The Sun.
London, England, 1804-12-19 00:00:00

Prison, in consequenee of the'e'scepe .of the cele.
brated Jahn:' in the year 1802. The o.l.i.tin Was
founded opan an order signed by Johnson, fcir goods
afterwards'forwarded to him by the wha
is a trader at Guernsey ; and this :order purported,,
that, the goods, consisting of several cases of the best,
port wine, and a quantity of manufietured tobacco,
were,for the account of 'Government, and .to the
use of Sir Ralph Ahercrornby's army, then on the
expedition te Holland. -
The Deputy Clerk, of,---ehe,. Papers in the Fleet
Prison proved, that Johnson was a prisciner in the
Fleet Prison, for some time, before his. eacape,--, io
me:tarp:veer, for this debt, .and a number of others;.
and that a day or two previous to his escape, a de-
tainer was lodged against him by. the Solicitor. of
Excise, for a capital felony, and an Habeas .Corpea
obtained to remove him to Newgate„ which 'Writ
was returnable on the following Friday ; that the
Solicitiar of Excise had given the Deputy Wardee,
staid instructions about holding Johnson- in . safe
cusiody, whom he represented, as a. desperate , ad-
venturer, who had made his, escape.' before from
prison, and told them 4.‘. to secure him now they.
had him." In consequence of this.. recommeeda-
tion, great precautions
,were taken,, and he was
confined in the strong-room ; from,. which he
contrived to make his escape. The loom had two
. doors, one within the other, and about two feet_
asunder; the- inner floor, was faced with iron
on the inside, anti the lock ~was placed on . the
outside ; the outcr.door was very strong, ' and
fastened also with 'a strong lock. It appeared that
'the pannels ,o.ver,both do,: s, eight feet above the
floor, had. been chiselled out, that over the inner
door from the inside, and that over the outer-door]
from without aide, as. the chisels were found be.
tweet) both doors a and that
,after.vartis the Pa.'
stove had made his escape over the outer wall of
the prison, which,is forty fectinheighr, and topped
by a. chevaux-de-frize, armed ell round with fur;
midable spikes, to HIM which he had clambered
from the wind.'w of another prisoner by the aid of
a leaden spout and an iron- rod which served as a
conduCtor for lightning, to, the roof of the prison,
whither 'he :brought with hiio a. ladder of ropes,
and •tiorlle,fathoms of small cable, with a grappling.
iron fastened at one end.. This he threw from the
prison. roof across, to the ibrugux.ofe fr;zr, where it
caught fast ; and then pulling the' cable tight,' and
making it fast on the roof,. he crossed upon it him..
,‘
self, gained the top of the :wall, and got down by
his rope...ladder into Fleei.market, where horses
. •
were prepared by an accomplice to carry him if.
A number of exceptious were taken by the De-
fendant's Counsel, as to :the sui4 formality of the
legal proceedings, in the mode of
.fiiing and enter.
ing the Declaration, After a discussion of same
length, however, the Court was of opinion, that the.
proceedings were regular. and the Prisoner, in all
respemls, legally in, custody.
Mr., Serjeatit &Immo. then, addressed the
Jury on the nature of the debt, being a claim for
wino and tobacco, alledged to be furnished to
Johnoon, a notorious smuggler, for the supply of
Sir Ralph Abereromby's Army; a pretence
,which,
he said, was a libel at once upon His Majesty's Go.
vernment, and upon the several Couunissionets
whose .peculiar duty it was, to furnish supplies to
the Troops, upon the
,several ExpeditiOns
on which they might be sent.. FOr although John.
son, as as notorious smuggler, acquainted with every
creek and cranny on both, the Dutch and French
eoasts, where . any, landing could he effeded, was,
deemed a very fit person, to ad as leading pilot
upon, such an Expedition as that under Sit Ralph,
Abeteromby 'a command, and was," on. , that account
chosen by Government for the purpose.; yet to sun..
pose that such a man would he employed alas Per.,
veyor provisions .or wines, or . a Commissary
for the supply. of the 'Troops, instead, of, ordering
. those supplies throuialt the: usual and established
was absurd in the extreme ; and it 'watt
;foil asibsord to suppose that Mr. Allaire, instead
of applying in what he mutt know to be the usual
channel, namely,, the proper office .of Government,
in England, fur payment of, any just 'demand for
supplies really furnished for the,uae 'of His Ma.
jieely's troops, and as all other persons furnishing
such supplies alivays epistle:l, should choose' to
go to law with .114 r. Johnson for, the money.—:
Jr. was infinitely more probable ,that
,this Order
of Mr.' Johnson's was calculated as a mere cloak
for .smuggling the goods into England, at a
convenient' opportunity 'for if the Fox lugger,
on hoard of which they were, should be found
hovering within the airohibited distance of the
British coast, mind were seized by a revenue
cruizer, the Conmantler. would ' have only to
produce his written documents, that the good; were
for the British Army, and that he only waited 'a
fair 'wind. It Was impossible but that Mr. Al-
laire, Guernsey, arid ',his'
Partner, Mr. Wen.
ham, of klastings, must too ,well know the cha.
rafter of Joh000n; to consider him for one ino-
meta' ie. the light of, an Army Purveyor for GO. ,
vernment, ' But the true Gel was, that this ,was
an adijOti b,rought experimentally, by -some of the
accnaopires of Johnson, to recover a compara.
tieely small sum from' Mr. Eyles, against whom
other iii ,ions to the amount'of 12i0001. only await'.
ell the ititle ; for detainers to that amount
had been laid against Johnson, while a Prisoner in
the Fleet, for the identical purpose of enabling hire
to contrive his 'escape; 'and theeeby,to the
'Whole demand upon the Warden of the Fleet Nissan '
'and plunder him of his' property. ,
Mr. et-J'eaor Stterttatto was afterwards pro.:
teeding to Call'evidence ; but the Foreman of the
Jury said, his Lordship. had .no necessity io take'
'up more • of the time of the Court on ibis case, as'
the Jury saw clearly the debt was a smuggling
transaMeiri,-and the Plaintiff entitled to no vet.
ditt.—P/obeiif looara;tel.

11411.1',IRTTI1 y. rROST.
The Plaintiff' In this action had given a quantity
black of lace, to the value of sp. 18s. to a person of
the name of Yurnery pit sell tor him on commission.
He disposed of it to trie Defendant. One' Wit.
nos deposed the goads were, sold hi the name of the
however, said that Toth, r had
s+)l,l dim in Ills own narnS, as CtFOrnifiliun brokers