The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-13 00:00:00

I MON m _iurru svEciAt,
co um issims.

TRIAL OF ZEPHANIAH WILLIAMS.
/ (Continued from Tire Stot of Sat-arday.)
( Sir Thomas Phillips, examined by the Attotkl.ey,Ge-
cneral—l was Mayer of Newport on the :Id Novem-
ber. Intelligence was brought te ran on that day which
rendered it nceetsary for me to take measures to pee,
serve the peace of the town. Special constables were
) sworn, and I sat up ail night at the Westgate, with
anotb'er Magistrate. I sent out persons to r.teet ire-
foroiation ; amongst others was Mr. Walker, who
i 'was wounded. Prisoners were made bet %Yeas twelve
) o'clock at night and nine o'clock Monday morning.
1 I r. ceived intelligence of the gradual approach of the
people. I sent for military assistance to Captain
Stack, and a detachment of soldiers was accordingly
sent down. The witness then described how he had
posted them in ;a. room in the Westgate, and thee the
attack made by the people in the Westgate. Witness'
and Captain Grey opened the shutters of the room at,
the east side of the Inn, in which the soldiers were, and
witness was wounded in doing so. There are three
windows in the projecting bow of the room. The
laeople in the town must hays been aware that the
soldiers had come into the town, and were in the house.
The people as they passed were formed in columns with
' the regularity of a military force, so much so that it
Would he incorrect to till them a leen. The wound I
1 rect ived in ray arm appeared to be made with slugs. The
second wound on the hip appeared to have been made
with a ball. Sergeant Daly was apparently wounded
,in the forehead with slugs. I went Into a room to have
my 'Tumid dressed, aid while there a man thrust at tee
i with a p'lte, and while doing so be was shot, and fell
; °PM via fate. The mob then diciicrAed, and I went
1 oP ete,re, and remained there for a month.
i Cross-examined by Mr. Thomas—There was some
firing into the paeeage from the soldiers, who fired free,
the room where they were stationed; but they fired
/
through the windows first. I had been wounded previous
to that time. When I was thrust at by the men the sol-
diers had fired from the windeate I repudiate the phrase
mole when I consider :he columr, of men in front of the
Weeteate. It was about 9 o'clock when I first saw the column.
4 The firing occupied about ten minutes. I understand that
about eight or nine men were killed. Letters trom New-
port to Birmingham are conveyed through Bristol. The
eoneh front Newport remains at the Monmonthshire side
of the ferry, and another coach conveys the letters to
Bristol, and the lat',er are brought by another coach again
to Birmingham. The Birmingham mail leaves when the
Welsh mail n.e-,a into Bristol, which is between four and
1 five o'cloet. in 'he evening. It was on Sunday morning
I that I fir . hterd of the movement.
Mr. 'Chornas—From whim did you receive that in
forration ?
Witness—My informant is not a Chartist. The infor-
I volition was that a rising was intended that night. I know
1
Williams many years. I would rather not say anything
about his character.
Edward Napkins, superintendent of police, Newport,
j proved the edrance et the insurgents on the Westgate, and
their attack on the special constables, who were compelled
to retreat. His evidence lots been already detailed.
Cross-examined by Mr. Thomas—Nothing of import.
ance elicited.
• Thomas Beren Oliver sworn - Who had been examined
on Frost's trial, was now so ill that he was allowed to sit
After recapitulating his former testimony, he added:—
The answer, ‘• No never" to the demand " Surrender
youreelves as prisoners," was given before the gun was fired.
Between the answer and th firing this gun ten seconds
did not elapse. There was no observable distance of time.
The muzzle of the gun was within three inches of my head.
It went off by design, I should say. The game man had
the gun, who used the expriessiou " surrender yourselves."
The gun was brought down to the man's shoulder before
the gun was discharged. I immediately heard the report
of a number of guns. Immediately after firing the first
gun they rushee, in ; they had guns and pikes.
The witoOes was cross-examined by Mr. Thomas,
Captaio Gray's evidence was precisely the same with that
which Ite gave on Mr. Frost's trial.
Jeremiah Box Stockdele. superintendent of police at
Cerdiff, having been put into time witnesss box,
Mr. Thomas objected to him as a witnexe on the
grounds of mis description, the name of the perish, as well
as the town not having been stmed in the list.
Judge Park directed that the witness should stand aside,
and another be called.
Thomas Sward, ohP al the Newport Pelice, was sworn,
and proved the fArding of tune, pikes, a sword; and
mandrils, which the insurgents left behind them in their
retreat. The several weapons were produced and iden-
tified by witness
Jerentiah vox Stockdale was again called. The
AtroroeyeGeneral insisted that the decision in the Bir-
minghael case, where an attorney is described as an at-
taney of the town of Birminehtm, was in favour of de-
scription given of the witness's aboJe. Osborn and
Gough, reported in tiosanquet and Puller, p. lel, also
supported that description ; and, in Crook against etref,
a similar description was held good.
Mr. Thomas having keen heard at great length against
the description given of The witness,
Chief Justice Tiadel ruled against the objection, and
elated that there was so more difficulty in ascertaining the
abode of a polite-officer than that of an attorney. His
Lordship errs eatistied that the Birmingham case decided
in favour of the description given of Stnckdalc's abode.
Judge, Parke—There must be a gelieral ru'e which
shou'e'e be adhered to. I doubt much that the description is
flureicient.
Judge Williams agreed with.; ha Lord Chief. :Justice.
The witness was ersmined by the Atterney-General—
In consequence of information w'e'clt I received on the
20th of November, : went, on ,he 21st, on board the
Vintage, vr'licil was lying IL tafea-lock. I went aboard of
her about three o'clock in the n,.;--Arng. That vessel was
bound for Oporto. In the boys' berth found the prisoner
asleep. I asked him his name, and he tolil toe Thomas
Jones, and that he retitled at Bridgend. I asked hits: :Then
ho came from Bridgend ; and he said, " the evening be-
fore, at seven o'el.ock." In answer to other questions, he
said he. had b",en for the last fortnight visiting his relations,
and tt,at Uewellyn was the last person whom he had vi-
oite.d. I took him into custody, and at II o'clock the same
toorn'.ng he disclosed to me his real name. The prisoner
at the bar is the person whom I arrested as Zephaniah
Williams. I found on his person ioet sovereigns, II Spa-
nish dollars, and two sixpences.
The Counsel for the defence having declined to cross-
examine this witness, the Attorney-General informed the
Court that the case for the prosecution was then closed.
The Court adjourned at a quarter-past six o'clock.

