The Express.
London, England, 1848-09-28 00:00:00

that I might betray them. Iwu read employed IS a spy by
soy on., but I created myself a spy. L had no object of
emolument, t.ut merely dt sir.d to protect life and property.
wished to retire from the badness several times, but the
soKriatendent sod the inspector of police would not let me.
I do nuts ups ct to be pa'd any more remuneration than will
Cake au for the loss of tr.depidoptheavaet
cieureenuniwnedish.
haT,h.e.rou:
the pro
I have lot my trade in cot .
segneenacyd.
tb.ofnareialiumagoristratkatlaring.d
mngos7-4 s,:ve not made me any promise of ramaneratlon.
I am
Fveurtetdhemlelisotrfbeeivi:gek,rs
Ttk:
crie of e
it.
prisoners
gwedo eutra.:Lla
what Iwu going to say. I came here to-day as a voluntary
witness. I applied to be summoned, end I was not sum-
moned or subuensed. I have been asked to appear as •
wieners bat I refuel. I came forward In consequ .nce of
what I read in the newspaper of the cross-crautioation of
Powell, and teeing that he made rather a bad fore, a..d
knowtsg that such charges could not be brought against me,
I thought I would come forward end give evidence of the
truth. I thought the jury would not believe him ou his
oath.

Mr. Ballantine : Perhaps, alter rending what you did of
him. you would not 'unveil believe Alm on his oath ?
W.tness I should in this matter, because I know he spoke
the truth.

Cress culmination coaliaaed—l need to carry lorded
pistols for my own prorectiqn. I never got up any mect'cg
myself. I communicated with the inspector of police this
morning, and asked his advice whether I should cons up ur
not, and by his advice I did eo.—By the Attorney-Glen, ral :
The paper I saw was the Morning Advertiser: I read the
crets-esamination of Powell, and I immediately communi-
cated with the police. Beer. I read the paper I had no
mention to give evidence.
Charles 11.1dwinion d. pored that he was a clam leader of
the Lambeth Chartist locality, which held Its meetings it
the Chartist hill, Webber street. He deposed that he was
present at the mectirg on tie 15th, and that the proposi-
tion was made for the rising to take place no the following
day, and witness and the t,thi r class leaders were told they
were to bring their men armed the following night, and those
who had not got arms we re to be told where th.y coos i get
suns. They would meet first at .he Peacock. and then they
were to go to the Bro.d way, Westminster, where they were
to meet the Vean-street locality. He era also toll that
there were to b) three other divisions assembled at diff.r..nt

parte of thi town. At right o'clock on the evening of the
16•4 he went to the Pr ue•rek, and f .und Morgan, C....w.ry,
Pettier, Winsptre, and Charter there, and Pe. ler nuanced
some coloured ribbons for the delegates to wrar on their
was so that their men might knew tLons. If. also pro-
duced some gunpowder end made cart4lges with it. Wit-
nets had a pistol with him, and Peiller gave him a cArtrial
to charge it with. In consequence of something the land.
lady said they left the Peacock, and proceeded to the Angel,
iu Webber-strcet, and about three minutes after they g
there the police came in and apprehended them. lie added,
shot he had given information to the ponce, about three
o'clock in the afternoon of the Hit._

Cross-examined : Ho g,.vo no information to the police
until that time. He was taken into custody with the oth. iv,
and bad a loaded pistol in his pocket at the time. He had a
pike head a short time before. but he gave it to Conway
to take eve of, and it was found upon him when he was
taken. lie bought the pike-head and carried it abut with
him, in order that he might not Inset cted by his com-
panions. Witness wu not examined before the magistrate
or before the grand jury, and the prisoners had no means of
knowing what evidenos he was to give.
H. Jones, a police constable, deposed that about halt.past
4 o'clock on the morning of the 17th August he made a
search in Clerkenwell.chureby .rd, and feu a bvivt con-
taining 280 perfest ball cartr:dges, and abort 60 in an un-
linisbed state.—Croat-examinedH
: e did not expect to hod
this basket when he commenced the Larch. It was quite
by accident.
Evidence was then soldered to show that about 8 o'clock
_ .

on the evening of the 18th August a number of persons were
seen to leave the beer shop in Shouldham."treet, some of
them being armed, and some were heard to tell ethers to
" come themselves, and to bring as many of their fricrals
with them as they could."
Thomas Hoyle, a police constable, deposed that on the
night of the 16th of August a great number of pers.es, hav-
ing the appearance of Irish labourers and engineer', who
were strangers to the ntighbourheod, assembled in the
Seven Dials, and in consequence of these proceedings lie gave
information at the police station.
Impeder Black deposed that about ten o'clock he went
with a body of the polies to the Seven Dials, and found
about 160 persons assembled. They were mostly strangers
to the neighbourhood. Witness diapered them, aiLd re-
mained upon the spot with his mess until one o'clock the
next morning.
Mr. Warrington, an operative chemist, explained the
nature of the recipes found at Rese's lodgings, and he de-
milted one of them as being calculated to ignite spont.nceusly
■fur a s'Kut time, and according to the quantity of water
used in its composition, and another as a very powerful
combustible, but which would require to be ignited befe.rc it
would act.

Mr. Rendell then gave eridence as to the composition of
the are balls, and this closed the cue for the proarcution.
Mr. Ballantine addressed the court. end said be should
hive been orepered to go on with the defence upon
the original facts, but after the additional evidtnce that had
been adduced, he felt that he must ask the indulgence et the
court to allow time to consider the elect of that additional
testimony.
Mr. Baron Platt acceded to the application and at a quar-
ter to six o'clock the trial was spin adjourned.

