The Sun.
London, England, 1831-01-14 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The lvar in Ireland "marches :" Lord Anglesea
has directed yet another proclamation, against cer-
tain weekly meetings under the form of breakfasts,
hut having substantially the same object—viz., a po-
litical excitement of the people—as those which had
already been suppressed ; and Mr. O'Connell, with-
in an hour or two afterwards, commenced his system
of counter-movements, by a letter to " The People
of Ireland," and a speech at the " Parliamentary
Office." Now, beneath the ridicule which this
wordy warfare carries on the face of it, there lies a
deep mass of melancholy and fearful anticipations.
The question is, where will the struggle end ? If
in an actual appeal to arms, what have they to
answer for to whose thirst of a nation's blood a
catastrophe so dreadful must be attributed ? But if
hostilities can be averted, let us only ask, what, in
'that the most favourable case,—u hat alternative lies
before to; ? If Mr. O'Connell be not stopped in his
career, his confessor, with some others of the priest-
hood, push him onwards to organize the mob of Ire-
land into the supreme power of the country. Each
new effort of the Lord Lieutenant to prevent the
sovereign authority from being wrested out of his
hands, is met by some new and more dexterous
manoeuvre on the part of those whose object is the
overthrow of the State, until at length the resources
of the law as it stands are exhausted. Lord Anglesea
declares, that the arts of disloyalty have otestrined
the_foresight of last year's Parliamentary lef illation,
and demands fresh powers to counteract the im-
proved machinery of this yet masked rebellion.
What then ? More severe laws are passed,—that
is to say, the Government is armed with still
more formidable weapons for restraining the
public liberty, and with more irresistible Military
means of enforcing this deplorable but essential
policy. Thus the constitution is hourly more and
snore undermined. We approach by long strides to
the absolute government of the Crown, supported
by all men of property, as a less evil than the
open tyranny of Mr. O'Connell, instigated by
the secret one of his back-stairs cabinet of
Jesuit and Dominican priests. This result, the
loss of even the forms of constitutional free-
dom, bids fair at present to be the least disastrous
issue of the O'Connell agitation. Let it not be
supposed that the Government, the Parliament, the
people of England, the Catholic rank and property,
or the unanimous Protestant body of Ireland, if pro-
voked or alarmed but a little further, will shrink
from the sad remedies which we have traced above,
or even from sterner expedients. Already, it is un-
derstood, loud calls are made upon the King's
Ministers to arm the bold yeomanry of the north of
Ireland,—to adjure the Protestants, not only of Ire-
land but of Great Britain, by their zeal for the in-
tegrity of the empire, and by their horror of confis-
cation and anarchy—the precursors of a Popish
yoke—that they come forward and crush their per-
fidious project in the cradle. Already it is known
that Ministers are importuned to accompany the
hills in preparation for a permanent redress of many
acknowledged evils, by a suspension of the Habeas
Corpus Act in Ireland, which there seems little
reason to doubt would be followed by a speedy dis-
appearance from that country of the chief disturbers
of its peace. 'We offer no opinion on these measures.
It is, unquestionably, more desirable, with a view
to the lasting welfare of Ireland, that one or two
laws should be momentarily altered or suspended,
than that the whole legislative constitution should,
by brutal violence, be destroyed; yet we do hope
that the projectors of this calamity may consider in
time the risks and wretchedness through which it
must, under any circumstances, be achieved ;
and which, if they persist a month longer, will
be incurred by themselves and their cheated fol-
lowers, even with the certainty of their meeting a
dreadful overthrow. The ruin to Ireland, as a pro-
ductive and exporting country, has been often dwelt
sport by those who wish her well, and who are
conscious,—as all men of common sense must be,—
that if a fourth of her peasantry are now pitting for
