The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-12 00:00:00

SPECIAL. COMMISSIONS.

SALISBURY, jA !,T4 10.
At nine o'clock this irnorning Mr. Baron VAUGHAN,
Mr. Justice PARKE, Mr. Justice ALDERSON, Lord RAD-
and T. G. B. ESTCOUR.T, Esq., took their seats in
the Nisi Prius Court.
As it was understood that the sentences were to he
passed this morning, the moment the doors were opened
the Court was crowded to excess.

Immediately after their Lordships had taken their seats
;he following prisoners were placed at the bar, and sen-
;enced by Mr. Justice At.naßsCoN as follows

Joseph Chubb, seven years' transportation for the first
offence, and seven years for the second offence; Elias
Kiddie, Charles Lane, Levi Miltird, Thomas Foot,
Shadrach Amos, William Hibbert, Joseph Moon, Richard
Groves, J. Pinchin, and S. Moon, 15 months' imprison-
ment and hard labour ; Charles Kimmer, 12 months' and
hard labour ; Wm. Every, Thomas New, Elias Thorn,
Samuel Rymond, and Thomas Kimmer, nine months
and hard labour ; George Green, T. Palmer, J. Tucker.
William Pottle, W. Bridges, J. Cook, C. Hale, John
Harvey, and Job Hailstone, six months' imprisonment and
hard labour.

The whole of the remaining prisoners who had not been
sentenced were then placed at the bar. Many of them ap-
peared to feel their situation deeply. They remained
at the bar some time, during which their Lordships were
in consultation. Lush leaned over in an agony of grief,
and many others sobbed aloud. After about a quarter of
an hour Peter Withers, 23, and James Lush, 40, were
ordered to he placed in front of the other prisoners. The
latter then became in the most distressing state ; he ap-
peared to have been an agricultural labourer, and did not
seem to have that spirit of ferocity which it was said be
had evinced.

Mr. Bishop then addressed the prisoners Peters Withers
and James Lush as follows :—" You have been convicted
of felony; what have you to say why the Court should not
give you judgment to die according to law 7"
Before the prisoners could make reply,
Mr. HENRY BALL rose and said—My Lords, I appear
before your Lordships on behalf of Peter Withers, and
have humbly to move that your Lordships will be pleased
to respite the judgment against him until the opinions of
the Learned Judges can be obtained whether, upon this
indictment, and the evidence given, the prisoner was pro-
perly convicted.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN, after hearing the arguments of
the Learned Counsel, said, we think there is some founda-
tion fur the present application. The Act is highly penal,
and ought to be construed strictly. The Court are dis-
posed, under all the circumstances stated by the Learned
Counsel, to grant the motion, and to give the prisoner the
benefit of having the objection submitted to the considera-
tion of the Judges.
The Learned Judges having then put on their black caps,
and the two Commissioners their hats,

