Star. — London, England, 1813-09-03 00:00:00

ASSIZES. NEWCASTLE. ASSISTING FRENCH PRISONERS TO ESCAPE. • Jame: Hunter was indicted for aiding and assisting in the escape of the French prisoners, Benoit Poulet and Jacques Gerard, from the town of Jedburgh, on the 3d of June last, where they had been on their parole of honour. • After the Clerk of the Court bad read the indict ment, Mr. PARKE, for the Crown, addreised the Jur) , to the following purport ;•.." I hope the statement which has just been read must satisfy every one that, for the safety, the welfare, and happiness of the Bri tish nation at large, no one should escape who has thus traiterously connived at the liberation of the enemies of our country. lamat a loss to conceive how those who glory in the name of Englishmen, could restote their swords to their most inveterate enemies. This is a case which will require a great deal of minute investigation. The Act of Parliainent which had been passed a short time ago concerning the escape of French Piisoners, makes that crime a felony which was formerly but a misdemeanor. The prisoners of war, as these had done who escaped in the present instance, sign a payer, in which they pledge their honour, that they will not transgress the bounds marked out for them, viz. that they will not go off the high road, into bye lanes, fields, and re tired enclosures rand moreover affirm, that they will not escape, nor attempt to escape, from his Majesty's dominions, by means of any boat, ship, &c. &c.— But all this those Prisoners have violated ; and what can we think of that Briton who thus assists his ene mies ? 'rhe space over which Hunter has conducted these men is more than 60 miles ; indeed, he has crossed the whole of Northumberlan d. The Prisoners escaped in the beginning of June from Jedburgh, as they were at muster on the Ist. Hunter, the pri soner, lives at Whitton, near Rothbury, with a man and woman of the name of Balmer. He had inform ed this woman that he was going to meet two gen tlemen who had to fish with him ; and it will appear in the course of this trial, that the fishing rod and basket which he took away with him, and which were afterwards used by the Frenchmen, were taken with no other metive than as a cloak to conceal their real intentions. On the 3d of June, a gig came to the door, with a dark coloured poney in it ; Hunter drove the gig ; the Frenchmen walked out of town, one carrying the rod, and the other the creel, as might best give a colour to their escape. We have little, if any evidence, till they came to a town on the north side of Whitton, called Shilmore. Hunter will be proved to have been there ; he was well known in the country ; he came there in his gig, and there was in company with him his nephew, of the name of Rob son, driving two covered carts. After lie left his own house, he stopped at Coldriffe, where he drank some beer in his gig ; the Frenchmen were carrying . a fisteng basket and a rod, and the person of the house thought they were foreigners. He then proceeded towards Newcastle, on the way to which a man of the name tf Robinson, mending the road, sew them, when, as before, one was carrying the basket and the other the rod. That same afternoon they came to a public house called Belsay Redhouse, where they ' stopped to dinner. Hunter wished a room to himself. One of the people who were with him spoke to Mrs. Charlton, the woman of the house, when she imme diately exclaimed to Hunter that they were foreigners, to which he replied, they were Captains of foreign ships, relations of his, who were fishing with him.— _I then trace him to the turnpiLt at Ponteland. The keeper of that gate did not know 1-ini, but there was a person there who, having keown him before, rec , gnised him instantly. Sometimes one rode with him, and sometimes the other ; this is the last place to which we trace him, till we get him into Nevcas tle—he and the Frenchmen arrived in this town tit the eveiai.g, between nine and ten, where every thing was C( nducted with secrecy. Hunnr, it seems, had previously written to one Brown, an inn-keeper in, this glace, to order a roam fur the Fienehmen and himself, out e hen they art ived, it appears the room was not et leisure. They were, however, shewn into the front dimig-room, where the:e was no com pany. However, as soon as they` got the room which had been assigned them. they never quitted it, though it wa. , a bedeoem, except to go into the one adjoin ing till their beds were made. Nobody came to them but through Hunter or Brown. Hunter, it