want of work, another fourth, at least, would be
added to the idlers by the almost instantaneous flight
of every shilling of capital which could be withdrawn
from art island ruled on a system of avowed spolia-
t on of every form of property. If the Protestant
power declares itself, and the Government exhibits
a determination to support it, fear may act upon
the opposite party, with whom virtue and patriotism
are but empty names! anti civil war, ending in a se-
cure reconquest of the rebel faction, may now at the
eleventh hour be, we trust, avoided. In the mean
time let us treat the subject frankly. Is the Go-
vernment of Ireland, so far as concerns the person
of the Secretary, well constituted for a moment like
this ? In our opinion, the frame of the Govern-
ment—apart from indisiduals—is defective. The
Home Office has been since, and even long before
the, Union, al! but overwhelmed by business purely
appertaining to Great Britain, and finds it quite im-
possible, by the confession of Mr. Peel himself, to
pay minute attention to the course of Irish affairs.
With 7,000,000 or 8,000,000 of people, and faction
enough to disturb the repose of 40,000,000, it is me-
lancholy to witness the repeated and futile efforts
made to govern Ireland by a raw subaltern from the
home Department of this country. Such men as
Mr. Stanley or Lord Leveson Gower, of no expe-
rience, whatever may be their natural endowments,
are unfit managers of affairs so arduous as those
hich embarrass an Irish Administration. The Irish
Lord Lieutenant and the Irish Secretary, it is now
admitted by most political men who converse on the
subject, ought to be not merely Cabinet Ministers,
but among the ablest, if not the very foremost of
that responsdsle body. They ought not to be under
the enfeebling necessity of an appeal to Whitehall,
on every occurrence that takes place in any part of
Ireland. With a grave responsibility, they should
have large discretionary power. Nothing, in our
humble judgment, would more tend to consolidate
the Government of the two countries, or to render
the motion of " repealing the Union" chimerical in
the eyes of all.—limes.
We understand that difficulties have been thrown
in tie way of the Belgian negotiations, by an at-
tempt to detach the province of Luxemburg from
the rest of the southern states of the Netherlands.
A priori, one would imagine that the right of the
Luxemburgers to choose their own Government was
as obvious as that of the rest of the Belgian people;
but as it is sought to involve them, in spire of their
own wishes, in discussions with other Powers, it
would be worth while to go over the facts of the
case. Before the French revolution, and downwards
from the middle of the fifteenth century, the Duchy
of Luxemburg was cue of the Belgian provinces.
It was united to the French republic in the year IV.
(9th Vendemaire) as one of the new departments of
Belgium. It was separated from France by the
downfall of Napoleon in 1814., and ceded by the
teith Article of the Treaty of Vienna to the King
of the Netherlands, " to whom it was reserved to
make such a family arrangement between Isis son as
lie tray deem conformable to the interests of the
monarchy, and to his paternal intentions." The
Congress of Vienna conferred the Duchy of Lux-
emburg on the Dutch King, as a compensation for
the loss of his hereditary German States. These
States were to be the heritage of Prince Fre-
derick, his second son, after the death of his
father, and the Duchy became, in consequence,
his reversionary possession. Luxemburg
however, added to the Kingdom of the Ne-
therlands; it sent its Deputies to the States-Gene-
; and, by it law of the 25th of May, 1816, the
annual sum of 190,000 florins was granted to Prince
Frederick, as as indemnity for his eventual succes-
sion to the Duchy ; and thus the Duchy became an
integral part of the Netherlands, united in every re-
spect by the same laws as the rest of the• Kingdom„
The 67th Article of the Treaty of Vienna provided
that " the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg should be
one of the States of the Germanic Confederation;
that the King of the Netherlands should be a Mem-
ber of the German Diet ; and that the town of
Luxemburg should be deemed one of the fortresses
of the Confederation." The apprehension which

