Chapter XXII: Part 22

The simplicity of the young man whom he had thus duped into his service was such, that Price found no difficulty whatever in negotiating through his means notes to the amount of about fifteen hundred pounds, which were principally expended in the purchase of lottery-tickets and shares; but the unfortunate wretch was eventually taken into custody, and was left by his employer to suffer all the fears likely to arise in his mind upon the contemplation of the supposed consequences of his crime. His innocence was, however, at length proved, and he was set at liberty, but not until he had suffered nearly twelve months' imprisonment. His late master in the mean time had retired from public life, and nothing more was heard of him until the year 1782, when, having exhausted the proceeds of his former villanies, he was compelled to come forth again to renew his depredations on the public. He began by employing a lad named Power as the instrument of his minor proceedings, but emboldened by success, through the medium of his disguises, he succeeded occasionally in obtaining very large sums. The following anecdote is related of the success with which he carried on his trade. He had frequently been at the shop of a Mr. Roberts, grocer, in Oxford Street, where he now and then bought a few articles, and took many opportunities of showing his importance. Upon one occasion he called in a hackney-coach, disguised as an old man, and bought some few articles: a day or two afterwards he repeated his visit; and on a third day, when he knew Mr. Roberts was not in the way, went again, with his face so painted that he appeared to be diseased with the yellow-jaundice. The shopman, to whom he enumerated his complaints, kindly informed him of a prescription for that disorder, by which his father had been cured of it. Price gladly accepted of the receipt, promising that if it succeeded, he would call again, and handsomely reward him for his civility: in conformity with which he entered the shop a few days afterwards, apparently perfectly free from the complaint, and acknowledged his great obligations to the shopman; after which he expatiated freely on his affluent circumstances, the short time he had to live, and the few relations he had to leave his property to, and made him a present of a ten-pound bank-note. It will naturally be conceived this was a forgery, but it had the desired effect with Price; for at the same time he said he wanted cash for another, which was a fifty-pound note. This the obliging and unsuspecting shopman got change for at an opposite neighbour's. The next day, during Mr. Roberts's absence, he called again, and entreated the lad to get small notes for five other notes of fifty pounds each: the lad, however, telling him his master was not at home, Price begged he would take them to his master's bankers', and there get them changed. This request was immediately complied with. The bankers, Messrs. Burchall and Co., complied with Mr. Roberts' supposed request, immediately changed them, and small notes were that day given to Price for them.

He practised his frauds with equal effect upon Mr. Spilsbury, the vender of a celebrated quack-medicine, with whom he traded in the name of Wilmot, and upon many others; and so great was his success, that in one day he negotiated sixty 10_l._ notes, and besides, exchanged fourteen 50_l._ for seven 100_l._ notes of the Bank of England.

In his last attempt on the Bank, which ended in his detection, he assumed the name of Palton, pretending he was an Irish linen factor, and employed two young men to circulate his notes, whilst he, still greatly disguised, kept back in obscurity.

By means of a pawnbroker, he was found out with great difficulty; and on his seizure he solemnly declared his innocence, and before the magistrate behaved with considerable insolence. His detection took place on the 14th of January, 1786; and notwithstanding his disguises, he was soon sworn to by more persons than one; and seeing no way to escape, he pretended, to his wife in particular, great penitence. The Bank was fully intent on his prosecution, and there appeared no doubt of his dying by the hands of the executioner; but even this he managed to avoid, for one evening he was found hanging against the post of his door, in the apartment allotted him in Tothillfields' Bridewell. In this situation he was discovered by the keeper of the prison, who cut him down quite dead, and found in his bosom three letters; in one of which, addressed to the directors of the Bank, he confessed everything relative to the forgery, and the manner of circulating the notes; another, addressed to his wife, was written in a most affecting style; and in the third, directed to the keeper, he thanked him for the very humane treatment he had experienced during his confinement.

A coroner's jury was summoned, as usual in such cases, and returned a verdict of "self-murder;" in consequence of which his body was thrown into the ground in Tothillfields, and a stake driven through it.

In a box belonging to Price were found, after his death, two artificial noses, very curiously executed, in imitation of nature. These, it is obvious, he occasionally wore as a part of the various disguises by which he had been enabled so long to elude the hand of justice. The counterfeit plates were found buried in a field near Tottenham-court Road, the turf being replaced on the spot, and, with the rolling-press, and other materials found at his lodgings, were ordered by Sir Sampson Wright, the presiding magistrate, to be destroyed.

His wife, who had been confined with him as an accomplice, and by whom he had a family of eight children, was ordered to be discharged immediately after his burial.

HENRY STERNE, _alias_ GENTLEMAN HARRY.

CONVICTED OF STEALING THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT'S "GEORGE."

This offender was one of the class called "gentlemen pickpockets." Being a fellow of good address, and of tolerable education, he managed by some means to intrude himself into decent society, where he found it easy to carry on his schemes of depredation.

He was indicted on the 12th of September, 1787, for robbing his Grace the Duke of Beaufort of his "George," meaning the star of the order of the garter, on the 4th of June previous, which was the King's birthday.

