703. The whole Proceedings on the Trial of JAMES INGS, for High Treason, before the Court holden under a Special Commission, for the Trial of certain Offences therein mentioned, on the 21st and 22nd days of April: 1 GEO. IV. A. D. 1820.* SESSIONS HOUSE, OLD BAILEY, FRIDAY, APRIL 21st, 1820. The Right Hon. Lord Chief Justice Dallas. And others his Majesty's Justices, &c. The Jury panel was called over, commencing with No. 108. Charles Farmer, hardwareman, sworn. Christopher Dowson, ship-builder, challenged by the prisoner. William James Farmer, baker, challenged by the prisoner. David Newman, farmer, challenged by the Crown. George Smith, japanner, sworn. George Thorp, clockcase-maker, challenged by the Crown. Henry Seaborn, cooper, excused on account of illness. Francis Sherborn, esq. and farmer, challenged by the prisoner. Edward Simpson, shipwright, challenged by the prisoner. William Davies, shopkeeper challenged by the Crown. Richard Franks, esq. and silk-mercer, challenged by the prisoner. Thomas Langley, ship-chandler, challenged by the Crown. George Priest, esq. challenged by the prisoner. Samuel Wilson, gentleman and merchant, challenged by the prisoner. William Moore, bricklayer, sworn. Alfred Batson, esq. and porter-dealer, challeng- John Woodward, gentleman, challenged by the prisoner. See the preceding and following Cases. Edward Cherill, jeweller, challenged by the prisoner. John Mayne, gentleman, challenged by the prisoner. David Pain, esq. challenged by the prisoner. Richard Tucker, cheesemonger, challenged by the prisoner. Thomas Beachamp, farmer, sworn. Robert Ceeley, rigger, challenged by the pri soner. Thomas Fagg, esq. and coachmaster, challenged by the Crown. Matthew Belcher, vintner, challenged by the Crown. Benjamin Watson, gentleman, challenged by the prisoner. George Burrows, silversmith, fined for non-attendance, fine afterwards remitted on his appearance, and swearing he had been prevented being in time by indisposition. Edward Ellis, gentleman and stock-broker, challenged by the prisoner. Benjamin Blyth, organ-builder, sworn. William Clare, feather-dresser, challenged by John Jackson, glass-cutter, challenged by the the prisoner. prisoner. John Beck, gentleman and seedsman, sworn. Felix Booth, esq. and distiller, challenged by the prisoner. Charles Benham, market gardener, challenged Thomas Robins, silversmith, challenged by the by the Crown. Crown. John Ray, gentleman, excused on account of the indisposition of a child in a dangerous state. Francis Dorrill, esq. challenged by the prisoner, William Percy, plasterer, sworn. John George Holmden, fuse-cutter, challenged by the prisoner. Archibald Ritchey, stone-mason, challenged by the Crown. John King, gentleman, challenged by the Crown. Charles Elton Prescott, esq. challenged by the prisoner. Benjamin Rogers, farmer, sworn. for non-attendance. George Fox, sawyer, challenged by the Crown. William Acock, plumber, challenged by the Crown. Edward Cuel, carpenter, challenged by the Crown. George Golding, surveyor, challenged by the prisoner. Robert Roberts, oilman, challenged by the Crown. William Bound, founder, challenged by the Crown. Charles Page, esq. and merchant, challenged by the prisoner. William Cole, farmer, challenged by the prisoner. John Lewis, watchmaker, challenged by the Crown. Edward Flower, esq. schoolmaster, challenged by the prisoner. John Balm, gentleman and tallow-chandler, challenged by the Crown. John Young, gentleman and scalemaker, sworn. The Jury were charged with the prisoner in the usual form. THE Indictment was opened by Mr. Bolland. Mr. Solicitor General.-Gentlemen of the jury; It is my duty to state this case on the part of the prosecution, and I am sure, knowing whom I now have the honour of addressing, that it is unnecessary for me to request your serious and patient attention to the particulars which I am about to detail; you must feel that you owe it to yourselves; you must feel that you owe it to the public justice of the country; you must feel in a particular manner that you owe it to the prisoner himself who now stands before you for his deliver ance. Gentlemen, there is a circumstance to which in justice to the prisoner, it is my duty to advert. I should not have alluded to it if it must not of necessity have already come to your knowledge-I mean the conviction that has already taken place. I entreat and conjure you that you will not suffer that conviction at all to operate upon your minds, to the prejudice of the prisoner who now stands before you. You are to decide upon this case according to the impression which the evidence shall make upon your own minds; and you are not to be influenced by an impression which evidence that has already been heard may have made upon the minds of other men. You are to come to the consideration of this question totally divested of all previous prejudices and impressions, and you are to decide this case impartially, according to the evidence as it shall be given upon oath before you against the prisoner at the bar. With respect to the law, as applicable to this subject, it will not be necessary for me to trouble