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THE
CHRONICLES OF CRIME.
[Illustration: _Trial by Battle_]
THE
CHRONICLES OF CRIME;
OR,
The New Newgate Calendar.
BEING
A SERIES OF MEMOIRS AND ANECDOTES
OF
NOTORIOUS CHARACTERS
WHO HAVE OUTRAGED THE LAWS OF GREAT BRITAIN FROM THE EARLIEST
PERIOD TO 1841.
COMPRISING
COINERS.
EXTORTIONERS.
FORGERS.
FRAUDULENT BANKRUPTS.
FOOTPADS.
HIGHWAYMEN.
HOUSEBREAKERS.
INCENDIARIES.
IMPOSTORS.
MURDERERS.
MUTINEERS.
MONEY-DROPPERS.
PIRATES.
PICKPOCKETS.
RIOTERS.
SHARPERS.
TRAITORS.
&c., &c.
INCLUDING
A NUMBER OF CURIOUS CASES NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
EMBELLISHED WITH FIFTY-TWO ENGRAVINGS,
FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY "PHIZ."
BY CAMDEN PELHAM, ESQ.,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
T. MILES & CO., 95, UPPER STREET.
1891.
CONTENTS.
NOTE.--_The offence mentioned opposite to each name is that alleged
against the person charged._
PAGE
ABRAHAMS, Alice. "The Gold Dust Robbery", 480
AGRICULTURAL RIOTS, 213
ANDERSON, John, _alias_ Beveridge. Piracy, 228
BALLS, Robert. Forgery, 404
BANKS, William. Burglary, 201
BARNETT, Edward. Murder, 185
BARTLETT, Charles Samuel. Murder, 453
BELL, James. Burglary, 201
BELL, John Amy Bird. Murder, 252
BERRYMAN, James and Thomas. Burglary, 367
BEVERIDGE, John, _alias_ Anderson. Piracy, 228
BIRMINGHAM RIOTS--1839, 499
BISHOP, John. Murder, 274
BOLAM, Archibald. Manslaughter, 474
BOWERS, Richard. Fraud, 126
BRANDRETH, Jeremiah. Treason, 17
BROCK, Thomas. Coining, 1
BROUGHTON, Edward Delves. Murder, 469
BROWN, George. Conspiracy, 3
BROWN, James. Coach Robbery, 242
BROWN, William. Murder, 358
BRUNT, John Thomas. Treason, 34
BURDOCK, Mary Anne. Murder, 398
BURKE, William. Murder, 166
BURT, William. Murder, 118
CALTHORPE STREET RIOTS, 378
CANT, George. Rape, 490
CANTERBURY RIOTS, 460
CARDIGAN, the Earl of. Assault with intent to Murder, 607
CARROLL, Patrick. Murder, 401
CASHMAN, John. Riot, 3
CASPAR, Lewin and Ellis. "The Gold Dust Robbery", 480
CHALKER, Edward. Murder, 397
CHARTIST RIOTS--1839-40, 515
CLARKE, Edward. Murder, 247
COLLINS, Dennis. Treason, 356
COOK, James. Murder of Mr. Paas, 345
CORDER, William. Murder, 146
COSTELLO, William. Abduction, 65
COSTER, Richard. Forgery, 370
COURVOISIER, François Benjamin. Murder, 563
COX, Job. Letter-stealing, 376
COX, John, John, and Robert. Murder, 157
CROFTS, John. Burglary, 382
CUSSEN, John, _alias_ Walsh. Abduction, 65
DARWELL, George. Embezzlement, 456
DAVIDSON, William. Treason, 34
DAVIS, George James, _alias_ Huntley. Piracy, 228
DAY, John, _alias_ Smith. Murder, 455
DEVANN, Patrick. Murder, 14
DICK, Samuel. Abduction, 26
DILLON, Luke. Rape, 230
DOBELL, George, _alias_ Thomas. Murder, 546
DOODY, Daniel and William. Abduction, 65
DORCHESTER LABOURERS, 384
EDWARDS, John, _alias_ Heath. Assault, 389
EHLERT, Jacob Frederick. Murder, 488
ELIOT, Francis Lionel. Murder, 469
ELLIS, William, _alias_ Lambert. Murder, 546
EMOND, Robert. Murder, 204
EVANS, James. Murder, 105
FAUNTLEROY, Henry. Forgery, 93
FISHER, William. Burglary, 415
FITZMAURICE, Walter, _alias_ Captain Rock. Abduction, 65
FLATHER, Harrison. Larceny, 619
FLETCHER, George. Murder, 458
FLYNN, John Turner. Forgery, 602
GARSIDE, William. Murder, 393
GILBERT, Samuel. Robbery, 107
GILCHRIST, William and George. Coach Robbery, 242
GOULD, Richard, _alias_ Nicholson. Burglary and Murder, 556
GREENACRE, James, and Sarah Gale. Murder, 428
HAGGART, David. Murder, 59
HARLEY, William, and Hills, James. Burglary, 415
HARRIS, Ann. Murder, 157
HARRIS, Thomas. Forgery, 404
HART, John Minter. Forgery, 421
HEATH, John, _alias_ Edwards. Assault, 389
HIBNER, Esther and Esther. Murder, 188
HIGGINS, Mary Anne. Murder, 247
HOGSDEN, Edward. Rape, 251
HOLLOWAY, John. Murder, 262
HOOPER, John. Treason, 7
HOWARD, William. Assault with intent to Rob, 141
HUNT, Henry. Misdemeanour, 29
HUNT, Joseph. Murder, 69
HUNTLEY, George, _alias_ Davis. Piracy, 228
HUNTON, Joseph. Forgery, 161
HUSSEY, Charles. Murder, 22
INGLETT, James. Manslaughter, 634
INGS, James. Treason, 34
