Great Criminal Judges.
591
his expenses and had a long lecture to boot. stealing of a watch, and the following scene The intelligent jurors who had followed the occurred: proceedings with the delight that every Celt Judge—Well, witness, your name is John takes in a wrangle, assumed that the judge Tomkins? was taking him to task for negligence in not Witness—My Lord, my name is Job locking up the drugs, and the case was over. Taylor. And amid the plaudits of the crowd, this Judge—Ah, I see, you've been a sailor, blood-thirsty young woman stepped from the and you live in the New Cut. dock and for that day only became a heroine Witness—No, my Lord, I live at Wapof a degree to which only a lucky acquittal on ping. a terrible charge can exalt anyone; so ended Judge—Never mind your being out shop that strange case. ping. Had you your watch in your pocket The Central Criminal Court has a highon the loth of November? sounding- name, but it has no greater powers Witness—J never had but one watch, and than the ordinary court of assize. However, that has been in pawn for the last six weeks. it exercises jurisdiction over a very large Judge—Who asked you how long you area, and has to sit once a month to dispose had the watch? Why can't you say yes or no? of its business and thus it has come to be re Well, did you see the prisoner? •Witness—Well of course I did (this very garded as the chief criminal court of the country. loudly). . Fifty or sixty years ago, the system de Judge—That's right, my man, speak up scribed below in the words of the late Ser and answer shorlly. Did the prisoner take jeant Ballantine was in vogue. your watch? The sittings of the court commenced at Witness—-I don't know what you are nine in the morning and lasted until nine at driving at; how could he get it without the night. There were relays of judges. Two ticket, and that I had left with the missus. luxurious dinners were provided, one at three The judge then threw out the depositions o'clock and the other at five. The Ordinary and asked the barrister to see if he could do of Newgate dined at both. The scenes in the anything with the witness. Now, Ryland, evening may be imagined, the actors in them the barrister in question, had been dining at having generally dined at the first dinner. An the three o'clock dinner also, and he had illustration is given by Serjeant Robinson in drunk not wisely, but too well, so when he his "Reminiscences" of one of these scenes. had risen, he merely stared at the witness, Serjeant Arabin, a former commissioner and then turning to the bench observed: "My of the Old Bailey, after dining very freely, Lord, it's my profound belief that the man is came into court in a somewhat flushed con drunk." dition, and proceeded to examine a witness "That," said the judge, "is precisely the on the charge of stealing a handkerchief. idea that has been in my mind for the last At that time, if there were no counsel, the i ten minutes. It is disgraceful that witnesses judge examined the witnesses from the should go into a sacred court of justice like this in a state of intoxication." depositions. In this case, unhappily for the judge, who Such were the scenes enacted at a time was always rather blind and deaf, he took up when the severest penalties followed convic a set of depositions which referred to the tion for the most trumpery offences.
