The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-03-29 00:00:00

SUSSEX ASSIZES.

HORSHAM, MAICH 26.

THE KING r. srlieY AND UTLItitS.

Tbi, was an indiament against Mr.Sprey, a Lieu-
tenant of the Navy, and the Impress Officer at Little
Hampton ; Doke, a seaman ; and Wm. Martin, a
farmer; for a riot, assault, and false imprisonment,
in pressing two persons frbm Stott ington, who were
not liable to the tmpress st.xvice.
Mr. Seijeant SHEPIIA kin called the particular at-
teminn of the Jury to the circumstances of this
ease, inasmuch' as it involved the most serious con-
sequences to the liberty of all persons in the same
class of life with the persons whom he then repre-
scrited. The defendant, Sprey, was an Officer of
the Impress Service, and the rue he had to lay be-

fore then was, that of a wanton abase of the power
which had•been intrusted to him for the good and
service of his c,luntry. into an eiig,ne of private
revenge and onpre,sion. Ihe poor man, who now
stood as one of the Proset utois of this cause, for
another of them was Jea,f, wore both lahoui ing
wen in husbandry, and .iia• ot them, S. iwten, it was
supposed, had given infoi m ition against s tarp smug-
glers, particularly a,taill:r .1 ro.in .11 0,1 won! of
Set le, and in revenge they had him rn-
primed, entre wa 0,1 tome pr-t. 1,7 fcr
doinigitt, according. to ti.. la•v, of th,.! Impr •••• 1-
v.er, -Oran there w• . imprt.s,ang all) into then
in Court. Fle was snry to add, th.it
ti m con um-
stances it appeared, th I ailitena!it kn,
was aiding in the gratin of this private
and not in the bur of hi. rhity. it
'void 1 be is t videnc,, that atter the I're:sean,g try!

brnkcn int,) the plor min"; tott tgP, and
him Awl hiq 41.1 Aw. ay, the LionitenAnt WA; apple I
t And tol.l, th- he had tak..n 11.0 no.
ver co 4 in thr,r lives. But he retuscd to re
lets? than, ;4'•`: litt4.l,*l thf•lrl to he sent to Ports-

!win). It would I,' preyed too, that lie raid to
one of them, Mat it was Ps mm h s th,ft oi take
Masts.* Serie', tubs as to st.eal R sheep from the
field, and that the mail had bee:lime/Ow
against Set le. and ,s-as a man of bad character. The
Lea, re J Serjeam :viiimadvetted upon the equal
security which the law :}Forded Po the lowest as well
as to the highest It threw a hell; • and a wall round
the poor man's hut, whirl, it was as criminal to de-
stroy or break without legal cause, as yin.
Laing the sestorit) 01 the proudest mansion. •Ile
cottager might sleep as safely upon his pallet of
straw, as the Peer on his bed of down. The latch
of the cottage door must no more be lifted up hos.
tiled,' than the kslding doors of the palace be rudely
bum open. The law resented the violation of both
in ewe equal degree. He paid many encomium, on
die to al character, and although his instructions
huall• Allied him to state these charges against a
geatlemen of that profession, he declared at would
give him the greatest pleasure to bear them dis-
proved.
y Senter stated, that she was the widow of
Satter, ard that she had a son by a former m
rr-
riage, of the name of John Mawley. They lived
all-together on Storrington Common. On the 27th
of February last, her husband had gone to bed, at
eight o'clock, when their cottage was so: rounded by
eight of ten people, who burst into it. They drag-
ged her son, Mawley, from the chimney corner, and
hancleuted him. Two of them then went up stairs,
and brought down her husband ; one of them drag-
ged him down by the legs, and another by the hair
of his head, and then they handcuffed him also.
She saw the prison,7r, Duke. there, and W. Meetins
was another of them. There was al,ri amongst
them, a man of the name of Trevott, who was not
ID Court. They dragged bet husband down with-
out his clothes, but npon hikentreary they allowed
him to dress himself before they handcuffed him.
She went to the door, and there stood another man,
whp told her, be was the master of the people in
theist:lase, and that he had a pratiil, and would shoot
her it she made a noise ; they nest compelled her
husband and son to go with them. The next
day' she heard his a letter where her husband was ;
she immediately set out to Little Hampton, and
found him at the renderer !Arouse. a prisoner, and
he was Writ from thence to Portsniotith, awl did not
return for a fortnight and three days He was then
Berk ill, and she fetched him home from Arundel in
a cart. tic died in six days alter he got home.
She added, he had not been at won k for three wesks
before he was impi. sserl, having met an accident,
by basing been crushed on the side by a waggon.
Shehad known her husband many year:. anti he
never bad been at sea She was very positive that
the prisoner, Mectin, was one of the men who was
with the gang at her cottage.
John Hawley, the son of the last witness, gave
the same account of his being taken as his mother
had dote. As they were going up the bill to Arun-
del, theeng swore they would not have come down
the hill at they bad known that they should only
have had a lime brandy at -neighbour Serle's. At
Hampton they were confined iu an out-house be-
longing to NI: Sptey's house. He heard Mrs.
Sprey say, that his father had given information
against the smugglers, and that at was as bad as
stealing a sheep !rum the field to take Serle's tubs.
While lie was there he contrived to slip his hand from
the,bandcuffs and made his escape, but he was afraid
of returning to Storrington, and did not return until
after his father was dead. He said he had never
been at sea in his life, and he never heard that his
fate,-in-law bad. _ _ .

