The National Register.
London, England, 1820-04-17 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER•

thyself.
Bruce—Your Lordship has said that the innocent
man has nothing to fear. I say now, as I have said
before, I am not afraid of the semence which you are
about to pronounce upon me. I can face my God, and
with a clear conscience ; fur I ant innocent of the crime
laid to my charge. lam ready to die , but if I die, I
die innocent. I shall not be affected by your seoteliee,
my Lord ; it is the law, and I will submit, I mast
subunit, to it. But I shall appear with confidence and
composure before any God; and any sentiments will be
found the same at the hour of my death, if I am to die.
The Chief Justice then addressed the prisoners at con-
siderable length, and concluded by saying—" the sen-•
troce upon your crime is death ; and it is the firm deter-
mination of the Judges of this Court that your sentence
1113,,,iimis, shall be carried into execution on Saturday
next—a period more early than is ninal. Prisoners,
volt have not long to live : the period of your days is
fixed; and 1 would entreat of you to pass the small re-
mainder of your time in I ble prayer to the Great
Disposer of all things, to whom alone you can now
look for pardon. In this world the hopes of both are
Closed. The sentence of the Court upon you both is,
that you be taken from hence to the place from whence
you came, and from thence to the place of execution,
where you he hanged by the neck until you are dead ;
and the Lord have mercy on your souls!
Maginnis.—Thank you, my. Lord.
The prisoners appeared quite unmoved by the sen-
tence pronounced upon them. Bruce spoke and con-
ducted himself altogether with the most perfect compo-
sure. Ills language and manner were elegant.
TRIAL OF SIR CHARLES WOLSELY. BART- AND
OF JOSEPH HARRISON, FOR SEDITION.
The Court was excessively crowded at an early hour,
with the expectation of hearing this trial. Mr. Pear-
son, of the Oxford circuit, attended to conduct Sir
Charles Wolsely's defence, Mr. Park of the northern
circuit was with him. Mr. Dennison of Liverpool, was
his attorney. Sir Charles, who had arrived here on
Sa-
turday night, attended early in Court. After some fe-
lonies had been tried, the case was called about eleven
o'clock, and eight gentlemen of the special jury an-
swered to their names.
Mr. Attorney-General for Chester, prayed
a tales; and four common jurors, were sworn, to com-
plete a jury.
Mr. Lloyd stated the indictment to be against Sir
Charles Woisely, Bart., and Joseph Harrison, school-
master, on two grounds. The first count charged that
they had excited to tumult and insurrection, by holding
a numerous meeting on the 28th of July, and addressing
seditious words to them, calculated to bring the govern-
ment into hatred and contempt. The second count
charged that they had agreed together to stir up the peo-
ple to tumult and insurrection, and to excite hatred and
contempt against the government.
Mr. Benyon then rose to address the Jury on the part
of the prosecation, and had proceeded for some time,
when-.
Mr. Pearson (Connsel for Sir Charles Wolscley) re-
quested that all witnesses might be ordered to quit the
Court.
The Justice.—Let the witnesses on both sides
leave the Court ; and let notice he given that no winless
who lemains shall be permitted to give evidence.
Proclamation to that effect was made.
Mr Benyon continued, and in the course of a very
long speech took a general review of all those occur-
retsces which it was meant to prove in evidence.
The first witness called was
John Kenyon Winterbottom, examined by Sergeant
Cross, said he was a solicitor in Stockport. He saw a
public meeting in the town of Stockport, between one
and two o'clocsk on the QBth of July last. He attended
in a building ( Sunday-school), near the meeting. The
place is called Sandy draw. He should think there were
4,000 or 5,000 assembled. Ile was not so near as to
observe whether they were strangers or inhabitants.
They were quiet at first. Most of teem had sticks, which
appeared to have been newly cut from Ite(l,4es. They
were not walkinsticks. The population is upwards of
2,000. There were hustings or a scaflidd. Several per-
sons were on the scaffold. Sir Charles was pointed out
to him as one: he knew Mr. Ilarrisoo, and saw him
there. Mr. Harrison taught a school there. Sir Charles
had no connexion that ate knew with Stockport. The
first thing he observed was a hissing, by the whole mul-
titude. The next thing he übsersed was rassiog some
resolutions. There Was a chairman, he believed Sir
OWLS \Volseiey. He should think they had some
persons of common sense in Stockport olio could act as
chairmen; that there W•l3 nu oecessity our sending for
Sir Charts: he heard all distinctly; be only heard Sir
Charles saymass tug the ri!SO:1160111;
Ire was in an upper-room, ahoat 1001 yards
!iota, lhr
hod I.!, their 11313.13; he S•inf them
held Up their sucks,affil eonjec!tuu dlt was on account
of the e made by playmg on an organ. He was
there to st e, not tali(' a pact; he saw no respectable in-
-s;:btk • at the tone lie and
ic.l per:evil secure, and ctitertauLl mu a pprelicaision
for p. ace or ploperty. Ile continued to feel that con-

fill. nce throuelolut the day. Ile conceived that if they
continued together till night, it would he d-ngerons.
lie beard Harrison say," The House of Contea-4 was
the people's servants ; that it was as absord to petition
them as it would be for a master to petition his groom
for his horse. He said that there uas a harrier between
the throne and toe people, which must he removed either
by foice from heasen or lull, in order that they might
see whether a man or a pig %vas upon the throne." lie
thought there was lanenicr. Y), expression of derision
was general. Ilarriieilt said, " The united will of the
people seas sure to pre% d. It Was an axiom that could
not be confuted. It ineent be necessary in some cases
to petition the House ut leeds, who were, by the eon-
%Litanies, placed in a different situation to the House of
Commons; but in the present corrupt state of things it
was useless, and he wen id nut recoinmend it." He did
not remember any. thing else. The discourse was cer-
tainly received with applause. Sir Charles IVolseley
was on the same stage, lan two yards from Harrison.
