Captain Warrington commenced its proceedings. The charges preferred were
three in number. The first imputed that, on the night of the 30th of
October 1831, being in personal command of a troop of the 3d Dragoons in
the city of Bristol, at the time when the most outrageous and alarming
riots prevailed, although required by Mr. Thomas Kington, a merchant of
the city, who required his aid, and that of the military under his
command, to prevent the firing of the Custom-House, he not only refused
to act, but neglected to inform Colonel Brereton, his superior officer,
of the information he had received.
The second charge imputed, that the following letter from Mr. Charles
Pinney, the mayor, to Colonel Brereton, was delivered to Captain
Warrington, which he read, but neither acted upon it nor forwarded it to
his commanding officer.
"Bristol, Three o'clock Monday Morning, 31st October 1831.
"SIR--I direct you, as commanding officer of his Majesty's troops,
to take the most vigorous, effective, and decisive measures in your
power to quell the existing riot, and prevent further destruction
of property.
"I am, &c.
C. PINNEY."
An hour elapsed with the troops inactive after the letter was delivered,
and in consequence great mischief was done. Several houses were sacked,
and property to a large amount destroyed.
The third charge accused the Captain of neglecting to command his troops
in person, and leaving them to the guidance of a young cornet, only
sixteen months in the service, while he was absent from his quarters or
retired to bed.
The evidence adduced was merely a repetition of those details which had
already become perfectly notorious.
Captain Warrington commenced his defence on Monday the 30th of January,
and, in a clear and manly speech, touched upon all the charges which had
been preferred against him, and in a short narrative endeavoured to
prove that when there was any apparent want of energy, or exertion, on
his part, it arose, not from want of inclination in him, but from the
omission of orders from his superior officer, or the absence of those
magistrates who would have justified his proceeding even without the
commands of Colonel Brereton. With regard to his temporary absence from
his troop, he accounted for it by stating, that he had gone to General
Pearson to ask his advice, and, on his return, was labouring under a fit
of the ague, brought on from being repeatedly exposed to the rain, for
the two preceding days; he retired to change his dress, and when his
personal presence was officially and regularly required, he lost no time
in heading his troop, and assisting in dispersing the rioters. He
adverted to his past services under similar circumstances, and appealed
to these, as well as to his conduct throughout his military career, as
the best refutation of his having intentionally neglected the important
duties imposed upon him. The address seemed to make a deep impression,
and apparently went to remove all serious imputation from him as an
officer and a gentleman. The witnesses called for the defence went to
give the most satisfactory explanation of the course which the gallant
officer had pursued throughout.--The following curious evidence was
given by Major Beckwith, of the 14th Dragoons, on Tuesday:--"I must
relate in what manner I saw the civil and military authorities
co-operating, in order to show to the court the difficulties under which
I saw Captain Warrington acting. On reaching Bristol, on Monday morning
the 31st of October, I immediately went to the Council-house, where I
found the mayor and several magistrates, who appeared to me bewildered
and stupefied with terror. On hearing the state of affairs in the city
of Bristol from those gentlemen, I urged that one or more magistrates
should accompany me on horseback, for the purpose of restoring order.
They all refused to accompany me, saying, it would make them unpopular,
and cause all their property to be destroyed; they also added, that none
of them could ride on horseback; and the one I requested to accompany me
said he had not been on horseback for eighteen years. Seeing, therefore,
that any assistance from the magistrates would be out of the question, I
demanded to receive from them a written authority to take what measures
I deemed expedient. From what I have related, and from what I saw in
another quarter, to which I cannot refer, the impression of my mind was,
that Captain Warrington and the 3rd Dragoon Guards were in a great
measure paralysed by the imbecility and misconduct of those who ought to
have directed them. I have further to state, that during the time I had
a personal opportunity of observing Captain Warrington, he appeared to
me alert, zealous, and desirous of doing his duty."