Hugh Fullar, a Gentleman Farmer, of Stoning-
ton, deposed. that is consequence of an applica-
tion by Sowten's wife, he went to Little Hampton.
—He saw Lieutenant Sprey, who admued that
had taken a man of the name of Sovrten, but said,
that it was more than his place was worth to give
him up. The witness told him the man wax ill, and
it might endanger his life ; he replied, he knew he
wain!, for he had ha* him examined, but he was
not dangerously la. He asked for what cause he
had been impressed ? The Lieutenant said he could
not tell. Upon *hose information ? he enquired.
He repliedNthat they never told the names of their
informers. The witness said, if be would not tell
the cause, nor the name of his informer, he should
conceive it originated in a dispute which the man
bad had with some persons who were reputed smug-
Jan had worked with him and his
ears, and he could not have done any
or they must have beard of it. The
, he understood that he was a very
and that the coeatty would be

glad to be clear Of him, and that, if there were
any others of the same son, he would cause theca
to be removed. lie added, that he should cause
him to be sent to the receiving ship at Portsmouth.
The witness Aft, wards wvote to Portsmouth, and
the man wac lrb^rate I.

Charles flatc(l.l«r, a tailor, at Storringron, stated,
that he was at th- 1... g of Mutton and Cucumber
puhlic-house, as, on the I Rth of Nlarch ;
the landlord asic(.o, whether they had not had a
couple of men pre,s-d ;torn Storrington, and point-
ing to Doke, who was in the house, said that he
WAS one of the 4,: VIA' Duke asked the witness whe-
ther he had any band in it? he replied no—and he
thought it a pity that the man was passed. Duke
replied, no pity at all ; and said, that " Old Ginger-
bread," meaning obi Serle, had promised to give
them 201. for the job, but he had not done it yet.
Thomas Broad, Comptroller of the Customs, at
Hampton, stated, that Sowten had given informa-
tion to them a few days before he WAS pressed,
against Seric, and some other reputed smugglers, in
consequence of which the Revenue Officers had
searched their houses.

This being the case on the p.srt of the prosecu-
tion. Mr. Serjeant &sr addressed the Jury in be-
h.iit- of Meetin only, and stated, that he should
prove his being at another place, when he was sup-
posed to he at Sowten's Cottage. Several witnesses
were called, who swore to his being at home.
\lr. Ks owl. vs, for Lieutenant Sprey and Duke,
c mtcn.icri, that there was no evidence to thew that
t!'e had sifted nenla jle, and that, al-
t lic might have been mistaken in impressing
a man not ,t seaman, yet, from policy, he ought
to keep a secret the sources of his information.
VVith re:,pett to Duke, he sh.ivild call witnesses to
that he used no violasce against the impres-
se:l persons...

lie accordingly called all the gang, who agreed
in stating, that they used no harsh measures against
Sowteii, and that they all went to Little ll.tn
very peaceably, Sowten declaring he was glad to
find that they were a pressgang, for he had appre-
hended that they were smisgglers, going to murder
him i■ a h"e place. They also added, that Lieu-
tenant Sprey hi! lame 'n coming from Hampton,
and was obliged to stop short, consequently did not
go with them as far Ns Sowten's cottage.
On the cross-examination of the witnesses pro-
due, d to prove Meetin's *Mb, they described him
as a farmer, but it appeared that his farm was not
above five or six acres, and that he had more horses
than acres, which some of them swore they believed
necessary to cultivate it.

Mr. Serjeant SHEPHERD commented with great
force on this evidence, in his reply ; and, after a
ver!, minute summing up, the Jury found all the
defendants gouty—finding the Lieutenant guilty of
the false imprisonment, and not of the assault.
The Judge immediately pronounced sentence,
which was a fine of 501. on Lieutenant Sprey, three
months' imprisonment on Duke, and twelve months'
imprisonment. and a fine of 1001. on Meetin.
Mr. Justice Hamra finished early on the Crown
side, and left eight prisoners for execution ; five
of whom were for sheep-stealing. One of these,
King, was himself a small farmer, and es-
teemed in the county to be a man of property.

glen ; for the nt,
Wier many years
thing very bad, o
Lieutenant said,
troublesome kilos
- -