第50章

theotherladsoftheneighbourhoodhehadgoneroundwithamob，andhe

wasfoundguilty，withJosephMason，ofextortingmoneyfromWilliamdowden。

Forthishemighthavegotoffwithtransportationforlife，butanother

chargewaspreferredagainsthim。Mr。WilliamBinghamBaring，J。P。，tried，

withthehelpofsomeofhisservants，toquellariotatNorthingdondown

Farm。Silcock，whoseemedtheleaderoftherioters，declaredthattheywould

breakeverymachine。BinghamBaringmadeSilcockrepeatthesewordsseveral

timesandthenseizedhim。CookthenaimedablowatBinghamBaringwith

asledge-hammerandstruckhishat。Sofartherewasnodisputeastowhat

hadhappened。OneservantoftheBaringsgaveevidencetotheeffectthat

hehadsavedhismaster’slifebypreventingCookfromstrikingagain；another

afterwardsputinasworndepositiontotheeffectthatCookneverattempted

tostrikeasecondblow。AllwitnessesagreedthatBinghamBaring’shathad

sufferedseverely；someofthemsaidthathehimselfhadbeenfelledtothe

ground。Whateverhisinjuriesmayhavebeen，hewasseenoutafewhours

later，apparentlyinperfecthealth；nextdayhewaswalkingthestreets

ofWinchester；twodayslaterhewaspresentedatCourt，andwithinaweek

hewasstrongenoughtoadministerasharpblowhimselfwithhisstickto

ahandcuffcdandunconvictedprisoner，adisplayofzealforwhichhehad

topay£；50。Cookdidnotputupanydefence。Hewassentencedtodeath。

Perhapsitwasfeltthatthisvictimtojusticewasinsomerespectsill

chosen，forreasonsforseverityweresooninvented。Hewasaheavy，stolid，

unattractiveboy，andhisappearancewastakentoindicateabrutalandvicious

disposition。Storiesofhiscrueltiestoanimalswerespreadabroad。’The

fateofHenryCook，’saidtheTimescorrespondent(3rdJanuary1831)，

’excitesnocommiseration。FromeverythingIhaveheardofhim，justicehas

seldommetwithamoreappropriatesacrifice。Heshedsometearsshortly

afterhearinghisdoom，buthassincerelapsedintoabrutalinsensibility

tohisfate。’Hisagewasraisedtothirty，hiswagesto30s。aweek。Denman

describedhimintheHouseofCommons，afterhisexecution，asacarpenter

earning30s。aweek，whohadstruckdownoneofthefamilyofhisbenefactor，

andhadonlybeenpreventedfromkillinghisvictimbytheinterposition

ofamorefaithfulindividual。Thisistheepitaphwrittenonthisobscure

ploughboyofnineteenbytheupperclasses。Hisownfellows，whoprobably

knewhimatleastaswellasaDenmanoraBaring，regardedhispunishment

asmurder。CobbetttellsusthatthelabourersofMicheldeversubscribed

theirpenniestogetDenman’smisstatementsaboutCooktakenoutofthenewspapers。

Whenhisbodywasbroughthomeafterexecution，thewholeparishwentout

tomeetit，andhewasburiedinMicheldeverchurchyardinsolemnsilence。

BinghamBaringhimself，ashasbeenmentioned，happenedtooffendagainst

thelawbyanactofviolenceatthistime。HewasnotlikeCook，astarving

boy，butthesonofamanwhowasreputedtohavemadesevenmillionsof

money，andwascalledbyErskinethefirstmerchantinEurope。Hedidnot

strikehisvictiminariot，butincoldblood。Hisvictimcouldnotdefend

himself，forhewashandcuffed。ThemanstruckwasaMr。Deacle，asmall

farmerwhohadhadhisownthreshingmachinebroken，andwasafterwardsarrested

withhiswife，byBinghamBaringandaposseofmagistrates，onsuspicion

ofencouragingtherioters。deacle’sstorywasthatBaringandtheother

magistratesconcernedinthearresttreatedhiswifewithgreatinsolence

inthecartinwhichtheydrovetheDeaclestoprison，andthatBinghamBaring

furtherstruckhimwithastick。Forthisdeaclegot£；50damagesin

anactionhebroughtagainstBaring。’Thisverdict，’saidtheMorning

Herald，’seemedtoexcitethegreatestastonishment；formostofthe

BarandalmosteveryoneinCourtsaid，ifonthejury，theywouldhavegiven

atleast£；5000forsogrossandwantonaninsultandunfeelingconduct

towardsthosewhohadnotofferedtheleastresistance；thedefendantsnot

addressingtheslightestevidenceinpalliationorattemptingtojustify

it。’Thejudge，insummingup，’couldnothelpremarkingthatthehandcuffing

was，tosaytheleastofit，averyharshproceedingtowardsaladyandgentleman

whohadbeenperfectlycivilandquiet。’Meanwhilethecaseofthemagistrates

againsttheDeacleshadcollapsedinthemostingloriousmanner。Thoughthey

had

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