“Public-office, Monday July 15, 1839, 11 a.m.“ ‘Dear Sir,—The magistrates here assembled are desirous, with your permission, to avail themselves of the advantage of your aid and means in watching and ascertaining the character and proceedings of the meeting, should one take place, at Holloway-head. Some magistrates will be in attendance at this office, and quite prepared to act according to circumstances, and to the nature of the information you may transmit to them. This is a precautionary measure which the magistrates feel it incumbent upon them to adopt, although they venture to anticipate a peaceful issue. They would not have felt themselves warranted in taking this liberty, but from the encouragement they have derived from your uniformly courteous, able, and kind co-operation with them during the existing troubles.“ ‘I remain, dear Sir, yours faithfully,“ ‘Captain Moorsom, R.N.’ ”“ ‘J. K. Booth.
“Public-office, Monday July 15, 1839, 11 a.m.
“ ‘Dear Sir,—The magistrates here assembled are desirous, with your permission, to avail themselves of the advantage of your aid and means in watching and ascertaining the character and proceedings of the meeting, should one take place, at Holloway-head. Some magistrates will be in attendance at this office, and quite prepared to act according to circumstances, and to the nature of the information you may transmit to them. This is a precautionary measure which the magistrates feel it incumbent upon them to adopt, although they venture to anticipate a peaceful issue. They would not have felt themselves warranted in taking this liberty, but from the encouragement they have derived from your uniformly courteous, able, and kind co-operation with them during the existing troubles.
“ ‘I remain, dear Sir, yours faithfully,
“ ‘Captain Moorsom, R.N.’ ”“ ‘J. K. Booth.
“On receiving the letter at noon. Captain Moorsom arranged with the Edgbaston ward leader that proper men should be appointed to convey information to the public-office as to the character of the meeting, while he himself watched its proceedings; but nothing occurred to cause any apprehension. By two o’clock about three hundred persons had assembled at Holloway-head; in an hour or so afterwards the numbers had diminished, and seemed to Captain Moorsom to be quite insignificant.
“About this time Colonel Chatterton, of the dragoons, called as usual at the public-office, and was told by the mayor that there was no occasion to keep the soldiers at the barracks in readiness, since, from all he heard, the town was quiet. Hence it appeared that the mayor set no value on the information of Mr. Coburn, who had told him in an earlier part of the day that from what had been said in his hearing the day before, at a meeting at Holloway-head, disturbance was to be expected at night.
“At five o’clock the mayor left the public-office to go home to his own house, about a mile-and-a-half off, the other magistrates having left before him; and before going away he gave express directions to George Redfern, the prison-keeper, that if magistrates were wanted he was to send or go for him or Dr. Booth.
“It further appeared that later in the evening, about seven o’clock, a great number of persons (probably about one thousand) was assembled at Holloway-head, and these, instead of dispersing when they left the ground, proceeded in a body towards the Warwick-road, to meet (as was supposed) two Chartists who had been bailed out of prison that day, and were expected to return to Birmingham that night. From some cause or other, never satisfactorily accounted for, a mob of men and boys came back from the Warwick-road, and suddenly arrived by hundreds in the Bull-ring, about half-past eight o’clock; there they violently set fire to several valuable premises, burned and destroyed a great deal of furniture and other property, broke many of the windows of the public-office (a little wayoff), and having done the work of destruction uninterruptedly for not less than an hour, at last they gave way and retired, either seeing the police had turned out against them, or expecting the speedy arrival of the military.
“It is here to be observed that Captain Moorsom had been watching the proceedings of the people at Holloway-head (in the evening), till he saw them go away; then, thinking they might have adjourned to the Bull-ring, while in fact they had passed it on their left, he went to the Bull-ring, and finding nothing that to his mind indicated disturbance, about eight o’clock he proceeded to the public-office to report what he had witnessed, and ascertain from the magistrates what were their arrangements for the night; but though he asked for a magistrate he did not go or send for one; and having told the superintendant of police, whom he saw there, that everything was quiet, he returned home about a quarter before nine, after expressing his opinion to the Edgbaston ward leader that there was no fear of disturbance. George Redfern, the prison-keeper, staid at the public-office till some time after eight, when a constable came in and asked for the magistrates, adding that the town was in an excited state. On hearing this he lost not a moment, but set off to Dr. Booth’s, and thence to the mayor’s. He found both of them at home; and the mayor having joined Dr. Booth at his house, they proceeded to the barracks as quick as they could, called out the military, and accompanied them on horseback to the Bull-ring. Whilst George Redfern was thus away for forty-two minutes, and after he returned to the public-office, the superintendant of police was repeatedly called upon to act against the rioters, but he steadily refused, in consequence of orders that without the military or a magistrate’s sanction the police were not to go out, nor, in fact, did the police begin to act at all till Mr. Walker (a magistrate) came to the public-office, and with him they went against the mob soon after half-past nine. It was the opinion of some, that had the police gone out and acted earlier the mob might have been dispersed, or at least that the property thus destroyed by the rioters might have been defended; but it appeared a very doubtful question.
“Upon such a state of facts, though the evidence will supply a great deal more in relation to the issue, the mayor and magistrates are charged with neglect of duty.
“Now, the case must be looked at as it presented itself to the mayor and magistrates at the time, and not as if they could have foreseen the extent of calamity, which their want of preparation, their absence from the public-office, or any other circumstances may be thought to have occasioned.
“Believing then that they acted with perfect good faith throughout, and considering besides that they took reasonable measures to watch the proceedings of the Chartists at Holloway-head, that they relied on information which led them to apprehend no disturbance or outbreak, that on leaving the public-office in the afternoon at five, the mayor gave directions to George Redfern, the prison-keeper, to send or go for him or Dr. Booth, if magistrates should be wanted; and taking into account that the mayor and Dr. Booth were each of them at home when George Redfern came for them, I am of opinion that under all the circumstances, the mayor and magistrates were not guilty of neglecting their duty on the occasion referred to in the memorial.
“The general orders to the police, which prevented them from acting when first they were called upon to do so, I think ought not to have been given; but it is reasonable to believe that the mayor and magistrates laid on the restraint purely out of consideration to the men themselves.“I have, &c.“David Dundas.”
“The general orders to the police, which prevented them from acting when first they were called upon to do so, I think ought not to have been given; but it is reasonable to believe that the mayor and magistrates laid on the restraint purely out of consideration to the men themselves.
“I have, &c.“David Dundas.”
This was a report which entirely exonerated the magistrates from all blame; and leaving this part of the case, we shall now proceed to the trial of the persons implicated in these transactions, which took place at the Warwick assizes, in the month of August, in the same year.
On Thursday the 1st of August, a lad named Perry, was first tried for breaking into the house of Mr. Horton, the silversmith, and stealing a silver sugar-basin; but he was acquitted. In a second indictment, the charge made was that he had received the basin well knowing it to have been stolen. The evidence went to show that the basin had been found in his possession, and that he refused to give it up; but it appeared that he had picked it up, and the jury acquitted him, discrediting the allegation of his felonious intention.
On the next day John Neale, William Shears, John Storey, William Edes, and Frederick Mason, were tried upon an indictment charging them with being parties to the riot of the 4th of July, and a verdict of “Guilty” returned.