you with a single observation. No doubt can be entertained upon it. No question has hitherto been raised in the course of these inquiries with respect to the law. The charge against the prisoner at the bar, divested of every thing that is technical, is shortly and simply this; that he has conspired with other men, whose names will be mentioned in the course of these proceedings, to overturn by force and violence the laws and constitution of the country. This, though stated in technical language upon the record, is the substance of the charge against the prisoner at the bar. The object at which the parties aimed was to be effected by means of an extensive plan of assassination; it was to be effected also by other means to which I shall presently have occasion to direct your attention. In this stage of the prosecution, all that I have to do is, in a plain and simple manner, carefully abstaining from all exaggeration, to state to you the facts that will be detailed in evidence in support of this charge. I shall state them as I now know they will be proved, without distorting a single fact or circumstance to the prejudice of the prisoner at the bar. We are all interested in the fair and impartial administration of justice; no motives arising out of any particular circumstances can possibly operate upon the mind of a person standing in the situation in which I am now placed to lead him to forget his duty. The fair, impartial, and upright administration of justice is that upon which we justly pride ourselves; it is the best gift we enjoy under the laws and constitution of our country. The prisoner at the bar, with a person of the name of Thistlewood, a person of the name of Davidson, another of the name of Brunt, a person of the name of Wilson, and several others who will be mentioned in the course of this inquiry, held, in the early part of the year, secret meetings and consultations at a place known by the name or sign of the White Hart, in Brook's-market. Those consultations were held in a back room in a yard belonging to that public-house. I shall not trouble you by stating what took place at those meetings, because, after they had been held in that place for a short period of time, for some reason to which it is unnecessary that I should direct your attention, they left that place, and held their meetings in another situation to which I am now about to advert. One of the prisoners, a man of the name of Brunt, who is a shoemaker by trade, lived in a place called Fox-court, in Gray's-inn-lane; he occupied two apartments in the front of the house; there was in the back of the house, upon the same floor, another unfurnished room, and that room was hired for the purpose of continuing those meetings which had been formerly held at the White Hart. The prisoner at the bar and Brunt, in conjunction, hired the apartment. This took place about tion, arms of various description were procured. It is unnecessary for me to particularize the whole of them, but I shall direct your attention to one or two descriptions of weapons. Independently of swords and pistols and a great number of pikes, there were, collected, for this purpose, a number of hand-grenades. These were collected chiefly by the prisoner Davidson: they were formed, each of them, of a tin box filled with about a quarter of a pound of gunpowder; a fuse communicated with the interior; large pieces of iron were placed round the box, and the whole was secured with cord, and afterwards dipped into pitch and tar, and cemented strongly together. Those grenades were intended, in the first instance, to be thrown into the house where the ministers were assembled at dinner: and they were also to be made use of for the purpose of aiding in the further projects which the parties had in view. Another description of instrument, prepared for the occasion, were fire-balls, which were called by them illumination-balls, to be made use of by the party, under the direction of Palin, in setting fire to different buildings in the metropolis. These preparations went on for a considerable period of time. As the instruments of destruction which I have thus described were successively prepared, they were brought to the place in Fox-court for inspection, and they were afterwards transferred from that place to what was called the dépôt, the lodgings of one of the conspirators, a man of the name of Tidd, who lived in a place called Hole-in-the-wall-passage, near Brook's-market. the middle of the month of January, and from | that period to Wednesday the 23rd of February, to which your attention will often be called in the course of this inquiry, those meetings were held always once, and frequently twice a day, by the persons whom I have mentioned, all of them, except Thistlewood, being in humble situations of life, journeymen mechanics-Thistlewood himself was in a more elevated situation, having formerly, I believe, held a commission in his majesty's service. The object of those meetings was, to form a plan for overturning the government of the country; and the plan which was form ed, which will be proved to you in the most distinct manner