Germany entertained of future invasion front France
led to the establishment of the fortresses of Landau,
Mentz, and Luxemburg. The two former, belong-
ing to Germany, became subject to the Confedere-
tion, and it was deemed advisable to place the latter
in the same dependence, by recognizing the King
of Holland as a member of the Confederation. But
this interference never extended beyond the military
occupation of the fortress, nor had the acts of the
Diet the slightest authority on the Province itself.
I There the Censorship of the Press, established by
tine Diet through all the German States, never had
any effect, nor, in fact, was there the most remote
recognition of Sovereignty beyond the military arch of
the town. It is thereforeobvirms that the Sovereignty of
Luxemburg belonged to the Crown of the Nether.
lands, and that as therevenunary right of the Prince
Frederick has been ceded, sold, and paid for, there
can be no reasonable claim on his part. It is equally
clear that the claims of the Confederation cannot
justly be pushed beyond the military occupation of
the town, and ought not to extend to civil or poli-
tical jurisdiction ; and that, while the terms of the
Treaty continue to be fulfilled by tine Government
of Belgium, there can be no fair pretence for inter-
feren Tomiing Chronicle.
France might by this time have made great ad-
vances towards a state of political improvement and
regeneration, if the Government, to whom the na-
tion had intrusted the great and noble duty of giving
effect to the revolution of July, had acted with tine
wisdom and energy which so important an occasion
demanded. We did not prejudge the Government
which succeeded to the powers of the discarded dy-
nasty, on the contrary, we gave them credit for
meaning to do what they promised, until facts most
grievously falsified their promises. Nearly half a
year has now elapsed since the revolution of July,
and the question has still to be asked, What has
the Government done to make the institutions of 1
France worthy of the new position which that event
has enabled her to take among the nations of Eu-
rope ?" Ever since the Bourbons were restored by
foreign bayonets to a throne which they had neither
talents, virtue, nor courage to adorn or defend,
France, the bravest and most enlightened nation,
next to England, in the world, was gradually be-
coming more and more familiar with those principles
of' Government under which, if not checked by the
contrary impulse of a national re-action, she must
have eventually relapsed into the feudal slavery and
political barbarism of the dark ages. Things had
come to that crisis when either the Government or
the public mind must be crushed—which was it to
be ? The ordinances and the events of the three days
that followed their fatal publication decided that
question. The expulsion of the elder branch of Bour-
bon left France free to elect a new line of Kings, or
to raise, if she pleased, a republic on the ruins of
the vacant throne. She chose the former, and, in
electing a Sovereign, chose one of a junior branch
of the banished family, though she :lad no reason to
be enamoured of the name of Bourbon. In making
this selection she was not actuated by any deference
to hereditary claims, for if she were, the Duke of
Bordeaux would have been her choice. She be-
lieved that, though the errors and misfortunes, the
crimes and sufferings, of the Bourbon race had made
no salutary impression on the mind of Charles X.
and his imbecile son, yet there was another of the
family who had not been deaf to the lessons of ad-
versity, and wino hail not read history in vain. She,
therefore, gave her generous confidence, and with it
the care of her destinies, to the Duke of Orleans.
Nobly did the leaders of the republican party act on
that occasion. They saw that France, with her
newly-acquired freedom, stood in perilous circum-
stances if internal division should aid the hostile views
of the alarmed and exasperated despots of Europe.
They abandoned their favourite object for the sake
of unanimity, and sacrificed all party-feeling on the
altar of their country. At the head of these men
was the gallant and enthusiastic Lafayette, now the
hoary veteran of freedom, as he had been her
youthful champion. He has experienced tine Royal
gratitude! but he need not value much the smiles
of a Court who is covered with the enduring laurels
of a virtuous fame. It is quite consistent that the
peculiar accomplishments of Talleyrtrnd should find
favour and acceptance in tine eyes of a Government
that feels the honourable pride and unsullied virtue
of Lafayette inconvenient. From the time of the
appointment of Talleyrand under the new regime, we
were prepared for an administration of affairs that
would be more distinguished by manoeuvre and in-
trigue than magnanimity and wisdom. We have
not been disappointed. The trial of the Ex-Minis-
ters, it is now obvious, was delayed for several
months for no other purpose than to afford Govern-
ment an opportunity of putting certain Cabinet
stratagems in execution, while public attention was
concentrated on the tenants of Vincennes; and
eventually, bringing the National Guard in hostile
collision with the people by means of mock plots
and pretended conspiracies. We are inclined to
consider the King rather as tine dupe than the author
of such contrivances to " fright the land from its
propriety." But these arts will not do to govern
France. The King owes his power solely to the
national will ; he can only preserve it by acting
upon enlightened views of the national interests.—
Morning Herald.
The great features in the events which are now
passing in Europe, is the Polish Revolution ; and it
would be an utter derogation from our duty, were
we not to denounce the proclamation of the Em-
peror of Russia, which appeared in yesterday's
paper, as one of the most heartless, the most bar-
barous, and tine most savage, that ever appeared.
It is useless to repeat what Russia has done to
Poland—it is useless to say how the country
was partitioned, and its inhabitants put to the sword
—for, as the Ilvestnrinster Review very justly ob-
,erves, every man, woman, and child, knows it as
well as we do—but it is proper to say, that the
savage proclamation which appeared in yesterday's
paper, is a proclamation which can only benefit
one, but which may cause the sacrifice of the
lives of thousands! But will France be quiet inn
such a state of affairs ? We say unhesitatingly, No.
The King is, indeed, in favour of peace at all
hazards, because it is not only his interest, but his
Wish that such should be the case ; but the opinions
of his Ministry are of a very different character.
Soult, the Minister of War, feels that war is ine-
vitable, if the present dynasty is to be preserved,
and even Sebastiani has been heard to declare thst
nothing but a war could save France front a greater
revolution than that of July. The question, there-
fore, of war or peace is brought within a very narrow
compass. Tine King, the only advocate for peace,
must yield, and a war in favour of Poland may be
considered as inevitable.—Morning Advertiser.
The manifesto of the Emperor of Russia on the
subject of the insurrection in Poland seems to ex-
cite among several of our contemporaries a great
deal of misapplied and unprofitable indignation.
That the dominion over Poland was dishonestly ac-
quired is true ; that it has been rigourously and
harshly exercised is too probable (although we sus-
pect the sway of Russia has been milder in Poland
than in most other parts of her empire) ; but it is
nevertheless difficult to understand why so much or
indeed any invective should be launched against the
Emperor of Russia for threatening to act as all
mankind must have expected him to act, and roost
of all those who are most lavish of their abuse,
and as every other Government would equally
have acted, if it believed itself sufficiently power-
ful, rather than suffer an important part of its ter-
ritory to be separated from its sway. Tine Polish
peopla themselves have, it ought to be recollected,
.made an appeal to arms, and have done so in the
conviction (for otherwise they have committed a
great crime), that their ruler was it/accessible
or deaf to any pacific application. We have
little doubt indeed that this opinion was well-
' founded, and if tine Poles could not expect to gain
the objects they have in view by peaceful petition
and remonstrance before their insurrection, still le:s
surely could they expect that Russia would willingly
surrender or mitigate her authority after they had

