The Sun. — London, England, 1802-01-21 00:00:00

about eleven o'clock en that morning all the Men who were on duty came up to the Goacenment. Hduse and begln •making demands. He -went out to them 'AO knew what" their claims were, when they stated that theit claims were in consequence of . a 'short allowance to them from Captain Adams : he explained . the ..businesa to • them, and in a short time they returned back again. .About two o'clock they again came to the Government House, very 'much intoxicated, and. insisted upon having their demands-comPed with : he expostulated with them for some time to no of--• feet, and ordered Serjeant Armstrong to march them back again to the barracks ; he (Serjeant Armstrong) 'was then standing with his hat on, and was extremely furious, saying he would be damned if he would go back the demand was complied with. He (the Prisoner) then ordered the men to face about and return to their— barracks *;• they replied, that they would immediately break - open the Stores, and satisfy themselVer. Finding them furious, and likely to proceed to extremities, and hav_ ing no resources nearer than England, he _begged an hour or two to consider of it : they hesitated for some .time, but said, they would acquiesce only on condition, that he (the Prisoner) would not leave the Island' till the business was settled: The men then went away making a great noise. He immediately went to the Government House, and sent for the Officers of the - Corps ; but in the interim, before their arrival, he went out to learn th• state of the Garrison, when he met Armstrong, Upton, and Paterson, and several others, who said that he had promised not to depart till the claims of the men were satisfied, and that he should not go to the water side 'till then.• He then teturned, and met the Of ficers, - who all agreed that immediate oUnisiunent was necessary to stop the mutiny. He immekliate ly desired Liedt. O'Shanley to go to the Dram-ma jor, and order the cat-of-nine-tails tube got ready •; who returned,' and ieported that the. Drum-major said, that the cat'was destroyed, and that he (the Prisoner) had best quit the Island as soon as he could, as themen.would not suffer any punishment. to be infii4ed. Captain Lacey proposed' that they should be punished by the Linguist and his Assis_ tant, which was agreed to. When the parade was formed, and the officers had arrived, he asked the men if they had any claim to make upon him A man, whose name he did not know, said, he bad a claiM for shorr allowaree upon Captain Adams. Be (the Prisoner) then called upon Armstrong (he having no claim), -to account for his mutiny ; at that moment Ensign Ford came from . the main. guard, -and said, that a man Who was in custody, • had broken out of confinement. Thinking no time was to be lost;-he immediately went there, and or deted the _man again into custody, and was following him, in order to see him Well-sectired, when the centinel at the door . clapped his bayonet to his (Mr. lireast, , and desired him to keep off, saying, he should hot' enter, Hee(Mr.-Wall) struck the bayonet bUt of his hand, and made the centinel pri soner, with The lathers,. and afterwards returned to the parade. Upon his - arrival there, he ordered Captain Lacey.; Lieutenants Fall, Ford, _arkt O'Shan lei to forth . a Coart-Martial. Terrick, the Surgeon, ae that "time was on the parade. Armstrong was tn'ought foeSeard and charged with Mutiny, as were also several orhers: he .ordered them to be triedby. a -_Regis ental Court-martial, not having it in his po%Ver to institute an other. After allttle Capt. Lacey came and reported, that Annst tong .was sentenced to . receivs geo . alasheSaaahe (Mr. •Wall)., communicated the sentence to Arinsteong ; and a small rope's end was - produced as the: instrument of punishment, and shewn• to -the Surgeon, who-ap proved of it, by saying it was nor so had is-a cat of2mine,tails. The punishment was intlieted upon Armstrong, who . receivedit with apparent indiffe. ence. Armstrong afterwards went to the Hospital, - where he became intoxicated with spirituous liquors. The Prisoner then proceeded to detail the whole . of his conduct after his arrival in England. He said, that upon his arrival he understood that. a number ol charges had been preferred against him, many ol which were found groundless, or at least =al ex aggerated that after these charges_ were got rh bt, he went to Bath, where he was taken into