Wiltshire Trials

This article was contributed by Hobart Branch member Ian Byers

SPECIAL COMMISSION for WILTS.

SALISBURY.

There are upwards of 300 prisoners for trial; of these nearly nine out of twelve are charged with the destruction of machinery, chiefly threshing and other machines used in agriculture.  There are several for riotously assembling and obtaining money by threats and menace, a considerable number for riotously and unlawfully assembling, without any other offence being charged, but in most of the cases of robbery and destruction of machinery they are charged with having been done riotously and tumultuously.

True bills have been found against twenty-three individuals for destroying a threshing machine belonging to John Bennett, Esq., the Member for the County. Only seventeen of them are in custody.

After the usual formalities the following seventeen individuals were placed at the bar:-

James Blandford, aged 28, Samuel Barrett, 30, R. Pitman, 29, James Mould, of Tisbury, 23, Samuel Bandstone, 41, Thomas Vining, 19, James Mould, of Hatch, 39, Thomas Topp, 20, Samuel Eyres, 30, Thomas Rixen, 45, Edmund White, 20, John Barrett, 24, Charles Jerrard, 20, William Snook, 22, Thomas Birt, John Target, and Andrew Moxam, 23.

They were charged with having riotously and tumultuously assembled, and broke and destroyed the threshing machine of John Bennett, Esq., at Pyt House Farm, in the parish of Tisbury, on the 25th of November last. There were counts in the indictment charging them with having begun to destroy the said machine, and others charging them with having damaged it, with intent to render it useless.

The prisoners all pleaded Not Guilty.

JOHN BENNETT, Esq., M.P., who was examined by Mr. Sergeant WILDE - I reside at Pyt House in the parish of Tisbury. I was in the county of Wilts on the 25th of November. In consequence of information which I received, I left my house about nine or ten o'clock in the morning of that day. I rode out and met up with a four hundred persons coming from the town of Hindon; at a limekiln in Fonthill Giffard. I had then ridden about three miles from my own house. They carried hatchets, hammers, very large sticks, and other weapons. The sticks were general; the axes were confined to forty or fifty persons. I met Charles Jerrard the elder, who is not in custody; he was a party-coloured sash across his body and carried a very large stick. C. Jerrard, the younger, was similarly equipped. I spoke to them both. I inquired of the mob their object. I spoke first to the elder Jerrard. He had often been before me as a Magistrate. I spoke to him with firmness and good temper, and as loudly as I could speak. I told him that I was very sorry to see him at the head of such a riotous assembly and warned him that he was placing himself in greater danger than any that he had ever been in before. I spoke then to the younger Jerrard. I said to him, “I am sorry to see you with that sash on. I entreat you to get into the rear, for an example will be made of some of you, and I should be sorry to see so young a man as you in a sad scrape.” I said to him, “Young man, that sash will hang you.” He came up with a large stick to my horse, and said to me, “I don't care about hanging - I don't care.” I then asked them what they complained of ? They told me that they were going to break all the threshing machines in the county, and that they would have 2s. a day as wages. That was a general cry of the whole party; it was said by more than 100 persons.

I told them that I had just come from London - that a proclamation from the King had come out only a day before. I offered to read it to them, but they would not let me. I explained it's nature. I told them that it offered a reward of 50l. for everyman detected in breaking a machine, and 500l.  for the discovery of any person who should set fire to property. They said, “We don't burn - we have nothing to do with the fires.” I replied that I was quite convinced that they did not, and I really feel that conviction. I then pointed out to them that they should not could not trust each other, “for any man,” I said, “ by informing against ten of you, will obtain at once 500l.” I told them that if they would go home and preserve their own lives and the peace of the district, I would take care, as far as depended on me, that they should procure by their good conduct all that others might obtain by their misconduct. The first body then left me and went to their work of destruction. The mob passed me in three divisions. I spoke to each of them. When they passed me, I followed them. They stopped at Mr. Candy's farm, in Fonthill Giffard. They rushed into a blacksmith's shop; but before that I saw them break Mr Candy's threshing machine to pieces. I rode alongside the mob for a mile and a half, until they came to a Mr. Lampert’s house, at Lawn-farm.

