The Sun.
London, England, 1801-07-23 00:00:00

INCENDIARY.

'William Cox was indided on the statute of the
gth Geo. L commonly called the Black Mt; for
feloniously, voluntarily, and maliciously setting
fire to a hovel of wheat, the property of James Hil-
ton, of Walkern.

The evidenceproduced proved, that the Prisoner
had cormerly been pr ogecuted by the Prosecutor.for
'stealing straw, in consequence of which, he had
been herd to-vow vengeance against him. On the
night the hovel was burnt) and just before the flames
burst out, the Prisoner was seen near it. He dis-
couraged those who were inclined to go and extin-
guish the flames, saying, " 'Let it burn down." He
lived within so yards of the. hovel.. In his
fence he protested his innocence.,
The Jury, pronounced him Guilty ; but in consi-
deration of the extreme sufferings of his wife and
children, who appeared in Court at the time, ago::
nizing every breast capable of feeling for distress,
they ventured to recOMmend the Priidrier to mercy.
.•
Mr. Justice GROSS 'lamented: that- they crime of
which the Prisoner had been .found guilty, shotild be
so strongly marked with ingratitude and wickedness,
as to render the humane-suggestions of the Jury, and
those of his own heart, fruitless and abortive, as there
was a duty which he awed to public justice paramount
to individtal feeling, and which demanded the for_
teited life of the Prisoner ; a duty.that compelled him
instantly to pronounce the dreadful _sentence the
Law had armed hira with, which, if he negleaed,
lit said, -he should consider himself as accessary
to the crime the Prisoner had committed. His
I;6rdship then addressed the Prisoner .as to
nature and magnitude of his offence, and to the
extreme dt4navity and viciousness which had Urged
him to it ; lamented there should be found a) hu-
man being so- lost, so inhuman to his fellow-
men, as wantonly .and -maliciously to destroy the .
means of sustenance which Providenc-e had so be_.
nignly blessed Lis with for our support, especially at
a time when the community were suffering under
considerable, privations. from the effeas of seasons,
which the country had not yet. recovered from--;
that it was a crime of the blackest dye, from
the punishment Df which the Prisoner could eriter-
tain not the smallest hopes ; therefore conjured him;
the short time he had to live and 'breathe in. this
world, that he would-employ that time in fervently
praying for that mercy in another world, which the
enormity of his offences had prevented him from re.
ceiving ip this.
Goodwin Thurgood and Balarock Plate, for steal-
ing -three quarters of barley,- the property of John
Pryor ; William Horton, for stealing a .quantity of
iron,. the, property-of Thomas Pickford ; and Wil-
liam Wise, William Thorby, :and William Brian-4
for stealing a truss, containing .two pieces of Irish
linen, the property of Thomas Watson?. 4trc seve-
rally found guilty, and ordered for .tranisportation.
Joseph Fryar was capitally indicted for breaking
and entering the dwelling-hoose of James Steptoe; at
Rickmansworth, and stealing.4os: in silver, a gui_
nea, half-a-guinea, and two seven-shilling .pieces
in gold, and zos. worth of copper;. but bring on,.
able either to prove the burglary, or
.to identify
more than one of the shillings, the. Jury found him
guilty of stealing only to the value of twelve-pence.
The As-sizes being. ended, the Judges quitted
this place for Chelmsford, leaving Cox for execu-
tion.

The following Jeu d'Esprit on a Lawyer, who.
'lately 'wrote a Political Pamphlet, and seized all'his
acquaintances with. Citations from it, was
'preparing it, is attributcc.ito Mr. JER.NINGHaiN.