Chapter IV: Part 4

THOMAS WIGLEY, of No. 17, Cock Lane, Smithfield, was then sworn, and stated that he lived next door to the Fortune of War public-house, in Giltspur street, and was employed as porter at the Cross Keys Inn, Wood-street. He remembered the night of the 4th of November. He went into the tap-room of the Fortune of War about half-past six o'clock on that night, and remained until half-past eight. About half-past seven, Bishop and May came into the room. Bishop sat next to witness, and May sat on the opposite side. Bishop said to May, 'What do you think of our new one? did not he go up to him well? I told you he was a staunch one. Don't you think he is a staunch one now?' (The face of Bishop became suddenly flushed as the witness repeated the words attributed to him.)

Mr. MINSHULL.--Did Bishop say anything more to May?

WITNESS.--Yes, he said to May, 'Do you stick by me, and I will stick to you. I know the other one is all right; he's nothing but a good one.' In about an hour after this, Williams came in, upon which Bishop said, 'I told you he would come; there's a good one.' (Here Williams laughed.)

Mr. MINSHULL asked the witness if May said anything in answer to what Bishop said.

The witness replied, that May said in reply to Bishop, 'I don't know what you mean.' Soon after, Bishop and Williams got up, and said they would go home. May said, I am going to stop a bit.' He then took up a newspaper, and Bishop and Williams left the room together.

Mr. CORDER.--Did you perceive that May, during this conversation, had anything with him wrapped up in a handkerchief?

WITNESS.--I saw that he had a handkerchief in his hand, which appeared to contain something, but I cannot say what. The handkerchief was wet.

The depositions of the witnesses previously examined were then ordered to be read over. When the evidence of Davis, the porter at Guy's Hospital, was read to him, he complained of a statement which, he said, appeared in the morning papers of the preceding day, and particularly in the Times.

Mr. MINSHULL told the witness, that if he had any addition to make to his evidence, he would willingly swear him; but he had nothing to do with what was published in the newspapers. If anything had been mis-stated, his proper course was to apply to the editors of the papers, who would, no doubt, willingly correct any error.

The reading of the depositions was then resumed, and having been concluded,

Mr. CORDER then read the statements made by the prisoners before the Coroner, and which had been committed to writing by order of the Coroner.

Mr. HALLS asked if it was in evidence that the body which was offered at the King's College was the same upon which the inquest was subsequently held.

Mr. HILL, of the King's College, who received the body there, and Mr. Thomas, to whom it was afterwards delivered at the station-house, proved that fact.

Mr. CORDER said, that the whole of the evidence was now gone through, as applying to the prisoners Bishop, Williams, and May. With regard to the prisoner Shields, it was not intended to offer any evidence against him.

Mr. MINSHULL then directed that the prisoner Shields should be removed from the bar, and brought round in front of the bench. The magistrate told him he was discharged from this offence, but that he meant to swear him as a witness. The oath having been administered to him, he went into a long statement as to the manner in which he met Bishop, who told him that he wanted him to do a little job on the Saturday morning. He agreed, and went to Guy's Hospital, Bishop having previously procured a hamper, for the purpose of conveying the body from that place to the King's College. He accordingly carried it from Guy's Hospital to the latter place on the Saturday, but knew nothing whatever of what the hamper contained. Bishop was to have given him half-a-crown for the job, but he had not 'as yet' received the money.

Mr. CORDER observed, that the statement of Shields differed in several points from the account which he gave before the Coroner.

Mr. MINSHULL.--You say you were not aware of what the hamper contained; do you still persist in saying so?

SHIELDS.--Upon my word, your worship, I knew nothing of what the hamper contained. I carried it as I would any other job.

A MAGISTRATE.--Did you ever carry any load for Bishop or May before?

SHIELDS.--No, your honour, never.

Mr. BURNABY, the clerk.--You know, Shields, you have carried bodies repeatedly to the hospitals. You should remember you are now on your oath.

SHIELDS.--I mean to say, that I did not know what the hamper contained that May and Bishop hired me to carry.

Mr. MINSHULL.--Have you heard any conversation pass between the prisoners relating to this murder, during any time you may have passed in their company since they and you were apprehended?

SHIELDS.--None whatever, your worship, except that I heard Bishop say he got the body from the ground.

Mr. CORDER.--It is quite clear that this man cannot be believed on his oath, and therefore it would be useless to make a witness of him.

Mr. MINSHULL said, he certainly should not allow him to give evidence; for every word which he had as yet spoken went for nothing. If he discharged him now, it would be on the condition of his undertaking to communicate to Mr. Thomas where he went to live, in the event of his removing from his present residence.

Mr. CORDER submitted, that Shields ought to be detained, at least for the present.