 In consequence of something that occurred there I went to my own premises at Pyt-house-farm. The mob, consisting of 500 persons, afterwards came to me there. I can only identify Blandford as being present with the mob at Pyt-house-farm. I had observed him breaking machines before at Mr. Lampert's farm. I had a threshing machine at Pyt-house-farm; it is worked by six horses. Part of it is in the barn, part of it is out. I rode out of the farm-yard to meet the mob. I told them that my force was not sufficient to resist them; but that I would punish them if they broke into my premises. I told them, “You break open these barns at your peril; they are locked. I would resist you if I could; I cannot; but mind, you break the machines without my consent, and at your peril.” All who were near my premises must have heard what I then said. They then forced their way into the barn. They broke the machine, which was both inside and outside of it, and began to pull off part of the roof. I remained about ten minutes with them, sitting quietly on my horse. On a sudden the whole party at work stopped; that surprised me, and immediately afterwards I received a blow on my head, which deprived me of sense for a short time. How it was given me, whether by a stick or a stone, I cannot say of my own knowledge.

When I recovered, I found myself about 50 yards off my yard in the lane, entangled in a team of my own cart-horses. My horse had carried me out of the yard into that lane, and would have carried me home, if he had not been stopped. I then found stones coming in every direction at me from the mob. I was with that mob for three hours. During that time, I saw them break machines at three places before they came to my barn.

Cross-examined - I believe that at my farm three out of every four men present were actually engaged in destroying the machinery and barn. I think that when I was at lime-kiln I could have got 60 men away; but for two men, who compelled others to go on by violence. This was in the rear of the mob, near Hindon. Any man could have got away that liked. The two men put sticks at the back of those who were reluctant and put them on. They insulted me most grossly, for they saw that I was making an impression upon the mob, and they wished to get them away from me. At one time the mob cheered me. I asked him whether they had any objection to me personally. They said that they had not. They told me that they would not hurt a hair of my head; but they would break all the threshing-machines, and mine among the rest.

Several witnesses identified all the prisoners, with the exception of White, as having been present at the breaking of the machine.

Thomas Ball, coachman to Mr. Bennett, said that the mob entered in five deep. Snooks was the right-hand man in the first rank when they entered. Witness then proceeded to say, “I Thomas Topp there with a road hammer in his hand. I saw Topp fling the first stone that was flung at Mr. Bennett. (Here the witness produced it. It was a flint stone, with a yellow coating, and weighed, we should conceive from the size, about two pounds.) It hit Mr. Bennet between the eye and nose on his face. As soon as it hit him, Mr. Bennett's head fell upon his neck, his hat fell off his head, and his face was covered with the blood which gushed from his nose. I saw the hat and the stone fall together. I endeavoured to get the hat, but the mob prevented me. I then pointed with my finger to Topp, as much as to say, it was you that did it; on which Topp made a dart at me, and struck at me with a sledge hammer. Fortunately, he only hit me with the handle of it on my ear.

John Uphill identified Birt, Blandford, Bandstone, J. Barrett, and Vining, as active agents in the destruction of the machine. He did not see Topp touch anything.

Cross-examined by Blandford - Did you not say, when the mob entered the yard, “That's it, my lads; down with it, my lads; I should like to see it down?”

Witness - I said no such thing. Why should I? Reason is against it, for my master, Benett, was near me, and had set me to watch those who came into the yard.

Blandford - “John! John! you are a false swearer.”

Topp and another of the prisoners stated that those were the very words used by the witness, and offered to swear to them if the court would permit it.

George Turner, and agricultural labourer of Mr. Benett's, who had been well beaten by the mob, identified J. Barrett. He produced a club which had been taken from one of the prisoners, and which really appeared of the most formidable dimensions; it was about five feet long and two inches in diameter, and there was a knob at the end as large as a man's double fist. It was indeed a most formidable weapon, though to use it with effect would require a man to raise it with both his hands.

Various witnesses were then called to identify the prisoners as been active partisans.

James Doggrell identify Birt. - He had an axe, breaking a piece of a beam from the roof of the wheel-house, while others were breaking the machine. The prisoner Andrew Moxham was in the yard when the house fell. He swayed (waved) his hat, and hallooed.

Another witness identified Bandstone. Saw him throw a stone with great violence at Mr. Bennett's head. It passed near him.

The prisoners were then called upon for their defence.

Blandford - I am very sorry, my Lords, that I was there, but I was forced to go.

