The Sun.
London, England, 1831-04-06 00:00:00

SINGULAR ESCAPE FROM DEATH.

Two men of the name of Roux, father and
son, and who are now employed in the Navy-
office at Toulon, were condemned to death after
the evacuation of that place by the English, on
pretence of having betrayed the interests of
France. They were, with 900 others, ordered
to be shot at " Le Champ de Bataille." With-
out any form of trial they were taken to the place
of execution. When all the intended victims
were placed in a heap in the middle of the plain,
several field-pieces loaded with grape-shot were
brought up close to them, as well as a regiment
of cavalry and one of infantry, which were to
charge those whom the cannon had not wholly
destroyed, and finish them. The two Roux
bad been separated from each other. The
son, fearing lest the first discharge of cannon
should not despatch him with sufficient speed,
placed himself as much forward as he possibly
could. He was so close to the battery, that when
the guns went off the explosion knocked him
down. That instinct which impels mankind to
the preservation of life made him feign that he
was dead when the cavalry were ordered to
charge. A dragoon gave him a sabre cut, which
made a large though not a dangerous wound in
his back. The infantry came after, and one of
the scldiers perceiving that young Roux had not
ceased to breathe, gave him a violent blow on
the head with the butt end of his musket, which
so completely stunned him, that he lay several
hours senseless upon the ground. The slain
having been left on the Champ de Bataille to
be all removed the next morning for interment,
were soon stripped of their garments by the
liberated prisoners of the bagnio, and all left
nearly naked. During the night young Roux
gradually recovered the use of his senses. It was
with the utmost difficulty that he recalled to me-
mory what had occurred. The horrors of the
day presented themselves at last fully to his
mind. He sought to find some garments among
the dead by whom he was surrounded, and in
his efforts to take off from the body of one of
the unfortunate men some clothes which had
escaped the pillage, he found that life was not
extinct in him. The desire of saving a fellow
creature prompted every means that could bring
timely relief, and they were not used in vain.
The joy and surprise of both may be easily con-
ceived when they discovered that they were the'
father and son. They alone had escaped the
carnage ! Fortunately for them, no sentinel had
been stationed over the field of butchery, and
the Roux returned without any obstacle to their
house. It was with difficulty they obtained ac-
cess to it. No words could express the sensa-
tions of the wife and children on beholding again
those whose supposed destruction had plunged
them into grief and despair. Their wounds were
dressed, and before daylight they retired to their
country house, a few leagues in the interior of
Provence, where they remained concealed until
the Reign of Terror" was no more. They
then returned to Toulon, to the amazement of
their friends, many of whom could not for a long
time persuade themselves that they were not the
ghosts of the two men who had been included in
the massacre of the champ de Bataille.—Jour-
nal of a Noblema„.

FALSE PROPitvrs: I,
'No grand impostors
(one of whom is JOHN WAR).4.
1,r-rived in Huddersfield on
Tuesday last. WARD styles
;IV: Shihih, the anointed
of the Lord, the Christ, Sec.
the son of JOHANNA SOUTHCOT.
Impudence and ig-
T4oeter professes to be
norance of these men is most extraordinary,
. confessed
er7ated re-
professes to be Christ, and the tame }arson WAa D , who
on earth eighteen hundred years ago, being intern appeared
specting _theiginal language of the Gospel
ignorance" anfPfehen asked what language he spokedhhis
before on `, 6"--lave no answer. This immortal mss_
r.. 43,
meager of -` 'Want professes to be an enemy to Chris_
as it is Or understood and practised. He teaches
that there Are no derilf except the 11inisters of religion.
He smocee (*woo to excess, and is full of scoffing and
Vero of per Fite.--Les"' Mercury,

`,_, ~.

DREADFUL SCENE AT STAMFORD.

(From the Stamford Champion of Tuesday.)