Mr. MINSHULL then told Shields, that as there might be a charge of another description against him, he certainly should not now consent to his discharge. He would take time to consider how he ought to be disposed of.

Shields was then removed in custody.

Mr. MINSHULL then addressed Bishop, saying, 'John Bishop, you have heard all the witnesses who came to give evidence against you. The whole of that evidence is now completed; and therefore, if you wish to say anything, now is your time, as this is the last opportunity you will have of appearing before me.

BISHOP.--No, Sir, I have nothing to say at present.

Mr. MINSHULL.--James Williams, alias Head, have you anything which you wish to say?

WILLIAMS.--Nothing, Sir.

Mr. MINSHULL.--John May, is it your wish to speak before you are finally committed?

MAY.--I have nothing more to say, Sir, than what I said already at the Coroner's inquest. This man, Bishop, can clear me of everything, if he likes to speak the truth. He knows I am innocent of the charge. The man says he got the body from the ground, but he don't like to say where, because he is loth to injure the two watchmen left to guard it. Things, however, are come to such a crisis now, that he ought to speak the truth, and I wish him to speak the truth--(he added, looking full in Bishop's face)--for I defy him to say anything to implicate me. I knew nothing of the body until I went to take it from Bishop's house.

BISHOP, in a low tone, said, I have said nothing against you. It is true what you say, you knew nothing of it till then.

MAY.--I did not; that is the truth.

Mr. MINSHULL.--Have you anything more to say?

MAY.--No, your worship, not now.

Mr. MINSHULL.--Prisoners, you will all be committed to Newgate, to take your trial at the ensuing sessions at the Old Bailey, commencing on the 1st of December next, for the Wilful Murder of CARLO FERRARI; and there will be another count in the indictment, charging you with the wilful murder of a person unknown. You are now committed accordingly.

The prisoners were then about to be removed, when Williams requested that his friends might be allowed to see him; adding, that he had nothing to say to any person that he would not be willing should be heard in the presence of the officers of the jail.

Mr. MINSHULL.--You will be lodged in Newgate, and whatever accommodations are customary there, will, I have no doubt, be afforded you. I have no power to interfere.

The prisoners were then removed from the bar, strongly guarded.

Mr. CORDER then, addressing the magistrate, observed, that he had done all he could to assist the prosecution, and on the part of the parish which he represented, he should, of course, proceed. He was, however, instructed to say, that the expense of prosecuting this case fell rather hard upon the parish, inasmuch as the body was not found in it; neither had the boy come by his death in the parish. He was aware that it was necessary that the body should have been removed, for safe custody, to the station-house, and therefore that, so far, the thing was unavoidable. The parish, however, was not in a very prosperous state, and he was fearful, from an interview he had had with a member of the government at the Home Office, that no pecuniary assistance was to be looked to from that quarter.

Mr. HARMER said, that being aware that the parish of St. Paul, Covent Garden, was not at present in the most flourishing condition, he had offered the parish officers his humble efforts gratuitously to conduct the prosecution.

Mr. CORDER said, he was bound to acknowledge the able assistance which he had received from Mr. Harmer.

Mr. HARMER said, that the difficulty of prosecuting such a case, in which there were so many witnesses, would be considerably lessened by the manner in which the evidence was taken and arranged by the clerk.

Mr. MINSHULL then directed the jailer to bring in the wives of Bishop and Williams.

They were accordingly brought forward, and Mr. Minshull told them they were discharged, and might go where they pleased. The cottage, however, in which they had lived was in the possession of the police; and, under all circumstances, he supposed they would not think of returning there.

Mrs. BISHOP said, they certainly would not.

They were then removed, and ordered to be taken care of by the jailer, and on no account to be allowed to go into the street while it was crowded by so large a concourse of people.

Mr. Thomas had previously told Bishop that his wife would be discharged that day. His reply was, 'I thank you, Sir. I hope you will look to her, and see that she is not insulted by the mob.' Shields was ordered to be detained for a similar reason; and it was not until late on the same night that he was liberated, after the crowds had left the street.

Notwithstanding the heavy rain that fell during the whole of the afternoon, the concourse of persons in Bow-street remained undiminished until the arrival of the van, when considerable difficulty was experienced by the officers to get the prisoners conveyed with safety into the vehicle. The yells and hootings which the mob set up on their appearance was deafening; and but for an additional guard of constables, the consequences might have been very serious. Williams and Bishop cowered down, as if to avoid at once the fury and the gaze of the assembled crowds. May, however, stood more erect, and jumped lightly into the van, which immediately drove off to Newgate, followed by the shouts and execrations of the people.

