The Express.
London, England, 1866-03-30 00:00:00

pliNET!'i I ‘Expmstk FRIRAY rEVIANIN9-4 MAIIO4 30, 1866.

and"tbadfie Prelliniell titerivigWZNiir as a spEclal
can, nor had he any power or authority to alb
General NeTson's decisions with regard to Om;
Nelda not express to General Nelson his approval
the prGieedin' go in Gordon's case. Owing to
the difficulties of communication the letters would
not have reached him in time to have any effect. Hia
Excellency Governor Eyre consulted him as- to
the issuing of the amnesty, but not with
regard to the termination of martial law or the
state of the colony at the time. The omission to
consult him on the last point rather nettled him.
In reply to a question from Mr. (}owie, General
O'Connor declined •to say whether, after the pro-
clamation of martial law, the governor or himself
was the supreme military authority in the Wand,
as that was a complicated legal question, but he
said that certainly General Nelson and Colonel
Hobbs acted under him as subordinate officers.
The colonial regulations were that the civil gover-
nor should send to the commander of the forces re-

oanpied twolqfratee-nained Leith=hall and Golden-1
trove, wheregreit irtegularttias have been alleged
to have been committed. He has given his own I
account of these transactions, and has explained
the grounds upon which he acted in the most
material instances. In cross-examination Lieu-
tenant Adcock denied all knowledge of the
alleged doings of drummer Philips, at Leith-hall,
or of his having executed a man whom the lien-
tenant had himself directed to be spared beciiiite
there was not sufficient evidence against him.
He reported to General Nelson neither the
exact number of. people flogged nor the
evidence against them. He wa• unable to do so,
having kept no memoranda. He believed that on
one °maim a planter named Stuart inflicted fifteen
lashes on a prisoner. He specifically denied that
eleven women were flogged by his orders at Leith-
hall, and explained a charge which had been made
against him, that he had directed his men to fire at
prisoners who were being hanged, by saying that at

qmsitions for troops, and it was the duty of the
military commander to carry them out to the fullest
extent. If there were any reasons why they should
not be carried out it was his duty to place his opi-

Port Antonio a beam from which six men were
hanging broke, and the men fell to the ground.
The provost marshal asked him to shoot them, and
he ordered his men to do so.

nions respectfully before the governor. General
Nelson 00118111i4X1 him as to whether he would be
justified in trying Kelly Smith, Dr. Bruce, Mr. Le-
vien, and others by court-martial for seditious words
said to have been uttered before the proclamation
of martial law, and he advised him that be
would not be justified in trying them. Be could
not give any opinion as to whether Mr. Gordon
was tried for acts committed before martial law was
proclaimed. In reply to Mr. Walcot the major-
general said that be had no doubt that the procla-
mation of martial law was absolutely necessary. ,
Brigadier-General Nelson was examined at some
length, and entered minutely into a detail of the
measures which he adopted during the first few
days, for hemming in what he described as " the
enemy," within a line drawn north and south be-
tween Morant Bay ani Port Antonio, including,
among others, the enrolment and arming of the
Maroons, who were placed under the command of
Colonel Fyfe, all of which have, I have no doubt,
by this time been made known in England
by the publication of the general's despatches.
He only permitted Colonel Ford's volunteers to
accompany the detachment under Lieutenant Ad-
cock upon their promising to obey implicitly all the
orders of that officer ; and in the memorandum
containing his instructions he directed that " the
planters who have volunteered to accompany the
troops" should be " kept in proper order, although
not overstrict." In the same memorandum he
ordered that " care was to be taken that firing of
huts and buildings be not carried to excess; all ring-
leaders to be secured ; men found in arms to be
summarily dealt with ; minor punishment to be in-
flicted on the spot." In other instances be took
precautions to prevent irregularities on the part of
the troops, and to provide for the protection of the
inhabitants. On the 19th October he directed Cap-
tain Luke to "issue stringent orders against the
troops foraging for themselves." On the 26th he
issued an order, dated Morant Bay, to this
effect :

