The Sun.
London, England, 1816-11-28 00:00:00

' SEIZURE OF GUNK3AVDgIt:'

A V,
,

• Tint KING V. TINIF.I.ER AND MOUNTFORD.
This was ;to inquiry which took place before a
Special Bench of Magistr.aes assembled at Guil&
ford on Saturday last, Lord Middleton in 1115
Cka'ir, relativetn the seizure of 1ti,5761b5. of gtin.
' powder, at the Chilworth powder-mills, of which
nittl, the defendants =are proprietors, on the Bth
and 9th.. itahtant. The inquiry was one of treat
iti.eret and impoitaoce to the town of Guildford,
1+ WI iis. •Itt! glinnlit nod ; and more especially to
thrr,e persons residing in the vicinity of Messrs.
Tinktee and Mountford's works, and occupied thr
• Magistrates doting the whole of Saturday and
'Monday last. The powder, when seized by the
cnostables employed under the informationveas
plated by them in a hop-kiln, belonging to a gen.
tleman 'named Ryde, in the neighbourlino4
where it . remained from the bore the seizatre
was made, tinder the care of• a trusty guard',
to await 'the .decision of the Magistrates.---,-
Mr. Cowley and Mr. Becrings now appeared
as Connsel, iia support of the information,
and Mr. Nolan, foe the defendants ; the infor-
Mation,,whieb was founded on the act of the 12th
Of the King, entitled " an acti.for reguldting the
• muking, keeping, and cariying of gimpowder by
the makers thereof," (the 7th section of which
piovides that no. greater (pi:Amity of gunpowdet
in h finiplied State, or in a state of .prbeess, shall
be kept in any gunpowder-Mill, or places be-
long;tig or adjoining thereto, at any one'titne,
than is necessary for carrying on the said works ;
and that any excess above such necessary quati;.
tity shall he liable to seizure and forfeiture, and
the proprietor of such mills be further liable to a
- penalty of 2s. per lb. upon even ylb. of powder so
fiicitt'll), having been read, and which informa-
tion charged the defendants with having the above-
mentioned quantity of powdeG namely, I 6,;i7filbs.
in their works, contrary to the regulations of the
act, unlawfully, and to the imminent danger, ha-
larti,...and peril of the neighbourhood ; and the
defendants having. pleaded Not Guilty' to the
diarge,
.Ir. CIAVLEY proceeded to address the Bench
in support of the information. Atter adverting
to the ;moot lance of the qnestion,which he had
now to submit 16 the consideration of.the Befleh.p
one nothiug less in it than the safety
of the property' 'and even the lives,of rite
tants of the town of Guildford and its neighbour.
bond, observed, 'that, looking at the amonot.of
powder seized, he was persuaded he should have
but little.ditliculty in shownq.to the Bench that
what bad been called the nervous fears of the
complainants. ,on, this occasion,. was at least not
fears witliont fotiodation. As little difficulty
should he have in showing that for .a length of
these gentlemen, the defendants, had;
front a love' of lucre, been carrying on their'tta.de,
negligent--entirely, negligent—of the: safety of
their neighbours and of the public and in open
fiance of the provisions of the Act of Parliament,
oolvhich the present information was founded, and
00 title 7th section of which he should on tiCks OC4
ckr;ion principlily rely. The nianufactore of; pow-
der wa not necessary one, hut a politic
.4Doe mid lot thee, the. Legislature had made it a