When May was removed to the lock-up room, after he was taken from the bar, he burst into tears, and declared solemnly to Dodd, the jailer, that he knew nothing whatever of the boy's death, and never saw the body until Bishop showed it to him in the box. He then said, that an acquittal would almost be as bad as a conviction to him; for where could he find employment after this charge? Bishop and Williams, on the contrary, were by no means cast down. They appeared to rally their spirits, and assumed a levity of manner, which, however, was but of short duration.

On the prisoners being conveyed in the prison van from Bow-street to Newgate, they were followed by a mob of between two and three hundred persons, hooting and yelling. In order to evade the mob, the van drove out of Fleet-street, through Chancery-lane, towards the House of Correction, where two or three other prisoners were disposed of, whence the van proceeded towards the Old Bailey; and the mob still increasing, on arriving at Newgate, it was with the greatest difficulty that a number of officers could clear the way before the felon's door for the admission of the prisoners. The discordant yells were so tremendous as to frighten several horses in the different vehicles as they passed by.

It will be remembered that, previously to the final committal to Newgate of Bishop, Williams, and May, for the murder of the Italian boy, the entire dress of a woman was found in the privy of the house adjoining to that which Bishop and Williams occupied at the time of their apprehension. The articles so found were, on Saturday, the 26th of November, fully identified as having belonged to a poor woman named Frances Pigburn, who suddenly disappeared about six weeks ago; and a warrant, charging Bishop and Williams with her murder, was lodged in Newgate on the evening of that day. Mr. Thomas was since that time unremitting in his exertions to procure additional evidence; and on Monday night Michael Shields, the porter, who was discharged from custody on the previous Friday, came to Mr. Thomas at the station-house; and having declared that he wished to do all in his power to forward the ends of justice, made a voluntary statement, which Mr. Thomas took down in writing, and of which the following is the substance:--

He said he was employed by Bishop and Williams early in the morning of Sunday, the 9th of October last, to go, along with Bishop's sister (Rhoda Head, alias Williams), into the Borough to carry a trunk. Bishop and Williams called upon him at his lodgings in Eagle-street, Red Lion-square, and called him up. He then accompanied them to Bishop's house in Nova Scotia Gardens, and when he got there, Bishop placed a trunk upon his knot. It was the same trunk which Mr. Thomas produced at Bow-street, in the late inquiry. They all left Nova Scotia Gardens together, namely, Bishop, Williams, Mrs. Williams and himself, and proceeded to St. Thomas's Hospital in the Borough. Bishop and Williams walked on one side of the way, and Mrs. Williams walked by the side of informant, carrying a band-box, tied up in a handkerchief, for the purpose, as informant verily believes, of giving the journey the appearance of a servant going to her situation. On arriving at St. Thomas's Hospital, he was joined by Bishop and Williams, and they entered the hospital together, while Mrs. Williams stopped outside. The trunk having been deposited in the hospital, they all went together to a public-house to have some refreshment. Bishop, not being able to sell the body at St. Thomas's Hospital, resolved on going to Mr. Grainger's dissecting-rooms, and he (Shields) walked with him, leaving the trunk behind. When they reached Mr. Grainger's anatomical theatre, Bishop held a private conference with Mr. Appleton, the porter to the dissecting-rooms, which lasted a few minutes. They then returned to St. Thomas's hospital, and fetched the trunk from thence to Mr. Grainger's rooms. On arriving there, Bishop took a body from the trunk for Mr. Appleton's inspection. It was that of a middle-aged female. It was a particularly fresh subject, and had not the appearance of a body taken from a grave. There was no dirt upon it, and informant observed, that the hair of the corpse was dark and short, and that the subject altogether was thin, and remarkably light in weight. Mrs. Williams was not present then, but remained at the public-house as a kind of pledge for what was drank, until the money should be procured. Mr. Appleton and Bishop bargained for some short time, and a price being agreed on, Mr. Appleton paid Bishop part of the money, and promised to pay the remainder on the following day. Gin was then sent for, and Mr. Appleton and all of them partook of it. Bishop, Williams and informant then went back to the public-house, and found Mrs. Williams crying, on account of her having been questioned about the reckoning. Bishop went into a great rage, and paid it, saying he never would enter the house again, nor should any of his friends. They then went away together, and returned over London-bridge as far as Bishopsgate-street, and had some gin at a public-house there, where coaches stopped. Bishop paid for the gin, and informant then went away. Mrs. Williams still retained possession of the band-box, and it was just in the same state as when she took it from home. Bishop paid informant ten shillings for the job, and said if that did not satisfy him, he might have more to-morrow.

Shields, having made this statement, said he was so frightened when in custody, that he did not know what to say, and was fearful if he let slip any thing it might implicate himself. He now, however, wished to atone, as far as lay in his power, for the part which he had taken in that and the other transactions.

