The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-12 00:00:00

BIRMINGHAM-SUNDAY.

. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
The deepest interest has been excited amongst
all
,ttasses of our fellow-townsmen in the fate of
th!: three unhappy men, Howell, Roberts, and
Jones, who now lie under sentence of death in
Warwick gaol, for their alleged participation in the
late riots and incendiarism in this town. This
Ea eling is considerably heightened by a report which
Is generally circulated and believed, that a project
is on foot for carrying the extreme penalty of the
law_ into effect in the Bull-ring or market-place, the
scene of the late disgraceful riots—a recommenda-
tion which is said to have originated with certain
military and official personages ; but for the sake
of humanity, and for the honour of the British
rtnY, we trust that such a statement has no foun-
dation in truth. The rumour is, however, in cir-
culation, and generally believed in Birmingham.
The dreadful sentence passed upon the prisoners
seems to have been altogether unexpected here, and
j by hone more so than the immediate friends of the
prisoners, and others who could hare given strong
evidence in their favour. As a proof of this I may
mention that Roberts's master, a respectable iron-
nilerchant of the town, refrained from going to
Warwick during the trials to speak to the general
character of the prisoner, under
the conviction that
the unfortunate man would have been acquitted,
having
-understood from his friends that he did not
take the slightest part in the transactions of the
night of the 15th of July, for which he has been
condemned to die. From the same feeling other
;witnesses neglected to attend and give evidence
In , favour of Roberts and the other men ;
but in order to remedy as far as human power (a I
do, the fatal error of which they have been guilty,
the!e parties are, I understand, engaged in collect-
lug a strong body of evidence, which will be tians-
, Ind Med to the Secretary of State, and I have no
„unlit, from its nature, and the circumstances of
the offence with which the prisoners are charged,
talc into
a single life having been lost) that it w i'l be
a'ren into favourable consideration. It may be
supposed by many, that if any evidence had existed
asil to the innocence of the prisoners, that it would
t,vebeen brought forward in their favour. Upon
lll." I would merely remark that, in the first place,
q. no one anticipated that they would have been found
guilty, and if found guilty, still less was
it-expected that would they have been sentenced
tto die. I would, in coneeetion with this sub-
ct, refer to • an observation made by M.
t• Hill Each the Recorder for the borough, in
hecharge to the jury on the occasion of opening
first Court of Quarter Sessions in Birmingham,
In the beginning of the last month. On that oc--
,easion he,rernarked, " It seems necessary, in order
to remove all obstacles to the course of justice, that
ne scat of justice should be nigh at hand to the
jured parties. Nor was this the less necessary
for the due administration of justice as regarded the
•aecused, for it had often fallen to his lot to bear a
prisoner on his trial asked by the Court if he bad
any witnesses to produce, and his ear had been
Panifully struck by the answer too frequently given
---„sometimes, perhaps, not with truth, but often-
nines, it could not be doubted, founded on truth
il"' I have witnesses who could speak in my
uehalf, but I have not the means of bringing them
before you ;' and when they considered that the
greater number of prisoners were from the labouring
classes of society, nothing was more probable than
that sometimes there was a failure of justice from
the circumstance, that the labouring man had not
the power of -paying the expenses of his witnesses,
they being fixed to the spot by the same poverty,
which prevented him bringing them into Court."
I'deeply regret to say that the observations here
quoted were borne out with melancholy truth in the
'ease of at least one of the unfortunate men—
Howell, I believe, whose brothers went to Warwick
with the view of giving important testimony in his be-
. half—but being poor men, after remaining two days
at the assizes, in the hope that the trial would
have come on, finding that their means of support
were exhausted, and being without money or
Ifriends, they were obliged to return to Birming-
ham, and leave the unfortunate man to his fate. A
memorial, extensively signed, has already been for-
warded to the Secretary of State, praying for a
commutation of the dreadful sentence, at the Lead
i of which are, I understand, the names of most, if not
all, of the individuals who have suffered most in the
lota of property by the late riots, praying:that the dis-
graceful proceedings may not be rendered still more
abhorrent to public feeling and the growing opinion
of the country, by the shedding of blood. Another
petition, of which the following is a copy, was this
day extensively signed by the female part of many
of Elie congregations in the town, and is appro-
priately addressed to her Majesty :
• " TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT
MAJESTY,
cc The humble Petition of the undersigned
' Ladies, inhabitants of the borough of Birming-
ham,
14sPEcTruLLY SH EWETH,
r_", That the following persons, Jeremiah Howellf,
" -is Roberts, and John Jones, having been
iund guilty
•riotous of participating in the disgraceful and
bor9l,BlProceedings which lately took place in this
. and sentenced to expiate the offence
by the forfeit of their lives, that your
petitioners offer no apology in favour of the
• criminal proceedings for which these unhappy men
are condemned,Throne but venture to approach the
9 earnestly to beseech your Majesty to
exercise towards them your Royal prerogative of
mercy. your your
would humbly urge that
the ends
by banishmentbo.
eo i
nnflos
rt
te a
government may be fully realised
a source of t 0
00f death, and that it will be
reflect that th •
_ e time for repentance,
your Majesty, hereafter to
the goodness of which, through
been the Almighty, might yet have
granted to these poor men, will not have been
shortened L _
uy the execution of the awful sentence
Under Which
they now lie "