The Sun.
London, England, 1817-10-20 00:00:00

444

MONDAY. OCTOBER 20, 1817.

SFATE TRIALS.

SPECIAL COMMISSION AT DERBY.

SECOND DAY, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16.

l'br the preliminary Proceedings, see our Paper of
October 17.]

Jeremiah 13. randreth, otherwise John Coke, other
The Nottinghtva Captain, 'being put, to the
bar,

Mr. ATTon N EY-GE NE RAL rose, nod commenced

by observing, that the :4 eutivino-1 vvln»n he had
the honour to . address were now assembled to
perform one of the most solemn-and important
duties -.v rich could
,devolve upon them.as meni-
berS of civil society : it was, as they must already
be aware, to tiecitie upon the guilt or innr.cenee
of an . individual charged with the highest crime
which could be' committed against society, and
Hgainst
.that order of things which,. ;thank God,
!Ind been long happily established in this country.
There were other offences of great enormity to
which human nature was sometimes insti?..,,ated in
violation of the law, and of the rights of math
; hut there was none that originated in
deeper malignity, or was so directly dangerous awl
subversive of society, as the crime described in the
lariguag'e of the law as high treason : the safety,
comfort, and happiness ot them all, depended 'on
the security of that Government and Constitution
which had been established in this cottufry for so
many years, and whic`li he hoped might, if pos-
sible, last for ever : his own duty consisted, in the
present stage ot these proceedings, in stating as
acetiratelv as lie was able„ and tinder the correct-

tion of the Learned Judges, it he should happen
to this-state or to misconceive it, the law as it af-
fected the prisnimer, and applied to the acts charg-
ed in the indictment. Cod torbid that he, or any
man in his sitution, should attempt to go tat timer,
even if there did not exst._ that lecurity for every
subject which was to be found in the lea ruing and
wisdom of those avho presided upon all suchi.nyes-
tigations*; ice hoped it would be recollected by" time
Jury, that they were to derive the true
.construction
of the lawirom that source, and nut from the ar-
guments of Counsel on either side. Perfect
stranger as he was in that part of the country) acid
necessarily unacquainted with time Getitlquen of
the Jury, Jme ha.d.a perfect confidence that, upon
so solemn an bc(aisiOn, they would exercise tlich
functions impartially, iiabiassed by any motive but
tine impression made upon their understandings by
the evidence: and wide a recollection that they had
attested their Nlaker jo the iategrity of ;bete con-
duct. There were three distinct charges ofTreason
againspthe prisoner.; the first of which stated, that
he in conjunction with others, levied tt.:ar•
against his Majesty, and. describing certain overt
acts, viz., arming thevsclyes for this purjnase,...and
using other means ‘vl-0,..ms view to its success, and
was founded .oPon tits_ statute of the 25ah of
Edward 111. For many years this was the only,
and still remained the most important, statute on
this subject ; ftmi the other charges were founded
upon statittea which contained no, material diffe-
rence, hut deseribed certain .substantive and spe..
cific acts, amonnting..to the crime of high trea-
son. :The 2d count referred to this description,
nhich was to be found in the .36ih of theaiag,
and was that of compassing and imagining to de-
pose the King. ,The overt act in which the trea-
son consisted was that of consulting with others,
and of providing arms and ammtinition the the
purpose of subverting, by insarrection and hostile
force, .the Constitution of this realm as by law
established. It charged also, that in purSnance
of this design, the prisoner and-otheis did openly
parade with arms in a warlike manner, and did
actually levy war against his. Majesty. The
third charge was, that he had conspired. to levy
war against the King, in order to compel him
to. change his measures, and contained time same
avert acts stated in the former part of the in-
dictment. The legal meaning of_ the word
" to compass," as.used in the statute of,Edward,
was considerably different from the ordinary
sense and acceptation of the term : it meant,, in
familiar language, " to effect" an object ; but in
the law of treason, its construction was " to
imagine or intend." It was sufficient,- therefore,
to affect the prisoner with this offence, it he could
be shown to have joined with others in hostile Ay-
ray, in execution of a design to subvert the. estah-
lkhed Government, even though he.had no other
absolute or determined object, or knowledge of
any ultimate purposes entertained by oihers..
,A
Learned Judge, Mr. Justice Foster, as much tit-
tached-to time liberties of his fellow-subjects as
any Magistrate that ever adorned the benek•had
distinctly stated, that every insurrection for a pub-
lic and general purpose, such as the pulling down
all enclosures, time .opening all prisons, or the
reforming an imaginary or real grievance of a pitim
lie nature. by force of arms, was in construction of
law high treason against the Crown. It was a mis-
take to suppose that war against the King could
only be levied by a foreign force,but the only war
that could he levied by a subject was that of in-
surrection and rebellion.. It was t>f no importance
upon this point, whether there had existed at))
probable chance or spreading wain throughout the
kingdom, and renewing the calamities of former
periods in its history ; the treason was complete,
however few might create the insurrection, and,
however weak the chances of success. • It might
be likewise necessary observation for hint to
make before Ice proceeded to detail the circum-
stances of the case,. that the crinie of treason
existing in the mind, could be proved by no better
evidence than time declarations of the prisoner
when.found to be in conformity andeon-
sistency with all the circumstances, and with the
+overt acts charged in the indictment. The crime
itself, was ,t,jmidy an infervace•fram all the circum-