From the evidence of his grace, it appeared that he was quitting his majesty's levee on the day in question, followed by his servants, his "George" being pendent from his neck by the ribbon; when, on his reaching the corner of St. James's-street, he found himself suddenly surrounded by a great crowd of people, who pushed him about. He did not at first understand the meaning of it, when presently a thought struck him that the object was to rob him, and he found that his "George" was gone. He called for his servants, who directly came up, and his grace pointed out a man in black as the thief. He was searched, however, but nothing found; and then the prisoner being seized, the ornament was discovered in his pocket.

The prisoner denied the charge imputed to him, and hoped that the jury would not suffer any reports which they had heard of his character to operate to his prejudice; but he was found guilty, and sentenced to be transported for seven years to Botany Bay.

SAMUEL BURT.

CONVICTED OF FORGERY.

Mr. Burt, previously to the occurrence for which he was tried and executed, bore a most exemplary character. The particulars of the forgery of which he was guilty do not appear to have come out on the trial, when the prisoner pleaded guilty; but his object in its commission, as well as in refusing to deny his guilt, may be collected from the manner in which he addressed the Court on his being called up for judgment.

He said, "My lord,--I am too sensible of the crime I have committed, and for which I justly deserve to suffer, not to know that I have forfeited my life, and I wish to resign it into the hands of Him who gave it. To give my reasons for this would only satisfy an idle curiosity: no one can feel a more sensible, heartfelt satisfaction in the hopes of shortly passing into eternity, wherein, I trust, I shall meet with great felicity. I have no desire to live; and as the jury and court in my trial thought proper to recommend me to mercy, if his majesty should in consequence thereof grant me a reprieve, I here vow in the face of Heaven, that I will put an end to my own existence as soon as I can. It is death that I wish for, because nothing but death can extricate me from the troubles in which my follies have involved me."

Sentence was then passed in due form, but we do not find any entry of its having been carried out; and it is therefore very likely that the recommendation of the jury, alluded to by the prisoner, was attended to. The last notice which is taken of the case in the books is in the following terms:--"Samuel Burt, the unhappy youth who, under a depression of mind, abhorring the guilt of suicide, committed a forgery in order to suffer death by the law, was respited;" dated December, 1787.

From the observations made by the prisoner, it is pretty evident that he was labouring under a species of insanity, by which he was persuaded that he must suffer death. The following instances of a similar description are of a character far more melancholy, inasmuch as that in each the murder of a fellow-creature was the means adopted by the unhappy maniac, for the offenders can be considered in no other light, to secure his own death.

On the 4th of September, 1760, when North America was a British province, Mr. Robert Scull and several gentlemen were playing at billiards in Philadelphia, when Captain Bruluman, late of the Royal American regiment, came into the room, and, without the smallest provocation, levelled a loaded gun, which he had brought with him, and shot Mr. Scull through the body just after he had struck his ball.

It afterwards appeared that this desperate man had been brought up a silversmith; and that having entered the army, he became an officer in the Royal American regiment, but was broke on his being detected in counterfeiting or uttering base money. He then returned to Philadelphia, and growing insupportable to himself, and yet unwilling to put an end to his own life, he determined upon the commission of some crime, for which he would certainly be hanged by the law.

Having formed this design, he loaded his gun with a brace of balls, and asked his landlord to go shooting with him, intending to murder him before his return; but the landlord, fortunately for himself, being particularly engaged at home, escaped the danger. He then went out alone, and on the way met a man whom he was about to kill; but recollecting that there were no witnesses to prove him guilty, he suffered the man to pass.

He next proceeded to the tavern, where he drank some liquor; and hearing people playing at billiards in a room above that in which he sat, he went up stairs, and entered into conversation with the players in apparent good humour. In a little time he called the landlord, and desired him to hang up the gun. Mr. Scull having struck his antagonist's ball in one of the pockets, Bruluman said to him, "Sir, you are a good marksman; now I'll show you a fine stroke." He immediately took down his gun, levelled it, deliberately took aim at Mr. Scull (who imagined him in jest), and shot both the balls through his body. He then went up to the dying man, who was still sensible, and said to him, "Sir, I have no malice or ill will against you; I never saw you before; but I was determined to kill somebody that I might be hanged, and you happen to be the man; and I am very sorry for your misfortune." Mr. Scull had just time left in this world to send for his friends, and make his will. He forgave his murderer, and if it could be done, desired he might be pardoned; but Bruluman died on the gallows, exulting in his fate.

The same volume from which we make the above extract contains another case of the like nature, and, if possible, more extraordinary. It appears, however, that in this instance the judges of the unfortunate offender treated him as was most proper--as a maniac. The scene of this second murder is not mentioned.

It is stated that a youth of the name of David Williams, when about fifteen years of age, was one day against his wish detained from school by his stepfather, who greatly wanted his assistance on the farm. While thus employed, a log rolled on one of his legs, which injured it to such a degree that it became nearly useless; and by another accident he soon after hurt the other limb, so that he was rendered a cripple before he had attained the years of manhood.

