to alarm the nation, and open the eyes of all people, who must reflect
with horror upon a set of dissolute and desperate wretches, united by a
parity of inclinations and iniquities, formed into dangerous gangs and
confederacies, that encouraged by numbers they might exercise cruelties
and commit barbarities, which, abandoned as they were, they singly
durst not attempt. Villains! not to be won by lenity, despising and
rejecting proffered pardons, proceeding from crime to crime, till they
arrived at the highest and, until now, unheard-of pitch of wickedness:
who, not content with defrauding the King in his customs and revenues;
not satisfied with violating the properties and possessions, pursued
the lives of his subjects and servants, whose very blood could not
satiate their malice--tortures were added to aggravate the pangs of
death.
Before we take leave of these wretches, and begin upon the account of
that most notorious villain and murderer, John Mills, and the rest,
as promised, we think it will be very necessary to inform our readers
of their several behaviours at the place of execution, not mentioned
before in the account given by the three clergymen.
AT THE PLACE OF EXECUTION.
The prisoners were brought out of the gaol about two in the afternoon
of Thursday, the 19th of January, 1748–9, being the day after receiving
sentence, when a company of Foot Guards and a party of Dragoons were
drawn out ready to receive them, and to conduct them to the place of
execution, which was about a mile out of the town. The procession was
solemn and slow; and when they came to the tree, they all, except the
two Mills’s, behaved a little more serious than they had done before.
Carter said the sentence was just on them all, for they were all
guilty, as charged in the indictments; and lamented the case of his
wife and children, and said he hoped others would take warning by his
untimely end.
The Mills’s, as I observed before, seemed no ways concerned; and the
young one said he did not value to die, for he was prepared, though at
the same time he appeared so very hardened and abandoned.
The halter that was used for the old man was very short, the gallows
being high; so that he was obliged to stand a-tiptoe to give room for
it to be tied up to the tree: the old fellow saying several times while
this was doing, “Don’t hang me by inches.”
Tapner appeared very sensible of his crime, and prayed aloud, and
seemed, as I hope he was, very sincere and devout. He declared that
Jackson, Cobby and Stringer held three pistols to his head, and swore
they would shoot him if he did not go and assist in the murder of
Chater, the old shoemaker, who was going to make an information against
their shepherd, Dimer, otherwise Diamond; that they also extorted three
guineas from him by the same way of threats, to repay Jackson and
Carter what they had been out of pocket on that account. He said they
were all guilty of the crimes laid to their charge; and that one T--ff,
well known in Chichester, and Stringer, John Mills[12] and Richards
(all not taken) were as guilty as himself; and as they deserved the
same punishment, he hoped they would all be taken, and served the same
as he was just going to be. He acknowledged cutting Chater across the
face, but did not care to repeat any of the cruelties he had exercised.
* * * * *
We are now come to the conclusion of the trials, and the behaviour of
those who were executed at Chichester, and shall next proceed to those
that were brought on at the assizes at East Grinstead, where two of the
same gang were tried for murder, namely, Sheerman for that of Galley,
and John Mills, called Smoker, for that of Hawkins, who was destroyed
in as cruel and barbarous a manner as either Galley or Chater.
After which we shall give an account of the trials of the other
smugglers, which were very remarkable for the most notorious crimes
with which they are charged, such as murder, housebreaking, robberies
on the highway, &c. But as Sheerman was tried for the crime for
which several others had been already convicted, as has before been
related, we think this trial will most properly follow those of his
confederates, and with whom he had been concerned throughout the whole
course of their villainies.
After which will follow the trial of John Mills, who not only had a
hand in the murder of Chater, but likewise was a principal in that of
poor Hawkins.
