Salford Sessions.
The Times, 1824-08-03T00:00:00

John Lever, Joseph Lever, and Joltn Berry, three lads of from 14 to 16 years of age, were indicted for a conspiracy, tegether witl diveis othey persons unknown, to injure and defame the charaeter of WVilliam WIalker and Isabella his wife, and to cause it to be be- lieved ihat the said Isabella Walker had committed adultery, and kept a house of ill-fame, contrary to the peace of our sovereign lord the King, his crown and dignity; and theindietmeat furtherchabred, that tho said defendants, in pursuance of such conspiracy as alore- said, had written, composed, and published a certain false, wiekej, and malicious song, tending to injure and defame the said William and Isabella, and to cause it to be believed as aforesaid. Mr. FELL, in stating the ca4e to the jury, observed, that the pro. ceedings which led to the present charge had arisen out of the claim set up a few years ago, by a collier, to the baronetcy and estate of Duxbury Hall. At that time a large sulscrip!ion was raised in the country, a part of which was expended in prosecuting that claim but a much greater part wras spent in drunkenness and riotous conduct. From that time to the psesent it had been customary to insult and abuse all persons in the employ of .Mr. liall Standish ; so much so, that he found it difficult to procure servants in the neighbourhood, and was compelled to obtain a gamekeeper (who was the prosecutor in this indictment) from the vicisity of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and towards hi)m and his wife the system of annoyance andvexation which had led to this prosecution had been commenced and followed up, evidently with the view of compelling him to abandon his situa- tion, and to leave the neighbourhood ; which he would certainly be compelled to do, unless the verdict of the jury should be such as would deter these defendants, and other persons, from that persecu- tion in which they had for some time indulged. The learned gen- tleman then proceeded to detail the facts of the case, as they were afterwards proved in evidence; and concluded by staing that AIr. Hall Standish had considered it iecessary to institute tlhs prosecu- tion for the protection of his servants. He then called William Walker, who stated that he was gamekeeper to Mr. flall Standish, and had been so for six years. e lived in the town. ship ot' Anlezark. For about 12 monthg past the people in the neighbourhood had been in the habit of calling him names ; they used to shout "Cackoo" and " Flour-bag," a:nd many other of- fensive nanmes; and used to sing a song about him and his wife. One Sunday in May last, he was going upon the moors, in company with a man named Hayes, and met the defendants coming to- wards his house when they had passed him, they all callet oat "Cuckoo;" but edid not take anv noticeofthem. In afewminutes his wife called him back, and sail they had been liJA'ing her to .Mr. Wilkinson and Mlr. John, meaning Mlr. John Silvester. Wit- ness ordered them off, but they refused to go: he then thrashed them soundly and drove them off. lie bad had an action brought against him for beating them. In about20 minutes they came again. with 15 or 20 others, and sung their song before the door, and this they repeated on the following evening. John lever, one of the de- fendants, sung the song. In consequence of their conduct, he and his wife had been annoved rery irsuch Cross-examined by blr. Co0LTaAwr_Pray don't yoa sometimes shoot sheep ?-No. Lambs, then ?-Noo; I never shot any lambs. I oncehit a lamb, and put t4ree corns of shot into it. When you were asked about it, you said you were sshooting at a cuckoo ?-Yes. And you have been called " Cuckoo" ever since ?-Yes. You often shoot cuckoos, don't you ?-Yes; I shoot all kinds of varment that destroy game You sometimes shoot dogs, don't you ?-Yes: do you know a gamekeeper that does not shoot dogs ? Oh . I know nothing about what gamekeepers do. But you shoot dogs ?-Yes. And you shoot your neighbours' catR, too, don'tyou ?-Yes, some- times, but not often. I knowr I once found a cat in a trap, and let it go because it belonged to one of the neighbours. What! you once letacat escape youl Prayhow many dogsand cats have you kllled in all ? I don't know; Ineverkeptcount. Idon'tknow whytheycall ne "Flour-bag." It was not I who took thebroom.-stick thteray therpisoners; it was my wife. I thrasbodthen with my fists. hey served me with process out of the county court. I had never made any complaint to a magistrate; they did not give me time. This liappene on a Sunday, anti they served nme with process on the Saturday afler. I went to Mr. Gorst's offle on the Monday af- ter received the process, and betbre the ma0istrate the next day or the day after. I did noL go sooner, because I was busy catching tbc varmwerzti and looking after the fish; but I always meant to go. Isabella Walker, the wife of the last witness,tated tlat forsome time past people had been in the habit of calling out- Cuckoo" and "Flour-bag" after her husband, and iWiti,ber to other men. On thleday mentioned by her hwuband, the-three defendants calIed out in that way near the house. When she put her head out of the win- dowvl they told her that Mr. 