by the author of “Reminiscences of Glasgow,” on the authority of Æneas
Morrison. It is there stated that any attempt to effect the Deacon’s
rescue by overpowering the City Guard or breaking into the Tolbooth
having, after due consideration, been abandoned by his friends as
hopeless, the following elaborate scheme was to be attempted to save his
life. Shortly before the hour of his execution, the Deacon was to beg
that he might speak to certain of his friends alone for a few moments
upon his private affairs. This request being complied with, the
opportunity should be seized for introducing into his throat and mouth a
small silver tube made for the purpose, with the view of preventing
suffocation, and wires were to be carried down his sides from head to
foot to save the jerk from the scaffold. The executioner was to be
induced to give him a short drop, and other liberties were to be taken
with the fatal rope. A surgeon--doubtless the philanthropic
Degravers--was to be in attendance to bleed him as soon as the body was
cut down; and, if this succeeded, the Deacon was to lie quiet in his
coffin, exhibiting no symptom of life, till such time as it could be
safely removed to his own house for presumed interment by his relatives.
Whether or not this remarkable programme was ever carried out is not
recorded.
It would appear from these reports that an attempt of some kind was made
with a view to resuscitate the Deacon; and there is no doubt that many
people believed at the time that he had “cheated the wuddy” after all.
It was said that he had actually revived and made good his escape from
Scotland; that he was afterwards seen and conversed with in Paris. His
coffin was certainly interred in the north-east corner of the
burying-ground of St. Cuthbert’s Chapel of Ease--now Buccleuch Parish
Church; but there is a tradition that, on a subsequent occasion, the
grave was opened, when no trace of his body could be found.
These stories are probably apocryphal; but they are curious as showing
the exceptional interest which the Deacon’s strange career aroused in
the minds of his fellow-townsmen. And although his mortal remains,
wheresoever situated, must long since have crumbled into dust, the name
and doings of Deacon Brodie are indissolubly associated with the annals
of that ancient city in which, to a conclusion so disastrous, he played
his double part.
THE TRIAL
WEDNESDAY, 27TH AUGUST, 1788.
The Court met at Nine o’clock.
_Judges Present_--
THE LORD JUSTICE-CLERK (_Lord Braxfield_).
LORD HAILES.
LORD ESKGROVE.
LORD STONEFIELD.
LORD SWINTON.
_Counsel for the Crown_--
THE LORD ADVOCATE (_Ilay Campbell_).
THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL (_Robert Dundas_).
WILLIAM TAIT and JAMES WOLFE MURRAY, Esqs.,
_Advocates-Depute_.
_Agent_--
Mr. ROBERT DUNDAS, Clerk to the Signet.
_Counsel for the Pannel William Brodie_--
THE DEAN OF FACULTY (_Hon. Henry Erskine_).
ALEXANDER WIGHT and CHARLES HAY, Esqs., _Advocates_.
_Agents_--
Mr. ROBERT DONALDSON, W.S., and Mr. ALEXANDER PATERSON,
Writer, Edinburgh.
_Counsel for the Pannel George Smith_--
JOHN CLERK and ROBERT HAMILTON, Esqs., _Advocates_.
_Agent_--
Mr. ÆNEAS MORRISON, Writer, Edinburgh.
CURIA JUSTICIARIA S. D. N. REGIS, Tenta in Nova Sessionis domo de
Edinburgh, Vicesimo Septimo die Augusti millesimo septingentesimo
Octogesimo octavo, Per Honorabiles Viros; ROBERTUM M‘QUEEN de
Braxfield, Dominum Justiciarium Clericum; Dominum DAVIDEM DALRYMPLE
de Hailes, Baronetum; DAVIDEM RAE de Eskgrove; JOANNEM CAMPBELL de
Stonefield; et JOANNEM SWINTON de Swinton, Dominos Commissionarios
Justiciariae dict. S. D. N. Regis.
Curia Legitime Affirmata.
INTRAN. William Brodie, sometime Wright and Cabinetmaker in
Edinburgh, and George Smith, sometime Grocer there, both prisoners
in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh,
PANNELS.
