Star.
London, England, 1819-08-30 00:00:00

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FINAL EXAMINATION OF Mr. HUNT, JOHNSON,
MOORHOUSE, AND THE OTHER PRISONERS
CONFINED ON A CHARGE OF HIGH TREASON;
VIIE ABANDONMENT OF THE CHARGE, AND
THEIR COMMITMENT FOR TRIAL FOR A MIS-
DEMEANOUR.

NEW BAILEY, AUGUST 27•

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This being understood for nearly a week to be the
day on which the determination of Government, re-
garding the charge against Hunt and his fellow pri-
soners. should be announced to them from the Bench,
and their final ecarnination 'be entered upon, a consi-
derable crowd collected near the New Bailey as early
as ten o'clock. About eleven, those who had any
particular favour with the officers, or who came to
give evidence, were admitted into the Court.
In a short time the seats round the table, usually
occupied by the attornies, the jury-box, the stair-
case leading to the gallery, and ever) part of the
hall convenient for hearing or seeing the prisoners,
were crammed to excess. Meanwhile the crowds
collected without, and filled the whole space between
the bridge, the prison, the Governor's house, and the
river. A strong party of soldiers had previously
been admitted at the gate of the prison, and a guard
appointed without. It being the custom to exclude
the multitude, who usually occupy the body of the
Court, behind the bar,'fill the Magistrates have taken
their seats on the bench, there was a great pressure
towards the gate for admission as soon as it should
be opened. The Civil Power thinking they saw some
tendency to tomtit in the immense body that sur-
rounded the doors, requested, as we understood, that
the inilLary night be at their post, ready to afford
assistance in case of danger. Accordingly, some of
the officers of the Hussars, of the Slst and 88th, who
had taken their places by us in the jury-box, eager,
to hear the examination of persons who have of late
commanded so much of their attention, were called
out and ordered on more active duty. The shouts
of the multitude were sometimes heard in Court, but
from the very efficient force ready to repress any
tendency to riot, no impression of danger was felt.
—The Magistrates had assembled about eleven
o'clock, but they did not take their seats on the bench
till upwards of two hours afterwards. In the inter-
WI they were employed in taking depositions, or
procuring the signatures of the witnesses to deposi
tions already taken. Mr. PanasoN, the Solicitor for
the prisoners, had taken his station immediately be-
fore the dock, with a law book under his arm, but
was not known or recognized by those around him
till called out of Court at half-past twelve, by Mr.'
NORRIS, the stipendiary 'Magistrate, of Manchester.
His white hat then excited a laugh, being considered
here as the badge of the Radicals. Sir C. Wolseleyf
we were told, was in town and in Court, but we
could not see him. At a quarter past one, the Ma
gistrates entered the Court, and an agitation of in-
terest and curiosity took place for the approaching
business. Only six occupied the bench. Their names
were, Mr. Norms (Chairman), W. Hotrox, R
WRIGHT, W. M R RIOT r, T. W. TATTON, Esqrs. and
the Rev. C. W. ETIIELSTONE.

The Solicitor for the Crown, Mr. Bonetriza, took
his place at the table immediately below the Chair
mark • Mr. PsAitaort, the prioners' Solicitor, was
now likewise accommodated with i place at the table
near his clients. The Chairman, as soon as the Ma-
gistrates were seated, ordered the gates to be opened,
and a great rush of people into the hall immediately
took place ; but, happily. no one, as far as we have
beard, was injured by the pressure. The prisoners
were then ordered to be brought up, and soon ap-
peared in the dock. Mr. Hunt appeared first, and
the rest in succession, till the space allotted them was
so crowded, that they pressed upon and jostled one
another. ' Their names were called over, and an-
swered to in the following order:—Henry Hunt, Jo-
seph Johnson, J. T. 'Saxton,' John Knight,' James
Moorhouse, Samuel narnford, John Healey, George
Swift;•Thtsmas Taylor, Robert 'Wilde, and Elizabeth
Gaunt. Moorhouse, entering the dock and standing
front, reTused to doff the reform badge, of the white
hat, to the Magistrates, proclaiming (when-desired
to.tincover) in a tone of real effrontery, or assumed
indignation, that n Men who had so misconducted
themselves, lad forfeited all title to deference or re-
spect, and that they should meet with 'noite from
him." An officer by .his side soon settled this point
of etiquette,' by removing the oknorious head-piece.
Hunt's deportment was extremely courteous. We
never saw him apparently in better health or spirits.
His propriety of demeanour, his perfectly unembar-
Ta.sed manner, the decency of his dress, and the
whole of his external appearance, formed a strange,
contrast with the shabbinecs of some and the vulgarl
insolence of others of his fellow-prisoners. Elizabethl
Gaunt, whom it was a disgrace to have kept foil
twelve days in solitary confinement and ikrought
in the state in which she was, could not be at first
seen, having been accommodated with a chair be-'
hind her male companions. She 'ansviered to her'
name but feebly, being unable to speak out, froth a
tendency to faint, in consetihenee of the barbarous
manner in which she hat &MI cut and trampled on
in the field. Saxton anSa4retf to 'hfs name with an'
insolent tone and vegar tehethence.' Hunt cour-
teously bowed, and said, to-Mtn."' Being pressed in
'the dock, and hearingSorne*holse behind,' te. turned
round to survey the crttwd *lth the utmost ap-
parent compoiure 'an& gand-huMour.' Ws time,
however, for speaking and getlhg now commenced.
The Chairman thus began 'address=" Henry
Hunt, Joseph Johnson, and Yon severally whose
Ames have been readtrier, yotthave been remanded
charge of High Treason." ' Here there was so
noise frets the agitation of the crowd behind
the living mass not having yet gained the
y at which 'on occasions ne this it is usu-
that the Magistrate could not be heard.
with some -vehemence interrupted him,
I cannot heart you must command silencei
be beard. There was More order at the
the other day." Th Chairman called out
" and thug interruptid the Orator.
Hunt—" 'I taus/het to hear; the matter se-
concerns us; ion 'Artist be heard."—A short
ensued; when, oesdpktative silence baying
obtained, the Chairman again cnmmeneizi
the following purport :—.44 Hunt
Johnson, and you all, severally, nanaes