legal one. At the- same time, aware of the dan-
14eronsirature of it, they, Itatt Korrounded it with
precautions. And the Act in tpt,:tion, tire .12th
of the King, wos in fact, a ple,autionary act.
Notwithstandinpall.the precanti•ms. which ,could
be taken,..bowever, explosions %%twirl freqttently
decor. And in the ninnufactory, of _the de-
.: Pendants, two 'o hi events had ()centred within
the last . five- yeats. The object of the present,
.act was to render these unavoidable accidents as
little datigetous as possible, . To diets this. object,
one of its provisions Wulf, that attached to every
pOwder7manufactory there should he kt magazine,
or storehouse, itt which to deposit the powder as
lust as finished, there 40 remain till called for by
the consumer. A timber provision of the Act
WHS, that there should be buildings of a certain
description and construction , called ebarge-bouses,
to which the powder, whilst in the diffet eat, states
of process, should he received, so that not more
titan i4lolbs. of finished powder should be in any
building where there was. machinery at one time.
This was intended to prevent.the explo‘ion of a
large tillantity. These were someof. the provi-
sions of this, Act, lie Understood it was 'to-day to
elntended,that the Chilwrmh -mills were ancient
mills4.,erected7l4ne before the passing of this Act,
and not liable to itti regulations, lie (slr. Cow-
ley) t:,(1-.t deny pPsition, Lie had looi;ed over
various Acts of Parliament on the suhjeet, anti
he certainly found exceptions iti favour of some
.prirate milts tit Sussex, men:ioned by name, and
exemptions relative to his Majesty's works, but in.
.A4rpoe did he find any mention made of theChil-
worth-mills ; lint idlowing it had been so, none'
of the tisiils in (proton .were exempted from hav-;
lug' a .tuaiozink.,"- Yet ..the defendants had been.
goi)ig on for years tVidwilt one : and, if suffered(
to goon, must still d6so ivithont that necessaty.
810i:011114 Plhev AV 4,1 M never be
"in,i;(.4orieriett. it ni4Azine, bee:lase they were in is
situArient where they mtgitt not to have one.
r!FriSt,n carried on their business;
s...ll;iont one; hiding their -powder. in holes'
and (7ilWers that instead Of having only
40 or t)tlitol of ‘poWder in a place battle toepfo
Sion, ist(.4 'aciinliiitited-15,1,1001bs; which
lnight inst:tht, and 'spread ruin`
-mut d'es.t'rirctinn around. The 'charge ,• ti,ainst the'
41etetiria.its now was; for having this.acerunthlatiOn
of powder Forivol ire improper places. Thel 6;576.
[its, tract heen taken away, end he liatl.noW to
contend was forfeited, Be'..,ides' this. quantit.v, the
seizing otri:;er left behind him 160011), 'Of finished
wder, Which he ought also- to' have taken, :is
we'd as a luantity in proces in evelli' part of the
works; amounting tOlevetaiewt ; whieli
submitted, U.as, strictly Speaki;!g, forfeited,- bad
they taken any acrottnt of it. The ctuttntityseited
'and in-aught away, he should be able to shim,' by
iineoificodictory evidelice, was ear,excessabove that
-alltoas'edby art parliament. He no* had to ask
`ifithe -the fotleiture itonitthe ptinalty'of
2s. per ii ttpon if. fje ylirittltt' piovc, that,ex
te,h sii4-0-minities of -firtillied rowdte, winch,
should have been deposited no Where bat in a not.,
gazii,e, were found in places the most dangerous