'Wilkinson and Sir, Jolhn Silvester were coming; and if the keeper would comeoat, they would cla hornsm on hi head a yard long. It as John a;d Joseph Lever -who said this; ahe did not hear Berry eay any thing. She calle hier husband back, and 1ney gave the de endants a good. thrashiing. They then went away, and camne back boon afterwamrdswieh 15 or 20 others, and John Lever sung the song. There was no ground whatever for these insinuations. In the shooting season, when she went down to Dux- bury-hall with game, the people used to shout at her all the way, and she could not live there unless somtetbine de- The CH1AIRMAN endeavoured to efrect an accomrmodatioln, but without saccess. Isabella Walker, cross-eWamined by Mr. COS`kAr .?I cain't, tell what " Flourbrbag"' means.' I ;ld say to the defendantsgtberg was a lamb in a grin;: I-told them to go and take-tltati l,b asnt. The Levers do not go in a very good-w&A foi takin? Tfar They did nolget beateuhalfenioiigb. .-Icoteld l4ve given tiiitheetimes as much.. Ellen, Snape was in-Walker'tf house tt the time, a,l& confimed the evidericeof the -Wifutewsi ::e ...*- 'HeF.ry -Hayes wavwnith tfic kacr on the.eveihg in juertlon6 and- ednfirmied his statement. liHe biac heard the song so ofien, that he waable to repeat a parttof it. [He then recited three verses, which caued a gOOdl deal of merriment it the Coart. Itwas a very foolish piece of nbaldry, and very Ittle worth the notice which had been Mr. COLTXIr~ said, the plain facts of the case were these-and he was Sure the jury would think this version more probable thau that of his learne& friend. The prosecutor had by somne means or other probably by shooting his neighbours' cats and dogs rendered .qimselt obnoxious in the neighbourhood. The jury Lad heard from hin , that on one occasion he had shot a lamnb, or, as he had termed it, bad put three corns into it; and when asked how he camne to do so, lie said he was shooting at a cuckoo. Thi, was the origin of the term " cuckoo," which had been applied to him, and which was not meant to convey any in-inuawion awainst the chastity of his wife. Indeed, the jury would hear that he did not deny tbis to be the origin of the term. On the day when the cir cumustances occurred that had been detailed in evidence, the three de- fendants ware going past his house, where there was a hawk nailed up against the wall. One of them, alluding, no doubt, to the story of shooting the lamb, said " Is that a cuckoo? If it is, I'll have a shot at it." On which DI rs. Wallcer, a lady, as the jury would see' froml her demeanour in the box, of a rather warm temper, put her head out of the window, and told them to go and take that lamb out of the grin,-an insinuation which be did not choose to explain fur- ther than by saying that the lievers went in an ill name ibr taking hares; so that she evidenmly meant to accuse them of poaching-..a charge which these lads did not relish, and one of themn told her to hold her tongue, for lfr. Wilkinson and Alr. Joln were. coming. She then flew out of the house in a great rage, called back her hus- band, and the pair fell upon the lads, and gave theim a very severe thrashing. There the matter would have ended, if no steps had been taken by the hoys. It appeared that the transaction happened on a Sunday; and the Prosecutor did nothing on the Alonday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday; but Saturday canec and with it came a process ouit of the comtity court. at tle suit of John Lever. The iramekeeper then thought it was time for hint to be doing something. He went to his attorney on the llonday . and the attorney cooked up this prosecation, by way of having the first word in the busineas. The action stood for trial on Thursday next; but thc attorney advisedl his client to prefer an indict.. ment for conspiracy, atpd to include all the defendants; because if they were all convicted, conspiracy being an infamous otelnce, Joscph Lever and Berry, tey woulk d be disqualified from iving evidence. and John Lever would have no witnecs to prove %is case in the action. He (01r. Coltman) liad no doubt the jury would see through the motives of the prosecution; asid that they would dismiss the case out of court with all the contempt with which it deserved to be treated. The CwAaRsAA Summed up the evidence, and told the jury that before they cdxiuld convict the defendants of conspiracy, they must be satisfied, not merely that thev had used the woris, and sung rhe song, respectinig which evidenee bad been given, but that they had done so in pursuance of a deliberate ard preconcerred intention of injuring and defaming the prosecutor anti his wvife. The Jury, after deliberating a very long timne, and app ving mnre than once to the Chairman for further directions, return .a verdiet of" (Guilty of uttering abusive language, and singing an abusive song." The Chairman told them that was not a eufficient verdict inasmuch as it neither fbund, nor negatived the charge, that the c. fendants had ncted from a previous concert and deterrination rO in. lure the defendant and his wife. The Jury again deliberated for some time; after which they returncd a verdict of guilty against the two Levers, and acqrdtted Berry. The CisAtasRASe then proposed that the action should be dronped, and that the defendants should enter into recognizances to appear and receive judgmnent when called upon: this, after a littie delay anid discu3sion, was agreed to by both parties. SALFORD .'ESSI ONSY flIWllTU A CV