Lieutenant Brand, R.N., in addition to the
evidence which he gave with reference to the trial
of the late Mr. G. W. Gordon, was called upon to
meet many charges of harshness or impropriety of
conduct which had been brought against him by
different witnesses. At the outset be denied that
he had ever threatened Mr. Lake, the reporter for
the Colonial Standard, with a revolver, but ad-
mitted that when he saw his own name and that of
Lieutenant Essington mis-spelled, and himself
described as the commander of a wrong vessel, and
as p second lieutenant instead of a lieutenant, be
did call upon that gentleman at Morant
Bay, and informed him, apparently, even
according to his own account, somewhat brusquely,
that if he came there as a reporter he had better
report correctly. Lieutenant Brand was some-
what rigidly cross-examined as to the proceedings
of various courts-martial over which he presided, in
addition to that which heard the case of Mr. Gor-
don.
Lieutenant Oxley, of the Wolverine, who com-
manded the party of marines and blue jackets which
reached Stony Gut before Colonel Hobbs and his
detachment of the 6th, stated that on the march to
Essington be met between 20 and 30 negroes. Three
of them ran away and they were fired at, and he be-
lieved killed. This proceeding he justified by say-
ing, that one of the men had been atptured, and was
being passed to the rear, when he escaped from the
guard and jumped into the bush. The other two,
who du not appear to have been made prisoners,
would not stop when they were hailed, although,
as Lieutenant Oxley believed, they were near
eaongh to hear the order. He tried prisoners before
a esurt consisting of himself and two other officers.
One man who was sworn to as having been at the
attack on the Court-house at Morant Bay was shot,
two were flogged, two were handed over to the
police for detention, and those against whom there
was not sufficient evidence were taken to Morant
Bay, to see if more could be procured. At Stony
_ _ _ _

Officers commanding will respectively forbid any man to
enter a house in or near this place under say pretext what-
ever, unless accompaoied by a non-sommissioned officer. ,
Any man found doing so will beheaded over to the provost.
marshal for summary punishment. •
And on the 2nd November, in instructing Limits-
omit Niden, of the let West India Regiment, to
relieve Ensign Cullen at Golden-grove, he wrote :
It will be necessary for you to exercise strict control
over the men of your detachment, and not to permit any
men to quit his quarter for the pupate of foraging. he
Care to be to to preserve unanimity with the overseers
and all others. Yon are not sent to your post for the pur-
pose of punishing the negro, but to maintain order and I.
/gold protection to the inbahitants generelly. You
are not aethoriaed to indict summary punishment.
If any supposed rioter be sent as prisocer, to
you be good enough to inquire into the cue
—nod if you madder the same as of a serious nature,
send hire to my headquarters with the evidence against
_ _

Gut be took possession of Paul Bogle's chapel. A
shot was fired at his men from oae of the houses,
and a woman -named Livingstone, or Leman, who
was found in it, was made prisoner, and taken into
the chapel. She was not flogged in his presence,
but he saw her standing with the lamp-rope round
her neck. It was quite loose, and was so thin that
it would not have lifted her weight. The woman
Livingstone, it will be remembered, swore that this
rope was fastened tightly round her neck, and that
she was lifted off the ground till her eyes started,
and she was nearly choked; and Lieutenant
O'Connor, of the Royal Marine Artillery, who ac-
companied Lieutenant Oxley's expedition, now ad-
mitted that &ewes threatened that if she did not tell
where Paul Bogle was she would be hanged. She was
afterwards loosely tied under the eaves of the chapel,
where she was sheltered from the rain, and where
she cooked for the sailors. The chapel was full of

him. Yon will doubt's= have many prisoners brought belays
you, nod many poesibly through the mimes of the isba•
bitants. Petty rums of larceny I cannot interfere with—
they must hereafter be dash with by the cavil antholity.
. . . lam quite aware you will be much pressed to ad-
minister punishment to supposed criminals, and you meat
be firm, =impends, and judicious in all oommunications
with civilians.

