possession of an officer. Afterwards I went to the Horse and Groom. I had seen Cooper there, with a stick, and Gilchrist came back for it, but did not get it. I observed it cut. James Ellis, by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL.-Went with the other officers to Cato-street on the 23d February: he went in immediately after Ruthven. He saw two men, one having on two cross-belts; either in his right or left holding a carabine, in the other a sword. Witness observed that he was a man of colour. The other person was between the foot of the ladder and the stall next to it, for there were three. He followed Ruthven up as close as he could. The man of colour said something, ending with "men." He heard the men above rushing back behind the carpenter's table, and a noise like fencing with swords. There might be 20 or 25 men. Ruthven

said, "We are officers, seize their arms, or surrender your arms." Witness had not known Thistlewood before, but he was satisfied it was he who menaced with the sword. Witness had before held forward his staff of office; he now presented a pistol, and desired him to desist, or he would fire. Smithers then gained the top of the ladder, and advanced towards the little room. Thistlewood struck him with the sword near the breast. Smithers fell back, held up his hands, and exclaimed, "O God!" Witness fired on Thistlewood, and Smithers staggered towards him. The candles were put out, and the witness was forced down. He stood at the door to the street. Several shots were fired: some balls passed him. On going out, he heard a cry. Saw a man running towards Queen-street, with belts on. He secured him. It was Davidson, the man of colour. He had a carabine in the one hand, and a sword in the other. He afterwards assisted in

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securing four, to whom he could not speak positively.

William Westcoat had part in con. ducting the patrole at Bow-street, and was a constable. He was down in the stable the whole time, and heard firing on the loft. He saw Ings in the stable, who wanted to rush out, while the other officers were up. Witness and Ings had a contest. There was terrible confusion on the loft; some came tumbling down, and some singly. He knew Thistlewood. There was a light. Thistlewood fired at witness. Three holes were in his hat by balls. Witness rushed towards Thistlewood, when he was struck down. Thistlewood then made a cut at him with a sword, and ran out. Witness was wounded in the back of his hand with one of the balls, as he had held up his hand to protect his head.

Hugh Nixon, one of the Bow-street officers, saw Ruthven, Ellis, and the deceased, go up the ladder. He went up, and saw Ellis fire. There was a rush down, and he saw a man fire a pistol; he rather believed it was Thistlewood. Ings was pursued and brought back. Witness found a sword in the stable, and a bayonet up stairs.

John Wright, a patrole of Bowstreet, was one of the officers who went to Cato-street. They mustered at the Horse and Groom. He saw Cooper having a broom-stick, and another coming to drink beer. Cooper left the stick. Witness took a sword and a knife from a man who was in the stable, near a stall. That moment he was knocked down, and received a stab in his side.

Wilson and Bradburn were afterwards taken. Witness found about two dozen ball-cartridges in Wilson's pocket, and a pair of scissars; and found two haversacks on his sides.

William Charles Brookes, a patrole, being directed by Mr Birnie towards persons passing, saw Ings, and a per

son in front of him with a cutlass, and spoke to them. Ings fired, and slightly wounded him on the shoulder. Witness staggered into the road. Ings went off towards the Edgware-road. Witness pursued. Ings threw away the pistol. Moy took him. Witness asked him why he had fired at him-a man whom he had never seen? He said, "I wish I had killed you." Witness stated, that two haversacks, a knife-case, and a tin box, three parts full of powder, were found on Ings. Giles Moy confirmed this evidence, so far as he was concerned.

Robert Chapman, one of the Bowstreet officers, went to Cato-street; saw Ings in the stable, and heard him say, "Look out, above." Witness, in the watch-house, took from Ings a knife-case, two balls, and a pistol-key. He saw one running through the stable with a sword in his hand.

Captain Fitzclarence appeared on the right of the Bench, and said, he was a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards; he went with a piquet to John-street on the 23d of February, about eight in the evening. On hearing reports of pistols, they went to Cato-street. He was directed by a police-officer to the stable. He met two men at the door; the man on his right cut at him with a sword, the other man presented a pistol. He got in, and seized a man, who called out, "Don't kill me, and I will tell you all." He gave him in charge, and then secured another man in one of the stalls. On going up stairs, he secured three, four, or five persons. He fell against the body of poor Smithers, who was lying dead. He saw several

arms.