INDICTED and ACCUSED at the instance of Ilay Campbell, Esq., His
Majesty’s Advocate for His Majesty’s Interest, for the Crime of
Theft attended with House-breaking, in manner mentioned in the
Criminal Indictment raised against them thereanent, bearing as follows:--
WILLIAM BRODIE, sometime Wright and Cabinetmaker in Edinburgh, and
GEORGE SMITH, sometime Grocer there, both prisoners in the Tolbooth
of Edinburgh, You are indicted and accused at the instance of Ilay
Campbell, Esq., His Majesty’s Advocate, for His Majesty’s interest:
THAT ALBEIT, by the laws of this, and of every well-governed realm,
THEFT, more especially when attended with house-breaking, and when
committed by breaking into a house used or kept as an Excise
Office, or other public office, under cloud of night, and from
thence abstracting and stealing money, is a crime of an heinous
nature, and severely punishable: YET TRUE IT IS, AND OF VERITY,
That You, the said William Brodie, and George Smith, are both, and
each, or one or other of You, guilty actors, or art and part, of
the said crime, aggravated as aforesaid: IN SO FAR AS, upon the
night of the 5th day of March, last, in this present year of our
Lord 1788, or upon one or other of the days or nights of that
month, or of February immediately preceding, or of April
immediately following, You, the said William Brodie, and George
Smith, did, by means of false keys, or other instruments, wickedly
and feloniously break into the house in which the General Excise
Office for Scotland was then kept, in Chessels’s buildings, on the
south side of the High-street of Canongate of Edinburgh, within the
royalty or liberties of the city of Edinburgh, and county of
Edinburgh, and did thence feloniously abstract and steal money, to
the amount of Sixteen pounds Sterling, or thereby, consisting
partly of Bank-notes, and partly of silver and halfpence. And You,
the said George Smith, having been afterwards apprehended, and
brought before Archibald Cockburn, Esq., Sheriff-depute of the
county of Edinburgh, did, in his presence, emit three several
declarations; the first of date the 8th day of March, the second of
date the 10th day of March, and the third of date the 19th day of
March, all in this present year of our Lord 1788: And having
afterwards been brought before John Stewart, Esq.,
Sheriff-substitute of the said county, You did, in his presence,
emit a fourth declaration, of date the 17th day of July, likewise
in this present year 1788: The first of which declarations was
signed by the said Archibald Cockburn, the second and third by you,
the said George Smith, and the said Archibald Cockburn, and the
fourth by you, the said George Smith, and the said John Stewart.
AND FURTHER, You, the said William Brodie, having, in the month of
March last, when the said George Smith was committed to prison,
left Edinburgh, and fled from this country; and having afterwards
been brought back, and taken into custody, did, upon the 17th day
of July, in this present year 1788, in presence of the said
Archibald Cockburn, Esq., emit a declaration, which was signed by
you, the said William Brodie, and the said Archibald Cockburn; the
whole of which declarations, together with a letter written by You,
the said William Brodie, and signed John Dixon, dated at Flushing,
Tuesday, 8th April, 1788, twelve o’clock forenoon, and addressed to
Mr. Matthew Sheriff, upholsterer, Edinburgh; another letter, or two
letters, on one sheet of paper, written by You the said William
Brodie, and signed with your initials, dated Thursday, 10th April,
1788, and addressed to Mr. Michael Henderson, Grass-market,
stabler, Edinburgh; an unsigned scroll, or copy of a letter, in the
hand-writing of You, the said William Brodie, marked No. 1. without
date or address; another unsigned scroll, or copy of a letter, in
the hand-writing of You, the said William Brodie, marked No. 2.