A circumstance has just taken place in our peace-
, ful borough of the most painful nature, but which
our duty as public journalists compels us to detail.
A man of the name of Jackson occupied a house on
the waste, which had been erected by Mr. Francis
Butt. He had, it appears, been served with a no-
tice to quit, and was in arrear of rent. As this man
had voted at the last election against the nominees
of the Marquis of Exeter, it was generally stated,
and he himself professed to believe, that he was to
be turned out for so doing : this, however, his land-
lord distinctly denies. On his non-payment of rent
and refusal to quit, Clarke, the sheriff's officer, and
an assistant, were sent to distrain his goods. His
wife applied to Mr. Beasley, and Mr. B. agreed to
advance the money, on goods to that amount being
left in his custody, to be redeemed when convenient.
While these matters were going on, the husband had
come home, and being infuriated at the presence of
the officer's assistan►, he forcibly turned him out of
the house, and thrust his warrant into the fire.
Afterwards, it appears, that the unfortunate man, in
his wrath or revenge, proceeded to break up the
doors, and otherwise damage the premises. Mr.
Butt having been informed of thi., obtained from
the Magistrates another warrant against him, which
was entrusted to Blades and Stimson, the constables,
to execute. Having this warrant, Blades saw the
man, and directed him to attend at the Town-ball
last Thursday, at a particular hour. He did so at-
tend, accompanied by his wife, but there were
neither accuser, Magistrates, constables, nor any
other person to receive him, After waiting some
time, he walked away. On Saturday Blades met
him, and asked him why he had not attended the
hall at the time specified : he replied that he had.
Blades then took him before the Mayor, at his wor-
ship's private residence, who questioned him as to
his conduct, to which questions it is said he re-
turned insolent answers. His worship ordered him
to be taken to the watch-house, and to be brought
up to the hall on Monday. He replied, that as
he lived in the town, and they knew where to
find him, lie would not go to the watch house,
to be detained all Sunday and two nights. The
Mayor was inflexible, and ordered Blades and
Stimson to take him to the watch-house. The
party with their prisoner then went out, and
it appears James Askew, eldest son of the Mayor,
armed himself with a formidable baton, having a
brass fertile at the end, and accompanied them.
When at the corner of the High-street, the prisoner
made an attempt to run off towards his own house;
the constables followed, and young Askew first
came up with him, and seized him by the neck.
The prisoner, to disengage himself from the gripe,
violently kicked ar►d plunged, and then James
Askew, as it is stated by an eye-witness, struck at
him with the heavy brass end of the baton, on the
back part of the head, inflicting a very large wound,
and penetrating through the skull. The man dropped,
and his blood flowed in torrents around. Young
Askew and the rest dragged him bleeding in this
state to the watch-house, a. distance of about four
hundred yards. When in the watch-house he was
insensible and in strong convulsions,—six men could
scarcely hold him. In this state it was proposed to
leave him, when Mr. Beasley, who was parochial
constable serving in his own right for that evening,
insisted upon his being taken to his house iu the
Fly, which was done on the certificate of Mr. Bur-
dett, the surgeon, who, with Mr. Marveilleux, and
Mr. Whitby, had been called in to a►tend him. These
'gentlemen caused his head to be shaved, bandaged
the wound, and bled him very copiously. During
the whole of the night and most of Sunday he con-
tinued insensible ; in the evening he was somewhat
better, and could reply to questions, and on Mon-
day he remained in the same state.
While bleeding and insensible in the watch-house
his wife rushed in and her cries were heart-rending.
" He is murdered—he is murdered—what shall I
do for my children ?" were her chief exclamations.
These cries were followed by demands that " the
murderer" should be taken into custody. A crowd
was soon collected, who besieged the Mayor's door,
and demanded that James Askew should be given
up to them. Mr. Richardson, of the Crown and
Woolpack, obtained admission, with Reed the Town
Serjean', and on stating the object of their visit, and
the dangerous condition of the wounded man, the
Mayor asked whether bail could not be taken for his
son. Mr. Reed declared it could not. His Wor-
ship then said, " Well, we must obey the laws—
there is my son, take him." James Askew then
surrendered himself, and was let out (to avoid the
enraged populace) by the back way, in the custody
of the town serjeant, whe conducted him to his own
house.

These are, we believe, the simple facts. If the
man dies, which is not at all unlikely, from the na-
ture of the wound, young Askew will be placed in
a peculiar situation. Hence, it i 3 our duty to refrain
from making those comments which naturally suggest
themselves as to this particular case; nevertheless,
we may refer to other matters, which will not affect
a verdict as to this.