defied her power by the forcible expulsion of the
Emperor's brother and Vicegerent from the capital,
and the establishment of a new and rival Govern-
ment. Had the Emperor of Russia acted in any
other spirit than that which pervades his manifesto,
the universal and the just conclusion would have
been that he wanted confidence in his power to
dicate his authority. Now whatever blemish there
may be in the original title of Russia to her Polish
dominions, or however she may have rendered her
Government the just object of hatred to her Polish
subjects, there does certainly seem much puerile in-
consistency in adding to the number of her crimes
that she is not conscious of weakness.—Morn. Post.

SPECIAL COMMISSION.

AYLESBURY, JAN. 13.

Charles Clement, James Chapman, William Seals,
James Stapps, Charles Barnett, Henry Wetherley,
Richard Wakefield, John Coleshill, and William
Evans, who were tried last nighr, and found guilty
of riot and assault, were called up to receive judg-
ment.

Mr. Justice PARK told them, that having taken
into consideration the length of time they had al-
ready been confined, the Court was inclined to deal
favourably with them. They would therefore be
set at liberty, upon entering into recognizances of
301. each, to keep the peace during seven years.
William Briant, Robert Carey, Stephen Atkins,
William Russell, William Butler, John Butler, Wil-
liam Moody, Henry Stratford, James Webb, Benja-
min Francis, Arthur Salter, John Smith, Moses Holt,
and Thomas Fisher, were indicted for having on
the 29th of November last, in the parish of Chipping
Wycombe, unlawfully, and with force, demolished,
pulled down, and destroyed the paper-machine of
Zachary Allziutt, used in the manufacture of paper.
The whole of the prisoners pleaded Guilty to
the charge. They were left standing at the bar.
Henry Walker, Edmund Wingrove, James Bar-
ton, John Watts, William Briant, alias Larry
0' Briant, Thomas Bowles, William Blizzard, and
James Stone, were likewise placed at the bar,
charged with similar offences, all committed on the
same day (the 29th of November.) They also
pleaded Guilty, with the exception of James
Stone, who pleaded Not Guilty, and was remoYed
from the bar.

Mr. GURNEY (addressing the Court) said, that
in the discharge of the arduous task imposed on him
by Government, he had succeeded in the prosecu-
tion of capital offences to a certain extent, and a ver-
dict of Guilty had been found against twenty-one
prisoners. The twenty-three prisoners who now
stood at the bar had pleaded Guilty, and had thereby
manifested some contrition, which, he was privately
assured, they really felt for the offences they had
committed. Under those circumstances, he was
acting in obedience to the instructions which he had
received from Government, arid in the exercise of
that discretion with which he was invested, and had
been desired to exercise, when he humbly prayed
their Lordships that they would be pleased to direct
that the sentence of death only be recorded against
the prisoners at the bar.
Mr. Justice PARK, after conferring with Mr. Baron
BOLLAND and Mr. Justice PATTESON, addressed the
prisoners at the bar. He said what had just fallen
from the Learned Counsel for the Crown, must
convince all men, if any wanted convincing on the
point, that there was on the part of his Majesty's
Government no disposition to use severity, except-
ing- such only as might be necessary for the general
advantage of the community at large, and which, as
often as it was necessary, must be resorted to. They
had been prayed to record sentence of death only
against the prisoners; the meaning of which was,
that probably by the sentence of death being only
recorded and riot passed, as it would have been it
there had been any intention of carrying it into ex-
ecution, the prisoners' lives would be spared. On
what terms, and under what conditions, his Majesty
might be pleased to spare their lives, the Court could
not have the slightest idea.
James Stone, the prisoner who had pleaded not
guilty, was then placed at the bar, and having en-
tered into recognizances, himself in 200/. and surely
in 1001. to keep the peace for the term of his natural
life, was discharged.