Mr. Baron Vaucitats thus addressed the prisoners at
the bar :—I now address myself to you, Peter Withers.
and to you, James Lush. You, Peter Withers, have been
convicted upon the most satisfactory evidence, to my mind,
of having maliciously wounded Oliver Calley Codrington,
with intent to do him some grievous bodily harm, and to
resist your lawful apprehension. You, James Lush, have
been convicted of robbery from the person of Bartlett
Pinnegar. To you, Peter Withers, I first address myself.
Your Counsel has suggested every objection in your favour
that ingenuity could assist him to furnish, and the Court
being anxiously desirous to give every weight to an objec-
tion coming even at the last moment, have determined to
give von the opportunity of having the opinion of all
the Judges upon the point of law now presented ; at the
same time I am bound to tell you that it is my opinion, and,
I believe, the opinion of those with whom I am associated,
that you must lay no stress upon the observation on that
point. It appears that on the 234 November a mob of 40 or
50 persons assembled with the intention of committing a
felonious act. The Magistrate comes forth and remon-
strate s mildly with this assembly for the purpose of arrest-
ing their object ; and it is then observed that you not only
continued to avow your purpose, but spoke of the Magis-
tracy in terms which marked your intention to put down
the Magistracy. I shall not pollute my lips with the
terms you expressed when remonstrated with, and saying,
" we'll have blood or money," accompanying your first in-
tention of injuring property by committing another act, of
felony ; for demanding of money with menaces and threats
is of itself a felonious act, subjecting the offender to trans-
portation' for life. Under these circumstances the Ma-
gistrate says, " I shall consider you as my prisoner," and
with that he endeavoured to lay hold of you ; and those
persons who were associated with you seemed bent on
your rescue. Under these circumstances it is that
Mr. Baskerville desires Mr. Codrington to assist in
the apprehension of you, and which was his duty. Mr.
C., therefore, in obedience to the command received from
the Magistrate, makes his attempt to secure you, and
upon that you proceed to assault the Magistrate with a
sledge-hammer, which you had brought with you, as you
avowed, with the intention of breaking the threshing-
machine, and it seems you would commit any other ag-
gression when your blood was heated. The hammer is
immediately made use of by you to injure Mr. Baskerville,
and thrown at him, and he having the good fortune to
escape the blow, it is again picked up by you and thrown
at Mr. Codrington—a large hammer more than Sibs. in
weight, which it was impossible for any person to suppose
he could throw without contemplating some grievous
injury. This is the outline of the facts, and it is upon
these facts that you present yourself for the judgment of
the Court ; and though there is always the strongest desire
on the part of his Majesty to fulfil the compact which he
entered into with his people, that he would execute judg-
ment with mercy, and which I hope is engraven in our
hearts : yet it is not in indiscriminate mercy that good is
obtained—there is a merciful consideration also due to the
public, and it is mercy to the public to make examples in
aggravated cases.
" With respect to you, James Lush—(here the groins
of the prisoner were dreadful),—you stand convicted sf
robbery from the person of Bartlett Pinnegar ; and it is
one of the most atrocious cases which has occurred dur-
ing the pre sent Assizes. (Here his Lordship stopped
for some minutes.) James Lush, whatever our private
feelings may be, we have a stronger duty to per form. It
is most melancholy to see a man in your condition, in the
prime of life, about to be cut off from society for a
crime he has committed. It always mast be enforced on the
mind that these riotous assemblies must be put down, and,
in proportion to the extent such outrages have been com-
mitted, must those who have committed them be visited
with the severest punishment of the law. The object of
the law is not the punishment of individuals, but by way
of example to others not to follow their course—it is
from necessity we feel, that in discharge of our duty we
are compelled to let the law take its course where the cases
are of an aggravated description. It appears that on, I
will not say the day, but on the night of the 23d Novem-
ber, in the dead of the night, are you found in company
with no less than 80 or 100 persons, confederated not
merely to destroy threshing-machines, but with the deter-
mined purpose of committing a robbery. You go from
house to house, and come to the house of the unfortunate
prosecutor at a time when all persons are retired for
rest, and when he would have gone to bed but for the
alarm occasioned by these tumultuous assemblies.
Coming to the house of Pinnegar, you take a most
active part, and are guilty of this enormous offence. The
Judges have been put under the most infinite difficulty in
selecting one fit for punishment. They would have been
justified in punishing with death many others; but, in
the hope that one example may have the effect of de-
terring others front the commission of these offences,
and that the public may know that offences are not to
he committed with impunity, they have selected you.
This has been done because, from the evidence, it ap-
pears that you were in front of the mob, the foremost
to use foolish imprecations, and that, when you came
to the house, you made a demand of money, and pro-
ceeded to extort that money under circumstances of great
aggravation. Pinnegar feeling he was called upon to
protect his house, also careful about his theshing-ma-
chine, Las shown a disposition to prevent the outrage.
When attacked in his house, he presents his pistol, and
he is told that it can be fired but once, and that
the mob can break in upon him. They do so. He is
driven hack to his house, and personally assaulted and
beaten, and 1 beg to lay my finger upon that circumstance.
Various blows were given, and but for the circumstance
of Pinnegar having produced his money, no doubt
death would have ensued. Under these circumstances,
it is my unfortunate duty to be called upon to pass the
sentence of the law upon you, Peter Withers, and you,
James Lush. You, Peter Withers, unless the objection
taken for you should prevail, to prepare for the awful
change which now shortly awaits you, I entreat you, im-
mediately upon retiring from the Court, with humility,
penitence, and prayer, with fervent, instant, and constant
prayer, as you value your souls, you implore the Throne
of Grace for peace, pardon, consolation, and mercy; the
gates of mercy here are closed upon ye u for ever. The
Court have now only the awful sentence to pass upon you,
thattk e n fyou,ro from
ehtee
hence
c\eVtiot h
tehr
es ,
pa nl
aceyo frtot am
wmheesnL,
eu shyo,
ub et,
asme vee,ralll 1
ft um thence to a place of execution, and that there
the
be hanged by the neek until you are dead, and may
I
Almighty have mercy upon your guilty souls.
Immediately upon the sentence being concluded,

Withers, who had for some time been holding up his
hands in a supplicating attitude, sunk back absorbed in
grief; his face had been Continually changing colour, hut
at last it assumed a death-like paleness. It was evident
his sufferings must have been most dreadful, and in that
state he was led from the bar.