On Saturday the 3rd of August, Jeremiah Howell, aged thirty-four; Francis Roberts, twenty-six; John Jones, twenty-one; Thomas Aston, fifteen; and Henry Wilkes, twenty-one; were put upon their trial. The indictment charged them with having at Birmingham, on the 15th of July 1839, with other persons to the number of two thousand, unlawfully and feloniously assembled, to the disturbance of the public peace, and with having feloniously pulled down and demolished the house of James and Henry Bourne. The evidence showed the implication of all except Wilkes, and with that exception the prisoners were found guilty.
On the same day John Collins, whose name has been already alluded to, was called in and arraigned upon an indictment preferred against him. The indictment recited that there had been an unlawful assembly called together in the town of Birmingham on the 4th of July, and that George Masters and John Hugh Sweeting, being officers of the London Metropolitan Police, and being duly sworn in as special constables, did, by order of the magistrates, remove such unlawful assembly; and then it alleged that John Collins, being a wicked, seditious, and disaffected person, and endeavouring to bring into hatred and contempt the police force, and to excite tumults amongst the Queen’s subjects, did cause to be written and published a certain false, scandalous, and malicious libel on the police and the administration, which were the resolutions of the National Convention. These resolutions were then set forth.
The libel was proved to have been taken to the printer by the prisoner, and to have been printed and posted through the town by his directions. It was in the following terms:—
“Resolutions unanimously agreed to by the General Convention.
“Resolved—1. That this Convention is of opinion that a wanton, flagrant, and unjust outrage has been made upon the people of Birminghamby a bloodthirsty and unconstitutional force from London, acting under the authority of men who, when out of office, sanctioned and took part in the meetings of the people, and now, when they share in the public plunder, seek to keep the people in social slavery and political degradation.
“2. That the people of Birmingham are the best judges of their own right to meet in the Bull-ring or elsewhere, have their own feelings to consult respecting the outrage given, and are the best judges of their own power and resources to obtain justice.
“That the summary and despotic arrest of Dr. Taylor, our respected colleague, affords another convincing proof of the absence of all justice in England, and clearly shows that there is no security for life, liberty, or property, till the people have some control over the laws they are called upon to obey.
(By order)
“W. Lovett, Sec.
“Friday, July 5, 1839.”
The prisoner was found “Guilty,” but recommended to mercy on account of his former good character.
On Tuesday, William Lovett, who was the secretary to the National Convention, was tried upon a similar indictment, charging the publication by him of the same libel; and after a long and impartial trial, in which the prisoner defended himself with much tact, a verdict of “Guilty” was returned.
Several other prisoners were, during the ensuing week, found guilty of riot, but the prosecutions against many were withdrawn.
On Thursday morning, the 8th of August, Mr. Justice Littledale passed sentence on the prisoners against whom convictions had been recorded.
Jeremiah Howell, Francis Roberts, and John Jones were first placed in the dock.
The Clerk of the Arraigns asked the prisoners what they had to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon them.
Mr. Justice Littledale then put on his black cap, and addressed them. They had been convicted of felony by a jury of their country, for demolishing the house of James and Henry Bourne, of Birmingham. This offence, by the policy of our law, had for many years been punishable with death; and though of late years many offences which were before capital had, by the humanity of the legislature, been mitigated, the punishment for that offence had not been reduced, and it was still thought proper to retain the punishment of death for it. Even at this time, as to such offences as remained capital, where there were any alleviating circumstances, mercy was usually and properly extended. But, he regretted to say, that their offence was not one of that description, nor could he, in the discharge of his public duty, honestly recommend them to mercy. They had been aware that Birmingham had for some time been in a very excited state. Riots had from time to time occurred, which it had been found very difficult to suppress, till at length on the 15th of July they reached their highest pitch—houses were then demolished and burnt, property to a great value destroyed, and, but for the interposition of a superior force, the mob might have had possession of the town, and a much greater amount of property might have been destroyed, and many lives sacrificed. In this act of demolition the prisoners unfortunately engaged themselves, and began the devastation. He therefore found it necessary, as far as lay in his power, to makean example of those who had been convicted, in order to prevent similar outrages in Birmingham and other parts of the kingdom where such things might be contemplated. He hoped that some benefit to others, at least, would result from their sad example, and that those who should hear the account of these lamentable outrages and their result, would be warned by it from the commission of similar offences. But although he could hold out no hope of mercy here, there was for them a hope of obtaining it in another world from that Almighty Being who understood all hearts, and was always disposed to grant it where there was an humble and true repentance. Their time here was fast approaching to its end, and they must be prepared to meet their God. He entreated them to employ that time in true repentance for all their offences, and endeavour to obtain, through the merits and intercession of our Saviour Jesus Christ, that mercy from God which they could not hope for from man. It now only remained for him to pronounce the awful sentence of the law, which was, that they, Jeremiah Howell, Francis Roberts, and John Jones, be severally taken to the place from whence they came, and that they be severally taken from thence to the place of execution, and there severally hanged by the neck till they were dead; and (concluded the judge) may the Lord, in his infinite mercy, have mercy on your souls.
Thomas Aston (the lad who was convicted for the same offence as the other prisoners) was then brought to the front of the dock.
Mr. Justice Littledale said, in his case it did not appear to him that the awful sentence of the law, which would be recorded against him, should be carried into effect, and his life would probably be spared. He would take time to consider for what his sentence should be commuted.
John Neale, William Shears, William Edes, Eleazer Hughes, and James Pomeroy, convicted of misdemeanour and riot, were next placed the dock.
The learned judge, after commenting on the offences of which they had been found guilty, said he found it necessary in their cases, and in order to discourage such scenes of tumult, the consequences of which, when once begun, no man could foresee, and protect life and property in Birmingham and elsewhere, to inflict a severe punishment. He, therefore, sentenced them severally to eighteen months’ imprisonment in the House of Correction, and hard labour.
The following prisoners, convicted of the same offence, some of whom pleaded guilty, and in favour of whom there were mitigating circumstances, were then placed at the bar, and received the following sentences:—
John Drinkworth, twelve months’ imprisonment and hard labour.
James Rhodes, nine months’ imprisonment and hard labour.
John Storey, Frederick Mason, and Thomas Salter, six months’ imprisonment and hard labour.
John Taplow, for the same offence (who pleaded guilty), one month’s imprisonment and hard labour.
John Smith, William Clift, and Thomas King, were discharged on entering into their own recognizances in 40l.each to appear and receive judgment when called upon.
John Collins and William Lovett were then brought up and asked why the court should not pronounce sentence upon them for the misdemeanour of which they had been convicted?
Mr. Lovett addressed the Court:—Because, in the first place, he was convinced that the jury were prejudiced against him. He had it from very good authority that several of them declared their express wish that all the Chartists should be hanged. That, he submitted, was a very good reason for a lenient sentence. His lordship would also take into consideration the evidence on the trial, and the proof of the facts set forth in the placard, combined with the prejudiced feelings of the jury—circumstances which ought to weigh much in the present case.
Mr. Justice Littledale then addressed the prisoners. They stood severally convicted of having published a seditious libel. He had taken all the circumstances of the case into his serious consideration. John Collins had received a good character, and the jury, on that account, had recommended him to mercy. In Lovett’s case, the jury did not so recommend. At the same time he observed, that Lovett had received a very good character, and though the jury had not recommended him to the merciful consideration of the court, he would not on that account make any difference in their sentence. The sentence of the court was, that they be severally imprisoned in the common jail of this county for one year.