[Pliic r? SE vENI,ENT E.

stances prothited in evidence, and did, not consist
in any particular act. He shonld endeavour" ,to
shOw that'the prisoner, with cithers,had project ed4t
plan for overturning the laws and Governittent
this country; and it Was perfectlyindifferein to in-
quire what they nesigued to establish in its place,
whether a N.s tonal Contention, or a mere state of
anarchy, or whether they hod no definite.objeet of
any kind. The only question for their conOlera
thin was, did.the prisoners contemplate the sub!.
version of the Government, and 1,1,:s any measseres
foe effecting this object., If they slid entertain
such a design, and attempt to carry it into exec[[-
lion by insurrectiore mid hostile farce, then the j•
had_ unquestianably, 'according to the laws at
England, committed palpable,High Treason. ,It
would appear, as he epprehended, in the course of
the evideocee Onet tee prisoner had jostled
others in arranging a plan for the achievement of
some public purpose by means of hostile force and
violence ; that although not present at all the
Meetings of the Conspit ators, he was active in ep-
deavopring to advance their plans ; that lie
'as commonly designated "by the tide of " the
N,e. thighs:is (Jaw aitt," and hod been appoint-
ed to lead, conduct, and command a division
of. the rebel army, which was expected to be
formed. . Ile should show, •that in' purseauce Of,
and in connexion with this design,it was agreed to
assemble in insurrection on' Monday night of the
9th Of June, in a placecalled Not tingliamsforest ;
and that .the prisoner went to Pentridge in' the
countyof Derby on the Sunday preceding, to' see
the expected insurgents, who were to subvert the
Government, and, to use their own language, to
" wipe all off.", It would likewise appear; that
he prisoner, on this occasion, exhibited to others
maps,,and plaps of the intended progress of the
insurrection at a public-horse known by the.
name of the ‘White Horse, endeavouring by these
means to procure a simultaneous rising in different
places, and .stirring up evil- spirits' to deeds of
conspiracy and rebellion. The insurgents not
only armed themselves, but provided a sup.
ply cif. arms Un- those ' who were expected to
join them. They collected-pikes, guns, pisthls,
and every species of weapon that feltin their, way.
Froth- Hunt's-bar they proceeded to Dobson's
clOse. 'Brawl:pat, the prisoner, and George
Weightheati, tvliO wet e the' leaders, were preced-
ed a,eonsiderable hotly of their party 'their,
object was to add as Malty to their numbers as
passible, by compelling others to join them, and
to e.provide arms for those wfio might willingly
cotes.- their, ranks, or whom they might compel
info their:service. Theis were fully. aware of the
i-hfiiiehee Of neuthers among those who were ignor
rant of the hat ate of the force, or the means em-
to increase it:; they' therefore always de-_
dared purpose' to be to collect men and.
arms. If b'bd been said that the arms of Ettglish-
men were allowed thetit for their defence, and for
the protection of those houses whiehlor security
are proudly called their castivi. Among our- an-
cestois this was permitted; and reckoned a,prond'
boast. Little was it thought by those who allow-
ed.. it that they were, in' the instruments of per-
sonal and domestic protection, providing weapons
to put, into the hands of such men as lirandreth
and his associates, to overturn social order and to
destroy their fellow-subjects. But the seizure
of arms was not enough. They added to this
violence, that of compelling their owners to join
them. The inhabitants of the houses to which
they paid their unwelcome visits were required
to give their guns, and either to join, their party
themselves, or, it Coe c was no male head of a
family, to send it son, or a servant, to swell their
numbers. They openly declared their intention
to have a. man or a gun from'everyhouse to which
they went ; but the man whom they pressed was
not to be all Owed to retain-the instrument which
they seized. It was put into the hands of a wit,.
lingaftendant;and another weapon was to be forced
Upon the owner. After conducting themselves in
this manlier, they proceeded from Dobson's close
to the house of Mr. Thomson. They had not hi-
therto been joined by such numbers Of their ad-
herents as they, expected. They, therefore, de-
termined to .dispatch some of their followers to
Pent' idge, to gain intelligence of the state of pre-
paration of their partisans in that quarter, to
hasten their match, anti to learn the cause of their
tardy approach. This partyewas headed by George
Weightmau. The others, uuder the commend of
the. prisoner Brandreth, came to the house of
Itlij'aft hail they there took a gun, and in-
sisted on the son of the. owner joining them.—
Elijah Hall was compelled to go along with them,
but he deserted theta as soon as he could, and
fled back to his own house. It was a fortunate
circumstance for the justice of the country, and the
cause of order, that this man was forced Into their
ranks, and compelled so long to attend their move-
ments. this means the Jiffy would have to
listen to the testimony of as bones.t a man as could
Ise lotted, .speaking, to facts that came within his
own knowledge and tinder his own eye, and fully
diiclosing the intentions and conduct uf' the Pri-
soner. This person, who would be brought for-
ward as a witness, accompapied, thoog,h reluct-
antly; the parry of insurgents to the house of
,Mre
Walker. When they strived there, they as usual
demanded :a gun. The owner of it was reluctant
to surrender it, but was compelled to yield. When
they got the gun, they still were dissatisfied, and
returned to demand the pistol which they heard to
be in the house. The owner denied that he had
one, but they searched and tOok it from his belt..
From thence they proceeded to the house of Samuel
who
stl' Hunt,
1 rsv whose
elli:(rile,tti‘liectsionif'naat eedri:Nn:(llll
-11
a:ler
caeti.)aai
er evidence,l
inilast Cu:thee::.
prisoner
happened, (cal
hard
ai which
sc
bhprtroveto:
get

