The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-18 00:00:00

BOLTON.

11,A large mob assembled this morning at Lever, near
-.45 town, for the purpose of turning out the hands,
Ivh
zh. en they were met by the Bolton troop of Lanca-
,,s're Yeomanry, and whilst a party of the mob were
I,lAged in an attempt to cut the water pipes from a
:krvoir at the mill the Yeomanry surrounded them,
I.llld took. no less than 40 prisoners. The Magistrates
LaVing read the Riot Act, expressed themselves de-
`rininpd to put down any outbreak.

OLDHAM.
tt An express from Oldham arrived here this morning
11W early hour. It was addressed to General Sir
:Illiam Warre. We have not heard its object ; but
igt all probability it was to make application for a
tht°nger military force in that neighbourhood, as by
rOrders of General Warre, Captain Burke, of the
lloyal Dragoons, with his own troop, and one of
-I`l, pieces of the Royal Horse Artillery, together
141 th three companies of the 58th Infantry (from the
(4'n:lnd-street barrack), marched at six o'clock this
haver Oldham.
being'
since learned that a large meeting was
Zing' held at Oldham, about eleven o'clock this f0re-
i,,(441, which the Magistrates had expressed their in-
"qltion of dispersing.

PRESTON.
iIsI'QUEST ON THE BODIES OF TWO OF

THE RIOTERS.
0 WEDNESDAY Mourn/co.—Yesterday morning, at
even o'clock, a respectable Jury . of fifteen persons
, irnpanelled by Mr. Palmer, Coroner of the hun-
Cds of Blackburn and Layland, on view of the
of George Sowerbutts and Barnard M‘Namara,
Iwo of the parties who were shot during the dis-
lirbances on Saturday last. The Jury assembled at
the. House of Correction, on which is mounted several
teei of ordnance, as a defence, in case of attack.
tlie inquiry occupied the attention of the Court nearly
4i. whole day ; it excited considerable interest, and
ely together a large concourse of people. Several
v
gi the borough and county Magistrates were present
4ring the investigation.
r-rhe Jury viewed the bodies of the deceased at the
It
-ktAlse of Recovery, to which place they had been re-
41,c'ved since death. On their return the examination
„ witnesses was proceeded with.
A. mechanic named Samuel Eastwood stated that
(71k Friday a body of perions, about 150 in • number,
factory
composed of lads, went to Messrs. Parley's
I,lltory and insisted on the hands being turned out.
,Z"ey shouted and made a great noise. In the evening
much larger body entered the bandy shop of the
:tory, bursting their way by force through the
tiiltehhouse, having overpowered the watchman. They
en searched the mill to see if there were any hands
„'L‘
bs" work. After this some of them seized the watch-
-11, and were attempting violence on him, when he
j'as rescued •by the book-keeper. On Saturday morn-
,,ll`4 Sowerbutts, the deceased, headed a mob of 500
~"1. 600 persons, who forced their way into the factory
'Yard about eight o'clock. Some of them began pulling
Zlat the fires from under the boilers, whilst others rang
4,,e bell, and kicked two of the watchmen severely.
'lle deceased, Sowerbutts, was in the yard, armed
With a cricket-bat in one hand and a large clinker in
?he.l other. Soon after this witness heard some firing
,-11. the streets, and saw. Sowerbutts coming from
iiswards the Corn Exchange, leaning on the arm of a
the right
He was bleeding from the side, a little above
right pocket. A few minutes before this witness
Vseen the mob pelting the military with stones.
the deceased was a weaver, and was 19 years old.
t 47m Haltnsley, an overlooker at Messrs. Paley's,
ti4toborated the evidence of the last witness, adding
at rae saw Sowerbutts engaged in pulling out the
ra.front under one of the boilers.
:"„obn "Wilkinson, a lad 17 years of age, was next
ao.)ined. • He merely deposed to finding the de-
hiuseci in the street, and at his request conducting
1" boiare.
Gregson, a warper at Messrs. Paley's, gave
'1"11ilar testimony to that of the first two witnesses.
e added that he should think sixty persons were en-
AgQd throwing stones at the military and pollee,
1,4 e stones thrown were large paving stones. Sower-
botts was ,one of those who threw stones. He was
t Id throwing a second stone, when the military
re‘j, and he fell.
aos'ttph Dearden, beadle, was next examined at
"Thr nrel_at longth.. He described the proceedings of the
011 Friday and Saturday, in effect the same as
~es
already appeared. He saw a stone deliberately
inled
at 16:,..Bannister, Superintendent of the bo-