Henry Sheerman, otherwise Little Harry, was indicted for the inhuman
murder of William Galley, which the said Sheerman, in company with
several others, did perpetrate and accomplish on the said William
Galley, by tying and fastening him on a horse, and then lashing,
whipping and beating him with their whips, till the said Galley, no
longer able to bear the cruel scourges, fell with his head under
the horse’s belly, and his feet across the saddle; that being again
set upright on the horse, the said prisoner, with the rest, again
whipped, beat and bruised him, by the means of which he fell off the
second time; and being set on another horse, the said prisoner, with
the others, again beat and whipped him, till the said Galley was so
terribly bruised and wounded that, being ready to fall off the horse,
the prisoner gave him a push, and threw him to the ground, of which
blows, wounds and bruises, and fall from the said horse, he died.
The counsel for the King upon this indictment were the same as were
upon that against John Mills and John Reynolds, who after laying
open and explaining to the court and jury the heinous nature of the
offence and the pernicious consequences of smuggling, which generally
brought on murder, robbery and other enormous crimes, they produced the
following witnesses in support of the charge against the prisoner.
Mr. Shearer, collector of the customs at Southampton, deposed that he
received a letter from the commissioners of the customs, informing
him that one John Dimer was taken up on suspicion of being concerned
with others in breaking open the custom-house at Poole and committed
to Chichester gaol; that thereupon he sent one Chater with a letter to
Justice Battine under the care of the deceased William Galley, the 14th
day of February was twelvemonth, and hired a grey horse for him to ride
on.
William Galley, son of the deceased William Galley, deposed that he
very well remembered that some time in February was twelvemonth, his
father set out on a journey to Justice Battine; that the night before
he went he saw the letter and saw the direction upon it, which his
father was carrying to the justice; that his father was dressed in a
blue great coat, lined with blue, with brass buttons, a light brown
close-bodied coat trimmed with blue, his waistcoat and breeches the
same, and rode upon a grey horse, and that he never saw his father
afterwards.
George Austen deposed that on the 14th of February was twelvemonth,
being at the New Inn at Leigh, he saw the deceased William Galley
and another person on horseback, and hearing them enquire the way to
East Marden, and shewing a letter they had for Justice Battine, he
said that he and his brother, Thomas Austin, and his brother-in-law,
Robert Jenkes, were going part of that road and would shew them the
way; that he went with them to a place called Rowland’s Castle, to a
public-house kept by one widow Payne; that being there Galley and his
companion called for rum. That the widow Payne enquired of him if he
was acquainted with these men, or whether they belonged to his company.
He told her they were going to Justice Battine’s; upon which she
apprehended there was something in hand against the smugglers, several
of whom came in soon afterwards.
John Race, otherwise Raise, an accomplice in the fact, deposed that on
the 14th of February was twelvemonth, he was at Rowland’s Castle; that
when he came in, he saw there Edmund Richards, William Steel, Carter,
Jackson, Little Sam, Richard Kelly, Jackson’s wife, and the prisoner
Henry Sheerman, together with Galley and Chater: that he saw Jackson
take Chater to the door, and heard him ask him whether he knew anything
of Dimer the shepherd, and Chater answering that he was obliged to
appear against him, Galley came to them, to interrupt their talking,
which Jackson resenting, struck him on the face with his fist. Being
all come into the house again, Jackson related to the rest of them
what Chater had said in relation to Dimer; upon which they consulted
together what to do with Galley and Chater, and it was agreed by
them all to carry them to a place of security, till they should have
an opportunity of sending them to France; and that the prisoner was
present at this consultation.