Cioss-examined by Mr. Pearson.—He was perhaps
less, perhaps more than WO yards distant. There were
women, about WI) or 200. Perhaps there were children,
he did not see any. Ile woeld nut say that there were
not dimly children playing on the side on which he was.
When he spoke ot stieka he meant that the whole
meeting had sticks. The stash were held up only once
He could not take upon himself to say, looking at a
meeting of 6,000 persons, what proportion held up
sticks. He lived with Isis father and lister. They had
not been removed from the town on that day ; no old
or feeble person had been removed ; no shop had been
shut, no alarm was expressed. The organ was in the
room in which he was. He did not know that a chair-
man had been sent fur. He had not a remarkable me-
mory; he was not accustomed to attend meetings. His
atteotion was not particularly called to Mr. Harrison.—
He heard him very distinctly.
Here Mr. Pearson read a speech of Harrison's from
a newspaper, and asked the witness to repeat it after
him.
Mr. Seegeaut Marshall said, that it was not proper to
read that.
M. Pearson said he would have taken any other
piece of writing as soon. His object was to try the wit.
tress's memory.
WitlieSS said, he could not repeat it. He saw nothing
in the laugh to distinguish it as derision. He heard all
the speakers, but none of them distinctly, except Mr.
Harrison.
Cross-examined by Mr. Harrison—He took notes on
that day ; he had not got them now. The expression
indisdnetly' applied to others; he heard Mr. Harrison
distanctly. .Mr. Harrison was one of the whole--a pro-
minent one, he had heard enough. He had thought
Mr. liari .son write figuratively, but did not understand
his figures. lie thought the word pig was mentioned
to excite contempt of the throne and King. He had
read in a quotation that Mr. Burke had called the people
the swinish multitude. lie had heard that a teacher in
that school had said to the poor boys, if they attempted
to be rich, they would ride in their coaches like pigs.
Re-examined—Willan, Lewis, Fitton, and Knight,
were there, 14011 C of them inhabitants of gtock port.
Thomas Bolion examined by Mr. Ashworth.—Lired
in Stockport. He saw numbers of cou'itry people
come into the town on the 28th of July. Ha was lately
from London ; be had been I I months ia Stockport.
He thought those that passed his house were country
people. They had nothing more than usual. Some
had walking sticks, and were walking with them. He
was at the meeting. He had before seen Sir Charles
Wolseley go up John-street directly towards Sandy
Brow. A young gentleman named Less is walked arm
in arm with him. He saw a flag at the meeting; on
one side was " no corn bill," on the other" universal
suffrage, and vote by ballot." He had seen it first furled,
and when Sir Charles arrived it was lowered. lie was
first 30 yards from the hustings, and he then got within
ten yards. He knew the Rev. Mr. Harrison, IVilan,
Fitton, Knight, and Johnson, whom he saw on the
hustings with Sir Charles Wolscley ; Harrison at one
time stood next to Sir Charles. Both appeared to bear
part in a conversation that was going on. Sir Charles
on his arrival was received with loud illiZZ3s. Great
numbers of the people were townsmen: he saw unosid
sticks: they were not more nuinelous allow the hust-
ings than he should have expected. He stood anionget
the crowd, and gained high ground when he could.
He saw no chair. The first attention be paid was to
Sir Charles NVolseley ;he heard what he said. He made
a minute about an hour after, and could stete that
Sir Charles had said whet he had there noted, lie was
allowed to read "He was happy in addressing the
people of Stockport from Sandy Brow; it was a place con.
secreted to liberty by the absence of friends he would be
happy to meet there; and he trusted Sandy Brow won'u
be more famed in history than the field of Waterloo.
Was there c peace-officer present, he trusted tii!y came
to keep the peace, and not to break it. But was there
any of your spies, your note-eikine or black-hook gentry,
tell your employers, the tools of a Castlereagh and Sid-
I mouth, that I hate them, that 1 detest them—that 1
I eternally execrate them. Ile was proud to say, that he
was at the taking or the Bistde in France—he should
be happy to be at the taking of a liastile in England."
(Ile saw nothing but the action of speaking with force
and energy) " And were all hearts but as firm in the
cause as hits own, they would seem put an end to the
resent tyrallOy and cotruption." He beard Mr. Har-
rison, but took no tare of it, and now recollected no-
thing of it. Before be nail gone to the meeting he saw
a man taken to a druggist's slug) with his head very cote
eilerably lin:en—Mood flowing dowii li:s cheeks.
Cross-examined by Mr. Park.—The Matt had been
wounded before Sir Ciarles ratite to the meeting. He
Was a cotton-brok.e. Ile felt not the least alarm. Ile
armaimal at the ilicvliog wo mute. The meetieg dis-
persed quietly. Ile had put down only a small pert of
Iris specter. it was not all uttered ia the saute commu-
ous part. His address wa, generally to the people to be