Anonymous

“ For you may be quite certain, Gentlemen, that when my Learned Friends on the other side content themselves with catching at the smallest variance in the testimony of the witness from his original statement; it is a decided proof that the most important part of the case is not to be shaken, and is incapable of contradiction. The material part of the evidence remains untouched by any shadow of doubt as to its credibility. ”

“ In some cases, it appears desirable not to suffer trials of a criminal nature to appear in print, particularly when the facts are too indecent, lest the tender feelings of any should be injured, or that information given which had better be withheld; but when the subject of conviction is a creature, who pretends to be the guide of hundreds in the paths of our Holy Religion, and under its sacred name, is not only ruining the bodies, but the souls of many of his hearers, p. ivthan silence becomes a crime, and a full exposure an imperative duty. ”

“ In contravention of those Sacred Scriptures, which it is his duty to read and expound, and having read and expounded them he can be found so far to forget every law of human nature and every principle of virtue, by the commission of this crime, he must be the most monstrous and attrocious of the human race, and no punishment can be adequate to his offences. ”

“ Now, Gentlemen, that is a very strong contradiction of the story told you to-day by this man; and if that induces you to disbelieve him, or to doubt respecting his evidence, it will be impossible for you to find the Defendant guilty of this charge.
Gentlemen, I asked the boy at first, whether, instead of going to search in request of Mr. Church, he and the potter, West, had not gone to search for thieves? and he answered me, “Yes.” But afterwards, he gave us some explanation, and said, “that he did not search the house particularly for thieves, but made a search to find if any body was about.” ”

“ Can they now, in the presence of a disgusted public, enter the doors of his “den of thieves?”—If they can, friends must blush for the inconsistency of their conduct: most sincerely do we hope that all who respect their reputation will never approach “the Surrey Tabernacle” until the present occupier and all his associates have left the place.
Much praise is due to those who have at last brought John Church to justice: every thing that p. vicould be done by bribery and persuasion were resorted to by his friends; but they found the Prosecutor, in this respect, invulnerable. ”

“ I think, Gentlemen, in a case in which every thing depends, not so much upon his veracity, but upon the accuracy of his judgment in the course of his observation upon circumstances, with respect to which he was very little likely to draw any very accurate conclusions, that that servant ought to have been produced here, the more especially when the young man from the Pottery, going afterwards through the house for the purpose of seeing who was there, did find the female servant’s door ajar; a circumstance not observable with respect to any other room in the house. ”

“ Whether he considers himself as privileged above the rest of mankind, I know not: but it should seem that he does. He says:
“I am a child of peculiar providence: and that Heart of Eternal Love, and that Arm of Invincible Power, has protected me—has called me to himself—and for every act of straying, will correct me.” ”

“ Gentlemen, this is his letter. If it had been a full and explicit denial of the whole charge, it would have been more favourable to him. One is sorry to see the name of the Divine Being mixed up with so indecent and abominable a story.
Mr. Patrick goes on to state that he denied having had hold of the boy, but he admitted that he was in the room; upon his saying to the Defendant that as to the two points in question, the boy was positive, and that he had no reason to doubt any thing that the boy said, the defendant replied that he was sorry for it, because it confirmed ancient reports. ”

“ Let them read the contradictory evidence of Thomas, and the observations made thereon by the learned Judge who tried the prisoner; let those who were present remember his agitated appearance in Court, and the manner in which he unwillingly confirmed the evidence of the prosecutor’s master, and then say on which side the truth appears to preponderate. If the hearers of Church do not wilfully close their eyes, and pervert p. vtheir judgments, they can have but one opinion, viz. that the verdict of the jury is the verdict of every one who values the cause of religion, morality, and virtue. ”

“ We regret, that among the followers of this wretch are to be found many young men, who not only countenance his cause by their presence, but advocate it with their talents;—that charity, which covereth a multitude of sins, leads us to indulge the hope, that hitherto they have acted conscientiously and from principle—that they have believed their leader was the object of cruel persecution—that he suffered for righteousness sake—and under this impression, we pity rather than condemn them ”

“ Church, under the liability of a further encounter for the same detestable purpose. The reason which the boy has given for not alarming the house, is not an unnatural one. We have it in evidence that Mr. West, feeling a manly indignation at what had happened, manifested a disposition to pull the unnatural offender out of his bed, and turn him into the street. But the boy, apprehensive that such an occurrence might give an alarm to his mistress, persuaded the potter to abstain from his purpose, and they accordingly did not enter the defendant’s door. ”

“ The person, whoever it was, said, in a feint voice like a woman, “Adam, don’t you know me? I am your mistress.” It was not Mrs. Patrick’s voice. I knew the voice directly I heard it to be Mr. Church’s. He fled from the room directly; he went out of the room in a hurried step. I got out of bed and put on my small clothes and shoes, and went out to the door. As the man opened the door, I saw by the lamp that it was Mr. Church, and he had only his shirt on. The lamp is outside of the street door, on the Terrace, and throws a light through the fan-light of the hall door. It is a parish lamp. ”

“ We did not go into the maid servant’s room; we only looked in. We found the door open and looked in. The maids were in bed. One was my sister. The door being a-jar, we pushed a little, and we saw that they were a-bed. We did not speak to them. We did not search the house for thieves, because I knew who the person was. The reason of my searching the house was because I wished to be quite right before I made the accusation against Mr. Church. p. 55We found that there was no other man in the house but Mr. Church. There was no door, no window open, at which any other man could have come in. ”