William Steel, another of the accomplices in the fact, deposed that
on the 14th of February was twelvemonth he was sent for to the widow
Payne’s; that when he came there he found Jackson, Little Sam, Kelly,
Carter, Richards, Race and Little Harry; that he saw the two strangers
there, Galley and Chater, who were drinking with the prisoner, and the
rest of the smugglers; that Jackson took Chater out of the house, and
was followed by Galley, who soon after returned with his face bloody,
having, he said, been knocked down by Jackson. That Galley and Chater
wanting to be gone, the prisoner, with the rest of the smugglers
persuaded them to stay, and the company continued drinking till Galley
and Chater were quite drunk, and were led into a little inner room to
sleep; this was about four or five o’clock. That in the meanwhile this
witness, with the rest of the smugglers, the prisoner being present,
consulted what to do with Galley and Chater; and it was proposed to
make away with them, and to that end, to throw them into the well in
the horse pasture, about a quarter of a mile from Rowland’s Castle; but
upon second thoughts that well was judged too near, and might occasion
a discovery. That then it was agreed to allow threepence a week each,
and to keep them in some private place till they saw what was the fate
of Dimer; and as Dimer was used, in the same manner they agreed to use
Galley and Chater. That about seven o’clock Carter and Jackson went
into the little room, and having waked Galley and Chater, brought them
out all bloody; and he believed that Jackson and Carter had kicked them
with their spurs, which they had just before put on; that they then
brought Galley and Chater out to the street door, and set them both
upon the same horse, and tied their legs together under the horse’s
belly. That then he (the witness) got upon a grey horse, and led that
the deceased and Chater were upon; that they had not gone above 80
yards, before Jackson called out “Whip the dogs, cut them, slash them,
d--n them”; and then the company fell to lashing and whipping them;
while they rode about a mile to a place called Wood’s Ashes; that there
they all alighted, and the prisoner, Little Harry, gave each of them a
dram, but none to Galley and Chater; that mounting their horses again,
they fell to beating and lashing the two men as violently as they
had done before, till they came to Dean, which was about half a mile
further; that then one of the company pulled out a pistol, and swore
he would shoot them (Galley and Chater) through the head, if they
made any noise while they were passing through the village; when they
were got through Dean, they fell to whipping them again, till they
came almost to Idsworth, when Galley and Chater fell again with their
heads under the horse’s belly; upon which they parted them, and set
up Galley behind him (this witness), and Chater behind Little Sam,
and thus proceeded towards Lady Holt Park, about three miles further,
whipping them all the way; but the lashes of their whips falling on
this witness, he cried out and they left off whipping Galley; that
being come to Lady Holt Park, Galley being faint and tired, got off,
and Jackson and Carter took him by the arms and legs, and carried him
to a well there, into which they said they would throw him; but some
of the company interposing, they set him up behind this witness, but
went on till they came down a hill, and Galley, not being able to
ride any further, got down again; upon which they laid him upon the
pommel of the saddle, across a horse before Richards, with his belly
downwards, and in this manner carried him about a mile and a half; that
then Richards, being tired of holding him, let him down by the side
of the horse; that then they put him upon the grey horse which this
witness rode upon, and this witness got off; they sat him up, his legs
across the saddle, and his body lay over the mane, and Jackson held him
on, and went on in this manner for about half a mile, Galley crying out
grievously all the time, “Barbarous usage! barbarous usage! For God’s
sake shoot me through the head or through the body;” he (the witness)
imagined that Jackson was squeezing his privy parts. That they went on
for two miles further, and coming to a dirty lane, Carter and Jackson
rode forwards, and bade them stop at the swing gate till they returned.
Being gone a little while, they came back again and said that the man
of the house was ill and could not entertain them. It was then proposed
to go to the house of one Scardefield at Rake, upon which the prisoner
tied Galley with a cord, and got up on horseback behind him in order to
hold him on; and coming to a gravelly knap in the road, Galley cried
out, “I shall fall, I shall fall;” whereupon the prisoner then said,
“D--n you, then fall,” and gave him a push, and Galley fell down, gave
a spirt and never spoke afterwards; he (the witness) believed his neck
was broken by the fall; that then they laid him across the horse again,
and went to the Red Lion at Rake, kept by William Scardefield, whither
they carried Chater all over blood. That Jackson and the prisoner went
from Scardefield’s with Chater, to Old Mills’s, where he was left to
the care of the prisoner, and in the meantime they buried Galley.
This witness was asked by the court whether the prisoner was present at
the first consultation at the widow Payne’s, and continued in the same
company to the death of Galley, and he answered: “Yes, he was with them
all the time.”
Then William Scardefield was sworn, who deposed that the prisoner at
the bar was with the rest of the smugglers at his house at Rake, when
Galley was brought dead there, but went away with Chater, the other man
who was all bloody.
The counsel for the King said they had a great many more witnesses, but
they would rest the matter as it now was, and not give the court any
further trouble.