At these misfortunes he continually repined; blamed his stepfather for keeping him that day from school, whereby he received his first injury; and, mortified at his appearance among his comrades, some of whom, he said, ridiculed him, he became weary of the world, and determined to terminate his misfortunes with his life.

For this end suicide and murder presented themselves. The first he thought the most eligible; but then it brought to his mind the horrors of appearing by his own violence before God, for which he feared he should not be pardoned; and therefore he was induced to abandon that for the latter, which he conceived would afford him a better excuse to the Almighty. He familiarised himself with this act of desperation by continually thinking of it; so that in time it became a pleasing subject of contemplation.

The idea of the grief which it must occasion his mother at times almost unbent his resolution; but then the idea of its proving a sweet revenge on his stepfather bore down every other consideration. Thus determined, the next step of this unhappy youth was to select a proper subject on whom the deed should be committed. A grown person or a child was the question. The former, he concluded, must be under sin and guilt; therefore by sudden death and thus unprepared, his damnation might be chargeable to him, and he be doubly guilty: the latter being innocent, he might avoid that charge, and he therefore resolved upon murdering some child.

Now the particular object for this horrid purpose was the next consideration; but he confessed that, though he thought of it more than six months, yet none occurred until within five minutes of his committing his long-determined and bloody deed.

All the morning of the fatal day he said that he felt an unaccountable and far stronger desire to commit murder than before;--to use his own words, "something like hankering after fruit."

At this unfortunate moment he chanced to spy a little boy, named Ira, the son of Mr. Lane, a neighbour, gathering plums; and finding the parents absent, he determined on seizing the opportunity and subject. He instantly took a gun, fired at, and slightly wounded the child in the side of the abdomen. Finding his victim yet alive, he limped to him, led him to the house, placed him upon a bed, and took a station at the door. The poor devoted little Ira had yet strength left to get from the bed, in order to see "whether his father was coming to cure him;" and Williams answered that his father would come by-and-by, and bade him go to bed again and lie still. Again the murderer listened for the dying groan of the boy; but finding his work incomplete, (horrid to relate!) he took an axe, went to the bed, looked upon the innocent child, and while it held up its little hands for help, the monster struck it on the head, and, by repeated blows, chopped it in pieces.

The wretched murderer was a youth of extraordinary mental talents for his years until the fatal gloom overspread him. After the horrid deed was done, he spoke of it with calmness, observing that, though he had often considered the grief he should bring on his own mother, it never occurred to him the distraction it must cause her who bore the murdered child.

His whole intent was to get himself hanged; and he supposed that the palliating circumstances under which the murder was committed would induce the Almighty to forgive him.

Upon his trial he was deemed to be insane, and was treated as such.

THOMAS GORDON, THE YOUNGER.

EXECUTED FOR MURDER.

Mr. Gordon, the father of this wretched youth, was a surgeon and apothecary in London, from whence he removed his family into Northamptonshire not long before the fatal circumstance, which is about to be described, happened.

Mr. Gordon continued to practise in the country, and soon became envied and disliked from his being a stranger; and the consequence was, that frequent quarrels took place. At length a justice's warrant was obtained against the father on a pretended charge of assault, and the constable went to Mr. Gordon's house in order to apprehend him; but the wife and son told the officer he was not at home. The constable, however, knew that he was in the house and went away, but soon returned with some neighbours, and with them was about to make a forcible entry, when the mother and son opposed them, the latter being armed with a gun. The populace threw stones at the windows, when the mother, in an unlucky moment, bade her son fire: he did so, and killed the constable on the spot.

Both mother and son were tried, and found guilty of the murder; but Baron Thompson, who presided on the bench, observing that the mother was indicted as an accessory before the fact, and that the evidence proved that she was a principal, he had doubts whether she was properly convicted, and therefore reserved the case for the opinion of the twelve judges, who, upon solemn argument, confirmed the sentence against the son, but at the same time adjudged the indictment against the mother to be bad; and the poor youth received sentence of death. He was three times reprieved; from which he hoped, and the world flattered him with an opinion, that his pardon would ultimately follow; but an order at length came for his execution, and although he was in a state of insanity at the time, brought on by the cruel suspense in which he had been kept as to his fate, he was executed at Northampton on the 17th of August, 1789, aged only nineteen years.

THOMAS PHIPPS, ESQ. THE ELDER, AND THOMAS PHIPPS, THE YOUNGER.

EXECUTED FOR FORGERY.

These malefactors were father and son; and their final exit from this life was attended by circumstances of the most heart-rending and melancholy description. The father was a man of good property, and lived on his own estate at Llwyney Mapsis, in Shropshire; and he and his son were indicted for uttering a note of hand for twenty pounds, purporting to be that of Mr. Richard Coleman of Oswestry, knowing the same to have been forged.

