The Sun.
London, England, 1809-05-24 00:00:00

J.imdrc4.

, .
TRIAL OF TX° NEGROES fOrt •REEttLLIN.,
Kr \ GSTON,APRSL 1, 1,809.—A Slave Court as.
• sembh d at t',e Court 'House this day, for the trial
of Sam? i) John and Peter Watkins, fOr being con-
cerned n.a rt.hellious conspiracy against ,the White
Itibrni:ares of this Island.
• (.);1 I: e prisoner; being put to the bar, and pre-
vious ttr) the iudiament being 'yead,- the Solicitors
(Messrs. G vies and M`Driugal) -concerned for them,
look an ohje-tion to the testimony of George. Bur-
gess,who was 10 he ad•fnced aS evidence against the
prisoners, he having..been tried by a Court Martini
for repeated desertion,. tound,guilty, and :ondemned
to suffer death, consequently was not a competent
witness until his vatclon, under the King's sign ma-
-1301, should be. produced.
. Mr. WHYTIS, toe liecorder of the City, felt it his
duty to state, that the King'• siett manual under the ,
Great Seal must c,...rtainly'be prodoc,d to fender him
a competent witness, and cited several aueliorities
iron, Erst's Rules of Evidence. • • -
A message w accordingly dispatched to Major.
General Carmichael, at 'Gray's Penn, requesting he
would attend the Court ; but the. Gew.ral being en-
gaged preparing dispatches to be sent to 'England
next morni 1)) tire ship General. Miranda, lie seta
his aid-de-camp, Major Twiggovith his commission,.
and the pardon of George Burgess, hoping that as
the Mitj r could prove his handi.writing, the Court
would dispense wiih his arrend,ince.
The Major-General's cOttunission,, under the sign
manual, was then intducect.
Mr. GyLVI, 1,1 the luisoners-, conceived it ne-
cessary that the Secretary at War's hand-writing
should be proved, as the •eommission itingbt be a
forgery.
Mr. WHYTE, however, clearly chewed horn vari-
Ns authorities, that the commission under the Great
tr'Se.iir or even the Secretary's Orstice, did even the City
'Pi, may be received in evidenee. Th'e commis-sion
Was admitted.
iThe SoLicrroa for the Clio Wl4 then read the in-
di titreirt, wriielt chaiged the prisoners with being
concerned in a rebellious conspiracy, subversive of I
the laws of their country, by intending to mtrder
the white inhabitants of this Island, and burn the
towns about the end of March, &c. I le. t hen short-
ly recapitrilated to the Jury the evidence that would t
be addtrer,..d to wove these ta,Js, and e%plained the
putirshritent which the law intlicled for the crime. ,
Major Twig. was •called to produCe the pardon
and prove the Gelieral's hand-writing._
Ur. GyLas took an obieetiotr to this .mode of
proof,
as according to the .rules of evidence, the
1 ijor-Genetal betug its the island, it was necessary
that tr should pi.ovq 104 own s:gnature. •
Mr. WHyre coneedegi this point, arid a mes-
tagi was Ik'lll 13 the Gen, rah, requesting his at-
tendance,- and in abater halt an boor he appeaTd in '
Court, produced the radon, and proved his signa-
Ore. ' •
George Burgess was then called and sworn. ,
Mr. G Y LE'S' here required, .previous• to his going
'on with his restim,iiy, thus lie should first be sworn
also io answer the Solicitors for the prisoners all such
`,questions as they might put to him, which was ac-
ordingly done, and Iry Fut:Lead to examine him as
• tottisesr,
• Q. Are you not tti be, or, °neatened to be flogged,
if Par do i.ot tell ilw sumo story here as,you told .1
before the Niagj.tr,ues ?-=-.A. I was not threat reel,
but Was told, by M-jw -General, Carmichael to tell
ail the trtuh, and .nott.ing but the tenth.
Ala )ou a clnistlan ?-e-A. I am ; I was anis--
ter* at Antigua.
Giorgi? Burgess—Knows tire prisogers at t Bar,
but i,PI best acquainted witlt Sambo John; be be-,
lOnged to a society,- of which the latter kvas at tire
bead. About two weeks and a halt before he was
uppreheaded, on a Sattirday niryr he came (urn!
47panish rAlowts, aod fell in whir, rat GreensVich
negro, named 'norms, whom he had known. sinoo
I.IC Was a-drummer ; John' iii co:fpaoy•;
tnas asked !inn 'to drink wilts them, w Inch
*hen they ittfot med him they were making up a so,
ciety. Some evening met Samba John and Thomas F
at tile place where- the society mustpredevery day :.
they till three sat do‘in under a timerrind tree;
SamboJohn mixed a cocoa•nnfof wog, anddrank—
I wish it was timid instead grog.". Witness
louttediately observed, that this was an invroper
Word ; that be had oft, is known persons taken up j
io Trinidad, for such expressions by. General Pii.Ari,
and hung for it. Samtio John immediately replied
to wittiest, that be was too inelUiSiliVe and forward
in other people's affairs, .and s irl, that " liberty is
good, arid lib.erty' he or they woulditave ; olio; that 1
wit°9 they feld got lid of their present trittAcrs,.they
I.asity ;et rid or the rest." Witriesc replied—
I eth, it Wa.E, but that wit; a Vel'jr illlfiirycr way to
;rt I.4)erty ;" on which Sainho John ags'io said,'
that would haYe tt.',' 011 crAning dovvn Upper
etgrqtrt:et, oppo;ite a 'Mr.. Mill ward's riquor-strop,
att'io -John cbser.v.cd; poitilio to its "'this itS rile
I
11.%)jgi't mean to begin, aiid wi:en We do begin we
a great tb assist us." They all three
togeth-r, ,and .8t SO: Z.:3 *Corner, 'John '
631'4; 't 11,;aSe
.Gorl r lace. wili soon be' like St:
4.Art4itir.o." mots; inked him h0.:06, he thought it
‘,‘"l2l.ti he n, kJ-creed, that it bad for some
rhe past Leo ill of the peottle Of co-
but no v. they are getting to leeward of the
'white people, who would ;,-,oon ;:et the bettr of
thorn. Sambo John .-said. Ido not think the
whin people would be able to get the butler of us." j
,mess then observed to him, that if -you get it
liland), the wnite people will get it away from
Yoh 71gain.; to which Satnho John " when
One they had got ir, it world not be easily taken
frcim them.l Witness overheard Sarnbo`John and
Thomas conversing abode going to Greenwich, but
did tot distindly hear wharthey said-, on repeating
it to Thomas, .he told him they were going there to
get' some powder, when witness told them it was
needless 'for them to go to Greenwich, as he had
gage 00 duty there, and kneW it was too well taken
care of, 'and you will only get yourselves and others
149'1". Sienna John sroke in French to_Thornas;
wltt/e4 noderstands' it, but John' did not know lie
did• "-Samba .Jobe had coniusarid of a party, saw
them to the ()id Road with sticks exercising like
4°lti4tri, .101111 giv nig the :-word of conunand as an
Offiver—he. gave the word " march ".-..there were

• is was undetstood to Jae meant tin blood of white
; • plu. •