will now be found, went to a person called Charlton, who, though a principal evidence in this cause, is by no means an innocent man. In short, Gentlemen, lie is an accomplice, and none of the most guiltless of accomplices. He was introduced to these gentlemen and told that they were Germans ; but it was admit ted that they were brought by Hunter from Jedburgh, anti that he wanted them out of the kingdom.. The 3 police officers, by this time, were dogging them, and 1. Hunter, f r his own safety, was obliged to take re fuge in the waiter's house in Silver-street. The" Frenchmen too, were, in consequence of this alarm, removed* also to the waiter's home; Charlton and Hunter soon after went to Shields, and they, together with otherisersons, contrived to put those prisoners on board a foreign ship, which had previously gone to sea. By this means those prisoners made their escape ; which, it I can prove, there will be sufficient ground to criminate the prisoner at the bar ; but should you not find that evidence sufficient, I doubt not but you will honourably acquit him." A great number of witnesses were examined, for the purpose of tracing the prisuher with the two French tugitives, and establishing of his accompany ing them, and assisting their escape. His Lordship, in summing up the evidence, cau tioned 'the Jury against regarding the penalty or pueishment consequent upon this offence, but to weigh the facts of the case. First, it did not appear what. was the ebject of the journey, except to assist the Frenchmen in their escape. his true, Hunter said he was going to Stagshaw-bank Fair, but from what the %genuses had said, there was not the slightest reason to believe he had ever been there. He no ticed the suspicious circumstance of their having been shut up, and no person allowed to see them but the servants, or such as were to assist them in their escape. Another thing which created strong :suspicion against Hunter was, that no other Pri :sonersitactescaped from that depot, at or near that time, except those two. His Lordship concluded by saying, that if they . (the Jury) thought titers was sufficient circumstantial evidence horn Jedburgh to . where Hauer met the Frenchmen, u well 13 evi dence from that time to the Prisoners going off, he should expect a verdict of guilty ; if not, of the con trary.. 1 1 he Jury retired for a few minutes, and brought in a verdict of—Not Guilty. As soon as the verdict was delivered, several per sons in tte Court expressed their approbation very riotously ; and on the three other Prisoners being arraigned, Mr. Pm= arose, and spoke nearly to the following effect •" Gentlemen of the Jury—You cannot have any doubt of your verdict being satisfactory to me, for if it had not been so, you know my power of impan ueling another Jury, and submitting to them a case similar to that you have last heard ; but .1 conceive that in your consciences you believe you have dis• charged your duty between the Crown and the Pd. soner, and therefore 1 am satisfied. lam desirous to say a few words to the people who have just now manifested their approbation of your verdict in so tumultuous and disgraceful a manner. I am the more anxious to do this, because, from tire tumult that at the moment prevailed, the excellent semi. :bents expressed by the Learned Judge on the occa sio • could not be distinctly heard. I hope that those .ignorant and deluded people, who expressed their ap probation of the verdict in so indecent a manner, ma ) feel that shame and confusion which will prevent the repetition of such conduct in the town of Newcastle. [Here something followed, in substance the same as the words afterwards used by Mr. Justice CHANIIRSI I have the honour of standing here lona Government which is the glory of the world, an 4 f whose object it sever is to have its subjects condemned but upon evi. dente satisfactory to the Learned Judges who pre. side, and to the conviction of the Jury, who are sworn to make a true deliverance between the King and the prisoner ; and it is never the wish bf that Government, to press the prosecution of any indivi dual, without there appears to be full and unequivo cal evidence to support it. Under dies:: circum stances, and exercising that discretion with which the Crown has thought fit to honour me and my brother Counsel upon this occ.