7S 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S12. 



the eastward of the town, from 

 which the water descended in tor- 

 rents, the lower part of the town 

 was completely inundated. Very 

 serious losses have been sustained : 

 and the poor people whose houses 

 lay near the river are almost ruin- 

 ed, the greatest part of their goods 

 being carried away. A liberal 

 subscription for their relief has 

 been raised amongst the principal 

 inhabitants. 



23. Letters wete received yester- 

 day from Manchester, which com- 

 municate the unpleasant intelli- 

 gence, that during the last few 

 days several violent outrages have 

 been committed by the Luddites. 

 No fewer than three persons had 

 been shot in different parts of the 

 country, without any discovery or 

 even suspicion of the murderers. 

 Besides these atrocities, a gentle- 

 man, obnoxious to the hatred of 

 the Luddites, was attacked in a 

 lane, in the middle of the day, by 

 several men who were strangers 

 to him : after receiving a violent 

 blow on the head with a large 

 stone, he had the good fortune to 

 escape by the swiftness of his 

 horse. A working man, who had 

 been mistaken for another person 

 that had given information against 

 the Luddites, was taken to a coal- 

 pit with an intent of precipitating 

 him to the bottom, when it was 

 discovered that he was not the 

 man whom the assailants were in 

 quest of; aiid in consequence he 

 was suffered to depart, without 

 sustaining any injury. All possi- 

 ble means have been tried to in- 

 duce the Luddites in prison to 

 divulge the whole extent of their 

 plan, and to impeach their ring- 

 leaders, but without eff"tct. Some 

 have; '-een prom.ised protection, 



and a competency for life, but to 

 no purpose. 



On May 24, a special commission 

 for the trial of the rioters in 

 Cheshire was opened by judge 

 Dallas at Chester : the trials began 

 on the 26th, and on the 30th, 

 the court finally broke up, the 

 judge having passed the following 

 sentences, viz ; — 



Collin Linden, James Wilson, 

 alias Roach, Forster Roach, James 

 Bennett, Richard Wood, James 

 Tomlinson, and William Thomp- 

 son, for obtaining money contrary 

 to the king's peace, from John 

 Parker, esq. ; Richard Lowndes, 

 James Torkington, and Joim Hen- 

 shall, for rioting at Pownall Fee 

 and Styall, and obtaining several 

 sums of money with force and vio- 

 lence; Jos. Thompson, for enter- 

 ing the dwelling-house of J. 

 Goodair, at Edgeley, and stealing 

 thereout silver spoons and other 

 articles, and also setting fire to 

 the same; W. Greenough, for 

 entering the shop of Alice Berry, 

 at Tintvvisle, and taking away a 

 quantity of flour ; James Cross- 

 land, for vhreatening the life of 

 Robert Thorniley, a manufacturer 

 at Tintwisle, and breaking and de- 

 stroying his tools ; John Temple, 

 for breaking and entering the 

 dwelling-house of Samuel W^ag- 

 staff", and stealing five silver tea 

 spoons and other articles ; and 

 John Heywood, for riotously as- 

 sembling and breaking the factory 

 of Messrs. Sidebothana, and break- 

 ing and destroying a machine, 

 received sentence of death. 



Eight were ordered to be trans- 

 ported for seven years. 



John Jackson, William Stubbs, 

 and Thomas Livesley, for riotously 

 assembling and continuing toge- 

 ther 