,rough police, which missed him. It struck one of the
county constabulary. A stone wits also thrown at
Mr. S. Horrocks, the Mayor, which 'struck 'hiin on the
leg, and Wounded him. A number of boys were car-
rying stones in their caps for the mob, and a woman
had an apron.full, which she supplied to the mob. He
(witness) said he considered the military quite justi-
fied in firing in their own defence.: Had they not done
so they would, in his Opinion, lame-been greatly in-
jured.
Inspector Rigby, of the borough police, gave simi-
lar testimony.
!.. Captain Woodford, chief constable of the county
. constabulary force, wasihen . called and examined at
great length respecting the proceedings of the mob,
and the part taken by the military- and police forces
on the occasion. At head of his force he accom-
panied the Mayor, the borough police, and a detach-
meat of the 72d Highlanders.- The military were
'commanded by Capt. Davis, a Brevet-Major. - They
proceeded down Fishergate, towards Lime-street.
When opposite the Shelley Arms they saw the mob
'issuing from Lime-street. The mob opened on each
side of the street, shouting and hooting the military
I as they marched along the centre of the street, four
abreast. As it appeared to be the object oF the mob
tc surround the military, they Were commanded to
halt, and a new formation WiS ordered by which the
whole breadth of the street was taken up by them.
The police force (under the command of witness)
then took up a position opposite- Winkley-street Cha-
pel. A conskderable mob ,were then in Lime-street
and Winkley-street, to the right and left. of
,Fisher-
gate. The-police then proceeded to clear the streets,
-but were resisted,-and stones began to be thrown at
them. The military then marched down Lime-
street. Witness went among the crowd, remonstrated
with them on'the impropriety of, their conduct, and
earnestly requested them to disperse. Witness at-
tempted to take a young man, into custody who was
making signals to the mob, when he was knocked
down and kicked. He, however, succeeded in getting
back to his party. On reaching the Corn Exchange,
at the lower .end of Lime-street, more stones were

'thrown, acid some of the military 'were hit. The
police frequently repelled the mob to a distance, but
each time the' latter returned with additional force,
and a fresh supply of stones. The whole body of mi-
litary and police then returned up, Lime-street, fol-
lowed by the mob. On arriving opposite the Savings
Bank, they turned round and faced the mob. They
kept their position about a quarter of an hour, furi-
ously pelted all the time. A large body had then col-
lected behind the troops in Fishergate, and were hem-
ming in the forces on all sides.. Witness advanced to
the mob, andinformed them of the Mayor's determi-
nation to read the Riot Act. Some of the mob cried
out, " Read and be d—d," and pelted witness with
stones. Whilst the Mayor was reading the Riot Act
the document .was. struck out of his hand. Witness
again informed the mob that the Riot Act had been
read, but stones were more furiously and more plen-
tifully thrown at the forces from all
_sides. A subdi-
vision of the military in the rear then faced about, and
orders were given to the front division to fire. About
24 shots were fired altogether. A powerful looking
man, in the middle of the street, was shot down, after
which the mob ceased throwing stones.
Mr. Dixon, - surgeon,' attended the deceased. He
died on Sunday evening, at nine o'clock, from a
wound in the chest, a ball having.passed through his
body.
There was no evidence to show that Barnard
M'Namara had taken any part in the riot. He was a
skipper in the employ of Messrs. Oxenda!e, and 17
years old. He died on Monday about half-past one,
from a wound in the belly. The deceased said he
was standing looking at the mob, near the Corn Ex-
change, when he received the wound.
The Coroner then explained to the Jury the law
applying to the case under consideration, telling them
it was quite.evident that the act of firing was one of
necessity, and their verdict, therefore,. ought to be
justifiable homicide.

The Jury, without hesitation, returned a verdict of
it Justifiable. Homicide" in both cases: _

The town is at present tranquil, but the military
were still in readiness in case of need. Part of the
Yeomanry yesterday 'left this town for Blackburn.
PRESTON, WEDNESDAY NIGHT.—We have seen
letters from Preston, dated last night, in one of which
the writer expresses a full confidence in the ability of
the authorities to suppress any attempts at disorder
which might be made by inhabitants of the town, but
they were in daily expectation of a visit by mobs from
the neighbourhood of Wigan, who had succeeded in
turning out all the hands in Chorley and its vicinity.
Every necessary preparation had been made to meet
them, in case they should make an attempt upon
Preston, and, in that case, a fierce conflict was ex-
pected. •

BURSLE3I.

COLLISION BETWEEN THE MILITARY
AND THE MOB.