. -
t
anal exposed, in the .midst of machlnety in the
coming -house, lusting-house, drying-house, and
even in a building Withinks feat;. feet of ilte.StOVe.
places, where none but t%e small quantity imane.
tliately in process should be deposited. Otte other
circumstance he had to allude to—thetwas that
of a prnfes:iional gentleman's (Mr. Rtigue's) name
standing as an informer, lie gnats casnvineeal;how..
ever, thr gentlemp's eitaracteras a.profesaional
mall shoed too iligkl.to he injured by this circum-
stance: one originatiag,only, from a qesire on -his
part to perform, a most impottant duty to the
public. The Lear'ned Counsel then proceeded to
call his witnesses, the first of whom„. . ,
James Parstms, was examined by Mr,,Re' er‘i,st6,
—Witness stated,
,that he Was called on by the
constable of Clailwo:th to aid in seizing the.pow-
' der in question. The tritness then proceeded to
desCribe stir places in which they found the pow-
der : 57134'1115.. they,found in a building called the
dusting-house, titnate.within less than 100 yard 4
of Mr. Rowland. and Co.'slsaper-nrill : this tputn...
tily 'was nil finished powder. In a small building
call,e4 the. upper charge-house was found 240011).:
in the lower charge-house, l9oolb. also Aniihed
powder ; in the hand.eorning-house, 40001 b..; in
the lower corning-house,l,l6lb.; in.the meal..
ing-house, 151141 h. ; in the tub-house, distant
only 14 yards 2 feet from the stove, 79341 b. ; and
in the upper tub-house, 74.211). These quantities
were seized, and, with the exception of 16,1011).
which were left in the dusting-house, Were taken
away.' All the powder in the stove, amounting,
as witness wars told, to 35001 b. 'was olio kft, its
well as several tubs of composition in the meal-
ing-house, and some in the glazing barrels. In
his cross-examivation by Mr. Not.AN, t‘iteess
stated, he could not say what quantity nt powder
was left behind, as he did nut weigh it.
Holmes, the constable nf. Chilworth,. carrot.
borated the statement of the last witties,- and
produced samples taken from the different quanti-
ties of powder seized.
Mr. W. Drayson, clerk of his Majesty's works
at Waltham -abbey, was them, called, and examined
the different samples prialuced hy Holmes, and
proved they Were salt powder—a great part in a
finishial 'state, and the remainder in a state still
more indammatble and dangerous than when finish."
ed. Mr.Prayson then entered atlength IMO a detail
'of the process of making powder, and ;described
the different buildings from 'which the powder
seized. .wits taken, and their uses ; pataicularly
the dusting-house, situated so near Alr. Rowland's
mill, and in which the 5,7131 b. was found. In this
building Major By. in his award, allowed4ooolb. to
be kept, Mi.. Drayson now stated, tttalielarge,t
qnantity ever, required there at a time was 1,2001 b.
and even that quantity, in case of explosion,
would prove dangerous 'to the buildings' near the
spot. In the upper tub-hoarse, lie did not Con.
sider any powder ought to be kept.. In the upper
charge-house no finished power should he kept.
He was of the same opinion,as to thb,mealieg
house, .The witness then proceeded toast ate the
quantities which he considered as necessary to, be
deposited in each particular building, for:Abe pur-
pose of carrying on the works; and further.stat!,
ed, that finished powder shoUld.be depositedd—in
,magazines---boildings constructed of brick end
aittete, and situated b() yards at least from the mills
and,ltouses where there wits-10Rellinery None of
the buildings where this powder was Ititand were
_magazines.: ,many of, them had
_machinery in
then; ; some of thentnearly joined the powder!
Inas ;. and one of them was within a few yards
of the stove. He had bed, over the works at
chilworth, but saw no magazine. To the best of.,
his i"dPneot., supposing all the machinery to be
in full'Work,„the mills would make 106 barrels, or
10,6001b5. of powder a week. .
T.. Ed was cis ivas the next witness, called : lie
proved having been present when ,part o. ,
f the
.pwa.der was seized, and the buildings front which
liv was taken. He drove one of the tuna, anti' as,
sista in taking the powder seized to Mr. Ityde's
hop.kiln : the quantity taken by hint arnoumed to
5,700108..: the whole quantity was carried te• the
Itoi.kilns inane day.
The examn iation of this witness concluded the
btainess of the first day. The Court suet again on
Moaday morning, at ten o'clock ptecisely, when
-!---- Marcb, "tt. carter, proved having citified
three waggon-loads of 'powder, consisting ,of
70001bs. in all to the hop-kiln.
-L'-;!--- Stevens, the constable of Aldbury, stated,
that he was present at the seizure. lie described
the'sit tuition of the buildings in which the pow-
der was found. - The hand-corning-house; front
which 40001 b. of powder were taken, was nearly
under the same roof with on'e of the mill*,
Mr. o.lliirnes had been seveta years Overseer
of lii, Majesty's works at W:thltatn-abbey, and
.37 years- acquainted with 'the Manufacturin 1,,,, , 0 I
_ powder. Mr. liarnes entered into'a minute dc-
script;on of the process 'carried on in each build-
Mg; the use to which each btalingvas assign-
ed ; :and the-quantity of cotnnosition and powder
necessary to be employed in the process' milled
:. 'on in each. ' His testimony went to prove an ex-
cess ohinantity in every department, in the pre-
4ent Instance, He thought 10,6001b5. was stiffi-
' tient tribe 'on the premises tit any one, time; from
sheeonimencement to the finish of the process,
because more could not he dried in thealay. ' He.
had examined the works at Chilworth, ainl save
nra nurt.,,,azine ; he -thought the safetyait the neigh,
bokahood r, ttired there should be one,