cus. lody ley two Messengers; and that in the course of 'the journey he left the Messengers. ,At that. tune he did not know the charges that were preferred aeainst,him ; but he tlaought it dangerous to ap -1)-2ar, as. the Papers were toll of paragraphs against him, some of which stated that he had blown a man from the mouth of a cannon : he, therefore, deter anined to wait till the t'ane should arrive, when all wha heard him might calmly .listen to. the truth without prejudice, in consequence of,, which he now appeared before his Lordship and the Jury to answer this Charge. • The first Witness examined on behalf of the De fendant was -------- Mrs. Harriet Lacey, widow of Captain Lacey, who succeeded the prisoner. si Governor of Goree. El= 1-.tatcd,..that.she s . these men, he:ided by Arm strong, Upton; and Paterson, .come •twice by the Governor's house, in the course of which they be haved most mutinously and tumultuously; that they threatened the Governor ; that, they swore if the Governor would not satisfy their demands they -i•oulki.break,open the Stores and satisfy themselves. This demand they stated to arise from short allow.: mice during the time Captain Adams was Gover - hor: That Governor Wall asked them to go back •to their Barracks, and give him time to con . rider.of it. That whin ..,they can they were 6' or So in number, .and behaved most riotously, • anal mutinously, andffrom their manner;:, she. could - • not - think .they iverersober. -That the ringleaders, Armstrong, Upton, and Paterson,' sworc, several rimes,- they would be .clamned.' - if‘ - the GoVernor did not satisty.them; they would'break open the,Stores . and satisfy' themtelves 7 ....-Jhat they woUid , not let • the Gdvernar•leave x 1 . t until they were sa- T hat went avia ) y declaring, they would damned' if,:ihey 1,y0u14 . not break, open the Stdres .they w.emnor i satis,fied, shouting, &c. and I)eha?ing - most riot-ousk.,• • - ot4e (led to detail sevel3l further cir_ dUiristanceS 'tending- to 'the-, justi licat ion- of the "Fri. • saner. The principal fans were, that Governor . Wall had ordered every thing to be in readiness for the Court Martial on the parade, in the usual manner in which these ptoceedings are oondtkled • on such alledged emergencies,:, and attended himself to see that all was.properlyAransaaed. - . • This Witness underwent a long_ and close cross examination by Mr: AtyoßNEy.GEk; : EkilL, in the course of which it was .explainer, that the cause of her being,so constantly at,,the Governtne .t House, the day _in 'question, was the tilt:urns to nee 0f..G0-vernal - vernal- Wall being to. go aWay the next day,_ and her husband, Capt. Lacey, to take possession of it as succeeding Governor,. shegonsidered it, in some degree, as her own. . She said, she was many years in habits of intimacy with Mr. Wall's family, that she had frequently come ,to see him in confinement, but never but, once or twice in the akence of Mrs. Wall, and never withoutber knowledge ; that, to her knowledge,. • there were never short allowances made duriog the Government - of Mr. Wall ; but she knew they were made in the time of his predecessor, Goiernor Adams ; that she understood•the clamours of the people in Garrison for arrears, were those due in Attains'. time.; thm she had never heard: of any thing being. detained by Commissary .near ing; that she had•no knowledge whatever of Evan Lewis being an 'Orderly. Serkant the day 'Of the disturbance, but was positive it was Serjeant Kcar ney officiated in that . capacity ; that in consequence of the windows being generally, open in that burn ing climate, she had an oppOrtunity of hearing those conversations, the substance of which she: had stated ; and repeated, .that she had heard A rmstrOng, Paterson, Upton, and the otbeis, say, that if the G overnor did not satisfy their demands, they would break open the stores, and satisfy themselves; that she did not recolldt having ever joined her husband in any Affidavit on the sub jest, and that if he had made - any,• it must have been. while he was afFe&ed with a Coup de Soled, a disorder cOntraaed , from the burning rays of a vertical Sun, which tempowily impairs the understanding—that be was, however, competent to be examined at a Criminal Bar in the course of the year 174; that her husband Captain Lacey, died in the year 2787, and she also stated some other circumstances not very important to the case, respdling her husband's