madverfions on the nature of the cafe, he forgot not that the prifoner was a gentleman, and that, in his then wretched fituation, it would ill become any man, who had the feelings of a gentleman, to infult his misfortune, or aggravate, by unkind or harth expreffions, the distress of his mind: inftead, therefore, of calling him the prifoner, he called him all along the unfortunate gentleman at the bar; he nevertheless omitted nothing that could tend to the conviction of the doctor, if it fhould appear in evidence that he ought to be convicted; but at the fame time he implored the jury to diveft themselves of prejudice, and not to fuffer themselves to be influenced in their verdict by any thing but the evidence. After having ftated the particulars of the cafe, he called Mary Ducrow. This young woman was fervant to Mr. Hardy, at the time he was killed. -She said that

Mr. Macgennis came home at about half after five o'clock in the evening of the 28th of December; that she lighted him up ftairs to his apartment, the back room on the fecond floor; that fhe returned down ftairs to a little back parlour, where her mafter, her mistress, and herself, were drinking tea, when the doctor came home; that she had not been long there, when some water fell upon the sky-light, through which this little parlour ufually received light; and that the water had come from the doctor's window. Her mafter, upon this, immediately took the candle in his hand, and went up ftairs to reprove (as he faid) the prifoner for having thrown the water from his chamber-pot on the fky-light. The witness heard fome words pafs between them, but could not diftinguish them plainly. Her mafter was returning down stairs, when the prifoner faid he was a thief, and had robbed him; upon which the deceafed turned back, and going up ftairs again, faid, "Do you call me a thief? I will take you before a juftice of peace to-morrow." Immediately after this, the witnefs heard the candlestick fall, and fomething rolled down ftairs; fhe then ran up, with another girl who was in the houfe, and found her mafter lying upon the landing-place, a flight or two of ftairs lower down than the prisoner's apartment: she asked him what was the matter, but received no anfwer; and the body having been carried into the kitchen, fhe perceived that it bled; and Mrs. Hardy having opened his waistcoat, and tore open his fhirt, a wound was found under his left breaft, from which the blood poured very faft; and her mafter fetching a deep figh, expired.-She faid, that while she was attending thus upon her mafter, fhe heard the prisoner cry out murder, and say that a man was murdered.-Meffrs. Sylvefter and Erfkine were counfel for the prifoner.On the cross-exa mination, the fervant faid, that she did not hear the prifoner come

down

down stairs from his apartment; but repeated that her master went up a fecond time to him: fhe could not recollect whereabouts the candle and candlestick lay when found.

Adey Lancashire, fervant to a lodger in the house of the deceased, was the next witness called, and she corroborated all that had been faid by Mary Ducrow, except in two circumstances; one was, that she did not understand, that when Dr. Macgennis cried out murder, he had faid that a man was murdered; but that he himself was in danger of being murdered by the deceafed. The other circumftance was, that when Mr. Hardy went up the fecond time to the doctor's door, on being called a thief, the heard a noife.-Judge Willes (who was the trying judge) afked her, if noife was the word fhe made use of, when the was giving her evidence before the coroner. His lordship faid, that on that occafion she had depofed, that she had heard a buftle (the judge had her depofition before him in writing): the girl faid, fhe believed the might have used the word bustle. The judge afked her, if the understood by the word bustle, a struggle; the replied, that there might have been a fruggle.

The furgeon, who opened the body of the deceased, appeared, and proved, that the knife with which the wound had been given, having paffed through the right ventricle of the heart, had occafioned Mr. Hardy's death. He faid, that the prisoner having been brought down ftairs while he (the furgeon) was infpecting the body, and informed that Mr. Hardy was dead, exclaimed, “Is he, indeed? Then I am the verielt wretch alive! the most unhappy of mortals !"-Mr. Proctor, the constable, who had taken doctor Macgennis into cuftody, faid, that not thinking it prudent to go up ftairs unarmed, or alone, he and two others had got each a hanger; and going up to the prifoner's door, one of them kicked at it; upon which the prifoner afked from within, if there was a peace officer on the outfide? and having been anfwered in the affirmative, he faid, "Then I will open the door, and immediately furrender myself into his hands." He accordingly opened the door; and being asked, if he had any weapons about him? he replied, that he had only a knife, which was in his pocket, which the witness took out. They then all went down ftairs together; and the prifoner, on seeing the body of the deceafed, made the exclamation stated in the furgeon's evidence; and on being put into a coach, he expreffed a hope that God would give him time to repent. In Newgate, the conftable having asked him about the particulars of the melancholy affair, he faid, that Mr. Hardy had affaulted him, ftruck him feveral times upon the breast, knocked him down, and, pulling him by the hair, was drag

ging him to the ftairs, to fling him down the flight; and that, in fuch a fituation, he had done what felf-prefervation had fuggefted to him, for his deliverance. [Here it may not be improper to obferve, that the deceased was a very strong, able, mufcular young man, under thirty years of age; the doctor is a little man, very feeble, and turned of threefcore.] Upon this, the constable examined his breast, but found no marks of blows; and having remarked this to the doctor, he replied, that his flesh was of fuch a nature, that if it was beaten ever so much, it nëver appeared difcoloured. Both hands of the prisoner were bloody when he was apprehended. On the day after he was lodged in Newgate, the witnefs went to the house of the deceafed he examined the stairs, and traced blood up to the landing-place of the doctor's apartment, on which place he faw fome drops; and particularly, the knob of the bannifter of the landing-place was covered all over with blood: he alfo found the candle on the landing-place, and faw that it had been trodden under foot.Here the evidence for the crown was closed. Mr. Macgennis tendered to the court a defence in writing, which he requested to be read.-The judges Willes, Afhhurft, and the recorder, concurred in opinion, that before this paper was read, it should undergo the revifion of his counsel, as, in his awful and difturbed fituation, the prifoner might ignorantly ftate facts, which, in point of law, were fufficient to condemn him. Meffrs. Erskine and Sylvefter perused the defence, which met with their approbation, and it was audibly read by Mr. Reynolds, clerk of the arraigns.