•t'sion, I shall not think it pro per to occupy any more of your time, and that of his Lordship, by the trial of the Prisoners now at the Bar; but I think that the liberation of a Prisoner in such a situation, ought not to be a matter of in decent exultation, but rather of thanksgiving to his Goo." Mr. Justice CHAMBRZ approved of what the Learn ed -Cou isel had just said, and of the lenity he had shewn, q and hoped the people of Newcastle would profit by the excellent lesson which had been given them ; adding, that. for his own part, he was sorry to be.obliged to observe, that he should have thought himsilf sitting in a French rather than a &Wish Court of Justice. NORTHUMBERLAND. John Johnson charged, on the Coroner's Inquest, with slaying Richard Kennedy, aged five years, of 13ranzton, on the 22d June labt. The circumstances attending this case were short. William Turnbull, the deceased, and his brother, were resting from their labour at the dinner hour, and were lying on the ground at the foot of a hill. The prisoner and another mason went up the hill, and Johnson took up tw.) stones and has:ached one of them towards the witness and his party, which fell about twenty yards from them.—The witness then Said to Johnson, ‘‘ if you keep your distance, I'll give you liberty to hit me, if you can." The prisoner, after advancing three yards, threw a stone, which fell within ten yards of the witness. The party below, seeing him take up another stone. rose from the ground, and ran toward a gate. Johnson ran forward, and haunched the stone, which struck Kennedy on the head as he was turning to reach the gate. He fell, and his brother carried him home, where he languish ed seven weeks, and then di. Turnbull measured the distance from where JohNon stood at the time he threw the stone, which was 93 yards. Johnson cried very sore when he saw that he had hurt Kennedy. Mr. Burnitt, a surgeon, who e was called to attend on Kennedy, stated, that the wound was on the fire: head, immediately above the left eye—the frontal bane was fractured, part of which pressed on the brain ; and he had no doubt that it was the cause of the child's death. Verdict—Mandaughter. Sentenced to three months imprisonment. John Warman, was tried for forging a bill of Ex change for 475, with intent to defraud I'. Bowser, of Morpoth. The history of this case was detailed by Mr. Thomas Bowser, who is a linen-draper at Mor. peth.—On the 10th ot May last, he received a letter bearing the Newcastle post-mat k, purporting to be from his uncle Dixon, of Burlington, which stated, that his old friend, Robert Rawson, who had been shipwrecked, would call on him at Morpeth, and begged that he would let him have whatever he wanted. About half an hour after the receipt of this letter, the prisoner came to his shop, and enquired if Mr. Bowser was in, when the witness informed him that lie was the person. The prisoner then said," My name is Robert Rawson, and f have received letter from your uncle Thomas Dixon, of Burlington, with an order to receive some money of you."— Mr. Bow ser expressed his staisfaction at seeing him, and gave him an hearty welcome to his house; and as the pri. soner said he had, that morning, walked from New castle, and had not breakfasted, Mr. B. begged he would walk up stairs.—When there, he answered a variety of questions which Mr. Bowser asked, relative :o his uncle Dixon's family, and appeared intimately acquainted with his affairs ; he also detailed several particulars respecting his own shipwreck. The prisoner inquired if the witness had any shirts or trowsers fit for seamen, ready made; Mr. B. in formed him that lie would procure those things better at Newcastle, but if he wanted any handkerchiefs, ' stockings, or striped cotton, he would be glad to serve him. He bought three gown pieces, two of which he said were for his daughters, and other ar ticles, amounting to 46. 17s: 6J. After dinner Mr. Bowser veent to the Northumberland Bank and got value for the draft, after having indorsed it. On his return he gave the prisoner twelve 45. notes. When the prisoner was gone, Mr. Bowser smite to his uncle at Burlington, acknowledging the receipt of his letter and communicated his having advanced Rawson ' £6O on the draft. On return of post he received a letter from his uncle, stating, that lie had never wrote any such letter to Rawson. He (Bowser) then went in pursuit of the prisoner, and traced hint through , 1 1 r Newcastle to Sunderland ; he there took a Police of ficer,• and proceeded through Stockton and Grsbo rbegh to Whitby, wets they found him. When taken into custody, many of the goods be had bought of Mr. B. were in his possession, but none of the , notes he gave him were found on him. lie had twenty-, live one pound Bank of Engl a nd