situation and circumstances. Evan Lewis was then called up in order -to con front the last. Witness. e said ,he remembered her. at Goree ; persisted that he had been Orderly Setjeant both on the days of the loth and t ith, and that Kearney had not been ah Orderly Serjcant at that tune. Mrs. Lccey's cross-examination continued some time after, and, in the course of it nothing trans pired from her which went to controvert 'what she had before asserted, Mqry Falkener stated, that she was . the wife of John Falkener, now a Pensioner of the Royal te. githent of Artillery ; that she was• with her hus band, who was then in the Train at Goree, in July 1782. , She remembered. Governor Wall's leaving the Island, and some of the remarkable-circum stances which took place the day befaie depar, cure ; she was at the Government House op - the fore noon of that day, and remembered about So or 6o of the African Corps coining thither about one o'clock : she was in such a situation,. that she could overhear and observe a great deal of what passed. She heard Armstrong, particularly, make the de mand about Elio: tLallowance-money. '1!)e C 0-zernoe told them, he had nothing to do With was before his time, and ordered them to march back to the Barracks : that at the time of the other appli. cation, . the Governor said, lie would take , two or three hours to considor of it : that Serjeant Arm strong swore, he would be damned' if the Governor should quit the Island that. way, that they would break open the stores , and ,satisfy themselves ; that when they marched away, they were shout ing, hallowing; , and behaving in a disorderly manner that wine of the party afterwards went to Serje;int Besz;_en's, where. they spike about their: demands, settling their accounts, Sex. :. that the Ser_ jeant told them to condna theinselves, quietly, and that it was improper to behave soto the Go'veroor ; they swore they would not be quiet unless Governor Wall had settled with theM, and Some mote lan.. page to that effet'f. On .her cross examination by the Sor.infoß. GENERAL, she acnowledged that it was found ne cessary, sometimes, on ,account of the scarcity of ,provisions, on the Island, froth the capture of Pro vision Vessels, &c. to. put the garrison on a short allowance, and that her husband, was Gunner at the main guard on the day of the disturbance. John Falkener, the hushandOf the foregoing wit ness, was next brought forward. In the. outset of his evidence, he stated, that he had heard a few weeks since, that Serjeant Evans thought to bring himself in to-day as Orderly Serjeant ; but, in faa, he was not so. It was Serjeant Kearney was in that .capacity. Er:4m Lewis was here called up again. He re peated his former assertions ; but it appeared that he had then only done scrjeant's duty, and that he was not made a full Serjeant till some time after wards, and of which post he was depri'.'eti. John Falkener proceded with his testimony., stated that he was on the.pataAic on the tion, and afterwards in the guard-house, where:Pater son was in custody, under the care of a sentinel of the name of Fawcett. Paterson was very unruly, and endeavoured to break his. arrest. The Governor was informed of this, on which he repaired to the guard-house. He chid the sentinel for not being more alert, and was going to push Paterson back, when Fawcett stopped him, the Governor, with his bayonet, which weapon, it appeiffed, was the only one he was armed with.. The Governor disarmed Fawcett, by striking the bayonet out of. his hand. That. he, 'the witness, saw the punishment irifliaed oo the ,parade. He formed part of the ring— t that Captain Lacey. and Lieu tenants Fall and o:Shanley were present—that the Governor was ,not in ; the ring. He heard Cap tain Lacey charge Armitrong with the offence, being a ring-leader in the mutinous affair, and state some, of. the particulars. of his condud to hit'n ; that Arins-trong said nothing in his defence; that the Sur. geon and. the I,inguist (the Interpretek) were both • present. He heard Captain, Lacey tell Armstrong he was sentenced to receive 800 lashes—that he was then tied up---,the Surgeon was .present the whole time_; he saw Armstrong walk towards the Hospital. Teh;r Williams was the next 'Witness. He stated himself to be a Non-commissioned Officer in the Artillery, and to have been present at the affair whicli occurred the day in qrstioa at Goree. He stated some particulars of the affair in a