Richard Castles, William Daniels, George Hedges,
John Rat rey, William Atkins, Thomas Small,
Thomas Wiggs,William Miles, Edward Bates, Thos.
Woodford, Robert Kirby, Francis Bates, William
Kirby, Robert Scotchiugs, George Search, Joseph
Clerk, James Stanley, James Peacock, William
Burgess, John Miles, and John Peacock, were in-
dicted for having unlawfully destroyed a threshing-
machine.

Mr. Justice PARK ordered them to enter into re-
cognizances for their good conduct during the term
of their natural lives, to the amount of 30/. each.

John Row, Ricl:ard Scotchings, Joseph Duberry,
.lohn Scot ehings, James Kirby, George Kirby,
John Stanley, Jam Daniels, Alin Wales, Robert
Howley, William Carter, and George Mile:, were
indicted for a similar offence as the last prisoners,
and on the suggestion of Mr. Gurney were al,o or-
dered to enter into recognizances of 30/. each, to
keep the peace during the term of their natural lives.
Samuel Gostellow, James Miller, George Schow-
ler, , Scotching:, William Duberry, John
Monk, William Daniels, Richard Molt, David Red-
head, William Bates, Joseph Carter, John Miller,
Thomas Hughes, Geo. Carter, Thomas Bates, Moses
Turner, and John Moores, were indicted for having
on the 27th of November, destroyed a threshing
machine, the property of John Farnborough of the
parish of Stone.
The Jury acquitted Moores, and found all the
other prisoners Guilty, at the same time strongly
recommending them to mercy.
Moses Turner, John Moores, William Bates, and
James Gostellow, were acquitted on a charge of
rubbing John Saunders of half an ounce of gun-
powder on the 27th of November, at Stone, no
evidence being offered in support of the indictment.
A like course was pursued with respect to the
prisoner Turner, on a charge of stealing Mrs. Thorp's
. _ _

- Turner, John Aliller, Moores, and D. Goste
were acquitted on an indictment for stealing a gun
from Benjamin Dickons, Mr. Gurney abstaining
from pressing the indictment.
John Moores was pronounced Not Guilty (for a
like reason) on a charge of breaking a winnowing
machine.

The prisoner who is very old and deaf, was or-
dered to be discharged, as was James Gostellow,
who had been out on bail.

The Grand Jury having entered the Court in the
course of the day, Mr. Justice PARK said that he
could not discharge them, btearbe the Commission
extended to the Ist of February, and that therefore
it would be their duty to attend again, if any more
disturbances should unhappily break out in the
county. He, however, was glad, he said, to have
it in his power to release them from any further at-
tendance at present; assuring them, at the same
time, that the country would feel indebted to them
for what they had done.

D ORCHESTER, JAN. 12.

Joseph Sheppard, aged 40, and George Legg, 35,
were indicted for having, on the 27th day of No-
vember last, in the parish of Buckland Newton,
with menaces and by force, feloniously demanded
money of Christopher Morey, with intent to steal.
The prisoner pleaded Not Guilty.
Mr. Christopher Morey—l am a farmer, and live
at Buckland Mewton. I recollect the 27th day of
last November. About eight or nine o'clock in the
evening of that day, there was a knocking and ring-
ing at my door. My wife went to see what it
was. I heard her speak sharply to some persons at
the door, and shortly afterwards she called for me,
and said that I was wanted. I got up in conse-
quence and went to the door. When I got there
saw George Legg and Joseph Sheppard standing,
one on each . side of the door. Joe Sheppard said
to me, .6 Mr. Morey, we have got a mob of five
hundred persons outside, and we want you to give

us some money." I asked them how it was they
came Ito me, who worked for my subsistence like
them, and had no machinery ? They said they
must have money, and that they would beat the
house down if I did not give them some. They
hallooed to the mob to come up. My wife \vas
present, and being very much frightened, requested
me to give them some money. One shilling was
all I had in my pocket ; I offered them that sum.
They said it would not do—they must have Is. 6d.
My wife then went and got another shilling. I
gave them the two shillings. Joe Sheppard had a
hook in his hand; Legg had nothing. In the mob
I saw a man ►with a sledge on his shoulder ; who it
was I do not know.

Mrs. Mary Morey, the wife of the last witness,
corroborated this evidence.

