accomplish the same purposes, maliciously and traitorously did consent and agree that the said Jeremiah Joyce, John Augustus Bonney, John Horne Tooke, Thomas Wardle, Matthew Moore, John Thelwall, John Baxter, Richard Hodgson, one John Lovett, one William Sharp, and one John Pearson, should meet, confer, and co-operate among themselves, and together with divers other false traitors, to the Jurors unknown, for and towards the calling and assembling such convention and meeting as aforesaid, for the traitorous purposes aforesaid. And further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, they maliciously and traitorously did cause and procure to be made and provided, and did then and there maliciously and traitorously con.. sent and agree to the making and providing of divers arms and offensive weapons, to wit, guns, muskets, pikes, and axes, for the purpose of arming divers subjects of our said Lord the King, in order and to the intent that the same subjects should and might unlawfully, forcibly, and traitorously oppose and withstand our said Lord the King in the due and lawful exercise of his royal power and authority in the execution of the laws and statutes of this realm, and should and might unlawfully, forcibly, and traitorously subvert and alter, and aid and assist in subverting and altering, without and in defiance of the authority and against the will of the Parliament of this kingdom, the legislature, rule, and govern

ment now duly and happily established in this king. dom, and depose, and aid and assist in deposing, our said Lord the King from the royal state, title, power, and government of this kingdom. And further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and ima+ ginations aforesaid, they with force and arms maliliciously and traitorously did meet, conspire, consult, and agree among themselves to raise, levy, and make insurrection, rebellion, and war within this kingdom of Great Britain, against our said Lord the King. And further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their most evil and wicked treason and treasonable, compassings and imaginations aforesaid, they maliciously and traitorously did meet, conspire, consult, and agree amongst themselves, and together with divers other false traitors, to the Jurors unknown, unlawfully, wickedly, and traitorously to subvert and alter, and cause to be subverted and altered, the legislature, rule, and government now duly and happily established in this kingdom, and to depose and cause to be deposed our said Lord the King from the royal state, title, power, and government of this kingdom. And further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, and in order the more readily and effectually to bring about such subversion, alteration, and deposition as last aforesaid, they maliciously and traitorously did prepare and compose, and did then and there mali,

ciously and traitorously cause and procure to be prepared and composed, divers books, pamphlets, letters, declarations, instructions, resolutions, orders, addresses, and writings, and did then and there maliciously and traitorously publish and disperse, and did then and there maliciously and traitorously cause and procure to be published and dispersed, divers other books, pamphlets, letters, declarations, instructions, resolutions, orders, addresses, and writings, the said several books, pamphlets, letters, declarations, instructions, resolutions, orders, addresses, and writings so respectively prepared, composed, published, dispersed, and caused to be prepared, composed, published, and dispersed, as last aforesaid, purporting and containing therein (amongst other things) incitements, encouragements, and exhortations, to move, induce, and persuade the subjects of our said Lord and King to aid and assist in carrying into effect such traitorous subversion, alteration, and deposition as last aforesaid, and also containing therein (amongst other things) information, instructions, and directions to the subjects of our said Lord the King, how, when, and upon what occasions the traitorous purposes last aforesaid should and might be carried into effect. And further to fulfil, perfect, and bring to effect their most evil and wicked treason and treasonable compassings and imaginations aforesaid, they did maliciously and traitorously consent and agree to the procuring and providing arms and offensive weapons, to wit, guns,

muşkets, pikes, and axes, therewith to levy and wage war, insurrection, and rebellion against our said Lord the King within this kingdom, against the duty of their allegiance, against the peace of our said Lord the now King, his crown and dignity, and against the form of the statute in that case made and provided.

Mr. Attorney General stated to the Court, that he had been informed by the Counsel for the Pri soners, it was their wish the Prisoners should be tried separately. It was therefore his intention to proceed first on the trial of Thomas Hardy.

At the request of the Prisoners' Counsel, the Court adjourned to Tuesday, October the 28th.

On Tuesday the 28th of October, the Attorney General opened the case for the Crown against the Prisoner Thomas Hardy, in the following Speech.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIP AND

GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY,

In the course of stating what I have to offer to your most serious attention in this great and weighty cause, affecting, as it certainly does, the dearest inte rests of the community, affecting, as you will remember throughout this business, every interest which can be valuable to the Prisoner at the bar, I shall have frequent occasion to call that anxious attention to the

VOL. III.

different parts of the Indictment which has just been opened to you. I forbear to do so at this moment, because I think that attention will be more usefully, both with respect to the public, and to the Prisoner, given and required in another part of what I am to address to you.

Gentlemen, the Prisoner, who is before you, stands charged (to state the Indictment generally) with the offence of compassing His Majesty's death; he was committed, upon that charge, by His Majesty's Privy Council: I will explain to you presently why I state this and the following facts. In consequence of the apprehension of this Prisoner, of several others charged by this Indictment, and of others, whose names do not occur in this Indictment, proceedings of some notoriety were had in Parliament, and an Act passed, empowering His Majesty to detain such persons as he suspected were conspiring against his government. That Act has asserted, that a traitorous and detestable conspiracy had been formed for subverting the existing laws and government of the country, and for introducing that system of anarchy and confusion, which had so fatally prevailed in France; the Act, upon the spur of the emergency, which it contemplated, authorized the detention without bail, mainprize, or discharge, of the persons then in prison for high treason, or treasonable practices, or who should afterwards be committed, for high treason or treasonable practices, by warrants from the Privy Council or Secretary of State, until the first of February 1795.