rated she meant he was frequently rising in his sleep, calling on some name in his sleep, which she did not recollect. When he was in a passion with her, he made the threats she had spoken of. In consequence of his threats she had left him. He made her a present of a pair of ear-rings and a shawl, and 15s. in money. He said that the shawl belonged to a young lady whom he had brought with him from France. After this she was with him several nights occasionally; but the same agitation still continued in his sleep. She returned to him because he gave her the shawl and ear-rings, and because he said he could not sleep by himself. The last night she slept with him was the night. before he was taken up. He told her that the reason of his alarm was, that he had killed two men and a woman; the men in a duel. He told her that he could tell her a secret, but she was not to revulge it. She promised that she would not: he begged her never to mention it again, because he did not like to it, but he would not tell her the reasons.

Cross-examined.-She had been 12 months at Portsmouth. Her father and mother live at Wickham. She lives in a private house in Red Lionyard, kept for women of her class; she has not been more than one year in her unfortunate condition. When she first knew the prisoner, she said he lived at Southsea, and introduced himself by the name of Watson. He brought a girl back with him from Havre-de-Grace; she never quarreled about it with him. She never said, “D—n you, I'll be revenged of you." He never accused her of robbing him. She heard from some other persons that he had; and he went with her to them about it. She had never been before any justice at Portsmouth un

til the time prisoner was examined. She had advised him not to drink, but not because it affected him in his sleep. He went oftener to the theatre after he returned from London than he did before; he went into the upper boxes; she only went with him there once.

No evidence was called for the prisoner, and he merely in his defence told a desultory story, endeavouring to account for his having got the money, and for the manner in which he had spent his time during his absence from Portsmouth.

Mr Baron Wood then summed up the evidence with great care and impartiality.

The Jury deliberated about ten minutes, and returned a verdict of Guilty.

The Judge then pronounced the sentence of the law in the usual manner, ordering him for execution on Monday next.

Immediately after the sentence was concluded, the prisoner said to the Court-" The laws of my country have found me guilty of murder, but I am not guilty of it; the man who committed it is now in this town."

He was then removed from the bar, which he left in tears.

Nesbett has the appearance of a good-looking man of the sea-faring class. His countenance is determi ned, but betrays no marks of ferocity. During the trial he exhibited, in general, great firmness, we might almost say great hardihood, except when allusion was made to his father or his children. While the woman with whom he cohabited, was under examination, his agitation was extreme, but of a different description. Heevinced great self-possession while the sentence was pronouncing, but it deserted him before he left the bar.

TRIAL OF SOLDIERS FOR MURDER, BY FIRING FROM A WINDOW AT GREEN

оск.

High Court of Justiciary, Nov. 7.

THE Court proceeded to the trial of Robert Surrage, John Dempsey, John Beck, Joseph Elliot, Malachi Clinton, and Patrick Lynch, accused of having, on the night of the 30th of July last, fired several shots from the window of a room in the house of Francis Quin, in Shannon's close, Greenock, at several persons then in the close, and by which shots Robert Simpson and Henry Pearson, watch men in Greenock, and Archibald Morrison, sailor in Greenock, were mortally wounded, and died a few hours after.

The panels pled Not Guilty to the crimes libelled.

The Lord Advocate passed from the charges against Clinton, and he was accordingly dismissed simpliciter from the bar. He was taken out of Court, in order to be examined in exculpation.

Muter Mitchell, a boy about 15 or 16 years, lives in Greenock. He went out one evening last summer to look for his brother, who had newly arrived from the West Indies. Heard a noise at the foot of the Highland close, opposite to Shannon's close, both of which enter from the Laigh Street. Saw a tall soldier there calling upon the best of the blue-jackets to turn out, and he would fight them. There were about five or six soldiers present, and about a dozen tradesmen or sailors in jackets. The sailors were all wanting to make peace, and not to fight. Saw a soldier with a bayonet concealed under his jacket, which the women wished to take from him, but he held it up over his head. A sailor came up with a pair of water stoups,