Mr. THOMAS, perceiving that the statement of Shields corresponded not only with the time of the disappearance of Fanny Pigburn, (she having been seen last alive on the night of the 8th of October, and Shields dating the above transaction on the 9th,) but also with the description of her age and personal appearance, as described by her sister, and other witnesses, felt that the information was important, and that Mrs. Williams was sufficiently implicated in the transaction to warrant her apprehension. He accordingly proceeded to Newgate on Tuesday the 29th of November, and having taken her into custody there, while she was waiting to see her husband, immediately conveyed her to Bow-street police-office, and charged her before Mr. Minshull, as an accessary after the fact, in the wilful murder of Frances Pigburn, adding, that he took the prisoner into custody, in the lodge at Newgate, about half an hour before; and that, on a future day, he expected to produce further evidence against her.

The prisoner wept bitterly while the clerk was writing down the charge against her, and when it was entered,

Mr. MINSHULL asked her if she wished to say any thing, at the same time cautioning her that whatever she said would be taken down in writing, and might be made evidence against her.

The prisoner replied, 'I thank you, sir, but I want to say what I know--I wish to speak the truth. She went on to say, that her father (meaning Bishop, but there must be here some mistake in the report, for Mrs. Williams is the sister of Bishop, not his daughter) called her up on Sunday morning at six o'clock, about six or seven weeks ago. They were then living at No. 3, Nova Scotia gardens. He asked her if she would carry a bandbox for him; she asked in reply, where did he want her to take it? He replied to the Borough. She then went along with Bishop, her husband and Shields over London bridge, and when they got a little way over the bridge they came to a public-house, and Bishop told her to go in there and wait until they returned. They came again in about half an hour, and then they went together to another public-house, and had a pot of half and half, and some pipes. There was no money to pay the reckoning, and her father left her there, and told her to stop until he should return. He came back and paid for the beer, and then they all went to Bishopsgate-street, and called for some gin in a public house there. Shields then left Bishop, her husband and herself, and, after that, they all went home together. The prisoner added, that is all I wish to say. I have nothing more to add.

Mr. MINSHULL.--It will be my duty to commit you for further examination upon this charge, to this day fortnight.

Mr. THOMAS said, he thought he should be able to produce further evidence in a week.

Mr. MINSHULL.--Then let the re-examination of the prisoner stand for this day week. As the prisoner was about to be removed, Mr. Thomas said, he believed she had not had any food that day, and as she was now about to leave his custody, he hoped that she would be allowed some refreshment.

Mr. MINSHULL.--Most certainly; the jailer shall provide her with what is necessary. No prisoner shall want food, whilst I sit here as a magistrate.

The prisoner was then removed in custody.

While these proceedings were carrying on, the public alarm was increasing in every direction; the medical profession was visited with the most severe, and we think, unjust indignation, inasmuch as it was believed to be the secret encourager of a system by which human life was sacrificed with the most heartless indifference, and the detection of the crime became a matter of extreme difficulty, almost amounting to impossibility, on account of the secrecy with which the proceedings are carried on in the hospitals and the private dissecting-rooms. It is at once evident that, from the present mode of supplying subjects for dissection, no man's life is secure. The murderer may disguise his victim by laying out, and for a time burying the corpse, by cutting off the hair, or by knocking out the teeth, and then his market is as safe as it is sure; or, if the assassin be more timid than usual, he has only to dismember the subject, and the sale by piecemeal will turn in an equal profit, and defy detection.

This is a state of danger to the public, the toleration of which would be criminal. The medical profession must arouse from its equivocal silence, and take such measures as may prevent its being, in a secondary sense, accessary to murder.

That the medical profession feel sore at the imputations which are cast upon them is not to be wondered at, and they very industriously throw the blame upon the existing laws, which, on account of their pretended impolicy, are themselves the cause of the different murders which have been committed, for the purpose of supplying the anatomical schools with subjects for the pupil. Thus Dr. Southwood Smith, in concluding that branch of his lectures on forensic medicine, which includes the extinction of life by intentional human agency, and illustrating the several points which demand the attention of the medical witness, on the examination of the body after death, from poisoning, drowning, hanging, strangulation, bruises and wounds, adverted to the real position in which the medical profession and the public are placed by the present state of the law relative to the study of anatomy, and after drawing a strong picture of the consequences that would result to the community, from the general neglect of this pursuit by the profession, spoke nearly as follows:--