without date or address; an account, or state, in the hand-writing
of You, the said William Brodie, entitled, “A state of my affairs,
as near as I can make out at present from memory, having no other
assistance”; a letter, dated London, 1st May, 1788, signed Lee,
Strachan, and Co. and addressed to Mess. Eml. Walker and Co.,
merchants, Philadelphia; a gold watch, with a chain, seal, and key;
a chest, or trunk, containing various articles; a five-pound
bank-note; an iron coulter of a plough; two iron wedges; an iron
crow; a pair of curling irons or toupee tongs; a spur; a dark
lanthorn; a pair of pistols; several false keys and pick-locks; and
two spring-saws; are all to be used in evidence against You the
said William Brodie and George Smith; and, for that purpose, will
be lodged in the hands of the clerk of the High Court of
Justiciary, before which You are to be tried, in order that You may
have an opportunity of seeing the same: AT LEAST, time and place
foresaid, the said house in which the General Excise Office for
Scotland was then kept as aforesaid, was feloniously broke and
entered into, and a sum of money feloniously and theftuously taken
and stolen therefrom as aforesaid; and You the said William Brodie,
and George Smith, above complained upon, are both, and each, or one
or other of You, guilty thereof, actor or actors, or art and part.
ALL WHICH, or part thereof, being found proven by the verdict of an
assize, before the Lord Justice-General, Lord Justice-Clerk, and
Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, You, the said William Brodie,
and George Smith, OUGHT to be punished with the pains of law, to
deter others from committing the like crimes in all time coming.
ILAY CAMPBELL.
LIST OF WITNESSES TO BE ADDUCED IN THE TRIAL FOR THE
PROSECUTOR.
1. John Brown _alias_ Humphry Moore, sometime residing in Edinburgh,
present prisoner in the Tolbooth of Canongate of Edinburgh.
2. Andrew Ainslie, sometime shoemaker, present prisoner in the Tolbooth
of Canongate of Edinburgh.
3. Mary Hubbart or Hubburt, spouse of the said George Smith.
4. Grahame Campbell, sometime servant to the said George Smith.
5. Alexander Thomson, accountant of Excise in Edinburgh.
6. Peter M‘Farlane, clerk in the office of the cashier of Excise there.
7. Adam Pearson, assistant secretary of Excise in Edinburgh.
8. Janet Baxter, servant to the said Adam Pearson.
9. William M‘Kay, porter in the Canongate of Edinburgh.
10. John Duncan, doorkeeper to the Excise Office, Edinburgh.
11. Laurence Dundas, housekeeper of the said Excise Office.
12. Margaret Black, late servant to the said Laurence Dundas.
13. Margaret Bain, late servant to the said Laurence Dundas.
14. James Bonar, deputy-solicitor of the Excise, Edinburgh.
15. Robert Smith, wright in Edinburgh, late foreman to the said William
Brodie.
16. Isobel Gilmour, spouse of John Gilmour, ropemaker in West Bow,
Edinburgh.
17. Daniel M‘Lean, waiter to William Drysdale, innkeeper in the New Town
of Edinburgh.
18. Patrick Taylor, smith in Edinburgh.
19. Charles M‘Leod, apprentice to the said Patrick Taylor.
20. Jacobina Pearson, spouse of Hugh Macpherson, shoemaker in
Duddingston, near Edinburgh.
21. John Kinnear, servant to the Earl of Abercorn at Duddingston.
22. Robert Tait, servant to the Earl of Abercorn there.
23. Isobel Wilson, spouse of Adam Robertson, wright in Duddingston.
24. John Clerk, book-keeper to William Drysdale, innkeeper in the New
Town of Edinburgh.
25. David Robertson, merchant in Edinburgh.
26. John Geddes, tobacconist in Mid-Calder and county of Edinburgh.
27. Margaret Tweddle _alias_ Geddes, spouse to the said John Geddes.
28. James Laing, writer in Edinburgh.
29. John M‘Leish, clerk to Mr. Hugh Buchan, City Chamberlain of
Edinburgh.
30. George Williamson, messenger-at-arms in Edinburgh.
31. William Middleton, indweller in Edinburgh.
32. James Murray, sheriff-officer there.
33. Alexander Williamson, sheriff-officer there.
34. James Fraser, sheriff-officer there.
35. Archibald Cockburn, Esq., Sheriff-depute of the county of Edinburgh.
36. John Stewart, Sheriff-Substitute of the said county.
37. William Scott, Procurator-Fiscal of the county of Edinburgh.
38. William Augustus Wishart, clerk to the said William Scott.
39. Joseph Mack, writer in the Sheriff-Clerk’s Office, Edinburgh.
40. Alexander Fraser, grocer and change-keeper in the New Town,
Edinburgh.