OLD ODCRT.—Titts Dar.
TRIAL OF COFFEY, FAY, AND LACEY.

This morning at ten o'clock this CM was resumed before
Mr. Baron Platt and Mr. Justice Williams.
Mr. BaDentine proceeded to address the jury on behalf
of the defence. He said he should be materially
aided in the onerous dive, he had now to discharge,
by the attention the jury bad given to the case, and the
copious notes they had taken would be of great
mantle= to them in considering tho points to which he
should have to direct their attention. Ile stood therc in a
much more humble position than her Majesty's att mien-
general, but, like that public officer, he was a mere agent of
the law, and in the di fence he was about to lay before them,
and in the address he was in be discharge of his duty about
to make, I e should confine himself to that line' and to that
doe only, that he was bound to observe, and which was rela-
tive to the fade of the case, and to the law as applicable to
those facts. The learned council said that he was in reality
shout to submit that, however foolish, and ridiculous,
and contemptible, and however they were deserv-
ing of scorn and laughter, the prisoners had not, in
anything they had done or contemplated, been guilty ef
that charged against them in the present indictment, namely,
a charge which, though ca led a felony, was, in fact and in
truth, a charge of high treason ; and he could not understand
why, if the prisonen were guilty of what this indictment
charged them with, they were not put on their trial for high
treason. As Mr as he and his learned friends who appeared
on behalf of the other prisoners were concerned personally,
the attorney-general had conducted this cue in a fair
and courteous manner, arid in a manner of which he
could not in the least complain. But there was one
expression used by the attorney-general which he ( Mr. Bal.
lantine) regretted very much had been used. The use of
this expression, "My learned friends seem to wish to take
away from my lords the exposition of the law." Now he
must say, and that too in the meet intelligible manner, that
he did not know of anything in the conduct of himsel or
his learned friends that would in tho least degree warrant
such a statement by the first law-officer of the crown.
The Attorney• General interposed, and said that he did not
use that expression to impute anything to Mr. Ballantine.
He denied that be had used it in the sense implied.
Mr. Ballantine said, that as it was a matter purely per-
sonal, he was glad to receive the explanation of the attorney-
general, which explanation precluded him from making one
more observation upon it. The learned counsel then pro-
ceeded to remark that the attorney-general had said that
chartist clubs had been organised throughout the country,
that these clubs were secretly corresponding with each
other, and that, by their agency, a simultaneous rising was
expected throughout the land, and particularly in the metro-
poiu. But was there any scrap of evidence given to prove
that each really was the fact? Had the attorney-general
produced witnesses to show that such an organisation of clubs
existed; that in those clubs a rising throughout tile CO:li
was contemplated ; or to chow that any of the men ch
with this offence were at all connected with such clan. e
learned annul contended that, had the prisoners been
charged with high treason, they would have had a fairer
trial than they could have upon the present charge, founded
spun the new set of parliament under which they were in-
de ted; and, in fact, the trial they were new undergoing
was not each a fair one as they could have had were the
charge against them ordinary felony. And why ? Because
the sot of parliament under which they were indicted took
away from them certain rights they could have
exercised had their ease been one of high trea-
son; and if the persons now at the her had not
been guilty of high treason, it was imposieble for them to be
convicted upon this chpazi4felony. The act winch made
" open and advised s ,e" when pr,.ved by two wit-
nines, en overt act, reoeivab as evidence cn a charge of
high treason, though called by the name of felony, he would
not say wean unconstitutional eine, but this he would say,
that tin unconstitutional use of it had been made by the
government and its law officers; for, under Its provisions, a
man might be convicted without a fair trial. He
would admit that the prisoners had made seditious
speeches, had attended unlawful meetings, and had preached
utter nonsense, but was it not ridiculous to say that they
had levied war spinet the queen ? Was the finding of a
rusty pike in the sock-loft of Cuffcy's garret, a piece of
coloured ribbon here, another paltry thing there, to be evi-
dence of high treason, and evidence upon which men were
to be subject to transportation for life. The learned counsel
then went on to comment upon the act of parliament, and,
in alluding to the evidence of the accomplices, said, that
such aeonand sack evidence roused but one feelicg in the
beret of every honest-hearted Englishman, what-
everb
the sa, 'en upon which that evidence were
given. He besought the jury to be careful how
they aided on evidence, for these were the
first of a clam of mass that had been introduced into en Eng-
lish nun of justice, and the eerdiets they gave, and the dis-
cerns. that took plan in this court, would be matters to
which referents would be made in days to come. He would
sik them to watch with care and attention the evidence of
those persona who had concocted the affair, and who had
been the meats of the government—the spies who had urged
and united the others on, end done all they could to
plan them in the power of the government. Such things
bad ben done before,
_anti great and illustrious men
had partied ca the asstrold in consequence ; and, though
sash twits might mat follow now, slather results might
paddy amass Ea Mae days, when the judges of the land,
the adaimhealces a the law, might be las pure and high-
Wads& amm they was at priest,—in days when attorney-
gessesis might ant babas ac scruple to do sets of tyranny
and Wads% Om vide he was um the =
attsatargsmast wadi shelak with disgust. The
asthma than maid that Cary was a az of
1 whoa ell who wore oravezeuat with the