On the following Thursday, General D'Albiac replied to the defence of
Captain Warrington; and this closed the case.
The decision of the court was not, however, promulgated, in obedience to
the usual course, until it had first been submitted to his Majesty; but
on the 21st of February, it was intimated to Captain Warrington that he
had been found guilty, and was sentenced to be cashiered; but that he
was recommended to mercy, and that his Majesty, having listened to the
recommendation, had been pleased to authorise his disposing of his
commission.
There were yet other persons in authority whose conduct upon this
occasion it was deemed fit should be the subject of a judicial
investigation. Reports unfavourable to the character and demeanour of
the magistracy of Bristol had been circulated; and the necessity of
allaying the irritation of the public mind, as well as of determining
the real extent of blame to be attached to the mayor and aldermen, was
felt too strongly to admit of this final inquisition being omitted. It
was not, however, until Thursday the 25th of October 1832, that the case
came on for trial. It was then brought before the Court of King's Bench,
upon an information preferred against Mr. Charles Pinney, the mayor, and
was decided by a special jury selected from the County of Berks.
The Attorney-General proceeded to state the facts to the jury, and said,
he had no doubt he should be able to adduce evidence to prove that the
defendant had neglected his duty as chief magistrate, and that he was
guilty of the misdemeanour charged in the information.
Mr. John W. Newcombe was the first witness examined. After detailing the
scenes already described, and the inertness of the police, in his
cross-examination he said that he did say, on being applied to, to act
as special constable to protect Sir Charles Wetherell, he would not do
so, but said he would not injure him; and he had repeatedly said since,
that it would have been better had Sir Charles been thrown over the
bridge than that so many lives and so much property should have been
destroyed. A similar feeling seemed to exist with many others, who had
been applied to in a similar manner, and it was evident that the
magistrates found great difficulty to get a sufficient number of persons
to act on that occasion. Several other witnesses were examined, making
out a strong case against the defendant. A good deal of amusement was
excited in court by the description given by one of the witnesses of the
escape of the mayor from the Mansion-house, during the heat of the
attack. The witness said, in his examination, "I saw the mayor in the
larder, on the ground-floor. I believe it is called the larder: it is
the men's water-closet as well, but they hang up meat there (a laugh).
There were three or four female servants with his worship (renewed
laughter). They were making great efforts to get up on the leads--the
female servants and his worship (a laugh). His worship, seeing me, said,
'For God's sake, young man, assist me up.' I stooped down and helped his
worship up, the female servants assisting him behind. (Here the laughter
became so loud that Lord Tenterden found it necessary to censure it in
strong terms as foolish and indecent.) We got the mayor up on the leads,
myself and the female servants, and he got away over the wall."
The inquiry continued until the following Thursday, and then terminated
by a verdict of acquittal.
This, we believe was the last of the proceedings which arose out of
these dreadful riots, if we except those which were carried on by those
persons whose property had suffered damage through the violence of the
mob. The extent of the mischief done could never be properly or
specifically calculated; but its amount could be scarcely computed at
less than 300,000_l._ The injuries done to property, however, were not
those only which were to be regretted. The destruction of the buildings
of the town, splendid and costly as they were, was small in importance
compared with the loss of human life, and the personal violence
sustained by many of those who were engaged in these proceedings. Of
those whose misguided or wicked desires led them into this terrible
fray, who died of the wounds which they sustained, a number scarcely
less than twenty was discovered; and it is reasonable to suppose, that
others also shared a like unhappy fate, whose death accident, or the
design of their friends, concealed from public notice. Many were taken
to the hospitals of the city, gorged with drink, who died from the
combined effects of intoxication and exposure, while others were brought
in at the last gasp, suffering from the effects of the wounds inflicted
by the weapons of the soldiery, or produced by the falling of buildings,
which they had themselves fired or overthrown. Some even yet retained in
their possession the fruits of their rapine, and were found to have
their pockets crammed with money, or other valuables. Of the number who
fell victims to their own temerity, in their anxiety to complete the
hellish work of destruction which they had commenced, and who were
smothered in the falling ruins of burning houses, it is impossible to
form an accurate calculation. They were principally of the very lowest
and most abandoned classes of the people; and their loss was scarcely
discovered, even by their oldest companions and most intimate
associates. The number of wounded was of course much larger, and equally
difficult to be properly estimated. Many, it is true, received surgical
relief on the spot; but still there were great numbers who abstained
from an open admission of their condition, in order to avoid the
probability of those future proceedings, the result of which might have
been more inconvenient than the injuries which they had received.