who asked the soldiers to go with him and get some spirits, and not to stand wrangling there. One of the soldiers said, "Come along, shipmate," and they all went down Shannon's close. Witness looked down the close, and in a very little time a quarrel began, when he saw one of the soldiers knock down a sailor with a water stoup. The soldiers went into the house, and the sailor, on getting up, went also into the house, when the door was shut. Heard the people who had collected say, they were killing some person in the inside. The people then began to break the doors and windows, in order to get in. Witness ran up the close to be out of the way, and had stood at the head of it but a very short time when he heard a soldier call "Fire!" and then a gun went off; on which the people called out, there was a lad shot, and shortly after saw him carried up the close by some persons. Understood his name was Morrison. When standing at the head of the close, witness heard several other shots fired from a window, which was in the garret of Quin's house. Saw an old woman running, calling for the guard; who, when they came, said to those who were in the house, " Halt, halt." The soldiers who fired desired them to take away the people in the close, which the guard did. After the guard went away, the soldiers continued firing from the same window. The crowd remained standing at the foot of the close, when a man came out from the crowd and spoke up to the soldiers at the window, when a shot was fired and the man fell. He saw the gun out of the window, and heard the voice of the same man who wanted to fight with the sailors. A girl came out of a house from the opposite side of the close, who asked to be allowed to take away the body; and she pulled him into the house. When the guard came the second

time, the people went down along with them to the house, and witness saw the man who was shot. Some of the guard went into the house from whence the firing had proceeded, and took away three soldiers: they afterwards came back and took away more prisoners, but does not know how many. The soldiers, at the time witness saw them, did not appear as if drunk. When the guard took away the three, they appeared to be beastly drunk. Witness saw a man taken from under a bed in Cochrane's house, which is immediately below the garret from whence the firing proceeded; the man was all covered with blood. Cannot swear now which of the prisoners is the person who offered to fight, and who called out of the window. Saw him, the day after, in the jail, when he was all cut. Witness pointed out Lynch as the person who had the bayonet, but was not positive. Cross-examined.-When the soldiers went down the close, they seemed all willing to make peace; and when the soldier knocked the sailor down with the stoup, there commenced a sort of general fight between the people and the soldiers.

By the Lord Justice-Clerk.-Saw no stones thrown at the house from whence the firing came; neither did he see any stones thrown at any time that night.

Similar testimony was given by John M'Knight, cloth merchant; William Gowans, grocer; John M'Farlane, shipmaster, and several other witnesses.

Robert Robertson resided in Greenock when the affray happened there in July, and saw a fighting going on in Shannon's close. A soldier asked him to fight, but he would not, and advised them to go home. Was knock ed down, and dragged into Cochrane's house, and was again knocked down,

and became insensible. This was about 12 o'clock.

Alexander Cochrane, fisher in Greenock, lives in the house below Quin. On the 30th of July, Dempsey got two half mutchkins of whisky that afternoon, to treat four of his companions. Heard a disturbance in the street late in the evening, and some soldiers came to his door, and demanded to get into their lodgings. At that time the crowd was great, and making a noise. He admitted the soldiers, and a young man, named Robertson, came in along with them. One of the soldiers struck Robertson with a candlestick, while two of them held him. Witness took Robertson into the kitchen, and the soldiers went up stairs. The crowd on the outside broke his window-shutters; and it was so great, that he could not get out at the door, but went out by a window for the guard. Heard a shot fired; and, before he got out by the window, another was fired. When coming with the guard, heard several shots fired. The streets being cleared, he got into his house, and went up to the room where the soldiers were, and told them they were firing upon their own guard. There were three men in the room; two of them were at the window, and a musket was on each side of it, the other man standing behind. Dempsey was one of the men who was at the window, and had a musket in his hand. Witness did not know the others. A soldier was lying on a bed, and another was in a room in the house getting a wound cleaned. When witness told them that they were firing on their guard, Dempsey said, he would blow his brains out for bringing them. After the guard came to the house, there were three shots fired.

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Cross-examined. At the time when he opened the door to let the

soldiers in, they were all bloody; and the crowd on the outside were calling out, that they would have the bloody souls of the soldiers. The window where the soldiers fired from was all broken. During the time Surrage and Dempsey lodged in Quin's house they were quiet and peaceable. No firing took place till the window where the soldiers were was knocked in, and, as he thought, the shutters from his window were forced off, and thrown in at it. Saw the window next day, the panes of which were broken, and part of the casement. The soldiers got from him that day ten half mutchkins of whisky. Several of them were very drunk. Dempsey did not appear much the worse of liquor.