They applied to be imprisoned on the debtors’ side; but the learned judge said he had not the power to make such an order.
The business of the assize was then closed.
The final merciful consideration of the cases of the convicts who had received sentence of death, exhibited the leniency with which the government desired to deal with their offences, in spite of their enormity. On Thursday the 15th of August, a large deputation of members of parliament waited upon the minister of the crown within whose department of office the subject came, for the purpose of soliciting mercy for the condemned men. They happily succeeded in their philanthropic object, and a reprieve was instantly despatched to Warwick. It was felt, however, that although the punishment of death was removed, the infliction of a severe penalty was rendered necessary by the enormity of the offence, and the sentence of the prisoners was commuted only to transportation for life.
It would be impossible in the space to which we are limited, to go through the cases of all the persons who were convicted in the course of the years 1839 and 1840, for their advocacy, by the violence of their language, or of their deeds, of the cause of Chartism. Throughout the greater part of the manufacturing districts of England, the agitation which prevailed upon this subject was very great, and repeated and frequent acts of violence were committed, the participators in which suffered the penalties of their offences; but to recite each particular case would be little more than to repeat the same details.
The events of the latter end of the year 1839, when a most systematic and violent attempt was made to seize the town of Newport, in Monmouthshire, by an organised band of Chartists, will be found to be hereafter described; and for a more complete view of the abominable conspiracy which existed in reference to the advancement of the cause of Chartism, we must refer our readers to the article in which the riots of Wales are delineated.
Manchester Massacre.Manchester Massacre.
THEriots which took place at the end of the year 1839, in the manufacturing districts of England and Wales, will long be remembered as among the most serious and violent popular commotions which have occurred in this country in the course of the current century. The Chartists, whose proceedings we have already alluded to, are alone answerable for the mischievous “risings” to which the country was made the prey, and many of them have paid the forfeit of their offences by the infliction of the punishments of transportation, fine, and imprisonment.
Among the most distinguished of the Chartist leaders, who were concerned in the Newport outbreak, which was the most serious of those to which public attention was directed, was Mr. John Frost, who previously to the time of his connection with these proceedings had been a magistrate, and a respectable inhabitant of the borough of Newport, in Monmouthshire. Mr. Frost was well-known to have long entertained political feelings extending to the extreme of radicalism; but, considering the situation of trust which he had held in his native town, it was scarcely deemed possible that he should be engaged in proceedings, the declared object of which was to subvert the government of the day.
Preparatory to entering into a description of the circumstances immediately attending the great Chartist movement against Newport, we shall give a short narrative of the life of Mr. Frost. At the time of his conviction, in the month of January 1840, he had just attained the age of fifty years; his birth, therefore, must have taken place in the year 1790. At an early period of his life he was deprived of the paternal care of his father, and the direction of his education devolved upon his maternal grandfather, a boot and shoemaker at Newport, in extensive business. The schools of Bristol it was found, afforded far better means of education than those of Newport; and, to obtain the benefit of them, Frost was sent to the former place, where he sedulously laboured to avail himself of the good opportunities which were so considerately and timely offered to him.
He became early devoted to books, and little relished his grandfather’s business to which he was at first indentured. From these indentures he was released by the interference of an uncle, then mayor of Newport; and he became assistant to a woollen-draper, in Bridge-street, Bristol. Leaving this city he remained for some time in London in the same capacity; and at last returning to Newport, at the solicitation of his mother, he took the house and business of a Mr. Thomas, draper and tailor, the drapery branch of which he carried on until 1812, when finding himself prosperous, he married his present wife, a distant relation of his own, and niece to Mr. Foster, the mayor of Newport, who had been the means of getting him released from his first indentures.
Whilst in London, although not more than twenty years of age, he was entrusted with the chief management of the business of the house in which he was engaged. He was particularly esteemed for his sobriety, and generally spent his evenings at some of the political club meetings which were then so numerous. In these clubs the unhappy subject of these records was in the habit of associating with Gale Jones, Thelwall, Hardy, Galloway,and others of the same school; and although he spoke but seldom, it cannot be disputed that the lessons which he there received and the principles which he there imbibed, had a great influence in directing his mind to that course which he subsequently pursued.
In the year 1817, Mr. Frost entered into a public political discussion with Mr. Cobbett, which was the first occasion on which he had been placed in a conspicuous position before the world. From this period he became a constant agitator. In all questions, whether of a local or a general character, he took an active part, and more than once before his connection with that struggle for chartism, which was productive to him of so serious results, he became involved in situations threatening him with ruin.
In the year 1822 Mr. Frost was subjected to a severe imprisonment, upon a conviction founded upon a libel published by him against Mr. Protheroe, the town-clerk of Newport. Upon this subject a writer, apparently favourable to Mr. Frost and the views which he took upon this question, thus expresses himself:—
“Up to this period the current of Mr. Frost’s life seems to have run smoothly and prosperously; a happy husband and father, and a prosperous tradesman, he seemed destined to go through life without a cloud on his fortunes, when he unfortunately became involved in law proceedings with a Mr. Protheroe, town-clerk of Newport, and land-steward to Sir Charles Morgan, a man of great influence in the neighbourhood. The immediate cause of this quarrel was Mr. Frost’s having become bail for a relation, whom Mr. Protheroe (an attorney) was suing for an alleged debt of 150l.The legality and existence of the debt were both denied; but owing, it is said, to some informality, the suit was decided against the defendant, and in the consequences of this decision Mr. Frost became involved. Conceiving himself wronged, Mr. Frost, it appears, threatened to lay a statement of the whole affair before the public, unless his portion of the loss was refunded. The judgment not being upon the merits, but merely in consequence of a technical mistake, he conceived he was not morally bound to pay the money. This argument it seems was not satisfactory to the plaintiff, and the end was, that Mr. Protheroe brought an action against Mr. Frost, upon the ground that this threat of publication was an attempt to extort money. In the eye of the law it was so, and Mr. Frost had 1000l.damages awarded against him for this rash step. Mr. Frost immediately sold his stock, and paid all his creditors, save one relation, who arrested him for a debt of 200l.Upon this Mr. Frost declared himself insolvent, and surrendered himself as such.”
The matter, however, did not end here; but the writer already quoted says further:—
“In the mean time his opponent, Mr. Protheroe, had commenced a fresh action against him for libel. Mr. Frost had, in reference to the former action, alluded to the jury as being ‘packed,’ and also asserted that two of the witnesses, clerks of the plaintiff, were perjured. Upon this Mr. Frost was tried and found guilty of a libel, for which he paid the penalty of six months’ imprisonment in Coldbath-fields Prison, London.
“Public opinion was, however, in Mr. Frost’s favour, though the law was his enemy. On his return to his native town, after his imprisonment for this libel, he was met by fifteen thousand of his neighbours, with banners and music, and so made a sort of triumphal entry into Newport,ruined by course of law, without having, in general estimation, been guilty of a shadow of crime.”
From this period Mr. Frost continued to reside in Newport, exerting his influence, upon every occasion, in support of the more popular views upon the various questions coming under discussion, and advocating, with considerable effect, the necessity of reform in the corporation of that small borough. When the Municipal Corporation Reform Bill was passed, he was looked upon by his fellow-townsmen as the fittest person to represent their opinions; and, in the year 1837, he was elected mayor, notwithstanding the strenuous exertions of the party opposed to him in political opinions. At the same time he held the office of guardian of the poor of the union in which he lived, under the Poor Law Amendment Act; and in reference to this law, as well as all others upon which any popular feeling existed, he espoused the cause of opposition.
