The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-06 00:00:00

THE CHARTIST TRIALS.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY
OLD COURT.

THE TRIAL OF WILLIAMS AND VERNON.
(Before Chief Justice WILDE and Mr. Baron PARKE.)
Joseph Williams, aged 40, a baker, and William John
Vernon, aged 40, lecturer, were indicted for unlawfully
in the presence and hearing of divers subjects of our Lady
the Queen, uttering certain seditious words against our
Lady the Queen, and her Government, &c.
The Court was not so crowded as yesterday.
The prisoners pleaded not guilty. •
Sergeant Allen and Mr. Ballantine appeared for Wil-
liams; Mr. Parry for Vernon.
Williams, who bad nut been bailed, was in the dock;
Vernon, who was out on bail, was placed below the
dock.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL stated the case against the
prisoners. After saying that he was the last man wlio
would suppress temperate public discussion in the
slightest degree, but that he would never countenance
acts of violence, which were adopted for the pur-
pose of menacing the Government, he proceeded to
say, that the prisoners were charged with being
present at an unlawful assembly. The meeting was held
by placard, calling the people to assemble at all hazards;
it was held late at night, at Clerkenwell-green, in de-
fiance of the warnings of the Government and of the
administrators of the law, and at a time when the whole
of Europe was in a state of commotion. In holding it,
no doubt the parties who took an active part in it, the
heads of the Chartist body, imagined that they would
be enabled, by disturbing the public peace, to obtain
their ends by violence. Williams was the chairman of
the meeting, and Vernon was in the van, and though he
did not take an active part in it, he did in the subsequent
proceedings. Williams began by saying "My friends,
the bloody aristocracy has done its work," and went on
to say " that if they were assailed he hoped they
had sufficient energy to defend themselves. He
bade them fall into marching order four a breast,
and he would take them to a place where they would
meet ten times as many, and where they would be ad-
vised what was the best thing to be done." The meet-
ing was principally composed of Irishmen, who suffering
from distress, composed an excited assembly. They
were spoken too at a time when John Mitchel had been
recently convicted, and the words that were spoken by
Williams were these—" The Gagging Bill had been
brought in to murder that honest patriot John Mitchel,
by the base, brutal, and bloody Whigs,' who had ac-
complished their end by means of packed juries and par-
tizan judges." From the speeches made on the occasion
(all of which ho read), it was obvious that the people
were advised to arm. As he said yesterday, all pre-
sent at meetings of the hind were responsible for the
consequences. The peoplo did march four a-breast
for some time through the principal arteries of the
metropolis, causing the utmost alarm. Williams
marched at the head of them, and Vernon took
an active part in the proceedings. In Red-cross-
street the mob halted at a coffee-house, from which
Vernon addressed them, saying the time had arrived for
acting. Some one in the crowd said, " Come down
among us, and wo will do it to-night." A person named
Macarthy said, " No, come again to-morrow night and
bring your guns and pikes with you." The mob sepa-
rated after being told that meetings would be held from
night to night, at Stepney-green and other places. •
The following witnesses were then called
Mr. Richard ICemmis, who produced the conviction of
John Mitchel, fur felony.
It was handed in, and the words in which Mr.
Mitchel was convicted were read by the Clerk.
Mr. F. T. Fowler examined by Mr. BODKIN—He said
he had been a reporter to the press for five years. Was
at the meeting in question, at which 2,000 or 3,000 per-
sons were present. Took up his position in a van, in
the centre, in which Williams also occupied a place. Ile
first addressed the meeting. Took a note of his speech
which was now in the same condition as when he wrote
it.—(The witness here read the speech from his notes.)
Together with those of Macarthy and Fussell.
Williams at the close of the speeches said, " Now,
my, friends, fall into marching order and follow me."
The speeches were much applauded by the meeting,
which consisted of the lower orders, a great proportion
of them being lads and boys. The people fell into
marching order four abreast, and proceeded from the
green. At every point where he noticed the procession
he saw Williams at the head of it.
Mr. PARRY objected to any evidence being taken with
respect to the procession out of the parish of St. James's
Clerkenwell, on the ground that the indictment charged
the defendants with having committed the offence im-
puted to them then and there, meaning Clerkenwell-
green.

Mr. BARON PARKE saw no force in the objec-
tion. The offence was a statuteablo one, and the
venue was laid in this court. The Act constituting the
Court gave it jurisdiction over the whole of Middlesex.
Mr. SERGEANT ALLEN here interposed, and said, as
he was unable to cope with the evidence adduced yes-
terday, and as the same would be adduced to-dav, and
not being in a better condition to cope v‘ ith it, he had
advised his client Williams to withdraw his plea of not
guilty, and to plead guilty of attending an illegal as-
sembly. He trusted the acknowledgment of the defen-
dant that he had transgressed the law now he was better
informed would entitle him to the indulgence of the
Court.

The ATTORNEY. GENERAL had no objection to this
course if it were sanctioned by his Lordship. It was
important to know that the determination of the pri-
soner had resulted from his own conviction, with the
advice of his counsel, that he had acted in contravention
of the law.
Mr. Sergeant ALLEN assured the Attorney-General
that he had put the proper construction upon the
matter.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said it had been his inten-
tion, in the event of the offence imputed to the defen-
dants being proved—attending an illegal assembly—to
have abandoned the other counts of the indictment.
The defendant Williams was then directed to retire.
He was accommodated with a seat in the dock, and the
evidence of Mr. Fowler against Vernon was proceeded
with. He said he saw Vernon in Finsbury-square near
the front of the crowd walking arm i❑ arm with two
persons. Before the procession started three curses were
given for either the "b— Whigs " or the " b---- aris-
tocracy," he could not say which. Vernon turned round
to him, and said, " I don't like that; curses break no
bones."

Sergeant H. Hardy, 15 C, corroborated that portion
of the evidence of Fowler. Vernon said at the coffee-
house " We have had a meeting to night in spite of
finality Jack, and we will have meetings night after
night in Clerkenwell and Stepney." He began by say-
saying "Myrmidons, myrmidons, myrmidons." He
also said the proceedings that night had cheered his
drooping spirits; he should say little, as he was prepared
to act. Some one said from the crowd, " Come down
amongst us, and we will do it to-night." Macarthy
said, " No, not to-night, come to-morrow night with
your guns and pikes, and we will do it." The City
police came up and dispersed the crowd.
Cross-examined by Mr. PARRY—Was not a member
of the detective force, but was present in private clothes.
The time was half-past eleven at night. I took notes of
some of what was said. I took notes of Vernon's speech,
but shortly afterwards destroyed them, not, however,
until after he had sent in a copy to his inspector. Stood
in the middle of the street. Was not near a lamp.
(The witness, at the request of the Learned Counsel,
wrote a sentence on a slip of paper; he said he appeared
to write with great facility.) Ho (witness) was on the
pavement in Finsbury-square while the procession was
parading roundj it. A good many respectable persons
were in the crowd. Saw Vernon amongst the proces-
sion in the square.
Mr. Fowler was recalled, and said h© had reason to