soldiers and sailors, and there was no place for her
within it. Lieutenant Oxley admitted that he
took Paul Bogle's daughter as a guide, promising
her 1001. and the life of her husband, if ebe would
betray her father. He destroyed the chapel, and set
on fire eight houses in the upper part of Stony Gut,
by the orders of Colonel Hobbs.. Colonel Hobbs

-----
At Morant Bay he had altogether between 800
and 1,000 prisoners. Sometimes there were be-
tween 200 and 300 waiting for trial at a time. He
authorised his aide-de-camp and two other of
to inquire into cases, and, if they thought neces-
sary, to order the infliction of corporal punishment.
When a prisoner was released he received a pass, to
protect him against further molestation. He was
not present when Ramsay, as had been alleged,
ordered a soldier to give Richard Clarke 100 lashes.
When Polly Livingstone was sentenced to be
I flogged be, ordered that she should be released, and
at the same time informed the president of the
court-martial that he would not allow women to be
flogged. No woman was flogged under his orders, or
with his knowledge. He denied that he ever struck
Chi4holm while in prison. On the 20th October he
saw soldiers and sailors pelting men who had been
flogged with pieces of stick and bits of cocoa-
nut shells. He immediately stopped this pro-
ceeding, and gave notice that if it was done
again he would make a severe example of the
offender. It never occurred again. General Nel-
son's evidence in this respect was confirmed by
other officers who were examined upon the point ;
but it must be borne in mind that there is testi-
mony on the other side tending to show that the
running of the gauntlet was a more serious matter
to the victims, and continued longer than General

afterwards denied that he gave such orders, and
said that he left Lieutenant Oxley to act according
to his own discretion, merely informing him that
he himself intended to destroy the houses at the
lower part of the village. In addition to his evi-
dence as to the woman Livingstone, Lieutenant
O'Connor stated that on the march to Essington
a boy was shot by the troops while swimming
off to • boat this probably refers to the
boy Bonnyman who was alleged by his mother to
have been merely going to bathe ; the boat was
afterwards captured and some jewellery was found
in it. Mr. Godfrey Goodman, assistant surgeon,
R.N., wbo was senior surgeon at Moroni Bay
during the greater part of the time that flogging
was going on there, was examined as to the cha-
racter of the punishment inflicted. Re stated that
the instruments used were the regular cats with
three knots tied in them. The punishment was not
excessive, and he never had reason to interfere.
The examination of Lieutenant-Colonel Hobbs,
who commanded the detachment of the 6th Regiment
which marched from Newcastle to Monklande,
and afterwards to Stony Gut, occupied nearly a
whole day, and the colonel entered most minutely
into the circumstances attending almost every act
of severity which he performed while in the field.
Having left Newcastle at daylight on the 14th
October, he reached Monklands about ten o'clock on