'You dare not practise without a knowledge of anatomy,--you cannot prescribe for a patient, you cannot undertake the management of any surgical or medical case without a direct violation of the law, until you have adduced, before legally appointed authorities, evidence that you have studied anatomy with such effect, as to be able to stand a searching examination. But the same law that makes it imperative on you to study anatomy, in order to acquire a legal right to practise your profession, renders the possession of the means of pursuing the study illegal. Human anatomy cannot be known without the dissection of the human body, yet the possession of a body that has been exhumed, for the purpose of dissection (no body except that of the murderer being obtainable in any other mode) is penal. So that you are to be punished for not conforming to a law, which you cannot qualify yourself for obeying without breaking! Did ever any civilized country witness such a situation as that in which the law has placed you and the public? It has contrived to raise the price of a dead body to such a height, as absolutely and appallingly to endanger the safety of the living. Of this danger, both the public and the legislature have been long and earnestly warned. Several years ago, before any instance of the actual perpetration of the crime had been discovered, the temptation and the consequent danger were fully brought to view in a pamphlet, entitled "The Use of the Dead to the Living." Investigation was set on foot, a parliamentary inquiry was obtained, the medical profession performed its duty in the fullest manner, and stated, without reserve, all the odiousness and all the danger of exhumation. It laid open the true character of the hardened and the desperate men engaged in this employment. It had not yet occurred to those men, that it might be more easy to murder the living than disturb the dead, but the possibility of the occurrence of such a thought, and the probability of their acting upon it, were distinctly foretold. Over and over again it was stated, that the price always to be obtained for a subject, from ten to fifteen guineas, was a temptation to murder not likely to be resisted, and with an earnest voice the profession implored that this risk might be no longer incurred. The administration was impressed--the public was excited--something was promised--a little was attempted, but nothing was done. Then came on the Edinburgh horrors; and now we are thrown into a state of intense alarm, lest the same horrors should be perpetrated, and are perpetrating, at our own doors. And knowing this, it is said, it behoves the teacher and the medical profession in general to be extremely cautious, to examine with the utmost vigilance, whether any thing suspicious appear, and if it do, to investigate it to the bottom; and that it is now become an imperative duty, there can be no more question than there can be that it will be faithfully and rigidly observed in all schools, and throughout the profession. But when you come seriously to consider what it is in the power of the anatomist and physiologist to do--when, from the preceding statements, you see the utmost they can do, the truth is not more true than it is dreadful. If then it be made worth while to pursue murder as a trade, it can be carried on to a prodigious extent without detection. But men, even the desperate men, called body-snatchers, will not murder without a motive; but they will murder upon system, and to an extent to which no limit can be fixed, if the temptation be great, and the chance of escape considerable. It is in vain to look for protection to the law--no law can restrain them; no punishment will deter them:--the only effectual remedy is the removal of the temptation, the taking away of the motive, by rendering the dead body so cheap, as to be in fact without value as an article of sale; and the mode of doing this is simple. All that is necessary is, to repeal the existing law, which renders it illegal to possess a dead body for the purpose of dissection; and to enact a law, rendering the possession of a body for the purpose legal. Every thing would then be accomplished without exhumation, without danger, without any feeling being shocked, without any injury or indignity being done to any human creature. Those who from ignorance or childish prejudice--prejudice now confined to the highest and the lowest vulgar, raise a clamour against this and all similar expedients--assist and aid every future murder of this kind that may be committed, as really, though not as intentionally, as though they assisted at the strangulation.'

On this highly-interesting subject, and which now embraces the attention of all ranks of the community, we shall not be accused of diffuseness in giving the sentiments of another most celebrated surgeon, especially as many hints are there thrown out, by which the present system of obtaining dead bodies may altogether be exploded.

Mr. Brodie (for we ascribe the following remarks to him, although he has not affixed his name to them) says, 'Such is the importance of anatomy, that those who are engaged in the study of medicine and surgery will always endeavour to learn it, as far as it lies in their power to do so; and if subjects for dissection cannot be procured by decent and legal means, they will be procured by means that are indecent and illegal. The present system of procuring them by the robbery of churchyards, is attended with very great mischief in various ways. It disgusts and alarms not only the surviving friends, but the whole of society. Some are rendered miserable, because they know that the bodies of their friends have been stolen from the grave, and carried to the dissecting-room; and others, because they are apprehensive that the bodies of their friends may be served in the same manner. The men who are employed to exhume bodies are of the very worst description; they are outcasts of society, who being pointed at as resurrection-men, are unable to maintain themselves by any honest employment; and are thus driven to become thieves and house-breakers, because, when not actually employed in stealing bodies, they can do nothing better.