by the evidence I shall lay before you, was of this nature. In the first place it was proposed, that when an opportunity offered, all his majesty's ministers, being assembled at a cabinet dinner, which is usually held about once a week during the meeting of parliament, should be assassinated. It was proposed that arms should be provided for that purpose, which I will by and by describe. About thirty or forty persons were considered as sufficient for the accomplishment of this object, and it was arranged that on knocking at the door, under pretence of delivering a letter, a party armed with swords, pistols, and hand-grenades, should rush into the room where those persons were assembled at dinner, and that they should be all destroyed. Another party was to watch the stair-case, to prevent any assistance from the servants; a third, the area, and other persons were to take care that no interruption should occur to the execution of this project from persons without. The plan which had been thus formed, beThis was a part of the general plan. It was fore it was completely matured and ready for thought the blow would create such an im- execution, was suspended by the death of the pression, in striking off all the first authorities king. In consequence of that event the cain the country, that it would afford an oppor- binet dinners were discontinued, and it became tunity for carrying into complete effect the therefore impossible to execute the project at other projects of the conspirators. One of the period when it was originally intended, these projects was, to set fire to various parts and you will find these parties were continually of the town, and a party to be headed by a expressing their disappointment at the delay. person of the name of Palin (who was one of They became at last so impatient, that, on Sathe association) was to execute that project. turday the 19th of February, they determined Another project was, to take possession of some to consider whether some other plan, if not so pieces of cannon stationed in the Artillery- effectual, at least to a degree effectual for the ground. The party to carry into effect that accomplishment of the purpose they had in part of the plan was to be headed by a person view, might not be substituted for it; and of the name of Cook. A fourth party was to accordingly they determined, that on the foltake possession of two pieces of artillery sta-lowing day, Sunday, in the forenoon, a comtioned in Gray's-inn-lane, It is necessary for me to inform you that all the persons whose assistance was to be collected on this occasion were not to be let into the whole history and contrivance of this plot. The secret was confined to those who were in the habit of assembling in Fox-court; but they had associates without, who understood that a plan was going on; that something was in preparation to which they were to lend their assistance, when it was ripe for execution, and that when ripe for execution, the particulars were to be communicated to them. For the purpose of carrying this into execu- mittee should be appointed for the purpose of considering what measures should be taken, it was then considered that there was no immediate prospect of all the ministers meeting together, so as to enable them to attempt the enterprise which had been contemplated. On the Sunday, they accordingly met together, and formed themselves into a committee; and Thistlewood, who undoubtedly was the leader and framer of the whole plan, proposed that as it was probable they might be able to collect about forty men for the purpose of executing what was denominated the west-endjob, forty determined persons calculated for 3 Q an enterprise of that kind should divide themselves into four parties, for the purpose of putting to death, at the same time, four of those who were considered the leading members of the cabinet, This plan was agitated, proposed, considered, and at last resolved upon. It was determined that all the rest of the project should be carried into effect, as it had been originally intended; but that instead of striking the blow at all his majesty's ministers, as circumstances did not permit that to be carried into effect, they would confine themselves with the means they possessed to the taking off four of the leading members of the cabinet, whose names will be mentioned to you in the course of the evidence. The prisoner at the bar expressed a hope that he should be of the party destined to put to death my lord Castlereagh, and he exclaimed, "It will not be necessary to draw lots for the purpose of knowing who shall be the individual to put him to death, for I am ready to do that with my own hand." After this resolution was adopted, the parties separated, and it was understood, that if on the following Wednesday (which was the day on which the cabinet dinners were usually given) there should be no opportunity of striking the great blow, then the plan should be carried into effect in the manner I have now stated. They met again on the Monday, and also on the Tuesday morning. In the mean time the king's funeral had taken place, and as a proper