that parliament in whom by the law of the land it is vested, and vesting it in others;-he says, "there was a young man in a blue coat and trowsers, who had a sword, and whose name, I have since heard, is Manchester Turner; he was of the party, and he said they were going to Nottingham to unload the burthen that England had so long borne; this was said at John Bright's; there was a gun fired just before we got there from Pentridge; we then marched towards Butterley, the prisoner had a large staff with a spike at the end of it; he was walking in the rear, and was very forward in pushing the men along; we went round to Butterley, and halted there; there we saw Mr. Goodwin; William Turner and the Nottingham captain were the leaders of the party; I heard the Nottingham captain speak to Mr. Goodwin; Mr. Goodwin asked him what he wanted, and he said we want your men; Mr. Goodwin told him they should not have them; I went into Mr. Goodwin's office; I saw the door open while the party was halted, and I walked in and escaped from them, and did not join them again."-This young man was a person who had been called out of his bed and compelled unwillingly to join their party, and at these Butterley works, seeing the door of the office open, he took the first convenient : opportunity which presented itself, went in and remained no more engaged, or appearing to be so, in these transactions. On his cross-examination, he says, "I carried no arms the whole way; the captain and William Turner were the active men." Then the next witness called is George Goodwin, who is the managing clerk of Mr. Jessop's works, who certainly does give very material and important evidence as it affects the prisoner at the bar; he says, " On Saturday the 7th of June, special constables were sworn in to protect the works."-It does appear from this, as well as from some circumstances he mentioned afterwards upon his cross-examination, that he had anticipated there might be some attempt to force open the works belonging to his masters, and the first two witnesses who are examined assign that as a reason for not making the disclosure which seemed to have been expected ;-he says, " on the 9th of June, at night, while on duty with the constables, we heard guns fired; the first I heard was a little before twelve o'clock, and between that time and day-light I heard three or four guns and the blowing of horns; a great part of the constables were dismissed a little before three in the morning of Tuesday;"-they seemed to have supposed that when day-light (arrived there would be nothing attempted. "Mr. Jessop and myself came down with a party that were armed with pikes to the office; a little before three o'clock I observed George Weightman riding past very quick; I called to him to stop, but he did not; he looked over and went on," you may recollect what the other witnesses told you, that George Weight man was sent to Nottingham on Mr. Booth's pony to bring intelligence;-" a few minutes after, I observed about a hundred persons marching on the road from Pentridge in regular military order, two abreast, armed with guns, spears, and pikes, a few had no arms; they marched up to the door of the iron-works, and there stopped and halted; I spoke to the captain, who was at the head of them, and asked what was his object in halting there; he said, we want your men; I told him they should have none; that they were too many already, except they were going for a better purpose; I recognized among them the prisoner at the bar; he was in the front rank, as it was then, what in the march would have been the rear; I said to him, good God, Isaac, what are you doing here on such an errand as this; I urged him to leave them; I told him he had a halter about his neck, and he would be hanged if he did not immediately go home;"―he not only urges him by words to do this, but he endeavours to force him,-"I took him by his shoulders, and turned him with his face towards the office, and pushed him, that he might make his escape into the office; he had an opportunity of escaping if he chose;" he might have done so in the same way which Hugh Booth the young man did." The prisoner was much agitated, and said, I cannot go back; I am as bad as I can be; I must go on;"-this is the language which the prisoner at the bar uses when remonstrated with by that friend, who is anxious to give him an opportunity of redeeming himself, if possible, by taking no further part in these transactions; but he says, "I cannot go back; I am as bad as I can be; it is too late to go back; I must go on." You will consider whether those expressions do not plainly disclose a mind conscious of all that he was doing, and conscious that he was one of those engaged in that plan of which he spoke, and of which they all spoke. He says, "I spoke to nearly the same effect to James Taylor; three of them, during the time Ludlam and I were talking, escaped into the office; Booth was one of them. The captain and the party looked at each other for a short time, the captain then gave the word of command, and they marched along the road to Ripley, which is the road to Codnor; the prisoner went off with the first party, and in about a quarter of an hour after I observed another coming from Pentridge; in about half an hour after the second party, I saw William Weightman on horseback, riding in the direction of Nottingham; from him I got a bag of bullets, of about 84 pounds weight;"-this is a preparation of ammunition; there might be from 1,500 to 2,000 bullets; there were a great variety of sizes, so as to fit the bore of different muskets and pistols; there were some moulds for cartridges, and paper in the bag fit for the purpose, though not the best."