Samuel Barrett - I have got nothing to say. I was there but did nothing. That is all.

Pitman - I was in Hindon-street at work that day, when the mob came and took me away, and I was obliged to go.

James Mould (of Tisbury) - I am very sorry, Sir, to think that I was there.

Bandstone - The witness who swore against me was not on the ground at the time he said he saw me there. He was with the Squire (Mr. Benett) on the road and was not on the ground at the time.

Vining - I'm very sorry that I was there there. There was a great number of farmers there in the morning encouraging the people to go on, and if they did not give them that encouragement, or if they told them not to go on, I do not believe they would have done any harm or gone about. I am very sorry that I was there, but it is my first offence of any kind.

Mould (of Hatch) - I was not with the mob when the people were going about breaking the machines. I was at Hindon market for an hour and a half. Then I went towards home, and on my way, I went and saw what the mob had done; but I had neither stick nor stone, nor weapon of any kind, and took no part in the business. When I went into the house that the mob had broken, a stick fell upon my head, but I did nothing wrong.

Topp - I was not within half a mile of the place when the machines were broken and did not see Mr Bennett.

James Mould (of Hatch) again addressed the Court, and said, when he was coming up he met the man who was bringing away Mr. Benett's hat. He could not have taken any part in that, and he was not there when any damage was done.

Eyres - I was not there, and what the man swore against me is as false as the Lord is true.

Rixen - I had no hammer or sledge of any kind in my hand.

White was not called on by the court for any defence, as they thought no case was made out against him.

John Barrett - I was pressed by the mob and was obliged to go.

Jerrard - The mob came to my house that morning before I got out of bed, and they swore they would pull me out if I did not go. The sash the witness spoke of was a handkerchief, which I tied around my waist as I was very warm.

Snook - I am very sorry I was in the case. The mob knocked at my door early in the morning and said they would break it if I did not get up and go with them. I did go, against my will, but I did nothing.

Birt - My Lord, I found work very hard in my own parish for the last three years, and having a wife and three children to support, I was glad to go to work whenever I could get it. I had got some work at a place four miles from my house. I was going there that morning, before day, when I met the mob. I got inside the hedge, intended to keep out of the way, but some of them saw me, and called out to me to join them. I wanted to get away, but they said that if I did not go with them they would kill me; so I was obliged to go. I tried to escape, but they would not let me. It is a hard case with me, my Lord; I was glad to get work, though I could only 7s. per week, and it cost me 1s. a week for iron, so that I had only 6s. a week to support five persons.

Target - I was at work upon the turnpike-road when the mob came and forced me away. I have a wife and eight children, and had no intention of doing any thing that would injure any person. I was in the mob but I took my part.

Moxham - I am sorry that I was there, but I was going on an errand for my master when I met the mob, and they made me go; but as soon as I could I got away. I met one of my children, and took him home. I have a wife and three children. I hope my Lord will consider me. I was never before my Lord before this, nor yet in a prison.

John Target was called by Pitman, and said that he saw him (Pittman) at work at Hindon at twelve o'clock. His wife came to call him to dinner, but some men swore that he should go along with the mob. His business required him to have a road hammer. Hindon is two miles from Pyt-house.

Mr. Lambert, a gentleman he knew Mould, of Hatch, gave him a good character. He was a jobber in pigs and cheese. He was not aware that he had any property.

Lord ARUNDEL, who was on the bench, also gave him a good character. He had a wife and six children. and was very poor. Since his commitment, his family were attacked with typhus fever, and he lost one or two children. They were in great distress, and he believed had nothing to live upon but what they got at his (Lord Arundel's) house.

Two witnesses gave Snook and Moxham a good character.

Mr Baron Vaughan then proceeded to sum up, and, after pointing out the state of the law as applying to this offence, - which, after the many trials of the kind we have given at Winchester, it is unnecessary to repeat here, - detailed the evidence as it applied to each Prisoner; calling on the Jury, as he concluded the evidence applying to each successively, to consider the case of that Prisoner before he went further .

The jury found White and Moxham Not Guilty, and all the other Prisoners Guilty.

They are all agricultural labourers, except White, who is a blacksmith, Rixen, who is a carter, and Birt, who is a sawyer.

Source - The Morning Post (London, England), Tuesday, January 4th, 1831; Issue 18741.

British Library Newspapers, Part II: 1800-1900