THIRD DAY-SATURDAY.

The Court sat it nino o'clock,

Mr. Thomas proceeded to addrass the Jury. You may,
said he, easily believe me, when I assure you that this is
the most anxious mement of my life. It is the first time
that in the extrei.-re of my professional duties. I have
ever been called upon to defend a felow-creature on trial
for lota life, But this is not the o :ly anxiety that 1 hare
in this, ceee, because I feel conscientiously. convinced that
there are more important eoesideratons in his case than
even the life of a tellow-creature. I feel, gentlemen, that,
in the discharge of the duty that yces are now called upon
to perform, arc involved the liberties of yourselves and of
your country. It is not simply a trial of the prisoner
standing at the bar for his life, but it is a matter call-
ing upon you to decide whether the crown is to have
the power of crushing every possible demonstration that
may he shown bi the people of this country. It is in
this view that I consider that this case is of more im-
portance don - yen that of the life or death of the
prisoner who is at the bar. In the anxiety and the
zeal which the Learned Seliciter-General displayed in
this case, lie forgot to ask of you te dismiss from your minds
the prejudices test must necessarily exist in them I
cannot, asking of you to do so, I cannot but beg of their
Lordships to remind you, that you should do so as far as
possible. I cannot, however, hope, or expect that you
will do so altogether, for it is no in the constitution of the
m'ilds of men to dismiss from them all previous knowledge
of a case, nor of their pie jedises pol;tierl cr religieus. I
do not expect any such thing as possible ; but as far as you
can, I entreat of you to coin, as usprejudiceit as it is pes-
Bible ter you, to look it this ease. I implore you to in
this, fir it is tea the life of the indiviclu II before you, hut it
is the safety of yourselve• and of your country that is at
stake, that country which is lookine to that trial in which
you are eneaged with the deepest. the most unprecedented
interest. The reason why I ask of you to dismiss all
prejudices from sour min,'s, is this, that I am not at
all U:lftlinTe of theeffarra that have been male by the
press, to prejudice the minds of all—locsily as well
as generally. The press, however, his net been the only
engine which has been used in the endeasmur to excite
prejudices in your minds. The pulpit, in this very town,
has been made the vehicle for uttering forth opinions, and
for exciting your minds to a degree which cannot but be
deplored. You have been told of the abomination of
" the idolatry of reason." Suck doctrines as these have
been addressed to the very judges who are to try the pri-
sonen for their lives. In a case of a local and political
nature like this, where such things have happened,
right, is it reasonable to expect, that the minds of the Jury
wilt be uninfluenced by such doctrines as those I have
just adverted to, when addressed from such a place as a
pulpit ? Local prejudices and political feelings have
been arrayed together, along with that which I will
not call religious feeling, because it appears to me to
bi notbini; more than profanity, if the temple of re-
ligion is to be mule the vehicle for conveying such
doctrines as these. I would beg of you, then, as far as
you can, to dismiss all these prejudices from your minds.
The charge that is here preferred against the prisoner is,
you are told, one of the very highest thst can be preferred
against a fellow-creature. You must then, before you
oomo to a verdict, be convinced that the prisons r has com-
mitted ono of the most heinous crimes of which any man
can possibly be guilty. Dn you think that the Avorney-
General can convince you that this is the fact, when all
that has been done is, that nt the outset you have heard a
few witnesses against the prisoner at the bar, almost
every one of these witnesses speaking well of the pri•
miner, as a man of a kindly nature and of good disposi-
tion, and as one too, who, upon all occasions, was found
to urge the people to the preservation of peace, and the
observance of peaceable proceedings. After this was
done by the Attorney. General, he went on to show
you the various bodies of men, under diff Tent leaders,
and then w fix the guilt of those persons upon the pri-
soner. I had almost forgotten, by the time that the last
witness ( Steekdalel, was called what it was that had been
said by any of the witnesses that could teuch the nri-
seiner at the bar. You even heard the Attorney-Ge-
neral declare that he did not impute to the prisoner that
be was present et any of the meetings described. You
see, then, that from the nature of this ehargeohough being
the highest which can be brought against any man, it is at
the name tier e one thrt is the most easily proved, for it
i; thus; that because the prisoner at the bar was seen
at one or two meetings with persons who afterw,rds
were seen in company with others, arid these third parties