Star.
London, England, 1822-09-21 00:00:00

AFFRAY AT CHIPPENHAM.

Further particulars ef the Coroner's Inquest, from
the Devises Gaelic
After a most laborious investigation, occupying a
whole week, frorn.bni in the morning until ten, erevea.
and sometimes twelve at night, the Coroner on Sun-
day last proceeded to 1111111 up; and titer deliberately
reading the whole of the v. minus evidence that
had been delivered, and commenting on the particu-
lar facts as he went on, the Jury tetited.for nearly two
hours, and then delivered the following verdict :
" The unanimous verdict of the Jurors now assembled is
Wilful Murder against the following persons:—henry Knight,
George Thomas, John Thomas, Thomas Pearce, James Isaac
Benjamin Salter, jun:John Woodman, John Matthews, William
Bryant, and James Tanner, jun. and others unknown, who were
engaged in a premeditated riot on Saturday night, the 7th of
September, 1822, whereby the deceased Joseph Hull received
some violent blows on his head which caused his death."
" The same said Jurors being empanelled ;rid sworn, on view
of the body and death of James Reynolds, have returned the
same verdict against the above-named persons, and persons
.un-1
known, on the same evidence and testilnony, this 15th day of
September, 1822."
The great attention paid by the Coroner and the
Jury to this important case, reflects on them infinite,
credit, and entitles them to the thanks of their cairn.;
try. Mr. CLARE has been now one of the Coroners!
of this County for upwards of half a century, and
never before held an Inquest that occupied one half'
the time that this has.

From the whole of the evidence adduced, it ap-
pears that whatever hickerings there might pre-
viously have been between a few of the inhabitants of
Chippenham, and some of the Langley people, that
on the night in question the Chippenham party was
wholly blameless. The attack was deliberately pre-
meditated, and is marked throughout with an atro-
city—,a brutality—that we should scarcely suppose'
the most hardened wretch in England capable of;
but how much less could we conceive that men hold-
ing the respectable rank of British Yeomen could.
plan and engage in such scenes ? Yet we have it in
evidence, that Mr. Knight and Mr. Matthews, two
respectable farmers of Langley, were at the Cannon
public-house some hours previous to the commence-
ment of the affray; and that Matthews advised the
witness (who was a sir!) togo home, as a row was to
take place that evening, a proof of its being previously
planned. Mr. Knight, it was sworn by another wit-
ness, afterwards knocked down Pound, the carrier,
twice, without the smallest provocation. The person
of Knight was positively sworn to by the witness,
who observed, when she saw him in custody on the
Sunday morning, 66 that that was the man who struck
Pound ; she (the witness) knew him by a mark in his
face, and should have known him among a thou-
sand." The same witness swore that she saw. three
other men go up to the two young Daunselles, knock
them down, and aftewards throw them on a dung-
heap. She further deposed that she heard a whistle
four or five times ; that she assisted poor Reynolds
when he was brought home ; that he never spoke, but
uttered the most dismal groans.
The following, sworn to by two witnesses, excels
in cowardice anything we ever heard :—A man who
appeared not to take the least part in the row, was
standing near the turnpike-gate, when one of the
Langley gang took up a large piece of road-dirt, and
threw at him, which knocked him down ; the poor
Ifellow, after recovering himself a little, endeavoured
to rise, when another came up, and struck him se-
veral times with a large stick ; a third crying out—
" D—n him, George, give hilts a good one!" When
the wretch D was using his stick so unmercifully
was nearly tired, a fourth did what execution he could
with his fists. At last, biung fully satiated, and little
remaining to be done towards taking-the poor man's'
life, one of them vociferated—" Let him alone, now ;
I think he has had enough of it !"
A poor woman; hearing that her brother was out,
when the cries of " Murder!" proceeded from all
parts, went out to seek him, but was obliged herself
to take shelter in a ditch ; while there, she heard two
men pass, swearing that they would murder the first!
they met with. Shortly after she crept ont,and found.
poor Reynolds (who it is likely these wretches first
came in contact -with) lying on a heap of stones, with-
out a hat ; the witness helped him up, but he could'
not stand. His only words were--" I shall never live
to get home."
From the Moment that ././r. Moen was carried,
.home so dreadfully beaten, which occurred soon after
pow Hall was called from hii bed, it appearslihare'
'Veen the determination of the latter'either-to like the
`parties into custody; dr by some tnearts.to identify-
'them, so that their might he deliented tsp. to the
offended laws of it country, and, as be thought,
the death of his murdered townsman avalge&—
Though without a stick or any other weapon, and
When all his companions had retreated through fear
of their lives, he alone stood' orward, and volunteered
his services to the constable. "'tome (he said), lay
hold of my arm, and we will take the whole into
custody." The constable foresaw the danger, and
went home. Hull remained, and was brutally killed!
The than who keeps the Turnpike-gate near the
Little George, about seven o'clock on the Saturday
evening, saw six or seven men near the gate with
large sticks, in their hands; he inquired what they
were about, when they called him a d—d old rascal,
and told him to get out of the way.
It was 4so 'strorn,• that-all:mos man of Iflngthn

I

• PENCE

Langley on the Sunday m ruing requeStr,! his me.
ther to wash the blood Irom his stick, which :he en.
deavoored to do, but could not get it off: thAt it was
afterwards chopped up and burnt, and that there
was lead in the middle of• It; that everything had
been prepared for the slaughter, and that the party
was called together by a whistle.
Since George Thomas has been in custody, he has
d•clAred that he saw Mr. Mill knocked down by one
of the prisoners (mentioning his name), and that ano-
ther, when he was down, gave him two or three hard
blows with a stick.

