第49章

fromdifferentvillageswereindictedforassaultandrobbery。Thefeatures

variedlittle，andthespectatorsbegantofindtheproceedingsmonotonous。

MostoftheagriculturalpopulationofHampshirehadmadeitselfliableto

thedeathpenalty，iftheauthoritiescaredtodrawthenoose。Thethree

hundredwhoactuallyappearedinCourtwerelikethemenonwhomthetower

ofSiloamfell。

Acasetowhichtheprosecutionattachedspecialimportancearoseout

ofanaffairatthehouseofMr。EyreCoote。Amoboffortypersons，some

ofwhomhadironbars，presentedthemselvesbeforeMr。Coote’sdoorattwo

o’clockinthemorning。TwobandsofmenhadalreadyvisitedMr。Cootethat

evening，andhehadgiventhembeer：thisthirdbandwasapartyofstragglers。

Mr。Cootestationedhistenservantsintheportico，andwhenthemobarrived

heaskedthem，’Whatdoyouwant，mylads？’’Money，’wastheanswer。’Money，’

saidMr。Coote，’youshan’thave。’OneofthebandseemedtoMr。Cooteabout

tostrikehim。Mr。Cooteseizedhim，nineofthemobwereknockeddownand

taken，andtherestfled。Sixofthemenwereprosecutedforfeloniously

demandingmoney。BaronVaughanremarkedthatoutrageslikethismadeone

wonderwhetheronewasinacivilisedcountry，andheproceededtoraise

itsmoraltonebysentencingalltheprisonerstotransportationforlife，

exceptone，HenryEldridge，whowasreservedforexecution。Hehadbeenalready

capitallyconvictedofcomplicityintheFordingbridgeriots，andthisattempt

to’enterthesanctuaryofMr。EyreCoote’shome’followinguponthatcrime，

renderedhimasuitable’sacrificetobemadeonthealtaroftheoffended

justice’ofhiscountry。

Inmanyoftheso-calledrobberiespunishedbytheSpecialCommissions

thesumstakenweretrifling。GeorgeSteel，agedeighteen，wassentenced

totransportationforlifeforobtainingashilling，whenhewasinliquor，

fromJaneNeale：WilliamSutton，anotherboyofeighteen，wasfoundguilty

oftaking4d。inadrunkenfrolic：Sutton，whowasacarterboyreceiving

1s。6d。aweekandhisfood，wasgivenanexcellentcharacterbyhismaster，

whodeclaredthathehadneverhadabetterservant。Thejuryrecommended

himtomercy，andthejudgesrespondedbysentencinghimtodeathandbanishing

himforlife。GeorgeClerk，agedtwenty，andE。C。Nutbean，agedeighteen，

paidthesamepricefor3d。downandthepromiseofbeerattheGreyhound。

Suchcaseswerenotexceptional，asanyonewhoturnstothereportsofthe

trialswillsee。

Theevidenceonwhichprisonerswereconvictedwasoftenofthemostshadowy

kind。Eightyoungagriculturallabourers，ofagesvaryingfromeighteento

twenty-five，werefoundguiltyofriotouslyassemblingintheparishofSt。

LawrenceWoottenandfeloniouslystealing£；2fromWilliamLutelySclater

ofTangierPark。’Wewanttogetalittlesatisfactionfromyou’wasthe

phrasetheyused。Twodayslateranotherman，namedWilliamFarmer，wascharged

withthesameoffence。Mr。SclaterthoughtthatFarmerwaslikethemanin

themobwhoblewatrumpetorhorn，butcouldnotsweartohisidentity。

Otherwitnessessworethathewaswiththemobelsewhere，andsaid，’Money

wawantandmoneywawillhae。’Onthisevidencehewasfoundguilty，and

thoughMr。JusticeAldersonannouncedthathefeltwarrantedinrecommending

thatheshouldnotlosehislife，’yet，itwashisduty，’hecontinued，’to

statethatheshouldforthisviolentanddisgracefuloutragebesentout

ofthecountry，andseparatedforlifefromthosefriendsandconnections

whichweredeartohimhere：thatheshouldhavetoemploytherestofhis

daysinlabour，atthewillandfortheprofitofanother，toshowthepeople

oftheclasstowhichtheprisonerbelongedthattheycannotwithimpunity

lendtheiraidtosuchoutragesagainstthepeaceandsecurityofperson

andproperty。’

Wehaveseenthatatthetimeoftheriotsitwasfreelystatedthatthe

farmersincitedthelabourerstomakedisturbances。Huntwentsofarasto

sayintheHouseofCommonsthatinnineteencasesoutoftwentythefarmers

encouragedthelabourerstobreakthethreshingmachines。Thecountyauthorities

evidentlythoughtitunwisetoprosecutethefarmers，althoughitwasproved

inevidencethattherewereseveralfarmerspresentatthedestructionof

theHeadleyWorkhouse，andatthedemonstrationatMr。Cobbold’shouse。Occasionally

afarmer，intestifyingtoaprisoner’scharacter，wouldadmi

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节