“I shall endeavour to state to your lordships and the gentlemen of the
jury in as brief a manner as possible the real facts of the case.
“Finding my health in a very precarious state, I determined, in July
1782, to give up the government of Goree, and return to England. On the
10th of July, I rather think the 11th, but I will confine myself to the
10th, I prepared to embark on board a ship for England to return to
Europe; in the morning of the 10th, I had a certificate from the
officers of the garrison that the arrears were cleared off, and was
perfectly satisfied that the account was settled. On the 10th, about
eleven o’clock in the morning, all the men of the corps that were off
duty came to the government house; I went out to them; they made a
demand of short allowance of provisions that was due to them from
Captain Adams; I explained that business to them so fully that I had not
a right to pay it, that the men, in a very short time, dispersed and
returned to the barracks. About two o’clock in the day they returned
again very much intoxicated with liquor, and insisted on having the
demand complied with. I expostulated with them for a length of time to
no effect, and ordered Sergeant Armstrong to march the men back again to
the barracks; he was then in the front, standing with his hat on; he
refused, and said “he would be damned if he would until it was settled
or the demand complied with.” I ordered the whole of them to face to the
left and march off to the barracks; the answer to that was, “they would
be damned if they would not immediately break open the stores and
satisfy themselves.” Finding them seriously bent upon proceeding to
extremities, and having no resource, if they had done so, nearer to me
than England, I begged an hour or two to consider of it, and that I
would give them an answer. They hesitated for some time, but at length
they acquiesced, upon condition that I was not to leave the island till
the business was settled. Armstrong then marched the men off without
taking any further notice, shouting and making a very great noise, and
saying that they had gained the victory.
“When I returned into the government house I sent for the officers of
the corps; and in the interval, till the officers arrived, I walked out
and was proceeding to the main-guard, to know the state of the garrison,
to know if the main-guard were in support of those that were off duty.
On my way I met Armstrong, Upton, Patterson, and several more, who told
me that I had promised not to quit the island till they were satisfied,
and that I should not go to the waterside until then. When I returned to
the government house I found the officers there, who all agreed that
immediate punishment was necessary to put a stop to the mutiny. I
ordered Lieut. O’Shanley to go to the drum-major to desire him to have
cats ready when called for. Lieutenant O’Shanley returned and reported
to me that the drum-major had told him that the cats had been destroyed,
and that I had best get away as soon as I could, for that the men would
not suffer any punishment to be inflicted upon any one of them, inasmuch
as they were all agreed.
“Captain Lacy then proposed punishing them by the linguist and his
assistants, which was acquiesced in by the other officers; from the time
of the soldiers departing it took up some time, till about four o’clock,
when I told Captain Lacy that I would go down to the main-guard and have
the mutineers brought upon the parade, and for him to come down with the
linguist and his assistants as soon as he found the ring formed, that
the people at the barracks might not be alarmed at knowing they were
going to receive punishment. Immediately upon the parade being formed,
the officers arrived, and the circle was formed; Captain Lacy,
Lieutenant Fall, Lieutenant O’Shanley, and Mr. Ferrick, the surgeon,
were on the parade in a very short time after. When I came upon the
parade I asked the men if they had any claim to make upon me. A man,
whose name I do not recollect, came forward and said he had, of the
short allowance money that was due to him from Governor Adams. I then
called upon Armstrong, he having no claim whatever, to account for his
mutiny; when Armstrong was standing forward, Ensign Ford came running to
me from the main-guard to inform me that the man that was confined was
breaking from his arrest and was coming to the parade. I asked the
ensign if he could not confine him; he told me he could not; that his
guard would not obey him. Seeing there was no time to be lost to put a
stop to it, I went off myself to the main-guard, and left Captain Lacy
in charge of the parade. Upon the soldier seeing me coming he retired
behind the guard that was turned out, in a manner as if he expected to
be supported by the guard; but upon seeing me coming up to him, he was
retiring, and I forced him into the guard-house. I was following him
into the guard-house to see him well secured, when the sentry at the
door clapped his bayonet to my breast and desired me to keep off, saying
that I should not enter. I struck the bayonet out of his hand and put
him prisoner with the other, and after having reprimanded the guard for
disobedience of Ensign Ford’s orders, I returned to the parade. I
ordered the artillery to be on the parade this evening, as I was afraid
of the African corps; it was a circumstance which never happened in the
garrison—the artillery being upon the parade at a punishment of the
African corps—before.