It was proved on their trial that Mr. Coleman never had had any transactions with Mr. Phipps that required the signing of any note whatever; that about the Christmas before, Mr. Coleman was served with a copy of a writ at the suit of Mr. Phipps the elder, which action Mr. Coleman defended, and for want of further proceedings on the part of the plaintiff, a _non pros._ was signed, with two pounds three shillings costs of suit against Phipps. Upon this an affidavit was drawn up and sworn by Phipps the elder, Phipps the younger, and William Thomas, their clerk, for the purpose of moving the Court of Exchequer to set aside the judgment of _non pros._ and therein they swore that the cause of action was a note of the said Coleman's for twenty pounds, which was given as satisfaction for a trespass by him committed in carrying some hay off the land of one of Mr. Phipps the elder's tenants.

The Court thereupon granted a rule to show cause why the judgment should not be set aside; but Mr. Coleman insisting that the note was a forgery, the present prosecution was instituted against the father, son, and Thomas.

After a full hearing at the assizes at Shrewsbury, the father and son were pronounced "Guilty of uttering and publishing the note, knowing it to be forged;" and William Thomas was found "Not Guilty."

Though convicted on the fullest evidence, the unhappy men, until the morning of their execution, persisted in their innocence; but when about to leave the jail, young Phipps made the following confession: "It was I alone who committed the forgery: my father is entirely innocent, and was ignorant of the note being forged when he published it."

They were taken in a mourning-coach to the place of execution, accompanied by a clergyman and a friend who attended them daily after their condemnation.

On their way to the fatal tree the father said to the son, "Tommy, thou hast brought me to this shameful end, but I freely forgive thee;" to which the son made no reply. It being remarkably wet weather, their devotions were chiefly performed in the coach. When the awful moment arrived, Mr. Phipps said to his son, "You have brought me hither; do you lead the way!" which the youth immediately did, and in the most composed manner ascended the ladder to a temporary scaffold erected for the purpose of their execution, followed by his father.

When their devotions were finished, and the halters tied to the gallows, this most wretched father and son embraced each other, and in a few moments the scaffold fell, and they were hand-in-hand launched into eternity, September the 5th 1789, amid a vast concourse of pitying spectators.

The father was forty-eight, and the son just twenty years of age.

RENWICK WILLIAMS, COMMONLY CALLED "THE MONSTER."

IMPRISONED FOR A BRUTAL AND WANTON ASSAULT ON A FEMALE.

The mind is utterly at a loss to conceive any reason which could urge this unnatural brute to the commission of the crimes which upon his trial were distinctly proved against him. The offence of which he was found guilty was that of making a most wanton and unmanly attack upon an unprotected female, upon whom he inflicted a very severe wound, no provocation whatever having been offered to him. For a considerable time before the apprehension of this offender, a report was very generally prevalent that many young and respectable females had been privately and suddenly wounded in various parts of their person while walking through the streets, in some cases in open day, by a villain, who invariably succeeded in making his escape. Sometimes it was reported that the wound was given at a time when the man approached the lady for the purpose of presenting a nosegay to her; and it was said that, holding the flowers to her nose, he would stab her in the face with a sharp instrument which was concealed among their stems; while at others it was said that the wound was given in the thigh, behind, or in private parts of the person, so that occasionally the most serious injury was inflicted; and an almost universal terror prevailed.

At length a man named Renwick Williams was apprehended, who was distinctly sworn to by a Miss Porter, upon whom he had inflicted a wound; and at the sessions held on the 18th of July 1790, he was put on his trial at the Old Bailey for the offence alleged against him.

The indictment charged that the prisoner, on the 18th of January, with force and arms, in the parish of St. James, on the King's highway upon Anne Porter did make an assault; and that he did unlawfully, wilfully, and maliciously inflict upon her a certain wound, &c. against the peace. A second count charged the said Renwick Williams, that on the same day and year he did unlawfully, wilfully, and maliciously tear, spoil, cut, and deface the garments and clothes--to wit, the cloak, gown, petticoat, and shift of the said Anne Porter, contrary to the statute, and against the peace, &c.

Miss Anne Porter deposed that she had been at St. James's to see the ball on the night of the 18th of January 1790, accompanied by her sister, Miss Sarah Porter, and another lady; that her father had appointed to meet them at twelve o'clock, the hour the ball generally breaks up; but that it ended at eleven, and she was therefore under the necessity either of staying where she was, until her father came, or of returning home at that time. Her father, she said, lived in St. James's-street, and kept a tavern and a cold bath there; and as it was not far, she agreed to go home with her party. As they proceeded up St. James's-street her sister appeared much agitated, and called to her to hasten home, which she and her company accordingly did. Her sister was the first to reach the hall-door, and as the witness turned the corner of the rails she received a blow on the right hip. She turned round and saw the prisoner stoop down: she had seen him before several times, on each of which he had followed close behind her, and used language so gross that the Court did not press on her to relate the particulars.

He did not immediately run away when he struck her, but looked on her face, and she thus had a perfect opportunity of observing him. She had no doubt, she said, of the prisoner being the man that wounded her. She supposed that the wound was inflicted with a sharp instrument, because her clothes were cut and she was wounded through them. The prisoner at that time escaped; but on the 13th of June, as she was walking in St. James's Park with her mother and two sisters, and a Mr. Coleman, she saw him again, and being agitated, her alarm was remarked, and the prisoner was eventually secured upon her pointing him out.

