having seen that none escaped from the burning of the barracks. Harrison was also to join there with the two pieces of artillery; a volley was to be fired to shew that they had got the guns; this was the signal of their having got the guns. Some pikemen were to be left at Hyde-park gate to protect the guns. They were then to proceed to Park-lane-to barricade the avenues to the Park, Portman-street, and all the entrances in that quarter, to prevent any cavalry coming in that might be out of quarters. They were then to go on to the Picadilly gate, (witness means the turnpike gate at the corner of Hyde Park, Picadilly;) that gate was to be chained and bar ricaded, and a party was to be left there to fire on any horse that might come from the country--then to proceed to Charing-cross and the bridge, (witness means Westminster-bridge,) and barricade all thereabouts, to stop any troops that might come in by the way of Chelsea. As soon as Thistlewood and the younger Watson had secured the guns, which witness already said they were ordered to take, they were then to attack the gunsmiths' shops and oil shops-every shop where any arms or combustible mate. rials could be got. Thistlewood and young Watson were to block up every place from Gray's Inn-lane to St Giles's, where Thistlewood was to make his grand stand; a gun was to point up Tottenham-court-road; Preston's business was to attack the Tower; young Watson was to proceed from St Giles's to Cumberland-gate, barricading all the avenues on the right as he went on; Preston, if he failed of taking the Tower, was to barricade London-bridge against any artillery that might come from Woolwich-then to barricade Whitechapel against any troops coming that way; Preston was after that to join the main body at the Bank, which was known by the cant

name of "the Old Lady," as the Tower was by the name of "the Old Gentleman," or "the Old Man,”. 'twas all the same. Whilst these plans were forming, Thistlewood asked the doctor (Watson) what the combustibles would cost, and how much would be wanted for each avenue to the barracks? Thistlewood bid the doctor to calculate it: the doctor made a calculation that the whole would cost something short of 100%.; Thistlewood then said, "Don't spare a matter of 201. let us roast them well;" the paper on which the calculation had been made was destroyed when used-it was usual to destroy such papers when they had done with them. When Thistlewood said, "let us roast them well," Dr Watson (meaning the prisoner at the bar) observed, that the combustibles would burn so rapidly, and the stench would be so strong, as to stifle them all (the soldiers in the barracks) in a few minutes. Next day, after this plan was settled, witness and the younger Watson were desired to go look for a house between the two barracks, to be near to them, in which the combustibles and arms were to be lodged; they were to say the house was wanted for any trade they chose-they said an oil and colour shop, because then the combustibles could be brought in there without suspicion. The whole committee was present when this business was settled.

This plan of a general insurrection was, however, given up, in consequence of the desertion of one of the members of the committee, who disapproved of young Watson's imprudence; and it was then determined to have a meeting in Spa-fields, and to commence the disturbance from that quarter, breaking into all the gunsmiths' shops between that place and the Tower, which it was agreed should be then moved.

The witness went over minutely all the transactions preparatory to the

meeting of the 15th of November, with the reason for the disappointment as to the rising at the trial. He then proceeded to the steps taken for the subsequent meeting of the 2d of December, the material facts of which are already known.

Cross-examined by Mr Wetherall. —You are described to be a prisoner in Tothill-fields Bridewell. How long have you been a prisoner in that custody-From the 9th of February, I believe.

Upon what charge were you committed-High treason.

Have you been, since your commitment to Tothill-fields Bridewell, constantly in confinement, or have you been walking about with an officer attending you?-I have been out with an officer attending me.

(After a great deal of evasion, witness confessed that he believed he was taken round London for the purpose of procuring evidence to confirm his own.)

Did you not believe that you were going round to get evidence?—I did believe it of course; I must believe it.

In his further examination, witness owned that, with the exception of the pike-heads he had made as a model for the prisoner, he had wrought none at his business of a smith for twelve or fourteen years; that he was twice committed for crimes; that, on one occasion, he was apprehended at Guildford for uttering forged notes.

You were tried at Guildford? No.

No! Why not?—I was admitted an evidence.

What, the same accident happened there as on the present occasion?-It did.

Namely, that you were committed upon a charge, and afterwards became a witness against the persons who were committed on the same charge?-Be

The question was repeated, and the answer was, "It did happen." What became of the man against whom you gave evidence?—He was hanged.

Did you make any, and what bargain then, with the Bank of England, before you were admitted an evidence? I did not. I told them I had been innocently dragged into it, and that I would communicate the whole of the circumstances; I did so, and told them where we got the forged notes.

It was Davis who was executed. Another man, concerned in the transaction, called Greenaway, pleaded guilty, and was transported. Castles only escaped. Castles stated, that he had been apprehended at Abergavenny, charged with aiding Colonel Prevotti, a French prisoner of war, to escape. But it appeared that he had previously communicated with Bow-street. Witness was acquainted with Kennett, who was some time ago hanged; and was likewise acquainted with Warner, who disappeared; and with Dickins, implicated with Vaughan in seducing persons into crimes, and then informing against them. Witness was married. He had sent his wife into Yorkshire. Cohabited since his marriage with the late Mrs Thoms, who kept a house, which (after much prevarication) he said, he believed, was let for the purpose of prostitution.

Cross-examined on the subject of the alleged treason--He stated, that he had made various attempts upon smiths, soldiers, and sailors, to join the insurrection; that they proposed, after gaining possession of the Bank, to defend it by glass bottles thrown from neighbouring windows; that Preston was a shoemaker, and Hooper was of the same business, or a cobler; at the dinner in Bouverie-street, at which Mr Hunt was present, witness gave the

toast, "May the last of kings be strangled with the guts of the last of priests," but Hunt and the rest objected to it, and it was not drunk; that witness had received money to support him, and buy a fine new dress, from Mr Stafford, of Tothill-fields Bridewell.

