The Sun. — London, England, 1820-04-12 00:00:00

CHESHIRE ASSIZES. MONDAY, APRIL 10. SHOOTING AT BIRCH, THE CONSTABLE. !ANTI:a/CB OF WINN'S AND BRUCE. At nine ►'clock the Judges arrived. and Ail'M inis or Ginnis, and Bruce, were brought to the Bar to have jnilgtnen► passed upon them. Bruce had the following petition banded to the Judges by Mr. Bettyo., " Loans—The very unexpected light which Almpihty. God bas Grit pleased. of his infinite mercy, to skew the cir cumstances of my case, through the instrumentality of"the prisoner M'innis, has induced me thus to trespass on the at teution of your Lordships. I beg, with all ho utility, to state, that from my infancy I have had so far a knowledge of the're ligiein of my country as always to bear in mind that divine niaxim of our blessed'and most merciful Redeemer, of " ing unto all men as I would they should do unto me." lam al.lo Well acquainted with the principles of - humanity, and look upon the detestable crime of assassination as equally re pugnant to tot h ; and my Lords, if ever I had, irtlitr by my words, my thoughts. or even ntv actions, been accessary to the attack on the life of Mr. Birch, far from declining your kmdgment, I could not even pray for the mercy of Gu'd. It does nut appear, my Lords, that either Mr. Birch or Pearson could say that I knew any thing of 74'11)114's intention. As to my running away, I have no recollection of that eircum itatmee; I may have done so, as did many others. I know not what I did at the moment, I was to struck with horror at the transaction, not did I know at the time but that sonic person had fired at myself. It will appear. my Louis, that so conscious was I of my innocence, the I never atteutpted to leare my lodgings where I was first arrested, and when brought i)efore the ;Magistrates, I candidly told all I knew of the itufiouniate circumstance, in order, if possible, to for- Ward 'the ends of justice, as well as to clear my own charac ter. I meter denied having bet n speaking with Mr. Birch ; but certain it is, my Lords, that I had no evil intention in , o doing; and as to the "sideling" alluded to by Pearson, there is a debtor in the Castle (Mr. Jump), whose servant Pear son was for time last four months, who cast give information tending to explain that point, and which will be corroborated by - the tCstimony of Pearson himself. There is one eir cmustant.e more, my Lords, I wish to matte your Lord ships acquainted with, and I appeal to Mr. Lloyd as to the truth of it. When same evil-ruitided persons were endeavouring to wake it appear that it wat Mr. Lloyd's sun who had fired the stint, 1, limb a sense of humanity, in Order to forward the ends of justice, and come at the truth, deseribod the person, of a man whose name I did not know, and who came op to me where I sea', and told me he knew Who had fired the shot, For the exact Words which passed on the occasion, I Woy to refer your Lordships to Mr. Lloyd, who took them down in writing at the time. I hare had but very few acquaintances in . Stockport, having been only little better than three months in it, precious to the night in question. " I declare most solemnly to your Lordships that I have had no acquaintance with the prisoner M‘Ginnis, nor did I to my knowledge ever see his person until the time of his ex amination in the Castle of Chester. And as to my connexion with Harrison, it was by means of his employing me as as sistant in his school, in which situation I remained only six weeks ; I then got up a school of toy own, at the Lancashire side of Stockport. I never taught from any other books but the Old and New Testament, anti Enfield's Speaker. Pear son himself can testify as to the truth of this, lie being at that time under my tuition. I therefore most heartily implore your Lordships to take my case into consideration ; far although (as an innocent man) I am not afraid to die, and meet my Cod with perfect composure to answer for the conduct of my short iife; yet the senten7.e of the law would coosign my memory to obloquy; for though a man dies, his memory lives. I toad not power to state so mach in Court to Our Lordships, owing to my out having been acquainted with a Court, nor able to state, my defence extempore. " Pardon me, my Lords, when I take leave to remain, the unfortunate, the innocent - " JAMES GEORGE BRUCE." on b e i ng placed there, said=—My Lords, this•man (Bittce) is innocent. 