'fhis finisheil the cafe in support. of the infor-

motion.

Mr. Pen It.NG then proceeded to sum op the evi-
dente, and observed, iii'doiog this he should
extremely brief. • The Learned Gentleman
Confidently contemplated a judgment against
the defendants in this case, who, by a-gross yki.
iatioo of the taw, had endangered the safety of
the neighbourhood in which their mills were
atedi and even that of the town of Guildford it-
self.- It was not now his duty to observe, either
retrospectively on what had taken place, or proi-
peetively nit what might hereafter; but merely-to
ask, whether the law was now to be put in 'farce,
tia.pretect the neighbourhOod, and. whether the.
proprietors of Chilworth po‘vder-mills had broken.
(he Statute'? He should, however, neglect his doty.
to himself; and the profession to which he beitingeif,
if he-did nut nye i'ew.wordSrespeethrken ht uour~
able and respectable Gentleman sitting near 'himi
Mr.. Nolan,
(Me. Bogue), on hour hialrieud,

unadvisedly, he hoped, hail cast some itnputatians,
becattae that Gentleman's name appeared on the
infOrmatjon as the informer. Mr. Bogue had,-ou
this occasion, stood forward in the discharge of a
great and important public duty. The penalty
sought to he recovered on this occasion. was large,
and it Was thought desirable that it should be
placid; -if recovered, in the hands of an:honour- '
able'man, rather than in those of a' common 'in-
former. His Learned Friend had called Mr.
Bowie a common infOrmer. There was an old
proverb, '" Give a dog a bad name, and you had
better hang him at once." In • some cases, -per.,
haps; this proverb would have .applied, in the
present, it would not.. The respectable brother
et that gallant, honourable, and lamented
cer, 'Colonel 13ogue, who so' nobly fell in his
country's cause at the battle of locipsie, Was too
well known in the place where he resided to be
affected by the 'imputation which bad, he must
sa!,6 been so improperly cast upon him on this
occasion. Having apologised for this digression,
which he considered he was bound to make, he
-should return to the case before the Court: The
Learned Gentleman then proceeded tti comment
upon the evidence, and upon the law of the case.
They did not, he observed, complain of the de-
fendatits for inaking gunpowder ; that they had a
right to do, provided they did it under the pre.,
cautions provided by the law, from the observance
of which there was nothing to exempt Chilworth.
mills. They complained, however, that the law
had not been complied with, and that an exCes
sive quantity of powder had been accumulated
there and deposited in improper places,. to the
great danger of the neighbourhood. it the evi-
dence proved this fact, then WAS the information
established, and nothing retnainerlAant forfeiture
and penalty ; and after the Court should have ad-
judged these to the extent proved by the evidence,
he trusted it would serve'as a lesson ;o these Gen..
tlemen, and that in future they would not feelin-
elined to fly in the face, of an Act of Parliament,
to the endangering the lives and properties of those
residing in their neighbourhood.
Mr. •NOLAN then proceeded to address the
Court, aod
.took several obijections to the form of
the information. Tocse objections were answer-
ed by Mr. Cowley and Mr. Beering, and over.
•ruletl by tire Bench. Mr.' Nolan then proceeded
to argpe.un the facts of the case, and contended,
that this was not a prosecution brought forward
for the pinposes of public justice, but arising out
of private disagreeMent bet Ween a Gentleman and
his discontented tenants. He then proceeded to
contend, that even allowing there was on excess,
there was not an excess of the extent of the van.
city taken away; and therefore; Oft of the pow.,
der seized, must, at all events, be returned. The
prosecutors had not proved any thing left behind,
except. the 16(4/lbs.:left .in the dustinphouse ; and
both Mr. Drayson and Mr. Barnes had stated that
1600Ibs. were necessary for the daily proceis;
so much; therefore, ought to have been left be-
Itiod.—.-As to the atstertion of 35001ba. being, left
in the stove, and eettain,quantitieain the glazing
frames, &c. there %vas not a word of evidence to
prove it '; and, therefore,"be contended be had a
right to insist, in •juatice,lhat his .clients should
have.so much of the powder seized. returned as
would Make up that tinantity, 'Whether they
were net hereafter to have the rest back also,
wotald be a question for future consideration.
The Court 'aired for about,,t,ea miontes, when
they returned, and Lord M IDDLETON declared
their opinion to be, that -761Ciths.:Of the pry.;-der
were forfeited ;• and upon which quantity the de.
fendants,were also amount-
lug to a further snits of 760 E. Its. The 76161b5.
they were to select froth the finished powder, and
the remainder seized wasio be returned.
The Court was crowded each day. A great
degree of anxiety prevailed previoos to the. Court
giving judgment. rbe Alarm excited in the Minds
of the inhabitants in the neighbourhood, on di's-
covering the danger they hail been exposed to,
was generally telt end expressed.