The evidence of Miss Sarah Porter, the sister of the last witness, was to the same effect. She stated that she was well acquainted with the prisoner's person, and that he had followed her, and talked to her in language the most shocking and obscene. She had seen him four or five different times. On that night when her sister was cut, she saw him standing near the bottom of St. James's-street, and spying her, he exclaimed, "O ho! are you there!" and immediately struck her a violent blow on the side of the head. She then, as well as she was able, being almost stunned, called to her sister to make haste, adding, "Don't you see the wretch behind us?" Upon coming to their own door, the prisoner rushed between them, and about the time he struck her sister, he also rent the witness's gown.

It was proved further, that the prisoner, on his being pointed out by Miss Porter, was followed by Mr. Coleman as far as South Molton-street, where he entered a house, but being followed, his address was demanded. He for some time declined complying with the request which was made, but eventually said that he lived at No. 52, Jermyn-street. Mr. Coleman, however, felt that he ought not to permit him to escape, and he therefore compelled him to accompany him to Miss Porter's house. He at first objected to doing so, on the ground of its being late, but force being used, he was obliged to obey. On his arrival, Miss Anne and Miss Sarah Porter fainted away, exclaiming, "Oh, my God! that is the wretch!" Upon which the prisoner said, "The young ladies' conduct is very strange. They don't take me for the monster who is advertised?" He was assured, however, that he was known to be that person; and he was then conveyed in custody before the magistrates, by whom he was committed for trial. It was also proved that the wound which had been inflicted on Miss Porter was of a very serious description. It was at the beginning, and for two or three inches, only skin deep, but then it suddenly sunk to the depth of four inches, gradually becoming more shallow towards the end. Its length from the hip downwards was nine or ten inches.

The prisoner, being called upon for his defence, begged the indulgence of the Court, in supplying the deficiency of his memory upon what he wished to state from a written paper. He accordingly read as follows:--

"He stood," he said, "an object equally demanding the attention and compassion of the Court. That, conscious of his innocence, he was ready to admit the justice of whatever sufferings he had hitherto undergone, arising from suspicion. He had the greatest confidence in the justice and liberality of an English jury; and hoped they would not suffer his fate to be decided by the popular prejudice raised against him. The hope of proving his innocence had hitherto sustained him.

"He professed himself the warm friend and admirer of that sex whose cause was now asserted; and concluded with solemnly declaring that the whole prosecution was founded on a dreadful mistake, which he had no doubt the evidence he was about to call would clear up to the satisfaction of the Court."

He then called two witnesses, who gave him a good character; and who stated that he was at work for his master, Mr. Mitchell, an artificial flower maker, in Dover-street, Piccadilly, up to the hour of one o'clock on the night in question.

Mr. Justice Buller summed up the case to the jury. Having commented upon the evidence which had been produced, he said that he should reserve the case for the opinion of the twelve judges, for several reasons: first, because this was completely and perfectly a new case in itself; and secondly, because this was the first indictment of the kind that was ever tried. Therefore, although he himself entertained but little doubt upon the first point, yet, as the case was new, it would be right to have a solemn decision upon it. Upon the second point he owned that he entertained some doubts. This indictment was certainly the first of the kind that was ever drawn in this kingdom. It was founded upon the statute of the 6th George I. Upon this statute it must be proved that it was the intent of the party accused, not only to wound the body, but also cut, tear, and spoil the garment:--one part of this charge was quite clear, namely, that Miss Porter was wounded, and her clothes torn. The first question, therefore, for the consideration of the jury would be, whether this was done wilfully, and with intent to spoil the garment, as well as to wound the body. That was a fact for the jury to decide; and if they agreed upon this, then, whether the prisoner was the man who did it. It should be observed, that here there was a wound given, with an instrument that was not calculated solely for the purpose of affecting the body, such, for instance, as piercing or stabbing, by making a hole; but here was an actual cutting, and the wound was of a very considerable length, and so was the rent in the clothes. It was for the jury to decide whether, as both body and clothes were cut, he who intended the end did not also intend the means. He left it to the jury to say, upon the whole case, whether the prisoner was guilty or innocent.

The jury immediately, without hesitation, found the prisoner guilty.

Mr. Justice Buller then ordered the judgment in this case to be arrested, and the recognizances of the persons bound to prosecute to be respited until the December sessions.

At the commencement of the sessions at the Old Bailey, on the 10th of December 1790, Judge Ashurst addressed the prisoner nearly in the following terms:--"You have been capitally convicted, under the statute 6 George I., of maliciously tearing, cutting, spoiling, and defacing the garments of Anne Porter, on the 18th of January last. Judgment has been arrested on two points,--one that the indictment is informal, the other that the statute does not reach the crime. Upon solemn consideration, the judges are of opinion that both the objections are well founded: but, although you are discharged from this indictment, yet you are within the purview of the common law. You are therefore to be remanded to be tried for a misdemeanor."

He was accordingly, on the 13th of the same month, tried at Hicks's Hall for the misdemeanor, in making an assault on Miss Anne Porter.

The trial lasted sixteen hours: there were three counts in the indictment; viz. for assaulting with intent to kill, for assaulting and wounding, and for a common assault.

