Star.
London, England, 1819-08-21 00:00:00

EXECUTION OF JOHN PYCRAFT.

Monday, at noon, John Pycraft was executed on
the Castlehill, Norwich, pursuant'to his sentence. It
appeared that the object of his design was not the in-
fant, but his wife, to whom he had taken a dislike,
and had. determined to rid hiinself of her, it is sup-
posed, in order that he might more easily continue
his connection with i dissolute woman. But the
child eating a considerable portion of the food in
which he had put an ounce of arsenic, died, and
was interred, but after fburteen da3s taken
.up again
and'examined, when the father was apprehended—
The mother, who took only a little of the fatal mix-
ture, recovered, and the intent to kill her formed a
second indictment. Ile was thirty-five years of age,
and by trade a gardener.

MANSION.IIOUSE.—Yesterday the LORD MAYOR
was occupied during a great part of the day, in an
investigation, for the purpose of discovering the
sources from whence a number of bills, said to be
seditious, have originated, and which have latterly
been posted about the City and environs in great
numbers. Two of the bill•stickers, who had been
seen posting some of the bills in the night, underwent
private examinations several days since, and were
discharged. The first person examined on the pre-
sent occasion was Mr. Davison, residing in Duke-
street, West Smithfield, who appeared upon an infor-
mation, charging him with printing several bills, he
not having a printing-press duly licensed and entered.
He was first interrogated, and called upon to give in
the original copy of a b 11 beaded " Smithfield Meet-
ing," and addressed " to the Non-represented People,
of the Metropolis," &c. inviting them to the meeting.
As the bill in question has already appeared in the
public prints, and been extensively placarded, it is
unnecessary to give a copy. In answer to the ques-
tions of the Lord Mayor, Mr. Davison stated, that
he was emp'oyed to print the bill in question by Mr.
Blandford, the Secretary of 200, who resided in Mar-
garet-street, Hackney. He printed 500 by his orders,
and the cost was £2. Mr. Davison was for the pre-
sent discharged; but was told that he would, upcu
a future day, be interrogated respecting a number of
other bills of a similar nature, which had his name
attached to them.

W. Harris, a miserable looking man, also appear-
ed upon information, charged with having his name
affixed to a placard, he not having a printing press
duly licensed and entered. He stated, that he was,
a journeyman printer, and resided in Clark's-court,
Skinner-street. The bill upon which he was examined
was one headed—" Universal, Civil, and Religious
Liberty. Surrey and Southwark Meeting. The Non-
represented People and Friends of Freedom in Surrey
are invited to assemble on Kennington Common, on
Monday, August 23th, 1819, at 12 o'clock, Henry
Hunt, Esq. in the Chair, to consult upon the most
proper, speedy, and effectual means of obtaining their
rights, a Reform of the Commons House of Parlia-
ment ; and a redress of all the manifold grievances,
which a patient, honest, and industrious people have
long suffered ; and upon the propriety of making a
public, manly, and energetic Appeal to the Prirke
Regent and to the People."—The bill was continued
in almost the same tone and language as that which
announced the Smithfield Meeting, and was signed,
" By order of the Committee, Dennis Shaw, Secre-
tary." The defendant gave in the original copy.—
Lord Mayor.—" NVfio employed you to print these bills r
Harris.—" Mr. Shaw employed me; I printed ZOO, at 13s.
per hundred, and was paid by instalments."
Lord Mayor.—" Who is Mr. Shaw?"

Harris.--4 A shoemaker :he lives in Francis's Buildings,
Southwark."

Lord Mayon-0 Do you understand to what Committee he
was entitled to sign' By order of?"'
Harris.—" No: I received the order and the money from
him. This was all I have had to do with him."

Witness said, he was out of work when he took the
job, to which he was recommended by a person
named Webb, who resided in Kent-street. He was
himself a journeyman printer, and had been out of
work. His last master was T. Cunningham, of Shoe-
' lane, who allowed him to print the bills at his press;
but he desired him to afEx his own name to them.—
His reason for doing so was, because he had done
some business before for the same Committee, and
never got paid for it; he Would, therefore, have no-
thing more to do with them. The defendant would
have had nothing to do with them, but that he had
a wife and du ee hungry children depending upon
him for support ; and he assured his Lordship that
he had never done any thing of the kind before.

The LoaD MAYOR was convinced, from the defen-
dant's evidence, that he was an honest man, and
therefore he would not fine him £2O for the offence
which he had committed. His Lordship asked the
defendant, whether those gentlemen printers were in
the habit of hiring men like him to affix their name
to the bottom of bills ? The defendant replied, that
he had not been much in that line of business, and
therefore could not say. The Lord Mayor saidi that