Hundreds in this way concealed the effects of their own violence; but
their crippled or maimed appearance eventually told too plainly the tale
of their guilt.
With regard to the conduct of the magistracy and the military upon this
occasion, it does not become us to offer any observations. The demeanour
of both was the subject of legal investigation; and the determination
arrived at must be deemed to have been both correct and conclusive. The
want of energy which, it must be admitted, was exhibited, must
nevertheless be the subject of universal and most sincere and painful
regret.
JONATHAN SMITHERS.
EXECUTED FOR ARSON AND MURDER.
On Monday morning, May the 28th, 1832, a fire broke out in the lower
part of the house, No. 398, Oxford-street, in the occupation of Mr.
Jonathan Smithers, a tobacconist, which was attended with very serious
consequences. At about six o'clock the police ascertained the existence
of a conflagration at the lower part of the house, by the sudden issue
of a large quantity of smoke and flame from the shop and house doors,
and from the fan-light over the latter; and proceeding immediately to
the spot, they found Mr. Smithers endeavouring to make his escape into
the street by means of the area, communicating with the kitchen. All his
efforts to gain the footway, and those of the people, who had in a few
moments assembled, to force the railings of the area, however, proved
unavailing, and Mr. Smithers was at length compelled to retire through
the kitchen; and making his way up the stairs, which were on fire, he
succeeded in reaching the shop, from which he rushed into the street,
much burnt about his face and hands, and with his clothes on fire in
many places. The sudden admission of air to the house through the shop
door tended to increase the fury of the flames; and before any alarm
could be conveyed to the inmates, who were asleep within, nearly the
whole of the lower part of the premises was on fire. Mr. Smithers was
immediately conveyed to the Middlesex Hospital, in order that the wounds
which he received might be dressed; and almost before he had quitted the
spot, the lodgers and other remaining occupants of the house had been
made acquainted with their dangerous situation. Their first impulse was
to escape by the stairs; but this they found to be utterly
impracticable; and the scene which soon presented itself to the
by-standers in the street was of the most heart-rending description. At
almost every window were to be seen persons, male and female, bewailing
their dreadful situation, and imploring aid with uplifted hands. The
servant-girl at the third-floor window made signs that she would throw
herself into the street, but was entreated to endeavour to descend to a
lower floor, before she made so hazardous an attempt to save her life.
The cries which were addressed to her prevailed, and she soon appeared
at the second-floor front room, having experienced considerable
difficulty in making her way down the staircase. Several men then ranged
themselves under the window to catch her in her descent; and the girl,
exerting her courage, presently found strength of mind to throw herself
out, and alighted safely in the arms of one of those below. The man was
knocked down, and considerably hurt, but the girl walked away
comparatively uninjured.