•
Nelson seems to imagine. Mr. Marshaltech corn- the morning of Sunday, 15th, with 120 men and
plained to him that Ramsay had confined him be- six officers. Although he saw no rebels he had no
cause he did not give the countersign, and he issued doubt, from the reports which he received from
a memorandum severely rebuking the provost-mar- magistrates and others and from his own observe-
shaL He did not see Ramsay practise any cruelty tion, that the whole population about were in re-
towards prisoners. He was not at Morant Bay hellion. All the houses at Monklands were de-
when Marshall was executed, but he heard sorted, and those which were pointed out as the
of the matter incidentally. He requested Mr. residences of leading rebels were burned. He gave
Bicknall, the police magistrate, to inquire I orders then, and at all other times, that the
into the case, and as he reported that be I presence in the house of either • man
could not ascertain whether or not the or a woman was to save it from de-
story was true he looked upon it as a canard.' In 'traction. Colonel Hobbs admitted that
reply to Mr.[Gowie, General Nelson said that he at the time it caused him surprise bow the magi.-
did not think that the negroes were capable of testes could so asily select the houses of leading
organisation. He assumed that under martial law rebels ; but he does not appear to have made in-
the whole population of St. Thomas-in-the-East quiry as to what were the means of information
were rebels until they proved their loyalty. It was I which they possessed. At Mount Lebanon, a settle-
under his orders that tried and untried prisoners meat to which he marched from Monklands, he
were led out to witness the executions at Morant I saw • newly made earthwork. In the chapel were
Bay. The reason was to show the unfortunate I found half a dozen cutlasses, and two or three
people the examples which were being made ; and ' bludgeons; and upon the mud floor were marks
also that the gaols might be cleaned in their ab- that the building had recently been occupied by a
seam The general further stated that he oonai- number of men. The chapel was burned, as were
dazed the continuance of martial law after the pro- Also the houses of about twenty leading rebels.
clamation of the amnesty desirable. He thought After the destruction of the chapel, a body of
that it ought to have remained in force until every armed men, wearing what appeared to Colonel
traitor was arrested, so that all the primary Hobbs to be a uniform of some sort, were seen
offenders might he punished. running up the side of a hilL The hoops fired at
Lieutenant Adcock, of the 6th Regiment,' waa, them, and at the time boasted that they hod killed
it will be remembered, in command of a detach- ten er twenty of them. The colonel, however,
meat which marched from Morant Bay to • phase 'assailable& that the men tad merely dreppet into
I called the Post-office, and which at different timer the 'OWN Without being hart— On WNW. the