“Upon my coming upon the parade I ordered Capt. Lacy, Lieut. Fall, and
Lieut. O’Shanley to form a court-martial. Mr. Ferrick was at this time
upon the parade. Armstrong was brought forward and charged by me with
the mutiny; but as I did not choose to take away their lives I chose to
try them by a regimental court-martial; and indeed I had it not in my
power to form any other. Whilst Captain Lacy and Lieutenant O’Shanley
were trying Armstrong, I was outside the circle; Captain Lacy came to me
and reported that the court had sentenced Armstrong to receive eight
hundred lashes. I returned into the circle and told the prisoner the
sentence of the court-martial, which was, that he was to receive eight
hundred lashes, to be inflicted by the linguist and his assistants with
a small rope’s end, which is a small cord that was produced upon the
parade by the linguist and shown to the surgeon before Armstrong had
felt it. The surgeon approved of the cord, by saying it was not so bad
as a cat-of-nine-tails. The punishment was then inflicted upon
Armstrong; there was no other mode of punishment in the garrison; the
African corps never had a halberd delivered to them; tying the person to
the timbers of a six-pounder was the usual mode. Armstrong received his
punishment and walked away with little appearance of concern, and with
very little appearance of punishment. I beg to know, my lord, if I am to
go further with respect to the other people?”
_Lord Chief Baron Macdonald_: “No, we have only this single case before
us at present.”
_Prisoner_: “Armstrong, on the evening he was taken to the hospital,
drank spirituous liquors, so as to be intoxicated. The day after this
punishment, the sickly season advancing fast, I thought it was necessary
for the preservation of my life to get away, the climate being very bad,
and I having been for a length of time before very ill. I arrived in
England some time in August in the same year. Upon my arrival at the
Secretary of State’s office, I found there had been a number of charges
exhibited against me by Captain Crawford, then a lieutenant of the
African corps, and Mr. ——. These charges upon trial about ten months
after appeared to be totally groundless, and Captain Crawford was
reprimanded highly by his Majesty for presuming to bring such charges
against me; many of the other charges were found groundless, and very
much exaggerated. As soon as the inquiry into these charges was over, I
went down to Bath, and heard nothing farther, either of the punishment
of the men, nor anything concerning them, until two messengers came down
to me at Bath. The man who was the chief messenger told me he came down
on a message to me from Lord Sidney. I asked him, in the presence of two
people, if he had a warrant; he said he had not, yet I suspected that he
had a warrant. I told him, ‘I will comply with my Lord Sidney’s command
immediately.’ I sent to the Bear Inn for a post coach and four horses,
and I and the two messengers got into it quickly. We travelled three
miles out of town, and I stopped the coach, as I had occasion for a
person that was then in Bath to be in town, and I sent for this person;
we then proceeded on our way to London. I paid the expenses of the
carriage: I paid the dinner bill at Marlborough, and when we came to
Reading I ordered supper in the usual way. I did not think it was
absolutely necessary for me to tell the messengers I was going away. I
left Reading about eleven o’clock at night, nor did I absolutely know
what the charges were. I did not know whether they called it an arrest
or not when the business took place; and from the persecution I had met
with before, I thought it was dangerous to appear at that time; for all
the newspapers were full of false paragraphs, some of them asserting
that I had fired men from the mouths of cannon; others, that I had
additional means of punishment added to the ropes with which the men
were punished. It terrified me so that I could not face it till I
thought men’s minds were cool to listen to the truth without prejudice.
This is all that I have to say. I am here now to answer for it, and I
commit myself to the protection of your lordships and of the gentlemen
of the jury.”