TUESDAY NiGirr.- -The report that the military
had fired on the mob, which we announced yesterday,
is quite true. In the course of the morning the town
was invaded by a mob of at least 5,000 persons, of the '
most determined character, headed by a band of music.
These men were, almost without exception, armed
with bludgeons, stones, large missiles, and the weapons
which they had been able to collect on the tour of
violence which I narrated yesterday. On arriving at
the Chapel Bank, which is opposite the residence of
J. W. Wood, Esq., at the outskirts of the town,
they were mat by a detachment of dragoons, to
the number of thirty, headed by the commanding
officer and Magistrates. Confiding in their num-
bers, and elated by the ,;recollection of their
warlike preparations, the rioters made a dead
stand, began to jeer the Magistrates and military.
Perceiving that their taunts produced but little im-
pression, the rioters then assumed a more hostile atti-
tude; stones and missiles began to fly about ; several
of the military Were struck ,upon their helmets, and
the Magistrates entertained the greatest fear for the
security of the troops and themselves. The total
number of the soldiers, as said before, was only 30.
The number of the rioters was, at least, 5,000, and,
it is' said, that several hundreds of them were armed
with pistols, guns, and other deadly weapons. Orders
were given. The soldiers fired three times, at first over
the heads of the insurgents ; the rioters gave way, de-
camped with the utmost possible speed, and carried
away with them a great number of the dead and'
wounded, whom they are supposed, in many cases, to
have made away with by throwing down the pits to
prevent their capture by the authorities, and the ex-
posure of the whole of their intended movements. Of
course it is impossible to state the numbers of the
wounded with anything like an approach to cer-
tainty ; suffice to say, that it is variously estimated
at from 30 to 50, of whom, at least 15 are supposed to
have been mortally wounded, and at the present time
either dead or dying, while as many more are lan-
guishing witliout the means of surgical aid, without
food, and without attendance.
Since affairs have taken this dreadful and calami-
tous direction, the authorities, and more especially
the head constable, S. Allcock, Esq., have been most
exemplary. in their attention to the requirements of
the locality. A proclamation has been issued by this
gentleman, requiring all pewit* well-disposed in-
habitants to remain in theirjwyses for fear of conse-
quences that may possibly ensue,-and we have reason
to believe that should any futureLilottnce be attempted,
there is every preparation to meetlt with vigour and
decision.

The military force has been augmented. Picquets
of the troops are sent to ascertain the state of the
neighbourhood. A constant communication is kept up
between the various towns in the district, special con-
stables, comprising the most intelligent of the inha-
bitants, have been sworn in, and backed by the sol-
diery, assist as sentinels. Every approach to the
town is strictly watched and guarded, and, for the
protection of the houses of the neighbouring gentry
several troops of Yeomanry have arrived at Stone
from Stafford and Lichfield.
Many of the insurgents are members of religious
societies, and have hitherto been regarded with respect
and confidence by their employers. This observation
is the more 'applicable to the new connexion Metho-
dists, the Ranters or Clewsites, and certain members
of the Baptist = and Independent persuasions, and
though it is true that their lecturers recommend obe-
dience to the laws in public, there are certain pas-
sages thrown into their addresses which are capable
of a very different construction. Since I commenced
this letter, the authorities have been strengthened by
the arrival of two companies 'of infantry at Newcastle,
and a park of artillery is expected hourly.
At Lane End, Fenton, and Stoke, things are now
quiet, and it is thought the rioters intend to make
Leek their rendezvous in this district. The authori-
ties have ascertained that such are their intentions,
and there is every hope that the matter will be settled
by the speedy influx of such a body of troops as will
render all their efforts at violence thoroughly abortive.
GEORGE INN, BURSLEM, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17.
With the presence of the military (a company of the
12th, and part of a troop of the Dragoons), we have
had the only quiet night of the last week. The fatal
charge on the mob yesterday morning has had a salu-
tary effect, and probably saved two churches from the
destruction threatened. It was made about half-past
ten, at the entrance of the Leek, or Moorland-road,
opposite the corner of Mr. Wedgwood's house. The
town was menaced by the advance of two columns of
the mob, one from the Hanley quarter, and the other
from the Leek-road, as stated, many of the latter con-
sisting of men from the town named, all armed with
sticks and bludgeons. The company of the 12th had
not the arrived, and about 36 of the troop of Dra-
goons drew tiwir swords, faced, and advanced on the
column. The mob came boldly up, menacing
the soldiery with their biudgizons, while some
unarmed men' on their flanks coniinenuti throw-
ing stones, some of which striking the horsus
made them unsteady. The Riot Act had
I
previously been read, and the commanding officer gave