interval had elapsed, it was considered that those dinners might again be renewed; and in the latter end of the preceding week, either on the Friday or on the Saturday, cards of invitation had been issued by the desire of lord Harrowby, requesting the attendance of the cabinet ministers at a dinner to be given at his house, on Wednesday the 23rd. You are aware that these dinners are usually announced in the public papers, and particularly in the papers which are supposed to be in the interest of Government. The court reporter sent the account of the invitation to the New Times, and it appeared in that paper on the morning of Tuesday the 22nd instant. These conspirators were assembled on that morning, at their place of rendezvous, in Fox-court. It was mentioned that a dinner was to be held on the following day, and that it was advertised in the newspapers. A newspaper was sent for, the paragraph was read, and the utmost exultation was expressed (in terms so gross that I do not choose to repeat them) by the prisoner now on his trial. Every thing was immediately in a bustle, and they determined to go round to their different associates, to get them in readiness, to carry into effect the enterprise on the following night. I should state to you that they did not consider that the room in Fox-court would be a convenient spot, from whence to issue to the execution of their project. They were exposed there to a good deal of observation, and it was at too remote a distance from the spot where the blow was to be struck. In order, therefore, to carry on their design with more facility, they had hired premises in an obscure street, called Cato-street, near the Edgwareroad; a street through which there is no passage for carriages. Premises consisting of a small stable, a cart-house, a loft, and two rooms communicating with the loft, were hired for the purpose of carrying the plot into effect, from a person of the name of Firth, by Harrison, one of the parties most active in the conspiracy; and it was determined that on the following evening, about six or seven o'clock, armed in the manner necessary for accomplishing their object, they should assemble at these premises in Cato-street. When this project was thus nearly ripe for execution, it was conceived that they might, with the less danger, communicate the particulars of it for the purpose of getting additional assistance; and accordingly a communication upon the subject was made by one of the conspirators, Wilson, to a person of the name of Hiden, a milkman, living in the neighbourhood of Manchester-square. Wilson told him that there was a design to overturn the government of the country: he told him that this was to be effected by means of assassinating his majesty's ministers, who were to dine on the following day at lord Harrowby's; and that there were parties who were to take possession of the artillery in Gray's-inn-lane, and in the city, and another party to set fire to the town, in different parts, for the purpose of producing general confusion and disorder; and as the labouring classes of the people were supposed to be disaffected to the government of the country, that it was hoped a general rising would take place, and that a force would be collected sufficient to set at defiance the remaining authorities of government. When this communication was made to Hiden, he listened to it with astonishment; and when required to join in it, he immediately assented, because he felt that when such a proposition was made to him by persons capable of forming such a plan, if he should refuse his assent to it, his own personal security would be endangered. He promised, therefore, to meet the conspirators, said he would bring such accession of force as was in his power, and after this communication was made, returned to his own home. He then began to reflect seriously upon the nature of this diabolical project; he turned in his mind what course he should pursue, and he immediately sat down and wrote a letter to my lord Castlereagh, communicating the particulars of the plan. With this letter he proceeded to St. James's-square, afraid to knock at the door of my lord Castlereagh, lest he should be observed, but remaining in the neighbourhood for the purpose of seeing his lordship in the street, of delivering to him this letter, and of making the important disclosure. No opportunity of carrying this design into effect occurred, and he then proceeded from St. James's-square to Grosvenor-square, where my lord Harrowby resides, for the purpose of endeavouring to make a communication to that nobleman. Fortunately my lord Harrowby went out to ride unaccompanied by a servant; Hiden stationed himself at Grosvenor-gate, and waited his return. This occurred about two o'clock on the Tuesday. He told his lordship that the letter contained information of a most important nature, and requested his lordship to take care that it should be instantly delivered to lord Castlereagh. Lord Harrowby asked whether he had given his name and address in the letter; he said he had not, but he immediately delivered a card to his lordship; and the moment this