The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-06-12 00:00:00

_
This speech was greeted with roars of laughter and ap-
plause.

THE RIOT AT MOLD.

There have been three persons arrested since
Saturday morning on a charge of having taken an
active part in the not a.t Mold. The prisoners in
custody are William Griffi•hs, formerly a collier, hut
now a " medical herbalist" in Mold ; Benjamin Tat-
ham gentleman's servant, Mold ; Isaac Jones, collier,
Black Diamond, (husband of the woman who was shot
hr. ugh the hack, and who died on Saturday morning);
John Roberts, driver, Leeswood ; William Thomas
Jones, collier, Leeswisxl; and Rowland Jones. collisr,
Pontblyddyn. The two latter were apprehended
while they were asleep in bed at two o'clock on Sun-
day morning, and were hurried into convevances that
were in waiting. They had to dress themselves on
their way to the County Hall at Mold, the object of
the police in making the arrest at night being to secure
their prisoners without giving the colliers the oppor-
tunity of attempting a rescue.
On Monday, the six prisoners were broughtbefore
the justices at the County Hall, Mold. The court-
cairn was deusely crowded, and the greatest excite.
ment was manifested by the public outside in the issue
of the triaL _

Mr. Taylor, solicitor, Flint, appeared for the pri-
soners Isaac Jones and William Thomas Jones. The
other prisoners were undefended.
Mr. Browne, Chief Constable of Flintshire, depneed
that on %Vednesday evening in last week a mob of
about 1,500 colliers commenced hustling and throwing
stones at the fe dice and soldiers who had in charge the
two priainnera committed to “isnl for committing an
assault upon Mr. Young, manager of the Lee-wood
Green Colliery. The first stone was thrown by a
woman, and immediately afterwards the stone-throwing
became genera, from all directions, the object of the
rioters evidently being to rescue the two prisoners, and
several of his men were struck with stones and knocked
down. The volleys of stones hurled at the milit try and
p. lice darkened the air, and he saw several of his men
bleeding from the face and heal, the blieid streaming
down their uniforms. It was impossible for any of
them ti go out awl face the mob. If a magistrate had
gone out if the st thin to read the Riot Act he would
certainly have been murdered. Life was decidedly in
great and imminent ding. r at that moment in the
station. The witness called noon Captain Bake, the
officer in command of the military, to protect himself
anal his own alien and the constables by firing into the
mob. lie refused to do so. The witness thought it
was necessary to have a magistrate's order to jus,ify
firing, and lie said to a magistrate, Mr. Clough, " For
God's sake give the order to tire, or we shall be all mur-
dered!" He then shouted out, as loudly as he could,
"Fire?" Thecommacding officer even then was very re-
luctant to allow his men to tire, alth. oigh at that mu-
ment his face was covered with blood, and blood was
also streaming from a wound at the back of his head.
Some of the soldiers, who were very severely cut, were
writhing under the pain they were suffering. They
wished to tire, but the captain held then, 18W.K. One
private who was wounded charged his rifle, and was
about to step towards the station gate with his r lie
pointed towards the mob, when one of the officers
caught hold of him round the waist and drew him back
off his legs, at the same time cr)ing out, "For God's
rake don't fire !" The stone-throwing all this time was
csaitinued, the mob even coming round to the platform,
and across the line on the opposite side of the rail-
way. The police and military were thus surrounded
by the rioters, and he again called upon the officers to
fire on their assailants. Immediately after witness
heard the discharge 1d a rifle, followed by other shots.
Tilt officers were holding their men back, and using
every effort to check them in firing, cautioning them
not to take human life. They said, "For God's
sake, men, don't tire where there's no necessity for it!"
To the best of his judgment, 12 or 15 shots were fired,
and then the mob dispersed, and the few soldiers that
were firing were ordered back to the platform. The
greatest number of shots were tired from the yard
behind the station. One or two shots were fired from
the station gate. There was no volley firing, only
dropping shots, with long intervals between the firing.
Witness recognised Isaac Jones as being in the crowd in
the courtyard as the escort with the prisoners in charge
were starting for the station, but did not see him
throw stones. He could not speak to any of the s'
prisoners.

ot-i;e—r

Se rj eant Hughes ad several other police officers gave
corroborative evidence, and Identified all the prisoners
as having taken part in the riot.

The case occnpied the magistrate for seven hours,
and ultimately Mr. Taylor applied for an adjournment
in order to obtain evidence for the defence, which was
granted
Captain Blake gave evidenTn that his men did not
fire until the magistrate orde ed them. Nu blank
cartridges were used.