'The price of subjects at this moment is as high as eight, ten, or twelve guineas, and it has been as high as fifteen guineas. But many a person has been murdered for a much smaller sum than the least of these. Here then is an inducement to commit actual murder; and in addition to the mere gain, there is this further inducement, namely, that the murder is committed under circumstances peculiarly calculated to effect its concealment: as the bodies in the dissecting-room soon become disfigured, so that they cannot be recognized, it is not to be supposed that the teachers of anatomy, except under peculiar circumstances, can distinguish the bodies of those who die a natural death. It may be observed further, that it is impossible for the teachers to spare, from their other occupations, the time necessary to make an accurate examination of each individual subject that is brought into the dissecting-room, and that if such examinations were made, they would have the effect of preventing the students making some of the most important and useful dissections afterwards. The subjects must be handed over to the students untouched; the teachers and senior students may and ought to be as vigilant as possible, but it is equally absurd and unjust to suppose, that an absolute responsibility can rest upon them.

'The commission of murder for the purpose of obtaining subjects for the anatomical schools, is now found to be no imaginary evil. But the public need not be surprised that it has occurred. It has been foreseen by medical men, whose attention has been directed to these inquiries for some years, and the danger has been long ago pointed out to many members of the legislature; nor can all the activity of the police, nor all the watchfulness of the teachers of anatomy, prevent it recurring some time or other, if there be no easier method of supplying subjects for dissection, than that which is now resorted to, and if they continue, in consequence, to produce the enormous sum which they produce at present.

'One effect of the existing difficulty of procuring subjects in this country is, that a large proportion of medical students visit the Continent, and reside in Paris, or elsewhere, for the purpose of dissection. It may not be very creditable to us as a nation, that we should not possess among ourselves the means of instruction in so important a branch of knowledge as anatomy; but there is another and a stronger reason for lamenting the emigration of medical students. There is no class of society, in whose honour and integrity, and good principles, the public are so deeply interested, as in those of the medical profession. The members of it are admitted to a degree of confidence which is not given to any other individuals; circumstances are of necessity made known to them, which are not intended for the world, and the disclosure of which would, in many instances, destroy the peace of a family. They visit their fellow-creatures, labouring not only under the bodily, but the mental weakness of disease, and a depraved or dishonest person will easily convert those opportunities to some base purpose of self-advancement or self-gratification. We need not insult our neighbours by asserting that there is more vice in Paris than in London. Be that as it may, there is still good reason to suppose, that a number of young Englishmen are more likely to fall into vicious and dissipated habits in the former city than in the latter. Even if their parents reside in a distant county, they have in all probability relations, and at any rate they have acquaintance in London, and while in London, they are in constant communication with their families in the country, and they are in a greater or less degree under the _surveillance_ of their friends. But while they reside in Paris, these restraints are removed; they are left entirely to themselves, and that at a period of life when temptations are new to them, when their passions are strong, and when good counsel and good example are of more importance than at any other period, either earlier or later. Can any one regard this as a favourable condition for young men, who, in the subsequent part of life, are to have such trust reposed in them, as necessarily must be reposed in medical practitioners?

'Anatomical knowledge is necessary to a right understanding both of medicine and surgery. But the law declares that the having a dead body in your possession is a misdemeanour; and the judges lay it down as a maxim, that there is only one legal way of possessing a body for dissection, namely, by procuring that of a man hanged for murder. The anatomical students are compelled to deal with people who steal bodies from churchyards, and who are liable to be punished for so doing. But the College of Physicians, the College of Surgeons, and the Company of Apothecaries, all require that those who present themselves for examination, should have attended anatomical lectures, and should have performed dissections. Thus it appears, that the laws forbid the student to dissect, and the constituted authorities, under the sanction of the laws, require that he should dissect. The medical student, in the first instance, is persecuted on account of his endeavours to obtain knowledge; and afterwards, when he is engaged in practice, he is persecuted for not having obtained it, and, to make the inconsistency still greater, there is not an individual amongst those who make the laws, nor amongst those by whom they are administered, who hesitates, when his life is in danger, to apply for assistance to those individuals, who would not have it in their power to relieve him, if they had not devoted a considerable portion of their lives to these forbidden studies.

'But it is to no purpose to point out the evils which exist, unless it can be shown at the same time that those evils admit of being removed. The next question then is, how can a more abundant supply of subjects be procured, in a manner less offensive to the community?

'As the laws are now construed by the law authorities, the possession of a body for the purpose of dissection, is in itself a misdemeanour, except it be that of a person hanged for murder. The first thing then to be done, is to declare, by an act of the legislature, that dissection, for the purpose of procuring knowledge, that may be useful in medicine and surgery, is legal and proper.

'2. That a dead body should be dissected, is of no consequence to the individual who is no more, but a knowledge of it being so may be distressing to the feelings of the sorrowing friends and relations.

'This sufficiently points out what are the proper subjects for dissection; namely, the bodies of those who die without any friends or relations. In small towns and villages, probably, there are none who die under those circumstances; but in large cities, and especially in the metropolis, there are a great number. Whoever will take the trouble of referring to the Anatomical Committee, will find that, in London, the number of those amount to many more than would be required for the supply of all the anatomical schools. These bodies are now buried at the expense of the public; and, if authorised to do so, the churchwardens and overseers would, in most instances, readily give them up to the teachers of anatomy.