1 never spoke in the man in fore 1 shot at Birch. And though 1 did shoot at him, and I had many reasons for do ing s(), every man who swore against ale swore falsely. Niel) swore falsely, Pearson swore false ly. No man living knew'a word about it but myself. I shot to hint ; this man is innocent. Bruce—An innocent man has nothing to fear. I am not afraid to face my God ; I can do so with clear conscience ; 1 ant reedy and Willing to die, but • I die innocently, and can answer to my God witi► composure; 1 am not afraid to die; I know according to law I must submit ; my send mews are now the same as they have been, and they will be found unshaken if I must die. Mi. Justice WARREN proceeded to pass sentence cr, the prisoners, and first addressed 11' Innis " You, .lacob M'lnnis, have been convicted of a horrible Clime, and on as clear evidence as ever was given in a Court of Justice, and though you say those . who . appeared against you swore falsely, after your conviction you yourself declared your guilt. IF ►here .were soy perjury, you voluntarily heard it from those•whom you yourself brought forwayl, and yoo suffered them to pet jure themselves i n the face of God and their country, An innocent man who had not given you offence, a diligent officer exercising his duty, and who had given you no provocation, was the man you acknowledge to have shot at. That acknowledgment was not . made from any feeling of ,remorse, or olyepent allCe for your crime, hot with a boldness of avowal, as if you telt satisfied with so making it. Pearson swore you sold you were the Man who shot at Birch, anti that he should have its con tents, though he came from America to do it. A more aggravated case than yours .i.cp never occur red, and the Judges feel your enormity to be made more so by perjury, to be more so by the threats yon offerediagainst whotver would give infolma. riot aga!inst you, anti, if possible, to be height ened by the manner in which you have avowed your crime. Attempts at assassination are cir cumstances little known within this realm ; they are circumstances against which all British feel ings revolt, and it is therefore the fit mu determi pation of ibis Court to mark their sense of the oggravaied enormity of your crime, by ordering you for, execution at an earlier day than they would otherwise have done. You are to be exe- voted on Saturday next. ‘‘llles George Bruce, you have also been convicted of aiding the prisoner rdqunis, in a crime at which our feelings revolt. You have stated in your petition, as you have done in your address to the Court, that you are an innocent mall, but the eviitence against you has been such as to satisfy a Jury of your guilt. You have said von are an instructor of youth, and if we are to , judge of you by what has transpired upon this trial, assassination is taught by you as a doctrine to be toilowed: and yoUr scholars arc trained up in those ways that %till lead to their punishment . both here and hereafter. • • " 'Von havb neither of you long to live, and 1 would elofeat of you to pass the few remaining da"ys of your existence in 'humble address to the Great Disposer of all human events, ois Whom alone von; can now call for mercy. In this world all h o p es hie are closed upon you, and it now out ) . rem,itts for we to disc Large my duty, by or- dering you to be taker kto the ptace Tram whence you came,. from* thence to the dace of execution, and akere to hang by the 'legit until you are dead; and the Lord have mercy on your souls." Tbank you, my lord, it's a good cure for a spin of the head." It is said, that this unhappy man refuses all the consolations of religion that he meets his Cite with the most obstinate indifference, and what gives his fate a deadly hue is, that he disbelieves the existence of a God -• On the motion of Mr. BtiblYoN, Pe,arson,.who gave evi.lenee on Saturday against M'innis, Wes discharged by Proclamation. TRIAL OF SIR CHARLES WOLSELEY, BART. AND OF JOSEPH HARRISON, FOR SEDITION. About half-past nine this morning, Sir Charles %Volseley, accompanied by his brother•in•law, Sir Thomas Clifton, and twe other Gentlemen of the name of Eyre; entered the Court, and took their places near the table; and at ten, two other causes baying been disposed of, it wlls called on A Special Jury was called over, of whom the fol lowing answered and were sworn : George Eatoß, E. TALFSMEN. Jame.; Alko, Ric•laid George liantyr t acid John lian a. ,e e il, and tile indictment j anj tr, kVylde, Earl. Itaurti Grey, Es(' James Stanton, Esq. W.Wathiogurn, F,sq. Edward Jones, Esq. Wathington, Esq. James Bayley, Esq. The pleadings were op read ro the following effect : " Oman ee.—The Jurors of our L(Crd the King upon their oath, present, that Sir C. Wolseley, hie of Stockport, in the `..