have been read over, when you were last called up at noon ; that by that time half of the 14:7blee,
it
into this Court, you were remanded en a charge of collected ; that most of the persons who
'High Treason: on remanding you, - you were in- carried large sticks, mere like flails than walltin:*-
formed that the whole of the evidence ad been sent . sticks ; that they advairced in military array, with
up to London, to be laid before the Law Officers of i flags and music : the witmess here enumeriated seve
the Crown, and in the mean time you were to be de- ' ral flags, and the inscriptions. upon theM ; that osit
tained. It was not until this morning that a coramu- lof these flags had upon it " No Corn Laws,* and. Mt
nication was made from Government, stating that the other side a bloody dagger. The flags were in
the Law Officers of the Crown had for the present all 16, and he saw five Caps of Liberty.
abandoned the higher charge. That communication When the deposition had been read, the witness
Iwas not mado to me; yet there is a Gentleman pre- who swore it was examined by Mr. Hunt.
sent (Mr. Bouchier) who has come with orders to pro- Hunt. Where do you teside, Sir ? Witness.--Ile
ceed upon a less charge. The charge of High Trea- Manchester.
son is not yet abandoned, but Government proceeds Hant.—Would you favour me with your particu-
now against you for a minor offence." lar address ?—The Bench, through its Chairman,
Mr. Hunt—ls the charge of murder then aban- again interfered, and would not allow the witness to
Boned ? ' I understood from a Magistrate I was re- answer the question. It was sufficient for the witness
manded until the Coroner's Inquest had sat, on a to declare that he lived in Manchester.
charge of murder as well as treason. Hunt.—l demand, as an act of justice, to know
Mr. Hultpn, from the Bench—l did not tell you so. the residence of this man. •It will be observed, that
Moorhouse—This, then, turns out to bo a farce! be is a very material witness, and that his evidence
Mr. Norris—Moorhouse, I shall feel it my duty to may deeply affect us all. I am entitled to know
remand you, unless you conduct yourself properly. where to find him, that if, after the trial of the ques-
Mr. Milne, the Clerk to the Magistrates, then called tion, it shall be found there was no ground for this
over the names of the witnesses, whose written depo- charge, I may have my remedy against him by pro.l
sitions he held. The prisoners were requested to at- teeming him for perjury, or obtaining redress in
tend to the depositions, and told they had an oppor- some other way. I demand therefore, as a right, to
tunity of questioning the witnesses concerning them. know his residence..-4 Mr. Hunt uttered this with
On putting the book into the hand of the first, Hunt considerable violence of voice and gesture.)
'desired he might be examined alone, and the rest or- The Magistrates consulted for a minute, and then
dered to leave the Court. Mr. Bouchier said he decided against complying with his demand through
should not object to this. The first witness whose de- their Chairman, who said that there was no use ffte
position was proposed to be read was John Shawcross, Mr. Hunt to use intimidating language : it was Dot'
Clerk to the Police. Mr. Hunt asked his name, and necessary to reiterate the word demand, to obtain
demanded that he might be examined in open Court that justice to which every British subject was enti-
before he heard his former deposition read. The Ma. tied, and which might be obtained by a simple re-
&Orates objected to this demand, and overruled it. quest. He further stated, that he did not think it was
,Th. deposition was read. This witness deposed to treating the Court with sufficient respect to talk of
baring purchased at the Observer office, on the 31st demanding, as there was no disposition to refuse
ofJuly last, a Paper called the Mercer, containing what was right, and 1:0 chance of obtaining what
the following notice of the first intended Meeting, o: was wrong, by the use of strong terms. The request
the 9th of Augusta— of the prisoner would go as far as his demand. The
'
i M A NCUILKIII Pusuc Mern.ac.—The Public are respect- Court had considered the nature of the question put
fully
informed, that a Meeting will be held here on Monday, the to the witness, and did not think it necessary that he
9th of• August, 1419, on the Area near Sc. Peter's Church, to take
should give his particular address ; the description
into consideration the most speedy and effectual mode of obtain-
ing Radical Reform In the Commons House of Parliament; that he lived in Manchester, and was an accountant,
being fully convinced, that nothin less can remove the into!" was quite sufficient.
fable evil undrr which the people of- this country have so long, Mr. Hunt begged leave to reply to the observa-
and do still groan; and also to consider the propriety of the' Un-
lions of the Chairman.
represented Inhabitants of Manchester' electing a person to Re.
present them In Parliament; and the adopting btajor Can- Chairman.--i-The Court will not be replied to !
wright's Bill. " 11. HUNT, Esq. in the Chair.
Wolseley, siajor Cartwright, Sir Charles
44 Mr. Charles Hunt.-1 was merely going to state, that 1 had no
intention of offering any insult to the Court—
Pearson Mr. Wooler, sad Godfrey Higgins, Esq. hare been,
solicited, and are expected to attend. W
" it.r.Ltss DoneN, 22, Wood-street," (and ten others). you Chairman.—The Court takes it for granted that
u did not, and requires no apology.
"Chair to be taken at 12 o'clock:. Hunt• again began with stating--I offered no in-
" Manchester, July £3, 1419.
salt to the Court. When the witness refused to an-
" The Boroughreeve, Magistrates, and Constables, are re-
swer. the question, I appealed to the Court, and re-
quested to attend. '
' On the same day, after the %letting, there will be a Public quested that he might be ordered to answer. I put
uil
er, at the Union School-rooms, George Isigh-street. Din- this question in the shape of a demand, because I
ner on the table aiAlve o'clock, will accept of nothing as a favour. Then address-
. .

