R. V. Dudley and Stephens - Rescue and Arraignment

Rescue and Arraignment

Dudley, Stephens and Brooks were picked up by the German sailing barque Montezuma which returned the men to Falmouth, Cornwall on Saturday 6 September en route to its destination in Hamburg. On arrival in Falmouth, the survivors attended the customs house and Dudley and Stephens entered statutory statements under the Merchant Shipping Acts, required in the event of a shipping loss. All three were candid, Dudley and Stephens believing themselves to be protected by a Custom of the Sea. Customs officer and Sergeant of the Harbour Police James Laverty was in the vicinity of the depositions and later questioned Dudley about the means by which he had killed Parker, taking custody of the knife and promising to return it. The depositions were telegraphed to the Board of Trade and to the Registrar General of shipping in Bassinghall Street in London. While the survivors were making arrangements to rejoin their families, Bassinghall Street advised that the men should be detained in Falmouth. The Board of Trade gave conflicting advice to take no action but informed the Home Office. The Home Office was closed for the weekend. Meanwhile, Laverty was seeking warrants for the men's arrest for murder on the high seas, warrants he obtained later that day from mayor of Falmouth, Henry Liddicoat.

The three men were held in the borough police station until they could appear before the magistrates on the morning of Monday, 8 September. Dudley appears to have been confident that the magistrates would dismiss the charges and Liddicoat visited the men to apologise for their inconvenience, but all magistrates had recently been instructed to seek advice of the Treasury Solicitor in all murder cases and the clerk probably prompted Laverty to ask for a remand in custody and adjournment while advice was sought. Local solicitor Harry Tilly appeared for the men and requested bail but after the magistrates, including Liddicoat, had consulted, they were returned to the police cells until 11 September.

The civil service had now returned from the weekend break and by Wednesday the file was passed to Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt. That day Harcourt consulted with Attorney General Sir Henry James and Solicitor General Sir Farrer Herschell. Harcourt took the decision to prosecute, the lost opportunity to clarify the law through James Archer (see below) no doubt alive in his mind.

By the time of their appearance in front of the magistrates on 11 September, public opinion in Falmouth had swung firmly behind the defendants, especially after Parker's brother Daniel, also a seaman, appeared in court and shook hands with the three. The case was again adjourned until 18 September, though this time Tilly succeeded in obtaining bail, the Home Office having hinted to the court that this would be appropriate. The three men returned to their homes while the case began to appear across the British and worldwide press. It soon became clear that public opinion was with the three survivors. Harcourt was revolted by the public's sentiment and intent on a conviction.

William Otto Adolph Julius Danckwerts, a barrister of only six years' call but with considerable experience in wreck inquiries, was briefed for the prosecution but soon realised that public sentiment and the lack of evidence posed formidable difficulties. The only witnesses were the three defendants themselves and their right to silence would impede any formal proceedings. Further a confession was only admissible against the person making it, not his co-defendants, and the contents of the depositions was probably inadequate to convict. When the case was heard by the magistrates on 18 September, Danckwerts told the court that he intended to offer no evidence against Brooks and requested that he be discharged so that he could be called as a witness for the prosecution. There is no evidence that Brooks had been canvassed about this and the magistrates agreed. Danckwerts opened the prosecution case and called as witnesses those who had heard the survivors' stories and Brooks. The magistrates committed Dudley and Stephens for trial at the winter Cornwall and Devon assizes in Exeter, but extended their bail.