272 On ihe VolaliiUy and InjlummaliUhj 



light; and ten minutes after he heard an alarm of fire. He went 

 back, and saw to his left an appearance of flame or fire on the 

 floor. Now the jury, on examining the plan, would see whether 

 a flame from the steam-bin might not easily have been mistaken 

 for a fire on the floor, especially as the witness said he saw only 

 a glimpse of It. But where was Muller? His learned friend in 

 not bringing him forward had exercised a sound discretion, and 

 had taken the only course tiiat could give his clients any chance 

 of success; but he (iNlr. Scarlett) had had too much experience 

 of juries in that place, to fear that this circumstance would not 

 have its due weight witli the jury wliom he now had the honour 

 to address. It was clear that the alarm had been given by Mul- 

 ler, and, by his not being produced, they were called on to be- 

 lieve that the fire did not originate i\i a place where it was proved 

 by all the witnesses that a fire had existed for an hour before the 

 alarm was given. In further considering this part of the case, 

 lie must, in some degree, mix it up with the other question ; but 

 he would first observe, that Mr. Wicks had a good deal perplexed 

 the case of the plaintiffs. He had been roused by the rattle of 

 the watchman when the alarm was given; and this watchman 

 would Ije examined, and the jury from his evidence would be able 

 to judge of the probable cause of the fire. He would suppose 

 that a man in an opposite street saw an immense body of flame 

 bursting through a window on the back part of the premises, and 

 rising in a column to the opposite houses; was it not probable 

 that the fire originated in that part of the building where it was 

 seen? But, whatever might have been the cause of the fire, the 

 jury must be convinced that the plaintiffs had not laid before 

 them all the evidence which they might have produced. He 

 sliould now endeavour to show that the fire did not originate in 

 the warehouse, but must have proceeded from the apparatus used 

 in the new process ; and this brought him to the consideration 

 of the third question — the increase of risk. He wished to speak 

 with respect of all the scientific gentlemen who had been examined 

 yesterday. He wished, however, that Mr. Brande and Mr. 

 Parkes had conducted the same train of experiments as his wit- 

 nesses had done, and then he had no doubt they would have staled 

 very different opinions from those which the jury had heard yes- 

 terday. It was not by one or two experiments that questions in 

 chemistry could be decided, for that science underwent continual 

 fluctuation, and its ])rinciples required more patient investigation 

 than those of any oilier science. In his younger days, what was 

 called the phlogistic theory was very |)rcvalent, in consequence 

 of Dr. Priestley's writings ; and the late celebrated Dr. Milner 

 certainly gave very )>rilliant lectures on the subject, which he 

 (Mr. Scarlett) attended. He probably should have been also led 



away 