41. Laurence Blair, servant to Mr. Charles Hope, advocate.
42. Thomas Longlands, solicitor-at-law in London.
ILAY CAMPBELL.
LIST OF ASSIZE.
1. Andrew Bonar, banker in Edinburgh.
2. Alexander Houston, banker there.
3. Robert Forrester, banker there.
4. Robert Allan, banker there.
5. Henry Jamieson, banker there.
6. John Hay, banker there.
7. William Creech, bookseller there.
8. James Carfrae, merchant there.
9. William Gillespie, merchant there.
10. William Simpson, banker there.
11. George Kinnear, banker there.
12. John Black, merchant there.
13. Francis Blair, merchant there.
14. Elphingston Balfour, bookseller there.
15. Peter Forrester, merchant there.
16. John Thomson, insurance-broker there.
17. Thomas Elder, merchant there.
18. Edward Innes, confectioner there.
19. John Balfour, merchant there.
20. William Fettes, merchant there.
21. John Milne, founder there.
22. Dunbar Pringle, tanner there.
23. Peter Robertson, goldsmith there.
24. Thomas Campbell, merchant there.
25. William Turnbull, merchant there.
26. Alexander Brown, merchant there.
27. Charles Cowan, merchant there.
28. David Paterson, insurance-broker there.
29. Francis Sharp, merchant there.
30. James Donaldson, printer there.
31. John Hutton, stationer there.
32. John Balfour, papermaker there.
33. Robert Young, upholsterer there.
34. John Learmonth, junior, tanner there.
35. Thomas Cleghorn, coachmaker there.
36. Thomas Hutcheson, merchant there.
37. James Craig, corn merchant there.
38. Alexander Bruce, merchant there.
39. Benjamin Yule, baker there.
40. William Smellie, printer there.
41. Orlando Hart, shoemaker there.
42. James Ranken, merchant there.
43. William Young, baker there.
44. William Brown, grocer there.
45. Alexander Weir, painter there.
ROB. M‘QUEEN.
DAV. DALRYMPLE.
DAV. RAE.
LIST OF WITNESSES TO BE ADDUCED IN EXCULPATION OF
WILLIAM BRODIE.
1. Robert Smith, wright in Edinburgh, late foreman to the said William
Brodie.
2. George M‘Intosh, also wright, and late journeyman to the said William
Brodie.
3. John Niel, also wright, and late journeyman to the said William
Brodie.
4. Arthur Giles, wright in Edinburgh.
5. William Watson, wright in Canongate.
6. William Retson, or Reston, nailer, Portsburgh.
7. James Cargill, ironmonger, Edinburgh.
8. Alexander Miller, ironmonger there.
9. George Burton, ironmonger there.
10. James Goldie, ironmonger there.
11. Daniel MacLean, waiter to William Drysdale, vintner in Edinburgh.
12. George Lees, coachmaker there.
13. Alexander Fergusson, dyer there.
14. Patrick Taylor, smith there.
15. Charles MacLeod, apprentice to Patrick Taylor.
16. Agnes Finlay, spouse to Michael Henderson, stabler, Grassmarket.
17. Alexander MacKay, inner turnkey in the Tolbooth of Edinburgh.
18. James Reid, indweller in Edinburgh, and present prisoner in the
Tolbooth.
19. Alexander Brodie, baker, Nether Bow.
20. James Murray, sheriff-officer.
21. Helen Alison, spouse to William Wallace, mason, Libberton’s Wynd.
22. Jane Watt, residenter there.
23. Peggy Giles, servant to--Grahame, publican at Mutton-hole, near
Edinburgh.
24. Matthew Sheriff, upholsterer in Edinburgh.
Under protestation to add and eik.
ALEXANDER WIGHT, for the pannel.
The diet having been called “at the instance of Ilay Campbell, Esquire,
His Majesty’s Advocate, for His Majesty’s interest, against William
Brodie, sometime wright and cabinetmaker in Edinburgh, and George Smith,
sometime grocer there,” the Lord Justice-Clerk desired the pannels to
attend to the indictment then to be read.
