The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-11 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY, JUNE g.

HERNE BAY SMUGGLERS;
J. Iri•st, W Deers J. Richardao'n, W. Williams, and
Webster, were indicted for ttnlaWfully assembling, with others;

to the number of forty irr more, with fire-arms, for the purpose.

. .
of assisting in the illegal running and landing contraband goOds;
and there *a a count; charging them with firing at and killing
Mr. Snow, a midshijarnan, of the Severn frigate, employed in

the PieventWd Senice.

Mr. BOLLAND opened the pleadings, and the ATTORNEY'
stated the facts of the ear.,%t to the Jury, as it ap.:

p eieed afterwards in the folloWing evidence •
D. North deposed, that he is a quartermaster of the Seveen
on Ole PreVentive or Blockade Sei'vice. In the month of April
they were stationed at Herne Bay, Kent. On the 23d of April
they were called out at past 12 o'clock at night on the usual
service : and he was atationed on the beach abreast of the town.
Witness was under Sydenham Snow, a midshipman, on the
same service. On the morning of the 24th, about a quarter
before throe, they saw Mr. Snow, and about four or five minutes
after witness heard a pistol or musket fired, and then a whole
volley of musquetty in the direction towarda Mr. Snow and
hiteself. Witness heard the balls whistling, and heaving up the
shingles from being fired too low. They fired again, and he,
retreated towards another man, named Wilson, who was also of
his party. There was then a considerable firing from another •
party, and 1:e heani repeated Cheers of " kill every on the
beach." He then found several following him, and firing at
the same time ; and he heard the whistling of the bullets. He
then retreated up ahe bank, till he saw a party coining to his
assistance. He wan armed with one pistol and a cutlass, and he
fired in the direction of the smugglers, after they had fired fieat.
Parties of their men approached in all directions to their assiel-
anee. The night was datk, with very heavy lightning. He
could onls tell there was a number of men, by the flashes of
their arms. In one party there might be about 20 to the west-
ward of him, and about the same number to the eastward.' He
did rot know what became of them. He did not see Mr. Snowe
By the COURT.—The bullets came very near him, in various
directions, both above and below; buthe could judge that they
were fired attim.
J. Wilsen, also.a seaman in the Preventive Service, -come
borated the testimony of the last witness. In consequence of
what Mr. Norris, of the Ship Inn, said to witness, he went down
to the beach; end foiled Mr. Snow lying on his back, with his
arms extended, and the floodfide over his shoes, so that he must
have been drowned; he said he was wounded, and-that he was i
dead man ; his hat was lying on one side, and his cutlass on
the Other ; when -Mr. Snow was brought to the inn, he sent for
the parson, who came to him ; he could not say whether Mr.
Snow fired first or last.
G. (Triffiths lives at Canterbury, and is a farmer's labourer
and gardener ; he had been at Canterbury ihar years, but nee
constantly ; he identified W. Beer, whom he had known eight
or nine years ; he lives at Lidebourne, about fonr miles
from Canterbury, and is like West, a thatcher at that place.;
witness was at his wife's father's in April last, at Littlebourne,
where he saw Beer; he talked about some tubs that he and
West and another had coming, and he might go and help to
work them if he liked, and witness said he should like to go very
well ; he said this at his wife's father's, but they spoke so law
that no one present could understand ; Beer said he did not knoW
when the boat would come, but he did not think she would come
till the next dark ; he also saw West, and. called to him and
asked when he expected the boat worked, and he said he did net
know, but if they wanted it worked they would let him knoW ;
on Easter Monday he saw West at eight in the evening; with
E. Beaumont ; West told them he wanted him and Beaumont
to meet him at
,Giove-ferry, to help to work the boat; he
went to the place, about three or four miles from Littlebourne,
and at the public-house they saw Epps, the landlord ;
had accompanied him and Beaumont a in the public-
house they found some men, and were joined by West and
Beer, and Lawrence, and two or three more; there were twelve
of them in all ; they had refreshment, and plenty to drink ; '
the party then went over the ferry ; E. Epps ferried them
over, and Beer told him that the armed men were to have Ph.
each, and the working (unloading) men 6s. each • when they
got about six miles from Grove-ferry, they found the two Rich-
ardsons with three carts, and a party of men, at the door
of their house ; in the house they were serving out aims and
ammunition to the party; they were mostly pistols, such as
horse soldiers have, .and e saw a brass blunderbuss and some
guns; S. Lawrence was serving out the arms, while West and
Beer, the two Mohan 's ens, and \Vitra ms, w re prevent. Wit-
ness had a pistol given to him, and 14 rounds of cartridges; arms
were given to 19 persoes, for they were counted by the Lawren-
ces e they had Hollands at the house of the Richardsons ; there
were GO persons in all, and they proceeded in two parties to