no tes a nd some s il ver t on him. When apprehended, Ile wxs in a state of intnxication, but was perfectly sober when he fi rst[ called on Mr. Bowser. The bill was then produced, it was as follows : " Burlington, May 3, 1813. On demand pay Robert Raw son, or order, J event y.fiv e pounds, value received. THOMAS (his iC mark) DIXON. " To Messrs. Harrison and Co. bankerN Mansion bouse•street, London." Thomas Dixon, who lives at Burlington, stated that he could not wad, but that the cross on the note shewn him was not of his making, nor did he audio. rise any person to do it fur him, or to write the let tars produced. The Prisoner made no defence, but called on Thos. Dixon to speak to his character, who stated that he knew nothing of him, but that his wife was dead,. and he had two daughters, one married, living at Hull, and the other at Cottingley. The JUDGE recapitulated the evidence to the Jury, who returned a verdict of—Guilty. - His Lordship, on passing sentence, observed," you have been found guilty on the most clear and satisfac tory evidence, of both forging a bill, and the endorse ment ; you have also forged letters to give credit to your false pretences. The Prosecutor treated yea with kiddness in his house, and you repaid that kind ness by cheating him of his money. Notwithstanding this, he has solicited mercy for you, though I think you do not deserve it."—Sentence of death was then passed on him in the usual form. MONAGHAN. Watson little was indicted for aiding and assisting in the murder of Philip M'Mahon, in the town of Clones, on the 27th of May last. James Armstrong, surgeon, of Closes, was produ ced, who proved the deceased got two wounds, a slight one on the breast and another on -the back. under the shoulder, and that the latter-was the cause, of his death. Felix Farmer said, he remembered the 27th May —he lives in the town of Clones—he knew Philip M'Mahon, and he knows Watson Little at the Bar— knows a person of the name of Thomas Rooney—saw him about seven or eight o'clock—witness went to wards Nicholson's door—he saw Rooney come up with a gun and bayonet towards whf.re he was si and ing—he winded it, and swore, 4 , the first Roman Ca thiiiic I meet, I will have his life ;" Watson Little was present, who told Rooney he was at his back— then Rooney winded his firelock, and the crowd scattered ; one Bernam Monaghan, who was in the crowd, ran off, and Rooney and Little followed him, and chaced him into Mr. Clarke's ; they returned back, and shouted that Orangemen should carry the sway ; that they would not be put down by Rebels or, Cloppies ; saw Little afterwards knock down James , Murphy ; Rooney made a stab at Murphy, but having missed him, turned the but-end of the firelock,andgave him a stroke with it, the crowd then gathered about them ; they went towards Mr. Armstrong's ; he saw no more of them, but he afterwards saw M'Mahon's body in the Market-house, about ten or eleven o'clock at night.—Nothing appeared on the cross-examination. James Martin—He knew the deceased ; he saw him the fair day, before and after his death ; saw Rooney and Little in the Diamond ; witness was in Ferma nagh-street, saw Rooney returning up the street; after Rooney passed, he said he would take one of their lives before he would me back ; .witness followed him to the Diamond ; Rooney was coming with a gun and bayonet, and Little was with him ; saw the deceased in the street before them ; when they came within two perches of him, one of them said, there is M , Mahon ; one of them struck at him. --he, put up his hand; Rooney drew the gnn, ant' gave him a dash with the bayonet ; M.Malion tell, it iv's under his arm behind ; saw one of Rooney's party strike the de -ceased with a stick.—Nothing material occurred on the cross-examination. Thomas Tierney—Was at the May fair of Clones ;, knew Philip M‘Mahon ; he is dead ; knows Watson Little, the prisoner at the bar ; saw him come up the street ; he said he would go to Captain Neville, with some man that said he (the man himself) was a Croppy ; *Mahon was prisoner, and said he would go with Little, and prove that he (Little) was call• ing 'out for Papists ; Littl2 then swore by the H-1 G—, chat he would kill M•Mahon ; knows Rooney ;I saw him afterwards, and he had a gun and bayonet. Nothing appeared on the cross-examination. Htnry Gallagher remembers the fainnight irr May last; remembei s Philip MiMahru ; knows Little since he was a child, saw him in the fair that evening, he had a stick in his hand, saw him strike the deceased twice; he was facing