But the worst part of our narrative is yet to be related. The second
floor of the house was occupied by an elderly lady, named Twamley, and
her family, consisting of two daughters, Eliza and Caroline, an orphan
boy about eleven years of age, named Farengo, the nephew of the young
ladies, and a Miss Thomasin, their niece. When this family became
sensible of their danger, all hopes of escaping by the staircase had
vanished, and they ran from window to window in a state of mind
bordering on distraction Miss Eliza Twamley held the boy in her arms,
and appeared more alarmed for his safety than her own. Terror-stricken,
she remained at the window, unable to adopt any decisive course, until
at length the flames caught what clothes she had on. The boy seized hold
of the window, but was precipitated to the ground on his head--his aunt
at the same moment appeared to be suffocated by the smoke, and fell back
immediately under the window, a prey to the flames. Mrs. Twamley, it
appears, was seventy years of age, and was in the last stage of chronic
asthma,--unable to get out of bed. Her daughter Caroline heroically
endeavoured to save her from the impending danger: seizing her in her
arms, with strength increased by the frightful nature of her position,
she raised her from the bed, and bore her through the window to some
leads at the rear of the house, from which she hoped to be able to
escape, or at which she thought they might remain until the flames
should be extinguished. Her position was seen by some of the neighbours
living at the back; and they called to her to beware of an abyss which
lay in her path, and which separated the leads of Smithers' house from
others at the rear of some other premises, and that they would rescue
her from her perilous situation. A ladder was procured, and raised
against the place where she stood; but before efficient aid could be
rendered her, overcome by fright, she dropped to the leads below, with
her mother in her arms. The distance which they fell was from twelve to
fourteen feet; and both ladies were materially injured. Mrs. Twamley was
immediately conveyed to a place of safety, where medical aid was
procured; but death put an end to her sufferings after a period of two
hours. Miss Twamley also received such medical assistance as her
injuries required.
The other inmates of the house, whose escape we have not mentioned, were
Miss Thomasin, M. Guissamere, a Frenchman, a Mr. Davis, and Mrs.
Smithers; all of whom succeeded in quitting the house by the back
premises. The engines, during the time occupied by these occurrences,
had reached the spot, and instantly playing upon the burning house,
succeeded in extinguishing the flame, and preventing them from extending
to the adjoining premises, but not until they had completely destroyed
the house in which they had originated, and every article of furniture
and stock which it contained. Immediate search was then made for the
remains of Miss E. Twamley; and they were discovered at the very spot at
which she had been seen to fall, presenting a dreadful and melancholy
spectacle. The arms and feet were entirely burned off, and the
intestines protruded from the body, through some wound which had been
caused by the falling upon her of some rafters. Her remains were
immediately wrapped in blankets, and conveyed to the workhouse.
On the following day, Tuesday, a coroner's inquest was held on the body
of Miss Twamley; and in the course of the inquiry disclosures of a most
painful nature were made, tending to show that the house had been
wilfully set on fire, and that means had been adopted to secure this
object of a nature which left no doubt of the intention of the
incendiary; and, further, that Mr. Smithers was the person to whom
suspicion of guilt of this diabolical act attached. The main points upon
which this suspicion rested were these:--It appeared from the statements
of the various witnesses, that Mr. and Mrs. Smithers had lived for some
time upon bad terms, and that frequent quarrels had taken place between
them upon the subject of some property belonging to the latter, and of
which the former desired to possess himself. On the night of Sunday, the
27th of May, Mr. Davis, the lodger, was let in by Smithers himself at
about twelve o'clock, and he went down to the water-closet, which was
situated at the bottom of the kitchen stairs. He observed a quantity of
shavings about the stairs, and saw that his landlord was engaged in
doing something with the shavings, the precise nature of which he
appeared anxious to conceal. The servant had gone to bed early; and,
contrary to custom, she had been directed to occupy an upper room on the
third floor, instead of her usual apartment (the kitchen), and her
master and mistress had their bed prepared in the back parlour.
Smithers, about ten days before the fire, had purchased two sacks full
of shavings; and these had been deposited, apparently with some object,
in a vaulted cellar at the back of the house, with a quantity of old
baskets and boxes, and other rubbish of the same description. On the day
after the fire, a minute examination of the premises was made by Mr.
