The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-19 00:00:00

w indictment and depositions, and the At-
torney-General consented as a matter of favour to give a
copy of the indictment.

prisoners, Joseph Constantine, Thos. Kenworthy,
Walker, James Stott, John Napoleon Sefton,
wpre then arraigned. and the in-

Jonalha

d Thomas To

dictment, setting forth assembling in arms, com-
„
nasßino• to rlanncn Clr,Anr. nr..l

was ordered to stand down.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL in a very perspicuous
stated the case against the prisoners.

,eech

John Latimore, of Ashton-under-Lyne, examined by
Mr. Welsby. Was a member of the National Guard;
whose organization he described, and swore to the nri-

soners amongst others being members. They used to
meet in the Chartist-rooms in Bentinek-street, where
they were drilled, sometimes by a man named Milligan,
and sometimes by Constantine and Stott. Had seen all
the other prisoners being drilled except Kenworthy. The
witness proceeded to detail the proceedings of the Guards
at their meetings, &c., the evidence being nearly similar
to that given by him in the Ashton murder case, reported
elsewhere : and fully proved the arming, the making of
bullets, ball cartridges, and hand grenades, connecting all
the prisoners with one or other of these practices. On
the Sunday before the 14th July was at Bowers', and se-
, .

veral of the prisoners were present. lheir object was to
instruct Bowers's division to " manage" the cannon in
Mr. Hindley's park. They were to get horses and draw
the cannon, four in number, to the Mosley-road and plant
two each way. His section was to stand a little higher up
and when the soldiers came up to retreat and let the can-
non give them a volley. The other sections were during
this to form barricades with bales of cotton from Pick-

as a place for them to retreat to and fire through the win-
dows. The magistrates were all to be taken into custody,
and the police caught. If they resisted they were to be
run through. The entrances to the town were to be bar-
ricaded after they had beat the military. They were told
at the meeting by Milligan that all other towns would be
up on the next day. The day was fixed upon by a man
from London. one from Halifax, and Milligan. Met next

day at Bowers's, on the forenoon of the 14th, Constantine
and Stott, Ratcliffe, Winterbottom, and Bowers were
there. Milligan came to them at 5 o'clock, and told them
all to be ready to go out at quarter before 11 o'clock that
night. Met at the Oddfellows' Arms at 7 o'clock, and
several of the prisoners were there. Left at 8 o'clock,
and went with Winterbottom to get the men of his sec-
tion up. About half-past 10 collected about twenty-five,
not all, of his own section. They were armed with pikes
and guns. Had himself a gun and bayonet. They went
into Mossley-road and formed in front, pikemen front and
guns behind. Two men came up and were turned back.
Three men afterwards came up with truncheons, which
they took from them. They heard the bugle at ie bar-
racks and advanced, and afterwards heard the police ad-
vance on horseback; and when he turned round that all
his men had gone. Went himself across the fields to
Duekinfield-brow, where he saw Ratcliffe and Sigley.
Joined other people there. Himself and William Winter-
bottom, Sigley and Joseph Ratcliffe went to Shuttleworth's
and he stayed there till Wednesday. Sigley and Winter-
bottom left on Tuesday

.oy the JUDGE :—They were told that they were to do
all this to obtain the Charter, of which he described the
leading points.

Cross-examined by Mr. TINDAL ArKiNsoN.—Was
taken into custody for the murder. Had not been talk-
ing
_to anybody about the evidence he had to give here.
Newton in gaol ; they conversed about
Had

how he liked the gaol. Saw him once or twice
never any conversation about the evidence he had to give
His sister married a man named Newton; but does not
know that he is a relation to Robert Newton. Had been
asked by Newton whether he knew any one else who
were out o.i that night. Was examined at Ashton before
Mr. Lord and another magistrate. The men were not
armed when they were drilled. There were thirty-five
members who formed in Mossley-road. The cannon did
not come up. The, evidence of this witness was very
clearly given, and quite unshaken by the cross-examina-
tion9f the learned counsel.

William Broadbent examined by the ATTORNEY-
GENERAL.—Was a lieutenant in the National Guard,
and was out on the night of the 14th July, at Dukinfield.

Cross-examined by Mr. AriciNses.--Lilad written to
the Duke of Wellington to say that he had a plan for
blowing up every town in the kingdom, and received an
answer. Could not produce the letter. Saw none of the
prisoners on the 14th.

John Platt examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL.--
Was in Newton-street, Dukinfield, on the night of the
14th. Was not out with the people.:
Mr. TINDAL ATKINSON was about to ask the witness
whether he believed in God, but was stopped by the
Judge on the ground that he was already sworn.—The
Attorney-General asked the question, after, which was
satisfactarily answered.