JOBLING, William. Murder, 354
JOHNSON, William. Murder, 362
JOHNSTON, Robert. Robbery, 27
JONES, William. Murder, 138
JOURDAN, William, _alias_ Leary. Custom-house Robbery, 407
KENNEDY, William. Murder, 358
KEPPEL, Charles. Murder, 68
KEYS, Jeremy. Murder, 397
KING, William. Robbery, 246
KINNAISTER, Charles. Murder, 472
LAMBERT, William, _alias_ Ellis. Murder, 546
LEAKY, David, James, and Maurice. Abduction, 65
LEARY, William, _alias_ Jourdan. Custom-house Robbery, 407
LECASSER, Peter. Assault, 389
LEES, William. Murder, 494
LEITH, Alexander Wellesley. Manslaughter, 98
LIGHTFOOT, James and William. Murder, 551
LONG, John St. John. Manslaughter, 217
LOVELACE, James. Administering unlawful Oaths, 384
LUDLAM, Isaac. Treason, 17
LYNN, Charles. Murder, 103
MACKCOULL, James, _alias_ Moffat. Burglary, 55
MACKEY, Robert. Conspiracy, 3
MACNAMARA, Henry. Larceny, 309
MARCHANT, William John. Murder, 478
MARTIN, Jonathan. Arson, 192
MARTIN, Thomas. Body-stealing, 233
MEDHURST, Francis Hastings. Manslaughter, 477
MERTHYR TYDVIL RIOTS, 256
MILLER, William. Murder, 136
M'KEAND, Alexander and Michael. Murder, 109
MOIR, Capt. William. Murder, 207
MONTGOMERY, John Burgh, _alias_ Wallace, _alias_ Morgan. Forgery, 144
MOORE, Richard. Forgery, 621
MOSELEY, Joseph. Murder, 393
MOSES, Emanuel. "The Gold-dust Robbery", 480
MOSES, Mordecai. Forgery, 404
MOTT, Henry. Custom-house Robbery, 407
NESBETT, James. Murder, 53
NICHOLSON, Arthur, _alias_ Gould. Murder and Burglary, 556
O'CONNOR, Feargus. Sedition, 542
OWEN, James. Murder, 546
OXFORD, Edward. Treason, 583
PAGE, James. Houghing Cattle, 389
PATTESON, Thomas. Manslaughter, 599
PEACOCK, George Edward. Forgery, 419
PEELE, John, _alias_ Watson. Forgery, 119
PEGSWORTH, Jonathan. Murder, 425
PELHAM, John. Coining, 1
PENRUDDOCK, C. W. W. Assault, 426
PIERCE, Alexander. Murder, 91
POWER, Michael. Coining, 1
PRESTON, Thomas. Treason, 7
PROBERT, William. Horse-stealing, 100
PUGH, James. Murder, 157
RAE, Alfred. Assault with intent to commit a Rape, 386
RACE, William. Manslaughter, 550
REFORM RIOTS, 314
RIEDY, Daniel. Abduction, 65
RIOTS, AGRICULTURAL, 213
RIOTS AT BIRMINGHAM, 1839, 499
RIOTS AT BRISTOL, 322
RIOTS, CALTHORPE-STREET, 378
RIOTS AT CANTERBURY, 460
RIOTS, CHARTIST, 1839-40, 515
RIOTS AT MERTHYR TYDVIL, 236
ROACH, William. Murder, 458
ROBINSON, Ann. Murder, 188
ROCK, Captain, _alias_ Walter Fitzmaurice. Abduction, 65
ROSS, Elizabeth. Murder, 305
SALMON, Robert. Manslaughter, 417
SAMS, David. Burglary, 632
SCANLAN, John. Murder, 50
SEALE, Wm. Custom-house Robbery, 407
SHEEN, William. Murder, 123
SLADE, Joshua. Murder, 134
SMITH, Alexander M'Laughlin. Murder, 604
SMITH, John, _alias_ Day. Murder, 455
SMITH, John, _alias_ Sapwell. Murder, 209
SMITHERS, Jonathan. Arson and Murder, 342
SOLOMON, Isaac, _alias_ Ikey. Receiving stolen goods, 235
STACEY, John and John. Murder, 195
STANYNOUGHT, Henry. Murder, 403
STEPHENSON, Alexander, _alias_ Telford. Piracy, 228
STEVENS, Joseph Plant. Robbery, 244
STEVENS, Rev. Joseph Rayner. Sedition, 495
STEVENSON, William. Larceny, 633
STOFFEL, Philip. Murder, 68
SULLIVAN, Stephen. Murder, 50
SULLIVAN, Thomas. Custom-house Robbery, 407
SUMMERS, William. Larceny, 405
SWALLOW, William, _alias_ Waldon. Piracy, 228
TAYLOR, John. Body-stealing, 233
TAYLOR, Robert. Polygamy, 594
TAYLOR, Thomas. Murder, 458
TELFORD, Alexander, _alias_ Stephenson. Piracy, 228
THISTLEWOOD, Arthur. Treason, 7
THISTLEWOOD, Arthur. Treason, 34
THOMAS, George, _alias_ Dobell. Murder, 546
THORNTON, Abraham. Murder, 19
THURTELL, John. Murder, 69
TIDD, Richard. Treason, 34
TIMMS, George. Murder, 455
TURNER, William. Treason, 17
VARNHAM, John. Murder, 455
VAUGHAN, George. Conspiracy, 3
WAKEFIELD, Edward Gibbon, William, and Frances. Abduction, 327
WALDON, William, _alias_ Swallow. Piracy, 228
WALLACE, John, _alias_ Montgomery. Forgery, 144
WALLACE, Patrick Maxwell Stewart,
and Michael Shaw, Stewart. Inciting a person to cast away a Ship, 624
WOOD, George Alexander. Manslaughter, 98
YOUNG, John. Murder, 469
THE
CHRONICLES OF CRIME;
OR,
NEW NEWGATE CALENDAR.