communication was made to government, of course every step was taken at the police offices for the purpose of counteracting the design, and securing the conspirators, when they should assemble the next night in Cato-street for the accomplishment of their object. At about two o'clock on the following day, many of the parties assembled in Fox-court, for the purpose of finally equipping themselves for their enterprise, and, among others, the prisoner at the bar. Thistlewood came in, and seeing them thus engaged, used some words of encouragement, and said, "we must write a proclamation." Brunt, who lived in the front room, sent out his boy for some sheets of cartridge paper; six sheets were produced, and Thistlewood sat down and wrote three copies of a proclamation in these terms:"Your tyrants are no more:-the friends of liberty are requested to come forward, as the provisional government is now sitting"-sign ed "J. Ings, secretary."—It was intended that these proclamations should be posted up in the neighbourhood of the places where the fires were lighted, that they might be seen by the persons there assembled, and might add to the general alarm; and, gentlemen, what would have been the state of the metropolis at that moment, supposing, at nearly the hour of midnight, it had been circulated through this extensive city, that every one of his majesty's ministers had been cut off by assassins; that the town was set on fire in different places; and, in addition to all this, that artillery was moving from different points towards the city; and that a provisional government consisting of unknown persons, and therefore, perhaps, the more terrific and alarming, was actually installed and substituted in lieu of the legitimate government of the empire ;-what would have been the state of agitation, alarm, tumult, and disorder in the metropolis, if such an event had taken place? After this the prisoner prepared himself for the purpose of proceeding to the place of rendezvous, with pistols in his belt, a sword, two bags or haversacks over his shoulders, and a butcher's knife (for he is by trade a butcher) which he produced to the party, with the handle wound round with wax end, which he had so secured in order that he might have the firmer hold. He was resolved, he said, to take off the heads of two of the ministers who will be mentioned, and to expose them for the purpose of exciting the people to insurrection. Such was the language of the prisoner, miscalculating extremely the feelings of the people of this country, if he supposed they could be excited to insurrection by assassination and murder; for, if any thing were wanting to have deterred them from engaging in such an enterprise, it would be sufficient that it had been commenced by assassination-a crime foreign to the character of Englishmen, and which I hope and trust will ever remain alien to their feelings and habits. After the prisoner had thus prepared himself, the conspirators by degrees went off for the purpose of assembling themselves in Catostreet. They met there at about six o'clock. When they arrived, their numbers amounted only to about twenty; fewer than they had calculated upon, for it was supposed that from thirty to forty was the number that would have assembled at that meeting. For some little time, there was a suspicion and a jealousy in the meeting, in consequence of the nonappearance of Tidd: they were surprised that he had not come, and became alarmed and agitated. But Brunt, who knew him well, stepped forward at this juncture, and said he would answer for Tidd that he would not forsake the cause. Shortly afterwards, Tidd, accompanied by a person of the name of Monument, whom we shall call as witness, entered the room. Still there were many of the persons present who, looking round, and calculating their force, and at the same time considering the object to which it was to be directed, felt that it was inadequate to the purpose. They betrayed symptoms of uneasiness and doubt. Thistlewood, who saw what was going on, and who was apprehensive lest the scheme should be abandoned, said they were too far advanced to recede; that if it was now given up, it would be another Despard's job; and begged them not to abandon the cause. Their numbers, he said, were abundantly sufficient: "we shall take them by surprise; though they may have many servants, they will be unarmed: we are now five and twenty, fourteen will be sufficient to enter the room, and the rest may guard the entrance." Brunt, who was always eager and zealous in the cause, then stepped forward, and said, "I presume those who betray alarm are not aware of the instruments we have prepared," and he then pointed to a grenade of very large construction, intended to be thrown into the room, and which would at once have effected the destruction of all the persons there assembled. Ings, the prisoner at the bar, also declared that if they did not proceed to the accomplishment of the object, he would either hang himself or cut his throat immediately. After this scene, it was put to the vote whether they should proceed, and they were unanimous in their |