` [County] of Chester, natl. and J. Harrison late of the same place schoolmaster,beiog p r''ns of a torholent and seditious dispOsition, and wickedly and maliciously devising, and intending to excite tumult and insurrection, Loth io this realm, od the 2511 f day of June,: in the year if the reign oh Gcori;e in. of the United Kin:zdems of Great Britain and Ireland, King, at Stockport aforesaid in the said Count)-, to gether with divers other persons to the Jurors aforesaid un known, to the number of 500 anti npwards, with fore, mud arms, unlawfully did asset/)1e and gather together tridisturb• the public:vet-tee, m 3.1 tug so assembled together„did, by se ditious speeches ani discourses, and by other I,lTiinWfu I and dishonest means, then and there endeavour to " invite" [in cite) and stir tip the people of this realm to hatred arid con tempt of the Government and Constitutimitherruf as by law estal•lished, in contempt of our said Lord. the King and his Laws, to the evil example of all others in the like case offending, and against the peace of our said Lord the king, his Crown and Dignity," &c. &e. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Mr: BBNYON) open ed the case to the. Jury. Having described the counts contained in the indictment, be re marked, that the Jury must have heard much ol die public meetings held in the last summer,. principally at the instance of itinerant orators, who presided at or took any part iu [kern, on the subject of Parliamentary. Reform and Universal Suffrage. He, ' however, called upon them to banish from their minds all that they had heard on the subject out of doors, and decide not from what he might say to them, but from the evi.. dence that would be given. Sir C. Wolseley was a Gentleman of considerable property in the county of Stafford. He was a Baronet, that Ito nour having been conferred on his ancestor, he believid, in the reign of Charles I. Mr. Harri son had till lately been a stranger in the county of Chester ; he was a dissenting preacher end schoolmaster. He then - described a meeting which the two defendants had attended ou the 28th June, 1819. At that meeting Sir C. ‘Volse ley was called to the Chair, and it 'w ou ld be proved that seditious language had there been used. The defendants appeared to have been previous ly arqoainted.--The Learned Chntleman was pro ceeding to describe the language held by Wolseley, when Mr. PBARSON'(COIIOseI for the defendants) sag :gested that the witnesses should be ordered to go out of Court. - The Court immediately directed the witnesses on both sides to retire. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL proceeded. An im mense crowd atrended on the occasi o n to which 'lre had referred, many of them being armed witb bludgeons. Sir C. Wolseley said, he had been in' Paris at the time of the French Revolution, and had been one of the fist to attack the Bastile, and be hoped to be engaged soon in pulling down other Bastiles. He further stated, that while on represented, they owed no allegiance, and that resistance would be ,justified.. Mr. Harrison con ...tended, that further .petitioning „would be degrad ing,- and said a meeting. was In take place at Old ham to consider of establisiring7aNhotoaal.Dele gation, and of :extending - the :plan all over the country. 'Frnm•the Intimacy. Which - appeared to subsist betWeen - iiiiif and Mr. Harrison, it was to . be assumed that what one advanced.had been as t•ented to by the other. In proof of the intimacy' subsisting between theta, he could read a letter from Sir C. Wolseley addressed to the PoslMaster of. Stockport, dated the SOth'June (two days after the meeting), complaining that a letter, dated the 24111 June, four days before the meeting, from him, addressed to the 'Rev. Mr. Harrison, had been corruptly deleyed, as he suppoSed. He also read . a letter from Harrison to a person of the name of Bagnely, now• under confinement, avowing his participation in the proceedings of the 28th June. After this they could not now be.told'that be was not at the meeting, - as his participation in the guilt or innocence of Sir C. Wolseley was here distinctly avowed. He then went on to argue that it was clear that the defendants had conspir ed to bring into hatred and contempt the Govein ment of the country. Mr. Harrison appeared to have declared that the time for petitioning was gone by, and therefore he couldnot now attempt to show that the meeting bad been called for the purpose of petitioning in a peaceable and orderly manner. Nor did he imagine that such a defoice could be set up by Sir