Star.
London, England, 1820-03-18 00:00:00

1.0141 Am, niacliestea, aria other places ; they mates.'
couuter;eiarclied, and halied-; wits* he?rd the-
ciOrdi inake—ready, present'," and on the word !' fire''
slatiing given, they all clapped:theirliandi about six
lorelcick they all. fell into line, land witness among the
rest the commanders were country people, whom
the witness-did not. know.
111 i. Runt submitted that this Was not evidence, as
the witness did not knew any of those present ; it had
riutcmnexion with the. Meeting of the 16th.
• 4.
inie3s proceeded.—Tie saw Murray, and heard a
cryrcif,' a A-spy, a spy I" The first person he saw on
the•l6th leading- Middleton and Rochdale up, was a
man be•saw with a 'letter at•the White Mors. Arian

brought it about two hours after witness saw Mur-
ray. When he brought the letter, they formed into
•a solid square to hear it read; the man who received
it was placed in the middle. It was not read, for,
as it had no name, they said they would have no-
thing to do with it. The man who got the letter
was on the White Moss before witness, drilling the,
persons assembled there. Witness saw Murray on
the Moss, and the mob running after him, but he did
not follow them. There was another with Murray
whom he did not know. He went to meet 41r. Hunt at
Smedley Cottage ; there was a party cortected there.
There were different crowds going, till Hunt left the
place ; he was accon'tpanied, so far as witness knew,
only by the Manchester crowd. The Middleton and
Rochdale parties came down the Old. Road, And
4)asied, on to the Meeting. Witness accompanied'
them ; they marched along in rows ; he did not per-.
ceive they had any Officers. He went to Shoe-hill
with this patty, and then turned back to meet Hunt,
who was accompanied by a great crowd. .He, with
Johnson, were standing up in an open top chaise, to-
gether with Knight, and a man they called Carlile.
The cart iage was in the middle of the crowd ; they
did not march in ranks, eicept a few lads before.
They halted when They came to JOhnSon's shop, and
shouted. They next halted at' the Exchange, and,
shouted also. The crowd kept increasing as they'
went ; on passing Murray's house they hissed as loud
as they could. When they came to the Exchange'
some hissed and some shouted. Witness did not go
to the Meeting with that party, he went a shorter
way, but could not get near the hustings. There
was.a woman in the coach who'carried a flag.
Cross-examined by Mr.Hunt.—Witness said he was
a shoemaker, residing at No.:;0, Miller's-stteet. He
lived there nine years ; he worked for. himself and
others;. he was positive he heard him call on the
people to shout ; be went to White Moss for mere
curiosity ; the person's name who accompanied him
was William ; he did not know his other name, nor
his residence; they conversed after on the subject ;
the other person works in Miller's-lane : he told this
story.many a time, and Mr. Milne took it down, but
never asked him to produce the young man who ac-
companied him ; last Tuesday was the first time he
communicated this to Mr. Milne ; he was not asked
whether any other witness could be produced to con-
firm
this testimony. There were many spectators
besides himself, who were ordered to fall in with
the rest into a rank ; they said, • all must fall in, for
they would have no lookers on ; witness was looking
on about two hours and a half; he never said how
many were drilling when he got there ; they were
not there in rank ; they were sitting about, and got
into rank when daylight appeared ; he could not
speak as to their number; at first there were
about as many lookers on as fell in ; the former
did not fall in till ..they formed the long line;
there are houses round White Moss, the inhabi-
tants of which could not miss seeing those assembled;
they were altogether more than four hundred: wit-
ness went home about seven o'clock, and told what he
saw to different people; he could not recollect all
the different words of command ; he heard the words
" March," " Countermarch," and many others, but
did not recollect exactly what was done at the word
gg Countermarch ;" they had no arms or sticks ;
be saw none of those in the carriage hiss when it
passed Murray's house ; he went withthem as far as
'the Exchange ; saw some flags, was not alarmed, but
thought the business at White Moss would lead to
mischief in time ; witness saw no arms or aludgeons
with the Rochdale or Stockport parties, nor did he
see any disposition to db harm ; he saw the Cavalry
coming into St. Peter's Field, and then began to be
alarmed for the first time; when he came to the field
it was full, and all standing peaceably ; he saw Ca-
valry come into the field in a kind of trot, and got
away, as he was fearful of danger ; it was very well
known in the town that drilling was going on at the
'White Moss.
Robert Wild, one of the defendants, examined the
witness, and put some questions of little importance,
as did Johnson, another of the defendants.
Examined by Mr. SCARLETT.—Witness said there
was no public road nearer than a mile or a mile and
a half to the Moss, neither was there a village nearer
than one mile.
Samuel Morton was again called in, and the pla!
card calling the Meeting of the 9th handed to him,
but be did not recollect to have seen it, or any such,
posted up. •
James Murray said, he lived at Manchester ; he
knew Mr. Shawcroft, was with him on the 14th of
August; he left Manchester on the 15th. Rymer,
and Rymer's son, accompanied him to White Moss;
they left Manchester at twel;re., and reached White
Moss about two. They heard people shouting, and
turned out of the way to avoid them ; some were be-
fore and some behind them. They went to the place
where the men were drilling, their numbers might
be six or eight hundred ; they were drilling on a
squaw piece of land; the thickest,part onlais
right, and were in detached parties,. and a drill ser-
Jeant at the head or end of every sqtiad.: • The man
at the head gave the orders ; helteard the words'
march—wheel--halt," frequently: ''They wheeled
and halted as they were ordered: He llierd nowords
of command given but -those;. =t•Ogethet With "'eyes
tight," forward," and others. iifit stopped but a
few minutes. ShaVretc!oft ftt -.with hint.' A drill,
serjeant, named Catterill,:iaid to him, " Fall in ;"—:1
they 'continued cominriip-few When asked to fall
in, witness said be thought• he should soon ; they
looked at him stedfastly4 anti began to cry, " Spy 1"
The voice came frorirthe nearest quarter, and passed
along the line,: They then shouted, Constables !"
and the answer was, " pima tbemy murder them !"
Eighty or ninety men pursued them, an 4 knocked
Shawcroft into the ditch.