'But it may be argued, in opposition to the adoption of the plan proposed, that it may be considered as a very harsh and arbitrary measure on the part of the legislature to point out any particular class of society as furnishing subjects for dissection, while the other classes are exempt. This objection relates, of course, not to the sense and deliberate judgment, but to the feelings of the public; and it is easily answered. Let it be declared, not who are, but who are not to be dissected. Let it be enacted that dissection is lawful, but that no one is to be dissected contrary to the wishes of his friends or nearest relations. The result will be the same, but the offence to the public feeling, in this last case, will be none at all.

'It may be said also, that there are some individuals who have a horror at being dissected after death, and that it will sometimes happen that a poor man, dying in a workhouse, with no friends around him, will have his sufferings much aggravated, if he believes that his helpless and friendless condition is to lead, as soon as he has breathed his last, to his body being conveyed to an anatomical school. Undoubtedly such feelings ought to be respected. It would be cruel to disregard them; and it is very easy to meet the objection which arises out of them. Let it be declared further, that no one is to be made the subject of dissection who has declared, by his last will and testament, his wish to the contrary.

'Again--it may be considered as wrong, on religious grounds, that any individual should be denied the act of sepulture, and the performance of the funeral service after death. It may be answered to this objection, indeed, that these are mere human institutions, concerning which not one word is said in the Old and New Testament. But there is no occasion to meet it thus. After the body has been dissected, let the remains be inclosed in a coffin, and conveyed to the grave in the usual manner, and with the usual ceremonies; or the funeral service may be read over it previous to dissection.

'There may be some who will, probably, still urge another objection; namely, that the public feeling is so strongly opposed to dissection, and that the lower orders especially are so much prejudiced against it, that a general clamour will be raised if there be any kind of legislation on the subject. But those who argue thus, must have formed their opinions on what they have heard and seen in the country, in villages, and the smaller provincial towns, and can know little of the state of feeling in the larger towns, and especially in London. The fact is, that in London there is no horror of dissection in the abstract. The thing has, in some measure, become familiar to the minds of the inhabitants, and especially of those who belong to the lower orders. Persons who reside in the neighbourhood of an anatomical theatre, continually see boxes and hampers taken into it, which they know to contain subjects for dissection; and such an occurrence scarcely causes an observation among them. It is only when the bodies of their friends and relatives are exhumed and dissected, that their feelings are excited; and, instead of being excited further, these feelings are likely to be allayed by the adoption of a plan for dissection of the unclaimed bodies, inasmuch as it would put a stop to the present traffic with the resurrection-men, and the robbery of the churchyards.

'Nor is the plan proposed to be regarded in the light of a mere experiment. It has been already tried in most parts of the continent of Europe, in Protestant countries as well as Catholic, and it has succeeded perfectly. And surely there is no such peculiarity in the English nation as ought to lead us to believe that that which has succeeded in nations so different as the French and Prussians, the Dutch and the Italians, would not succeed in England also.

'Of course these observations are founded on the supposition that dissection is carried on in a discreet and decent manner; and if it should be recognized by law, and a more abundant supply of subjects should be procured under the sanction of the state, some precautions may be necessary to prevent the evil which would arise from its being too openly practised, or being brought under the notice of the public in a disgusting or offensive shape. It will not be unreasonable to require of the teachers of anatomy that they should preserve a register of all the bodies which they receive for dissection, naming the source from whence they are obtained. It may be proper, on all accounts, to insist that those who undertake to be teachers of anatomy should prove their fitness for the office, by passing a rigid examination before the College of Surgeons of London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, or some other competent tribunal. This will, at any rate, limit the number of anatomical teachers in the best possible manner, namely, by the exclusion of uneducated and ignorant pretenders, and by confining this department of medical instruction to men of industry and science. It may be admitted as a question also, whether, in addition to these measures, it will not be advisable to insist that no one should be permitted to open dissecting-rooms for the admission of students, without a license to do so from the Secretary of State, or from some person specially appointed for the purpose, to whom a satisfactory security must be given for the proper regulation and conduct of the establishment.

'Of the foregoing observations, there are, probably, very few which have a claim to the merit of originality; the subject having been so frequently discussed, especially among medical practitioners, with whom the present obstacles to anatomical instruction have long been a subject of serious anxiety.

