brother's statement, and pointed out a pond where he had washed his
hands of the blood of his victim on his way home after the murder. He
also pointed to the opening leading to the spot where the murder was
committed, and saying to the officer, "That's where I killed the poor
boy," added, "He is better off than I am now; do not you think he is,
sir?" an observation to which the constable assented. He afterwards
proceeded to describe more minutely the circumstances attending the
murder. He said that he had met the deceased on his way home, and had
entered into conversation with him. He induced him to enter the wood;
and having taken him through a great many windings, at last sat down
and declared that he had lost himself. The poor boy also sat down and
began to cry, declaring that he did not know his way out; upon which he
threw himself upon him and stabbed him in the throat. He had some
difficulty in finding the money, but at last discovered it in his left
hand, from whence he took it. He said that it consisted of three
half-crowns, a shilling, and a sixpence, and that he had given the two
latter coins to his brother. He added, that he wished that his brother
should see him executed, for he knew he should be hanged, as it might
prove a warning to him.
At the trial the prisoner exhibited the utmost indifference to his fate,
and appeared to entertain no fear for the consequences of his guilt. He
maintained his firmness throughout a most feeling address of the learned
judge, in which he was sentenced to death, but exhibited some emotion
upon his being informed that a part of the sentence was, that his body
should be given over to the surgeons to be dissected.
The hardihood which he had displayed hitherto, however, deserted him
when he entered his cell, and then he wept bitterly. When his mother
visited him on Sunday afternoon, he accused her of being the cause of
bringing him to his "present scrape." On Sunday evening, after the
condemned sermon had been preached by the reverend chaplain, he made a
full confession of his guilt. His statement did not materially differ
from that which was given on the trial; but he added some particulars of
the conduct of his victim before he murdered him, which make the blood
run cold. He said that when he sprang upon Taylor with the knife in his
hand, the poor boy, aware of his murderous intention, fell upon his
knees before him, offered him all the money he had, his knife, his cap,
and whatever else he liked--said he would love him during the whole of
his life, and never tell what had happened to any human being, if he
would spare him. This pathetic appeal was lost on the murderer, and,
without making any answer to it, he struck the knife into his throat.
At half-past eleven o'clock on Monday morning, the solemn peals of the
prison-bell announced the preparations for the execution. After the
operation of pinioning had been completed, the culprit, attended by the
chaplain, walked steadily to the platform. When he appeared there, he
gazed steadily around him; but his eye did not quail, nor was his cheek
blanched. After the rope was adjusted round his neck, he exclaimed in a
firm and loud tone of voice, "Lord have mercy upon us. Pray, good Lord,
have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. All the people before me,
take warning by me!" Having been asked if he had anything further to
say, he repeated the same words, and added, "Lord have mercy upon my
poor soul." At the appointed signal, the bolt was withdrawn, and in a
minute or two the wretched malefactor ceased to exist. The remainder of
his sentence was also carried out, his body being given to the surgeons
of Rochester for dissection.
There were not fewer than eight thousand persons present at his
execution.
RIOTS AT MERTHYR TYDVIL.
These riots, as alarming in their nature as they were distressing and
mischievous in their consequences, occurred at Merthyr Tydvil, in South
Wales, on the 3rd of June, 1831. The district surrounding Merthyr Tydvil
was, at that time, as it is now, densely populated by persons engaged in
the iron manufactories, with which that district abounds; and the
alleged insufficiency of the wages was the immediate cause of the
desperate riot which took place.
The preliminary to this distressing occurrence, it appears, was a
turn-out, or strike, among the workmen; and the alarming manner in which
these men assembled, and the threats which they held out, produced a
well-grounded apprehension that violence might be done both to the
persons and the property of the iron-masters. In order to meet any
attack which might be made, the magistrates assembled at the Castle Inn,
Merthyr Tydvil, for the purpose of devising means to meet and repel the
rioters, and the result was that an application for military assistance
was determined on.