THOMAS BROCK, JOHN PELHAM, AND MICHAEL POWER,
CONVICTED OF COINING.
In the year 1816, when Sir Matthew Wood was lord mayor of London,
several conspiracies of a most diabolical nature were detected, and some
of the conspirators punished. The conduct of the chief magistrate was
such as to do honour not only to his understanding and ability, but to
his disinterestedness and humanity.
The legislature, with the intention of stimulating the exertions of
police-officers, and inducing others to give information, had awarded
certain rewards to the parties who should contribute to the conviction
of offenders against the laws. The object was laudable, but it was
capable of great perversion, and was liable to many objections; it gave
the prosecutor an interest in the conviction of the accused, and on that
account tended to impress the public with the belief that the
condemnation, and not the acquittal of the prisoner, was the object of
our criminal laws. It was too true that "blood money," as this species
of remuneration was emphatically denominated, did contribute in reality
to the evil we allude to. But had not a development of unparalleled
villany put scepticism to flight, we could not have brought ourselves to
believe that those who were paid to detect crime should be found the
most active in seducing innocence and youth to its commission. Yet it is
an indubitable fact that, for ten years preceding 1816, victims were
brought up, session after session, to be convicted of crimes to which
they were seduced by the very men who gave evidence against them, that
they might revel on the "blood money," or make use of it to provide
other victims for the law. Several of those connected with the
police-offices, particularly the patroles, were detected in this traffic
of blood;[A] but only one officer of any note, named Vaughan, was
convicted of this most atrocious crime.
[A] The following were the parliamentary rewards for the conviction of
felons:--
1. By 4 W. & Mary, cap. 8, forty pounds on the conviction of every
highwayman.
2. By 6 & 7 Wm. III. cap. 17, forty pounds upon the conviction of
every person who had counterfeited the coin, or clipped &c. the same,
or had brought into the kingdom clipped coin, &c.
3. By 5 Anne, cap. 31, forty pounds on conviction of every burglar or
housebreaker.
4. By 14 Geo. II. cap. 6, ten pounds on the conviction of every
sheep-stealer, &c.
5. By 15 Geo. II. cap 28, forty pounds for conviction of any person of
treason or felony relating to the coin, upon this Act; and ten pounds
on conviction of counterfeiting copper money.
6. By 16 Geo. II. cap. 15, twenty pounds upon conviction of a person
returning from transportation before the expiration of his term.
The discovery of this diabolical system took place in the course of the
trial of three men named Quin, Riorton, and Connolly; it appears that
these unfortunate beings were detected in fabricating base shillings and
bank tokens, and being brought to trial, they were convicted. During the
examination of the witnesses for the prosecution, however, whose names
appear at the head of this article, some circumstances came out, which
induced a suspicion in the mind of the lord mayor that the prosecutors
were in some way mixed up with the guilt of the prisoners. An
investigation in consequence took place; but the convicts, on being
confronted with their accusers, refused to say anything against them,
saying that they were "under an oath." They were Irishmen and Catholics,
and the rigid observance which they pay to an oath is well known; but a
priest having at length persuaded them that they were not bound by such
an oath administered unlawfully, they disclosed the whole particulars of
the plot, and their accusers were in consequence secured.
The three new prisoners were then indicted for their participation in
the crime of their dupes, which amounted to high treason; and at the
session held on the 25th of September 1816, were brought to trial at the
Old Bailey.
A man named Barry then swore that Pelham had applied to him to get some
men to make bad shillings, which Power, it was said, could colour. Barry
said they must go to the market for them, which was in Cheapside, at the
corner of King-street, where poor Irishmen were waiting for employment.
Some days after he went with Brock and Power to the market, when Quin
and Riorton were engaged by them. Being told they could not be employed
unless they would be sworn to secrecy, they took an oath on a piece of
paper. A room was hired, and tools procured by the prisoners, and the
poor Irishmen were set to work to cut brass into the form of shillings,
&c. under the superintendence of Power. Connolly was sent for to assist.
He said to Barry, in Irish, "We are doing a job that will hang us all,"
to which he replied that if he thought so he would not work another day
at it. The Irishmen were then employed in colouring the metal, and
everything being in readiness, notice was given, the officers entered,
and the Irishmen were seized, tried, and found guilty.
Pelham's landlady proved that the scissars used by the Irishmen in
cutting through brass had been procured by her at Pelham's request;
another woman also swore that the hammer and files taken in the coining
room had been sold by her to Brock and Pelham.
Brock, in his defence, declared his innocence. Power denied either going
to the market or the room; and Pelham said the Barrys were noted
perjurers, and the women were false witnesses.
The jury, without hesitation, however, brought in a verdict of Guilty,
and the prisoners were transported.