The same witnesses were then called in support of the charge as appeared on the trial at the Old Bailey; and they gave very clear, correct, and circumstantial evidence, positively swearing to the person of the prisoner.

The prisoner produced two witnesses, Miss Amet and Mr. Mitchell, who attempted to prove an _alibi_, and the credit of their testimony was not impeached by any contradiction. The question therefore was, to which the jury would give credit; for the evidence on both sides was equally fair and unexceptionable, and the prisoner was acquitted.

The prisoner was again put to the bar at ten o'clock the next morning, and tried on the remaining indictments, on three of which he was found guilty; when the Court sentenced him to two years' imprisonment in Newgate for each, and at the expiration of the time to find security for his good behaviour, himself in two hundred pounds, and two sureties in one hundred pounds each.

EDWARD LOWE AND WILLIAM JOBBINS.

EXECUTED FOR ARSON.

These prisoners were indicted at the Old Bailey sessions for feloniously setting fire to the house of Francis Gilding, in Aldersgate-street, on the 16th of May 1790.

From the evidence of the apprentice of Mr. Gilding, who was an accomplice in the wicked deed, it appeared that he was acquainted with the two prisoners, who were persons of bad character; and that it was determined among them that Mr. Gilding's house, which was the Red Lion Inn, should be set on fire, in order that they might plunder it. Accordingly at about twelve o'clock on the night of Saturday, 16th May, they met in the inn-yard, and Lowe got up into the hay-loft, and placing some combustibles there, set them alight with a pipe, which he was smoking. The fire soon blazed out, and the prisoners were very active in carrying off the goods, which they took away in a cart. The witness was in the act of carrying away a chest of drawers when he was stopped by Lucie, a constable, upon whose evidence he was convicted. He subsequently, however, on condition of his being pardoned, consented to give evidence against the prisoners. This testimony being confirmed by that of other witnesses, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against the prisoners, and on the 2nd November they were brought up to receive judgment. The learned Recorder then addressed them in the following terms: "I hardly know how to find words to express the abhorrence that I feel, or that the public entertains, of the crime of which you stand convicted.--The setting fire to houses in the dead of night, for the purpose of plunder, at the risk of the lives of the inhabitants of a great city, is a crime not yet to be met with upon the records of villany that have been brought forward in this court. As the crime is singular, so the punishment must be marked: I take it it will be so marked, and hope the example will be such, that, if there should be left any persons of the same wicked intentions, they will take example from your fate. As your crime is singular and novel, I hope it will be the only one brought into this court of the same description. You therefore must prepare to die, and consider yourselves as men without hope in this world.--And, give me leave to assure you, that it is my decided opinion that, for an offence so very atrocious as yours, you can never expect salvation in the world to come, unless you will make some reparation to your injured country, and to God, whom you have offended, by a sincere confession of all the offences of which you have been guilty, and by a disclosure of the names of all persons who either have engaged, or are about to engage in crimes so detestable as that of which you stand convicted;--nothing therefore remains, but that I should pray to Almighty God, and it is now my earnest prayer to Him, that you may all obtain forgiveness and remission of your sins."

On the morning of the 20th of November these incendiaries were brought out of Newgate, and placed on a high seat, which had been fixed in the cart to render them more conspicuous to the spectators. They were then conveyed, attended by the Sheriffs and other City officers, to Aldersgate-street, where a temporary gallows was erected opposite the spot where stood the house of Mr. Gilding, to which they had set fire. They arrived at the fatal tree about a quarter before nine o'clock, when Mr. Villette, the Ordinary, went into the cart, and prayed with them for about twenty minutes, after which they were turned off. They both confessed to Mr. Villette the facts for which they had so justly suffered.

Jobbins had been educated at St. Paul's school, was bred a surgeon, and was only nineteen years of age when he suffered. Lowe was about twenty-three years of age.

A boy named Mead was on the 31st August in the ensuing year executed for a similar offence in firing the house of his master, Mr. Walter Cavardine, a publican, in Red Lion-street.

JOSEPH WOOD AND THOMAS UNDERWOOD,

EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY.

The whole parties in this case may be literally called children, the malefactors being but fourteen years of age each; and the prosecutor no more than twelve!

Though of this tender age, yet were they convicted as old and daring depredators. So often had they already been arraigned at that bar, where they were condemned, that the judge declared, notwithstanding their appearance, (they were short, dirty, ill-visaged boys,) it was necessary, for the public safety, to cut them off, in order that other boys might learn, that, inured to wickedness, their tender age would not save them from an ignominious fate.

The crime for which they suffered was committed with every circumstance of barbarity. They forcibly took away a bundle, containing a jacket, shirt, and waistcoat, from a little boy, and then fell upon him, and would probably have murdered him, had they not been secured. They had long belonged to a most desperate gang of pickpockets and footpads; but so hardened and obstinate were they, that they would not impeach their companions, though the hopes of mercy were held out to them, on making a confession, so that the villains might have been apprehended.

They were executed at Newgate, July 6th, 1791, apparently insensible of their dreadful situation.