LfinsANNR, Nov. 15.—Some German manufac-
tnrers have formed the resolution ul- inviting the
Diet assembled at Frankfort to propose to• their
respective Sovereigns the establishment of a Con-
tinental System, and to close tbeturopean Con-
tinent to English manufactures. Its order to pro-
cure partisans, they send round circulars every
where, and have, particularly invited the Swiss
merchants to make common cause with"them.—
These good people seem to he ignorant that lee
trade i the permanent motto as well as safe-guard
of Si% itzerii, ; that it is only to secure that free-
dom that Switzerland would ever be induced to:
exert all'its means that it is with' that view she
los actually !mitre deputation to Paris, and that
she never will engage in such a foolish enterprise
as that of endeavntiring to exclude England from
the market of Europe. The present misis of com-
merce has other can-A.% than any share that Eng-
land may take in it, and requires other remedies
than prohibitions.—r(Stviss fournat.)

Tiu CORNWI tiATlNPl.—Pricvs and Itopet "re
tising is 31. tBs., hat expected soon
to leach .11.--Copper, which was,lutely below 80,
has got np to 92, :110 it is by, no means likeiy to
stop there. This rise has saved otir deep statics:;
which otherwise svottld 'Ave inevitabty been
stopped.—The rumour which has :Tread from one
0( the Cornisb rttpiers into SOHN of the Loudon
ones, that . chaseAater Mine had stopped, and
tin own 500 men ont of employment, i not true.

Between nine and teat o'clock on gnnclay.even-
ing
last, as a Goldman of Bridlington was re-
turnkng home fsomPrifikeld, be beard a rts4tling in
the hedge,, in the neighboulhood ,of Natkrton,
and immediately a man jumped out anti fired a
pistol at-him, the charge of. which.passed almost
close by hint, but fortunately be escaped without
hthity, A second pistol *as also fired without
effect. On a Whistle bring given, one or nit!"
more men jumped out of the hedge, but the gen-
tleman's Eloise haiing set off at full spied,h'esuc-
ceedid in getting away in safety,---A short time
alterwatas a firmer was stopped nemr the same
place by..thi ye rttetz, who unhorsed and began to
rob' hirb;,,birt :t.Wo- other persons on horsebac)i
coming up, the robbers made off, before theY
could accompli4 their purpose.