Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1815-07-31
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS,
RELATIVE 10 TIE LATE FATAL DC
CuRRtNct Al DARtMoOR
rRtoON IN ENGLAND
Plymouth, April, ISL

| plymouth, Aprl, 1919,
| We, the undersigned commissioners
appointed pn behalf Oh our respective gov
ernmems, % inqui, into and report upoH
the unfortunate occurrence oi the oh Apr
| inst at Dai tnoor Prison naslng careful
| y pesuotd the proceedings u The acvera
courts Vi inquiry instituted immS dlateiy al
ter hat event, by the orders OF Admlra
| oa Iuhn Duckworth and Major Oener
al Blown, respectively, as We'll as the depJ'
s!tion taken al the coroner inquest upon lie
| bodies OIL the prisoners, VINO iost lheIl Isss
upon thai melancnoly occasion: upon winch
inquest The jury found a eIdict Ut jus itie-
Biz nonlicide proceeded lmniealateiyt q ~,
examInaGiUn upon oath III Inc presence oiont
or mole OF the magistrates OF The vicinity %.
all the Witnesses, both American and Eng
| iish, who offered themselves Tor that pur-
| pose: OF wno couidbe d!scoS cred al likely 10
afford auy material Information OH that sub
| icct, as w-ll those VINO had been previously
ex4n. ned before the coloner, as otnerwIse,
TO The number III the whole OF about eighty,
We further proceeded 10 Minute sxanin-
\ alton OF the p,Isons, Tor tie purpose o.
CLEARING up some po!n,s which upon The av
idtaCc alone weie scarcely lntellIEible /,
Obtaining from The PRISONERS, and i'om the
officers oi The depot, ail the necessary IS
! sistahcs AID explanation and premlslng,
that We have been from necessity compel
4 lea 10 ii aw nlany OF our conclusions from
stale m6nls ana esidence hlshiy contradlc
/ III lt, HI.
ceedings thc following report =
Dutng tnc period Which mas eiapsed
| since m atlIyal Ill inns tounuy oi lie ac-
! count 81 tie r.titicauon Of the ireaty OF
Chen, an Increased degree of rssticssnrss
| and impalencc 81 confinement appears y
have prevailed amongst inc American pas
toner's al D4rlm0or, which, thougn not ex-
hibped III tie shape of any siolent excess
scs, has been pIH, Ip4ly INDICATED by lhreals
Of brcAking gu, If not SOON lelrascd.
| On the A II Of this meath III particular,
only Two days previous 10 he events the
subject OF tbs inqm y, large body OF tae
prisoners rushed Inio the market square,
from Whence, BY The regulations u tn prs
on, they are excluded, demanding bread, III
stead oil biseaIt, which had Oh THAI day been
Issu cd BY the officers OF TIC oepot; theif
DEMANDS however having bSen ihcn aim 81
| im mediateiy compiled With, they reiutnSd
! To- ;helr own yard, and the empioymSnt ol
| force Oh that occasion became unnecessary.
On the evening OF tins Ga, about SIX o.
ciotk, II was clearly proved 10 Gs, Thai q
| beach III hole had been made IN one Of me
Poison walls, Sufficient for tull >lx-d man
10 pass, and that hers had Oven coinmcn.
ced 10 the course Of the day near Ihe Sans
spot, thoush never completed.
/ hat numbrr oil the prisoners were over
tic railing erected 10 piclent them from
Communicating with tie cenl,nels on the
walls, " hich Mas 0 course iorbldden by the
regulations OF the prison, aud that ID the
space between The railing and slose walls
they were tearing UP pieces OF tuFt, and
wantonly ptllios each other III noisy
and disc detL manner.
| ha1 much more considerable number
Of The prisoners WIS collected together at
| that time IN one oil their yards hear the
! place where the breach was effected, and
,h~t although such collection OF prisoners
was not uausual az other times (thx Gam.
bling fables being commonly kept in thai
part of The Yard yet when connected with
the circum stances of the breach, aud the
I time OF the day, which was alter the hour
the signal for the prisoners 10 retire 10 their
respective prisons had ceased TO sound, Ii
became natural and just ground Of alarm
To those who had charge OF the depot.
| Ii was also in evidence thai IN the build
| now the guard barrack, which stands In
| the yard 10 which the hole in the wall would
serve as a communication, part OF the
arms Of the guards who were of duty,
were usually kept in the Racks, aud though
.here WAS no evidence that this Was ia any
respect tie motive which induced the pfis-
ouers TO make the opening in Tie wall, or
even that they were ever acquainted with
tie tAct il naturally became al least fur
thcr Cause OF suspicion and alaria, and all
| addition il reason Tor pstcaution.
Upon these g.ouhds Capt Shorthand ap
pears 10 US to have been justified in giving
the order, which about this time he seems
| 10 hive given, TO so'nd the clarm bell, the
usual signal for collecting The Officers ci
the depot and putting the military on the
aitit.
However reasonable and jus,iGsble This
WIS, as measure Of precauilJn, the effects
1 produced thereby IN the prisons, but which
could not have been intended, were most
unfortunate, and deeply 10 be regretted A
considerable number Of the prisoners Il he