The three Irishmen were then pardoned; and the lord mayor having
interested himself in their behalf, a subscription was opened, and they
were enabled to return to their own country, and there to purchase small
farms.
GEORGE VAUGHAN, ROBERT MACKEY, AND GEORGE BROWN.
CONVICTED OF A CONSPIRACY.
While the lord mayor was detecting the "men of blood" in the city, the
magistrates at Bow-street were not less meritoriously employed in
tracing similar crimes to a police-officer, named Vaughan, and several
others not immediately employed by the magistrates, but who were well
known as loungers about the different offices. Several of these
atrocious wretches were apprehended, and many revolting circumstances
disclosed.
George Vaughan, Robert Mackey, and George Brown, were tried at the
Middlesex sessions, on the 21st of September 1816, on a charge of
conspiring to induce William Hurley, Michael Hurley, William Sanderson,
William Wood, aged thirteen, and Dennis Hurley, to commit a burglary in
the house of Mrs. M'Donald, at Hoxton; and, by having them convicted of
the fact, thereby procure for themselves the rewards given by parliament
for the conviction of housebreakers.
The case was clearly proved against the prisoners; and it appeared that
through the instrumentality of one Drake, who had been an acting
lieutenant in the navy, the dupes were employed to commit the burglary,
and that on their proceeding to Mrs. M'Donald's house, the three
prisoners came up and took them into custody.
The prisoners being found guilty were sentenced to five years'
imprisonment in the house of correction, and ordered at the conclusion
of that time to find security for their future good behaviour. Vaughan
was tried on a subsequent day for a robbery in the house of one James
Poole, on the 16th of December 1815, and being found guilty was
sentenced to be transported.
JOHN CASHMAN
EXECUTED FOR A FELONY COMMITTED AT THE SPAFIELDS' RIOTS.
On the cessation of the protracted war which consigned Buonaparte to St.
Helena, Great Britain found herself subject to those temporary domestic
difficulties which always succeed a sudden return from hostility to
peace. The revulsion was felt by nearly every individual in the kingdom;
agriculture, trade, and commerce became, for the instant, almost torpid,
and thousands of the labouring classes were thrown out of employment.
In this moment of paramount distress, the evil-minded and the designing,
taking advantage of the disposition of the people, and urged by personal
considerations, continued those attacks upon the ministry of the country
which they had hitherto made without that success which they required,
and the people, whose attention was now withdrawn from the object which
had hitherto served to keep their minds occupied, were easily led away
and persuaded that the dangers and difficulties which appeared to exist
were the result of bad management only, and were of a nature likely to
be permanent, and most injurious to their well-being. The existence of
the evil was attributed to some defects which were pointed out in the
representative system; and as this was considered to be the root of the
evil, the name of radical (from _radix_, the Latin word for a root) was
given to the persons who espoused these new opinions. The party in
itself, both as regarded reputation and numbers, was contemptible to a
degree, and the names of a few only who were its leaders will be handed
to posterity. Thistlewood, Watson, and Hunt, were the most notorious of
these agitators, who, as it will hereafter appear, met with very
different fates. Thistlewood was hanged; Watson escaped to America;
Hunt, by a most extraordinary circumstance, eventually became a member
of parliament.
Englishmen have an undoubted privilege of assembling for the purpose of
declaring their grievances and soliciting redress, whether from the
sovereign or the parliament, and this liberty afforded the demagogues a
good opportunity for inflaming the passions of the deluded, and
disseminating their own pernicious opinions. Meetings were held in
various parts of the kingdom for the ostensible purpose of petitioning
for parliamentary reform, and the metropolis followed the example. When
we come to the case of Watson and Thistlewood, we shall enter fully into
the atrocious scheme of those who devised many of these meetings, but at
present it is necessary to confine ourselves to a detail of facts, which
will serve as an illustration of what is to follow.
The first meeting, which may be called the preliminary to the riot, took
place November the 15th, 1816, in the Spafields, then a wild uninclosed
space. A flag was unfurled bearing the following words:--"Nature to feed
the hungry--truth to protect the oppressed--justice to punish
offenders." Hunt attended in consequence of an invitation, and some
violent speeches having been made, he was deputed to carry a petition to
the Prince Regent. This meeting dissolved, after having passed a
resolution to meet at the same place on the 2nd of December, to receive
the answer to the petition; but the circulation of some addresses proved
that the object of the meeting was not of that peaceful nature which its
promoters pretended to ascribe to it. On the day appointed, soon after
twelve o'clock, the assemblage of the mob commenced, and in less than
half-an-hour about 5000 persons had collected round a party supporting
tri-coloured flags, and a banner bearing the inscription--"The brave
soldiers are our brothers; treat them kindly," who had placed themselves
within about thirty yards of the field next to Coldbath-fields' Prison.