At the conclusion of the year of his mayoralty, he was placed on the list of justices of the peace for the district of Newport, in consequence of the representations of his fellow-townsmen, by Lord John Russell, at that time Secretary of State for the Home Department; but, notwithstanding his elevation to this undoubtedly honourable post, he continued to employ his greatest efforts in favour of the wishes of the working classes. In 1838 he joined a society called “The Working Men’s Association,” at Newport, and this was the first step which he took towards that unfortunate termination of his career which subsequent circumstances brought about. In the course of the ensuing year he was elected, as the representative of the district of Monmouthshire and its vicinity, in “The Convention of the Working Classes,” an assembly which met in London in order to endeavour to procure the adoption of the principles of the “Charter” by parliament. Preparatory to his quitting Newport to take his share in the discussions which took place at this Convention, he attended several meetings of the persons by whom he had been elected, for the purpose of their determining upon the precise grounds to be taken by him upon his arrival in London. Acting as chairman at several of them, he made such assertions, and employed such arguments, as were considered by the officers of her majesty’s government inconsistent with the duties of the office of magistrate, which he then held; and Lord John Russell in consequence wrote to him, to demand an explanation of his conduct. A long correspondence took place, and considerable public excitement was occasioned; but the result was that, in the month of May 1839, the name of Mr. Frost was removed from the list of persons in the commission of the peace.
This step upon the part of the government had the effect of raising Mr. Frost still higher in the opinions of those persons of whom he was now the professed leader; and, while in the Convention in the metropolis, he acquired considerable influence, on his return to Newport he was received with great enthusiasm. In his speeches, the views which he took, although undoubtedly opposed to the government of the day, of whom he spoke in no measured terms, were decidedly in favour of the operation of “moral force,” as distinguished from “physical force,” in securing the object which his partisans had in view. It is surprising, therefore, to find, that on his eventual re-appearance at his native town, he should have espoused the cause of violence, and should have consented to take the leadin so formidable a movement as that which was made under his immediate control and direction.
Frost, however, was not the only individual whose proceedings attracted attention. Other delegates to the Convention had been appointed from the same district, and the violence of the declared opinions of one of them, named Vincent, laid him open to charges against him of a very serious nature. He was found to have gained great power over the operatives in the coal and iron districts around Monmouth; and his outrageous language soon obtained for him the notice of Mr. Phillips, the mayor of Newport, within whose sphere of action he most frequently exhibited himself. A prosecution was in consequence determined upon; and, on the 2nd of August 1839, true bills were found at the Monmouth Assizes against him, together with other persons, his associates in the cause of violence, upon a charge of unlawfully meeting together, intending to disturb the peace and tranquillity of this realm, and to excite disaffection and hatred to the government and constitution of the country. Amongst the defendants upon these indictments was Mr. Frost; but, unfortunately for him, his case was postponed to the ensuing assizes. A verdict of “Guilty” was returned upon the charge preferred against Vincent, and he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment, while his companion, William Edwards, was ordered to undergo nine months’ imprisonment, and John Dickenson and William Townsend were sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.
After this conviction no popular movement took place, but the prisoners were conveyed, without any attempt at disturbance, to the county jail; and although many remonstrances were heard as to their being subjected to the rigorous discipline of the jail, these eventually ceased, and a prospect of peace and quietude presented itself. While yet the authorities were congratulating themselves upon the check which appeared to have been given to physical-force chartism, however, information reached them that secret meetings were nightly held in beer-shops and club-rooms in the country districts, the proceedings at which were calculated to excite feelings of the greatest uneasiness amongst the well-disposed subjects of her majesty. Rumours were afloat that a rising was meditated on the hills, for the purpose of attacking Newport, and, in the event of success, of marching to Monmouth to liberate Vincent and the other Chartist prisoners confined in the jail of that town. From the frequency and vagueness of such reports, little importance (generally speaking) was attached to them until Sunday, the 3rd of November, when Mr. Phillips, mayor of Newport, obtained information, to which some credence was attached, that an insurrectionary movement had been determined on in the Chartist lodges. The mayor, from the first moment of serious alarm, adopted every precautionary measure, which firmness, correct judgment, and indefatigable exertion could accomplish. On the first intimation of danger, he sent the police-officers to summon all the special constables to attend him at the King’s Head Hotel, at eight o’clock in the evening. The call was promptly responded to by all the respectable inhabitants; and it was resolved that, in consequence of the information received, it was necessary that fifty special constables should remain on duty in the King’s Head Hotel all night, fifty at the Westgate Hotel, and fifty at the Parrot Inn. The mayor afterwards adjourned to the Westgate Hotel, where the magistrates held their sittings; and a detachment of the 45th foot, consisting of thirty soldiersonly, was stationed in the house, under the command of Lieutenant Gray, it having been deemed advisable that the remainder of the troop should stay at the workhouse with Captain Stack, where about two hundred stand of arms were deposited. In the course of the evening and the night, the special constables, who were on duty parading the streets, captured many Chartists, armed with pistols, pikes, and other deadly weapons. The alarm was complete; for, during the whole of the afternoon, every inhabitant, or stranger, who happened to arrive in town from the vicinity of the works, brought in the terrifying intelligence that the ringleaders of the Chartists had been scouring the hills during the whole of the day, in all directions, and compelling, by brute force, all who came within their reach to join their ranks, and that it was highly probable that an attack would be made upon Newport that night. This induced the mayor to look for further assistance, and he accordingly sent an express to the mayor of Bristol, requesting a reinforcement of troops. The morning dawned upon the affrighted town without apparent danger, but still alarms were abroad; and, as the hours advanced, business appeared at a complete stand-still, and no one ventured to open his shop. At eight o’clock Lieut. Gray, of the 45th, with two sergeants and twenty-eight soldiers, arrived at the Westgate Hotel, from the barracks at the poor-house, beyond Stow Hill, the remainder being left under the command of Captain Stack at their barracks. The gallant lieutenant immediately placed himself and men under the direction of the mayor; and the brave and determined fellows were judiciously posted in the room which commanded the entire extent of the front of the premises. The shutters of the Westgate Hotel windows were closed, but the entrance was open, and the passage occupied by special constables with staves, there being no appearance of a military force from the exterior of the house.
The subsequent circumstances attending this unfortunate affair, are best detailed by the Attorney-General’s speech, and by the evidence which was produced at the trial; and having merely stated the fact of the riot having occurred on the 4th of November, 1839, we shall proceed to the description of the circumstances attending the investigation before the jury.
The importance of the inquiry was deemed by the officers of the crown to be sufficient to warrant the issuing of a special commission for the trial of the prisoners, and the necessary preliminary arrangements having been made, the business of the commission at length commenced on Wednesday, the 1st of January, 1840, at Monmouth, Sir N. C. Tindal, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas; Sir J. Parke, one of the Barons of the Court of Exchequer; and Sir J. Williams, one of the Justices of the Court of Queen’s Bench, being the Judges appointed to undertake the difficult task of trying the numerous prisoners in custody; and the Attorney-General (Sir John Campbell), the Solicitor-General (Mr. Serjeant Wilde), Mr. Serjeant Ludlow, Mr. Serjeant Talfourd, Mr. Wightman, and Mr. Talbot, being the counsel for the crown. The counsel engaged for the prisoners were Sir F. Pollock, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Rickards.