Examination continued.—A little after twelve o'clock
two men, Tassiker and Sefton, came up to him. They
stopped, end he asked them whether it was true that
Bright was shot. Sefton answered it was, and he did not
know how many more. At this time Mary Lee called
Sefton, and he left. Tassiker said they were a bonny set
of for not coming up; pointed to some people in
the New-road, and told Tassiker to go and tell them.
Tassiker continued that they were a " nesh-hearted" set
of fellows that attacked Bright. They were running away
and half doing their work. They kept shooting, but he
knew it would not do to leave him in that way, to give
evidence against them, and hang those he bad seen, and
he went up to him, and when he touched him he fell down
upon him. He asked, " Why don't you go home ;" and
he said they durst not in the state they were in, and
shewed him his hands, which were daubed with blood,
and that there was some on the left side of his breast.
Sefton afterwards came up, and they went away, they said
to wash themselves. Tassiker had large whiskers then,
but they are now shaved off. Witness wrote a letter giv-
ing evidence.

-Cross-examined by Mr. ATKINSON—Was apprehended
for knowing something about the affair of the 14th; has
since been in the lock-ups at Ashton. Has never stated
the evidence he has given, except before the magistrates.
Tassiker and Sefton must have crossed both the canal,
the broadwater, and the goit ; and they could have got to
the water. Made a memorandum in writing of the con-
versation with Tassiker, but cannot state the day when.
Never knew a man of the name of Hollyoak. Never said
that be did not believe in a future state.

Re-examined—Wrote to Mr. Newton on the 4th Sept.
and was taken up the same day and examined the next.
John Warren examined by Mr. WELSBY—IS a hatter
in Bentinck-street, went through the similar evidence to
that given in the trial for murder, relating to the pro-
ceedings towards the policeman Bright. Saw him stab-
bed with a pike twice. There were about two persons
present besides the man with the pike, and afterwards a
shot came from the corner of the street and Bright fell.
Afterwards he went home.
Cross examined by Mr. ATKINSON.

Wm. Macklin, examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL,
spoke to having bad a hand-grenade given him by Milligan
in the presence of several of the prisoners. He was to
light the fuse and throw it through the Town-hall window.
This witness's evidence is similar to that given in the
murder case, during the to►_sing of his evidence.
Mr. ATKINSON intimated to the Court that after hear-
ing the nature of the evidence against them, his clients
had instructed him to withdraw their plea.
The usual questions were put, and the whole of the
prisoners, including Sefton who had been put down, plea-
ded guilty ; after which Mr. Atkinson on the part of the
prisoners, expressed their contrition for the offence they
had been induced to commit, and stated that, although
they had been out on that night committing violent acts,
they had none of them participated in the murder of
Bright.

His LORDSHIP, after a short retirement to consult Mr.
Justi.e Erle, called upon the several prisoners to say
why sentence should not be passed upon them, and re-
marked that they had thought fit to plead guilty in this
unhappy case. In doing so, they had perhaps done good
for themselves ; but that good must come from the
Government not from him. He should not be doing his
duty, after the evidence which had been given to the
Court and Jury that day, if he did not mark his sense of
their conduct by inflicting a severe sentence. Absurd as
their conspiracy had been shewn to be in its objects, it
was impossible for any one to determine what might have
happened had they obtained the mastery over the
authorities of the town. Much blood might have been
shed, both their own and that of their friends, and much
destruction would have ensued ; and although ultimately
it must have been put down, it would have spread great
alarm amongst all classes of the community. On these
grounds he was compelled to inflict a severe punishment.
Four of the prisoners it appeared in evidence had had a
great deal to do with the whole proceedings ; and all these
were very deeply criminal. Constantine led the unfor-
tunate man Bright to the place where he met his death.
Knowles had a gun, although he was bound to say that
it was not his gun from which the shot was fired. Stott
had a pike; but it was proved that Tassiker who had also
a pike had used it. It was distinctly proved by one of
the witnesses that he wore whiskers on the day of the
murder, and that he had since shaved them off in order
to escape detection. He was seen shortly after the mur-
der with his hands bloody. If that evidence had come
before them on Friday his life would have been placed in
great peril. Although it was shewn that Constantine was
present it was not proved that he was assenting. Still he
must inflict upon these four prisoners the full penalty of
the law, which was transportation for life. He should
draw a wide distinction between their cases and those of
Sefton and Walker, whom he sentenced to transportation
for ten years. The result created a deep sensation in the
Court ; and the wailing of a female, probably a friend or
relative of some of the prisoners, was very distressing.
Before the next case was called on, a number of
prisoners, implicated in the conspiracy, though to a less
heinous extent, not being connected with the murder,
and who pleaded guilty on Saturday, were called up to
the bar to receive sentence. The Attorney-General rose
to interfere for one of them, James Harrop, who, he had
learnt, had been drawn into connexion with the others by
having attended meetings of the Land Company's Asso-
ciation—(Fergus O'Connor's scheme)—; he was a regu-
lar attendant at his church, and had received an excellent