Sheppard being called on for his defence, said
" I never spoke a word in the yard to Mr. Morey.
It was the other man who spoke."
G. Legg—" What a false man you are, Joseph!"
Being called on for his defence, he said, " And
please your honour, I did not say a word. I was
there, I admit ; there's no use denying it ; but I was
there, thinking no harm in the world. He says, I
was saucy to him ; but I never said a word. I have
got witnesses to my character. The clergyman of
the parish will speak to it."
The Rev. W. Blennerhassett, curate of Map-
perdown, gave Legg the character of an honest,
peaceable, and industrious man. Ile has always
supported his family without parish relief. He had
only seven shillings a week. He had a cottage, but
no fuel was allowed him. Similar evidence was
given by the overseer of the parish.
Several of the farmers in the parish gave Legg
the character of as honest and quiet a man as any in
the kingdom.
An excellent character was also given to Shep-
pard by the curate of this parish. The Jury re-
turned a verdict of Guilty against both prisoners.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN then proceeded to pass
sentence on the prisoners. As to Joseph Sheppard,
he must inform him, that though he should recom-
mend his Majesty not to transport him for life, he
must make up his mind not to remain here : he
would go abroad, for he had been a ringleader in
these mobs, and it was only on account of his good
character that he was recommended to mercy. The
Learned Judge then addressed himself to George
Legg—" As to you, George Legg, I never heard a
better character given of any man in a Court of Jus-
tice in the whole course of my professional career.
You will feel the full benefit of it. Men of the highest
character and respectability have come forward to as-
sist you in this your difficulty, and it is much to your
credit that they have done so. You have been con-
viced of an offence which is certainly of a serious
nature ; but when one hears that you have a large
family, and have supported them without ever apply-
ing for parish relief—which is in itself a proof of
your frugal and industrious habits—one cannot help
feeling great commiseration for you. I think that
I may venture to recommend his Majesty not to
send you abroad at all. What punishment may be
hereafter awarded you, I cannot now say. I almost
fear that I am compromising my public duty in per-
mitting you to escape without a heavy punishment:
for these things, when they occur, must be put
down by the strong arm of the law. If the state or
the country should require another Special Com-
mission to be issued, no lenity like this can be dis-
played."
George Legg here interrupted the Learned Judge,
and said, " I would rather that your Lordship would
put 21 years' transportation upon me than be placed
in the condition of the prosecutor. I never said a
word to him : that I declare."

Mr. Baron 17-AuGliaN—l can assure you that you
have not benefited yoiirself by that observation. It is
impossible to doubt the truth of the prosecutor's evi-
dence ; it was give❑ •ery fairly; and your observa-
tion is calculated to injure yourself more than the
prosecutor.

The prisoners were then removed from the bar.
Henry Spicer, aged 21, was indicted for robbing
John Young of six half-crowns and .55., his property.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN summed up the evidence,
and the Jury returned a verdict of Guilty against
the prisoner.
Sentence of death was recorded against the
prisoner.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN, in pronouncing sentence,
told the prisoner that he must make up his mind to
leave the country, for as yet there had no mitigating
circumstance appeared in his case. If there were
any such he should be glad to be made acquainted
with them.

James Thorne, aged 30, John Legg, 22, James
House, 24, John Smart, 22, James Vcw, 34,, and
John Symons, 48, were indicted for having, on the
27th day of November last, by menace and force,
robbed Robert Bullet', of four shillings and one
half-crown, his property.—The Jury acquitted the
prisoners.
George Legg, aged 35, John Mitchell, 20, Jacob
Mitchell, 23, Silas Mitchell, 27, and henry Spicer,
21, were indicted for robbing Matthew Galpin.—
The Jury acquitted them.

Charles Coombs, aged 24, James New, 34, John
Legg, 22, Charles Slimes, 20, Thomas Sammy:,
24, Abraham house, 22, James Thorne, 30, Wm.
Durrant, 23, Adam Thorne, 21, Geo. Jackson,
44, and Geo. Sampson, were indicted for destroying
a threshing-machine, the property of John Pount,
in the parish of Buckland Newton, on the 27th of
November last. The prisoners pleaded Not Guilty.
The Jury acquitted Sam ways, and found all the
other prisoners Guilty, but recommended Durrant
and Jackson to the lenity of the Court.—The pri-
soners were then called up for judgment.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN sentenced Coombs, New,
Legg, Symes, House, and the two Thornes, to
transportation for seven years. He was fully alive
to the recommendation to mercy made by the Jury
in behalf of Durrant and Jackson ; for he had
never heard a more excellent character given to
men from the hour of their birth to the present
time, than had been given to these two individuals.
At the same time their conduct could not be passed
over without punishment. The Court therefore
ordered them both to be imprisoned in the House
of Correction and kept to hard labour for the space
of three calendar months.