In cross-examination, Captain Blake maid th
soldiers marched to the stain with arms trailed. He
did not bear the Riot Act read. Stone•throwing was
continued over a quarter of an hour before be had an
order to fire. No blank cartriilge was tired. The men
fired into the mob, but not without his order, althoush
they were irritated.
The witness Price, on being recalled, fenced with
many questions, and at last said he was afraid to give
evidence. He did see Tatham throw one stone. In
the c'ise of the othtr prisoners, Police-ConAable Jones,
Robert Ellis, and Sergeant Hughes give eviarber
show ind that they wei e present. fir. Wdlisms aid
Mr. Trubalaw spoke to clic Lnjurind inflicted, the former

having &eased the wouLds of tweuty soldier", and the
latter attended tte police.
Mr. Taylor applied for bail on behalf of rellaC Jones,
who wanted te see his wife buried, and after sowe con-
sultation the Bench granted it, requiring two sureties
of £5O each and the prisoner in £5O. The other
prisoners were ordered to find bail in £5O for their re-
appearance on Wednesday morning.

An inquiry was held on Saturday respecting the death
of Elizabeth Jones, who was wounded in the affray
between the soldiers and the police, and died at a late
hour on Friday night, Upon the jury returning their
verdict of " Justifiable homicide," the coroner remarked
that it was a very correct verdict.

In the House of Commons,. on Monday evening, Mr.
Osborne Morgen asked the Secretary of State for the Home
Department whether he had received any further intern ence
a. to the cireem4ances under which the troops employ.'
to eimpress the late disterliatices at NI oid fired on the peoele,
anti earr,cularly whether it was true that such tiring took
place before the Hint Act was read.
Sir. Bru. e: The le format ion that has reached me comes
from the Cite k to the Justices sed the , link of the Peace,
through the Lord Lientenent. Ii states that in cilillliflitilOr
of epprehei ded disturoaeces come trolls were telegraphed
for from Circler upon the St at of lay, and that there YR-
kembled at Muhl *emit fifty soldiers and thirty-eight of the
county police. The VIM adjedicatel upon woo th it of eight
C dliers, shot who/11 were sentenced to tine or imprisonment,
and two to imprieennient only, for an assault upon
the manager of a colliery The two latter had to be
removed from the police office to the railway station, a dis-
tance of 200 yards, and in the course of their rene.val the
officers who had them in chnrge were assailed by s mob. esti-
mated at 2,000 ii, =miter, who lutieit b.dh sides of the
street, and oho uehneuteetely had en unlimited commetel
of stool., Inasmuch as the road had lately bees repaired.
The soldiers and the police behaved with very great forbear-
shoe, thou. h they wile subject to a very severe discharge of
stones—so ninch so filet one of the inspectors states he was
himself struck front two to three dozen times The police
and soldiers, however, were etiabled to curly their pet oners
into the railway dation. There the attack become Cl violent
and the dancer so great, because by this tune a considerable
limiter of hot h soldier, and polite men 64,1 been rendered
unfit even for self-defence, they were so seriously injered,
that, by the order of one ,if the magistrates, Captain Bloke,
the officer in commend, gave the comment to fire. At first
the firing was niaiely dir, cted over the hi ads of the rioter.;
ene collier woo shoi, and that was the only result of the first
firing ; ond, so the effect was not to diminish the violet,ce
of the attack, the firing was renewed, and was kept up for
some time, until the no tiers retreated. Deritig that time,
I grieve to say, four pettenis received mortal nejuriee, SIM
they are, in fact, dead of the injuries they received. In
addition, a consideraole number of prisons were woended,
hut the bundler has slot been exactly ascertained More '
than twenty of the soldiers and twelve of the policemen were
seriously wounded by missiles. The Riot Act was not
read. I have no donbt my lion friend who puts tide
questioli is perfectly aware that the reading of the Riot
ALI is not necessary. The only effect of reading it is to
make a riot, which Is alreadi a miedemeameir at, common law,
a greater offence; it maken it, in fact, a felonious offence,
which was formerly pinii-bed with death, but which by a receet
Act iv puni,hable with fifieen years' penal serve ride The jos-
titicatitn of the soldiers in firing before the reading or the
Riet Act Call be based upou the fact that they were -object
to a very dangeroue peleonal attack, which jogai.' them,
as it would j oddly us, in luing for defence any ...pone at
our conimatal That woe the opiollltiof the jury, who found
a verdict in which, besides ate big the mauve of death, they
'toted that the .01 tees ehtiwed great fin bearance ; and that
is the opinl al of the persons who have o minurikated with
me, some of whom nero present in the occasion.

[ Me delivery of the last sentence in this answer was tin
terrupte I by a latest If elle. rine fr.. the Ministerial side o
the House with which Mr. Gladstone wsa greeted on euteriug
the Lluuse.]