The whole of the prisoners had been arraigned upon the indictment preferred against them on a former day, and had solicited to be tried separately, in obedience to a right conferred upon them by act of parliament.
Mr. John Frost was the first put upon his trial. He was placed atthe bar at nine o’clock in the morning, and appeared to posses great confidence.
The Attorney-General then rose, and thus proceeded to address the court and jury:—“May it please your lordships, gentlemen of the jury; In the discharge of my official duty, I have the honour of attending here to conduct this important prosecution. I hope you will believe that my only object is, that the facts of the case may be fairly laid before you; that truth may be fully investigated; that innocence may be vindicated, if innocence be found to exist; and that you will only pronounce the verdict of guilty upon clear and convincing proof. It is highly important that parties accused should be zealously and ably defended; but it is likewise of importance that the law should be vindicated; that the peace of society should be preserved; and that, when crime has been committed, guilt should be brought to punishment. I think that no one will deny the necessity for the solemn inquiry in which we are engaged. There has recently been in this county an armed insurrection; the law has been set at defiance; an attempt has been made to take possession of the town of Newport; there has been a conflict between the insurgents and the Queen’s troops; there has been bloodshed; there has been the loss of many lives. Gentlemen, the intelligence of these outrages has caused great alarm and dismay throughout the kingdom. Various prisoners, charged with having been concerned in these outrages, are now accused of having committed the highest crime known to the law. Not only on account of the importance of the occasion, but from the forms of the law, it became necessary for her Majesty to issue a special commission for the trial of those charged as offenders. A bill of indictment for high treason was found by a jury of the county against (amongst others) John Frost, the prisoner at the bar; but still he is presumed to be innocent. All the indictment says is this, that he should be put upon his trial. I need hardly caution you, gentlemen of the jury, that you are to dismiss from your recollection all that you have read, and all that you have heard, upon this subject. You are to be guided entirely by the evidence, and you will proceed as if you never had heard of the case until the indictment was read to you. I further use the liberty of saying that you are not to regard my statement, either as to the law or as to the fact. The law you will receive from the venerable judges who preside over this court—the facts you will hear from the witnesses, and you will be guided by the evidence they give, and the credit that you think their testimony is entitled to. A most important charge is given to you, for it is one which bears upon the guilt or innocence of the prisoner. No men can have higher functions to discharge—the life and the reputation of the accused are in your hands—but there are likewise in your hands the public safety and the public justice of the country.”
Having then referred at great length to the law affecting the case, the learned gentleman proceeded to say:—“I shall now, therefore, give you a short outline of the facts, which I understand will be clearly proved in evidence before you. For that purpose I must remind you of the geographical situation of the county in which these disturbances took place. You are probably well acquainted with what is called the ‘hill district,’ in the county of Monmouth. It is of a triangular form, having for its apex a place called Risca, about five miles from Newport. The base is at a distance of from fifteen to twenty miles as you ascend the country. On thewest side you have Nantiglo and Beaufort iron-works—on the east, Blaenavon, and the hills in the neighbourhood; Blorage, I think, being one of the heights. The country is intersected by deep glens, watered by rapid streams; the Rumney being on the west, and the Sirhowy parallel to it; then come the rivers Ebbw Upper and Ebbw Lower, which join and flow down towards Newport; and near to that is Lanthewy, and the river Avon. In that county, as you are aware, are mines of coal and iron. These mines have of late years been worked to a very great extent; and those mountainous hills which, fifty years ago, were almost uninhabited—a few shepherds’ huts only being scattered up and down, are now the seat of a dense population, estimated, I am told, at forty thousand persons, employed in working the iron and coal mines, and in supplying the wants of those so engaged. I am afraid the population which has thus suddenly sprung up is, in many instances, not the most peaceable. I am afraid that a degree of ignorance prevails which is much to be deplored; and that many of those who live there are subject to be practised upon by designing men. It would appear that this population had been organised to a considerable degree by societies established amongst them, so that on any occasion a command might be issued and circulated amongst the population, and speedily obeyed. It will appear that the prisoner, John Frost, who had been for many years a linen-draper in the town of Newport, possessed extensive influence in this part of the country, the hill district of the county of Monmouth. Newport, you are aware, is the place from which the coal and iron obtained in the mines is exported. It is a considerable town, and great importance is attached to it. It is the highway from South Wales to Bristol, Gloucester, Birmingham, and the north of England. It will appear in evidence before you, that in the week preceding Sunday, the 3rd of November, a plan was formed for a general rising of the population of the district, to take place on the night of that Sunday, when it should arrive. Various consultations were held, at which Mr. Frost was present. Those consultations were held chiefly at a place called Blackwood, between Rumney and Sirhowy. There is a public-house called the Coach and Horses, where there was a lodge or society, and where meetings were held, and where it is clear this scheme was devised or matured. There was particularly a meeting held on Friday before Sunday, the 3rd of November. Deputies attended at that meeting; there was a return of the armed forced which could be mustered; and it would appear that there the plan or scheme was laid down which was afterwards to be carried into effect. What was that plan? It appears that orders were to be issued to the men to assemble armed on the evening of Sunday, November the 3d. There were to be three principal divisions—one was to be under the command of John Frost himself, who was at that time stationed at Blackwood. Another division was to be under the command of Zephaniah Williams. Williams lived higher up the country; he kept a beer-house at Coalbrook-vale, on the Ebbw, near Nantiglo. He was to collect the men up the country, and to bring them down towards Newport. The 3d division was to be under the command of a person of the name of William Jones, a watchmaker, at Pontypool. He was to collect the people from the north and west, and bring them down, and they were all to meet somewhere near Risca or Cefn, and to come on to Newport. They were to be at Cefn about midnight on Sunday, and, being assembled there, they were to march to Newport abouttwo o’clock in the morning—a time when it was expected that there would be no preparation to receive them; when the inhabitants would be buried in sleep, and entirely disarmed of all suspicion or apprehension of danger. They were, when at Newport, to attack the troops who were there, to take possession of the town, to break down the bridge which is there across the river Usk, to stop the mail, and then, by a signal, the success of the scheme was to be announced. The mail not arriving in an hour and a half after its usual time, those who were in concert with them in that town would know that the plan had succeeded, and there was to be a general rising there, and in Lancashire generally, and elsewhere. Gentlemen, there never was a charter law universally and instantly established—there never was the remotest chance of this scheme being accomplished; but, had it not most providentially happened that the night between Sunday and Monday was one of the darkest and most tempestuous that was ever known in England, it is difficult to conjecture the degree of mischief which might have been wrought before the insurrection could have been suppressed, and peace and tranquillity restored. Gentlemen, John Frost, the prisoner, remaining at Blackwood, the men under his command did assemble considerably earlier than the other divisions. He crossed over from Blackwood to a place called Newbridge, on the Ebbw, and came by Abercairn to Risca and the Welsh Oak, and there he was early in the night; but, from the difficulties which presented themselves, the other divisions, which were to come from the upper parts of the country, did not arrive until long after the expected hour. Zephaniah Williams, who was to bring the men from Nantiglo, did not arrive till after daylight. William Jones, who was to bring his division from the north and west, did not arrive at the appointed time. A man of the name of Britton, who commanded a party of this division, did arrive in time, but Z. Williams with the others was too late. John Frost having come to Risca, remained there until shortly