“ Under such circumstances, Gentlemen, the original letter having been searched for, and not being to be found, that, in point of law, lets in the copy of it, which could not be admitted as evidence as it existed. She is then asked whether the letter received was in the hand writing of Mr. Church? and she says, “I have seen his writing. I have seen him write in different hands. He does not write always the same. I don’t mean to say exactly that he wrote in different hands; but there was such a difference in the same hand-writing that one would hardly think it was the same. ”

“ Church?” Upon which Mr. Patrick answered “No: Mr. Church is not all implicated.” Mr. Patrick has denied it. I am told that Mr. Thomas will positively state that to have occurred. I am told so. Then, Gentlemen, if Mr. Patrick be contradicted in that most material circumstance—if you discredit him upon that part of the case, how can you give him credit in that part upon which my leaded friend fastened, as the confirmation of the story of the boy—“that he admitted to Mr. Patrick, that he had been in the boy’s room.” But the contradiction will not end there, Gentlemen. ”

“ He advised the Father, as he was a poor man, to accept a sum of money, if it were offered, and compromise the business: this proposal was indignantly rejected, and the man treated as he deserved to be—with merited contempt. We regret also that a man, whose duty is the apprehension of transgressors against our laws, should have interfered most unjustly to hush up the matter. ”

“ What temptation could there be to a moral man to excite him to the commission of so unnatural a crime?
“Mr. Patrick never delivered any opinion to me, whether he thought Church was implicated in the transaction or not. Nothing more passed at the meeting.”
On his cross-examination he said, “I heard of this business two or three days after it happened. My wife and I were desirous that Mr. Patrick should go to Mr. Church’s. Mr. Patrick brought the boy to me, in order to have him brought face to face with Mr. Church. Mr. Patrick said that the boy was outside. ”

“ Church had never, either by word or gesture, made any indecent overture to him of any kind, signifying his intention, or had done any thing whatever to ascertain if he, the prosecutor, was ready to gratify any brutal of unnatural passion he might form. Now, it is a very extraordinary thing, that it should be supposed, that a person should get out of his own bed, and go to the bed of another, and commence the attack with the indecencies described by the witness, without any preparation of any kind whatever, p. ”

“ It is most likely that if either of them came out of the room for any improper purpose, she would have shut the door after her: and it is to be recollected that one of the servants was the Boy’s own Sister. It is observed likewise as matter of surprise, that Mrs. Patrick is not called. Gentlemen, it would be very disrespectful to Mrs. Patrick to put such a question to her, as whether she offered these indecencies to the Boy; but if the Defendant’s Counsel thought that she could not have stood that examination, as I have repeatedly told you, they might have called her. ”

“ One fact however, as it reflects considerable credit on the respectability of the Defendant and his legal friend, must not be omitted—the person employed to defend the Prisoner was a Jew Attorney, very well known to many. He applied to the Prosecutor’s father several times, and tendered his services to conduct the prosecution, assuring him he should not expect any pecuniary remuneration for his exertions in bringing such a character to justice. ”

“ There is an improbability in this case it is contended; because there had been no overture of the same description made to the lad before this period, nor any circumstance, by which an indication of the Defendant’s unnatural propensities, prior to this transaction, could be inferred. Gentlemen, we have lived some time in the world, and we have seen that men, with these diabolical passions, make those overtures, not unfrequently, to persons they never saw in the whole course of their lives, until some occasional meeting—sometimes in the Parks—nay, sometimes, even at public assemblies ”

“ Adam Foreman, the first witness, states, that he shall be twenty years of age the first day of December next. “I am an apprentice to, Mr. Patrick, the potter, of Vauxhall; I have been with him about five years. I have known the defendant, John Church, by sight about two or three years. He is a preacher, and I have attended as one of the congregation in the chapel where he preaches; I have often seen him. I sleep generally at my father’s house, but when my master goes out of town I sleep at his house. The defendant Church lives near his chapel in St. ”

“ Why it is suggested that the boy’s fright had magnified the powers of his vision, and that he must have mistaken the Defendant for his mistress, or for the maid servant, who slept with his sister. Now, Gentlemen, we have it in evidence that Mr. Church is a man near six feet high: a man of considerable size, and distinguishable from the boy’s mistress, who is a little feminate figure ”

“ But then the next observation after the shirt, is as to the height of the person. Why, Gentlemen, nothing magnifies more than fright: nothing! We, all of us, have often heard the descriptions of persons in great fright. They always magnify the objects they see. If a person is robbed, the thief is a monstrous tall man! Why, Gentlemen, fright does magnify every object; and, therefore, we must make allowances for the situation in which this young man was placed at the time. He is disturbed in his sleep—the thing happens in a moment—and he sits up in his bed in a great p. ”

“ Can any man feel too indignant at the conduct of such miscreants?—We cordially p. viiagree with the learned Counsel for the Prisoner, that if a wish would sweep such characters from the creation, that wish would be immediately expressed by every true British heart.—Are we too severe? ”

“ 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 ”

“ The Magistrate was Mr. Serjeant Sellon. The examination took place on the 19th November. This being a charge of misdemeanour, no account was committed to writing of what the witnesses said. It was merely an entry of the names of the parties and the result. In the first instance, the depositions were taken down upon which the warrant was granted, but I had no instructions to bring the book in which that examination appears. There was an examination afterwards, when the defendant was ordered to find bail, but the evidence was not then taken down.”
Mr. ”