. . .
teial- lie *Wished particularly to Out the Jury on
theirs:natl agtriest any izitlitence which this cie-
, etiorstatcensiglit have upon their minds in taking
out taeclrarge of Treason. he desired them not
to adjul'ies7-tlie prisoner guilty on his trial for High
Treason, beeause ''c, in the "coarseasf the eVidence
for establishing nit: 'charge, might be obliged to
bring •tastimony which migh`t appear sufficient to
Trove Mier gild( y'of murder.: Crimes, in the judi-
cial ocedure of this country. could not be mixed
so as. t 0 -give the etre arty lufiltence in supporting
the other. The comtuission ;milder, though
proved, therefore could not be alleged as an evi,
•dence of High Treason. At this house they,
as usual, demanded grins; the inhabi-
tant, with more `coin-age than they generally
lee! to encounter, .refused ; the resistance was
fatal as the insurgents could not force the
door, Brandreth went 'pid, and breaking a
window, introduced iii itself into' the room where
the owner was. The Learned Counsel then men-
'tinned the murder that was committed, with the
saying of Beandretli, the prisoner, that he had
"shot one man already, and would any one that
opposed Hint. From the:house of Epworth they
proceeded to that of Mr. Fletcher, and thence to
Buttetly iron-works : before they arrived at that
place, there appeared great . uncertainty in their
Movements, great doubts as to their proceedings,
and despondency as to their success : they were not
joined .by the numbers they expected. On their
way to Nottingham, at a'place called Greenwich,
the two parties which he had formerly mentioned
formed a junction ; but being still wavering in
their resolution front the want of previous success,
they sent out scouts, of whom one was George
Weightman, to learn it the others whom they ex-
pected were advancing front Nottingham: he took
a horse out of the stable of a person at that place,
and proceeded towards Nottingham on this mis-
sion ; in the mean time the main body remained
'under the command of the prisoner at the bar,
who was called their Captain. • The party were at
this time completely organized ; they had not
only a leader in chief, but inferior officers to exe-
cute his commands, and to keep the insurgents ia
the ranks ; these latter were to brig up the tear,
to collect stragglers, and compel those who wish-
ed to leave them back into the ranks ; the ilia:
tended fugitives were told that they most proceed'
and that to desert would indanger
,their lives;
the command was threatening. and peeetnp
tory 'ln this manner the party advanced to
Langley-bridge. George Weightman, who had
been sent to bring tidings of their expected
adherents, here joined them ; and whatever
representation he gave to the prisoner, Brasidreth
endeavoured to encourage them, and said all was
loin;; on well ; that the soldiers were starved and
discontented, and that Nottingham was already
taken. Many here relented and deserted, not-
hstandiag every effort employed to keep them
together. They then proceeded to Eastwood,
though reduced in nurobess. These proceedings
took trona Sunday till 'Tuesday morning. In the
dean time notice had been given to the Magis-
trates of the neighbourhood of Nottingham of the