10th the troupe-were so fatigued that be- remained that Mr. Gordon bad presented to Nogle the lamp
at Monklands, and devoted the day to the reception:which lighted his chapel. Being Anted the oppor-
of evidence and the examination of pliscuier•itnnity of explaining that peonage in one of his de-
There was first a court of inquiry, and then smian:hes in which her said, with reference to An-
court-martiaL The only man executed that day ii demon, "A light rope tied to my stirrup, and a
was William Carr, who, after his conviction and" revolver held to his head now and then, make us
sentence, confessed that he had joined the rebels, II understand one another," be said that the rope was
and was guilty of treason. All the regular for- never tied to his stirrup, but was held by
mantles were gone through upon his, trial, which Sergeant Neale when Anderson went with
was a long and patient one, and the proceedings him and Geoersl Jackson to look for Bogle--in
were recorded and returned to the proper officer. which expedition Colonel Hobbs did not take part
He sent to Kingston on that day for instructions —rind that he never held a revolver to Anderson's
as to what be should do with his prisoners (num- ° head, but only told him that if he was guilty of
ben of whom came in after the execution of Carr), treachery be would be shot. The whole of the
because his impression was that martial law despatch was written in an easy and familiar style,
did not authorise his dealing with people who i which he should not have adopted bad be expected
were not found in arms and resisting. In that that it would have been published ; and upon
despatch he wrote to General O'Connor, that hel which he should not have ventured if it bad not
believed they " are all deserving of death, but Y been for the despatch of the 18th from Major Eli-
shrink from the responsibility of punishing them ington, which drew it birth. He had nine men,
without your own or the Governor's authority.lwbo bad been tried by court-martial, shot at Font-
He spared the lives of six men on account of their I bill, and their bodies banged to abearninMaclaren's
being caught without arms, and afterwards ex- chapel. The reason for that was that it was repre-
pressed his regret that he had done so. The cause sented that they had hatched rebellion in that
of his regret was, that after this act of clemency so building, and he thought that hanging them up in
many persons gave them selves up and hung about the it would make a great impression. At Cole,
cam ,p, that he was afraid their presenoe might expose fourteen men, who had also been tried by court-
his force to danger. After the Monday, he every day martial, were shot, but they were buried.
made excursions into the neighbourhood. On On the 21st October, be reoeived from
Tuesday, the 17th, he went with the troops to the , the deputy adjutant-general a despatch, in which
Somerset district, which be found "in a still more occurred this passage, "The major-general hopes
advanced stage of rebellion." In many of the you will deal in a more summary manner with
houses there were powder horns and blocks or ban rebels, and on no account forward say more pri-
of lead, as well as tea meeting tickets, upon the soners to this place" (Kingston). The reason for
back of some of which, he was informed, were adopting a peculiar mode of execution in the case
written the words, "to discuss politics." In of Arthur Wellington, the ring-leader of the
some of the houses there were fire arms, as Somerset district, was that he was said to be a
for instance, in one a pistol, in another a cannibal and an Obeah man, whom the natives
blunderbusa, and on a third a musket. The troops , believed to be invulnerable, that arsenic was found
also found some extempore drums, formed by in his house, and that a man named Fleming and
stretching goatskins over barrels. In consequence another confessed that he had employed them to
of this varied, and, in the opinion of Colonel Hobbs, poison the streams and the springs from which the
conclusive evidence of the guilt of their former in- soldiers must drink. Under these circumstances,
habitants, all the houses, except six or eight, he thought it desirable to make a striking example.
which were pointed out as belonging to loyal people, He therefore directed that Wellington should be
were burned. Probably thirty or forty were so de- tied to a tree at the side of a ravine and fired at
strayed. At Fonthill Colonel Hobbs saw a thumb- from the coffin barbecue opposite, at a distance of
screw or tourniquet, which he was informed bad 400 yards, by 10 or 12 men. In increasing the dis-
been used to compel people to take an oath binding tance he proportionately increased the strength
them to act with the rebels. In the afternoon aof the firing pirty. He also ordered the
party of about 70 rebels, armed with muskets and provost sergeant to have a loaded party at baud, in
cutlasses, attempted to surprise the troops as they order to put Wellington out of pain if his death
were preparing their dinner, but when the men was not immediate. The distance was almost corn-
tinned out the negroes fled, and, though the pulsory. He must either bare put the prisoner up
soldiers fired upon them, it did not appear at 40 yards, where no one could see him, or at 400,
that any of them were hurt. This was the where everyone could witness the execution. The
only occasion upon which the troops under Colonel firing party did not all discharge their rifle, at
Hobbs's command came into collision with the I once, some of the men appearing to dwell rather
rebels, and even in this instance there was no at- , long upon their aim ; but the man was struck, and
tempt by the negroes to make any stand against died at once. Immediately afterwards Colonel
the soldiers. After his return to Monkluids from Hobbs visited the prisoners, and be found them,
this expedition, 18 men were tried and Hogged, for the first time, terrified by what they bad wit-
Two of them received a hundred lashes each. They named. Previously they had appeared to fear
were constables who had deserted from their elle- flogging more than death. He did not believe
glance. They bad informed against a man who had that during his whole expedition he did anything
fifty lashes ; and after he had received his punish- so merciful as executing Wellington in this manner,
went, which be said be richly deserved, be pointed The effect was all that be could wish, and he was
out these two men as those who bad drilled him.l the same day able to release between 40 and 50
In the cases of men sentenced to corporal punish- prisoners. The cutting off of Wellington's
ment no regular court-martial was held. Colonel head Colonel Hobbs explained by saying that,
Hobbs himself represented the provost-marshal, as there were some remarkable peculiarities
but always consulted with two or three other about the forehead, be offered to allow the
officers. He never, be said, flogged a woman, doctor to make a scientific examination of it if he
although there were many among the prisoners. pleased, and a black man who was burying the body,
On the 18th he received an order from the misunderstanding big intention, decapitated it. He
deputy-adjutant-general to march to Stony Gut, immediately ordered the head to be buried, sod it
and he started the same night with 115 men. It was at once placed in the ground. The bodies of
was one of the most difficult marches that be ever all the persons executed were properly interred, but
undertook ; the rivers were down, and the'men bad one night there was a very heavy fall of rain, which
to cross the Johnson river 22 times. In many in- caused a land-slip, and exposed the legs and feet of
stances the fords were so deep that the troops bad two or three corpses which were buried near the
to be towed across by the horses of the magistrates, river. He immediately sent men to cover them up.
or the officers, who lent them for the purpose. At When the nine men were shot by the side of the
daybreak on Thursday, the 19th, he reached Chiego, trench no pickaxe or any similar instrument was
or Jigger, Fort Market. There eleven men were used to complete the killing of any of them. In
brought in by the constableo, who said that they conclusion Colonel Hobbs said that the whole num-
had been concerned in the riots at Morant Bay. He ber of prisoners whom be tried by court-martial was
called together &drumhead court-martial, and u he sixty-four, and that although os the 16th October
had no Bible with him, be swore both the members he was under the impression that twenty people
of the court and the witnesses in the Presbyterian had been killed on the maul, he believed that
fashion, making them hold up their hands when they at the utmost not more than twelve or fourteen were
took the oath. The volunteers and constables swore really shot. In answer to Mr. Gerrie, be said that
that them, men bad been concerned in the murder he had no instructions as to bow he was to treat
of Mr. Price and Baron Kettelholdt, and they were the population. He found that the rebellion was
all sentenced to death and shot. He should not got up under the garb of religion in one shape or
have dealt so summarily with these men, but should another ; and that was why in one of his despatches
have sent them to Monklands for trial, had it not he said that the only people whom be did not pity
been for the terms of the despatch which he bad re- were the religious leaders. He believed that Wel-
ceived on the 18th, and which, although it began lington fed upon human beings.
"My dear colonel," was signed " John Klkington, These are the defences of the officers. It will be
D.A.G.," and was oontainel in an official envelope, for the commissioners, for the government, and for
and which, therefore, be took to express the wishes parliament to decide how far they negative or ex-
of Major-General O'Connor. Colonel Hobbs plain the very serious charges which have been
showed some reluctance to put in this despatch, brought against some at least of them, and which
but after he stated that it induced him to deal have been supported by evidence from various
more summarily than he should otherwise have sources.
done with the prisoners brought in at Chiego Fort
Market, he was directed by the commissioners to
road it. The material sentences of the despatch, '
which was dated "11 a.m., 18th October," were
these :