A detachment of the ninety-third regiment, under the command of Major
Folkes, in consequence proceeded into the town, and on the 3rd of June
took up their quarters at the Castle Inn, the chief inn in the town,
where the magistrates still remained assembled in consultation.
By this time, the mob had already exhibited its riotous and unlawful
determination by an attack upon the Court of Requests. This court, it
would appear, had become hateful to them, from its being also the place
where usually offences affecting the relations of master and servant
were adjudicated upon, and they demanded that the books should be given
up to them. This was, of course, refused, as indeed they had been
already removed to a secure place; upon which the mob commenced a most
violent and determined assault upon the building. The residence of Mr.
Coffin, the officer of the court, was also an object of their angry
demonstrations; and the two places having been stripped of their books
and furniture, a fire was immediately made of them in the street, and
they were burned. The lawless and ungovernable character of the
assemblage may be inferred from the fact, that many of them perished in
the flames which they had themselves kindled.
This done, the rioters proceeded at once to the Castle Inn, there to
give fresh proofs of their power and determination. At this time they
exceeded a thousand in number, and they were loud in their demands that
justice should be done them. A deputation was called in to explain their
wants, who respectfully but firmly demanded an increase of wages; but
the magistrates, having earnestly desired them to return to their work,
pointing out to them that it was impossible that they could suffer
themselves to be dictated to by a lawless mob, desired them to retire.
Upon their return to their partisans they communicated what had taken
place, and symptoms were soon observable in the countenances of all
which denoted their determination to proceed to measures even more
violent than any they had hitherto adopted.
They were addressed by several of the iron-masters present at the inn,
both in English and Welsh, but without effect, for they persisted in
their demands for further wages, and declared their intention to
persevere until their desires were acceded to.
At this time there was a guard of soldiers stationed at the door of the
inn, the smallness of whose numbers was remarkably contrasted with the
vast assemblage of the workmen. The weakness of the position of the
military, in case of an attack, was at once seen, and steps were
immediately taken to secure the safety of the post at which they had
fixed themselves. For this purpose three men were ordered to each
window, in front of the building, to be ready with their muskets, in
case of necessity. Renewed efforts to procure the dispersion of the
crowd were then made by Mr. Crawshay and Mr. Guest, and a long parley
took place. No amicable decision was, however, arrived at, and at
length, when it was least expected, a spontaneous rush was made by the
people upon the soldiery, who occupied the door-way and its vicinity,
whose arms appeared to be the object of the attack. The force in the
street was absolutely as nothing against the numbers by whom they were
assailed, and orders were given to the soldiers above to fire.
At this period a scene of dreadful conflict was witnessed. The men in
the windows advanced one by one to the front to fire, and each man,
before he discharged his piece, took deliberate aim at one of the most
violent of the mob, whom he seldom failed to bring down. As each man
fired, he fell back and re-loaded, so that there was a constant
succession of discharges upon the heads of the misguided people in the
street. The personal conflict below, in the mean time, was no less
dreadful. The first person whom the mob had attempted to seize, was a
soldier, whose back was turned to them, and his assailant was a brawny
fellow of upwards of six feet in height. The musket was seized from
behind, but the soldier, no less active than his antagonist, immediately
turned round, still maintaining his hold of his piece, and by a
dexterous twist pushed his opponent from him, and received him, on his
return, on the point of his bayonet, and he fell dead at his feet. The
soldier was at once felled to the ground by a blow from a bludgeon, and
his gun was secured by another of the rioters. At the same moment a
scene almost precisely similar occurred within two yards of the same
spot. A fellow seized hold of a drummer's sword, but immediately had a
bayonet run through his body, and was shot at the same moment. The
muskets, meanwhile, were cracking from every window, and the street was
raked from one end to the other. Many of the rioters penetrated to the
interior of the house, where they committed acts of violence upon the
officers of the regiment, and upon the magistrates, many of whom, in
their efforts to secure these assailants, received severe contusions.