before daylight. It was then thought necessary to muster the forces there collected, and to march on towards Newport. There were collected at that time, according to the best computation that could be made, about five thousand men. Many of them were armed with guns and pistols, many had spears or pikes, and many were provided with an instrument called a mandril, which, as I understand, is a short instrument, made of iron, for picking coal in the mines—a very dangerous and deadly weapon if used for hostile purposes—resembling a pickaxe in shape; others had scythes fixed on sticks, and those who had not weapons of this kind were armed with sticks and bludgeons. Mr. Frost commanded them, and they marched towards Newport. They marched in military order, five abreast. The word of command was given from time to time by Frost, and they came down from Cefn by Pie-corner to Tredegar-park, the seat of Sir Charles Morgan, and through which the highway of a tram-road passes. By the time they had got to Tredegar-park, the day had dawned. Here inquiries were made by Frost as to the position of the military. I may now mention what had been passing at Newport during the night. Intelligence had been brought to Newport on the Sunday night of what had been passing in the hills. Mr. Phillips, who was the mayor of Newport, immediately took measures for the safety of the town, and special constables were sworn and stationed at the most important points. There are three principal inns in Newport, the Westgate, the King’s Head, and the Parrot. These inns commanded the principal streets, and there thespecial constables were stationed. The Westgate is in the market-place, and was considered the most important station of all. The mayor went to the Westgate with other magistrates, and sat up the whole night, sending out constantly for information, and making the best preparations to preserve the peace and defend the town. When the day dawned intelligence was brought that the insurgents were advancing, and were in the neighbourhood of Newport. The mayor had sent a person of the name of Walker, to gain information. That person had been shot at, and returned dangerously wounded. The mayor then sent for military assistance. There was in the neighbourhood only one company of soldiers, under the command of Captain Stack, who were stationed in the workhouse, which had been converted into a temporary barracks, and is on the outskirts of the town. Captain Stack sent thirty of his men to the assistance of the mayor, under the command of Lieutenant Grey and two sergeants. I believe the barracks are about half a mile from the Westgate. Lieutenant Grey brought his men to the Westgate, and in a little time they were stationed in a room in the inn which it is material, gentlemen, I should describe to you. That inn is in Westgate-street, fronting the north. On the east side there is a room, with a bow-window, looking out upon the street. In that room the military were stationed. There is a corresponding room on the western side of the house, where the magistrates were assembled. Between these two rooms is a corridor or passage, which you will find was a scene of strife. The special constables remained before the door of the inn where they had been placed. The military had not loaded, and it will be a fact most material to the case, that the soldiers did not load their muskets till they were fired upon. This being the state of things at Newport as the insurgents approached, Frost at the head of the body, and giving the word of command, they reached the machine at Court-y-bella, and there Mr. Frost inquired respecting the military. He was told by two boys whom he met at the turnpike, that a number of soldiers had marched to the Westgate Inn. On that the insurgents divided, and part of them turned to the left and went up the hill leading to St. Wollo’s Church, whilst another part kept to the right and went towards the town of Newport, through Commercial-street. This last division afterwards came up and joined the others. Those who had gone by St. Wollo’s or the Friars, went down Stow-hill, which leads to the Westgate Inn, where Mr. Frost had been told the military were. Mr. Frost still walked at their head, and when they had passed a place called the Catholic-chapel, which is close to the back of the Westgate, the insurgents tried to gain admission to the Westgate Inn by the carriage entrance to the courtyard, behind the premises I have been describing. That entrance is from Westgate-street, and when they failed to procure admission there, they wheeled round to the front of the Westgate Inn. Mr. Frost was still with them, and, as it will be distinctly shown to you, was in front of the Westgate Inn at that time. The special constables were before the door, and the insurgents asked them to surrender; one of the constables said they would not surrender, on which the command to fire was given, and immediately the firing began upon the bow-window of the room in which the military were stationed, and the insurgents attempted to break through the front door of the porch to the interior of the house. They used their pikes for the purpose of forcing the door, and having succeeded, they got into the hall and the passage leadingfrom the magistrates’ room to the room where the military were stationed. It was now the time for Lieutenant Grey to do what became him as an officer of her Majesty, and as a good subject of this country, who wished to preserve the lives of his fellow-subjects, and to take care that universal confusion should not occur. Orders were given by him to the military to load. They loaded. I should mention to you, gentlemen, that the room in which they were stationed was that in which was the bow-window—that is, a projecting window having three sides, and not being circular. The shutters of this window were closed, and the glass had been broken by the shots which had been discharged. But while the shutters remained shut the soldiers could not use their guns and fire on the insurgents. Lieutenant Grey, who on that occasion acted certainly in a manner which is above all praise, for the moderation, the firmness, the energy, and intelligence he displayed—went to open the shutters of one part of the window; the mayor went to open another part of the window, and Serjeant Daly to open another. As the mayor opened the shutters he received two wounds, one in the shoulder and the other in the hip. Serjeant Daly was also wounded in the head by slugs, which passed into it, and the gun which he had in his hand had its lock knocked off by a ball which had been fired by the insurgents. The soldiers were then ordered to fire. At this time the insurgents had gained the various approaches to the house; they were in the passage leading to the room in which the military were assembled, and if the order to fire had not then been given, there is no reason to doubt that the military would all have been massacred. The order, however, was given, and it was speedily and effectually obeyed. The insurgents in the passage were fired on, and several of them fell and were killed. The shutters being also removed from the window, the men directed their pieces through it, and thus had command of the space in which the insurgents were drawn up. They accordingly fired into the street, and several of the insurgents were wounded and fell, and the others were speedily dispersed (Mr. Frost had not been seen after the firing first began), and they fled in every direction. Zephaniah Williams was about ten minutes too late, but he did arrive at last with the Nant-i-glo men, a band almost as numerous as that led by Frost himself. William Jones, of Pont-y-pool, did not come nearer to Newport than Malpas, but he was proceeding onward when he heard of the disasters which had happened to his associates in Newport. He likewise fled, and the men who were with him dispersed. I should mention that these three parties in their progress scoured the country and pressed various persons whom they compelled to march with them, at the same time seizing all the arms they could find. Mr. Frost himself was seen soon after the defeat of his associates in Commercial-street, which leads to Tredegar; after the action was over, he was seen in Tredegar-park escaping into a wood, and he was apprehended in Newport on the Monday night with pistols and powder in his pocket. Gentlemen, thus tranquillity was restored, and it will be for you to say, if these facts be true, whether there is any reasonable doubt of the guilt of the prisoner Frost. And how are those facts to be proved? With regard to the main circumstances, no doubt whatever can be entertained; and I shall prove the facts by witnesses who are above exception, who were unconnected with the circumstances, and who were employed in trying to establish peace and to restore tranquillity. With regard to the declarations made by Frost, which I have avoided to detailfor the present, the proof of these will much depend on the evidence of persons who were concerned with him in the insurrection. When my learned friend comes to remark upon their testimony, he will probably call them accomplices; but, gentlemen, whether they are voluntary or compulsory witnesses, there is no doubt that their evidence ought to be received with great suspicion, and weighed with anxious care; but if you do sift it, and find no good reason to doubt its veracity, you will not hesitate to believe the evidence given by such individuals. In such cases evidence of this kind must be laid before the juries who try them; for it