-It appears that William Weightman was not willing to deliver up this bag to him; he made some resistance, but Mr. Goodwin overpowered him, and took it.. On his cross examination, he says, "I was surprised to see the prisoner at the bar amongst them; he was a man I had known for several years, and I wished him well;"-that he did wish him well, is plain from the expressions he used, but which had not the effect of prevailing upon the prisoner; "he was much agitated when I spoke to him; I met with no resistance from him or any of them; I was armed; I had a brace of pistols in my pocket; I considered the prisoner in as little danger as myself;" he is asked, whether he felt confident of his own safety, and he says, "I considered myself in danger, but I considered if the prisoner had gone, that he would not have been in greater danger than myself; he would have had all the means of safety I had." Then he says, on re-examination, "I had sworn in an hundred and fifteen or sixteen special constables on the Saturday before, in expectation of an insurrection; they were armed with pikes;"-it was very fit and very proper, that when Mr. Jessop and Mr. Goodwin expected an assault from a number of persons, they should put arms into the hands of their own servants to protect their property from the assault that was expected. thousands assemble that day; that liberty would be gained, and an end of slavery; this was said by a person in the midst of them, I do not know by whom. They said all must go, or be shot."I cannot forbear making a remark upon this expression, "liberty would be gained, and an end of slavery; all must go, or be shot." The very first step taken by these people, the first purpose that they are arming themselves for, in the recovery of the lost liberty of the country is, to take away the lives of all those who will not join them, and become parties in their scheme; for they declare, in words, that those who will not join them shall all be shot.-"We stopped in the lane waiting for the captain. They told us, when we got into the lane, they were waiting for the captain and a party down the lane-end. They came up in about twenty minutes; I thought them about a hundred, armed with guns and pikes similar to those on the table; when the body came up, I saw the captain; he carried a very long pike; he ordered the men to fall in three deep; those with guns in the front, and those with pikes behind. The captain and the principal men held a consultation; among them were William Turner, and a young man that appeared to have but one eye, whom they called Manchester Turner, whom they called lieutenant. After they had consulted together, the captain asked whether there were any men that could do their exercise; if they could, they should fall out, and be made non-commis sioned officers; some did fall out; I believe some were appointed, but I was in the rear too far off to know. There was an advanced guard and a guard in the rear; the prisoner was to command the rear;"-which is exactly what all the other witnesses have spoken to his doing." Then the captain ordered them to march; they proceeded towards Pentridge; they stopped to break open houses, and bring men and guns out at Pentridge. I feigned myself ill; I wished to get from them; they said they would all go in that way; and somebody said, 'shoot him.' The captain appointed two men to take hold of me, each by one arm; they led me in this way up Pentridge, to William Booth's; there they got out his pony, and saddled and bridled it, and then they set me on the pony; I was not willing to go with them, and I fell off; the captain ordered them to face to the right, and march; then they left me, and I saw no more of them." The next witness is John Storer, a farmer at Pentridge; he says, On the 9th of June I was disturbed after I was gone to bed, about one o'clock, by a body of armed men; they presented a gun at the windows, and threatened to shoot me; I had gone to the window on the first alarm; one of them said, ' Damn your eyes, come and go with us, or we will shoot you. There were about twelve or fifteen of them; I asked them if there was no excuse; they said, none. William Turner was one of them; he had a gun; he said there was me, a gun, and two or three more in the house, and me and the gun they were determined should go with them; and they would shoot me and all in the house if I would not go; that the captain had just shot Hepworth's man. I told them, I would go with them, if they would give me a little time to dress myself; they told me, that if I did not make haste, they would make me so that I could not go; I cannot say who said that. I finished dressing myself, and I took an old gun, and went to them out of the house; they asked me if it was loaded; I told them, not; they asked me if I had any shot and powder; I told them, a little shot." "They said it did not mean;" (a word, I be lieve, importing, did not signify) "they should have powder and ball sufficient. We then went on by the yard to a gate leading into Upon being cross-examined, he says, "I the lane; I told them, I was not fit to go, I saw the prisoner frequently; I cannot say had been very unwell the day before, and I particularly whether I saw