The rioters exhibited a degree of determination which was truly
surprising; and the position of those who were in the inn was at one
time highly critical. The superior discipline of the soldiery, however,
prevailed against their numbers, and at length the neighbourhood was
cleared.
Upon a search being now made, it was found that thirteen of the rioters
lay dead upon the ground; and the mob were seen carrying off many
others, who were believed to be dead or severely wounded. The soldiers
themselves did not escape injury; nearly twenty of them were wounded,
exclusive of Major Folkes, who had received a serious contusion on the
back of the head from a bludgeon. One of the men had had his bayonet
taken from him, and was stabbed in his side, while others were bleeding
profusely from places where they had received blows or wounds from the
people. The bodies which had been found in the street were conveyed to
the stables of the inn--many of them only now parting with the last
quivering remains of existence--there to wait a coroner's inquest; while
those persons who had been secured, and who were wounded, received
immediate surgical assistance.
The danger to the town, however, had not yet altogether ceased. The
rioters having succeeded in escaping from its precincts, ascended the
neighbouring heights, from whence they continued to fire upon the
immediate vicinity of the Castle Inn with much precision. Many of them
had procured fowling-pieces; while others employed the muskets which
they had taken from the soldiery.
It may readily be supposed that an occurrence like this produced a very
great degree of alarm in the vicinity of Merthyr Tydvil; and the
assertion that men were hourly swelling the ranks of the insurgents,
tended to increase the apprehensions which already existed. The
magistrates, with great promptitude, summoned additional military force
to their aid; and by night a body of cavalry, infantry, and militia,
amounting in number to near five hundred men, was at their disposal.
During the whole of the day exaggerated and alarming accounts of the
proceedings of the rioters were brought into the town; and the number of
rioters assembled in the evening was stated to be nearly eight thousand
men, all of whom appeared to be endeavouring to station themselves at
Coedycymer. A large body of troops, both cavalry and infantry, was in
consequence despatched to Penydarren-house to keep them in awe, and
prevent any further acts of mischief in that quarter.
This state of things continued during the whole of that night, but on
the ensuing day a circumstance occurred which is worthy of notice, as
exhibiting the ferocious intentions of these misguided men. Their
head-quarters at this time were at Hirwain; and there two red flags were
hoisted, as typical of their bloody determinations. This, however, was
not significant enough in their opinion; and they actually procured a
basin of calf's blood, in which the flags were soaked, and with which
the standard-bearer's hands and arms were smeared on his appearing at
their head. They were approaching Merthyr Tydvil with this emblem, when,
however, they perceived the increased strength of the military, and
prudently retired until they should procure fresh numbers.
On Sunday the rioters remained perfectly inactive; but on Monday it had
been determined that a general meeting of the working classes should be
held on the Wain Hill, near Dowlais, which was to include all the men
engaged, not only in the local districts, but in the counties of Brecon
and Monmouth, and nearly twenty thousand persons were expected to
assemble.
At an early hour men were seen drawing towards that spot in every
direction; and at ten o'clock it was announced that there were thousands
in the road coming down to Penydarren, armed with bludgeons. The troops,
now consisting of one hundred and ten Highlanders, fifty of the
Glamorganshire Militia, and three hundred Yeomanry Cavalry, under the
command of Colonel Morgan, accompanied by the magistrates, proceeded
[Illustration: _Rioters bathing their standard bearer's hands in
blood._]
to meet them; and at Dowlais the road was found filled with the dense
masses. Mr. Guest ably addressed them, but to no purpose, and the Riot
Act was read; still no disposition to disperse was manifested, but a
determined resistance was shown and maintained. The Highlanders were at
length ordered to level their muskets; but the coolness and forbearance
of all parties allowed the words of command to be given so slowly, that
the consideration of the consequences intervened between them, and the
last word, "Fire!" became unnecessary, to the great satisfaction of all
the gentlemen present. The rioters now gave way, and many returned home.