Mr. NORRIS, Depute-Clerk of Court, then read aloud the indictment, after
which,
The pannels having been asked to stand up,
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--William Brodie, you have heard the indictment
raised against you by His Majesty’s Advocate--are you guilty of the
crime therein charged, or not guilty?
WILLIAM BRODIE--My Lord, I am not guilty.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--George Smith, you have heard the indictment
raised against you by His Majesty’s Advocate for His Majesty’s
interest--are you guilty of the crime therein charged, or not guilty?
GEORGE SMITH--Not guilty, my Lord.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK then asked the counsel for the pannels if they
had any objection why the said indictment should not be remitted to the
knowledge of the assize.
Mr. CHARLES HAY--My Lords, I appear as counsel for William Brodie, the
prisoner at the bar. I do not observe anything in this indictment upon
which I can found an objection to the relevancy of it, and therefore I
will at present confine myself to a simple denial of the charge against
Mr. Brodie, and your Lordships will fall to pronounce the usual
interlocutor on the relevancy, in which the prisoner will be allowed a
proof of all facts and circumstances tending to his exculpation.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--My Lords, I desire to know the nature and
tendency of the exculpatory evidence proposed to be adduced, in order
that, in the course of leading the proof upon the part of the
prosecutor, we may be prepared to meet it.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--It is not sufficient for the prisoner to deny
the charge if he intends to prove any facts in exculpation; it is but
fair to the public prosecutor and to the gentlemen of the jury that
these should now be mentioned that they may have them in their view in
the course of the trial.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--My Lords, I likewise appear as counsel for William
Brodie, the prisoner at the bar. I admit that it is fair to mention the
facts which are to be insisted on in his defence; and therefore,
adhering to the general denial of the crime charged, we undertake to
prove that Mr. Brodie went, before eight o’clock of that night in which
the Excise Office is said to have been broken into, to the house of
Janet Watt, a person residing in Libberton’s Wynd, with whom he had a
particular connection, and that he remained in that house from the said
hour until about nine o’clock the next morning. This will be instructed
by the woman herself and by other unexceptionable witnesses.
Mr. ROBERT HAMILTON--My Lords, I appear as counsel for the prisoner
George Smith. No objection appears to me upon the relevancy of the
indictment, and the prisoner rests his defence upon a general denial of
the facts charged, having no exculpatory proof to offer.
The Court then pronounced the following interlocutor:--
The Lord Justice-Clerk and Lords Commissioners of Justiciary,
having considered the criminal indictment raised and pursued at the
instance of Ilay Campbell, Esq., His Majesty’s Advocate, for His
Majesty’s interest, against the said William Brodie and George
Smith, pannels, they find the indictment relevant to infer the
pains of law, but allow the pannels and each of them to prove all
facts and circumstances that may tend to exculpate them or
alleviate their guilt, and remit the pannels with the indictment as
found relevant to the knowledge of an assize.
ROBERT M‘QUEEN, I.P.D.
The Court were proceeding to select fifteen from amongst the forty-five
gentlemen summoned as jurymen, when it was discovered that some of the
witnesses had not come forward. In about half-an-hour they all arrived.
The Lord Advocate then moved the Court to inflict some fine on those
witnesses by whom the delay had been occasioned; but it being found upon
inquiry that the hour of cause, but no particular hour, was specified in
the citations given them, his Lordship, in respect that the hour of
cause was understood to mean ten o’clock, withdrew his motion, and the
Lord Justice-Clerk, to prevent similar delays, gave directions that in
time coming the citations given to jurymen and witnesses should bear a
specified hour at which their attendance is to be required.
Out of the above forty-five jurymen the following fifteen persons were
named to pass upon the assize of the pannels; and the pannels being
asked if they had any objections why they should not pass upon this
assize, and no objections being made on the contrary, they were all
lawfully sworn in by the following oath, five at a time:--
You swear by Almighty God, and as you shall answer to God at the great
day of judgment, that you will truth say, and no truth conceal, so far
as you are to pass upon this assize.