'This last circumstance has led to a misapprehension on the part of the public. It is very generally believed that the members of the medical profession are a party concerned, and that they have an interest beyond that which others have in obtaining greater facilities of dissection. This is true, as far as it relates to the teachers of anatomy and the students; but the former are very few in number, and the latter are not of sufficient importance, and are too limited in their acquaintance and connexion for their sentiments to be much regarded, or even to be known. It is not true as to medical practitioners generally: they have laid in their store of knowledge; they rarely find it necessary to return to the labours of the dissecting-room; or if they wish to inspect the dead body for the purpose of satisfying themselves as to a particular point, they have ample opportunities of doing so in the _post mortem_ examinations made for the purpose of ascertaining the cause of a patient's death.

'If the existing race of medical practitioners were so narrow-minded as to consult only their own private interests, they would be pleased to see the rising generation brought up in comparative ignorance, inasmuch as it would make it more difficult for themselves to be superseded in their practice as they advance in years. If they have been more active than others in calling the attention of the legislature to the subject, it has been on purely public grounds; not because they expect or can expect any benefit to themselves, but because their peculiar situation makes them more competent than other individuals can be to form a judgment of the mischiefs which may ultimately arise to the community, if nothing be done to remove the existing evil.'

It must be admitted that the foregoing remarks, emanating from so eminent a man as Mr. Brodie, cannot but possess, at the present juncture, considerable value, as the subject has been again brought before the legislature by Mr. Warburton, and no doubt now exists that, from recent circumstances, some enactments will be passed to legalize dissection, and to facilitate the procuring of bodies for the supply of the anatomical schools. As we shall have occasion to recur to the subject in a future part of our work, we shall now refrain from making any further comments on it, and proceed to the trial of the resurrectionists, for the murder for which they were committed.

The 2nd of December was the day fixed for the trial of the prisoners charged with the murder of the Italian boy; and as early as eight o'clock in the morning the court was crowded to excess.

We cannot but here speak in terms of reprobation of the vexatious conduct pursued by some of the city officers in regard to the admission of persons to the body of the court and the galleries, who, in some respects, had a title to be admitted. Personally speaking, when we presented ourselves at the gate, demanding entrance, as having the key of the box appropriated to the Committee of the City Lands, we were told, in the first place, that the box was full; this was at half-past eight in the morning. On remonstrating with the officer, and expressing our opinion that he was acting reprehensibly in refusing admittance to a person having the key of one of the committee to whom the box belonged, we were met by the objection, that it was by no means improbable but that the common-councilman would come himself. This we declared to be almost an impossible case; for, as we were in possession of his key, it amounted to the proof that he had for that day relinquished his right, and that we were to be regarded, in every respect, as his substitute. Mr. Cope was then sent for, and he declared also that the box was full; that nine persons had obtained admission with _one_ key, and that were he to admit us, we should not be able to find room. We then asked Mr. Cope, how he would act if the common-councilman appeared himself, demanding admittance, and whether he was invested with any power to refuse such an admission to an accredited member of the Corporation, who, as such, possessed a positive right to a seat in that box, of which it was not in the power of Mr. Cope to divest him. Still the plea of the fulness of the box was urged; and finding all remonstrance to be vain, we despatched a friend for the common-councilman himself to come and insist upon his right. In the interval, however, the gate was opened, as if by some talismanic power, and on our entering the box, we found the statement of its being full completely false--two out of the five benches were not occupied at all, nor during the whole of the day was the box ever full.

We have merely adverted to this circumstance, as it may operate as a warning to those who so unjustifiably took upon themselves the power of refusing admittance to a court of justice to individuals invested with an authority to exact admission, and by which act they were, in reality, setting themselves up in opposition, and in actual defiance of the very persons by whom they had been appointed to the offices which they hold.

At nine o'clock the deputy recorder, Mr. Sergeant Arabin, came into the court, when the prisoners, John Bishop, Thomas Williams, and James May, were placed at the bar; and the indictment having been read over, charging them, in one count, with the Wilful Murder of CARLO FERRARI, otherwise Charles Ferrier; and in another with the Wilful Murder of a male person, whose name was unknown. They severally pleaded Not Guilty.

The jury was then sworn, and a short case having been disposed of, at ten o'clock Chief Justice Tindal, Mr. Baron Vaughan, and Mr. Justice Littledale entered the court, with the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs.

The bench was crowded with persons of rank, amongst whom we perceived the Duke of Sussex.

The prisoners were again put to the bar. They seemed but little moved by the awful situation in which they were at that moment placed, and they encountered the inquisitive glances of the assembled crowd with a careless air. Their appearance rather indicated low cunning, than hardened ferocity. In the countenance of Williams, there was something unusually repellent, and on the Duke of Sussex taking his seat, and applying his glass to his eye, Williams appeared to direct his stare full upon his Royal Highness with all imaginable impudence, as if he were almost determined to stare him out of countenance.

Mr. BODKIN having opened the case,