It is well known to all our readers, that the cor-
poration have been for many years, and are now
more than ever, the abject slaves and tools of the
Marquis of Exetcr,ready to do the bidding of that
boroughmonger, he it what it may. On the last
election many of the Aldermen most unseemly and
indecently interfered at the very hustings, where,
if they had any right to remain at all, it was only in
their character of Justices of the Peace, to preserve
order and act impartially. Knowing how exces-
sively unpopular this conduct had made them, on
the choice of the present Mayor the Corporation
swore in three hundred constables to keep the peace,
which they selected from the persons who were
working at Burghley House, and from the tenants,
voters, and others who were notoriously creatures
of the Noble Marquis, and in the open face
of day in the public stree.s put heavy batons
or staves into the hands of these ignorant partizans.
Every man po sessing common sense would at once
see, that, instead of tending to keep the peace, such
a proceeding as this was calculated to produce.
exactly the opposite effect, which it did. Many
conflicts took place between the unarmed populace
and these armed 'Red constables.' One young man
of the name of Wade, who had voted, contrary to
the wish expressed in seven visits of Mr. Alderman
Mills, for Mr. Tennyson, was so 'fearfully beaten
that he has never been able to work since. Another
young man was treated in a similar way ; but %%e
shall give his narrative in his own words, corrobo-
rated by witnesses.
T • • * • S • * * was on the 7th of
October, 1830, most brutally beaten by one R ' • •
R • ", (stone mason, at the Marquis of Exeter's,) act-
ing as constable at the Mares feast, so that I have never
enjoyed my health since, from the effers of the blows I
received on the head. 1 was s-nsible at the time, but was
told that during the night R * • ' said he hail marked
me out.' When I recovered a little I found myself in
the Town-hall, bleeding very much. At this time " *
*
hand on my throat to throttle me, and said Take the
villain below; we will have him down ;' also his brother
• * * * S • • * e came. Blades and Stimson re-
monstrated and said, 'Do you know what you are going
to do with this min.' Blades raid be wanted surgical as..
sistaace, and Mr. Whitby was called to dress the wounds.
What Mr. Whitby said, I cannot remember, but that he
says he never saw so much blood before.' I was at a
frlend'a house from six o'clock to five minutes before ten,
and was proceeding home, and was followed against the
Town-hall by R * *, who struck me and said, This i 4
the rascal as we want; - Lim we have got him now,'
I was then dragged into the hall and received the ill
treatment of the Mr. • • t * s's. This was as the
clock was striking ten. John Chambers, waiter, was at
the Town-hall, and heard 11. * " say that he had
marked roe nut."
Why, it may be asked, do you not bring these
cases before a tribunal of justice--but what tribu.
nal ? Stamford has a local jurisdiction of its own,
and the Judges we composed of this very Corpora.
two. A Corporation that eyoployed and armed
those special constables,—a Corporation, the ser-
vents of which pick and pack juries to suit their

party views,—a Corporation which, when bills were
ro be preferred against some of the populace for as-
saulting the constables, managed to have none but
Reds on the Grand Jury, and not one who had not
voted for the Marquis of Exeter's interest on th,
Petty Jury A very pretty tribunal from which to
seek justice in a party case ! What then should
be done ? Are the people to remain in their pre-
sent well-founded contempt of the self-constituted
authorities ? Shall those functionaries who alone
can be applied to for the protection of the laws,
continue to be, as they were innocently but truly
described by the late Mayor, Magistrates withou
respect—" Bless you, the Corporation have no in-
fluence in Stamford !" or shall a new state of
things be called for I) They will not denude them-
selves of their deeply-stained garments : let the
King, therefore, be beseeched to tear their gowns
from their shoulders; let a Magistracy be appointed
who "will have ityluenee in Stamford," and whose
names will not be associated with the robberies of
charities, the packing of juries, the prostitution of
the law, the perversion of justice, the Hunting at
elections, the bludgeoning at feasts, the sneaking at
Burghley, and the slave-driving everywhere else.