Star.
London, England, 1802-11-27 00:00:00

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'Society of Shearmen, as the other Journeymen
refilled to work with him if he refuted. An oath
was 'adminiftered to him, by which he bound him-
felf not to work any longer than they fhould de-
fire him, and never to difclofe any of their.fecrets.
Jonathan Sims, the younger, depofes, that he is
a clothier at Trowbridge ; in the beginning of
Auguß laft there was a combination among the
journeymen clothworkers to raife their wages. On
the 9th Thomas Bailey came to his father, and
faid, "avhen are we to go to work ?" his father
feeming a good deal agitated, Bailey exclaimed,
"Be cool, and return a mild anfwir. lam come
from the Committee of Shearmen. It will be
better for you to do as we with. lam (worn to •
carry back your anfwer to the Committee without
ddlay." The deponent's rather replied, that as
loon as the other clothiers thould content to em-
ploy the thearmen, and agree to their terms, he
would do the fame. Jonathan Sims the elder con-
firms this statement. Thomas Bailey, who had
bten admitted as King's evidence, depofes, that
he was a member of the Shearmen's Committee ;
he Rood out as long as he could ; but he was at
latt compelled to join them ; at firft there was no
oath among them; but one day he was fent for
by G. Marks—when be came he found the Com-
mittee fitting at the Crofs Keys ; James May, who
allied as Clerk, then adminiftered to him an oath
in there words : " You thall he true to every jour.
neyman fhearman, and not hurt any of them, nor
divulge any of their fecrets, fo help you GOD !"
This folemnity being over, he had a ticket given
to him, which he was told was the fame with that
ufed among the Ihearmen in Yorkthire, and would
procure him employment in that part of-the coun-
try ; he paid one penny for the ticket, and three-
pence for his articles. He heard that there were
Clubs of the fame kind itt all the clothing towns
in the North of England. The prifoners, with
four others, were prefent when he took the oath.
Next came the affidavits of the prifoners. John
Hillaker (wears, that on the 2zd July he was at the
Crofs Keys in Trowbridge, where he accidentally
met come brother journeymen ; they had no other
objea but to drink a little beer, and amufe them-
felves ; they had often fuffered much from having
damaged goods given them, inftead of money, as
wages. Hearing that T. Bailey, who was in the
habit of taking damaged goods from his mafter,
was in the houfe, they fent for him and made him
promife that he would not do fo any More ; depo-
nent heard no oath adminiftered to him, nor did
he fee him kits the book.
His fellow Prifoaers, with three or four others,
join in an affidavit, Rating the fame fads about
their meeting accidentally to take fome refreth-
inent, and then calling in T. Bailey to-make him
promife that he would no longer take damaged
goods from his mafter ; according to them Bailey,
of his own accord, took a book and killed it ; no
one handed him the book, or defired him to kits
it ; none of them knew what book this was ; they
never had adminiftered oaths, or belonged to any
unlawful combination.
Mr: GIBBS contended, that the only queftion
was, whether what appeared before the Magif-
tratesiuttlfied a commitment?. In the cafe of the
King v. Horner, Mr. Juftiee Buller had- laid .ie
down that this was a fuffierient ground for remand-
ing the prifoners, and in fuch circumtiances it was
mercy to them to do fo. The Court was not now
to determine whether there men were guilty of
felony, but whether it was fit that they should be
put upon their trial? By the 37th Geo. 111. cap.
123, it was enacted, that if any perfon should ad-
minitter or caufe to be adminiftered,any oath to
bind any man to any combination for mutinous or
feditious purpofes, or flir a breach of the peace, or
'to become a member of any unlawful fociety, or to
obey the orders of any committee, or not to inform
and give evidence of what he thould fee, or not to
reveal or difcover the fecrets of any unlawful
combination or confpiracy, he should be deemed a
felon, and fuffer death without benefit of clergy.
Any one who confidered the depofitions would fee
that there was abundant evidence to go to the
Jury, that the prifoners had violated this Act.—
The oath was againft revealing the (egrets of the
fociety ; it was upon this, and that the prifoners
had been aiding and aJjfting, that he retied.
Mr. RYDER followed, and from a cafe in z
Strange, 1138, contended that the Court could not
with propriety bail in this instance.
Mr. Easxraa obferved, that he could not with-
out forrow and furprize hear any thing raid to call
in queftion the power of the Colin to bail in the
higheft 'crimes. This power by the Conftitution
was inherent in the Court, and had often been ex-
erted molt beneficially for the fubjed. He in-
(Lanced the late cafe of Capt. Shuttleworth.,
Lord ELL c BOROUG H. " The Court certainly has
that power, and we will never abandon it without
abandoning one of our molt valuable privileges."
Mr. EIMER, in continuation faid, he was fuch
a decided enemy to combinations that he could
not fee with indifference the prefent combination
among the prifoners now 'landing on the/floor—a
fpedacle they were not accustomed to fee in that
place. (We believe he alluded to two or three of
the prifoners being fattened together
.by a light
chain.) He allowed that this was a very ufeful
At of Parliament ; but he could not agree to the
conftrudion that had been put ppon it. It was
patted at an awful crifis, when the very exillence
of the country was endangered by combinations
of a very different kind. Its object was to prevent
mutiny and (edition, by preventing the confciences
of men being worked upon to bind them to con-
ceal confpiracies for the overthrow of the State.-1
Every one who loved the Conflitution mull reve-
rence fuch a law. But the Legitlature never could
have extended provifions fo highly penal to combi-
nations among journeymen workmen without
clearly expreffing their intention. To enter into
this combination was only a mifdemeanour ; how
then could it be raid that to conceal this combina-
tion was a capital felony ? Mr. Erskine read the
preamble, and argued with uncommon ingenuity
that the Ad only extended to feditious meetings,
or attempts to (educe his Majesty's tea or land
forces. There were difficulties which pretred him
in the latter part of the fl atute ; but he could not
believe that the Lerigature wens ter /ilium from