The prisoner, being called upon to make his defence, said he had nobody
to disprove the facts or speak to his character; and said he was sent
for to Rowland’s Castle, though he did not know for what; that when he
came there he was threatened by Jackson, Richards and others that were
there, that they would shoot him through the head if he would not go
with and assist them in what they were going about, and that it was not
in his power to make his escape from them.
The jury brought him in guilty. Death.
Having now given the trial of Henry Sheerman, alias Little Harry,
at East Grinstead, it will be necessary next to give an account of
his life and behaviour under sentence of death, and at the place of
execution, before we proceed to the trial of that notorious villain
John Mills, alias Smoker, for the cruel murder of Richard Hawkins.
Henry Sheerman, alias Little Harry, about 32 years of age, was born
and bred up at West Strutton, in the county of Sussex, to husbandry,
whose parents were people of good character, though of but middling
circumstances; and gave him as good an education at school as they
could afford; but he said he never minded his learning--his mind run
more upon other things, so that he made but very little progress,
though he could read very well and write a little.
He said that Jackson was the cause of his ruin, and the considerable
gains that were allowed to those who were as servants to the master
smugglers, seduced him to leave his honest employment and take on with
them.
He often declared that he never was concerned in any other murder
than that of Galley, for which he suffered; but being asked if he was
not guilty of the other indictment that was against him, as being an
accessary to the murder of Chater before the fact was committed, he
evaded answering the question in full, and said he left the company and
Chater, and did not go to the well where he was hanged and flung down;
but on being interrogated, and informed it was the same thing, his
knowing their intention of murdering Chater, though he did not go quite
to the place, he said he did not know that the company, when he parted
from them, were going to hang him in the well at Lady Holt Park, and
then fling his body down it to prevent a discovery. He was asked if old
Major Mills knew that Chater was confined in his turf-house, and that
they were going to murder him, because Old Mills partly denied it when
he was executed on the Broyle near Chichester; he said that Old Mills
was guilty of the whole affair laid to his charge, as being concerned
in the murder of Chater; that Old Mills gave him the chain and
horse-lock, to chain Chater to the beam, and went frequently to see he
was safe during his confinement there, and often told Chater that he
was a villain to turn informer, and he would see he should be hanged to
prevent his informing any more; and he declared, that when they took
Chater from Old Mills’s house, that Old Mills knew that they were going
to hang him at the well by Lady Holt Park, and that the resolution and
agreement of him, Old Mills, as well as the rest, was to fling his
body down there, it being a dry well, to prevent a discovery, and that
Old Mills himself said it was a very proper place, for as it was a dry
well, it might lie there an age before anything could be discovered,
and before that time it would be rotted quite away to nothing.
Before we proceed any further, we shall inform the reader what
encouragement is given to seduce the young people from their honest
employments to turn smugglers, which Little Harry declared.
The master smugglers contract for the goods either abroad, or with the
master of a cutter that fetches them, for a quantity of teas (which
they call dry goods) and brandies, and the master of the cutter fixes
a time and place where he designs to land, and seldom or ever fails
being pretty punctual as to the time, if the weather permits; as the
master smugglers cannot fetch all the goods themselves, so they hire
men whom they call their riders; and they allow each man half-a-guinea
a journey, and bear all expenses of eating and drinking and horse, and
allowance of a dollop of tea, which is forty pound weight, being the
half of a bag, the profit of which dollop, even of the most ordinary
sort, is worth more than a guinea, and some sorts 25s. and some more;
and they always make one journey, sometimes two, and sometimes three in
a week, which is indeed such a temptation that very few people in the
country can withstand; and which has been the cause of so many turning
smugglers.
He said it was very hard work in going down to the seaside to fetch the
goods, and considering the hazard they run if taken, and of their own
persons, as they are obliged to ride in the night only, and through
the byeways, avoiding all the public roads as much as possible, people
would not take on with them if it were not for the great profits that
arise.