wayfittle differing frOm the preceding 'Witnesses. He stated, that the party came three different times to the GoVernment House ; that they behaved at last in a riotous manner ; and he - repeated the language made use of by the ringleaders, similar to what. we have above stated. He described the affair of the punish ment of Armstrong in a way little differing from the abov'e accounts, save that he said there were, thine Assistants of the Linguist's present, and that. he also - heard - Governor Wall charge Armstrong with being :a Ringleader in the -Mutiny ; that the Court Martial was formed by his orders, &c. ; that the Report of the Court Martial was made to the, Governor in the usual maunner ; that the sentence was executed in the presence of the Officers, the Surgeon, &c..—ln the course of his cross-examina tiion by Mr..WOOO, he 'Said, that the -men had no arms when they came -to the GovernMent House ; that he had quitted Goree at the time the Governor did; and that he had since served- in Gibraltar, America, Flanders, and Holland ; and that the greatest number of lashes he. had known to be in fliaed, before 'the instance in. question, was lot), which was in Governor Adams's time. Charles Timms was aprivate in the African Corps at Goree; at the period in question ; in the early part of that day, he stated he was -employed in killing a bullock - for the use of the garrison, but about two o'clock, he saw Armstrong, and a drum mer, of the - name of Simmonds, cutting the cats in pieces (the instrument with which the soldiers .were usually flogged); He saw Armstrong in the hospital at about eight o'clock that evening ; and that he, With two or three others, was, drinking spirits — he believed it was brandy.—ln his cross-examina tion, lie acknowledged- that the garrison had been on, short allOwance about three or four weeks before the affair happened, and. that Capt. Lacey was in good health and understandir - seme time after Wards, while the Witness ,was under. his command at Chi chester. d , \Vhen this -Witness had finished his . testimony, the following very respectable persons appeared to :the character of Mr. Wall : . General Forbes was first examined., He : had known Mr. Wall between thirty end forty. years : they had served together at Havannah. After, that he had not anopperrtunity . of seeing him till the.year 1786, 'when he-met him in-Paris.-- Wiih resped to . his;charaaer, he always knew • to behave as became an Officer and a Gentleman, in every respea, and with the indst -pedal correctness. . 'General Mackenzkstated, ;that had known Governor Wall from: the year te763• to mo.;:iliat he had served. wifh him, and always . reg-a: Jed hirn as a man-iif great - humanity and good temper. Major Torriano was.c3llcd, . but girl not appear. • The Rev. Mr. Clarke stated, that he knew Mr. Wall at Pisa and at Florence, .in the years 179 A. and 1.795 ; that be seemed to bitn to-be both a most tender and affeaionate 'husband -and father; and, from every:part of his condua that came. under (Mr. Clarke's) observation, he considered,him as a man of distinguished humanity. • Mr. Krtown - vs, the principal Counsel for the de fence, inforined the Court in effea, that he had a letter from Lord Galloway, setting forth, that were he not- prevented by indisposition, he would have appeared to the charaacr of Governor Wall. Mr. Langley, an Officer on half pay, knew M r . Wall perfealy well ; he was intimately ac quainted with him in Paris in the year 1.88, and emphatically declared, that he never knew a person Of a mare benign disposition, or one more brimfull of" philanthropy and benevolence to.all around him. Some farther evidence was then examined on the part of the Prosecution, oti the suggestion of, Att o rney General, and principally with. a view of contradiUing some points in :he evidence-on be half of the PriSoner. the Two Gentlemen of the names of Pop/et and Berry were questioned respeaiog _the situation of Captain Lacey,. by the ATTORNEY GENERAL, with a view to establish die point, that he was pre vented by no defect of understanding or health, from coming forwarkk as a Witness, with respect to the transaainns in question. One of these Gentlemen underwent a long cross:-examination by the Prison Er's Counsel, in which some . matter transpired irrele vant to the.case : We, therefore, forbear to recite it. Serjeants Butler and Lessen were also examined, the . former With respect to the point of who