The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-08-18 00:00:00

•1

persons of the first respectability, and who hall
known the prisoner nearly tun years, severally
gave him a most excellent character.
The Joodge then summed up the evidence, and
told the Jury, however they might lament that a
Gentleman of the Prisoner's condition in life,
holding the rank of a Captain in the Royal Ma.
sines, and who had borne so high aml,houvarable
a character till the present time, should on the
preacoot occasion have forfeited that character,
and have forgotten his situation, that it Yes their
duty, if as), wore satisfied with the evidence
they had heard, to find him guilty, however pain-
ful the discharge of that duty might be ;• and that
character is cases where a fair doubt could be en.
tertaincd, ought to have considerable weight with
a Jury ; but on the contrary, where the facts
were clear, and established by creditable witnesses,
however good the character of the Prisoner might
have been up to the time of committing the felony,
it was no excuse for the commission of it. And
unless they could say that the Prisoner at the
time of drawing leis handkerchief from the coon.
ter with both his bands, as the witness Bailer
stated, was ignorant that the muslin was contained
in it, he did not know how to state to them a
ground of doubt ; the muslin, as they saw, was
of considerable bulk, and not likely to be con.
tained in a silk handkerchief, without its betug
perceived by the Prisoner, and if they thought
so, it was their duty to say that he was guilty.
The Jury, after a few seconds consideration,
returned a verdict of Guilty. _ .

The trial lasted an hour ;ad a half, and eicited
an unusual degree of interegi, ana the Court was
extremely crowded. The Prisoner is a genteel
looking man, 28 years of age.
The following Prisoners were tried at the. same
Assizes:—

Robert Chaftney, alias Binjleld, was indicted
on suspicion of stealing from the coat pocket of
James Glover a pocket-book, containing a note
of hand fur 521. 10s. and divers memorandums in
writing, the property of the said James Glover.
Guilty.
Sarah (:ope was inflicted for having feloniously
stolen and taken from and out of a drawer in the
bell-room of John Wills one 51. note, and one
11. note, the property of the said John Wills.—
Guiltq, Death.
Williams Greenaway was indicted for having
stolen and carded away from and out of a dwel-
ling house a coat, waistcoat, and breeches, the
properly of Wm. Collins.

AMERICA.

PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, JULY 6.

On 'l'nestlay afternoon, much damage was done
at Fort Constitution, by the accidental explosion
of about 350 lbs. of gun-powder. It appears
that a quantity of cartridges, prepared for the
purpose of firing a salute, had been placed, with.
out bring secured in any thing, upon the plat.
form, dose to two chits filled with cartridges,
and that the cartridges having caught fire, commu.
niested it to the chests. We regret to say, that
it is already ascortainetl that eight persons (men
and boys) have been killed ; that several are miss.
log; and that many more are dangerously wound.
ed ; some of whom, it is expected, cannot long
survive their wounds.
The bodies of the dead and wounded are man-
gled itethe most shocking manner ; and the force
of the explosion was such, that some of the suf-
ferers were tern liidb from limb, and carried to a
great distance from the spot, in various directions.
One of the bodies, which was picked up, yester-
day, in the river, was totally stripped of every
article of cluathiug. except orie small. piece of a
shirt, close to the el bow. Pieces of human flesh
have been discovered, scattered in different spots :
a thigh, in one place; a leg and foot, in another;
and a hand, in a third. In short, we do not re.
collect ever to have witnessed a more distressing
or appalling sight. Some pieces of women's pet-
ticoats have likewise bees fotind ; and as we are
informed one or more are missing, we think
they shared the same fate with the rest. To
give some idea of the force which attended the ex-
plosion, we bare only to inform our readers, that
a leg and foot actually penetrated through a don.
ble door in the Captain's house, and made its way
to the inner part of the room; almost every win-
dow in the fort was stove in ; and, in the house
occupied by the Commandant, the doors were
taken from the hinges ; the windows broken ; the
shelves in the closets torn down ; The ceiling much
injured...in short, the building is almost in ruins.
If the explosion had taken place four or five mi.
minutes sooner, it is next to an impossibility but
that 100 persons more would have been killed ;
fortunately the sound of a addle at some distance,
caused almost every one to flock towards the spot
from whence it proceeded.—(None York Gazette,
July 12.)
Froos The New York Elsenim Post, July 11.
NASHVILLE, JULY 2.—On laturday, the 20111
instant, the following catastrophe happened in the
house of Mr. James Ford, on the Elbe river, in
this State. A man, of the name of Crouch, was
suspected of hawing stolen a horse, and was per.
sued and apprehended at the house of Ford, by
Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Reredos. Two brothers,
of the name of Bowling, who were related to
Crouch, heard of his confinement, and resolved
to rescue him. They west to rord's house, and.,
after attempting, unsuccessfully, to cut the cord
which Crouch was bound with, one of the Bow.
ling's presented his rile to the breast of Reynolds ;
be, in self-defence, did the same; and they fired
nearly at the same time. Bowliag was killed, and
Reynolds wounded in the arm. The other Bow.
ling then promoted his piece at the same instant at
Reredos, who also raised his rile to Bowliag's
breast • they fired together, and both riu dead.—
The fellow who was in custody ran away, aid was
pursued by Reynolds, who was, Roble to ins at
him with success, being incapable of load*, his
rile, from the disability produced by Ilse wound is
his arm.

Pot, (soot the Baltic, has suited of the
Member.