第52章

Although，aswehavesaid，theGovernment，oritsrepresentatives，grew

rathermorelenienttowardstheendoftheproceedingsatSalisbury，itwas

evidentlythoughtessentialtoproducesomecrimedeservingactualdeath。

TheculpritinthiscasewasPeterWithers，ayoungmanoftwenty-three，

marriedandwithfivechildren。Hischaractertillthetimeoftheriots

wasexemplary。Hewascommittedonachargeofriot，andbriefedalawyer

todefendhimforthismisdemeanour。Justbeforethetrialcameonthecharge

waschanged，apparentlybytheAttorney-General，tothecapitalchargeof

assaultingOliverCalleyCodringtonwithahammer。Hiscounselwasofcourse

unpreparedtodefendhimonthischarge，and，asheexplainedafterwards，

’itwasonlybythehumanekindnessoftheAttorney-Generalwhoallowedhim

tolookathisbriefthathewasawareofallthefactstobeallegedagainst

hisclient。’Withershimselfseemedequallyunprepared；whenaskedforhis

defencehesaidthathewouldleaveittohiscounsel，asofcoursehehad

arrangedtodowhenthechargewasoneofmisdemeanouronly。

TheincidentoccurredinanaffrayatRockleynearMarlborough。Mr。Baskerville，

J。P。，rodeupwithsomespecialconstablestoamoboffortyorfiftymen，

Withersamongstthem，andbadethemgohome。Theyrefused，declaringthat

theydidnotcareadamnforthemagistrates。Mr。BaskervilleorderedMr。

Codrington，whowasaspecialconstable，toarrestWithers。Ageneralmê；lé；e

ensued，blowsweregivenandreceived，andCodringtonwashitbyahammer

thrownbyWithers。Withers’ownversionoftheaffairwasthatCodrington

attackedhimwithoutprovocationinaferociousmannerwithahuntingwhip，

loadedwithironattheend。Baskervillealsostruckhim。Heaimedhishammer

atCodringtonanditmissed。Codrington’shorsethencrushedhimagainst

thewall，andhethrewhishammerasecondtimewithbetteraim。Therewas

nothingintheevidenceoftheprosecutiontodiscreditthisversion，and

bothBaskervilleandCodringtonadmittedthattheymighthavestruckhim。

Codrington’sinjurieswereapparentlymoreseriousthanBinghamBaring’s；

itwasstatedthathehadbeenconfinedtobedfortwoorthreedays，and

tothehousefromTuesdaytoSaturday，andthathehadascarofoneand

ahalfinchesontherightsideofhisnose。Nosurgeon，however，appeared

asawitness，andthehammerWaSnotproducedincourt。Witherswasfound

guiltyandreserved，togetherwithLush，forexecution。

ThespecialcorrespondentoftheTimeswhohadbeenpresentat

WinchestermadeaninterestingcomparisonbetweentheHampshireandtheWiltshire

labourersontrial(8thJanuary1831)。TheWiltshirelabourershedescribed

asmoreathleticinappearanceandmorehardyinmanner。’Theprisonershere

turntothewitnessesagainstthemwithaboldandconfidentair：cross-examine

them，andcontradicttheiranswers，withaconfidenceandawantofcommon

courtesy，intermsofwhichcomparativelyfewinstancesoccurredintheneighbouring

county。’Inthisbehaviourthecorrespondentdetectedthesignsofavery

lowstateofmoralintelligence。

Whenthetimecameforthelastsceneincourttherewasnotraceofthe

bolddemeanourwhichhadimpressedtheTimescorrespondentduring

theconductofthetrials。ForthepeopleofWiltshire，likethepeopleof

Hampshire，werestunnedbythecrashandruinofthiscatastrophicvengeance。

Thetwomensentencedtodeathwerereprieved，butonehundredandfifty-four

menandboysweresentencedtotransportation，thirty-threeofthemforlife，

therestforsevenorfourteenyears，withnoprospectofeverreturning

totheirhomes。AndAldersonandhisbrotherjudgesinsopunishingthis

wildflingoffolly，orhope，ordespair，werenotpassingsentenceonly

onthemenandboysbeforethem：theywerepronouncingadoomnotlessterrible

onwivesandmothersandchildrenandbabesinarmsineveryvillageonthe

WiltshireDowns。Onemanbeggedtobeallowedtotakehischild，eightmonths

old，intoexile，foritsmotherhaddiedinchildbirth，anditwouldbeleft

withoutkithorkin。Hewastoldbythejudgethatheshouldhaveremembered

thisearlier。Thesentenceoffinalseparationonallthesefamiliesand

homeswasreceivedwithafrenzyofconsternationandgrief，andthejudges

themselveswereaffectedbythespectacleofthesebroken

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