Herne Bay, but joined in a field at the back of the bay ; Web-
ster and two others were left with the. carts near the turnpike ;
they were also armed with pistolS ; in the meadow the tinned
party were called in front lay IVest and Beer, and the two Law-
rences ; they. then formed into two lines of ten on the left apd
nine on the right, so that when the boat came on shore the work-
ing men came between them ; in about a quarter of an hour 'or
20 minutes, a Deal man called them to come alone, which they
did, and when they got to the beach the boat seemed close ashore;
West commanded on the left, and M. Lawrence on the right,
both armed ; Beer was with West ; on the beach he saw two Irian
standing to the right, and one of them snapped a pistol twice ;
then a pistol was fired, but from whom he could not say ; 1.
Lawrence fired a brass blunderbuss, and another fired a pistol
towards the'man who had snapped hit pistol; the latter advanced
towards the working party ; •but after that he saw him no more;
there was a great deal of firing from the smugglers' party after
that; the working party during this time were carrying the
tubs up to the carts ; the tubs contained Hellands and-brady ;
Webster jobs about with coals, and his cart was employed :
West, Beer, and Lawrence said they had got all the tubs they
expected ; they n hired to Herne and dispersed, some going one
way and some another; West two days after told him there
were 65 tubs worked out of 81 thatavere expected ; Wehatere
said he brought his 22 tubs into Canterbury ; witness asked
him how he ventured to bring them at daylight in the morning,
and he said no one officer should have taken him ; witness con--
mlinicated all this to ..11r. Stride, a Custom-house officer, before
any one was taken into custody.
Cross-examined.—lle told Mr. Stride two or three weeks bee
fore they went that they were. going ; he fired seven or eight.
times: to his knowledge he did not tell his brother-in-law that
he fired ten or eleven times ; he saw his first wife more than
eleven years ago in Deal, for the last time; he•could not tell
how long he had been married to his present wife ; about three
weeks or a month ago he had some 51. notes in his possession
he was in custody for uttering forged notes ; but he-had told of
this transaction to the Solicitor to the Admiralty before'he was
in custody for the notes; he would not answer when it wat he
passed the last note said to have been forged ; he had been three
times in prison before this e' the night of the 24th of April was
a Fn. :Emil moonlight night ; he had been once in prison, and •
once sent to sea for smuggling ; he could not read nor write ;
did not even know the alphabet ; but knows a £1 note froM a
£5 ; he recollected being one other time in custody about some
oil ; but he only went to see it measured. •
By the Con ive—He never fired at any one, for he- bit the •
balls off the cartridges.
J. Smith, another of the party of smugglers, corroborated the
evidence of the last witness:.
James Howman, another accomplice, deposed to the same
effect.
A surgeon was called to prove the death of Mr. Snow, ' and
his dying declaration as to the mode of attack, but. he said
nothing to affect the prisoners. Other witnesses were called to
corroborate minor points of the testimony of the accomplices.
William Salmon, one of. the principal officers of Bow-street,
produced some muskets, which he found at, the house of the
Richanlsons. Some of them appeared to have been recently dis.
charged. Griffiths saw these arms as soon as they were taken,.
West, on being called upon, said he was innocent. Beer
made a similar declaration, and they both explained Some
cumstances stated in evidencd. The two Richardsons and Wil-
liams contented themselves with a general declaration of inno-
cence. Webster said he was at home,
.sitting up with his. fa-
ther-in-law, who died on the very night of the affair at Herne
Bay.
William Schiller, brother-in-law to Griffiths, said he saw him
on Tuesday morning after the affray, and asked him how begot
on the night before, and he said " Pretty well ; if I take a Job
in hand I always get through. it well, don't I?" He told 'the
witness he had tired, 11 rounds of ball cartridge.
Shaw war called, and in the most positive manner cor.
tradicted Griffiths and Smith. The latter said to him once that
Crook, thexcise officer, was a d_a eye-sore to him and many
others in thße place, and he.viould give witness a 101. note to
shoot him.
Jane Fuller swore that Griffiths once wrote a letter the her,
and that she had heard him read repeatedly. (He swore hedid
not even know a letter in the alphabet,)
Peter Du Thoit swore that he had known Griffiths many
years, and from what he had known of hini would notbeliere
him upon his oath. The witness gave West and Beer an cm..
cellent character.
Several respectable witnesses gave West, Beer, and
hams the best possible character for honesty and -huntariitye
Some of them spoke in the highest taints of West, and saki thee::
could not be a better or a kinder young man. The Itiehar,!•:*
sons also received a good character. t
Mr. Justice BAY LEY summed up the evidence with his usitatt
humanity and perspicuity, and the Juryeetirted. a serdic, f•,41
ing all the prisoners NOT GUILTY.—Thc trial Ifist:4ll2teiirs.
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