Several witnesses were called for the defence, the principal of whom was
Mrs. Lacy, widow of the Captain Lacy, who was with Wall at the flogging
of Armstrong; and certainly, if her evidence was to be taken, the
conduct of the men, with Armstrong at their head, was riotous and
mutinous. Part of her examination was as follows:—
_Lord Chief Baron Macdonald_: Who headed these men the first time?—I do
not know; but the second time I perfectly recollect it was Armstrong.
_Mr. Knowlys_: But whoever they were, they addressed themselves to the
governor, and he answered them?—Yes; they addressed themselves to the
governor and demanded the short allowance due from Governor Adams.
Do you recollect what he said to them?—I think it was to return to their
barracks and give him time to consider of it.
Then he did this in person, not by any messenger?—No, in person.
Did they go away to their barracks at the desire of their governor?—They
did.
After they had gone this first time, did you see them come again?—I did;
in about an hour and a half’s time they came again.
In what way did they come then, and to what number?—They came headed by
Sergeant Armstrong, Upton, and Patterson; and these were the chief of
the African corps, to about seventy or eighty in number.
In what way did they come?—They came in a most riotous and mutinous
manner.
Were they apparently sober?—From their manner one would not suppose that
they were.
Did you see them before they reached the government house?—I saw them at
the time they came there.
State everything you saw pass.—I heard them swear that if the governor
did not satisfy their demands they would open the stores and satisfy
themselves.
Where was the governor at the time they uttered this expression?—He was
speaking to them.
How came he to speak to them?—I heard what passed from the soldiers.
At the time they came up, was the governor outside the government house
or did he go out to them?—He went out to them.
Did you hear the governor say anything to any particular person in the
company? you said Armstrong was one amongst them?—Yes.
Do you recollect Armstrong saying anything to the governor, or he to
him?—I heard Armstrong swear that if the governor did not satisfy his
demands he would open the stores.
What else passed between Armstrong and the governor?—After the governor
spoke to him he went off with the men shouting and making a great noise
in every state of mutiny.
Were any orders given by the governor to Armstrong?—I do not know.
Did the governor consent to their staying there in that way?—Certainly
not.
What did he say to them about their staying there?—I cannot repeat what
the governor said; I heard them behave in a mutinous manner.
Did the governor say anything to them about their staying there or
departing from that place?—He ordered them to depart.
When the governor ordered them to depart, what was the answer made by
Armstrong or any of the company?—They behaved in a riotous manner.
What answer did they make to him?—They would not for some time; they
declared they would break open the stores and supply themselves.
That was the answer they made to the governor’s orders to depart, was
it?—It was.
Did Armstrong or any of the company with him say anything about his
leaving the island at that time?—They were, I believe, very mutinous for
some time before.
Did they say anything about his departing or not from the island?—I do
not know. They said they would not let him leave the island till they
were satisfied.
Who was the spokesman upon this occasion?—Armstrong, Upton, and
Patterson were the three spokesmen.
Did they express their determination in a peaceable and quiet manner, or
the contrary?—They spoke it in a most threatening manner.
Was it in an alarming manner?—Indeed it was.
From the conduct and manner which the people observed towards the
governor at the time, did you yourself at that time apprehend
mischief?—Upon my word, I did.
Upon your oath?—Upon my oath, I did.
It should here be observed on this testimony of Mrs. Lacy, that, if not
otherwise exaggerating, she certainly overstated one fact—viz., as to
the number of men assembled being seventy or eighty—as none of the
witnesses, except Mrs. Faulkner, who came on the same side after her,
made them out even up to a third of eighty. Mrs. Lacy was also, in all
probability, wrong in positively asserting, against the convincing
evidence for the Crown, that the first witness, Lewis, was not the
orderly-sergeant, and was not present on the day in question. She was
shown to be still more at fault when she stated that her deceased
husband was incapacitated in consequence of a _coup de soleil_ from
coming forward to exculpate Governor Wall when first apprehended. Mrs.
Faulkner, the next witness, even went beyond Mrs. Lacy in describing the
violence of the supposed mutiny, and she was much shaken on
cross-examination. Her husband, Faulkner, one of the garrison, though
testifying to some mutinous behaviour on the part of the men, quite
broke down in endeavouring to show that there was a real court-martial.