A cart was found to have been placed on this spot, and in a short time
Dr. Watson, his son, and a Mr. Hooper, all carrying tri-coloured
cockades in their hats, ascended this rostrum, and were hailed with loud
cheers. The doctor and his son then addressed the meeting in most
inflammatory speeches; and the latter having wound himself up to a pitch
of the most ungovernable fury, called upon the people to follow him, and
jumping from his elevated position, he rushed, pistol in hand, at the
head of the mob, towards Clerkenwell. The people were under the
impression that he was going to lead them to the Mansion-house; but a
cry of "Arms" being set up in Smithfield, they rushed down Snow Hill to
the shop of Mr. Beckwith, a gun-maker. Young Watson, with five of his
followers, immediately entered the shop, the former exclaiming, "Arms,
arms, I want arms!" and a Mr. Platt, who was at the door, attempting to
arrest his progress, he deliberately shot at him, and wounded him, and
then endeavoured to knock him down with the but-end of his weapon. A
struggle took place, in which the pistol fell to the ground, and Watson
being pushed into the counting-house, and charged by Mr. Platt with
having shot him, he cried out, apparently in much alarm, "I am a misled
young man--I have been at Spafields--send for a surgeon,--I am a surgeon
myself," and immediately set about dressing the wound in a manner which
exhibited his ability to afford the aid which he proffered. A surgeon
was, however, procured, and during a quarter of an hour, for which he
remained in the counting-house, he repeatedly cried out that he was a
misled young man. The mob at first had been under the impression that
their leader was killed, and on the report of the pistol, many of them
fled, but having caught sight of him in the shop they demanded that he
should be restored to liberty. Measures were now taken to secure his
person, but the mob being infuriated at his long detention, they burst
into the house, and having compelled its inmates to fly for safety, and
set their leader at liberty, they proceeded to ransack the premises for
arms. Having procured all that the establishment contained, they marched
under the guidance of their leader to the Tower, and then while young
Watson endeavoured to win the soldiers from their allegiance, by
assuring them of the good feeling which prevailed towards them on the
part of the people, and that they should receive 100 guineas per man if
they would join them, the mob continued to scour the neighbourhood in
search of arms. While, however, the great body of the rioters had thus
followed in the steps of their leader, others pursued a different
direction, and taking St. Giles, St. Clement's, and the Strand, in their
march, despoiled every shop which they approached of such articles as
they deemed might be useful to them. The irruption was so sudden, that
the means of opposing the proceedings of the rioters could not speedily
be obtained. The lord mayor, Sir Matthew Wood, showed great
determination; and notwithstanding the most violent proceedings on the
part of these fellows, he and Sir James Shaw, the chamberlain, succeeded
in securing three of the insurgents, who had entered the Royal Exchange
and who were armed with guns.
The military at length appeared, and many of the rioters were secured,
while the others, having thrown away their arms, quickly disappeared.
Young Watson, however, was nowhere to be found; and it appears that
immediately after he quitted the Tower, being alarmed at his position,
he hastily returned to his lodgings, and possessing himself of some
papers and other articles he went to a public-house in Fetter-lane,
where he found his father and Thistlewood. The trio considered
themselves as being likely to be taken into custody, and they in
consequence quitted London for Northampton immediately. On their
arriving at Highgate, however, they were seized on suspicion of being
footpads, but a scuffle taking place, the elder Watson alone remained in
the hands of their assailants, while his companions effected their
escape. Young Watson had the good fortune to reach London again in
safety, and his friends having provided him with the means, he sailed
directly for America.
Several of the rioters were brought to trial, but John Cashman, a
sailor, alone was capitally convicted and punished. There can be no
doubt as to the justice of the sentence and punishment inflicted on this
man; but it is also equally clear that while he was indubitably guilty
of a most gross offence, others were even more culpable, inasmuch as
they were actuated by deliberate motives of mischief, while he was
goaded on by hunger and misery; and besides, as many believed, was
occasionally in some degree affected by symptoms of insanity. It appears
that Cashman was one of the most active of the rioters who attacked and
demolished Mr. Beckwith's shop in Skinner-street. Several persons
deposed that he frequently brought out bundles of fire-arms and
distributed them among the mob in the street, and he was actually
apprehended with one of Mr. Beckwith's guns in his hand, at the Royal
Exchange, being one of those seized by the lord-mayor.
For this offence Cashman, with four others, was brought to trial at the
Old Bailey, January 20th 1817. The indictment did not charge them with
any species of treason, being confined to capital felony only, for
stealing the fire-arms, &c., stated to be considerably above the value
of two hundred and fifty pounds. The names of the four others
were,--John Hooper, R. Gamble, William Gunnell, and John Carpenter. Two
of these were apprehended at the same time as Cashman, and under similar
circumstances, and the evidence against them all went to implicate them
in the crime of felony; but the jury, to the apparent astonishment of
the court, acquitted all but Cashman, who was found guilty and sentenced
to death.
When asked what he had to say why sentence of death should not be passed
on him, he addressed the court as follows:--
"My lord--I hope you will excuse a poor friendless sailor for occupying
your time. Had I died fighting the battles of my country, I should have
gloried in it; but I confess that it grieves me to think of suffering
like a robber, when I call God to witness that I have passed days
together without a bit of bread rather than violate the laws. I have
served my king for many years, and often fought for my country; I have
received nine wounds in the service, and have never before been charged
with any offence. I have been at sea all my life, and my father was
killed on board the Diana frigate. I came to London, my lord, to
endeavour to recover my pay and prize-money, but being unsuccessful I
was reduced to the greatest distress; and being poor and penniless, I
have not been able to bring witnesses to prove my innocence, or to
acquaint my brave officers, or I am sure they would all have come
forward on my behalf. The gentlemen who have sworn against me must have
mistaken me for some other person, there being many sailors in the mob;
but I freely forgive them, and I hope God will also forgive them, for I
solemnly declare that I committed no act of violence."
Wednesday morning, March the 12th 1817, was the time appointed for the
execution of this unfortunate man, and to make the dreadful ceremony as
awfully impressive as possible, it was ordered that he should suffer in
front of Mr. Beckwith's shop, where the crime for which his life was
forfeited had been committed.