C. Wolseley, 'lt was the birthright of Englishmen to meet to petition for the redress of grievances. God forbid that he should raise his voice against that right, which he sincerely hoped would be handed down, unirn, paired; as we had received it, to our remotest posterity. He,,however, contended, that meet ings like that to which he now (In:eater' 'their at-, aention, where many.of. the . parties were armed with bludgeons, where one constable wes Severely iojnred, and where hostile banners were carried, wet e not of that character whielt the low ss ould protect. Time ineetin4 in question, he was de cidedly of opinion, was illegal. John Kenyon ‘Vinterbottorn was an inhabitant of Stockport. He attended the Meeting of the 25th Sone, at Sandy. Brow. There might be 4or 5000 people present. They were quiet when he first saw them. Most of them Gad sticks in their • hands. They . looked like aticia• newly got from hedges, and not like walking atlas. The-popu lation of Stockport is about 20,009 persons.— . 'There - was a scaffold of - hustings.' - Sir• Charles Wolseley was pointed out to him on the hustings, and be saw Harrison there. Did not know that Sir Charles Wolseley bad - any property in that neighbourhood, or any connexion with the place. The first thing witness observed was a hissing op the part of the whole multitude. • He did not then know what it was about. Sir Chatles Wol seley acted As Chairman at that meeting. In Stockport there ate people of common wore, ca pable of taking the chair at a public meeting.— Did not know that it was necessary to send for aity person from a distance. %Votress was distant from the hustings about 100 yards ; he could hear hot iedistinctly what passed ; he heard Sir C. Wolseley proeonnee the word " unanimous ;" when the resolution aces carried lie saw hands held up as if voting, and after Wards he Saw sticks held .up ot t an organ bring played its the room where witness was. Witness was tbere, not to partici pate in the deliberetions of the meeting;, btu to see them ; lie saw tone of the respectable inhabi ttilllS takina a part in the proceedings ; lit felt his property to be secure at the time, but thought if the crowd were kgrt together till night it might be dangerous ; heard Harlieon say " That the House of Commons were the people's servants; that it was as absurd to petition them, as it would be for a master to petition his groom or his horse : :hat there was a barrier between the throne and the people which must be remaved, tither by force trout Heaven or hell, in order that they might see whether a man or a pig was upon the Throoe." '1 his produced laughter, anti general derision. He {Harrison) said, " "lite united will of the people was sure to prevail ; thii Was d k, axiom that could not be confuted. It might be necessary, in some cases, to p e tition the House to Lords, who were by the Coustitutiou placed ill a Eildeient situation limn that of the Honse of Commons. but in the present corrupt state of Illiogs it was Useless, and he would not recom mend it." •This discourse was received with ap ,plauee. Sir Charles Wolseley was there at that -time, about two yards from Mr. Harrison, near enough td hear the whole of what was said ; he obseried no particular movement on the part of Sir Charles Wolseley. CrossHexamined by Mr. PEARSON—Was a loin dred yards from the hustings. There were 'vo wels t here—perhaps one or *two hundred.. Nut so many as four or five hundred. Did not re inembr seeing any children playing about the out-sk i rts. Would not swear there were notre• The observatiorie lie had Made on the sticks, ep plied to the multitude gene; ally. Only saw them held up at one particular _period. Looking at a meeting of 5000 persons, thought he could speak to the proportion that held op sticks. Vas 1101 alarmed bituself, and heard of none. • Did not hear of the shops beiog shut up on the occasion. Heard indistinctly. Did not know that any Chaitonto was sent for from a _distant place. Heard Mr, Harrison more disiiitetly than any , outer person. Was certain that he had heard w hat be had re ported.—The Learned Gentleman then read part . of the report of a speech made at the meeting, and called on the witeess to repeat it after hint. This pleStioll was objected to by Mr. Serjeaot Cross,•but allowed to .be put by the Court. Witness could not repeat tvkat bad just been read. There was nothing in the laugh that lol lowed Mr. Harrison's speech to distinguish it from the laugh commonly raised when something absurd was read. Did trot hear Sir C. Wolseley. Thought he heard Harrison say something about petitioning the House of Lords,-it they petitioned at All. D.d not hear hint say that the Constitu tiou would redress all the evils complained of: By Me: Harrison—Witness n as an attorney.