Dear Colonel,—l send you en order to push on at once to
Stony Clot, but I trust you are there already. Hole is
doing splendid service with his mon about Manchloceal, and
shooting every black man who cannot give an account of
himself. Nelson at Port Antonio is hanging ldre fon by
court-martial. I hope you will not send us any prisoners ;
civil law can do nothing Do punish the black-
guards well.—Yours in haste,_ _ _

JOHN ELITYGTON, D.A.G.

Colonel Hobbs was reminded by Sir H. Storks
that in describing the execution of these men
in his published despatch, be said, "Finding
their case clear, and being unable either to
take or leave them, I bad them all shot ;"
and be then said that his reason for dealing
summarily with these prisoners was partly that be
could neither take nor leave them, and partly that
he bad as he thought been urged by the despatch
just quoted to take more extreme measures. The
march from Chiego Fort Market to Stony Gut was
au exceedingly difficult one, and when he reached
the latter place he found it already occupied by'
Lieutenant Oxley's force of seamen and marines.
He did not direct Lieutenant Oxley to burn any I
dwellings, but said to him, " I am going to burn
the houses as I return ; you can exercise your dis-
cretion what you will do." He did not destroy
more than a dozen houses. Stony Gut was in a
very dilapidated state, and appeared to be inha-
bited by a very squalid race of negroes. Colonel
Hobbs wan closely examined by Mr. Mauls as to
his reason for writing, in a despatch addressed to
Major-GeneralO'Connor, dated " Oct. 19, mid night
—" I have in my possession the most conclusive
proof of Mr. G. W. Gordon being the chief mover
in this rebellion, and have sent an express to
Morant Bay requesting him to be sent to me, if
there, for execution, and request that you will
give this publicity." He said that the testimony
lot about 50 prisoners coupled the name of Gordon
with the rebellion, but he did not associate that
name with the person of the late G. W. Gordon until
I Anderson, the man whom he afterwards unfortu-
nately described as Paul Bogle's valet, told him