the Market-house ; Rooney was a piece below it; Rooney came up in a iew minutes, and about six or seven minutes After he saw the de ceased lying dead ; witness did not see M•Mahon do any thing when prisoner struck him ; deceased had uo weapon in his hand. Nothing material occurred on the Cross-examination. Prosecution clos.d. Several witnesses were produced on behalf of the prisoner, who proved that Little was at the lower end, of Fermanagh-street at the time the deceased was killed ; consequently a verdict of Nut Guilty. SSime Watson Little was again indicted for having knocked the only eye out of J. Casack, by a punch with a stick, in the town of Clones, from party motives. The prosecutor clearly proved the stroke to have been given by Little, and other corrobtrative wit nesses were produced ; but Little's brother and bro ther-in-law proved the prisoner was not the person who gave the blow; and, accordingly, there was a verdict of Not Guilty. Robert Sie.etuoth Samuel Chambers, and George Jordan, stood indicted tor assaulting Bernard M.Cleary, Owen Kemaghan, and Nancy M'Cleary. This assault was committed on the evening of' the day of the late Election of Mr. Carry, one cf the present Represen tatives hi this county. The prosecutors were beat severely for being Roman Catholics, and because they would not shout for the Orange Candidati-, Mr. Corry. Nancy M'Cleary, who is the wife of Bernard, and sister to Owen Kemaghan, run from her own house to'where her brother and husband were beatUg, and threw herself upon the bt:dy of her senseless bro ther, and begged of them, for Goo's sake, to spare the , lila of her only brother. The language made use of • to her was the most inancent ChamhPrs knn e l, e d h er twice down with-a loaded whip, and bte tn , „ L fted a spade andfractured • her skull in a roc.,t shocking manner.--The dodge said, it was a m;,Lt Litbarous outrage,•bordering on nil ul murder. The prisoners were immediately found Cuil , v.— Steenson and Chambets to be confined twelve muntts and,Jord.in six months. , The new bridge over the North Esk, at Maretchk, Kincardineshire, was finished some weeks ago, :IA the approaches being completed, it is n iw pass:oh % noes= CoactrEs.—The practice of robbma, e l ,a and stage coaches of valuable parcels, has been c.a. ried on to a very considerable extent for*a numhe. • t years past. In the month of March last, the 1V,.1. 6 and Langport coach was robbed of a parcel. coin on. ing Bank notes to the amount of between five .:;al Liz hundred pounds, besides a remittance of re2N) rio rn Payne and Co. the Bankers, and t bill on Bosanquet •;or £45; in the whole about AMU. The parcel v. a z put into the coach at Wells, by a Mr. PENsr ; and it is supposed to have been taken out imm.aliately after by a passenger who came from Bristol, and wlh. b u t taken his place for Glastonbury, but left the coach at Wells, without assigning any reason : it was on. ticecl as an unusual circumstance, that he not cloy did not breakfast with the other passeng-ra, but even did not get out of the coach tilt jest before they were returning from breakfast, and as the coach was + early ready for mailing again. On the arrival of the coach at Langport the parcel was missed. An expo is sae sent off to Mr. Peaess., who had put it into t e coach. but unfortimately he could not give any description of the notes at that time. On the folio A ing morning the notes were all negotiated and exchanged in Lat. don, at the Bank, with bankers, &c. Several men were dispatched in pursuit of the suspected pa-senger. It was ascertained by a post-boy that he was non. 'eyed in a return post-chaise near Bath; but there all trace of him ceased. It was strongly suspected, that this, as well as most of the other rubbt ries of the same description, was done by concert ; and some person employed about the coach was zuspecied to be the informer when and where the valaahle parcel was received. Taunton, the Bow-str..et Officer, was em ployed to trace out tha rubber, and lie caused a letter to be intercepted, written by the driver of the coach, and directed to a man of the name of Brows, at the Saracen's Head Inn, Snow-hill. The letter iv:us:tit- ten in the/ark language, which Taunt. n understood, • and he could make it out to allude to the robbery of the Wells and Laogrort coach. It stated, that the writer was sorry.to say that there had been a very .great fuss about the risia that he had taken with him: this was understood to adude to the parcel, and in consequence the coachman and his wife were taken WO custody, and raider went several examinations.