is evident that treasonable conspiracies are not concocted in public; and how can they be proved but by the employment of spies and informers, whose evidence, it is true, is generally condemned and often disbelieved. In this case, however, I purpose to call no spies, no informers—for none such were employed—but I propose to call persons who were engaged more or less in the insurrection, and who, I submit, may be trusted if their evidence be consistent, and if it be corroborated as to the main points to which they will speak. On that evidence no doubt will exist in your minds with regard to the guilt of the prisoner. Gentlemen, it gives me sincere satisfaction to find that he is defended by gentlemen of the first eminence and the first talent at the bar of England. All that zeal, learning, and eloquence can accomplish, will be achieved in his cause, so that the result of this trial must satisfy the public justice of the country. I own it seems to me, that my learned friends will have a difficult task to perform. I think they will hardly deny the law of treason as it was laid down by Mr. Justice Foster and Lord Tenterden; and here was an insurrection of men, formidable from their numbers, met for a public purpose, and actually engaged in conflict with the Queen’s troops, not accidentally, or in a sudden affray, but publicly, with premeditation and design. Will my learned friend say that it was a private object the prisoner sought to obtain? What this was I am at a loss to conjecture. It was not private revenge, or a private grievance. The insurgents did not meet for the purpose of discussing petitions to be presented to the Queen, or to either of the houses of parliament. It was not a meeting arising out of disputes between the masters and servants engaged in the coal and iron trade. It was not a sudden outbreak arising from want of employment, or the want of food; for, I believe, that if inquiry be made, it will turn out that the coal and iron trade has not been in a more prosperous condition than it was when this insurrection occurred; that the wages of those employed in it were high, and that those persons who were engaged in the insurrection had no pretended private grievances which they wished to redress. What conclusion then must be drawn from this if the witnesses speak the truth? That they assembled for a public object with an armed force to change the law and the constitution of the country. Unless this offence be satisfactorily made out there can be no question, gentlemen, that it will be your duty to acquit the prisoner, and that you will have great satisfaction in doing so; but if the evidence clearly and satisfactorily establishes the case against him, you will no doubt act the manly part which it will be your duty to perform. You will not shrink from your duty, whatever may be your feelings. It imports all persons, whatever may be their situation, that the law shall be respected and obeyed: whether they possess landed property, or if they are merchants, or tradesmen, or labourers. Whatever may be their situation,whether it be high or humble, it imports them all that such tumults as this should be suppressed, and, for the sake of example, that punishment should take place. I have given you a short outline of the facts of the case. I have no doubt that the witnesses who will be called and examined will receive from you the most careful attention, and that you will listen, with the respect due to them, to the arguments which may be adduced in favour of the prisoner. On these it will then be your important duty to pronounce your verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty;’ and I have no doubt that you will do so with justice towards the prisoner, and with satisfaction to the public justice of the country.”
The learned Attorney-General having concluded his address, the first witness, named Samuel Simmons, was called.
Sir F. Pollock rose to submit an objection to the court, to the examination of the witness. It appeared that by various statutes, the prisoner was entitled to the delivery of a copy of the list of witnesses to be examined at the trial, and also of a copy of the indictment, and of the panel. The statute of the 7th William III. entitled the prisoner to the delivery of a copy of the indictment five days before the trial, and to the delivery of a copy of the panel two days before the trial. The statute of the 7th Ann, c. 21, s. 11, provided that “when any person should be indicted for high treason or misprision of treason, a list of the witnesses who should be produced on the trial for proving the said indictment, and of the jurors, mentioning the names, professions, and places of abode of the said witnesses and jurors, should be also given at the same time that the copy of the indictment was delivered to the party indicted.” It then further provided in favour of the prisoner, that “a copy of all indictments for the offences aforesaid, with such lists, should be delivered to the party indicted ten days before the trial, and in the presence of two or more credible witnesses, any law or statute to the contrary notwithstanding.” In the present case the list of witnesses had been handed to the prisoner on the 17th of December, but the copy of the indictment had been served on the 12th of the same month. The distinct provisions of the act therefore had not been complied with.
The Attorney-General, on the other side, contended first, that the objection was too late, and that it ought to have been made before the arraignment of the prisoner on the indictment, when the formal error, if any had been committed, might have been remedied by fresh service; but secondly, that in fact there was no error at all, for that the service of the copy of the list of witnesses and of the copy of the indictment before the time required by the act of Queen Ann was advantageous to the prisoner, and that their not having been handed to him both together could not be deemed by the court to be sufficient ground for setting aside the proceedings, or for directing an acquittal of the prisoners.
In answer to these arguments, which occupied the whole day, Chief Justice Tindal said, “It seems to me that the prisoner’s counsel have raised a very great doubt, and the point is one which requires serious consideration. It is the more important as the same objection may apply itself, under existing circumstances, to several other cases. We propose, therefore, to take a course in the present case, to prevent the possibility of any hasty decision operating to the disadvantage or prejudice of the prisoner on the one hand, or to the prejudice of public justice on the other. We shall allow the trial to proceed, and take the opinion of her Majesty’s judges onthe subject, in the event of the result of the trial on the present occasion making such a reference necessary.”
On the 2nd of January the learned counsel for the crown proceeded to the examination of witnesses in support of the allegations against the prisoner. The evidence was corroborative of the statement made by the learned Attorney-General, and it is unnecessary to repeat the facts which were sworn to. Sir Thomas Phillips, the mayor, who had been knighted, and Captain Grey, who had received a new rank in consequence of their gallant and praiseworthy exertions in defence of the town, were called and examined, but they in effect related the same story which had been detailed in the opening speech.
The next witness called was Thomas Walker, the special constable, who had been wounded. He stated that he went out by order of the mayor to make observations upon the district towards Risca, which is about six miles from Newport. He found several parties of men on the road, apparently armed; and at Risca he heard shots fired, and some cheering. On his return he was stopped by about sixteen men, and he was stabbed by one in the thigh, while another fired a pistol at him, the ball from which inflicted a very severe wound. He managed to reach Newport, but on his arrival there he was so weak as to be unable to walk any further; and having reported himself to the mayor, he was carried home and put to bed.
The mode by which the men, under the command of the prisoner, increased the number of his followers, was detailed by several witnesses, who were labouring men, residing on the different lines of march taken by the Chartists. From their testimony, it appeared that every cottage was attacked and the male inhabitants forced to take such implements as they might possess, (fit to be employed as offensive weapons,) and accompany the main body. In case of refusal, or of disinclination being exhibited to obey the orders which were given, force was used, and persons were set to guard those who appeared likely to attempt to escape. Out-scouts, it was also proved, were appointed to watch the districts in the neighbourhood of the Welsh Oak, and the various places of meeting, and upon the approach of any strangers, they were directly seized and carried before some of the leaders for examination. Chartist lodges were shown to have been established throughout the whole district of country surrounding Newport; and at the meetings which were held antecedent to the insurrection, collections were made for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the purchase of arms to be used against the authorities of the town.
Other witnesses were called, who deposed to facts implicating Zephaniah Williams and William Jones, as well as the prisoner Frost, and proved the employment of great violence by them and their followers.