Mr Wetherall, counsel for the prisoner, maintained, that all the external features of the case were known within a short time after the 2d of December. All was known but that which was disclosed when Mr Castles came forward, and would the jury suffer the judgment of a British court of justice-would they suffer the charac. ter of British jurisprudence, to depend on the testimony of that indescribable villain? Would they suffer that man to influence their decision? Would they attend to that merchant of human blood, who had lived so long on plunder and on blood-money? Would they, while animated with that spirit of honour and truth which distinguished a British jury-would they suffer four human victims to be immolated to that atrocious wretch, Castles? Could it be thought that this would be endured by the British people? Every thing was known against one of the prisoners, that was now known, but what Castles had stated; and till he came forward, the individual was to be tried for a misdemeanor. Every thing that gave his offence the colour of treason was supplied by Castles, and the life of that unhappy man now depended on the degree of credit which the jury might give to his evidence. He would assert, that no one material fact which he had stated had been confirmed. This "flagrant war," as it had been called, was to commence at half-past twelve at night. The palisades in front of the houses in Picadilly were to be taken up, to stop the road through the turnpike, and the horses were to be taken from the hackney coaches to carry it

into effect. Combustibles, or medica→ ments, were to be placed at the entrance of the barracks, in such a way as to stink the soldiers to death. This falsehood he supposed to have been framed in consequence of its being known to Castles that the prisoner was a chemist. Castles had been corroborated in his statement respecting the taking of a house, or the intention to do so, by Mr Cosser, a very respectable man, the landlord of the house, but it was not difficult to believe, that the by house bully of forty might have prevailed on a young man of twenty to do this for some other purpose than that which he had been stated to have in view. This fellow might have induced him to do so, to forward some object of his own, as it had been seen he went lying over all the town. Wherever he went a lie travelled with him. From the evidence of the soldiers, it appears, that two men had been harangued on the Tower walls; Castles had stated that there were fifty. This was a tolerable sample of a lie. Castles had said two persons spoke together, the soldiers had said, they were addressed but by one. It had been proved that Castles and Watson had been seen together walking towards the barracks. But what proof was there that there had been such a plot as Castles had described, for firing the barracks, and stinking the soldiers to death? The prisoner might have been seen with Castles at different times and places, but in nothing had the latter been corroborated that could be held to prove the existence of such a plot. In his plan for cutting off the communication with Woolwich, Castles had been a little deficient in the naval part of the arrangement. He had seemed to forget that there was a small aperture passing through the city called the Thames. His learned friend had he would not say led him, that would be offensive, but had con

ducted him pretty well through this difficulty, and the communication had been cut off by water as well as by land. All the vessels in the Thames were to be taken, and this was not enough, they were to go out to sea, and take the remaining ships of his majesty's navy, and all this was to be effected by six generals of division, one of whom was so lame that he could not ride on horseback. Could any one for a moment believe so ridiculous a plan had been formed? And disbelieving the first plan, would the jury credit the second, of which they were told by Mr Castles? If the public were not ripe for a revolution in Oxfordstreet, where General Thistlewood was to make his grand stand, was it reasonable to conclude that they should be able to succeed at that time, in any part of the metropolis? He submitted the whole story was unworthy of credit. On the 2d of December, Castles went to the Tower, found an extra guard there on account of the meeting; but instead of going to Spafields to apprize his accomplices of this fact, and of the gates being shut, that they might take their measures accordingly, no more was heard of him but that he went to little Britain. He absconded, but what really became of him he (Mr Wetherall) would hereafter shew. The banners and the names put down for the Committee of Public Safety proved no intention to commit high treason. Had the trial lasted much longer, he thought he should have been enabled to prove an alliteration of crime against Mr Castles on all the letters of the alphabet. Beginning with B, there was b-dy-house, bullying, and bigamy. These were proved, and it was shewn, that one wife who might have been brought for ward as a confirmatory witness; who was the only person that could prove or disprove many things that he had asserted, had been sent out of the way.

If he went on with the alphabet, when he came to F, he found forgery and felony against Mr Castles. From the former charge he got clear, by shedding the blood of his companions. Castles had committed a larceny in connection with this business, for he had taken away the chairs, tables, the boxes, and other miserable furniture of the room, from where they had been accustomed to meet, which it was admitted had belonged to Preston. If they went further on with the history of Castles, they would find him assisting the most inveterate foe of England, by aiding French prisoners to escape. Going further back, through other scenes of disgrace, they would find him in the infamous and degrading situation of a bully at a b-dy-house. Such was the life of this man. It had commenced in turpitude and vice-had mounted up to the depravity of shedding the blood of the associate of his guilt, and now attained its full consummation in crime, by urging on unhappy men to commit acts of outrage, in order to betray them for the bloodmoney. While in that Court, he had worn the coat, waistcoat, and breeches of the crown; his very clothes had already been paid for out of the wages he was by and by to receive as his full recompence for selling the blood of the prisoners now before their Lordships. Is the attorney-general to construe the circumstances of a riot into proof of a flagrant civil war? He cannot do it without contravening the law which has existed for centuries. He cannot do it without violating every precedent, and casting, by implication, a severe reflection upon every attorneygeneral that has preceeded him. Was this an attempt to overturn the state

what had they to prove it—a little flag? a little speech made from a waggon-a little tampering with the soldiers? very little indeed; a little speaking to the Tower walls? a little tu