36] 
the pistols for his. personal defence, 
as Mr. Yates had repeatedly threat- 
ened to bring in several persons to 
turn them out by force. He had 
only been shut out for the purpose 
of keeping him out till the attorney, 
who had been sent for, should 
arrive, and that his taking the 
pistol was the impulse of the mo- 
ment, and was only intended to 
‘have intimidated him; and that 
Mr. Yates himself seized hold of 
the pistol to wrest it from him. 
Miss Jones in her defence, went 
into the particulars of her first en. 
gagement with the late Mr Richard 
Yates, and of her performing at 
the Birmingham theatre; of the 
will in her favour, and of the tur. 
bulent behaviour of the deceased ; 
-disclaiming all idea of his murder, 
and that she would have willingly 
resigned every shilling of the pro- 
perty to have saved Mr. Yates’s life, 
Footner said little more than ac- 
counting for his being in the house 
in the way Sellers had previously 
related, merely calling as an ac- 
quaintance of Sellers. Evidence 
‘to character was only called in 
favour of Sellers ; several persons 
proved him ‘a quiet, humane, in- 
offensive man. The learned judge, 
Rook, then proceeded to sum up 
the evidence, and to point out the 
most striking parts to the jury. 
fie thought Miss Jones and Mr. 
Footner ought clearly to be ac- 
quitted of wilful murder, as they 
did not know that Sellers had the 
pistol, and it was not intended 
to keep Mr. Yates out by violence. 
With regard to Seliers, the jury 
should consider whether he fired 
the pistol wilfully ; if he did, he 
was guilty of murder ; if the pistol 
went off by accident it was only 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796, 
manslaughter ; short of that it 
could not be. The jury retired for 
a few minutes, and brought in their 
verdict, Jobn Sellers, not guilty 
of the murder, but guilty of man- 
slaughter; Elizabeth Jones and 
Richard Footner not guilty. Sellers 
was sentenced to pay a fine of one 
shilling, and be imprisoned six 
months. There are five wills, or 
testamentary papers, each of which 
are uniformly in favour of Miss 
Jones, one a regular drawn will 
in 1789. 
17th. Liverpool. This morning 
alittle before one o’clock, a 
most dreadful fire broke out ina 
large warehouse, belonging to Mr. 
Hervey in Cheapside ; which, not- 
withstanding every possible exer- 
tion, could not be got under till the 
whole warehouse, with all its va- 
luable contents, were consumed. 
The top part was occupied by Mr. 
Middleton, as a eotton manufac- 
tory, when the fire broke out, 
occasioned, as’ is supposed, by the 
friction of one of the wheels em- 
ployed in the works. In the lower 
part were eleven thousand measures’ 
of wheat, belonging to Messrs, 
Corrie, Gladstone and co. which, 
with a large quantity of hides, 
rum, brandy and other spirits, | 
were entirely destroyed. About 
three o’clock, the front part of the 
warehouse. fell into the street, 
directly upon one of the fire- 
engines that was then working, 
which occasioned a scene of horror 
impossible to, be described ; three 
men were crushed to pieces on the 
spot ; ten more were carried to the 
infirmary in a dreadful situation, 
two of whom died immediately ; 
and it is thought that many will be 
found among the ruins. 
19jh. 
/ 