— It was proved that the coachman had been seen se veral times in company with the passenger who unex pectedly lest the coach at Wells, and that he hai his box of clothes, which he had left behind him in the country, .sent to London, directed by the name of Brown; but there being no direct proof of the coach man being concerned in the robbery, he was dis charged. Taunt , n was in pursuit of the nsan who went by the name of Brown, from that time till with in this week past, without any knowledge of his per son ; and traced him to have moved from a number of p!accs. At length, ealy yesterday morning ?en night he ciiccovvips4l hias in 11.1•:•-•ercei. ar1.68 3 -itine. where, instead of being a man of the name of Brown, he proved to be a well.known character to the *tither. of the name of Jack Madden. He was dressed in au elegant style, and going to start in his gig for Egham races. When the officer told him he was a priai saw, and what the charge was, he requested to be allowed to take off his fine clothes and put on some more suitable; which the officer indul g ed him ht. He has been examined before Mr. RLAD.--It is expected be will be tried at Bristol. Thi" 2Cti uk. the Lady of Lieut.-Colonel P. Black, of a see. Wednesday, the wife of the Rev. John Morris, of liseesfiela timise, near prentford, of a ron. MAkRIED. I,l'ednesday last, at Lambeth, G A. Thotnpson. Esq. of Dela hay•street, to Clara, eldest daughter of Joins hlorgau, Seq. of I..ambeth lerrace. Tuesday morning, at Queen-square Chapel, Bath, Join 1.1. Alexaodyr, of St. Lucia, in the %Vest Indies, hp to Mary, widow of the Right Hon. Robert Cullom, late our of the Lards of Session and :ustitiary in Scotland. At Lissair,, the 21 tt tth. the Rev. Robert Alexander, eldest son of the Lord Bishop of Down, to Mite Catherine Staples s youngest daughter of the Right lion. John Staples. DIED. At Hammersmith, in the 51st year of his age, Job! Wi hi, E* many years a Proctor in Doeton Commons. At Dovecote House, near Lheetpool, the Rev. T. Hifl,the Has. steal and resident Tutor in the 0:d College, Homerten. The 2181 ult. f the saall-pox, Mr. Joseph Waton, of Ar• mirage, in Staffordshire, aged eigl.:y airy. Rev. Archibald Montgomery Camplisli, to Elizabeth Julia, se. eond daughter of John Cbyshyre, Esq. of Bennington, Herts. At Bodnun, aged 04, the Rev. Dr. Pomeroy, vicar of that parish. • CHING'S k'A lEN I' WORM I.OZI.NGys. N DORMS ARE THE MOST FREQUENT SOURCES OF CHILDRENS' DisEASES Their SYMPTOMS EVERY PARENT and GUARDIAN of CHILD/LEN should be acquainted with. They occaeion iota of appetite, a paleness of the colour of the face, emaciation sad irregular state of the bowels, attended after with violent pains ; they bring on convulsions; they affect the gm* th of the body, and they prove fatal, by ending in a consumption or decay. Both as a preventative and cure of these alarming complalata„the above excellent Medichie is universally allowed, on the testiumny of tke highest characters in this country, both in rank and respectabi lity, to have no equal. Their public approbation, given to the Proprietor, from a personal knowledge of its vionderittl success in their own families, stamps its merit beyond competition, and gives a sanction to it, of which no other Medicine of the land can bout. Parents and others, who have the care of children, should have this remedy as a family Medicine to resort to, when ever the stomach or bowels of Children are any way di:ordered, which it will always be found to relieve. Sold, wholesale and retail, at Mr. Butler's, Ne. 4, Cheapsile, corner of St. Paul's Church-yard; Slimy and Behan, Portsmouth ; Jones, AVeston, AUouit, and Mallory, Portsea; Hall and In'in• stop Gosport, Coleman and Jacob, Sheerness; Peck and Roes, and Torn. r, Hull ; Hovland, Cookwortlty, Nettlittoo, and Gil bert, Plymouth ; Knott sad Lloyd, and Swinney and Co. Mr mingham ; Staines and Lynch, Manchester; Treviman, Ewer ; Smith, Manderton, Reahura, Scott, and Baiter, Edinburgh ; Bai• ter and M Donald, Glasgow ; Bulges and.,hatty, Etistel ; Stir litaison and Cu. Norwich; Penny, anti l3iilinge and I.abury, liverpool; Neale and Ledger, Dover; Brighton; Roberts, Belden, and Ruff, Cheiten -11321 ; r by most country na eilicinevenders, in boa,', st -•••• Ord 54. 6!.. each. 1 - 11G1 i WATER kr LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW: 19 minutes after 8 Afternoon .... ...... 51 nt ntt•et alter A_ LONDON s Pruned by Liras Kawi. P.cket trace, antd pultribed there. and at dm Star-016ft, Tmiple•Bar.