was Orderly Serjeant to Grivernor Wall on the loth of July 1782, which he flatly. asserted to have been Serjeant Lewis ; aid- the latter with. respea to the conversation which someof the. Prisoner's Witnesses alledged to have taken place between him and some of the supposedMutinecrs,_ which in a great degree he denied, but admitted, that he might have told them, it may be worse for them, if they . behaved so to'the Governor. Capt. Wright was called.up, as to the credibility of the Prisoner's Witness, Peter•Williatns, whom he described to have been reckoned in the Settle ment, a lying fellow, and seemed,tnsaye he should rather be inclined td doubt his testimony. - The Evidence or both _sides being finishe4, the Lord CHIEF BARON; as first in the Special Com mission,entered upon his Charge to the Jury, which, in the delivery, including his Lordship's recapitu lation of the Evidence, took up two hours and an half. Our limits restrict us to a recital of-the sub stance of his preliminary observations on the nature of the Prisoner's case, and which was intended should - guide - the Jury in their consideration of the Evidence.. His- Lordship observed, that f.)r many reasons, the present was one of the most important cases that could come before a Jury ; and in the first place, it respefted the highest possible offence in the con telmplation of the law, and directly affected the lift of the Prisoner, which he knew, was alone suffi •cient to-eusure a close and patient attention to its merits on the 'part.of the jury. In other respeds too, the case was of peculiar importance—it re spected, as Mr. Attorney - General had rightly stated, on the one hand, a very zealous and well-intentioned Offizer, - femoved at a considera ble distance from his native Country, and from the seat of Government, holding a charge of great trast and importance; in respea of which, circum stances might undoubtedly arise which May disturb a mind of considerable strength, and render it not unjustifiable in a person ,so circumstanced to depart from the stria form and mode of practice, laid down by the Law or sanctioned by precedent : such a per- rern6ved at ft distance from atlvic'e and powerful assistance, and having but . few Officers to consult will, may be placed ih such a situation as that. the ballance of his understanding may be overturned, and for whom every reasonable allowance should be made.—How far these general observations, would apply to the case before them, the Jury would best decide, froM a Stria attention to the evidence. The case of such-a •person, however, was within the con trol of thelacv, and, in the present case, they would have to Consider, from the evidence; how far a .well-intentioned mind was apparent on the side of the Prisoner, whOof course was equally under the pro.: ." teaion of the la‘Y with those Who might have suffered. under his authority, or how Etta malevolence of position might haVe •iufluericed his conduct. - The Prisoner stobd Charged in•the present Indithnent .the wilful murder of :Benjamin' AThistrong,' a per.. son serving in a COrps - Whin - was placed udder the authority and command of the Prisoner. • With • respect to such an •Indiainent, its very marrow and stibitance, consisted hi the malice discoverable in the cOndua of those who were the objects it . ; and in adverting - to this idea;' he would state, in a few words; what one of die most intelligent of otir,Law . Writers upon the subjeCti . considered to constitute the crime ,of Murder. It was held by him, that there must be' a- clear demonstration, , of malice in the breast of the perpetrator, not merely of what may lie considered as personal malice or .spleen, or, what Twas commonly considered by the word Spite, against an individual, but of the aaing in that sort of way, as from the ordinary ex perience of mankind, and of which experience the Jury were to deCide, a malignant spirit or iotention . was manifest, •and fads committed, attended with . sucrtircurnstanees, as were a plain indication of a malicious mind. Applying these considerations to _the case before them, regard was- to be had to the means of inflicting the ,punrshment---such, as in the instance in question, carrying the Sentence' of a Court Martial into execution.