorder?—I have seen him do so: I never knew any harm of the man in my life, nor never knew him to behave improperly in the whole course of my life.

Court. You say you never heard any thing to the prejudice of the man; now, had you an opportunity of knowing his character from living in the neighbourhood?—I had.

And was his general character a good one? Did you see any one else there ?---Yes, peo--I never knew any thing to his prejudice ple on and about the flags.

This is the third time you were examined relative to this business; you were examined on the coroner's inquest, and on the last trial? ---Yes.

Now, do not you believe that you had as clear a recollection of the circumstances on the day you were examined before the coroner's inquest, which was the very day after the affair happened, as you can possibly now have after such a lapse of time ?--I do, as to what I saw.

Now, by virtue of the oath you have taken, did you not tell the jury on that inquest, that the expression you heard Shields make use of was, "I must go and disperse the mob at the Fountain;" I mean when you gave evidence at the coroner's inquest?--I do not understand what you mean.

Did you mention to the jury on that inquest, that Shields swore he would make a lane through the people at the Fountain ?---I

did.

Did you tell them, that when some person cried out, "Shields do not you fire, or there will be murder," that he made answer, "By the Holy Ghost I will fire?"-I did.

And did you tell him that a shot was fired in two or three minutes after?-To the best of my opinion I did.

You live at No. 15; you have lived there for a long time?-I suppose for about a year. Do you remember ever to have heard, that the houses of many of the Protestants and loyal inhabitants of the neighbourhood were attacked on the 12th, 13th, and 14th at night, or that windows were broken ?—I did not.

You were examined on the last trial for this alleged murder?—I was.

until the present business. He never injured me, and I do not owe any enmity to him.

One of the Jurors.-How could you distinguish his face so well at that time; or how did you know his voice amongst a crowd of people?-I often heard him in the street when he was coming home to his own place, calling out mother; and I often rose to look at him, and took notice of it.

How far were you from Shields when you heard him make use of the expressions you mentioned?-Forty or fifty

Court. Forty or fifty yards?-No, my lord; I believe twenty or thirty.

Is it between forty and fifty yards, or less? I do not think it is fifty yards, but I cannot be certain.

One of the Jurors.-I know the place, and I am sure it is near a hundred yards.

Mr. Justice Fox.-Where were you standing? At the corner of Mr. Segrave's house.

Was it after you had quitted your lodgings, in order to give the alarm to the people at the bon-fire?—It was after I left my own place.

Were you at all concerned in this transaction?-I was not.

Pray, how came it to pass that you went out and passed by a man, and went up to the Fountain, after you had heard him make use of those horrid expressions, swearing that he would make a lane through the crowd at the Fountain? I worked at Mr. Barrett's in Bishop-street, and I thought that some of my shop-mates might have been at the fire.

Then you went to save them by giving them warning of their danger?--I did.

What is Mr. Barrett?-A button-maker. Mr. O'Driscoll.-When you came out of the house and looked down, had you a view of the people at the bon-fire?-I had.

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