Abrahams, a surveyor; and the discoveries which he made at once proved
the fire to have been intentionally caused. He ascertained that the
conflagration had originated at the bottom of the kitchen stairs,
immediately in front of the water-closet, where the remains of burned
shavings were distinctly perceptible. In the back vaults, adjoining the
kitchen, there were even stronger proofs. A species of devil, formed of
gunpowder pressed into a card, was found, communicating by a train to a
heap of shavings at one end, and to a mass of easily ignitable rubbish
at the other. Fire had been communicated to the shavings, which were
placed upon a wooden shelf or dresser; but, in consequence of the
interposition of a piece of greased paper which had been placed among
them--apparently with a view of increasing the volume of flame, but
which, in truth, had had the effect of extinguishing it altogether--the
train of powder was not ignited, and the whole remained, affording
distinct evidence of the act of incendiarism.
These, with other corroborating circumstances, were deemed of so
suspicious a nature, that a verdict of wilful murder was returned by the
coroner's jury, in the case of Miss Twamley, against Mr. Smithers, who
was still in the hospital, and a warrant for his apprehension was
issued.
At an inquest held on the body of Mrs. Twamley, a verdict was returned
that she had died from fright; but the poor boy Farengo subsequently
also died from the injuries which he had received; and in this case also
a verdict of wilful murder was returned.
On Tuesday, the 12th of June, Smithers was removed to Newgate to await
his trial upon the charge upon which he was already in custody, from
Middlesex Hospital, where he had been confined by the injuries which he
had received.
On Friday, the 6th of July, he was put upon his trial upon an indictment
charging him with the murder of Miss Eliza Twamley, and of the boy
Charles Richard Napoleon Farengo. The facts which had been disclosed
before the coroner were again proved in evidence; and, after a lengthy
inquiry, a verdict of "Guilty" was returned at two o'clock in the
morning. Sentence of death was immediately pronounced upon the wretched
man, and he was ordered for execution on the following Monday.
Upon his being conveyed to his cell after his conviction, he was
repeatedly urged to confess the justice of the result of the trial, but
he steadily persevered in avoiding giving any direct answer to the
question; and although he never asserted his innocence of the crime, he
could not be prevailed upon to make a confession. His demeanour
throughout the trying scene of his receiving sentence, and from that
time up to the period of his execution, was remarkable for the extreme
coolness which it displayed. On Sunday his wife had her last interview
with him, and although their meeting was of an affecting nature, the
feelings of neither party appeared to be so much worked upon as is
common upon such occasions. The wretched man conversed with her freely,
and declared that from his boyhood he had always thought that he should
die upon the scaffold. He had conceived the idea while playing with
other boys in a churchyard, and it had never forsaken him.
His wife left him at an early hour, and he employed the remainder of his
time in religious exercises and conversations with the ordinary. Before
he retired to rest, he wrote a short letter to his wife; he appeared now
deeply affected, but when it was concluded he became more composed, and
declared himself to be quite comfortable. He took a great deal of rest
during the night, but rose at an early hour to be ready to receive the
attendant minister. At a few minutes before eight o'clock he was
conducted to the press-room to be pinioned. His demeanour in the course
of this trying scene was wild and hysterical; but as his last moments
approached, he prayed with much composure. At eight o'clock he was
carried to the scaffold, and there expiated his crimes.
Smithers, it appears, had carried on business for a considerable period
in the shop in Oxford-street. He was insured for nearly 700_l._, which
may in some degree account for his being guilty of the diabolical crime
of which he was convicted. Miss Twamley, the victim of his foul
machinations, had been a dancer at Covent Garden Theatre, and was a fine
young woman. Her nephew, who was also killed, was the son of a deceased
married sister. Miss Caroline Twamley was visited during a long illness,
which succeeded the dreadful events which we have detailed, by many
persons of distinction, who took a kind and generous interest in her
welfare.
The prosecution of Smithers was carried on at the expense of the parish
of St. Ann, Westminster. His execution took place on Monday, the 9th of
July 1832.
JAMES COOK.
EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF MR. PAAS.
This diabolical murder of which Cook was guilty, attracted a very
considerable portion of the public attention.