him just before I was not willing to go; I told them I could not got away; they did not ill use me, they carry the gun any further; they said it must threatened to shoot me; I did not see the prigo with the baggage; I asked them where the soner at that time, but I have no doubt he was baggage was; they said, they did not know very near, for I saw him frequently at Pentridge. then what they should have; then we went into The captain frequently used very violent lanthe lane; they said, they were going to Not- guage towards me. I told him he had better tingham; it was a general rising; that twenty-shoot me, then he would have done with me; five or thirty thousand were coming from Shef and he said, 'damn him, leave him, we can field; that there would be several hundred do without one;' they went away immediately. I had proceeded with them about three quarters of a mile. George Weightman was one that put me upon the pony, the other I do not know."-In answer to a question put by me, he says, "I did not know Thomas Turner," it seems by the testimony of Thomas Turner, that he was the other man who gave him a leg up. The next witness is William Roper. You will observe, that in the evidence which has already been given you, an expectation at least appears to have been entertained by many of the persons engaged in these transactions, that they were to be joined by a considerable party at Nottingham-forest, and at Nottingham; now whether they acted under that expectation, or whether that expectation was well or ill founded, would not make any difference; men who engage in treason are not the less traitorous because they expect others to unite in that treason; nor are they the less traitors because they are deceived in their expectation; but the object on the part of the Crown, in calling forwards this William Roper, is to prove that this expectation of an assembly on Nottingham-forest was not altogether without foundation; he says, "I live on the race course, Nottingham-forest, about three quarters of a mile from the town of Nottingham. On the 9th of June I was returning home from Nottingham about half-past eleven o'clock, a person of the name of Percival was with me; when I got on the Forest, I met, first of all, two men, and afterwards several more, they had no arms that I saw; and then I came in sight of a body, as nearly as I can guess, about a hundred; about ten or twelve of them followed me and Percival, with poles in their hands, brought down to a charge against us, and asked us where we were going; after a conversation they permitted us to go on. After I had got to my house, a number of men came to it, they seemed to be of the same party, and they acted pretty much in the same way; they asked if I had got any fire-arms in the house, I told them yes; they told me I must deliver them up to them; I said, I would not; they said if I did not deliver them up, they should be under the necessity of breaking the door open and taking them by force; I said if they did I should blow out the brains of the first man that came in, let him be who he would; they did not break in; this was about one o'clock when they demanded the arms, and about two they departed."-This therefore does, you see, go, if you give credit to it, to prove that there was, in fact, this very same night, a large assembly of persons at Nottingham-forest, much smaller indeed than those persons whose particular acts have been detailed expected, but still that there was a considerable assembly. Captain Philips, an officer in the 15th dragoons, says, I was quartered at Nottingham-barracks on the 9th of June; about ten o'clock that evening two companies of infantry, a part of my troop, with a field officer, were ordered into Nottingham, in consequence of being sent for by some of the magistrates;" what was going forward there at that time is not in proof; you are only to take it that they were sent for; "we remained in the town about half an hour; I went in the command of part of my own troop, and there was a field officer who had the command of the whole; at the expiration of that time we returned;" he says, "about half-past six the following morning I was ordered out with a party of men to go with Mr. Rolleston and Mr. Mundy, two magistrates, in pursuit of the rioters; both those gentlemen accompanied me; a magistrate had slept in the barracks all night; we took the Pentridge road. About half a mile before I got to Eastwood, I saw some armed men on the left hand of the road making their escape across some fields; they appeared to be armed with pikes; we pursued them a little way but could not overtake them; we then went on through Eastwood, and between Eastwood and Langley-mill I observed a party of about sixty on the road; the greatest part of them were armed; they were standing in the road, and one man attempted to form them up in opposition to us; but they paid no attention to him, and fled across the fields imme diately, some to the right and some to the left. I ordered the dragoons to pursue and to take as many prisoners as they could; I think about thirty-six prisoners were brought in; there were five or six taken armed with muskets, and some with pikes; the rest of the arms, consisting of pikes and guns, chiefly pikes; had been thrown away by the rioters, and were collected and put into a cart, and taken to Nottingham gaol; we examined the guns that were picked up, and found them loaded." On his cross-examination, he says, "they fled