WILLIAM GADESBY,

EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY.

In recording the case of this culprit, a Scotch newspaper says, "He was one of the most notorious villains that has figured in the line of roguery in this country for many years; and though only twenty-eight years of age, his criminal exploits appear, both in variety and number, to equal, if not to exceed, the achievements of the most dextrous and grey-headed offender."

As this fellow lived, so he determined to die--with notoriety.

He was brought to the gallows at Edinburgh, February the 20th, 1791, dressed in a suit of white cloth, trimmed with black. The awful ceremony, the dreadful apparatus of death, the surrounding multitude of spectators, appeared not to shake his frame, nor to agitate his mind. He mounted the platform of death with a firm step, and stood with great composure till the apparatus was adjusted; and then, in a collected manner, and in an audible voice, gave a brief account of his life.

He said that the first robbery he committed was in a stationer's shop, where he purloined a pocket-book. The success of this childish theft encouraged him to commit others: and in a short time he gave himself wholly up to thieving, never letting an opportunity slip of possessing himself of money or goods, by fraud or force, until the day he was committed to jail. He said that he often escaped in hackney-chairs, and advised the officer on guard at the Castle to search all such vehicles.

He declared most solemnly that three miserable men, who had been executed two years before at the place where he then stood, of the names of Falconer, Bruce, and Dick, were innocent, for that he himself had committed the robberies for which they were condemned!

With exultation he continued to say--that the sums he had acquired by thieving and cheating did not amount to less than two thousand pounds, besides the fortune of an unhappy woman whom he seduced and ruined. It was high time to stop the monster's speech, and the platform was therefore dropped, while yet he was exulting in his sins!

"Scotland," says the paper from which we extract this unparalleled case, "seems to be in an improving state: the following ingenious contrivance was lately practised at Glasgow:--While a merchant in King-street was counting some money and bank-notes on a counter, a staff or small rod, overlaid with birdlime, was suddenly thrust in at the door, which having touched the notes, two of them were thereby carried off; and, before the merchant could pursue, the ingenious actor had made his escape."

THE BIRMINGHAM RIOTS.

These riots were of a nature very similar to those which broke out in London in the year 1780. The outbreak appears to have been occasioned by no immediate cause, but rather by a general feeling of discontent which pervaded the minds of the people in this great manufacturing town, aided by the celebration of the anniversary of the French Revolution, and a seditious hand-bill, which had been previously circulated.

The riot was commenced by an attack being made upon a tavern, in Temple-lane, in which eighty or ninety persons had sat down to a dinner provided on Thursday, the 14th July 1791, in order to celebrate the event referred to, when, notwithstanding the personal interference of the magistrates, the windows in front of the house were demolished, and many of the company were assaulted. The popular anger being thus excited, the mob proceeded to destroy Dr. Priestley's meeting-house, and the old meeting-house, the first of which they set on fire, while they contented themselves with burning the furniture of the latter in the burial-ground. Dr. Priestley's house at Fair Hill, together with his valuable collection of apparatus for philosophical experiments, was also destroyed, and the mob then dispersed for the night. On the next morning, however, they again assembled, and being unopposed by any civil or military force, they proceeded to the commission of new outrages. Many were armed with bludgeons and weapons of offence, and shouting "Church and King," they attacked the houses of all who were obnoxious to them, or opposed to the principles which they professed. The mansion of Mr. John Ryland, at Easy Hill, was the first object to which they directed their fury, but many of them having got into the cellars, got so drunk with the wine which they found there, as to be unable to effect their escape, while their associates without, unmindful of their safety, set fire to the house, and they were buried beneath its ruins.

Bordesley Hall, the residence of John Taylor, Esq., shared a similar fate, the mob refusing to listen to any proposition to induce them to retire; and on the same night the house of Mr. Hutton in the town was completely stripped. A number of special constables were in the mean time sworn in, and attacked the mob with some determination; but being far inferior in numbers, and quite undisciplined, they were compelled to retire. Saturday only dawned to exhibit fresh ravages; Mr. Hutton's house at Washwood Heath, three miles from the town, Mr. Humphery's mansion at Spark Brook, Mr. W. Russell's house at Shewell Green, Mr. T. Hawkes's house at Moseley Wake Green, and Moseley Hall, the seat of the Dowager Countess of Carhampton, were in turn attacked, and were all in flames at the same time. Business was brought to a stand, and no military force arriving, the mob continued their acts of lawless atrocity undisturbed. At night many of them levied contributions from the inhabitants of the town of meat and money, and on the following day they pursued the same course in the outskirts in reference to all persons they met. The Sabbath even did not restrain them in their diabolical proceedings, for on that day they burned two dissenting meeting-houses, and the ministers' dwellings, situated at about six miles from Birmingham.

At night, soon after ten o'clock, three troops of the 15th Light Dragoons arrived amid the acclamations of the inhabitants, whose hopes and fears had been depicted through the day in every countenance, as reports of the near approach of the soldiery were spread and contradicted. The town was immediately illuminated, and before morning every thing was tolerably quiet; but the rioters were still continuing their depredations in the country. They exhausted the cellars at each place, and received various sums of money to prevent their proceeding to further violence.