Two servants of Mr. Matthews swore that their
master was at home by halt past twelve by their
clock, which was half an hour faster than the Chip-
penham, and that he did 'hot appear warm or heated.
The \lagistrates bad sat daily at the White-Hart
up to Tuesday, when they adjourned until to-dayr—
Mr. Methuen has praiseworthily given his assistance,
and each exerts himself to the utmost for the purpose
of bringing the whole of the murderers to justice.
Iklountjoy, who had absconded on Sunday, the Bth
instant, has surrendered himself to Mr. Coleman.—
James Tanner, jun. one of the ten against whom a
verdict of wilful murder has been returned, has not
yet been apprehended ; the others have been com-
mitted by the Coroner to Fisherton Jail.
Twp respectable solicitors of Chippenham are en-
gaged to prosecute, at the joint expense of the parish
and of the relatives of the deceased.

We copy the following paragraph from theßrighton
Gazette:—" By private sources which we can de-
pend on, we hear that an attempt has been mule to
poison the King of France. A dish of the livers of
geese, which is considered in the Catalogue des Gout-
viands as great delicacy, was preparing, into which
the deadly matter, by some miscreant, was mixed.
One of the cooks, who partook largely of some, was.
immediately taken ill, which caused a suspicion; and
the Maitre de Cuisine lost not a moment in, sending
for the dish, •which was not only on the Royal table,
but which his MAJESTY was at the time partaking of.t
The cook had the assistance of the first medical men
in Parisi but he died. The Kmo remained speech-
less fox eight hours but recovered, and is now well."
Eye "suppose that this story has gro,n out of the
sudden death of the Duke d'Escans, Intendant of ,
the Royal Household, who said to have died from
art "indigestion of duck's livers." The French Papers
have no other allusion of the slightest nature. ulna.
could afford ground for the fabrication of the tale 3.
A man named .James Harper was on Saturday last
committed to the County Jail, Winchester, by the Rev.
R. WRIGHT, charged with passing forged Wink of
England and other notes. This man attended at the
late fair on Magdalen-hill, where he passed several
notes, and subsequently obtained some articles from
Mr. Good, in the Square, to a small amount, which
was paid with a ES note, purporting to he of the
Bank of England, but proved to be a forger.- ; an-
other traJesman of Southampton was impo,ed upon
in a similar manner. Barham, a constable of South-
ampton, traced the prisoner to Abingdon, and, on
taking him into custody, he threw a bag out of the
window which contained a five-guinea Pontefract
note, a ES Taunton, two forged £1 Bank of England,
and a counterfeit sovereign. The Pontefract and
Taunton Banks have long since stopped pay aim, but
the dates were altered to a very recent period.
SPAIN.—A letter from Bayonne, dated Sept. 10,
contains the following curious observations:
The approaching Congress at Verona is a subject
of great attention here: but to hear the Liberals—
they are not at all alarmed at it, and rather profess
to despise it; because, say they, foreigners will not be
permitted to come and meddle in our domestic dis-
sensions. They seem not to fear the French Govern-
ment, against which the most violent diatributes are
vented, both in the Journals and in conversation.
As for the French Nation and Army, they cannot
imagine they will cordially support an attack upon
Spain; and it is even said that the Minister of War, ,
Lopez Banos, has publicly boasted th .t the Spaniards
have nothing to fear at this moment from ail France;
that if foreigners should continue to interfere in oar
affairs, they would havereason to repent of it, as the
Government had in its hands alk the accessary means
to arm the Spaniards en maser, and renew the dis-
astrous scenes of the French invasion, though circum-
stances are not the same.

This boast of the Minister is not out of place, if we
noesider the enthusiasm of the Constitutional patty
and of the army, the national pride, the recent exam-
ple of the late war, the great number of Spaniards
interested in supporting the system, either by the
'acquisition of national estates or other circumstances,
the inefficacy of a small army to change the form of
Government, the difficulty of maintaining a great
force in Spain without enormous risk and expense,
'the nature of the country and the spirit of the people,
the support of Portugal, and of the liberal party
thronghoutturope—all these circumstances semi to
tender impossible am-attempt to subdue the Consti-
eutioanlists of the Peninsula; the re-action of which
would be inevitable, and lead the foreign Powers who
Should interfere into an endless war.
The following is *a general view of the force under
arms to defend the new institutions:—The amount
of the regular army cannot be exactly stated because
we do um know -what looms it has sustained in Cata-
lonia. The last reports of the WarsMinistes make the
army amount to 98,000 Font, 500 J Horse, and 5000
Ait4lery ; that is 8000 men below its full compte-
inent, which -is now to be made up.
The 70 Regiments of active Militia which have
been put under arms amount to 95,000 or 56,000 men,
and the VolauteerAilitia in the whole Peninsula may
-amount to 86;000 Infantry,. and 6000 Cavalry.
Several of these corps are distinguished by their
Sae apyearance and discipline and their attachment
to the Constitution, and they-have always been ready
to march %dewier they services were require 4

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