-..•

l Mr. Hunt submitted, that this was evidence which
Ad& not; be received.. '
"The objectiott was overruled by the Junco, who
said, at the same time, that 'he had his dOUbts about
and•ihould pct the objection* on his notes.
.Murray being again called in said, that front twenty •
to thirty of the men followed, and overtook him,
Land beat him violently with sticks. Ile implored
'them to give over, and 'said it looked more like mur-
der than Parliamentary Reform. They asked how
they would be treated if brought prisoners to Man-
chester? 'Witneis'said they would be treated as p• ri-
'soners and gentlemen, but not murder them. One
said, " Shall we kill him out and out, and put him
'into the pit, or let him go ?" Another said, " I thiok
he has had enough, if he has any more he will die."
They then consulted for a time, told him to go down
on his knees, and asked if he was willing to swear
'never to be a king's man again ? he said, yes, for be
thought his life depended on it. They then formed
a ring round him; he went on his knees and repeated
the oath. Witness got up and went to Middleton,
not being able to proceed further; he was conveyed
home in a chaise. On the ICth, the day after, he
heard some noi,e in the streets, and the sound of
bugles. The enowd -stopped opposite the house, and
those in the centre stoOd in order siif abreast ; the
bugle sounded again, and he heard the word:' march"
pronounced. Those that were marching six abreast
pointed at his house; and -some hissed. There we; e
cahoot 5 oh 6000 marching in like, and a p eat crowd
besides of men, *onien, and children ; he saw no wo.
men marching iii line: this was about eleven. At
one, another party came by, in the centre of which
was an open carytage'; they moved very slowly, ri!'t
he did not think they halted; the trOwd hissed, and
pointed at his windows ; witness was sure they locked
up at his house. This body consisted of between 3+ 09
and 4900, and amongst them a great number cf chil-
dren. From Smedley Cottage to St. Peter's Area the
nearest way was not by his house ; it was a round cf
500 or 600 yards.
Cross-examined by .Mr. Hunt—Witness was nat
employed by the Police ; he is a District Constalile,
and is sworn in by the Magistrates yearly. Ile went
to White Moss, in consequence of the alarmed state
of the country, of his family, and himself; he went
of his own accord ; but told many that he would go
to see the drilling ; he might have told Mr. Nadia
so. He never received any money for his services,
but got £1.5 to pay his doctor's bill, out of the Sub-
scription raised for those who were wounded in Pe.
ter's-field. Many of the inhabitants of Manchester
knew of the drilling ; lie could not speak as to. the
number of the spectators at White Moss when the
drilling was going on ; there were not one hundred
. -
lookers-on when he was there; he did not hear the
words—" make-ready, present, fire." Some had sticks,
and some had not. Joshua Pollet was the first-to whom
he mentioned this. He was examined before. the Ma-
gistrates, but did not think lie recollected all then.
CHere a Lady fainted in Court, by which some
confusion was occasioned for a short time].
The examination proceeded—Witness was so se-
riously ill that he did not recollect every thing so
minutely when examined on Sunday. He made the
deposition in his own room before Mr. Norris and
another Gentleman, whom he believed to he Trafford