" Tickets 10s. 6d. each, including all expenses, may be had at
Mr. Wroe's, Bookseller, Market-street."
The following Advertisement for the second Meet-
ing on the 16th was likewise read, with the omission
ofthe names of the Re uisitionists:—
MANOMETER PUBLIC ZIRETING.—A Requisition having been
presented to the Boroughrecve and Constables of Manchester,
signed by above seven hundred inhabitant householders in a few
hours, requesting them to call a Public Meeting, To consider
Me propriety of adopting the :nest legal and eja:tual moans of obtain-
ing a lbforne in Me Commons flays@ ef Par&wient,' and they hav-
ing declined to call such Meeting, therefore the undersigned Re-
quisitionists give notice, that a Public Meeting will be held, on
the Area, near St. Peter's Church, for the above-mentioned pur-
pose, on Monday the 16th instant—the Chair to be taken by IL
Hunt, Esq. at 12 o'clock.
" Major Cartwright, Mr. Wooler, Mr. Pearson, Mr. Carlile,
Dr. Crompton' Edward Rushton, Mr. J. Smith, Mr: Thomas
Smith, will be invited to attend this Meeting.
" Manchester, 6th August, 1819."
The deposition continued that these Papers were
extensively circulated in Manchester: the witness
then produced the well-known prohibition of the first
Meeting, of which the following is the copy
sw BAILEY COURY.HOUIE, SATURDAY, JULY ,1, 1819.
" Whereas it appears by an advertisement in the Mcnalester
Observer Paper of this day, that a Public and Illegal Meeting is
convened fur Monday, the 9th day of August next, to be held
on the Area near St. Peter's Church, in Manchester ; we, the
undersigned Magistrates, acting for the Counties Palatine of Lan-
caster and Chester, do hereby caution all persons to abstain at
their peril from attending such illegal Meeting.
W. Ilution, " I. Harste,
"J. Nowt's, " R. MARI.II,
"J. Frcrwisruc, " T. TRATF PAD,
" W, MARRIOTT, " It. FLUICH,EII."
" T. W. TATTON,
This was the whole of the evidence of Shawcross.
Hunt.—Have I now the liberty of examining the
witness? Chairman.—Yes, certainly.
Hunt. to the witness.—Where is your residence?
Witness.--:-No. 4, Blossoth-street, Salford.
Hunt.—What is your profession, Sir ? Witness.—
I am Clerk to the Police Office.
Hunt.—Have you any other employtner.t ? Wit-
ness.—No.
Hunt.—You purchased these Newspapers, did you?
Witness.—Yes.
Hunt.—What issthe date of the first ? Witness.-
31st July. ,
Hunt.—Do you know who inserted these adver-
tisements in these Papers 7—The Chairman here
terfered, and said that this was not evidence.
Hunt—Who urged you to purchase the Piper ?
The Chairman again interfered, and protected the
witness from answering the question.
Hunt..—Then am I to understand that the witness
is not allowed to answer the question ? Chairman.—
The Court does not think it relevant, and will not
allow the witness to answer it.
Hunt.— Yon purchased the other Paper of the 14th
August ?—The witness wis not allowed to answer
the question.
Hunt.—Your name is on each of the Papers. Who
directed you to put your name there ?—The Court
again interfered, and would not allow the witness to
answer the question.
Johnson, one of the prisoners, to the witness.—Do
you take in these Papers regularly, or did you pur-
chase these Papers for any particular purpose?
The witness was not allowed to answer the ques-
tion, the Bench declariug, through its Chairman,
that it was sufficient for him to state that he had
purchased it and marked it with his name.
Matthew Cooper's (an accountant, another witness)
deposition was then read at the table. Ile deposed
to the nature of the Meeting, save a history of the
proceedings, and produced his notes of the com-
mencement of a speech purporting to be Mr. Hues.
as we could collect, it did not differ materi-
-1117 Trom what has been published in the Newspapers.
' Witness further deposed, that he attended at twelve

