The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-26 00:00:00

THE CHARTIST TRIALS.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.
TRIAL OF CUFFEY, LACY, FAY, AND
MULLINS.
(Continued from our Third Edition of yesterday.)
After an adjournment of about half an hour, Cuffey,
Fay, and Lacy were placed at the bar.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL addressed the jury, and
he regretted very much that the exigencies of justice re-
quired the attendance of so large a number of ge'itlemen
in their position, no doubt to their great inconvenience;
and he et tho same time trusted that the proceedings
which-they had just witnessed with regard to the choice
of the jury would not have the effect of prejudicing the
prisoners, because it was a course perf& ctly in accord-
ance with the law, and which the prisoners weee.entitied
to adopt. He then proceeded to state the cirMimstances
under which the charge was preferred against the prie
soners, but as the facts were precisely the sanieetajn the
former case, it will be unnecessary to repeateL*ene s
The evidence was then gone into. rS.e. e •
-*
William Cross, a police-constable. proveitthat:hfitsteA
prehended the prisoner Fay on the 18th orAugust;eirteV
that, as they were going to the police-officei thepri'Son6r
told him that he had been secretary to one of the'Cha:rtiet
associations.
sergeant Thompson deposed that he went to a garret
ocoupied by Coffey on the 18th of August, and took him
into custody. He told him that he was charged with
felony, in conspiring against the Queen, and he replied,
It is quite sufficient. I understand what lam charged
with." He then went to a drawer in the room, and
fumbled about for some time, and then took out a pistol,
which he endeavoured to pass to his wife, but witness
laid hold of him, and, after a struggle, got the pistol
from him. It was loaded with powder and ball, and
primed. He also found a flog and banner, which were
produced, and in which were inserted the words" West-
minster District."
Sergeant West proved that on the following day he
searched a cockloft in Cuffey's house, and found a pike-
staff, which he produced.
Charles Tilden deposed that he became a member of
the Chartist Association on the 29th of last May, and
Coffey was his class leader. He belonged to the Dean-
s!reet locality. In June he had a conversation with
Ciiffey about making cartridges, and Cuffey wished
him to make some. He told him he had got no gun,
and the prisoner answered that when the time came
they should get plenty of arms from the gun-
calkers' shops. They likewise had a conversation about
ginger-beer bottles filled with gunpowder and pieces of
iron, and Carey said they would be very good things
for the Chartists' wives to throw out of the windows
while their husbands were engaged with the police.
Culfey likewise showed him a pikehead and staff, which
he said was made after the Mitchel fashion. He also
told him that there was a rebellion in Ireland, and the
soldiers would all soon bo sent away, and London would
be in their hands, and he said he hoped that witness
would not flinch when the day came.
Cross-examined—He was very anxious to be placrd
under such a redoubtable leader as Cuffey, and he ex -
pected if he obeyed his orders he should become a general,
and, perhaps, eventually president of the commonwealth.
—(A laugh.) He had been charged with being drunk,
and about seven years ago, while engaged in looking at
the statue of King James, a policeman interfered with
him, and ho was obstinate, and stood by the statue from
nine o'clock in the morning till five, and then he was
locked up for looking at KingJames.--(Laughter.) The
magistrate ordered him to find bail on this occasion,
and he was in prison for three weeks. Ho joined the
Chartists as a moral-force man, and he purchased gun-
powder at Cuffey's request, in order to see if he could
not find out something to stop their proceedings. lie
considered the ginger beer bottle business physical force
and not moral force. He mentioned the ginger-beer
bottles to lead him to think that he was sincere. He
offered to sharpen the; pikehead fro.n the same motive,
and ho always determined to betray the physical-force
movement. He was in communication with the Govern-
ment before he said anything about sharpening the pike,
and he communicated from time to time what was going
on. 'He knew nothing of Powell, and never saw him.
He did not expected to be paid for what he did, and he
became a spy and informer for the good of the public.
He went to Cuffey's house a quarter of an hour after he
was apprehended. Knew there was a cockloft to his
garret; but had never noticed it particularly, and, of
course, he did not put the pike-handle into that
loft. He was in regular employment with a
a respectable tradesman at the time of these
proceedings, and was earning 28s. per week.