-- He took notes of what Mr% Harriatm•lted arid; had not got ,the notes with him ; heard the whole husinesa indistinctly, but Mr. Harrison more dis titictly than any body else ; was not in a situation to hear Mr. Lewis so well; did not listen much to any body else ; bad no directions troth anyone to attend particularly to him ;'soopoies when Mr. firris ! , n talked of inquiring whether a pig or a man was oe the Throne, that his object teas to. • bring the Thr one into contempt with the people; thought the laugh which followed the speech was •a laugh .of derision directed against the Throne. Re-examined by, Mr. Serjeaut CROSS—Willan, Knight, end Fitton, it'lnerant orators, were all there ;- they were strangers ; the only inh l abitant of Stockport that he saw there was the defendant Harrison. Thomas Bolton', examined by Mr. ASHWORTH —Saw numbers of people passing to the Meeting on the2Bth of June. They might be about two hours passing ; saw nothing unusual in their. ap pearance ; some of them , had walking . I stiCks, which they were in the ... act of walking. With; saw Sir C. Wolseley going up John-street, the (attic! road to the meeting. Mr. Lewis was with him. At the meeting be,saw-a flag;. on one side there was, " No Corn Lawea" on the other, " Par liamentary Reform, Universal Suffrage, • and. Vote by Ballot." He saw a cap of liberty put above it afterwards. Was.atfirSt about 30 yards from the hustings, afterwards go t w i t ei o ten o f He saw Sir C.' Wolseley, Harrison, Willett, Fitton. and others. Harrison was the ooly inhabitaot.ot Stockport - that he •saw among them. Sir C. Wolseley Was close to Mr. Harrison ; saw a con versation appareetly raking place, which he could hot heat, ie which-Sir C. Wolseley and M r.. Harr ison took a part. • Sir Charles on his -arrival was received with ,very loud. huzzas. Great numbers, of the people round le. knew to be townsmen ; saw no sticks of unusual appearance. The sticks were not more numerous than he shOOld have ex pected to see there. He would not have so good ao opportunity of seeing as a person above the crowd would have. Sir Charles was the first person • he heard. [Here he read from a minute what he - had heard from Sir. Charles.]—Sir Charles said, " he Was happyie adiressing the people of Stock port from that place, Sandy Brow. It was a place conseetated to the.cause of liberty, by the - absence of friends he should have been happy to meet ; and he trusted that Sandy Brow would be more tamed in history than thy field of Waterloo, Was there a peace officer present ? I.te frosted they came to keep the peace, and not to break tr• But was there any of your spies —your note-talt' ing, or black-book gentry ? Tell your employers. the tools of a Castlereagh and a Sl*lllf t ith, that 1 hate Ulm—that detestthem—thtit etern ally -execrate them. He (Sir Charles) was proud to say, that he %vas at the taking of the Bastile in France, and he should be happy to be at the tak' ing of a Bastile in England," (obs er v e d no gesture but the action of speaking with rote and energy,) " arid were all hearts but as film in Ole cause as his own, they should soon put an end 1 0 the present tyradny :.rid corruption." Thi s was all that lie took notice of at the time, and all tha t he recollected. Did not recollect any thing said by Mr. Harrison. Saw a person totter down the street. His head was cut, and the blood.was running down. He welt. taken to the dru?gises. and witness went in god saw his head dressed. Cross'-examined by Mr. PARK—He saw tha person that had been hurt before Sir Charles went on the hustings; Felt no alarm for his mother , his person, or his property, from the conduct ►► nd appearaucr of those Ire saw going co the•m ee ting• The meeting was peaceable, and dispersed quietly hen the business was over. Vle bad put (lowa but a very small part of what Sir C. \Volseley had said. What be had repeated was what he ihouglit most rtmatkable. It .was not all said'st one time, in one continuous speech. Sir Charles generally exhorted the pe ,, oie to bt- I;tace.