After conviction, the unhappy man stated that on the day of the riots he
had been to the Admiralty to endeavour to procure the payment of
200_l._, to which he was entitled for prize-money, and that on his way
home he was persuaded by a brother sailor to go to Spafields. On their
way they drank a great deal of liquor, and having had but little food
during the two preceding days, it had a great effect upon him. He
expressed a desire that his prize-money should be given to his brother
and mother.
On the morning of the execution great precautions were taken to prevent
any disturbance, and troops and constables were placed throughout London
to quell any appearance of riot. At eight o'clock Cashman was brought
from his cell, and he appeared perfectly composed, but exhibited a great
deal of levity. As he passed through the Press Yard, he exclaimed with
an oath, that he wished a forty-four pounder would come and cut him in
two, rather than he should go into Jack Ketch's hands.
On his leaving the prison, he bid every one good-bye whom he met, and
exhibited great want of feeling. When he arrived at the scaffold the mob
expressed great indignation by groans, and hisses, in which he joined;
and the executioner having at length completed his preparations, the
drop fell in the midst of his abusive exclamations.
JAMES WATSON THE ELDER, JAMES WATSON THE YOUNGER, ARTHUR THISTLEWOOD,
THOMAS PRESTON, AND JOHN HOOPER.
INDICTED FOR HIGH TREASON.
After the military had dispersed the rioters on the 2nd of December
1816, Dr. Watson, his son, and Thistlewood, quitted London in haste, and
were pursuing their journey into the country when the patrole stopped
them at Highgate on suspicion of their being highwaymen; what helped to
confirm this opinion was, the circumstance of a pistol protruding itself
from Dr. Watson's breast, in consequence of which he made him prisoner,
but with considerable difficulty; and in the squabble which ensued, the
younger Watson and Thistlewood made their escape. Some people coming out
of a public-house at this instant, the doctor was given in charge to
them, while the patrole went in pursuit of the fugitives. During his
absence the doctor made an unsuccessful effort to regain his freedom,
and in the struggle stabbed one of his detainers with a cane-sword.
For this offence or accident, Dr. Watson was indicted at the Old Bailey
on Tuesday, January the 21st 1817, charged under the cutting and maiming
act; but the counsel for the prosecution having stated the case, the
judge who presided suggested the necessity of stopping it, as the
indictment could not be supported.
The doctor was acquitted, but not liberated, for a charge of great
magnitude was suspended over his head, which, at length, descended in
the form of an accusation for high-treason.
The government had received information of a formidable and dangerous
conspiracy, in which Dr. Watson and others were stated to be deeply
implicated, and the parties were in consequence apprehended, and with
the doctor were committed to the Tower.
A bill being found by the grand jury, Watson, Thistlewood, Preston, and
Hooper, were brought up from the Tower to the court of King's Bench, on
the 17th May 1817. They severally pleaded not guilty, and were then
taken back to the Tower, from which they were again brought up on the
9th June.
Dr. Watson was first arraigned, and John Castles was the witness called
to prove the most material facts against him. He said that he knew the
prisoner, and had not had any promise of pardon for giving evidence. He
became acquainted with the prisoner about a month before the Spafields
meeting, and saw him at the Cock in Grafton-street, where he went to
meet a society called the Spenceans. On the following night he met
Watson and Preston by appointment at the Mulberry Arms, Moorfields, at a
society of the same description; and he there saw present young Watson,
Hooper, Thistlewood, the two Evanses, father and son, and one John
Harrison. After the meeting broke up, he walked away with the elder
Watson, who observed, that it was a very easy matter to upset
government, provided a few good fellows would act together. He then
said, that he had drawn out a plan that would debar the cavalry from
acting, by interrupting the horses, and that he had got several people
who had solicited at different houses, and that they had formed a
committee which was sitting, to devise the best modes and plans. He
inquired where the witness lived, and promised to call the next morning,
and show him the plan.
In pursuance of this appointment he called at the lodging of Castles on
the following Sunday morning, and produced several papers, one of which
was a plan of the Tower, and another a plan of the machine, which he had
described on the Thursday before, for obstructing the cavalry. It was to
run upon four wheels, with sharp knives, which were to be on each side,
and spikes in the middle. The knives were to be something like scythes,
and placed horizontally. There were also several other drawings of the
Tower-bridge, and different places and entrances about the Tower. "He
then," continued Castles, "asked me how many men I could bring; and how
many I knew. I told him I knew a great many, but I did not know whether
they would act when put to the test; he begged I would exert myself as
much as I could. I told him that I was a smith, and that I had nothing
but my little business to live on; but he said never mind that, they
would find something better for me than that; they had plenty of money
for everything. We then made another appointment, and I met him at one
Newton's. Similar conversation took place there, and he said they had
got a committee consisting of five; namely Harrison, Preston,
Thistlewood, and his son, and himself; and that I should be made one of
the generals, and head a party of pikemen and other men, and that I
should hear further in a few days, and might consider myself as one of
the committee from that time; that I should make the sixth, and they
would not have any more.
"Shortly afterwards I met the elder Watson, and we went to King Street
barracks, and across the Park to a small magazine in Hyde Park, where
the powder is kept, to examine the whole of the avenues, and determine
which was the best place for setting fire to the barracks. There was
also one Skinner with us, but he left us in the Park, and Watson said he
thought that Skinner had been a cleverer man than he was; that he
intended to have made an officer of him, but he found him not at all
calculated, as he had not any cultivated idea whatever.
"About this time I was introduced to Thistlewood by one John Harrison.