Did not expect to be paid for anything except his
loss of time; but he should not be ashamed to take any-
thing the Government might give him. On one occasion
he saw Coffey casting bullets in his garret. He was
using a tobacco-pipe and a pair of pliers for the purpose.
Neither Mrs. Cuffey or any of the little Cuffeys were in
the room.--(A laugh.)
Re-examined—lle was apprehended for loitering about
Whitehall-gardens, and not giving a satisfactory account
of himself.
At the close of the examination of this witness, the
jury in the former case came into court, and handed in
a written paper to the Bench, in which they expressed
a wish for the Court to read over those portions of
the evidence which confirmed the statement of the ac-
complice.
Mr. Justice Wrnmeess said that his Learned Brother
Erle who tried the case, and who bad more particularly
directed his attention to it, had left the court, b ie
would endeavour, as well as he could, to do what the
jury required.
The ATTOICNEY-GENERAL suggested that it was now
past seven o'clock, and, as it would not be advisable to
break into the evidence of the next witness, it would
be better at once to' adjourn the case of Cuffey and the
other prisoners.
Mr. Baron PLATT said that as there did not appear to
be any probability of getting through the case that night,
perhaps that would be the
better course.
The further proceedings in the trial of Cuffey were
accordingly adjourned, the jury being taken, as in the
former case, to the London Coffee-house in the charge
of an officer.
Mr. Justice WILLIAMS then proceeded to address the
jury in the case of Dowling, and read from his notes
those portions of the evidence which were relied upon
by the Crown as confirming the testimony of the ac-
complice.
Mr. KENEALY, at the close of the Learned Judge's
address, complained that he had not been allowed to
adopt a similar course in challenging the jury that had
been permitted to Mr. Ballantine in the case before the
Court that day. He had made the same application, but
it was refused.
Mr. Justice Winuelas said that the Learned Counsel
had applied for a list of the jury, and that was the appli-
cation which had been refused.
Mr. KENEALY asserted that he had asked permission
to take precisely the same course that had been adopted
by Mr. Ballantine; and he now requested that the Court
would direct the fact to be placed upon the record.
The COURT refused to accede to the request.
The jury then again retired, at half-past eight o'clock,
and returned into court at half-past nine, when they
gave a verdict of Guilty against the prisoner upon the
second count of the indictment.

VV COURT.
(Before the RECORDER.)
Soloman Cowan surrendered to take his trial on an
indictment charging him with having received a large
quantity of cards, the property of Messrs. Dickenson,
well knowing them to have been stolen.
The prisoner was defended by Mr. Bodkin, and Mr.
Ballantine stated the case to the jury.
de-
The facts of the case have already been amply
tailed in the police reports, and under the
s
court last session. For some long time pastbeen plundered
tutors, the well-known card makers, had_
Whom
and also
to a great extent by their servants, oneesosfien;
h head
de- of
ot shei
the goods
some receivers were convicted last
amongst others the
were traced to several persons, and
prisoner, who keeps a general-deTler;:miinnsC: o
tshweelil;rist roVr
and the point urged most strong
was the fact of his having solda
h wholesale price.
tqueantity of the stolen
cards at very considerably below
rd some of the w
The ECORDE,
expressßed an opiR
niohnavtibnal La did not think there itnesses,
was
any case to go to the jury.
After some discussion,
Mr. BALLA.NTiNE said,
that if that was the opinion of
the Court, his eliout!did not wish t press the case any
farther. They admitted the
p
with the stolen articles. andattihsooao ph
ads
theyad dealt
watched
their servants they. had not traced any of them in C'JM-
munication with him or at his premises.
The RECORDER, haviug directed an acquittal, eau-
tioued the prisoner to be more careful in h;s dealings for
the future.
Frederick William Southcombe, aged 22, a cabinet-
maker, was indicted for forgery and conspiracy.
From the evidence it appeared that the prisoner (who
had for some years past swindled a number of trades.
people under a variety of aliases) opened a baker's shop
in the Caledonian-road, Islington, under the name of
Cocking, and by means of a forged bill of exchange, the
subject matter of the first indictment, obtained goods to
the amount of 71, 10s. from Messrs. liens, ironmongers,
of High, street, Islington.
The evidence was very conclusive of the prisoner's
guilt, and the jury at once convicted him.
There were eight other indictments against tho pri-
soner—four for forgery, and four for obtaining golds
under false pretences.
The RECORDER, having looked over some of the other