Some parted on one side, others on another; but the greater part crossed
the hill to the ravine in the Brecon road, where, by regular concert,
all the arms were collected under the most determined and hardened of
the villains; and they were observed from the tower of Cyfarthfa Castle
exercising in line with the sabres and pistols taken from the cavalry,
and with the muskets of the Highlanders and their own fowling-pieces.
This exercising was observed to continue during the whole morning, and
repeated shots were heard fired; and about twelve o'clock a scout who
had been sent out brought intelligence, that two black flags were flying
in the Brecon road--a symbol of the determination of the men who fought
under the banner to conquer or die. Soon after this, a movement was
observed among the rioters, as if they would assume an offensive
position, and every preparation was made to give them such a reception
as would effectually disperse them. Their march was observed, however,
to be hesitating and wavering; numbers flung away their arms and
returned home; and at length the main body became so disheartened that
they fairly took to their heels and disappeared.
During the whole of the remainder of that evening and the next morning,
the magistrates and military were exceedingly active in apprehending
such men as were suspected or were known to have taken part in these
disgraceful proceedings, and fourteen of the worst among them were taken
in their beds. On Wednesday night Richard Lewis, who had led the attack
upon the Castle Inn, was secured. He was found skulking in a wood by two
men, who secured him in a low public-house until they had obtained the
aid of the military, and the prisoner was escorted into the town by a
body of cavalry. His appearance and demeanour were ferocious in the
extreme--in which he differed materially from the other prisoners, of
whom there were now near forty, all of whom admitted their fault, and
ascribed the lamentable bloodshed which had taken place to their own
unjustifiable attack on the military. This expression of feeling on
their part was also sufficiently accorded to by the conduct of their
fellows at liberty, who, without saying one word against the course
which had been taken, buried their dead companions as quickly and as
quietly as possible,--a sure proof that their own consciences convicted
them of lawless violence. Those who had been wounded, exhibited an equal
consciousness of guilt, by abstaining from seeking medical aid, until
pain or inflammation rendered such a step absolutely necessary to save
their lives.
In the course of the week, the greater proportion of these misguided men
who were still at liberty returned to their work; while the cases of
those who were in custody were disposed of by the magistrates. Several
were committed for trial, who appeared to have acted as ringleaders in
this dreadful affair; but the larger number were dealt with summarily,
by the infliction of the penalties of fine or imprisonment, or by their
being held to bail, to be of good behaviour. Many of the muskets and
sabres which had been carried off were restored; but all exhibited the
greatest terror at the guilt in which they had involved themselves, and
apprehensive lest they should be placed in the same position of
difficulty in which their less fortunate companions were thrown.
At inquests held on the bodies of the rioters who had been killed by the
soldiery, the juries returned the invariable verdict of "Justifiable
Homicide;" a sufficient assurance to the country that the steps taken by
the magistracy had been neither uncalled for, nor too violent.
The trials of the prisoners who had been committed for various offences
of which they were alleged to have been guilty during these disturbances
came on at the Cardiff summer assizes, held in the month of July.
The following sentences were passed upon those who were convicted:--
Lewis Lewis and Richard Lewis--Death, without a gleam of hope of mercy.
David Hughes, Thomas Vaughan and David Thomas--Death recorded; the judge
intimating that the sentence would be commuted to transportation for
life.
Eight were sentenced to imprisonment for different periods and hard
labour.
Several other persons, committed to Cardiff jail for having participated
in the riots, were acquitted.
The charge upon which Richard Lewis was convicted, was that of having,
during the scuffle with the military before the Castle Inn, wounded
Donald Black, a private in the ninety-third regiment of Highlanders,
with a bayonet, in the thigh: the wound in this case was never
considered dangerous.
The soldier gave his evidence upon the trial in a very manly and
creditable manner, but could not identify the prisoner as the party who
had used the bayonet. The only evidence of identity was that of a person
who, till the riots, was unacquainted with the prisoner.