He said that all the smugglers, both masters and riders, drink drams
to great excess, and generally keep themselves half drunk, which was
the only thing that occasioned them to commit such outrages as they did
sometimes; and he gave the following account of the murders of Galley
and Chater:--
That on Sunday the 14th of last February was twelvemonth, he was sent
for to the widow Payne’s, and informed that there were two men there
who were going to make an information against John Dimer, that was in
custody at Chichester, on suspicion of being concerned in breaking
open the King’s warehouse at Poole, that, as he was one concerned in
the said fact, he readily went to hear what he could, and when he came
there, he found Jackson, Richards, Steel (the evidence), and some more
of the gang concerned in breaking open the said warehouse; when Jackson
said to him, “Harry, I have sent for you: here are two men have got
a letter to Justice Battine, for him to take an information against
Dimer;” and that they (the smugglers) resolved to have the letter from
them; which he agreed to; and after they had made the men drunk, Carter
and Jackson went into the room where the men were put to sleep, and
took the letter, which they read, and found the contents amounted to
all they suspected; that it was never proposed by any of them to hurt
either Galley or Chater, but to keep them privately to prevent their
giving the designed information, till the women, Carter’s and Jackson’s
wives, proposed hanging them; and then it was talked of carrying them
to the well just by, and to hang them and fling them down it, but
it was not agreed to; neither did any of the men in his presence or
hearing shew or intimate any inclination towards their so doing.
He said further, that they all drank pretty freely to make Galley and
Chater drunk, and when they came to the resolution of carrying them
both away, and concealing them till they knew what would be the fate of
the shepherd Dimer, they were all more than half drunk; that he verily
believed none of them had any design of murdering them while they were
at Rowland’s Castle; but Jackson, who was the drunkest of the company,
called out to whip them, which was soon after they set out from Mrs.
Payne’s house, when Edmund Richards, who is not yet taken, began to
lash them with his long whip; and then they all did the same except
Steel, who was leading the horse the two men rode on.
He said that the design of tying their legs under the horse’s belly was
for no other reason than to prevent their jumping off and running away,
and making their escape, as it was night time; which, if either of them
should do, they would be all inevitably ruined.
The liquor they had drank, and giving way to their passion, urged them
on to the cruelties they exercised on Chater; but when they found
Galley was dead, it sobered them all very much, and they were all in a
great consternation and surprise, and could not tell what to do, when
they concluded to bury the body of Galley, and to take care of Chater.
He lamented the unhappy case of Chater during the time of his being
chained in Old Mills’s turf-house, but said, self-preservation obliged
him to take care he did not get away, though he was all the time very
uneasy, and said he declared his abhorrence to Tapner’s cutting Chater
across the face and eyes, and of Cobby’s kicking him while he was
saying the Lord’s Prayer, and that he came out of the turf-house into
the dwelling-house upon that account, not being able to bear hearing
the poor man’s expressions in begging for a few hours or minutes to
make his peace with his Creator, at the same time the blood running all
down his face. He said it was not Cobby alone that kicked Chater while
he was at prayers, but also Richards and Stringer, who are both not yet
taken.
Being asked why he did not give poor Galley and Chater a dram, as well
as the smugglers, when they all got off their horses; he said he was
going to do it, but Richards, Carter and Jackson, all swore they would
blow his brains out if he did. He acknowledged going away with them
from Old Mills’s in order to hang Chater according to agreement; but
seeing Tapner whip the poor man so cruelly, Chater at the same time
being all over blood and wounds, his heart relented, and that was the
only reason why he did not go with them, and be present at his murder.
At his trial he behaved with reservedness, but no way audacious, as
some of the others were; and after he had received his sentence, he
began to bemoan his unhappy circumstances, and prayed very devoutly;
and confessed that he had been a very wicked liver ever since he turned
smuggler.
He said he never was concerned in many robberies, as numbers of the
smugglers had been; and what gave him the most uneasiness was, the
great scandal and vexation he had brought on his wife and family.
He was conveyed under a strong guard of soldiers from Horsham to Rake,
near the place where Galley was buried, on the 20th day of March, 1749,
and there executed, and afterwards hung in chains, as an example.