The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-11-12 00:00:00

NEWPORT RIOTS-FURTHER PARTICULARS.
DISCOVERY OF AN EXTENDED CHARTIST CONSPIRACY

(From the Morning Herald of Friday.)
NEWPORT, WEDNESDAY, Nov. 6.—Thanks to the pre-
sence and bravery of the military, and the indefatigable and
judicious exertions of the magistrates, the night has passed
over without any further disturbance. The presence of the
10th hussars'has already produced the most salutary effects,
and the crowds of idle and ill-intentioned fellows from the
mines, who, up to 10 o'clock last night, were to be seen in
considerable numbers hovering a ,out the outskirts of the
town, are no longer visible, having, as is supposed, become
acquainted with the presence of the cavalry, and retired to
the hills. Public confidence is now in some measure restored,
many of the shops which have been closed from the com-
mencement of the insurrection are opened this morning, and
business has been partially resumed by the different trades-
men of the town.
I stated in my last communication that Frost immediately
upon his commitment, was, together with his companion in
guilt, sent off to the county gaol. This statement, it now
appears, was incorrect, and had only been made for the pur-
pose of guarding against any attempt at rescue. Both the
prisoners were this morning conveyed to Monmouth under
an escort.
In the evidence communicated to you yesterday, upon the
examination of John Frost and Waters, you will find that a
seizure of papers from the house of the former prisoner, as
well as from that of Partridge, the chartist printer, had been
made by Mr. Phillips, the clerk to the magistrates. The
precise nature of those documents is not known, but I am
informed, in a quarter likely to be correct, that they are, for
the greater part, of a most treasonable and seditious charac-
ter, and tend to confirm the information previously conveyed
to the magistrates of the existence of a deeply-laid and ex-
tended plot for the subversion of the constituted authorities,
and the advancement of the revolutionary principles of the
" people's charter."
Fresh accounts of the operations of the chartist lodges in
the mining and iron districts continue to be received, all of
which confirm the previous statements of the treasonable
conduct of Frost, who has established, as far as time and op-
portunity admitted of his so doing, a system of Military, or
perhaps I should rather say brigand discipline. Throughout
the places where he has instituted his revolutionary societies
the most absolute tyranny prevails. Every ten men have a
captain placed over them, to whom they are expected to yield
implicit confidence. Every division has its secret place of
meeting, whilst this bawler of liberty has his head-quarters,
it is said, in the neighbourhood of Rieca, from which he is-
sued his mandates, exercising the more despotic sway over
the whole. This horrible system of lawless despotism has
been rigidly acted upon in the late outbreak.
I have already informed you that the peaceably disposed
were dragged from their beds and compelled to join the ranks
of the insurgents, and I have this morning received positive
intelligence that two men, at a place called Llanyshell, were
absolutely murdered in cold blood because they refused
to aid the chartists in their attack upon Newport.
A singular occurrence has come to the knowledge of the
authorities here, which, independently of its interest, is pos-
sessed of great importance, inasmuch as it is calculated to
show the sway which the demagogue Frost had obtained over
the minds of his besotted followers, and the systematic man-
ner in which the business and operations of the brigand
associations have been conducted.