Samuel Taunton, a Bow-street officer, went to Brunt's lodgings, searching the front and back rooms, and found two baskets. Brunt, who was in the front room, and had been previously taken into custody, said he

knew nothing of the baskets; the room did not belong to him in which they were; it was the back room. In the same room there was a pike-staff and an iron pot. Witness sent for the landlady, Mrs Rogers. She said her niece had let the back room to a man she did not know. Brunt said, it was a man at the public-house, and he did not know his name. Witness then went to Tidd's, in the Hole-in-the-wall-pas sage, near Gray's-Inn-lane. There he found a box full of ball-cartridges, 965 in number; he found 10 grenades, and a great quantity of gunpowder. He found, in haversacks, 434 balls. He found also 69 ball-cartridges, about 11 bags of gunpowder, one pound each. The grenades were in a wrapper. In one of the baskets at Brunt's were nine papers of rope-yarn and tar; in the other, three of the same, two flannel bags of powder, one pound each, and five empty bags, a paper of powder, one leather bag, with three balls in it. They were all here.

Cross-examined by Mr ADOLPHUS. This was on the 24th. Brunt had been in custody before. Tidd was absent.

Daniel Bishop, a Bow-street officer, went on the morning of the 24th, with other officers, to apprehend Thistlewood, about ten in the morning, to Whitecross-street, Moorfields. The house was kept by Harris. He received a key from Mrs Harris, which opened a ground-floor. There he saw Thistlewood, who thrust his head from under the clothes in bed; the shutters were shut. Witness told his name and business, and having a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, threw himself on the bed. Thistlewood said he would make no resistance. He had his breeches on, in the pockets of which they found two balls, two cartridges, some flints. They also found a small silk sash.

Lavender produced and identified

the belt found in Thistlewood's coatpocket.

Ruthven produced the pike-staff, grenades, &c.

All the soldiers and officers who had any of the articles seized were now arranged behind the witness-box, and handed to Ruthven their several charges, and Ruthven laid them on the table. A pike was screwed on a staff, and handed to the Jury. The whole of the frightful apparatus was now exposed to view. Guns, blunderbusses, carbines, swords, pistols, pikes, sticks, cartridges, bullets; even the pot in which the tar was boiled-all were produced and identified.

Morrison identified the sword he sharpened for Ings.

Serjeant Edward Hanson, of the Royal Artillery, had examined one of the grenades. It was thus composed: -the tin in the heart contained three ounces and a half of gunpowder; the priming in the tube was saltpetre; there was pitch over the tin, and then rope-yarn, in which were pieces of iron; next the tin was oakum, which was all tarred. In about half a minute it would have exploded. The explosion would do much mischief. Witness proceeded to open one. Five large cart-nails were found in it, and two old stockings. The tube extended from the tin box to the surface, and was about three inches long. The tin was full of gunpowder.

He next examined a fire-ball: it consisted of oakum, tar, rosin, and stone-brimstone pounded. Lighted and thrown into a house, if it touched wood, it was sure to set it on fire.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL.-This is the case on the part of the prosecution.

The evidence for the panel consisted almost solely of attempts to invalidate the evidence of Adams by that of one Hucklestone, who represented him to have been in the habit of extorting money by false accusations.

Mr CURWOOD and Mr ADOLPHUS addressed the Jury at great length on the part of the prisoner. The ground taken was, that the enterprize in which he had engaged, however criminal, could not be justly characterized as treason.

The SOLICITOR-GENERAL replied. Lord Chief Justice ABBOT proceed. ed to sum up. This, he said, was an indictment against Arthur Thistlewood, the prisoner then at the bar, and several other persons, who, in the progress of the trial, had appeared at the bar, in order to be identified, for the crime of High Treason. That offence had truly been stated as the highest crime known to the law. It was so, because it did not merely produce individual and private evil, as most other crimes did, but, in addition to that, it created great and extensive public mischief. A charge so grave and serious required, therefore, at the hands of an English Jury, (and would, he was sure, from what he had seen, receive) the most mature and patient consideration. The charge, as it stood in the indictment, consisted of several counts. 1st, Conspiring and imagining to depose the King; 2d, Conspiring and imagining to put the King to death; 3d, Conspiring and imagining to levy war against the King, in order to compel him to change his councils; and, 4th, Actually levying war against the King. Two of these offences, conspiring the deposition of the monarch, and levying war against him, were declared to be treason, by a statute passed so long ago as the reign of Edward the Third. In the construction of that statute, it had been held, not only in many cases decided in this county, but also in the opinion delivered to us by various learned writers on this law, that all conspiracies and attempts to depose his Majesty, and all conspiracies to levy war against him, were treasonable,

and must be considered as overt acts, proving an intention to take away his life; because, as historical experience shewed, the death of a sovereign generally followed the loss of his kingly authority. But, in order to remove any mistake that persons might fall into on this subject, a statute was passed in the reign of his late Majes ty, similar in substance, and nearly so in language, to statutes that had been enacted in former years, but which had expired. By that statute, the By that statute, the conspiring or compassing to depose the King, or to levy war against him, were declared to be substantive treasons. Some of the persons called be fore them on this occasion were represented, and truly represented, to have been accomplices in this traitorous design. This character did not, however, apply to all the witnesses who had been brought forward. Much observation had been made on the degree of credit that ought to be given to persons who admitted that they had joined in the design. On this point he should only say, that according to the law of this country, and, he believed, of every other, accomplices were considered competent witnesses; but the credit that should be given to them was matter of consideration. The evidence of an accomplice was to be weighed, with reference to the probability of the story he told, the confirmation of it, so far as it was capable of confirmation, and the absence of that contradiction which might be adduced, if the story were false. There was, however, no rule of law which said, that the testimony of an accomplice ought to be credited; neither was there any rule of law which declared that it must be rejected. To declare the latter would be to open the door, and give the greatest latitude and impunity to crime. For, as had been said by the learned counsel for the prosecution, if such a doctrine