He was asked:—
During the time the officers were inside the ring, what took
place?—Armstrong was called forward and asked what he had to say for his
own defence; he said nothing; he did not reply at all.
_Mr. Justice Rooke_: Did they tell him what he was charged with?—By
being mutinous.
_Mr. Alley_: What was said to Armstrong?—Captain Lacy said, “What have
you to say for yourself, Armstrong, being in this mutinous affair?”
Did he make any answer?—He made no reply.
_Mr. Justice Rooke_: Did they tell him what mutinous affair it
was?—Stopping the governor from going on board; and threatening to bring
his stores on shore if he did not settle with them.
Did Captain Lacy or anybody else say all that to Armstrong?—Yes, Captain
Lacy told him.
Now let us hear all Captain Lacy said?—Captain Lacy told him he was
tried for stopping the governor from going on board and threatening to
bring his stores on shore.
You heard Captain Lacy say this yourself, did you?—Yes, I did. He was
then tried by Captain Lacy, Lieutenant Fall, and Lieutenant O’Shanley.
_Lord Chief Baron Macdonald_: Was there any more trial than telling him
he had wished to prevent the governor from going, and that was a
mutinous affair? Was there anything more?—There was no more trial.
Then the trial was acquainting him with that and asking him what he had
to say for himself?—Yes.
_Mr. Alley_: Did he say anything for himself?—No, he did not.
Do you recollect whether anything further was said?—Nothing farther was
said.
Did you see the surgeon there?—Yes, I did.
Do you recollect anything further that passed at that time?—The surgeon
and linguist were both there at the time.
Do you recollect whether any sentence was pronounced?—There was.
What was said?—Captain Lacy told him he was to receive eight hundred
lashes by the linguist; he was then tied up and received them; the
surgeon was there present the whole time.
In confutation of the last assertion, the surgeon had already stated
that he was not present the whole time. The other witnesses for Wall,
one of whom was proved not credible on oath, did not carry his case any
further. A few respectable witnesses gave him a character for humanity,
but their testimony was feeble; and one of them, on cross-examination,
would not go so far as to state Wall bore a general reputation of being
humane.[19]
One glaring contradiction to Wall’s line of defence was his own letter
to Government on his return from Goree, in which (it was read at the
trial) he makes no allusion to any mutiny or riot having occurred. There
also remained unanswered the facts that Armstrong had not the shadow of
a trial, and that he was punished in a monstrous way, with an unusual
instrument and with an excessive number of blows. Upon all this the
learned Chief Baron pointedly commented in his lucid summing up, from
which I give the following introductory remarks, as most apt and
explanatory on the subject of suppressing military and naval mutiny, and
on corporal correction in general.
“This case,” said the Chief Baron, “will, gentlemen of the jury, for
many reasons, in my apprehension, require your closest and best
attention. In the first place, the charge against the prisoner at the
bar is the heaviest which our law knows; his life is at stake; and that
of itself would, I am sure, be sufficient to excite every degree of care
and attention in you; but in other respects it seems to me to be of
peculiar importance, for on the one hand, as the Attorney-General has
most liberally and most sensibly said, when a well-intentioned officer
is at a great distance from his native country, having charge of a
member of that country, and it shall so happen that circumstances may
arise which may alarm and disturb the strongest mind, it were not proper
that strictness and rigour in forms and in matters of that sort should
be required, where you find a real, true, and genuine intention of
acting for the best for the sake of the public. You see they are in a
situation distant from assistance and from advice; in these
circumstances, if a man should be so much thrown off the balance of his
understanding as not to conduct himself with the same care and attention
that any one in the county of Middlesex would be required to do, and
does not exceed greatly the just and proper line of his duty, allowances
for such circumstances ought unquestionably to be given to him.
“But, on the other hand, it is of consequence, that where a commander is
so circumstanced—that is, at a distance from his native country—at a
distance from inspection—at a distance from immediate control—and not
many British subjects being there—if he shall, by reason of that
distance, wanton with his authority and his command, it will certainly
be the duty of the law to control that, and to keep it within proper
bounds. The protection, therefore, of subjects who are serving their
country at that distance, on the one hand, is one of the objects you are
to have in view to-day. The protection of a well-intentioned officer—if
such he be—who does not by his conduct disclose a malevolent mind, but
may disclose human infirmity to a certain extent, who, being in
trepidation and alarm of mind, overlooks some things he ought otherwise
to have regarded;—such a man’s case is, on the other hand, deserving of
great attention....