Two gentlemen, one of them a Mr. Bruff, who resides at
Pontypool, and carries on the business of a wine-merchant,
were on Sunday night last travelling near Cross y Creilly, in
their gig, when they were attacked and taken prisoners by a
party of armed chartists. They requested to know why they
were thus detained from the prosecution of their lawful jour-
ney, and demanded to be released. This was refused, and
they were taken to a room and locked up for several hours ;
afterwards they were told that they must be taken before Mr.
Frost. Mr. Bruff told them that he was acquainted with Mr.
Frost, and again begged to be set at liberty, but they refused
to comply with his request, stating that they could not do so,
and he was accordingly dragged with some violence across the
mountains, and ushered into the presence of Frost, at Risca,
of whom he again demanded his discharge. Frost told him
that he knew him, and would discharge him, adding that he
was induced to do so for other reasons, and not on account
of his politics, which were hateful to him. This occurrence
has excited considerable interest here ; indeed it possesses so
much of the air of romance, that if I had not received it
upon highly-respectable authority I could not have ventured
upon stating it. Fresh arrests are hourly taking place, and one
or two more bodies are stated to have been found in the fields,
at a little distance from the town. 1 have just seen a person
from Pontypool ; he states that many of the furnoces are re-
kindled, and that the men have returned to their labour; the
greater part of them say they have their sick of chartism,
and lay all that has occurred to the account of Frost and
Vincent, but for whom, they say, they should never have in-
terfered about the charter. It is reported here, but I cannot
tell upon what authority, that meetings of the chartists were
held yesterday at Merthyr, Crickhowell, Abergavenny, and
places ; they were largely attended, and the propriety of ad-
vancing upon Newport discussed ; but it having been stated
that large reinforcements of military had arrived here, they
determined to abandon that intention ; some said the time
was not come, and others thought that they had better dis-
solve their societies and return to their work. Two more of
the bodies have been identified this morning ; one of them is
that of a man named Thomas, who, it is said, was earning
from £8 to £9 per month at the iron works at Nantyglo ;
the other is a man named William Evans, but of what place
I have been unable to ascertain ; he was a married man, and
his poor wife, who claimed the corpse, is frantic at his loss.
To my inquiries after the health of the mayor this morn-
ing, I was informed that he had passed a bad night, but was
better this morning. I trust he will speedily recover, for all
accounts concur in representing his public conduct as being
of the most exemplary kind ; nothing could be more collected
and firm than his bearing during the riot.
Despatches have just been received from the home-office ;
their contents have not transpiretl, but a meeting of the ma-
gistrates and the military commanders has been summoned.
A detachment of lancers will be here to-day,
Since the committal of Frost, the magistrates have conti-
nued their examinations into the proceedings of the rioters.
This morninc, a than named James Aust was placed at the
bar, upon charges of high treason and sedition.
The first witness called was a shoemaker, named John
Richards, who deposed that he lived at Caerleon, and knew
the prisoner by sight ; had known him in Caerleon for more
than three years. Saw him on Monday last. At between
nine and ten o'clock he came to Pwrhy hill, where witness
was at work. He had a gun in his hand, and there were 20
or 30 other men with him. Two of them came into the shop,
and, addressing witness and his fellow workmen said, "Lads,
come along with us." We asked them for what we were to
come. They replied, " 0 come along lads, and you shall
see what." They were all armed with instruments some-
thing like butchers' cleavers. Witness and two of his shop-
mates then went out with them. Did so because they were
afraid if they refused that they would injure them. Prisoner
did not come into the shop, but when they went out they saw
him and the other men waiting for them. They asked wit-
ness if h's master had any arms in the house, and upon wit-
ness's replying that he did not know, they said, " 0 let's go
and see." They then went in and took a gun out of the
bedroom. There was another there, but as it had no lock
upon it they would not take it. All witness saw of the pri-
soner was that he was armed with a gun, and was with the
others. The one that took the gun said he would bring it
back again the same night. The two men with the axes ap-
peared to be the leaders of the rest, and they took the others
through a common to a hilly field, and then into the Ponty-
pool and Newport-road. They afterwards went to a farm
house, where they met a great many other armed men going
up a lane. Witness there heard it said there was shooting
at Newport. The men with the axes led them on to the
bottom of Malpas-hill, where the men were marching towards
Newport. Some persons then came and said. " There is
shooting in Newport." The leaders then said, " Follow us,"
and instead of going on towards Newport, they took them up
a lane. Aust came with them as far as the house of Mr.
Cordes, the gardener, into which he went. The men then
missed him, and called out, " Where is Aust ?" The lea-
ders repeated this and said, " Where is he?" and the others
replied "He is gone." They then went to the turnpike, on
the Pontypool-road, and inquired for him, and then they
searched the house for him and could not find him. Just
before they got to the farm-house witness got into a field and
tried to escape, but was prevented from doing so. Soon
afterwards witness and his shopmates escaped, and returned
to their homes.

The prisoner, on being asked if lie wished to interrogate
the witness, replied that he did not, as he had stated that
which was true. He also added that he should be glad if
they would send for his master.

John Dallymore, a shoemaker, employed in the same shop
with the last witness, confirmed his statement as to the
chartists coming to the shop armed. Witness saw the pri-
soner Aust load his gun ;he put a bullet into it. He must
have heard the leaders order witness to follow them. When
the prisoner was missed the men with the axes said, " Where
is Aust, the gauger?" meaning the leader ; they did not
find him afterwards. Whilst the prisoner was with him he
stopped behind, as witness supposed, to see that no one
escaped. When Aust loaded his gun a man stood by with a
bag of powder, and another with a bag of bullets.
John Mathews, a gardener in the service of Thomas Pro-
theroe, Esq., deposed to having in the course of the summer
had a conversation with the prisoner about the chartists.
He said they were going to have a revolution. Witness ob-
served that if a revolution took place, the Russian would
come in and take the government of the country. The pri-
soner replied that it would be better to be under the Russian
than under the British government as at present constituted.
He added that he believed he should lose his life in the cause
of the chartists. On Monday morning a number of chartists
came into witness's master's stable-yard ; they were armed,
and insisted on witness and the coachman going with them.
They resisted at first, but finding it was no use, and that the
party we►'e well armed, they were obliged to go. Upon
leaving the yard they saw Aust; who, upon seeing witness,
said, "0, you are come." Aust continued with the party,
and did not seem to be acting at all under coercion. The
men were differently armed. Some had pikes, and one had
an implement having a sharpened axe at one end and the
blade of a knife at the other.
The examination of this witness is being proceeded with,
but I am compelled to close my parcel, as it is otherwise
doubtful whether any messenger will be able to cross the
passage.

. -
I forgot to state Frost's wife and daughters were yesterday
admitted to an interview with him.
I have since ascertained that the statement with reference
to the seizure of Mr. Bruff by the chartists has been sworn
to before the magistrates.