If therefore on y e whole of
y e Evid nce offer’d, y e
sh d be of y e Mind, That this meet g of y e Sold rs was lawful
as they were Injoyn’d it by their Officer who had
y e Comand
& you must look upon it that there
being thus mett was lawfull;
whether it was so or not may be after Consid rg but on that
Supposition. it will be necessary for y e to determine by which & or how many of the
Prison rs: y e deceas d
Psons were slain or who
actualy abetted those who did it. for the sold rs:
were not unlawfuly Assembled, the Homicide canot
legally be Imputed to them all
it mus those only who did the Act can be Charged with it = Let us
then go into y e Enq ry
w th regard to some of y e Prison rs you have nothing
Pticul ry
laid to y e Charge Save y e being
there – You will find indeed on looking over y e Evidence that they all were together
there Corp l
Wemms Warren Mongom &
y e oth rs
were all present when this Unhappy Tragic firing
hapne d – but up n only two or at most 3
ag st whom any
thing certain can be fixed – there is indeed a 3 d: viz v y e Tall man, Warren, who
by the Evidence of Burdet on a man
firing one fell; he thinks it Warren, but
is not
Certain of it – & when y e: find where he places the man who fired,
it makes it [illegible]
Especially as its against y e
Gene l run of the other Evidence
How However it bears hard on this Prison r Kilroy, Especialy
Consid r what
Ferriter swears of
Kilroy being
in the affray at the rope Walks, & there some of
them swore they w d have satisfaction
for what
they yre mett with – This taken alone w d Suggest a malicious Intent in this man
& had he gone
down & join’d the
Sold rs of his own Accord, it would
Appear more so, but that was
not the case he was order'd there by his
Sup r Officer, whom he was obliged
to obey –
Still there is another matter ag t:
this man & w ch Savors of Cruelty & Inhumanity
I mean What Croswel & Carter swears that
seeing his Bayonet y e: next moment was
bloody
5 Inch up – If this was done by Stabing
Monks the dying man after he
was shot Down It was a Barbarous Action
& must Arise from a bad mind not from any fear of
Danger from a Pson near
Expiring his End –
& therefore cannot be Justified und r y e
pretence of self Defence = but wheth r
he can be charged with
the Crime of Murder is y e
Q n – when he went
expected there not of himself but by Comand r: of his Officer,
w m
he was bound to Obey – & placed there in Defence
& support of Centry fixd at
this post by Martial Authority –
& when you Consid r the threatning Given them all the things flung
& stroke Given, & that
the Pson
Slain was one of the most active had threatned he
w d knock down some of
Sold rs: what
Swears was Annimating &
pushing on y e
Pple & diswading from
runn g away
for they Durst not fire These thing I say
togeth r with the real Dangers
the all were in fear y t those
Surround g may
less n his Crime from What he is
Charged with to mansl a –
Mr. Palmes who appears a
verry Intellig t Witness fixs y e first fire on
y e Grenad r M t Gom y on
y e Cap t R t hand
With regard to Montgomry
J n.Baily swears he was
y e 1 st. Pson that fired &
Attucks y e Mollatto fell
by
his shot – J. Danbrook he swears
y t on M t Gomery firing fell
Attucks. & he
thinks another
I you Credit these 2 Witnesses what they Declare fixes
the Killing of Attucks on this Soldier
–
Unless the Acco t given by
M r Burdet
sh d render it more some
what uncertain for he fixes this if I
mistake him not, on the Tall man Warren =
You have then to Consider what has been
Offerr’d by his Council for him & what the Wittness have
declared in his behalf.
They Alledged M t Gom ry had a Just
Provocation to fire – for y t what
Bailey (y t Wittness for
[illegible]
declared y t: before y e 1st fire
M t had a blow stroke
g Blow Given by one who stood on his Right &
being
Ask'd by y e
Prison rs Counsel
wheth r it was a verry violent he answers yes – he goes on & say the
blow stroke given M t Gomery bro t him to y e ground – M r Palmes Confirms y e same
so also Whadle &
Andrew
Who Testi fg as to the Stroke
Given y t Grenadiers & And the blow on his head Accompanied
w th
the Cry Kill the Dog. Knock him overboard = They says this was
done by a large stout
man & describe him in such a man r as it must suppose him to be
Attucks.
John [Pevem's?]
Creditors Petition
Soldiers Trial 1770
Novr