John Dore, aged 32, David Hatcher, 37, James
Stacey, 28, John Ayles, '25, and Robert Pike, 21,
were indicted for having riotously and tumultuously
assembled together, and for having obtained by me-
naces and force money from the Rev. John Tomkins,
Rector of Stower Provost. The prisoners pleaded
Not Guilty. The Jury acquitted the prisoners.
The same prisoners were then tried for having
riotously and tumultuously assembled, with divers
other persuns, at the parish of Stower Provost, on
Monday, the 29th day of November last, to die
terror of the people, and against the peace of our
Sovereign Lord the King.
The prisoners again pleaded Not Guilty.
After the case against the prisoners had been
opened by Mr. WILLIAMS, who condemned in very
strong terms the conduct of Dore, who was a farmer
and publican, and had gone about insisting that
rents and tithes should be lowered, and extorting
money, which was to be spent partly in his own
house, and partly in the house of another publican,
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN interfered, and suggested
that the interest of public justice would, perhaps, be
satisfied if the prisoners pleaded Guilty, and en-
tered into recognizances of 50/. each to appear to
receive judgment when called upon, and to keep the
peace for two years.
After a considerable discussion between the
Counsel for the prosecution and for the defence,
this suggestion was at last acted upon. The pri-
soners pleaded Guilty to that count in the in-
dictment which charged them with being present at
an unlawful assembly, entered into the necessary re-
fter.vard.; discharged.
ac(l)l7.s)ihzilial(nisel leMitchell,is;hell,
1l:%
weree's oo2TO ,a
indicted jforb 'lrfijoktlio a2n3d,
tumultuously assembling, against the form of the
statute, &c.
The prisoners pleaded Guilty, upon the under-

standing that the same course should be followed to-
wards the prisoners who had pleaded Guilty to
the last indictment.

James Wilkin, aged 22, and John Read, 94,
who were convicted yesterday of robbing Henry
Moyle, were then brought to the bar to receive
judgment.
Mr. Baron VAUGHAN ordered sentence of death to
be recorded against them. In giving that order, he
told Read, that, in consequence of his exemplary
conduct in assisting the Marquis of Salisbury to
disarm a portion of the mob in the adjoining county,
he should recommend his case to the favourable con-
sideration of his Majesty, and that in all probability
he would not be banialied the country. In conse-
quence of the excellent character which Wilkin had
received, a similar recommendation would be made
to his Majesty in his case.
Samuel Zillwood was indicted for robbing James
Dixon of one sovereign, his property, on the 21th
j of November, in the parish of Hadley.
Mr. Justice ALDERSON did not think there was
enough to support the capital charge, and wider
his direction the prisoners were acquitted of the
felony, but found Guilty of the riot.
James Thick and Robert Zilwood were indicted
for robbing Benjamin Hicks of one sovereign, his
property, at the parish of Handley, on the 24th of
November. The Jury acquitted both prisoners.
Wet. Stokes, 26, Wm Ansley, 39, Samuel
Zill-
wood, John Read, 21, James Thick, 50, and Robert
Zillwood, 23, (the two last had just been acquitted
in the preceding case) were put to the bar, charged
with breaking a threshing-machine, in the parish of
Handley, on the 24th of November, the property of
James Dixon. The Jury found Stokes, Robert
Zillwood, and Read Guilty, and acquitted the others.
After some other trials, which are given below,
the prisoners were called up for judgment.
Mr. Justice ALDERSON—Robert Stokes, the sen-
tence of the Court is, that you be imprisoned in the
House of Correction, and kept to hard labour, for
the space of one year. His Lordship then sentenced
Read to a similar punishment.
Robert Zillwood, in consequence of his previous
very excellent character, was sentenced to only six
months' imprisonment.
Samuel Zillwood, who was convicted of a riot,
was next placed at the bar, and discharged.
James Hobbs, aged 18, and James Harris, 32,
were charged with having, with several others, as-
saulted Robert Fowkes, a special constable, in the
execution of his duty, on the Ist of December, at
Stalbridge. The prisoners pleaded Guilty, and
were allowed to enter into their own recognizances
to appear for judgment when called on, and also to
keep the peace.
James Hobbs and James Harris were again put
to the bar, with George Bughy and John Sansome,
charged with a riot at Stalbridge on the Ist of De-
cember. A verdict of Guilty was recorded, and the
prisoners with
George Gulliver, who was charged with a similar
offence, and had been out on bail, and who now
pleaded Guilty, were put to the bar, and ad-
dressed by
Mr. Justice ALDERsoN..—Trisoners, you will un-
derstand the lenity with which you have been
treated. The counsel for the prosecution has
thought that public justice will be sufficiently satis-
fied by not having judgment passed on you. Let
me advise you to show your sense of the lenity now
dealt out to you, by abstaining from joining in such
riots in future.

