The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-08-13 00:00:00

the engine houses the ilasee.of the-tancllc, be said,
could not reach' any thing hut stone ; it was fixed
about See or six inches oil the slate. acid was in
that sitnation about four minutes, and then blown
out • that he was in the engine-house near an hour
aim; the candle was blown out, and did not, during
that time, see-nor smell any fiee; he heard a noise
in the garsat, andaaw the prisoner come. out of it,
but he cannot 447 whether the candle was out when
the prisneser passed.
Upon his croo.examisation, he admitted that
they used. oil and tow when they cleaned the engine.
and that they lighted the candle with a chip ; he
also admitted that the tow was old and thy, and
that they had oil in a can : Did not know which
past of the mill was- first on fire; he stated that the
roof was upon wooden frames, and the candle placed
about half a yard from these frames.
John Smith, brother to the last witness, corroborat
ed his evidence, with the addition that they lighted
the candle at the boiler fire, and that the time be.
tween putting out the candle and the mill appearing
on fire, was about an hour and a half. Upon hear-
ing the houstkaeper cry out " fire," he went and
got some water, and went into the engine-house,
sand saw the top-ladder then on fire.
Upon his cross-examination, he said that he threw
the tow, which they had been using, down stairs,
and, for any thing he knew, 'he candle was left in
the garret after it was put out :—he acknowledged
there were sacking in the r eim, but none near the
candle; that they were made of hemp, and were
sough. He also acknowledged that, for near a fruit.
night after the fire had happe; ed, he and the other
two boys were suspeFted by the people in the town
of having set the mill on fire. He denied that he
had ever said that either he or Bramfit had set the
mill on fire.

Thomas Brunk, one of the boys who was clean-
ing the engine, corroborated the testimony of the
two preceding witnesses, with the addition that he
put out the candle ; that he n'pped it out with his
fingers, and wa► sure that he threw none• of the
snuff down ; and swore positively to the mil, ht•ing
on fire at both ends before it was on fire so the
middle.

Upon his cross-examination, he said the r,.
why he did not immediately pin out the candle ..„
became Smith said " we may be i.L need of it."
He ackno.tledged he saw his grandmother on the
day the mill was on fire, a. d that she did ask him
if they had been using a candle in the mill?— he also
acknowledged that he met Eliza ,eth Marden soon
after the mill was on fire, when he was going to his
mother's ; but he did not say to his mother or his
grandmother that he had set the mill on fire, and
that he never tallied with Robert Petty about the fire.
. .

George Beanland proved the inadlivity of the Pri-
soner during the tilt
him Thompson corroborated part of the first
Witness's testimony, :mod proved also that in the
course of some conversation with the Prisoner the
week following, he said, •• what do you think, I
have been at Kcightley, and they have got a report
there, that my master had taken me before Ali.
Busfield, the Magistrate, for setting fire to the
mill." •

Upon his cross-mintination, he admitted that he
had been to Butterfield, the wise man, to know who
had set fire to the mill.

Benjamin Minium proved the finding of pitch
among the ruins of the mill.
Benjamin Sutcliffe proved the same-
William Parrott, apprentice to Mr. Marshall, of
Bradford, proved that a girl came to buy 5 lb. of
pitch at their shop, a day or two before the fire hap-
pened, and had seen the girl since in the Calory of
Messrs. Peile and Thompson, and pointed her out
in the presence of Mt. Thompson.
Mr. Matthew Thompson proved, that he went
with the last witness into their firEtory, in order that,
amangst the girls in their employment, he might see
whether the girl who bought the pitch was there. In
the first room, where there are hetwei n twenty and
thirty girls, he did not point out any of them ; but
upon going into the second room, and, after examin-
ing the girls there, he fixed upon the eldest daughter
of the Prisoner, and said "this is very like her,butnot
so tall, I think " Mr. Thompson said he used no in-
fluence to inJuce the last Witness to point out the
Prisoner's eldest danghter:
The two &lighters or the Prisoner were then
brought to the box, that the Witness, Parrott, might
identify which of them bad bought the pitch ; but
he then pointed out the younger of them, and lbosiert
it was the girl that bought the pitch, hut did not
then appear s r tall, from the circumstance of wear-
ing pattens when the pitch was bought.
Mr. Bu Tteld, the committing Magistrate, pro.
duced the Prisoner's examination, which was rs.ad
in evidence.

James Page, an innkeeper in Bralford, proved
that ha was at the file until between one and two
o'clock ; and upon returning home the Prisoner was
at their house drinking some ale at that lime, and
said he would not go down to the mill any more to
endanger his life ; that it was sweeter to him than
the mill was to Mr. liamshDtham. He said," d --n
the mill, neither you nor I shall get any thanks for
going near it."
Here the evidence for the prosecution closed ; and
the Prisoner being called upon for his defence, said,
hr had been between eight and ten years serving his
King and Country, and had often hazarded his life
honourably, and hoped that he should have died ho-
nourably; but, owing to the wrigig suspicions of his
masters, he was brought there:so be hanged on a
gallows, which his masters had taken every pains to
do. He said that he was but once in the garret,
and not twice, as had been said, and that he went
to bring a couple of levers by order of the over-
looker, and at that time he saw the boys have a can.
dle, and tow near it, in the middle 01 the floor, and
that he did not leave the mill until about four o'clock,
when he met fur a pitcher of ale.
The .11. DC; upon asking if the overlooker was
then in Court, v..ts answered, he was ; and upon
being asked whether he had ordered the Prisoner to
go into the garret unthc morning of the fire ? he said,
" I ordered him on the Saturday night to go into
the garret the neat morning for a couple of levers
which wanted mending."
Mr. Matthew Thompson said, that he saw the
Prisoner ei:her coming or going from the mill,
between three or four o'clock, with a pitcher in his
hand.

Sarah Bramfit. grandmother to Thomas B:amfit.
aide she saw Thaw: Bmsmat after du mill was we