were acted on, bad men would feel that they might proceed in their base designs with perfect security, and they would trust each other without reserve; whereas bad men now distrusted each other; they were afraid of detection; and that distrust prevented the commission of many offences which could not be perpetrated without the assistance of several persons. Having made these general observations, to direct their attention to the evidence, he would now, some hours having elapsed since the witnesses were heard, read to the Jury such parts of the testimony as were necessary for their consideration in coming to a decision. [Here his lordship proceeded to recapitulate the evidence, briefly commenting on it as he went on.] The first witness was R. Adams, who undoubtedly stood in the situation of an accomplice. But, if the story he told were false, there were several persons mentioned by him, and they could have been brought forward to disprove his statement, and to discharge themselves of the crime imputed to them, if they were innocent, but whom the Crown could not compel to appear. This witness said, that the officers, when they entered the room in Cato Street, cried out, "Here's a pretty nest of you-we have a warrant to take you all ;" and the officers swore they only called out, "We are officers-surrender." This difference was not material. The two expressions were nearly the same in import; and, in the scene of confusion which undoubtedly occurred on the entrance of the officers, it was very possible that a mistake might arise as to the exact expression used. That part of the evidence in which Adams described his irresolution, gave, his Lordship observed, the exact picture of a man of weak mind, not knowing whether he should go on or recede-balancing whether he should remain true

to his associates, or make a discovery -and who, when taken into custody, did come to the resolution to disclose all knew. If his testimony were true in substance and general effect, it proved not only a determination to assassinate his Majesty's ministers, but shew. ed to them that that was only a part of a more extended and general plan, which embraced the seizure of arms, the taking possession of the Mansionhouse, and the forming of a provisional government; a plan formed on some vain expectation, that if the blow were ever struck, there were a great number of people in the metropolis who would readily join in the scheme, and levy war against his Majesty. Such an expectation was vain, then, and he hoped would ever be found so, when such treasonable attempts were made. This witness mentioned a man named Edwards. Why he was not examined, his lordship could not say. Perhaps the prosecutor did not wish to call him, for very good reasons. How far the Jury would disbelieve Adams, on that account, it was for them to say. What he had remarked on the evidence of this witness, he was sorry to say, was considerably against the prisoner. As to the character of Adams, before this transaction, they knew nothing. No person had said any thing about it. Hyden was a witness of a very different description; for he, it appeared, disclosed all he knew early enough to prevent the mischief that was meditated. John Monument, another accomplice, corroborated Adams. He stated that the prisoner said to him, "Great events are at hand-the people every where are anxious for a change." This observation shewed that the assassination of ministers was not the sole and only object of the parties. The evidence of Thomas Dwyer, as far as it went, confirmed the testimony of those who were examined before him. If his

statement were correct, the prisoner told him the general plan and object which he and his associates had in view. These were the four witnesses called to explain the designs of the accused parties. Two of them were accomplices-but, in general, none but accomplices could be acquainted with such foul and illegal designs. The two other witnesses did not stand in the same situation. Communications were made to them, on the subject of the conspiracy, it appeared, with little reserve-a circumstance of which the Jury were to judge. A great many other persons had been called, chiefly for the purpose of confirming the testimony given by these witnesses; for, if they had spoken to truth, without farther evidence to the facts, treason was undoubtedly proved. They proved the intention to levy war, to form a provisional government, and, of course, to change the government as by law established. Eliza Walker proved that the prisoner, Brunt, had hired a lodging for Ings in the house where he resided; and Joseph Hale, Brunt's apprentice, deposed to the meetings that were held from time to time in Brunt's room. He proved that meetings were held there every evening, and that grenades, fire-balls, and pikes, were on the premises. Thomas Sharp, a watchman, deposed, that he saw four suspicious persons, on the 22d of February, watching about Lord Harrowby's house. Morrison, a cutler, proved that Ings brought him two swords to sharpen, and a sword found at Catostreet appeared to be one of them. Alderson, a pawnbroker, deposed, that on the 23d of February, Davidson took a blunderbuss out of pawn. Thomas Monument, the brother of John, confirmed his testimony in several points. This was the evidence confirmatory of the testimony of the first four witnesses. Many of the facts