The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-25 00:00:00

THE JVEST GLOUCESTERSHIRE
ELECTION RIOTS.

On Friday the trial of the body of men charged with
rioting at Bridgegate, Gloucestershire, on the occasion
of the late contested election, beating the police, obstruct-
ing the voters on their way to the poll, and extorting
money by intimidation, came on before the Gloucester-
shire court of quarter sessions, and created intense inte-
rest throughout the county. On the bench and in court
were the Hon. Grantley Berkeley, the unsuccessful can-
didate, and there was a numerous attendance of magis-
trates. The prisoners arraigned, and against whom true
bills were found were 21 in number. Their names were
Joseph Wiltshire, Philip Britton, Thomas Wilcocks,
William Stone, Joseph Franklin, Richard Williams, Si-'
moon Weaver, Joseph Iles, James Goodwin, William
Brain, Benjamin Miller, Jonas Davie, George Davis,
William Burchell alias Lovell, George Hendy, Charles
Lovell, Robert Freake, David Arnold, Aaron Rogers,
Thomas Godwin, and William Wilcocks. They were
charged with having, on Monday, the 19th of July last,
at th parish of Wick and Abson, together with divers
others evil-disposed persons, unlawfully, riotously, and
wantonly assembled to disturb the peace ; and that they
then and there made a great noise and disturbance, and
assaulted and beat Thomas Hazen, Henry Knight, E.
Broad, W. David, Thomas Wood, Charles Breakspear,
William Hardy, and Rum: ey Laughby, of the Glouces-
tershire police force, while in the execution of their
duty; and also assaulted and beat F. B. N. Dickenson,
Esq., one of the magistrates for the said county. Two
other prisoners, William Osborne and William Jenkins,
who are charged with highway robbery and extorting
money from the voters, are left for trial at the assizes.
The prisoners all pleaded not guilty. Mr. Skinner and
Mr. Pigott, were counsel,for the prosecution; and Mr.
Cooke and Mr. Powell fur the prisoners. ,The _evidence
was very voluminous, but the principal facts' as deduced
from the testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution
—chiefly-magistrates and policemen—may be put in a
narrative form. It will be remembered that at the elec-
tion for the western division of this county, party feel-
ing ran very high. The candidates were the old mem-
bers, Mr. Hale, in the Conservative interest. and the
Hon. Grantley Berkeley in the "Liberal Protection "
interest. The latter gentleman being opposed by Mr.
Nigel Kingscote in the Liberal and free-trade interest. On
the first polling-day, Monday, July 19, a large body of
men armed with bludgeons and hurdle rails,
_ attacked the
committee-room of the Protectionist candidate, throwiug
stones and breaking the windows. There wore only a few
police:on the spot, and after making an ineffectual attempt
to disperse the mob, which, according to the account of
one of the officers, numbered a thousand people, they
were obliged to beat a retreat over the fields, and were
followed-a considerable distance across the country by
the mob, who pelted them with stones, beat them with
sticks, and tore the clothes of some of them to rags. Mr.
Mirehouse, a magistrate, read the Riot Act, but the mob
paid little attention. Some of the police were carried
away for dead, but subsequently recovered. The police
called upon the people to "aid and assist" them, but they
held aloof or refused. The conduct of one woman, how-
ever, the wife of a policeman, named George, was must
courageous. Placing herself between the mob and the
police, she fought nobly in behalf of the civil force, and
kept them back, for they were sufficiently manly to
refrain from striking a woman. The magistrates pre-
sent, Messrs. filirehousrs, Dickenson, and Hughes, sent
for the military, but they did not arrive ; and the mob
was quelled soon after the disappearance of the police.
Some of the snob had yellow. cards, Mr. Kingseoto's
colours, in their hats. The prisoners were marked by
the police, bat were not apprehended until Sunday night,
the 15th of August, a month after the election. The
trial was brought to a close at S o'clock on Saturday
night. The jury, after a ratiezat investigation, found the
prisoners guilty of a clnamon assault only. The Chair-
man sentenced two of the prisoners, Osborne and Jen-
kins, to 12 months' imptisoutnont ; 13:um, Davis, and
Lovell, 9 months ; T. Wilcox, Britton, Iles, Jones,
Davis, Arnold, and Wiltshire, fi months ; and Treake,
Rogers, two Godwins, W. Wilcox, Miller, Houdy, stone,
Burchill, and,Weaver, 4 months' imprisonment.