Star.
London, England, 1823-07-25 00:00:00

ASSIZES.

YORK, JULY 21.
William Mead and Robert Belt were indicted for,
the wilful murder of James Law, on the night of the
13th, or morning of the 1 ith of February, at Bur-
meston, near Scarborough, in this county. The pri-
soners pleaded Not Guilty. They were men of re-
spectable appearance.
It will be recollected, that an application was made
last Spring to have the venue removed lions. the
county of York, in this trial, on the ground of the
s iolent ferment which prevailed among large parties
of the people of the neighhourhood, who avowed an
interest in the result, which, if participated in by Ju-
rors, was incompatible s ith the impartial adminis-
tration of justice. The circumstances which led to
this agitation were principally thee:—The prisoner
Mead had been actively engaged in assisting the
Officers of the Revenue in detecting smuggling trans-
actions, and had been engaged some time ago in
prosecuting a number of cases in the Eirelmuer ; .•an
one of these, the deceased Law was theielendant,
but was acquitted, and he subsequently prosecuted
to conviction Mead, for perjury upon that trial.—
Mead, after his conviction, obtained a rule for a new
trial, and was enlarged on bail. There had been a
great riot in Scarborough, on the day before Law
was shot, and he was said to have been, with others,
actively engaged in tarring and feathering some
persons who were alleged to be much on the alert in
suppressing smuggling transactions. This trial was
fixed specially for this day, and seventy witnesses
were said to be in attendance.. A considerable num-
ber of persons came from Scarborough andahe vici-
nity to give evidence for one or the other of the par-
ties ; there was a complete congregation of farmers i
and seafaring people of every description from the
Scarborough coast.
As it was understood that at least two days, if
not three, would be occupied with the trial, beds
were provided in an adjoining part of the Court-
hout-e for the Jurors. A full panel was called, and
several were challenged at both sides.
Mr. Jorms then described the outline of the evi-
dence which lie had to offer in support of the prose-
cution, and the particulars of which, as given by
the witnesses, were as follows:
The first witness, John Watson, examined by Mr.
VERNON.—He lived near Scarborough, and Thurs-
day was the 'market-day at that place. He saw the
deceased James Law there on the 13th of February
last. He had previously met him there in good health
at the Talbot Inn, where his horse was kept. Wit-
ness and he left Scarborough on that night in com-
pany together. There were some others in company
with them, and some of them were fresh in liquor.
Law had taken his share, but was not drunk. Wit-
ness was sober. The place called Burmeston lay di-
rect between them and Law's house. When they got
to Burmeston, Law and another turned their horses
and said they would not go by William Mead's
house yet : that house was then within 100 yards
of them. It was agreed to go to Adam Calvert's to
take a tankard of ale before they went 'home, but the
people of the house would not get up to let them
in. There was no one in the street at the time.

They stopped before Mead's house and began to
dna : none of them offered to molest the house:
the house was separated from the road by a sort of
causeway, nearly two feet high, and a lard broad.
Neither the witness nor any of his party were on that
causeway, nor did they alight from their horses.
Witness did not think any of the parties had sticks in
their hands ; they used no angry expressions, but
sang the words of the song ; it was a song concern-
ing Mead's perjury. Witness saw a small gun or
pistol fired from Mead's house, five or six minutes
after they had begun the song; he looked up at the
window, because he heard glass fall on the causeway
before the shot was fired ; nothing was said from the
house ; they rode away after this took place, because
they found Law was shot, and they wanted to assist
him; they went into John Dodsworth's house, which
was nearer than Law's ; when there, Law said that
William Mead had shot him, and he appeared very
anxious to make his will. When that shot was fired,
he could swear that Law's horse was turned towards
the middle of the road ; it was a thickish dark night.
The moment it was light on the same morning, vile-
ness went to Mead's house and saw the glass lying
bn the causeway; the look of the window over where
this glass was, was this—the leadappeared bent out,
and the glass gone. He had gone to London before
that as a witness on Exchequer proceedings.
In his cross-examination by Mr. WILLIAMS, he
said that Law's horse's head was at the titne..the shot

was fired turned in a contrary direction from the
house, and witness was not more than five or six yards
from Law. He could at the time distinguish each of
his companions: he knew one Robinson, a publican
in the village : witness would not say they stopped
there, but they certainly made no noise or disturbance.
Robinson's was about 100 yards from Adam Calvert's.
They had passed both, and got close to Mead's, when
they were on the turn again. When Law said they
must have more ale before they passed Mead's house,
they were not afraid of Mead. What they wanted at
Calvert's was in consequence of Dodsworth, who said
be wanted to sell him some bacon. Did not see it