The evidence as to the apprehension of Frost, was that of Mr. Thomas Jones Phillips, clerk to the magistrates of Newport. Having proved the issuing of the warrant for the prisoner, he said “On Monday the 4th of November I went to Mr. Frost’s house with the superintendant of police, but he was not there. I afterwards went to Partridge’s house, but not in search of Mr. Frost. I had a search warrant for Partridge’s house. I went to the house attended by some special constables. It was between the hours of seven and eight o’clock at night. I knocked at the door, but no notice was taken. I then attempted to enter the house, but finding the doorfastened, I called out ‘Partridge,’ and he said ‘I am gone to bed.’ I said ‘Get up and open the door, or I must force it open.’ The door not being opened, I forced it open. I heard the cross, that seemed to fasten the door inside, falling down, and then, when the door was open, I saw Mr. Frost standing within two yards of it. He was facing me. The cottage in which Partridge lives is a very small one, and the door opens from the street into the room. There is no passage. I walked up to Mr. Frost, and laid my hand upon his shoulder on one side, while Mr. Rogers, who was with me, laid his hand on his other shoulder, and said to Mr. Frost, ‘He was a prisoner.’ Mr. Frost said, ‘Very well, I will go with you directly.’ I said, ‘No, I am not yet prepared to go with you,’ for I had the search warrant to execute. I then searched the house. Mr. Frost appeared to me (at the time) to be very much fatigued; and he himself told me that he felt very uncomfortable. He walked arm-in-arm with me from Partridge’s house to the Westgate Inn. He was not searched till he got to the Westgate Inn. There were found upon him three pistols, a powder-flask, and some balls. The balls I believe were loose in his pocket. The pistols were all loaded.”
This evidence, which was concluded at the end of the fifth day of the trial, completed the case for the prosecution.
Sir F. Pollock, on the following Monday morning, proceeded to open the case for the defence. The learned gentleman occupied more than five hours and a half in addressing the jury; commenting in the most able manner upon the whole of the vast mass of evidence which had been adduced, and contending that there was nothing in the conduct of the prisoner, or of his associates, which could in the slightest degree warrant a presumption that they had assembled for the purpose of committing any offence which could be supposed to amount to high-treason. He urged that the probability was, that the assemblage took place with a view (on the part of the Chartists), to exhibit their power, and, by making a general movement, to procure the release of Vincent, their partisan, at that time undergoing an imprisonment, on a charge of sedition, in Monmouth jail; and that some prisoners having been made from amongst them, they had gone to demand their liberation, and had become exasperated by the harsh measures adopted against them by the authorities.
Several witnesses were called with a view to support these suggestions, and to show that the first act of aggression was on the part of the soldiers; and many persons gave the prisoner an excellent character for humanity and general mildness of disposition.
Mr. Kelly then proceeded to sum up the whole of the evidence, on the part of the prisoner, in a most able speech, and he was followed by the Solicitor-General in reply.
Towards the conclusion of the eighth day’s proceedings, the Lord Chief Justice addressed the jury upon the whole case. At six o’clock the jury retired to consider their verdict, and in about half an hour returned into court, and declared that the prisoner was “Guilty” of the offence imputed to him, but recommended him, generally, to the merciful consideration of the crown.
On the following morning, the 9th of January, Zephaniah Williams was put upon his trial. As we have already entered so fully into the facts proved against the prisoner Frost, it would be useless to repeat the evidenceadduced in any of the subsequent cases, which was merely a repetition of that already given. On Monday the 12th of January, this prisoner was called upon for his defence, when he appeared dreadfully affected. His counsel had already addressed the jury at great length in his behalf, and he contented himself with denying that he ever entertained any notion of the kind imputed to him, and solemnly protested that he never had the least design of revolting against the Queen. He was found “Guilty,” but, as in the case of Frost, was recommended to mercy.
William Jones was then put on his trial, and on Wednesday he was also pronounced “Guilty,” with a similar recommendation to mercy.
It now became the duty of the learned judges to proceed to the consideration of the indictments preferred against the other prisoners, in custody for minor offences alleged against them. Charles Walters, Jenkins Morgan, John Rees, Richard Benfield, and John Lovell, confessed themselves guilty of the charges laid against them; and the Attorney-General withdrew the prosecutions against Edmund Edmunds, James Aust, George Turner, and Solomon Britton, in reference to the propriety of whose indictment great doubts existed. On the same day several other prisoners pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, riot, pike-making, burglary, &c.; and on Thursday, the business of the special commission was terminated by the learned judges passing sentence on the prisoners.
Frost, Williams, and Jones, were first brought up; and their lordships having gone through the usual forms put on the black caps, and—
Chief Justice Tindal addressed the prisoners in the following words:—“John Frost, Zephaniah Williams, and William Jones, after the most anxious and careful investigation of your respective cases before juries of great intelligence and almost unexampled patience, you stand at the bar of this court to receive the last sentence of the law, for the commission of a crime which, beyond all others, is the most pernicious in its example, and the most injurious in its consequences, to the peace and happiness of human society—that of high-treason against your sovereign. You can have no just ground of complaint that your several cases have not met with the most full consideration, both from the jury and the court; but as that jury have, in each of them, pronounced you guilty of the crime with which you have been charged, I should be wanting in justice to them if I did not openly declare that the verdicts which they have found meet with the entire concurrence of my learned brethren and myself. In the case of all ordinary breaches of the law, the mischief of the offence does, for the most part, terminate with the immediate injury sustained by the individual against whom it is levelled. The man who plunders the property, or lifts his hand against the life of his neighbour, does by his guilty act inflict, in that particular instance, and to that intent, a loss or injury on the sufferer or his surviving friends; but they who, by armed numbers, or violence, or terror, endeavour to put down established institutions, and to introduce in their stead a new order of things, open wide the flood-gates of rapine and bloodshed, destroy all security of property and life, and do their utmost to involve a whole nation in anarchy and ruin. It has been proved in your case, that you combined together to lead from the hills, at the dead hour of night, into the town of Newport, many thousands of men, armed inmany instances with weapons of a dangerous description, in order that they might take possession of the town, and supersede the lawful authority of the Queen therein, as a preliminary step to a more general insurrection throughout the kingdom. It is owing to the interposition of Providence alone, that your wicked designs were frustrated. Your followers arrive by daylight, and, after firing upon the civil power and the Queen’s troops, are, by the firmness of the magistrates, and the cool and determined bravery of a small band of soldiers, defeated and dispersed. What would have been the fate of the peaceable and unoffending inhabitants, if success had attended your rebellious designs, it is useless to conjecture. The invasion of a foreign foe would, in all probability, have been less destructive to property and life. It is for the crime of treason, committed under these circumstances, that you are now called upon yourselves to answer; and by the penalty which you are about to suffer, you hold out a warning to all your fellow-subjects, that the law of your country is strong enough to repress and to punish all attempts to alter the established order of things, by insurrection and armed force, and that those who are found guilty of such treasonable attempts must expiate their crime by an ignominious death. I do, therefore, most earnestly exhort you, to employ the little time that remains to you, in preparing for the great change that doth await you, by sincere penitence and fervent prayer; for although we shall not fail to forward to the proper quarter that recommendation which the jury intrusted to us, we cannot hold out to you any hope of mercy on this side the grave. And now doth nothing more remain than that the Court pronounces (to all of us a most painful duty) the last sentence of the law, which is, ‘That each of you, John Frost, Zephaniah Williams, and William Jones, be taken hence to the place from whence you came, and be thence drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, and that each of you be there hanged by the neck until you be dead, and that afterwards the head of each of you shall be severed from his body, and the body of each, divided into four quarters, shall be disposed of as her Majesty shall think fit; and may the Lord have mercy upon your souls.’ ”