William M'Lurg, serjeant in the 13th regiment, remembers a man and a woman coming to the guard-house for the guard to go to Shannon's close. Went down with four men. Having heard firing, he returned with the men for their fire-arms, and brought with him six men. When he came down, he saw Surrage and Dempsey leaning out of the window of their lodging. They asked who went there; when he answered, the serjeant of the guard. Dempsey told him to stand back: he said, "Don't fire, as it is the guard." They had both their muskets in their hands; and Dempsey presented his firelock at witness and cocked it, when one of the guard struck the musket aside, when it went off. They said, if he would take two men who were at the door, and who had struck them, they would come out. Met several men carrying another, but does not know whether the person was wounded or not. When he was going into the room Dempsey pushed him back, and asked Surrage whether the firelocks were loaded, and ran to the bed-side and presented the musket at witness. Came away, as he could not get them

out. Witness sent a man for the officer, whom he met coming down. Saw Beck, one of the prisoners, in the same room, lying on a bed, seemingly drunk. Elliot was in the room, but he was not doing any thing; and he did not see Lynch. Captain Shearman called to Surrage and Dempsey, that he would protect them to the guard-house. Thought that Dempsey was rather unwilling to go. Saw both Surrage and Dempsey fire, but did not see any one fall from their firing. They were all bloody, and said they had been nearly murdered.

Andrew Colwell, soldier, 13th regiment, was on guard at Greenock on the night of the affray in July last. Corroborated the evidence of M-Lurg, as to the guard going to Shannon's close. Witness stated, that Surrage was ordered to come down; but he said, he had been almost murdered by a mob, and that two men were at the door wanting to come in. The guard took these two men into custody; and, on coming back, witness saw a man lying in the close. Surrage was at the window with his musket, when the serjeant ordered him to lay it down, which he did. Dempsey took it up, and put it out of the window, cocked it, and the witness struck the piece to turn it aside, when it went off. When witness went into the room, Dempsey and Surrage were there; the former with his musket, who collared the serjeant, and rested his musket on his haunch, when witness and another soldier took it from him. Surrage was willing to come down, but Dempsey would not. The guard left them in the room, and returned with Captain Shearman, whom they met coming down, when they took Dempsey and Surrage into custody.

Joseph Wootten, soldier in the 18th regiment, corroborated the evidence of Serjeant M'Lurg and Colwell in every particular.

Mr John Lennox, superintendant of police, Greenock, after seeing two men lodged in custody who had been brought up by the guard from Shannon's close, went down with the guard to that place, and saw a man with a musket at a window. The serjeant desired him to give over firing. Witness called out to him he was master of the police, and for God's sake to desist firing. The answer that was given was, "I don't care a d-n for no man." When the serjeant went up to the room, witness heard the same man say, "You villain, I will blow, or knock your brains out." There was a gun fired at the time, and the guard were in the close. Heard the serjeant go up to the room, when a scuffle ensued; and the serjeant came down, and said he could not get them out without more assistance. Witness desired the serjeant to send for Captain Shearman, which he did; and, on the captain coming, the men were secured, and lodged in jail. Beck was in such a state of intoxication, that he was carried down stairs. The height of the window from whence the shots were fired was ten feet eight inches from the ground. The sash of the window was lying close to the wall of the room, and apparently had been taken out for the purpose of allowing the soldiers to get out their heads. The panes were broken by trampling on. There were no stones in the room, and none of the panes of the upper sash were broken. Did not see any part of a window-shutter in the room.

Dr J. B. Kirk read certificates which he had made out of the state in which he found Morrison, Simpson, and Pearson, which he now verified. When he found Pearson was

dying, and anxious for the ends of public justice that the truth should be known, he put a question to him, in presence of his wife, whether the man who fired at him took aim; to

which he answered distinctly, that he did.

The declarations of the prisoners were then read.

EXCULPATORY PROOF.

Malachi Clinton, soldier in the 13th. regiment, was in company with the prisoners on an evening in July last. They had some drink together. Surrage and witness saw two persons home to their lodgings who had been drinking with them. When Surrage and he returned to Shannon's close, they met a woman and a man; but whether the woman spoke to Surrage, or he to her, does not recollect. The man gave them abusive language, and wished to fight, but witness would not allow them. Got Surrage to Quin's house, where they were followed by some persons, one of whom threw a stone, which struck witness on the temple when at the door, and which knocked him down. At this time Surrage and Dempsey were outside the door fighting with some persons, and when they came in, they were cut in: the face.

Mrs Cochrane knows Surrage and Dempsey; they lodged in Quin's house, next door to hers, and behaved very quietly and decently all the time they were there. On the night of the affray in July, her servant came in and told her, there was a quarrel at the head of the close, and that Lynch was away out with a bayonet; on which she and her husband ran after him, and took the bayonet from him. Dempsey, Surrage, and one or two others, came to the door, and called to get in for God's sake; when her husband opened the door, and they all got in except Dempsey. He soon after also got in, covered with blood. The window where the soldiers lodged was broke from the outside. Next morn