ing himself to the witness— Now, of what profession
are you? Witness—l am called an accountant.
Hunt.—ls that your only occupation? •
Chairman to witness.—Don't answer that question !
Hunt—Were you a Special Constable on Monday
the 16th, at the Meeting?
Chairman to witness—Don't answer that question!
Hunt, with great vehemence, and apparent sur-
prise--Not answer that question! Have you any
other employment than that of an accountant ? Are
you not sometimes employed as a short-hand writer?
Witness—l sometimes take reports of speeches.
Hunt.—For the Public Newspapers, or for your
own private amusement?
Chairman to witness—Don't answer that question !
Hunt.—Then you say that you took my speech on
the day of the Meeting; did you take it in short-hand
or otherwise ?—Witness. I took extracts from it on
the ground, and afterwards wrote it out at length. I
took only the leading words. I do not mean to swear
to all the words.
I lunt.--Are you sure that you did not misplace the
words, putting some of them which you had in one
sentence in another? Witness replied in the negative.
Hunt.—How did you make out the remainder of
the speech from these extracts and leading words of
yours 2—Witness. I filled it up from memory.
Hunt.—When did you write out this speech from
memory ?..L-Witness. In the evening.
Hunt.—At what time was it delivered ? Witness.
About one o'clock.
Ilunt.—At what hour, then, did you reduce your
sAorA notes into long sentences ?—Witness. About
five o'clock at night.
Hunt.—Be so good as to state how you were em-
ployed in the interval?
The Chairman here interfered, and would not
allow the witness to answer the question.
Rant remarked with considerable asperity on this
interference, saying that it was extremely important
that an answer should be obtained. The witness had
stated, that a very considerable interval had inter-
vened between the delivery of the speech, and the
preparation of his version of it ; and that in the mean
time he had intrusted a considerable part of it to his
memory. The retentiveness of his memory would
of course be affected by the importance of the other
events in which he had been engaged, and therefore
it was but just that he should state how he had
been employed?
The Court over-ruled this demand.
Hunt.—You state that you saw certain flags and
colours, and that there was one of then with a bloody
dagger ; now, what else was there besides the bloody
dagger? Witness.—l observed nothing else.
Iltint.—Did you observe no figure of Justice, with
the scales in -one hand, and a dagger, which you
call a bttiody dagger, in the other? Witness replied
in the negative.
Hunt.—Well, will you swear that there was no-
thing else? Witness said that he could not swear to
there being nothing else.
Hunt.—Now, you said that you saw military array;
what do you mean by military array ? Witness.—
Why, I mean people marching in regular order, as
regiments march.
Hutt.—Have you no Benefit Societies in Man.
chewer? and have you not Orange Clubs in Man-
chester Z Witness.—l never heard that there were
Orange Clubs in Manchester.
The Court here interfered, and said that these
questions were quite irrelevant. Hunt, on the other
hand, contended that they were quite to the purpose;
for when the witness spoke of regular order being
nrilitayy. array, it was proper to call to his mind in-
stances is which the former might occur without the

have
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saying, "
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Joseph Joh