The prisoners having entered into the recogni-
zances to appear when called on, and also to keep
the peace for two years, were discharged out of
custody.
They all bowed several times to the Court, and
appeared •ery grateful for the merciful manner in
which they had been treated by the prosecutor.
Charles Foote was next given in charge for a riot
at Shaftesbury, for assaulting constables in the exe-
cution of their duty, and for aiding in the rescue of
some prisoners, on the 30th of November. The
prisoner was found Guilty ; but in consequence of
having been already six weeks in prison, judgment
was not pressed, and he was discharged on his own
recognizance, to appear when called upon.—This
was the last case for trial.

The Court adjourned at half-past six o'clock.

" SWING" AT BOW-STREET.

Yesterday morning Sir RICHARD BIRNIE received
a letter from Pusey, in 'Wiltshire, enclosing a
threatening letter, signed " Swing," addressed to
Mrs. Chandler, Church Farm, Pusey, Wilts, and
intimating that her house would be burnt to the
ground, if she did not forward to the writer the
sum of ten pounds, to the address " X. Y. Z.,
at the Nag's Head, James's-street, Covent-garden."
On receiving this letter Sir R. BIRNIE immediately
took measures to secure the party who should call
for the reply, and a letter was accordingly made up
enclosing a ten pound note, and the better to en-
trap the party who should call for it, the sum of
2s. 3d. was marked on it as the postage for a treble
letter. It was then placed in the hands of the land-
lord of the Nag's Head, and Dodd, an active and
experienced officer, belonging to Bow-street, re-
ceived directions from Sir R. BIRNIE to go to the
house in question, and wait until the party who
claimed the letter should arrive, and as soon as he
paid the postage to take him into custody. It had
had previously been ascertained that a man, who was
accompanied by a recruiting serjeant du dragoon re-
giment, had called at the Nag's Head on Wednesday,
and inquired if a letter for X. Y. Z. had been re-
ceived there. This man was the prisoner, and it ap-
peared that he had just enlisted in the 14th Dra-
goons, and there is good reason for believing that he
has been deeply implicated in the burnings and de-
struction of property which have lately taken place
in Wiltshire, and for which six unhappy men are
now under sentence of death. Dodd having sta.
tioned himself in the Nag's Head yesterday morn-
ing, observed the prisoner enter the house alone, and
heard him inquire at the bar if a letter had been re-
ceived addressed to X. Y. Z. He was told that
such a letter had arrived, and that 2s. 3d. postage
had been paid for it. The prisoner said he had not
so much money about him then, but told the land-
lord that he would fetch the amount. He then
went away, and did not return until between three
and four o'clock, when he came accompanied by the
serjeant by whom he had been enlisted, and who
had advanced him the money to pay the postage of
the letter. As soon as the prisoner paid the money
and received the letter into his possession, he went
into the parlour to join the serjeant. He was
however followed instantly by Dodd, who took
him into custody, and conveyed him to Bow-street
office some time after the public business of the day
had been disposed of, and the doors had been closed.
to release
tdt‘Nv,sooa uihdl
f,p_ciatr)Ol:ins,t
William Clark sworn-1 am a serjeant in the
14th regiment of Light Dragoons, on tile recruiting
service at Westminster. Yesterday I met the pri-
soner at St. James's-palace, and he went with tne
to my quarters, when lerilisted him. He said he
expected a letter containing money from a friend,
and we went to the Nag's Head, James-street, Co-
vent-garden, but were told that no letter had ar-
rived. This day he came and told Inc that the letter
had arrived, and if I would advance him the mo-
neya
treble letter. came to the Nag's Head with
was
s ,aa again,
laanriid:ht hta.es, twleVla.ist
out of. the room, and he returned, I think, with a
letterhimj ohal dNhligsaanlvleaeui hand, w 0
rn—l keep the Nag's Head, in
inquiredCovent-gardiefn.a
letter i'he phraisdonceormcealad
called
andthis morning .
dressed to X. Y. Z. I told him a letter had come so
addressed, and that I had paid 2. 3d. for it. He
said he would step out and bring me the money,
and after a considerable time he returned and asked
for the letter and put down half-a-crown, and I gave
him 3d. change and the letter. He then went into
the parlour to two other persons who came in with
him the last time, one of whom was in uniform. The
letter now produced, with the Pusey posit-mark upon
it, is the same letter.
William Dodd—l am a constable belonging to