Thistlewood asked me how much money it would take to make a few hundred
pikes, and how long it would take me. I told him it would entirely
depend on their size, and the steel or iron they should be made of. He
said they should be about nine or ten inches long, and I told him that
they would come to about fourpence or fourpence-halfpenny a pound. He
wished me to make one for a pattern, and I told him I would; but that I
had no place to make them in, and Harrison replied that he knew a person
who would lend me the use of his forge. Hooper and Harrison went with me
to a little shop in a cellar, kept by a man of the name of Bentley, in
Hart-street. I asked him to allow me to make use of his forge to make a
pike, to put round a rabbit-warren, or fish-pond. He told me that if I
would look out a piece of iron, he would make it himself, and, when
done, it was given to me, and I took it away. I afterwards carried it to
one Randall's, where I met the two Watsons, and Thistlewood, Harrison,
and Hooper; and Watson said that it was a famous instrument. Watson then
wrote down the name of the house where the committee sat, No. 9,
Greystoke-place, on a paper for me. On the night before, I had been to
Paddington with Thistlewood among the bargemen to seek to make converts,
and we found a great number of them out of employ, and treated them with
some beer. We sounded them, and they said that they wanted a good row,
for that they would rather be killed than be as they were. We told them
that we wanted them for a job, and asked how many they could collect
together, and they said that they could get five or six hundred any
morning, as there were so many out of employment. We afterwards went to
two public-houses in Long Acre and in Vinegar Yard, which are used by
the soldiers who attend the theatres, and we treated them with beer. We
asked them how they were treated by their officers, and what was their
pay, and one of them, a Yorkshireman, spoke violently against the
government. The conversation was about their pay, and as to their being
discharged without pensions. We also went to the Fox-under-the-Hill, in
the Adelphi, where we found a great number of coalheavers, and having
entered into conversation with some of them, they said that they could
get fifty or sixty of their fellows, who were out of employment, to join
us any day. I subsequently went about alone with the same object, and if
I found any man more violent than the rest, I took down his name and
communicated it to Thistlewood. A day or two afterwards the committee
met in Greystoke-place, to deliberate upon the best plan to set fire to
the barracks, and to get all the men we could together. A pike was
produced, and Thistlewood directed that Bentley should make 250 of them
immediately. Dr. Watson and I reported that we had examined the barracks
at Portman-street, and King-street, and had ascertained the number of
their avenues; one object being to see how many entrances there were in
order to guide us in ascertaining how much combustibles would be
necessary to set the whole on fire, so that the soldiers should not
escape. A general meeting was appointed at Greystoke-place, to arrange
the whole of the business, and how it was to be conducted in each way,
and we met on Sunday, previous to which I paid part of the money to
Bentley for the 250 pikes, and ordered them to be made off-hand as soon
as possible. When we met, Thistlewood produced a map of London. It was
marked out which were the best roads to take; and we arranged the number
of men who were to be collected together at the different barracks and
places to be attacked. The whole of the committee were to act as
generals; to have their several stations; and were to attack the
separate barracks at one given time and moment. Watson proposed
Thistlewood as the head general. Thistlewood and young Watson were to
take the guns and two field-pieces that were in the artillery-ground in
Gray's Inn-lane; Preston was to attack the Tower; Harrison the
artillery-barracks near the Regent's Park; and I was to set fire to the
King-street barracks, and either to take the men prisoners, or kill
those that might attempt to escape; the elder Watson was to set fire to
the Portland-street barracks. We were to attack the whole of those
places at a given hour, and set them on fire at one in the morning; we
were to take any person we met, and make them join us--such as
gentlemen's servants; and coachmen were to be taken from their
carriages, and those who could ride were to have the horses, which were
to form a cavalry, and the coaches and carriages were to be used to
barricade the entrances. After I had set fire to the King-street
barracks, and after we had seen that all were in flames, and that none
had made their escape, I was to meet the elder Watson at the top of
Oxford-street. Harrison was to join us with the artillery, which he was
to bring from the barracks by the Regent's Park, and as soon as that was
done, there was to be a volley fired, to let the remainder know we had
got possession of the artillery. Piccadilly gate was to be fastened and
chained, and a party stationed there to fire upon the horse if they
attempted to come from the barracks, and then others were to proceed
towards Charing Cross and Westminster Bridge, and barricade there all
the avenues upon that side, to prevent them coming round by Chelsea and
that way, and then young Watson and Thistlewood, after getting
possession of the guns, were to break open all the oil-shops and
gunsmiths'-shops, in which they could find either combustibles or arms.
They were then to blockade Chancery-lane, and Gray's Inn-lane to St.
Giles's, where Thistlewood was to make his grand stand. One gun was to
be pointed up Tottenham Court-road, and the other up Oxford-street.
"Preston, if he had not succeeded in taking the Tower, was to barricade
London Bridge, to prevent the artillery coming from Woolwich. He was
then to barricade Whitechapel, to prevent any troops coming from the
country that way; and then when he had a body sufficient, the main body
was to have met at the Bank.