►t)le. Th e ta Was a demur wEen the cap of lib , -rtv was wet op ; Sir Charles turned round, and might I►ae objected to it i but he could trot beat• what had been said. Idio Johnson (examined by Mr. WILLIAms) Was a Land Sorteyur. lie was at the meetiog' before Sir Charles Wokeley came there. He are rived afterwards. Could not guess many persons were then assembled. Saw five. of •ix petaons on the hustings before Sir Charles Wolseley' came-. Saw no persoit get up o nit him. He (Sir Charles Wokeley) tv,is appointed,; to the chair, but there was no cnair, and he never sat down, lint the word/chair ,k as called. Sir C• Wolseley immediately began to speak. He s l ab], he was the fit st to assist in taking the Bastile ip France, and he hoped he shoold soon be at this demolition of Bistiles in England, pointiog se the same time to the North - -West. He told (hp people to be firm and united, for the sre*C struggle would in a few weeks be made and ended. He said the•ground they were on was sacred to liberty,- for there they had otice defeated their ene mies. Mr. Harrison, stood oext to Sir Charles at this, time. lie (Mr. Harrison) spoke ; be saki they wanted to get to the throne, to see whethet there was a pig or a man on it, and if there were ten thousand tvalls betwixt them, he would blow them up either to heaven,or hell. What be (me. Harrison) had said.about " a pig" teas recei.,ea with acclamations, and also what he had said. about walls. Sir C. Wolseley stood next to Mc. Harrison while he spoke. He might be speaking for eight or ten minutes. Cross-examined, by Mr. PiansoN—First-merY• tiolied what he bad heard from 'Air. Hat risOn t i t) George Bulloc k , shoot a tort nigh , ago. He then repeated what - he had heard Sir Ch a rles say, word for - venni. Never' chOught abooc what he had heard till a fortnight ago. Ile recOilected them in the exact order in whicii he had repeated them when be heard the :de fendants were to be tried at the present Assiies• Could recollect at the distance of nine or tett months that these words had beers Used. He il4l not recollect the order of the speakers, nor aoV (ling but what be had ,said. 'file expression about the pig called forth .acclamatious,, not of a WI serious nature. • Re-examined . by Mr. Wieetisms-a-The acclad mat;Ons were of a merry characiee, Cross-examined by Mr. Harrison---Geier ;e lock was a bedfellow of wifticss"..s, and W 'O , 4 now ifs Chester, being confined on a charge of felony. Cross.examined by Mr. PzaasoN-1-lad lleatr ,l of Bullock's being confined fOr'fribny ; wits acidic self coutioed its the New Bailey for the seine 'f.: e kitty ; was not to be is witness against Ke-e.xamined by Mr. Viireetam3—Was disc charged on beiug carried before is Magistrate'. Thymus Welch, examined by Mr. DaAcoN--' Was present at the meeting. i!Jade a few u rines at the time of what had occurred. ,He then reeo a paper, in which he had introduced the loos. ewes made at the time. Mr. l'EArtsoN objected to the transcript ,of tiO notes being received as evidence, or referred 10 by the 'witness to assist his recollection. Mr. PARK Spoke in support of the objection.... Mr. WiLLIAMS was of opinion that the'pap'ef might he reterred to by the witncss. • The Conic decided againsr.referring,to the pre per, the transerip: not having, been made till/A month after the notes Were taken. • - • . Examination resunietl 7 - 7 ileard Mr. .Havasti? reading a letter, in which it was said that cite Deity had created man for hapuioess, and there was a sufficiency of good things to rendei happy ; but as tie majority of that rneeti4 were extremely. :unhappy, and were render' ed •so by their rulers, the hitt ntioni the Deity bad been frirstrated,• and '141;0' lion against that Government became Ea'' most 'a dory. At this time Sir Charles W9 l : seley was not present. Nothing more oecureet i till the arri val .of Sir Charles: Sir Charle s mounted the hustings ; he (brought,. hut was 'no r certain, (bat he bad been proposed by, Mr. Harr ( .' son. Mr.. Harrison called to speak on the arri . of Sir Charles. Saw nothing remarkable (bey 4 o l “- and Sir of hands) pass between*Mr. Sir Charles. Sir C. IVolseley, on being appoint' ed their Chairman, thanked the meeting for tb. e , honour they had done him by eiroosing.him the ir Chairman, He was no orator, but a determin e(( friend to die' people, and to Annual Parliamen t !' and Universal Suffrage. If any Spies orinforme rj were within tire sound of • his voice, let them t c their Castlereaghs arid Sidmoutbs and their el ployers, that he abhorred and execrated. thet l their proceedings. There was much apPla l i j ', uhen this speech was made. The business of t , day then proceeded, and- certain resolutions , P l : v , by Sir Charles ; We.re passed. :One of the res, t) o (ions declared, as well as he could recolledt; .lt Lord Sidmouth had been guilty of high trees°,. a No opposition was veered to any of the rcsa-" ti a