The trial of John Donnellan, esq. (late master of the ceremonies at the Pantheon of Oxford-Street) at the assizes holden at Warwick on Tuesday the 27th of March, 1781, before Francis Buller, esq., one of the judges of the Court of King's Bench, for the wilful murder of Sir Theodosius Boughton, bart / taken in short-hand by a barrister at law attending the Midland Circuit.

  • Donellan, John, -1781
Date:
[1781?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The trial of John Donnellan, esq. (late master of the ceremonies at the Pantheon of Oxford-Street) at the assizes holden at Warwick on Tuesday the 27th of March, 1781, before Francis Buller, esq., one of the judges of the Court of King's Bench, for the wilful murder of Sir Theodosius Boughton, bart / taken in short-hand by a barrister at law attending the Midland Circuit. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    The following is the J u d g e's CHARGE to the J a i< Y. Gentlemm of the Grand Jury, I AM extremely pleafed at your meeting me fa early this feffions, as by your attendance, I hope I ihall be able to get through the bufmefs of the county in the courle of the week: I am the more fatisfied at this circumftance, as I perceive your calendar extremely loaded indeed, and that it con- tains a longer and heavier lift of crimes, tlwn I have Yound charged in the calendars of feven counties. Amongft thefe, I find fome in particular, v/hich require no inconiiderable attention ; and the firft of confequence which I find in the lift, is fuch as may depend on circumilances only. It is a crime of io peculiar a Mature, that it is generally committed with the greated: fecrecy, and over which the offender always makes ufe of every art and cunning to throw a veil.—It is your duty, Gentlemen, to throw ofF this veil and fift the bufinefs to the bottom.—You are not to exped vifible proofs in a work of dark- nefs ; you are to co]le6t: the truth from circumftanccSy and little collateral fadls, which taken fingiy, afford no proof, yet put together, fo tally v?ith, and con- firm each other, that they are as ftrong and con- vincing evidence, as any fads that appear in the broad face of day. ^ In this cafe. Gentlemen-, you will have two ob- jects to confider: Firft, whether the deceafed did die of poifon ? Secondly, whether the perfon fuf- pecSted, did aflift in adminiftering that poifon ? With refpedl to the iirft of thefe confiderations you will no doubt hear the fentimants of thofe who are fkilled ii> the naturei and eifeds of poifon, which is of various forts, and fnoft fubtle in its operation. From the information of -uch perfons, you will be able to form »n opinion upon the effedl which different poifon^ have on different perfoas, and alfo the effeds the fame poifons