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.

John the Painter

Date:: [1777?]

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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[ 3° ] the Congrefs!—No. What not Silas Deane !—No—He is a fine fellow; I believe Benjamin Franklin is employed about die fame errand. And then he told him that he had taken a view of mod of the dock-yards and fortifications about England, and particularly the number of guns in each Imp of the navy, and the weight of their me- tal, and the number of men ; and he faid he had been at Paris two or three times, to inform Silas Deane of the particulars of what he found in the dock-yards; that Silas Deane was greatly pleafed with what he had done, and he acquainted Silas Deane in what manner the dock-yards were to be fet on fire-, and Mr. Deane was amazed he could undertake to execute it in fuch a manner alone; but he toid him he would do more execution than he could imagine, or any perfon upon the face of the earth. Deane afked him what money he wanted to carry his lcheme into execution ? he faid not much ; that he expected to be rewarded according to his merit. Silas Deane, however, he faid, gave him bills to the amount of 3001. and letters to a great man, a confiderable merchant in the city of London. In his difcourfe with the witnefs, he ex- preffed his anxiety to know whether my Lord Cornwallis had been defeated in America ; he faid he knew Wafhington perfonally, and believed him to be abler than'General Howe. That he would watch and harrafs General Howe, and he was fure the Ame- ricans would conquer this Winter ; but the grand campaign was to be in the Summer. He faid he only wanted a few experienced officers, which he believed would be lup- plied from France. That Silas Deane was appointed at Paris for that purpofe, and to buy flores and ammunition ; but as to cannon ball, they had enough in America, particularly fomewhere in Maryland, to fupply all Europe; and likewile pitch, tar, and turpentine. He fays, from the feventh of February to the twenty-fourth,—he was with him every clay, and moftly twice a day : the Prifoner told him among other things, that he arrived at Dover from Paris, and went to Canterbury.—Now here you fee appears the materiality of the Canterbury evidence. That he went into a fhop at Canterbury, and befpoke a machine to be made which they called a Cannifter; the mafter to whom he applied he faid was a ftupid fellow, and did not underftand him ; but the boy Was more ingenious; though he was obliged to ftay by him to inftruct him. Now that boy you fee has been called, and confirms this part of Bald win's evidence, by fwearing positive- ly to the Prifoner being the man who came to his mailer's (hop, who befpoke the Cannif- ter,—for whom he made the cannifter, and who took away the canniller. That the Pri- foner told him he gave the boy fomething to drink, and then he went into a public- houie with the cannifter under the breaft of his coat; that there was a dragoon in the houfe with whom he had fome words, and that the dragoon opened his coat to fee what he had in it.—The dragoon, you will recollect is called, and he confirms this ftory, not directly, but in fuch a way, as leaves you very little room to doubt about it; he does not, you will recollect, fwear pofitively to feeing the actual cannifter itfelf, but he law fomething under the breaft of the Prifoner's coat fhining and glittering like tin: and he mentions the circumftance of the Prifoner's having had a quarrel with his comrade, which the other dragoon alfo confirms him in, though both of them fwear cautioufly to the identity of the Prifoner. The witnefs fays the Priioner told him that from thence he went to Portfmouth, where he took a lodging at Mrs. Boxell's ; and there he tried his preparations. Now, gentlemen, I think I am warranted in faying, that Mrs Boxell's evidence was very material, inafmuch. as he himfelf, in his difcourfe with the witnefs, has confirmed her teftimony in the ftrongeft degree: for he tells him here what Ihe told you before, that he was em- ployed in her houfe in preparing and in trying thefe combuftables. He goes on and lays, th-at there were matches made by a fheet of whited-brown paper being folded up in ten or twelve folds; and he told him this was the method in which he made them in order to t>e done over with a compofition of charcoal and gun-powder; that is a fmall circumftance as it paffes; but-you will recollect it prelently, as being perhaps material: the charcoal he faid mint be finely pounded upon a colour-ftone, fuch as painters ufe, in order to make it effectual : he faid the paper mull be doubled before it was done, in order to prevent its cracking. Now there was a witnefs called after- wards, relative to what pafTed at Briftol, who is a painter. You will recollect I was defirous that he fhould fleer clear of dropping any thing about the cala- mity that we have all heard of at Briftol; becaufe we are not now in charity or juftice at liberty to fuppole, that this Prifoner had any the remoteft connection with what happened at Briftol.' But the evidence was material in this way, to Z1U '■• ■ «.4. < prove

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