“I would also mention to you, that in all cases of corporal punishment,
as I conceive, where there is lodged a discretion, regard is to be had
to the extent of that punishment and to the means of inflicting it;
because legitimate punishment may be inflicted in such a manner as to
show that the infliction of the punishment was made the ground of
wilfully carrying it to an extent and excess that would be attended with
the destruction of him who is the object of it. I conceive, for example,
that a regimental court-martial, although it is to act by discretion,
and is not strictly meted and bounded in the degree of punishment by act
of Parliament—nor are many subordinate punishments which are
discretionary in other courts—that such tribunals cannot go to any
excess that they please, either in the extent of that punishment or in
the mode of administering it. I conceive that a regimental
court-martial, and those who are to see its sentence put into execution,
are bound by the rules which good sense, experience, and humanity point
out, as not being so excessive as upon the very face of them to be
possibly the means of executing a sentence they could not pronounce,
namely, a sentence of death.
“Now, gentlemen, to make this extremely familiar. It is perfectly clear
that many persons have authority to correct in a certain degree. A
master has to correct his servant. A parent has not only the power, but
it is his duty to correct his child; but let me suppose that instead of
inflicting five or six strokes with a few birch twigs upon that child,
you inflict five or six hundred; although the instrument may be a legal
instrument, and cannot be quarrelled with, yet the extreme excess of the
quantity may denote an intent to do mischief, not bridled by that which
ought to bridle human actions. I will put it likewise that the
instrument itself is improper. Suppose, instead of five or six strokes
with a rod, you give five or six blows with a cudgel, you would say that
was an instrument likely to kill the child, and would be an excess with
respect to the instrument itself. So also, I conceive, it is not to go
abroad to the world that a court-martial is to inflict an over-great
number of strokes with an instrument likely to do much more mischief
than the ordinary instrument. It may be that a hundred strokes with a
particular instrument may do more mischief than a thousand with the
instrument ordinarily used. I take it they are bound to inflict that
measure of punishment which has been known ordinarily to be inflicted
and borne; and it may be a question whether the quantity be inordinate
in proportion to the instrument, that may not be evidence of such malice
as may constitute that which would otherwise be justifiable, a murder
according to the definition of the law of England.”
The Judge then went elaborately through the evidence; and after he had
concluded, the jury went out for some time, and returned with a verdict
of “Guilty.”
The Recorder proceeded to pass sentence of death upon Wall, that he
should be executed the following morning, and that his body should be
afterwards delivered to be anatomised according to the statute.
Mr. Wall seemed sensibly affected by the sentence, but said nothing more
than requesting the court would allow him a little time to prepare
himself for death.
On the 21st of January a respite was sent from Lord Pelham’s office,
deferring his execution until the 25th. On the 24th he was farther
respited till the 28th. His wife lived with him for the last fortnight
prior to his conviction. He, before trial, although allowed two hours a
day, from twelve till two, to walk in the yard, did not once embrace
this indulgence; and during his confinement never went out of his room,
except into the lobby to consult his counsel. He lived well, and was
sometimes in good spirits. He was easy in his manners and pleasant in
conversation; but during the night he frequently sat up in his bed and
sung psalms, being overheard by his fellow-prisoners. He had not many
visitors; his only attendant was a prisoner, who was appointed for that
purpose by the turnkey.
After trial he did not return to his old apartment, but was conducted to
a cell; he was so far favoured as not to have irons put on, but a person
was employed as a guard to watch him during the night, to prevent him
doing violence to himself. His bed was brought to him in the cell, on
which he threw himself in an agony of mind, saying it was his intention
not to rise until they called him on the fatal morning; and he kept his
word.
The sheriffs were particularly pointed and precise in their orders with
respect to confining him to the usual diet of bread and water
preparatory to the awful event. This order was scrupulously fulfilled.