1. Robert Forrester, banker.
2. Robert Allan, banker.
3. Henry Jamieson, banker.
4. John Hay, banker.
5. William Creech, bookseller.
6. James Carfrae, merchant.
7. John Kinnear, banker.
8. William Fettes, merchant.
9. John Milne, founder.
10. Dunbar Pringle, tanner.
11. Thomas Campbell, merchant.
12. Francis Sharp, merchant.
13. James Donaldson, printer.
14. John Hutton, stationer.
15. Thomas Cleghorn, coachmaker.
The jury being impanelled and furnished with pen, ink, and paper, and
copies of the indictment being laid before them, the Court ordered the
counsel for the prosecutor to proceed to the evidence.
At this stage, before the evidence was led,
Mr. WIGHT--My Lords, I likewise attend your Lordships on the part of Mr.
Brodie, and although there does not appear upon the face of this
indictment any sufficient ground for an objection to the relevancy of
it, yet there are some particulars of which I consider it my duty to
take notice; and, in order to save time and trouble to the Court, I
propose to do it now rather than hereafter.
The law of this country has been very careful to give unhappy men in the
situation of the prisoners every opportunity of preparing for their
trials; they are allowed fifteen days after being served with their
indictments; they are furnished with a list of the witnesses’ names and
designations who are to be adduced against them; and the declarations,
writings, and articles to be used in evidence in the course of the trial
are particularly specified. The present indictment, though not
irrelevant, is perhaps laid in the most vague and general manner I have
ever seen. Here there are certain letters and declarations founded on,
and other articles, such as a gold watch with a chain, and seal, and
key, a chest or trunk containing various articles, a five-pound
bank-note, an iron coulter of a plough, &c. These are mentioned in so
vague a manner as not to distinguish them from other articles of the
same kind, consequently in such a manner as not to give the pannels
proper opportunity of preparing for their defence. This is the more
inexcusable that all of these articles admitted of a more accurate
description.
[Here Mr. Wight was interrupted by the Court.]
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--Mr. Wight, these objections are out of place;
they ought to be stated when the articles you mention come to be
produced by the prosecutor.
The DEAN OF FACULTY--It is no doubt true that the objection to each of
these articles falls properly to be stated when they are founded upon by
my Lord Advocate; but it was thought proper and respectful to the Court
to state the general objection at this stage of the business in order to
save time.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL--My Lords, I wish that Mr. Wight may be allowed to
proceed.
The LORD JUSTICE-CLERK--Mr. Wight, go on.
Mr. WIGHT--I say, my Lords, that the articles mentioned in the
indictment admitted of a more accurate description than that which my
Lord Advocate has given them. The maker’s name and number of the watch
might have been mentioned, the device on the seal, too, ought to have
been specified, also the number of the note and by whom it was issued;
and as to the chest or trunk, which is only described by saying that it
contained sundry articles, there is no particular description of it, or
of any of the articles it contained. It is not said that it is a hair
trunk, or the size or shape of it, or any other
[Illustration: The Solicitor-General (Robert Dundas).
(_After Kay._)]
mark condescended upon, whereby it could be distinguished. It might have
been mentioned what sort of a trunk it was, whether made of fir, of oak,
or of ash; to whom it belonged, and where and in whose possession it was
found.
To show your Lordships that this is no immaterial objection, I must beg
leave to mention a circumstance that occurred in the present case. Some
days ago, Mr. Brodie’s agent went to the Justiciary Office to examine
the articles founded on in the indictment; and upon inquiring for the
trunk, he was shown a black trunk, a trunk different from the one now to
be used in evidence. Thereafter the counsel for the Crown discovered
they had committed a mistake; they were so much misled by this want of
description that they had sent the trunk referred to, or meant to be
referred, in the libel to the prison to Mr. Brodie, and had lodged a
wrong trunk with the Clerk of Court. They did not discover this mistake
till yesterday morning, and they then applied to the Sheriff for a
warrant to recover the trunk, which is now in Court, out of the
possession of Mr. Brodie, and which was only lodged in the Justiciary
Office yesterday.
Although I have thrown out this general objection, I do not mean to
plead it to the effect of setting aside the libel altogether; yet, when
the prosecutor attempts to apply his evidence to these articles, I
reserve to myself the liberty of making special objections to each
article, as it shall be referred to.