APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



309 



Old Bailey, July 3.— Trial of 

 Thomas Botcleronthe capital charge 

 of firing a blunderbuss at William 

 Burroioes on the 2f)th May last, at 

 Alperton, in the parish of Harrow. 

 — The first witness was William 

 Burrowes, a farmer at Alperton, 

 and a hay-salesman in St. James's 

 market. He stated that travelling 

 on the day above-mentioned, about 

 seven in the morning, towards 

 London, ina chaise cart, as he pas- 

 sed over the canal bridge near his 

 house, he observed near the road 

 side, under the shade of a tree, the 

 legs and thighs of a man, whom 

 he took to be the prisoner; and 

 when he came within 15 yards of 

 bim, the prisoner raised a blunder- 

 buss and took deliberate aim athim : 

 the witness immediately stooped 

 down in his cart, and requested he 

 would not fire : the prisoner ex- 

 claimed, " D — n your eyes, take 

 that," and fired. The witness 

 found himself wounded in his 

 head, neck, and back. He fell 

 forward across the shafts, and his 

 horse ran away with him. He 

 had no previous quarrel with the 

 prisoner. There had been some 

 trifling dispute between them in 

 March last about lopping trees, 

 but nothing had passed personally 

 on the subj ect. He had conversed 

 with him on the preceding Wed- 

 nesday, and observed nothing to 

 give reason for thinking that he 

 was not in his right mind. 



Henry Jones, blacksmith, who 

 lives near the spot, said, that on 

 the morning stated, he met the 

 prisoner on the bank of the canal, 

 on foot, with a blunderbuss, ac- 

 companied by a boy, his grandson, 

 on horseback. The prisoner said 

 his blunderbuss would not hold the 

 priming, and wished him to go 



to the forge and put it in order. 

 While this was doing, he said he 

 meant to shoot a dog with it. He- 

 walked about the road till near 

 seven, and then took his blunder- 

 buss, and posted himself under the 

 tree, as stated by the former wit- 

 ness. Jones then described the 

 act of shooting Burrowes exactly 

 as he had done ; and added, that 

 after the transaction, the boy dis- 

 mounted, and Bowler mounted, 

 and galloped over the bridge, bid- 

 ding his grandson follow him. 



Two other eye-witnesses of this 

 atrocity confirmed the evidence of 

 the preceding witness, and one of 

 them produced two leaden bullets 

 found on the spot, and the per- 

 forated hat of Burrowes. 



William Sheppard, a stable- 

 keeper in London, who knew 

 both parties, deposed to some 

 threatening expressions of Bowler's 

 with respect to Burrowes, particu- 

 larly his swearing that he would be 

 the death of Burrowes before the 

 middle of June, if he were to be 

 hanged the next morning. Wit- 

 ness reported these words to Bur- 

 rowes, who replied, " I don't fear 

 him ; he is too fond of his own 

 life to take away mine." 



The brother-in-law of Burrowes, 

 who, on June 6th, apprehended 

 Bowler, who had absconded, de- 

 posed that the prisoner entreated 

 him not to take him away from his 

 family, and offered him a large 

 sum to suffer him to remain con- 

 fined with his daughters and grand- 

 children. 



Mr. Withers, attorney, and son- 

 in-law of the prisoner, proved that 

 his dispute with Burrowes about 

 lopping trees was terminated with- 

 out a law-suit. He said that the 

 prisoner in last July was seized with 



a fit 