They were in great force at the time the troops arrived, of which they no sooner had intimation than they began to slink off in small parties; and the peasantry, taking courage, put the rest to flight in various directions.

On Monday the town appeared in perfect security, but as much crowded as during the three preceding days, in viewing the military; the mob keeping at such a distance as to render all accounts of them dubious; at one time being said to be at Alcester, the next hour at Bromsgrove, &c.

On Tuesday there were flying rumours of depredations near Hagley, Hales Owen, &c.; and in the evening certain information was received that a party of rioters were then attacking Mr. Male's, of Belle Vue. A few of the Light Dragoons immediately went to his assistance; but the rioters had been previously overpowered by a body of people in that neighbourhood, and ten of them were confined at Hales Owen.

On Wednesday morning the country round, for ten miles, was scoured by the light horse, but not one rioter was to be met with, and all the manufactories were at work, as if no interruption had taken place. Three troops of the 11th Light Dragoons marched in this morning, and more soldiers soon after making their appearance, the whole neighbourhood was soon restored to tranquillity.

At the ensuing assizes held at Warwick on the 22d August, a great number of the persons concerned in these outrages were put upon their trial, before Mr. Baron Perryn. They were indicted under the Black Act, and although in several cases the jury appear to have acted in a manner somewhat extraordinary, in declaring the prisoners not guilty, many were convicted and received sentence of death. Two of them, however, were pardoned, but the remainder expiated their offences on the scaffold.

THE MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY.

The case of the mutineers of the Bounty has always attracted considerable attention. The Bounty was an armed vessel, commanded by Capt. Bligh, which quitted England in the autumn of 1789, for the purpose of making discoveries, and of trading among the Southern Islands; and having visited the Friendly and the Otaheitan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, in the month of May 1790, she set sail on her way back to England. On the 27th of that month they lost sight of land; and up to that time there had been nothing in the conduct of the crew or petty officers which could induce a supposition that any disorder was likely to take place. The mid watch was duly relieved; but at daybreak on the following morning the cabin of the captain was forcibly entered by the officer of the watch, Fletcher Christian, who held the rank of master's mate, and who had previously been considered a good and faithful seaman, aided by three others, who dragged their commander on deck, threatening instant death if he dared to speak. The captain exerted all his eloquence to bring back the mutineers to their duty, but his exertions were of no avail, and he soon afterwards found the peaceful part of the crew and the officers brought upon deck and pinioned. The mutineers told them that they need hope for no escape by employing violence, for that all the muskets were charged; and they corroborated their assertions by exhibiting an armed body of their own number with muskets and fixed bayonets. The captain at once perceived that he was in the power of his men; and his doubts as to his fate were speedily put an end to by his seeing the long-boat lowered over the side, which he and his fellows, to the number of eighteen, were commanded to enter, no other nourishment being afforded them but about one hundred and forty pounds of bread, thirty pounds of meat, a gallon and a half of rum, an equal quantity of wine, and a few gallons of water. A compass and quadrant were seized by the captain as his unfortunate companions were entering the boat; and as soon as he had taken his place, the mutineers gave three cheers, and stood away, as they said, for Otaheite.

Captain Bligh on taking muster of the remains of his crew left to him, found that he had in his boat the boatswain, the carpenter, the gunner, the surgeon's-mate, two midshipmen, and one master's-mate, with Mr. Nelson the botanist, and a few inferior officers. After a short consultation, it was deemed expedient to put back to the Friendly Islands; and having reached the coast of one of them, they landed, in hopes of improving their stock of provisions. For several days they continued unmolested; but at length, on the 30th of April, they were attacked by the natives with such violence

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that one man was killed, and several wounded. They were, therefore, compelled immediately to sheer off; and it became now the subject of inquiry and deliberation as to what should be their next place of destination. Otaheite was proposed, as it was supposed that the natives would be friendly to them; but the apprehension of falling in with the Bounty determined them against this course; and with one assent they made up their minds to shape their course for Timor, a settlement belonging to the Dutch.

To effect this enterprise they were compelled to calculate the distance with a view to the apportionment of their provisions; and having discovered that it was near four thousand miles, they agreed that their rations should not exceed an ounce of bread and a gill of water a day for each man. Upon this scanty allowance they subsisted without any other nourishment until the 6th of June, when they made the coast of New Holland, and collected a few shell-fish; and with this small relief they held on their way to Timor, which they reached on the 12th, after being forty-six days in a crazy open boat, so confined in its dimensions as to prevent any of them lying down for repose, and without the least awning to protect them from the rain, which fell almost incessantly for forty days; a heavy sea and squally weather augmenting their misery during a considerable part of the time.

On their reaching Timor, they received every assistance from the governor; and having remained until the 20th of August to recruit their strength, they procured a vessel, in which they took their passage to Batavia. They reached that port on the 2nd of October, and from thence they immediately embarked for the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Bligh quitted the Cape in the month of December, and having reached England, he communicated the particulars of the mutiny to the Admiralty, and H. M. S. the Pandora was immediately despatched in search of the mutineers.