in all directions in the utmost confusion." Then on being re-examined he says, “some time after that, we met the bigh sheriff of Derbyshire and the Chesterfield yeomanry." This is the whole of the evidence that has been laid before you, on the part of the crown, to support the very serious charge which is preferred against this prisoner; no evidence is adduced in answer to it; no witness is called to contradict any fact spoken to by any of the persons examined on the part of the crown, or to impeach the character or credibility of any one of them; but it is contended on the part of the prisoner, and rightly contended, that he is not to be called upon to answer, but that the question is, whether the evidence which you have thus heard, is in itself sufficient to satisfy you, not that he was guilty of riot, of outrage, of breaking open houses, or of any practices of that kind, but that he was guilty of this crime of high treason, in levying war against the king; and if this evidence has not satisfied you that he was guilty of that charge, then without any answer either by evidence or otherwise, you will find him not guilty. He has called one witness, who is the gaoler of this county, and who says, that during the time the prisoner has been in confinement he|sembly of persons as this, even with the aid has conducted himself peaceably and orderly, they expressed themselves to expect; but the and with the greatest affection towards those question is not, whether their design was likely two sons who appear, according to the evi- to succeed, but whether they entertained it. dence, to have been of this party; their con- The improbability of success may be used as duct, however, is not now the subject of in- a sort of argument to show that a person does quiry. not entertain a design imputed to him, because in general, it is not likely that a man will entertain a design which there is no probability of his executing; but if you find, from the evidence, that he is actually embarking in that design, and declaring that he entertains it, there is then no room for the argument, which might otherwise be adduced, as to the impro barked in it, the improbability of success makes no difference in the crime; they expected, as it appears, a much greater force to assemble than did assemble; they were acting probably on some delusion, whether at the instigation of their own immediate friends, or of others, is not material; the question is not, whether they had ground for expecting success, but the question is, did they or did they not, and particularly did the prisoner at the bar, engage in the acts imputed to him, with the design charged by this indictment; namely, the design of endeavouring to overturn the go Upon this evidence, you have, as I before mentioned, to consider three questions. Has there been an insurrection? a rising of armed men, marching and committing acts of violence? I can hardly state that to you as a question, because the whole of the evidence conspires to prove it; and indeed the fact is not controverted by the prisoner's counsel.bability of its success; if you find he was emNext, was the object of these persons to assail and endeavour to overturn the established government of the country? Now what their object was you are to collect, as well from their acts as from their expressions and declarations; what the object of an individual was, is to be collected from his own declarations and expressions, and from his own acts; what was said by others in his absence, and out of his hearing, ought not to affect him, unless what he has himself said and done, shew to your satisfaction, that he too was a party embarked in the same designs as are avowed by others; many expressions of his own, proceed-vernment: if you think he did, then you caning from his own lips, have been given in evi- not otherwise discharge your painful duty than dence against the prisoner, and they are most by pronouncing him guilty. You will consider important for your consideration. Then the calmly, temperately, and dispassionately, the third question is, was the prisoner at the bar evidence which has been laid before you; you a party concerned in that rising, and having will weigh the remarks which have been made; the same object? You have heard what he you will discharge your duty according to your himself said to two of the witnesses, and what own judgment, and your oaths; and be asthey said to one another, "that Nottingham sured, nothing can confer upon you greater. was their object; there was to be a new par- comfort in life, or better hopes hereafter-noliament; they would have little to do when thing can confer any greater blessing upon they got there; thousands would join them," yourselves, your family, your posterity, or and so on; always expressing a confident hope your country, than a faithful, upright, and that the present government would be over-conscientious discharge of that painful duty turned, and some new system of government which it has fallen to your lot to execute. established. It has been urged, that the means which these persons possessed were wholly inadequate to the end they proposed, and that it is absurd to suppose that the government of the country could be overturned by such an as The jury withdrew at ten minutes after two, and returned in ten minutes with their verdict, pronouncing the prisoner GUILTY; and that he had not to their knowledge any lands, &c. at the time of the offence committed, #1 1 |