- - Trihunals, as we understood his Lor&hip to say: though - not strictlyfounded by AEI of Parliament, - yet were obviously to .be regulated by such - rules of gdocl sense and humanity; as that their punishments, short of deprivation of life, should not be so exces sive, as in effea - to execute a sentence of death. Va rious descriptions of authorities, under the Laws of this realm','Were occasionally vested with discretion .. ary powers of correaion ; such, -for instance, were the authority of 'Masters over servants, and that of parents over their children.- • A moderate and well proportioned degree of correEiion in such cases was not only proper and justifiable, .:but legal but 'then, the degree and nature of. such cor reaionS was still to be kept in view. - For - in' stance, if, instead " Of a -few Strokes, 5 6/era' htindred were to be applied, the' ase would be ra dically altered, and the mischievous intent Of the inflicter would become apparent. He put this only' as hypothetically, as a case of illustration,' to slit'', the shildes, or the great degrees of diff ere n c e, itt - P not diie& ly comparing it to that before the Jul., In thelatter, however, they would - have 'to take into their consideration the instrument with which suchpunishments were inflifted; as, with some, might was evident,. that MOre personal - injury Oorn 9 ight strokes, that, i hcgr eith a t"/ satl~ ri- ti, or even a much - treater unertlicr, -There Was• also another circumstance, which, is regard to the present case, it was incumbent on hiir, to advert to, namely, that it w.as no apology for !: man who, by his conduct, puts the life of anorh e . into imminent danger, that it might be some mis taken or injurious treatment on the part of the dividual himself,• that may accelerate, or be the immediate cause of his death, as in the present in - .' Stance: it was too generally the custom of the 10%0 2 ' orders of people, to support, themselves in such. e% - • tremities with strong liquors—when others, bett er infOrmed, would abstain from them. They won lct also take into their consideration, the necessary 6 e - Teas of the very long lapse of time since the trao i saaions' took place, upwards of twenty years, which was wholly imputable to the conduct ° the Prisoner himself. His Lordship p then proceeded to a minute recar tulation of the evidence, dOcumentary as well ag parole, of which we haVe given the material partY l on which, as he delivered it, he commented in su'. a way as to point out-to the Jury such circumstance: as,.strack him as establishinz the guilt a of the Pr's " sorter ; or, on the other hand, those which ;,eeni c 'to operate in his favour. e particularly dwelt ° I H f .. the many flat contrAdiaions in the testim9ny, the Witnesses. on both sides, which so far, in b' opinion, rendered it an affair of credit; and iii fi n t o he seemed to say, the main question rested on tt. fact of the Mutiny---Aye, or No. In determill this, as well as the Collateral points of the c:;se: Observed, the Jury would decide from a strict an it examination'of, the evidence. The jury' retired for about three quarters thur, and; at their return into Court, the Fore a rho was evidently affeaed, .pronounced, in a 1° and fra:tetlng . Voice their verdict' OF After a Short pause, the Clerk; by direction of CoUrt, put the formal question to the unfortuna te pi t ta,`' .soner—what he had to say why Sentence of P should not be passed upon him according to l.. 0". Mr. Wall answered to this eff:a-L. ,, ; praY , little time . ;before the execution of the Sentence. e;-: The RECORDER then, after an appropriate 9 ' d' pathetic Address . to the Prisoner,• delivered much soleMnity and effeet, proceeded to pass the t``ta X Sentence ofs the Law, which was, in substar eeo. " That The, josEi;H WALL, be taken to the Pl at " frotn whence he came, and from thence, on Fr " next, to a place of execution, there to be 11 1 1 i " ed - by the neck he be dead, and 1 43-,• " afterwards given to be anatomized and dissePn o ,l " Recording to the Statute in, that case made " provided." ` c .. Mr. Wall heard the Verdia and the awful Sextterl t o it of the Law pronounced, with a calM re;ig nau betraying no emotion of either agitation or fea r ' 3 ; The. Jury were thanked by the Court for the P ot s' tient, and' earnest 'attention which they paid t° in case before them, during an uncommonly 10 0 g io‘ 1 , : terval, andnivere discharged; and at eleven oc at night the Court adjourned. • • London: Printed by .11, WMILL AN (of 110‘ 1-5 0f * Covent-Garden) ; and Putliislied bv• Wcz,t i Am ° off scßi r & (of Horse-fary-nad, W.stiatinstetr), atrt' Strand.