The trial (at large) of James Hill; otherwise James Hind; otherwise, James Actzen: for feloniously, wilfully, and maliciously, setting fire to the rope-house, in His Majesty's dock-yard at Portsmouth. Tried at the Assize, at Winchester, on Thursday, March 6, 1777. Before the honorable Sir William Henry Ashhurst, knt. ... and Sir Beaumont Hotham, knt. ... / Taken in short-hand ... by Joseph Gurney. And published by permission of the judges.

  • Aitken, James, 1752-1777
Date:
[1777?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The trial (at large) of James Hill; otherwise James Hind; otherwise, James Actzen: for feloniously, wilfully, and maliciously, setting fire to the rope-house, in His Majesty's dock-yard at Portsmouth. Tried at the Assize, at Winchester, on Thursday, March 6, 1777. Before the honorable Sir William Henry Ashhurst, knt. ... and Sir Beaumont Hotham, knt. ... / Taken in short-hand ... by Joseph Gurney. And published by permission of the judges. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    •fired by the prifoner, to vifit him at Clerkenwell New Prifon ; when he was there, a converfation palled between them of no very great importance, it was only general, concerning perl'ons and places, fome of which both of them knew, fome oi v.'hich only one of them knew. The next day, Baldwin paid him another vifit, for the priloner liked his company, and it was a very lucky circiimftance ; it was indeei^ the providence of God that this man placed that fortunate (for fortunate I may call it fur the public) confidence in this Baldwin, by which he afterwards made the ample difcoveries that you will hear by and by. The prifoner told him after various vifits, for he vifited the prifoner at his own requeft almoft every day for, I believe, near three weeks from that time, and it was not for many days, not tintil a full difcovery was made, that Baldwin communicated the matter to any body, and when he did, he communicated it to an Honourable Perfon not at all connected with Government; he told him, among other things (I will defeend to the parti¬ culars by and by, for a very ftriking reafon wliich you will go with me in obferving ■when I defeend to them, he told him) that he had lately come from France, mat •he had been employed there by a gentleman, whom he '.vas I'urprifed that Baldwin did not know, as he was a man of fo much note, and whole name had been fo frequently in the news-papers, which was a Mr. Silas Deane; that Mr. Silas Deane was a very honourable gentleman, .employed by the Congrefs in America, as' well as another very honourable gentleman, a Dr. Franklin ; that Mr. Silas Deane had employed him in the noble bufinefs in which hp had been engaged ; that his employ¬ ment was to fet fire to the feveral Dock-Yards, 'to dedroy the navy of Great Britain ; that he had undertaken that work, and that he was to have a pecuniary reward for it; that Mr. Silas Deane was his employer; that this was a noble adl, this was a patriotic meafure, this was what all patriots would exceedingly applaud, this was the right way to expofe Government, this was the. way to render Great Britain for¬ ever fubjedt, by bending its neck to the yoke of America, this was the way by which we were to profper; this great work was to be effeifted by his hand under the employment of Silas Deane, and that he did not at all doubt but that Dr. Franklin was likewife engaged in the fame good v/ork; he told him, he had taken' Canterbury in the way from Dover; and now I am going to defeend to fome. particulars, which I fiiall by and by have an occalion to-repeat, in order to fhew you that it is impolTible (I will not change the word) that it is impoffible but that Baldwin’s account fliouid be perfectly true; he told him, that in his return from Paris to England, he had landed at Dover, and fo came through Canterbury ; and at Canterbury he had engaged a man to make a tin-machine, which you will fee by and by, fomewhat refembling a tin canifter, the purpofe of which was, to adt the part, if I may fo fay, of a lantern; that is, that a candle might be enclofed in it, and yet the candle perfedlly be hid, fo that no eye Ihould fee the light ;■ that the man he employed to make this tin canifter for him, was an awkv/ard fellow, and let about it in a way that convinced him he was dull; and did not compre-^ hend his meaning; but that his fervant, a lad,' had a much brighter genius than his mafter, and very well underftood his direftiohs ; that he fe.t about the work and he made the canifter for him. Gentlemen, you will remember tbefe particulars; he told him, that he had ordered two more at another fliop, but had not time to ftay for them ; and fo left them behind him, but this canifter he took with him ; he told him that when he came to Portfmouth, he took a lodging; I had forgot the wooden box ; he told him that he likewife got made for him a wooden box ; I told you that the ufe of the canifter was to contain a candle hidino- it; the ufe of the box was to contain the combuftibles which were to be lighted by the match, in order to fet the place on fire^ the preparation and the fngredients'- of this you will have an account of. He told him he had taken a lodging at Portf¬ mouth, at a Mrs. Boxell’s, where he had made fome preparations for the work of fet- tino- theplacc on fire ; I Ihould have told you in the converfation with regard to.Can- terbury, he told Baldwin likewife of a quarrel which he had had there with a dragoon, which had led to a fight of this canifter under the fiip of his coat; he faid at Mrs. Boxell’s he had made preparations in order to fet the ftore-hoefes-on fire;-and he told him there the manner of his making this compofition ; that it was by grinding char¬ coal with water very fine upon a colour ftone, fuch as painters ufe in grinding their paint, not with a pcftle and mortar ; that it was ground to an exceeding fine powder; C that