"After this arrangement had been made, Watson calculated how much
combustibles it would take for every avenue, such as sulphur and spirits
of wine, and how much they would cost. He said they would come to one
hundred pounds. Thistlewood said, 'Let us not spare a hundred pounds;
let us roast them well.' Watson replied, that it would burn so rapidly,
and the stench would be so strong, that it would stifle them in a few
minutes. Young Watson and I were appointed to look after a house between
the King-street and the Portman-street barracks to lodge the arms and
combustibles in. We were to take it as an oil and colour shop, so that
no suspicion should be excited as to our receiving the combustibles. The
attack upon the barracks was to have been made on the Saturday night or
the Sunday morning, between the 9th and 10th of the month, as it was
supposed that at that time there would be a great number of persons
about drunk, and the greater confusion would be produced. It was then
arranged that we should have a committee of Common Safety, to be called
together, if we got the better of the soldiers. If the soldiers joined
us, we were to be called together, and to form a new parliament; the
greatest part of the names of the members were mentioned by Watson and
Thistlewood. These were, Sir Francis Burdett, the Lord Mayor, Lord
Cochrane, Mr. Hunt, Major Cartwright, Gale Jones, Roger O'Connor, Fawkes
of Bainbridge, a person named Brookes, Thompson, of Holborn Hill, the
two Evanses, Watson the elder, and Thistlewood. A proclamation was to be
issued immediately we had got the better, announcing that the new
government would be formed immediately, and offering a bounty of 100_l._
to the soldiers if they would join us, or double pay for life, at their
option. Things being thus far settled, and several meetings having been
held at public-houses in Spitalfields, and other places, it was at
length finally determined to call a public meeting to see how many
people could be collected together. The place talked of was Spafields,
and young Watson and some others left the committee sitting, to go and
inspect the ground. They returned saying that it was a famous place,
being so near the Tower and the Bank that they could get into the town
and take them by surprise. A placard was to be posted through the town
and hand-bills were to be distributed, and the bill having been drawn
up, it was read and agreed to, and it was determined that it should be
published in the "Statesman" newspaper immediately, as the meeting was
to be called on the 15th of November. Thistlewood then produced a 10_l._
note to pay for the printing of the bill, and to pay for the remainder
of the pikes, and I undertook to get a waggon to speak from. We were to
have a flag of three colours, green, red, and white, with the motto,
"Nature, truth, and justice," and I undertook to carry it. I also went
to Paddington to get some navigators to carry about some placards, and
on the following morning I met young Watson at a coffee-shop in
Kingsgate-street, Holborn, to receive the money to fetch away the pikes,
and to buy two mail-bags to put them in. When we went to the printer, he
said that he was afraid of publishing them, for that he feared he might
get into trouble, and that he would destroy 200 of them which he had
finished. His wife and several of us, and a gentleman who was with him,
and another who came in afterwards, all wanted to persuade him to let us
have them, and promised that we should cut his name off so that he
should not get into any harm. He said "No," he would have nothing to do
with them, and that he should destroy them. It was then resolved that
Watson the elder should go to one Seale, a printer in Tottenham
Court-road, to see if he would print the bills, and he returned, and
reported that there would be two hundred and fifty copies ready by eight
o'clock on Wednesday morning. Letters were then written to Sir Francis
Burdett and Mr. Hunt, to invite them to attend the meeting.
"By this time we found it necessary to give up our plan of burning the
barracks in consequence of our having met with more difficulty than was
anticipated in getting possession of the house intended for the
depository of the combustibles, but having obtained a promise from Mr.
Hunt that he would preside at the ensuing meeting, it was settled that
we (the committee) should be on the spot previous to his arrival, and
that the two Watsons and Preston should address the mob, and if we saw
the spirit of the people was ready to act, we were to jump down, and
head them into the town. There were six cockades, and some flags
prepared, and those cockades were to be placed in our hats or bosoms,
and if the mob called out for weapons, we were to tell them that we
should soon find them weapons: for, at that time, there was scarcely a
gunsmith's shop in London which had not been inspected, to see what
number of guns it contained. We were to proceed to the Bank, and take it
by surprise, and to place men upon the roof to destroy the soldiers if
they should attempt to retake it: they were not only to get to the top
of the Bank, but also upon the tops of the surrounding houses, and to
get glass bottles, and everything that would kill or hurt; the whole of
the Bank books were to be brought out, and burnt, in order to do away
with the national debt.
"On the morning of Friday, the 15th of November, which was the day of
the first Spafields' meeting, I went to Thistlewood's lodgings, in
Southampton Buildings, and received the colours and six cockades from
Thistlewood, in the presence of Mrs. Thistlewood and her son, and I went
off to the meeting, carrying the colours in my bosom, and the staff to
fix them on in my hand. When the business of the meeting had commenced,
and Hunt had got on the top of a coach to address the mob, Thistlewood
desired me to hoist the colours; I took them out of my bosom, and tied
them on to the staff, as I stood upon the box of the carriage. A motion
was afterwards made for us to remove to the house, and I then handed
them to some person in the one pair of stairs room. Several speeches
having been addressed to the populace, the meeting was adjourned to the
Monday fortnight; and we got into a hackney-coach to return. I showed
the colours out of the window, and the horses were taken out by the
populace, and we were drawn along, but had not proceeded many yards,
when by some means or other we were run against a wall, and we all got
out.
"Preparations were now made for the second meeting, fixed for the 2nd of
December, and young Watson and I were sent out to collect subscriptions
for defraying the expenses, and also for the purpose of inspecting
gunsmiths' shops, and to see where the arms and ammunition were situated
about the Tower, and amongst the various wharfs and gun wharfs, and the
establishments of those gentlemen who served the ships, such as ship
chandlers, and ship brokers, to ascertain where balls, canister, and
grapeshot might be found, and what quantity there was. We also examined
the oil-shops where there were any combustibles, such as oil,
turpentine, and such things, and regularly reported to the committee
every night what was done.