should not be a sufferer for the evidence he had
thtrattedewtenoudladntat depend
advantage our ignorant noit thrantamtenno M
, and
amnit) said
het iaatttehned
ed hadr
essepeenc, t
nagt thhies
bills,
determined to have nothing more to do with them,
variousg e,n suchC'i
oh
scenes memdietfteeenodsf shuffling and trick, that he had
as soon as he could get clear. He was asked where
the Committees were held at which he attended .
The first he said he was at was held at a public-
house, the sign of the Artichoke, in Lambeth-marsh;
the second was held at the Angel, Upper Ground-
street, Westminster. There were a third and fourth
in East Harding-street. The acting Committee who
occasionally attended were Dr. Watson, Messrs. Pres-
ton, Thistlewood, and Blandford, and a man of co-
lour named Wedderburn.
Lord Mayor.—" • Did you never meet Hunt there at any of
their meetings?" Harris—" No."
Lord Mayor.—" What sort of people were they • ho attend-
ed them ?"—Harris.—" Generally poor men like myself; but
mostly Irishmen."
Lord Mayor.—" Were they men of talent?"
Harris.—" They were rude and uncultivated, as tb • moun-
tains they came from, but still men of intellect."
Lord Mayor.—" Did they acknowledge themselves to be
llunt's men ?"
Harris.—" No, net his men ; yet they always launched out
in his praise, saying that he was the only Gentleman in England,
and they looked up to him as their leader."
Lord Mayor.—" Was the bill in question drawn up by the
Meeting?"
Harris.—" No, they had not talent enough; He believed it
was drawn up by Dr. Watson, as also the intended remonstrance.
He would not trust the bills into their bands until they were'
paid for."
Lord Mayor.—" What ! not consider five persons capable of
being trusted with 1.1?"
Harris.—" No ! the instalments were raised by subscriptions
round the room, two hundred, or more, being present."
Lord Mayor.—" Could you not trust them the money?"
I farris.—" They were all poor like myself, perhaps without
a shilling in their pockets?'
LORD Mayon.—" I am very sorry that such atnan
as you should be without money, and if I can render
you any service, you may depend upon it that I will.
I shall take other steps in consequence of the evidence
' which you have given, which is highly creditable to
you. It will expose these matters to the country."—
The Defendant was for the present discharged, until,
called upon.
GUlLDHALL.—Yesterday Thomas John Nichols, a
young man of very respectable appearance, remanded
from last week, upon a charge of robbing his em-
ployers; Messrs. Ernes and Barnard, gold and silver-
smiths, Paternoster-row, was again brought up lie-
fore Alderman J. J. SMITH; but in consequence of
the absence of his father was again remanded.
BOW-STREET.—Mr. Taylor and Mr. Waters, whose
names are so constantly before the public, in conse-
quence of their litigations in Chancery, appeared yes-
terday at this Office as plaintiff and defendant, in a
case of assault ; the former deposed, that on Thurs-
day he went to the shop of Mr. Adams, in the Hay-
market, to meet Sir J. Lade ; and that while he was
there, he was saluted by a request from Mr. Waters,
who was passing by, to tell him his name ; to which
the plaintiff answered—" You infernal villain, you
know my name well enough ; what more do you
want with me ? Have you not got all you can ?"
To which Mr. Waters replied—" He would do for
him.; he would have him," &c. Mr. Taylor de-
tailed some further abusive conversation between
him and the defendant, not worthy of repetition ; the
result of which was, that Mr. Waters then seized
him by the coat, and held him for some time, mak-
ing use of some violent threats towards him, from
which he expected he would do him some bodily
harm.—On Mr. Waters being called upon to answer
the charge, he denied assaulting Mr. Taylor, but ad-
mitted that he might touch him.—Mr. Taylor was
about to call a witness or witnesses, in support of his
charge, when Mr. BramE, the Magistrate, reminded
him of that being unnecessary, as he was not trying
the case ; he was only investigating it, to ascertain
if it was proper to send it for a Court and Jury to try
the question. He presumed Mr. Waters was pre-
pared with bail. The Magistrate observed to Mr.
Taylor, he thought the assault was but trivial.—Mr.
Taylor said, he thought the Magistrate did not be-
lieve what he had said.—Mr. BIRSIE observed, that
if he had not believed him he should not have called
upon Mr. Waters to find bail to answer to his charge.
Mr. Mayhew, the Gentleman who had accompanied
Mr. Waters to the Office, offered himself as one of
Mr. Waters's bail. Mr. Taylor Objected to his being
one of the bail, observing, that he thought him a bad
thoudA
ligr
n thought
if he
since.—Mr. neamac
had
aerra.
man, and having once told him a lie, he had never
illoNaea%l
line' St
dldolinsinuationtwr° of
receiving
ormehwi
virntiihndwgornaruerl:pi
vtoCrohene:stlialieliilvdee-
tAolalgilinstri ?at eldipnTlassyatni
yryihl.noi
thingmlr
the
ca waylhi
called
hmeee
made his bow and left the Office, accompanied by
his friend. The bail of Mr. Mayhew and Mr. Lees
were then admitted to the amount of 1:20, the usual
sum for assaults.

TOWN HALL, SOUTHWARK.--.Yesterday two men,
named John Gibbs and John Cowley, who play music
about the streets, were charged with an offence of
rather a singular nature.—Peter Horstman, a carter,
stated, that he was employed by a Lady in the vici-
nity of 'rooky-street, on Friday morning, to remove
some goods ; whilst loading his cart at the door, the
prisoners came up with a drum and fife, and com-
menced a specimen of their musical abilities. He
himself would willingly have put up with this, hav-
ing somewhat of an ear for music ; but his horse,
whom he took to be of a graver cast, no soonerheard
the sound, than he pr►cked up his ears, and led off a
jig, cart and all, making ducks and drakes of the
crockery ware with which he was laden. He remon-
strated with those disciples of Orpheus, but they re-
fused to attend to him. The horse during the whole
time would not be controuled, but continued footing
it away from one side to the other of the street, till
at length it was found necessary to take it out of the
shafts and lodge it in a stabler while the promoters of
the fun were given in charge tc a constable.—The
Alderntan fined them Is. each, and dismissed them.

MAD Doos.—On Saturday last a mad dog bit se-
veral persons in the neighbourhood of Bayswater.
-On Wednesday as a gentleman of the name of Jones
was going towards Hounslow, he was overtaken by
a bull-dog, which he had no doubt was mad ; it
seized on his coat, and tore a piece out ; proceeding
on, he snapped at several persons on Smallberry-green,
and bit a poor woman's finger nearly off : she was im-
mediately taken to a surgeon's, and received every
assistance: the animal proceeded on, at a Most fu-
rious pace, towards Isle Worth.