Trafford. He stated to them .all he recollected, on
his first examination ; he.forgot the words " treating
the nation as an enemy," and had them put in ; he
does not recollect whether he swore to these words
or not; he requested to have them added co his de:
positionrand he believed, but was not certain, that
they were taken down by Trafford Trafford ; he -
could not positively say what day ; witness could
not say that he was a religious men ; he went to
church and chapel ; he recollected no particular con-
versation with a Man named Mayor, or Morton, or
saying that he used any violent expressions in their
presence about the blood cf the Reformers ; he never
said he would rather be rowed in a boat to his own
house in the blood of the Reformers than walk the'
pavement; he said he would sooner fight up to his.
knees in blood, than submit to them ; if he said any-
thing like it, it was at the Cock, in C.7ockgate ; many
people were at him there when he got in, but he recol-
lected saying nothing about the pavement; did not
well recollect what he said, but he said a good deal ;
would not swear he did not make use of those words.
He knew a person named Chapman; went with him
in a coach to Liverpool; did not then say, that if he
had the command of the troops on the 16th,
ould have put every bloody rascal of them to death;
there were six passengers present ; by virtue of 'his
oath he did not, to his knowledge, make use of such
language; he would not swear positively that lie did
not ; he was sober when going in the coach to Liver-
pool ; it was early in January; Mr. Chapman did not
call him to an account abOut it; he got into a 'pas-
sion, because witness, in the course of conversation,.
said he would not (neither would he) believe' Re-
formers on their oath ; witness knew the Spread
Eagle, in Hanging Ditch ; he recollected going into
la private room with nine others, where he (Mr. Hunt)
was sitting ; he did not recollect that a person named
Button, or Newton, was present ; this was about
twelve months back; witness did not recollect a door
being broken open.
Examined by Johnson.—Witness said he knew Ro-
bert Mayor, but not much about him ; he never said
that he found nests of money after his wife, and went •
to spend it in Liverpool.
Examined by Mr. BuLtecit.—He never was at
*the, Spread Eagle but once ; there was a Meeting
held that day in St. Peter's Area ; there Was a
great deal of speaking ; 'Hunt was the leading cha-
racter ; lie heard him speak ; he was only about five
minutes on the White Moss on the night he went to
•see the drilling ; witness never offered himself *for a
Special Constable ; helves one oft and on for twenty
yelrs, but derived no emolument from it ; he served
on the whole as a Speeial.Constabre seven years.
John Shawcross -said,' heTs 'n'clerk to the Police
Office, Manchester ;.heileeellected the publication bf
bills, and:these befits?.- (ftted to .the walls about the
423 d. of July, the dayogtheix being posted. The bill
produced was taken off the walls wet(The bill was
produced, and, it it ii Meeting irat alfpointed fdr 44.
9th of Angust).—Witrieti went 'td 'the-White MocWs
with Murray, they, arrived- befbre—daylight cthey
might be thearep
e raboutson' c a tenl l ed
sPI
.6biy4t.suv,""es: Lolbef:l7o:vitteilhw‘eaemilYd,ba;rai:i.lida
happened ;
anothor, " Come baci ;'s )vet'e- then at least •
'Epivettih,tionidieredofuwssehmomblekda;ockiiti
witness
down,

1