in arms; that he resisted the King's troops; and that his object in so doing was to overturn the government of the country. He thus excludes himself from the only plea that could possibly now avail him. Evidence for the Crown. John Rennie, a private in the Kilsyth troop of yeomanry.-He accompanied his troop, about the beginning of April, to a place called Bonnymuir, where were collected a number of people in arms, among whom was the prisoner Hardie and others now at the bar. (Here the witness identified them separately.) As soon as the troop was within gun-shot, they commenced firing upon the troops; but they at last succeeded in making them lay down their arms, and in apprehending the prisoners at the bar, whom they took to Stirling-castle. They made a great deal of resistance before they were apprehended; there were several shots fired. James Hardie, Esq., is a magistrate of the county of Lanark; remembers on the first Monday of April last, that his attention was attracted by a crowd at a watchman's box, at the corner of Duke-Street, Gasgow, who were listening to a man who was reading to them a paper aloud; and among the rest was Hardie, the prisoner at the bar. Upon coming to the spot he stopped and offered to pull it down, but Hardie got between him and the watchman's box and pushed him off. He told Hardie he was a magistrate, and that, as it was a most improper paper which they were reading, he must take it down. On this Hardie seized him a second time, and thrust him off, saying, he would lose the last drop of his blood before he would let him take it down; on which he desisted from his attempt. He identifies a paper shewn him to be a copy of what he had read at the watchman's box. Remembers, on the day after seeing this Address posted up, the town was filled with tumultuary crowds from one end to the other, and the people shut their shops about four in the afternoon. On Wednesday he saw a company of men walking through the streets in military order. In Bridgeton he saw about an hundred of these Addresses pasted against the walls. Archibald Buchannan is a changekeeper at Castlecary; remembers a party of men coming to his house about six o'clock in the morning of the first Wednesday of April last. They were 14 in number, and armed with various weapons, as sticks, &c. They called for porter and wine, and some bread; after which Baird asked him if he would take his note for payment of the bill; and, in refusing, he paid him (the witness) 7s. 6d. for what they had eaten and drunk; for which he gave them a receipt, which Baird himself dictated (which was now identified by him); could not identify any of the other prisoners. Alexander Robertson was a spectator of the skirmish which took place between the party at Bonnymuir and the King's troops. The men were sitting on a hill when the cavalry approached; and, on seeing them draw near, they pulled off their hats and waved them in the air, and then ran down to a dike (wall) at the foot of the hill, behind which they posted themselves in a stooping posture, and began to fire on the troops in an irregular manner. Is certain no shot was fired by the cavalry, before the attack was made by these men; could see nothing afterwards but a cloud of smoke. James Russell, farmer in Longcroft, identified a gun which was forcibly carried away by one of a party of men who came to his house upon the first Wednesday of April. James Murray, armourer in Stirlingcastle, identified the boxes containing the arms taken at Bonnymuir, which were delivered into his custody after the engagement, and which he had kept in his possession ever since. William Grindlay identified a pitch fork which had been taken away from his door by a party of men upon the 5th of April. Nicol Hugh Baird, private in the Falkirk troop of yeomanry, was present at the battle of Bonnymuir, and gave an account of it similiar to that above given. Identifies prisoner, the boy Johnston, Hart, and Baird, as part of those who opposed the troops. Thomas Cook, serjeant of the 10th Hussars, met, upon Tuesday, the 4th of April, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, between Kilsyth and Stirling, a party of men armed with pikes, sticks, guns, &c. among which one was the prisoner at the bar. Q. When you came close up to them, what were they doing?-Standing across the road, or on the road ? A. They stood right across the road, in a line. That man (Hardie) was dressing by the left. Q. Do you mean forming them? A. They were formed, and he was dressing them in line. Q. When you came up to them, did you, or they, say any thing to each other? A. Yes. Q. Did you speak first, or they? A. I spoke first-No, I beg yonr pardon, I was within twenty yards of them, and they ordered me to halt. Q. Did you obey them? A. No. I came up to them, and asked them what they wanted with me; and they gave me a reply, that they were seeking for their rights. Q. They did not all speak together? A. No.-One man said they were seeking for their rights, as honest men ought to do. Q. Was it either of those two persons who said that? A. I will not pretend to say that. Q. What reply did you make to that? A. I said I was very sorry for their case-I had nothing at all to do with it-and I hoped they would not molest me. Q. Did they do any thing upon that any of them? 4. They began discoursing of the different things in that way, and they began to say they were seeking for their rights; and I said I was very sorry for their situation; and one of them said, "I suppose you are an orderly; where are your dispatches?” Q. Did they stop you? A. They stopped me, and we had discourse together for five or ten minutes. Q. Did any thing pass about your I suppose there might be from fifty to a hundred. I cannot speak to the number precisely. Q. And so they gave you one?