advance of..stir:tea body of insurgents. He had for-
gotten to sty that several persons in Nottimgham-
forest had been _prepared to join them, and that
niorentents of theirs excited suspicion. One of
the Magistrates rode out and found the party in a
most miserable plight, dispersed or dispersing ; he
saw the remains Oft heir recent progress, and of their
terrified retreat ; he saw arms of all kinds, gims,
pikes, pistolS, and other instruments left on the
field, like the wrecks of 'a•dispersed army. That
Ole prisoner was there, that he was the leader and
encourager of the insurrection, that fie was what
was called the Ncittingham Captain, that he orga-
nized the party, that be formed the order of march,
that he shoWed the plans and maps by which he
was guided in them out, there could be no
doubt.' Smite of the witnesses might not be
able to identify his person ; because, by allow-
ing his beard to grow, anal appearing as he now
did in Court, he had _somewhat changed himself
from what he was, and took every means of con-
cealing his identity. This, ho wever, could not availi
as sufficient evidence would be brought that he
was the saine pet-son who was at the head of the
party, and directed their motioua. He submitted,
that if he could establish the facts which he had
Mentioned, he should sufficiently make out a sub-
stantive act of treason in levying war. There was
here a hOstkle force ; arms were collected ; a banal
of men for a general purpose was organized; the
body marched on in warlike array ;. they com-
pelled all whom they. met to join therna;' and they
openly professed the design of overturning the es-
tablished institutions of the country. There could
not be a more shocking mode of levying war. It
was in every respect -treason in the eye of the
law to assemble in arms, to profess the intention
by force to accomplish any general purpose con-
trary to the established authorities of the cows-
try. The Attorney-General thus concluded:—
What answer my Learned Friend can give I am
sure I know not ; but unless he can alter facts,
unless lie can prove the prisoner to be a different
person, it appears to me impossible, according to
the law and evidence of the case, to resist the
proof which is to be laid before you. lam sure
the prisoner has all the means of defence which
au intelligent and impartial Jury can afford ; I am
sure he has al.l the means which a learned and
eauditl Court van give; I ant sure he has all the•
means which the talents, ingenuity, and learning
of a counsel can supply. He has, then, all the
means which Enelislonen can have for their de-
fence at the bar of their country. The Attorney_
General sat down at 2 o'clock.

DERBY, SATURDAY, Ocr. DAY.
CHARGE TO THE JURY.

The CHIEF BARON soon. after 8 addresscl the

Jury to this effect :—I must now request your at-
tention while I state the evidence in this .case,
and suggest the observations that occur to me;
and in order to remove from your minds any ap-
prehension that may have been excited, of the
Court interfering with your province, f have to
say, that it is as far from the intention of any of
us to encroach on your provinces as it can have
been front the intention of any of the Counsel,