Lush, from the first moment of his appearing at the
bar, was very much affected, and from the time of the
Judges putting on their caps, until the conclusion of the
sentence, he had leant entirely over the bar, in a state of
anguish not to be described; his sobs were dreadful, anti
his exclamations of " Mercy !.' "Co God, Lave mercy on
me!" accompanied by his piercing groans, thrilled through
the hearts of all. He was removed from the bar in a

stooping posture, as if incapable of standing erect.
Judgment of death was then recorded against the fol.
lowing prisoners :—James Toomer, John Jennings, George
Shergold, Henry Shergold, Thomas Whatley, James DoWs,
Isaac Cole, William Francis, William Lewis, J. Miller,
Thomas Piggott, J. Romain, George Shergold, John Sher-
gold, Thomas Goddard, William Ta)lor, Elias Thor.,
David Gee, Jeremiah New, Wortly Gee, George Dormer,
George Toomer, William Cheater, Charles Pizzie, and
Shadrach Blake.

Immediately on the conclusion of this sentence, a num-
ber of women, who were seated in Court behind the pi
i.
soners, set up a dreadful shriek of lamentation. Some of
them rushed forwards to shake hands with the prisoners,
and more than one voice was heard to exclaim " Fare-
well ! I shall never see you more." By some mistake
J. Miller, T. Piggott, and J. Romain were led out of the
dock with the other prisoners. As he teas passing the
Judge, Piggott entreated their Lordships to permit him to
take his child with him abroad, or, if they could not do
that, to recommend the parish authorities to take care of
it. It was only eight months old, and its mother had
died in childbirth. When he was gone, it would have
neither kith nor kin to look after it.

Mr. Baron VaucHart—You ought to have thought of
your child before you engaged in these outrages. Unfor-
tunately, the Court has not the power to do that for you
which you now request.
This appeal to public sympathy produced a great effect
in Court ; and we fervently hope that in this case some
effort will he made by those in authority to prevent the
separation of this unfortunate and guiltless child from its
only surviving natural protector.
The prisoners were then removed from the bar. Pig-
gott, as he passed the Judges, again said, " God help my
poor babe, she has now no one else to protect her !"
On leaving the Court, we mixed among the crowd who
were waiting to see the prisoners leave. The scene here
was heart-breaking beyond everything ; a mass of women
were standing bathed in tears, supported by men who looked
as having hearts which nothing could daunt, but which had
given way to feelings of their better nature, and, in endea-
vouring to support the weaker sex, they themselves could
not but betray their grief, and were actually shedding
the tears of pity and affliction. At length the cell-door
was opened, and the unfortunate criminals appeared chained
together. We thought that in the Court, and before the
door was opened, we had seen distress of mind in almost
every form. 'We had witnessed it in those who had given
way to it, and had let the bursting tear escape—we had
also watched those who, having snore command of them-
selves, had prevented the outward show of grief, but in
whose countenance what they felt inwardly could easily
be discovered ; but we had a sight to witness even more
distressing than all this. As the men came out, their wives,
their mothers, their sisters, and their children, clasped
them in their arms with an agonising gripe. The
convicts, whose hearts had not been hardened by having
before been incarcerated in a gaol, gave way. They
wept like children. They no longer attempted to
stifle their feelings, or brave their doom. Nature lead
began to play with every force, and the heart was
broken. It required every effort on the part of
their attendants to get them into the car, and at last
the door was closed. Then we could hear the exclamas

tions of regret and of farewell, and many a female hand
was forced through the bars to take a last grasp of hini
who was now about to leave those who were dear to him,
and to whom he was as dear, for ever. The car drove off,
and some hardened wretches from within gave a cheer.
Nothing was now heard but the deepest lamentation, or
the kind words of the sobbing men, endeavouring to coa-
sole their more afflicted friends. 'We left the scene with a
hope that it would have the effect desired, accompanied
with a prayer that we might be spared from again being
witnesses of such dreadful d►stress.