The doctor in his defence ftated, that the fervant girl having neglected to empty the chamber-pot, he had been obliged to do it himself into the yard; and fome of the water having fallen upon the sky-light, Mr. Hardy went up to him in a great paffion, and ufed very illiberal language to him, to which he (the pri foner) had not, of course, made a mild reply; that the deceased, upon hearing this reply, on his way down ftairs, returned in hafte, and forced open his chamber door, which the prisoner had endeavoured to keep fhut; that he then ftruck him, brought him to the ground, dragged him by the hair, and faid he would throw him over the bannifters. In this fituation, engaged in a conteft, which, from the ftrength and youth of the deceafed, muft appear to have been very unequal indeed, he had, from an apprehenfion of danger, faved his life for that time, by taking away that of Mr. Hardy: he had acted from the impulfe of nature, and that principle of the human heart, which makes a man prefer his own life to the prefervation of that of any other perfon; not that he had any idea, that by extricating himself,

he

he fhould have killed Mr. Hardy, à man against whom he had never entertained a particle of malice or ill-will: if he had done right, he expected that he would be cleared of the odious charge of murder; if he had done wrong, he was in the hands of his country, and at the disposal of the laws; to whose judgement, be it what it might, he would submit without a murmur. His council then called Mr. Curtis, of Ivy-Lane, behind Newgate-ftreet. On the day Mr. Hardy died, he was alarmed with a cry of murder, and running to his window, which looked into the doctor's apartment, (the walls of the two houses not being ten yards afunder) he faw the prifoner at the window, and heard him cry out murder, and fay that he was in danger of being murdered. The prifoner, feeing him, cried out," For God's fake come to my affiftance."

Another witness proved, that having called out to the prifoner to know why he did not furrender himself, he received for an fwer, "They have got fire-arms, and I am afraid that if I open the door they will thoot me; but if you will fetch a peaceofficer, I will furrender to him inftantly."

Mr. Daniel Shield (a Weft-India merchant) was the first witness called to his character. He faid he had known the doctor for twelve years, the greatest part of the time at Jamaica ; and that he had always found him moft fingularly humane, tender and kind to those who ftood in need of his fervices; and that he never knew a man of greater gentleness of manners, or beneficence of difpofition.

Lord Viscount Barrington was the fecond witness to his character. He faid he had known Mr. Macgennis for many years, and, during the whole time, he had found him a meek, harmlefs, innocent, inoffenfive man. He had fometimes heard himcomplain that he was neglected by men in power; but he had always mixed fo much mildness, temper, and moderation with his complaints, that he clearly fhewed he felt not an atom of animofity against thofe who were the objects. He had ever found him an advocate for humanity, and a man without gall or refentment. His lordfhip heard firft of him from the earl of Hillsborough, who had given him just such a character of the doctor as he himself had then given to the court; and he was convinced that if his lordship was in England he would readily appear in behalf of his friend, and bear teftimony upon oath to the amiableness of his character.

The earl of Effingham was the third witnefs to his character. He faid he had known the doctor as a man of letters and an author; that he had fhewn him fome tracts written by himself, (the prisoner) in order that he might have his opinion of them

previous

previous to the publication; that most of these tracts were in defence of the rights of humanity, for which he had always found him a ftrenuous advocate; and from the knowledge he had of him, he believed him incapable of wilfully or malicioufly doing an injury to any man; for he looked upon him as the pattern of meeknefs, and the most inoffenfive man alive.

Major-general Murray (uncle to the duke of Athol) faid, he had known Dr. Macgennis ever fince the year 1777; that on his way home from America, he had feen the doctor on fhipboard, who was introduced to him by major Ferguson, fince The major had known the prifoner tem killed in America. years before, and recommended him as a perfon of the greatest tenderness and humanity. The general declared that he himself had feen fingular proofs of his humanity: he remembered him to give away to the fick and wounded foldiers, under his care, the fresh provifions he had for his own table; and he knew him to have lain on the boards, in order to accommodate his patients with his bed. In a word, he was convinced that he was a man of the greatest humanity, and uncommon gentleness of difpofition.

Mr. Edmund Burke had known him for many years, and had every reason to think him one of the best natured men in the world. He could not fpeak of his knowledge as a phyfician, because he was not a judge of it; but he had heard from feveral physicians of the first eminence, that it was very confiderable. He had never heard him fpeak harfhly of men in power; though he knew that, to use the fofteft expreffion, he had been very ill treated; and he (Mr. Burke) had never felt himself more affected than at feeing fo worthy a man in so melancholy a fituation.

Major Fleming was acquainted with the prifoner for feventeen years; during which time he remarked in him the fimplicity and innocence of a child, and the greatest share of philanthropy and benevolence that he ever difcovered in the breaft of man. He had himself been a witnefs to many acts of his humanity. About nine months ago he was on Dublin duty; the doctor was there at the time, and in circumftances not the moft eafy; he was forry to fee him so, and in order to have it in his power to give him fome money, without offending his delicacy, he requefted he would attend a poor patient, and he gave him his fees regularly, though his vifits at the time were not wanted, as the patient was attended by the furgeon of the regiment; but to his great furprize, he found that he had given away to the patient and his family more than half of what he had received from him in fees. The major had afterwards lent him a few

guineas,