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¬ Documentation 1 | Home |
"LETTER TRANSCRIBED FROM
JOHN CARTER TO THE EARL OF DENBIGH
~~~~
My Lord
I have the gratification of informing your Lordship that I yesterday procured the Conviction of the 17 persons who were Convicted to Warwick gaol and indicted for the Felonious assault on your Gamekeeper Slinn --- The Case occupied the attention of the Court for upwards of 9 hours and after a short deliberation the Jury returned a verdict against THOMAS ENSOR for feloniously shooting Slinn with intent to Murder him and against all other for aiding counselling and abetting Ensor --- and Judgement of death has been recorded against them all --- I understand that it is the intention of the Judge to save all their lives and he has been led to this from the circumstances of Ensor having whilst in custody disclosed to the Gaoler a conspiracy which had been entered into by a number of felons in the gaol to Murder the Turnkeys or the Gaoler on the first opportunity. --- The Case on the Trial was so clearly established and the prisoners so fully identified as not to leave a doubt in the minds of the Judge and the Jury as to the guilt of any of them --- To bring the case entirely home to all the prisoners we were obliged to have recourse to the evidence of Petty and Arthursuch two accomplices --- They were both very collected in the dispositions and behaved well. --- Slinn was particularly clear in his statement and so were all the witnesses. --- The names of the prisoners convicted are Thomas Ensor, Thomas Perkins, Thomas Clowes, Joseph Gilbert, David Poultney, Richard Ralley, William Leggins, William Smith, Ambrose Parker, John Earps, Daniel Hilton, John Neal, Jonathan Whittall, William Whittall, James Bird, William Strong and John Strong. --- I have underlined the names of the most notorious of the prisoners. ----- The ultimate sentence of the prisoners will now lie in the discretion of His Majesty, aided of course by the Secretary of State ---- and I will take the liberty of suggesting to your Lordship propriety of seeing the Secretary of State upon this very important subject, as there is a very great probability of Petition being produced in favour of the prisoners. --- If serious examples are not now made the worst of consequences may be expected in future --- in fact a more proper case of example cannot be selected than the present, it being exceedingly clear that the wretches who committed the outrage had a murderous intent from the beginning in case of being arrested. The two Strongs are badly disposed but very young. --- I caused an application to be made to the Judge for the Expense of the Prosecution and he has directed such parts to be allowed as come within his province and I shall of course attend to this. --- Allow me to congratulate your Lordship upon the important result of this outrageous case.
The poachers who are Prosecuted by Mr Dugdale have not yet been tried --- but will be to-morrow and I anticipate a successful result in that case ---
I have the honour to be
My Lord
Your Lordships
Most Obed. & Humble Servant
John Carter
Warwick
~~~
¬ Documentation 1 | Home |
Convict Tales and Ancestors. © Richard Carlaw 2006. [email protected]