The prisoner persisted in a denial of his guilt, and declared that he
would do so with his dying breath,
Lewis Lewis (called Lewis the Huntsman, from his having been a huntsman
to a gentleman of the name of Llewellen, about eleven years before) was
indicted jointly with Hughes, Vaughan, and Thomas, together with three
other persons, and charged with having, on the 2nd of June (the day
preceding the affray near the Castle Inn), stood upon a chest in the
street, opposite the house of a man named Thomas Lewis, and addressed
the mob to the following effect:--"I understand that the mob has taken a
chest of drawers from a widow woman, who had purchased it for two
guineas from the Bailiffs of the Court of Requests, and restored it to
another poor widow, from whom it had been taken in execution. Now I
don't think that is fair, unless she has her two guineas back; and if
you are of my mind, we will go to Thomas Lewis and get it back. All you
that are of my mind, raise up your hands." Upon this, the mob all raised
their hands, and several of them went into Thomas Lewis's house, and
compelled him to deliver up the two guineas which he had received (being
the plaintiff in the execution), to one David Williams, the widow's son.
They also compelled Thomas Lewis to give up several other articles.
During the whole of this time Lewis Lewis remained in the street. Upon
this evidence the Jury found Lewis Lewis, Hughes, Vaughan, and Thomas
Guilty, and acquitted the other prisoners.
It appears that the two guineas thus extorted were restored to the
prosecutor, Thomas Lewis, about a month before the assizes.
Looking at this offence with all its bearings, there seems a much less
degree of moral turpitude in the crime, than that of an ordinary
robbery, committed for the sake of plunder. Here the offender sought no
plunder, but, from a mistaken sense of right and wrong, did that which
he thought justice, by restoring to the widow the money she had paid for
the chest of drawers.
At the conclusion of the trials, John Thomas, of Merthyr Tydvil, who was
employed during the riots as a peace-officer, and who apprehended the
prisoner, when he was committed to jail, was called by the prisoner's
counsel, and was ready to prove, upon oath, that whilst the mob were
assembled before the house of Mr. Coffin, at Merthyr Tydvil, some of
them attacked him (J. Thomas), and violently beat him, and but for the
timely aid of the prisoner, who actually fought in his defence, and in
which he was himself severely beaten, he would, in all probability, have
been killed.
This evidence, however, was declared inadmissible at the trial, although
it was subsequently made the ground of an application for mercy on
behalf of the prisoner.
The circumstances attending the conviction of these unhappy men procured
for them almost universal commiseration, and petitions, signed by many
thousands of persons unconnected with them in any way, were presented to
the crown, with a view to obtain for them a mitigation of punishment.
In the cases of Hughes, Vaughan, and Thomas, in obedience to the
suggestion of the learned judge, an immediate reprieve was granted,
together with a commutation of punishment; and in that of Lewis Lewis,
the huntsman, a respite for a week was at the same time allowed. The
same favour was almost immediately afterwards accorded to Richard Lewis;
but the most painful doubts were entertained as to his ultimate fate.
On Friday, the 5th of August, Lewis Lewis received a reprieve, together
with a notification that his punishment was commuted to transportation
for fourteen years, (an arrangement which was also at the same time made
in the cases of Hughes, Vaughan, and Thomas,) and on the same day a
respite for Richard Lewis for a fortnight was transmitted to the
sheriff.
This postponement of the fatal day was looked upon by most persons as
preparatory only to a commutation of punishment; but this favourable
anticipation was contradicted by its being eventually determined that
the case of the prisoner did not entitle him to any further
consideration.
On the night before the execution, the unhappy convict was urged to make
a confession of his guilt, but he positively denied that he had been in
any way connected with the transaction in which he was alleged to have
been an actor. He continued firm in this declaration up to the time of
his death; and Lewis Lewis, who so narrowly escaped the same fate, and
who was his brother, subsequently confirmed the assertion which he had
made, and stated that he could have given satisfactory evidence of his
brother having been altogether absent from the affray.
The execution took place at Cardiff, on Saturday the 20th of August,
1831.
JOHN HOLLOWAY.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE.
This horrible murder, almost unparalleled in atrocity, was discovered on
Saturday the 13th of August, 1831.