— Did the roll appear to be of the same description of paper as that which they gave to you? A. It appeared to be so; but I did not see any further than seeing the roll. Q. As far as you could judge was it so? and had a glass of spirits; and then I had got out of their shot, about a quar ter of a mile, and I read it. Q. You went to Kilsyth? Q. Who was your commanding of ficer there? A. Lieutenant Davidson's head was out of the window, and I spoke to him. He was the first officer I spoke to. Q. He was at the inn? A. Yes. I said I had a report to A. Yes. Q. Did you put your eyes upon it make to him. immediately, to look at it? A. Yes. Q. What were the first words in it ? I. An Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland, to the best of my knowledge. Q. Did you read the whole of it? Q. Whilst they were with you? Q. Did you read any part of it be sides "An Address to the Inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland," at the time they were with you? A. I took notice of the date of it. A. April the 1st, 1820, was upon it. Q. Do you recollect any other words near that part of it? A. No. Q. Was he your superior officer? A. No.-Lieutenant Hodgson was. Q. What did you do with the paper you received from those persons? A. I gave it to Lieutenant Hodg. son, and Lieutenant Davidson, and they did not read it, but gave it to me again. Q. You were present at the time they had it? A. Yes. Q. And they returned it to you? Q. What did you do with it after that? A. I put it in my pocket, and went with the party towards the place. Q. You went with it in your pocket towards Bonnymuir? A. No; Lieutenant Hodgson asked me for it before we left the place. Q. Did you give it him? A. Yes, I did. Q. Are you quite sure that the paper which you received from the person or persons upon the road, in the way that you have mentioned, was the same paper that you gave to Lieutenant Hodg son, before you reached Bonnymuir? A. Yes. The witness then corroborated the preceding account of the skirmish at Bonnymuir, along with the seizure of the prisoners. A. Yes, I did. Q. At what time might you arrive at Kilsyth? A. About half-past five, I think. Q. Were your horses considerably jaded after the march you had had that night and the day before? A. Yes, they were; we had gone very quick, at least quicker than we generally do. Q. How soon after that was it you received information that induced you to set forward again? A. I should think, about an hour and a half. I am not certain as to the time. Q. Was that information derived from Cook? A. No; first from Mr Baird of the yeomanry. of? A. I think thirty-two; there were sixteen of our own. Q. You went in consequence of the information you received? A. Yes; we went in the direction of Falkirk. This place, or Falkirk, the road is the same at first. Q. Do you remember receiving a paper from Cook again afterwards? A. Yes; on the road I asked him for it, when we had gone about a mile, and I said, "You had better give me that paper." Q. Did you look at it? A. I put it into my pocket, and Q. Did Cook shew you any paper looked at it afterwards. after his coming to Kilsyth? A. Yes, he did. Q. Was Lieutenant Davidson present at the time? A. I think he was; I am almost certain he was. Q. Did you read that paper, or return it? A. I looked at it at the time, and saw the nature of it. I did not read the whole of it; I saw that it was an Address to the people. Q. You did not read it through? Q. What became of you and the party? A. We proceeded towards Falkirk. Q. Describe what took place, and the order of the events, till after the battle of Bonnymuir. A. We got intelligence which way the men who stopped Cook had gone, and were directed to a part of the muir, to which we proceeded, and found the men on the other side of a wall from us; they gave a cheer, and ran down in the direction towards us, to the wall; when we came within gunshot of them, (perhaps fifty or sixty yards,) they fired upon us. Q. What number of shots might be fired? A. I am positive to two or three; there might be more, but two I am sure they fired. We had to go over the muir for half a quarter of a mile, to get to them; and when we came near the wall they fired two or three shots, or perhaps more. Q. Were those shots fired from muskets or pistols? A. It is impossible to say. Q. Did you continue to advance ? A. We continued to advance till we got close to the wall. When we were close to the wall I ordered them to lay down their arms; at the same time, ordered my own party to cease firing, (they had returned the firing,) which they did do; and after ordering them five or six times to lay down their arms, I got round through a little gap there was, to the same side as them. Q. Then upon getting through this. gap, what was done? A. A few of the men had got through, and I presented my pistol at one of the men who appeared to be the ringleader, and it flashed in the pan and did not go off. Q. Were you near him? Q. Just see if he is here now? A. No, I put the pistol to his breast. Q. Was that in return to the same compliment? A. His musket had been presented at me the whole time I was getting round the wall. Q. Do you know whether he pulled the trigger? A. I have been told so since, but I do not know. A Juryman.-Do you mean the man in the brown coat? A. Yes, that is the man. Mr Serjeant Hullock.-After you got through the wall, was any resistance made by them, and in what way? A. They stopped us-they would not allow us to proceed, and we of course charged them immediately, and we had a short skirmish with them, and they dispersed. Q. Were there any shot fired by them afterwards? A. Some shots were fired, but whether by my own party or them, 1 do not know. Q. Did they make any resistance? Q. In what way-as other pikemen do when attacked by horses? A. They resisted us with pikes presented to us. Q. Did any of those pikes come near you? A. I was wounded in the hand, and my horse was killed by one. Q. What part of the horse was struck? A. In the quarter. Q. Did he die on the field, or take you out? A. He took me off the field and did not die till that night. Q. Where was your hand? A. I had a pistol in my hand, I fancy, and I was making it fast. Q. Did it go through? A. It went from this side, (the outside.) |
