^'4 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794, 



clover cut for hay is to be tithed by 

 the swarth. 



i4:h. At Maidstone assizes came 

 pn the trial of Thomas Purefoy, inr 

 dieted for the wilful murder of color 

 nel Roper, in a duel in December, 

 I788. since when Mr. Purefoy had 

 €hiefly been out of the kingdom. 

 In the year 1787, major Roper was 

 commander-in-chief at the island of 

 St. Vincent, and jVfr. Purefoy vwas 

 . ensign in the 66th regiment. The 

 titter having obtained leave of ab- 

 sence, had a festive day, with some 

 otheis of the junior officers, in which 

 they committed such excesses as oc- 

 casioned a complaint to major Ro- 

 per, by whom the absence was re- 

 called. The remonstrances of Mr. 

 Purefoy were made iti such a style 

 as to induce major Roper to bring 

 him to a court-martial. By their 

 verdict he was declared to have for- 

 feited his commission, and this ver- 

 dict was afterwards confirmed by 

 his majesty. This sentence was dif- 

 ficult, said the counsel, undoubtedly 

 to be borne, as breaking in on all 

 the pursuits of a young and ardent 

 mind. Yet it was still the duty of 

 3VI.. Purefoy to have submitted. 

 The witnesses were then examined, 

 amongst whom were general Stan- 

 ■wix, the second to colonel [■(oper. 

 The prisoner being called on for his 

 defence, said, " that he entertained 

 no malice against the deceased. He 

 felt not the asperity of revenge. He 

 was It '• by a call of honour, or, 

 more properly speaking, driven by 

 the tyranny of custom to an act, 

 which in tarly life bad embittered 

 his existence, but without which, he 

 was taighi -o believe, that he should 

 lose all th. (onsolptions which so- 

 ciiety could affqrd. The last ohal- 

 len^e, he observed, had come from 

 (cionel Roper 3 and, as ^ome expia- 



tion for his offence, he had ^heidjc 

 suffered near six years of exil(;, and 

 nine months of close confinement. — 

 [The latter part of his; .ddress wa^ 

 read from a written paper by Mr. 

 Erskine, the feelings of Mr. Purefoy 

 being such as to overpower his ut-: 

 terance.] 



The prisoner called nine gentle- 

 men to his character, most of whon^ 

 had known him from early life. 

 They al spoke to the general mild- 

 ness of hi : character, and the good'? 

 humourel ease and aversion to quarr 

 rel whitn marked his general de- 

 portment. After a charge by the 

 judge, Mr. Baron Hotham^ which 

 did equal honoui" to his justice and 

 sensibility, the jury, without hesita- 

 tion, returned their verdict " Not 

 Guilty." 



i^th. About two o'clock, a me-, 

 lancholy accidenthappenedin John- 

 ion's court, Charing-cross. George 

 Hovve, a genteel young man, was 

 taken to a recruitingrofficc there be- 

 longing to the East-India company, 

 to be enlisted ; and, upon attempt- 

 ing to make his escape, his hand^ 

 were tied behind his back, and in 

 that situation he was put into a gar^ 

 ret, where he was not many mi- 

 nutes before he jumped from the 

 window^ and was killed upon the 

 spot. This circumstance very na- 

 turally attracted the attention of 

 passengers, and presently a crowd 

 was collected, wiio, ftred by indig- 

 nation, pulled down the house. Af 

 detachment of the Guards was calU 

 e4 in, and with difficulty the inob 

 was disperacd. 



16th. The populace seemed in- 

 ch- cd to attack some other recruit- 

 ing-houses in the neighbourhood of 

 Cha, in ;-cross. The foot guards 

 had remained upon the spot ; and a 

 detacl^meut of the hor»e guards 



was 