The prisoner during a part of the night after sentence slept, owing to
fatigue and perturbation of mind. The next morning his wife applied, but
was refused admittance without an order from one of the sheriffs. She
applied to Mr. Sheriff Cox, who thereupon himself attended her to the
prison.
From the time of the first respite until twelve o’clock on Wednesday
night, Wall did not cease to entertain hopes of his safety. The interest
made to save him was very great. The whole of Wednesday occupied the
great law officers; the judges met at the Lord Chancellor’s in the
afternoon. The conference lasted upwards of three hours, but ended
unfavourably to Wall.
The prisoner had an affecting interview with his wife, the Hon. Mrs.
Wall, the night before his death, from whom he was painfully separated
about eleven o’clock. This disconsolate and affectionate lady,
unremitting in her solicitude, caused Wall to write a note to Mr. Kirby,
the jailor, about nine o’clock, requesting that she might be permitted
to remain in the cell until eleven, thus cordially manifesting her fond
but delusive hopes to the very latest moment. Mr. Kirby, with a feeling
of humanity, readily complied with this request. But no tidings of mercy
arrived, and at eleven o’clock she saw the end of all her earthly joys.
After many tender embraces, the wife reluctantly departed, overwhelmed
with grief and bathed in tears, while the unfortunate husband declared
that he could now, with Christian fortitude, submit to his unhappy fate.
During the greater part of the night he slept but little.
When, the following Thursday morning, Wall ascended the scaffold,
accompanied by the Rev. Ordinary, there arose three successive shouts
from an innumerable populace, the brutal but determined effusion of one
common sentiment, for the public indignation had never been so high
since the hanging of Mrs. Brownrigg, who had whipped her apprentices to
death.
The wretched Wall bowed his head under this extreme pressure of
ignominy, and almost immediately afterwards was, without signal,
launched into eternity. After hanging a full hour his body was cut down,
put into a cart, and immediately conveyed to a building in Cowcross
Street to be dissected. Wall was dressed in a mixed-coloured loose coat,
with a black collar, swandown waistcoat, blue pantaloons, and white silk
stockings. He appeared a miserable and emaciated object, never having
quitted the bed of his cell from the day of condemnation till the
morning of his execution.
The body of the unfortunate governor was not exposed to public view as
usual in such cases. Mr. Belfour, Secretary to the Surgeons’ Company,
applied to Lord Kenyon, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench,
to know whether such exposure was necessary; and finding that the forms
of dissection only were required, the body, after those forms had
passed, was consigned to the relations of the unhappy man upon their
paying fifty guineas to the Philanthropic Society. The remains were
interred in the churchyard of St. Pancras.
The “Gentleman’s Magazine” of 1802 thus refers to the execution of
Governor Wall:—
“Thursday, Jan. 28, 1802.—This day Joseph Wall, Governor of the island
of Goree, after a trial at the Old Bailey, which occupied the time of
the court from nine in the morning till near eleven at night, was, for
the wilful murder of Benjamin Armstrong, a sergeant in an African corps,
executed pursuant to his sentence. The gallows-hunters behaved with
great indecorum, hissing, groaning, and shouting, even to his very last
moments. Mr. Wall was six feet four inches high, and of a genteel
appearance. He behaved with great steadiness and composure during his
long and painful trial, which lasted fourteen hours. He was sixty-five
years of age, but did not look so old. He was respectably connected with
several families of distinction in Ireland. His brother, Counsellor
Wall, was a literary gentleman, who excited great notice in his day, and
was the author of several literary productions; but what was most
remarkable was, that he was the first person who presumed to publish
Parliamentary Reports with the real names of the speakers prefixed. Dr.
Johnson (in our Magazine) dressed them in Roman characters; others gave
them as Orators in the Senate of Liliput. Mr. Wall laid the foundation
of a practice which, we trust, for the sake of Parliament and of the
nation, will never be abandoned.”
It is quite clear, from the periodicals and from the squibs and verses
about it at the time, that Wall’s execution was approved of by the
public, and was looked on as a praiseworthy act of retributive justice.