The trial of the accused Rebeccaites fingered by the sketchy informant John Jones begins. From the Cambrian:
Anti-Toll Gate Agitation.
In our last publication we announced the destruction of the Rhydypandy and
Bolgoed toll-bars, the latter of which had been re-erected but a short time
before. On , information
was communicated to the Magistrates, relative to the parties implicated in the
destruction of the toll-bars, in consequence of which, they issued warrants
for the apprehension of several parties of the highest respectability. This
circumstance created the greatest excitement in this town and
neighbourhood — so much so, that many old residents of Swansea have declared
that, on no former occasion, have they seen the town in such a state of
effervescence. Early on ,
Captain Napier, accompanied by Inspector Rees, of the Borough Police force,
Sergeant Jenkins and Henry Lewis, of the Rural Police, proceeded to the
neighbourhood of Pontardulais, with warrants for the apprehension of Mr. David
Jones, son of Mr. Morgan Jones, of Tymawr (formerly of Court-y-Carne), who is
a most respectable freeholder, and Mr.
Wm. Morgan, farmer, of
Bolgoed. After having brought these two persons to town and placed them in
custody at the station-house, the same officers proceeded to execute a
warrant, signed by J.D. Llewellyn and T.
Edw. Thomas,
Esqrs., for the apprehension
of Matthew and Henry Morgan, the sons of Mr. Morgan Morgan, a freeholder,
residing at Cwmcillau, near Velindre, in the parish of Llangyfeiach. The
former resides on his own farm, which he rents from J.D. Llewelyn,
Esq., and the latter, being a
single man, in his father’s house. The officers arrived in the neighbourhood
of Cwmcillau about , and apprehended Matthew Morgan at his own house, two or three
fields distant from his father’s house. He was left in the custody of Sergeant
Jenkins and Lewis, while Capt.
Napier and Mr. Rees proceeded to Cwmcillau farm-house, for the purpose of
executing the warrant against Henry Morgan. The nature of the warrant was
fully explained in Welsh, by Mr. Rees, to the family, who positively declined
allowing Henry to be taken by the officers. At last,
Capt. Napier and Mr. Rees
found it necessary to take him by force, when the whole family assisted in his
rescue, and committed a serious assault upon
Capt. Napier. As all
particulars relating to the attack are detailed in the evidence given before
the Magistrates on , a report of
which is subjoined, it is quite unnecessary to enter upon them here, and
refer our readers to the evidence adduced. However, the family succeeded in
rescuing the person against whom the warrant had been issued, but not until
one of them (John Morgan) had been seriously wounded by a pistol shot, which
Capt. Napier was compelled to
discharge in self-defence. With the assistance of Sergeant Jenkins and
Policeman Lewis, who had been left with Matthew Morgan, at a distance of three
fields from the house, they succeeded in bringing the young man who was
wounded, with his brother, to Swansea. In , three vehicles, with a party of the
73d Regiment, and several policemen, proceeded to
Cwmcillau, for the purpose of apprehending the rest of the family, who had
joined in the attack on the officers. They succeeded in apprehending Esther
Morgan, the mother, Margaret Morgan, the daughter, and Rees Morgan, one of the
sons. Morgan Morgan was apprehended in town, having come to enquire after his
son. All the family were now in custody, with the exception of Henry Morgan.
Dr. Bird and Mr. Rogers,
surgeon, extracted the ball from John Morgan’s body, and have done everything
that was necessary for his recovery. The ball had entered the left side, below
the navel, and was extracted from over the third lower rib, but the medical
men were of opinion that it had not entered the abdominal cavity. On
, Mr. Griffith Vaughan,
formerly a draper in this town, but now landlord of the Red Lion Inn,
Pontardulais, and postmaster of that place, and Mr. Daniel Lewis, known as a
writer in the Welsh periodicals, under the name of Petris Bach, were
taken into custody, on a charge of having been concerned in the destruction of
the Bolgoed bar. During the whole of
the town was in the greatest state of excitement, being filled with a number
of respectable country people, farmers, and others, whose countenances
betrayed the inward anxiety entertained to know the result of these
proceedings. A private meeting of the Magistrates was held during the whole of
, in the Petty Sessions-room, in the
Townhall. It was the fullest meeting that had taken place for some time. The
following Magistrates were present:– Sir John Morris,
Bart. (in the Chair), John
Grove, Esq.,
Rev. S. Davies, W.I.
Jones, Esq., J.D. Llewelyn,
Esq., L.W. Dillwyn,
Esq., L.Ll. Dillwyn,
Esq., C.H. Smith,
Esq., H. Lucas,
Esq., J.N. Lucas,
Esq.,
Rev. John Collins, Thomas
Penrice, Esq., Robert Lindsay,
Esq., T.
Edw. Thomas,
Esq., J.H. Vivian,
Esq.,
M.P., J.D.
Berrington, Esq., and F.
Fredericks, Esq. — Several
Reporters made an application for admittance, but were told that the meeting
was strictly a private one, to which Magistrates and the necessary officers
only were to be admitted, but that reporters should be admitted at the proper
time. Soon afterwards, all the prisoners were brought to the Town-hall and
were taken to the Magistrates’ room. The large hall, was immediately filled,
in the expectation that the examination would take place there. In a short
time the Rev. S. Davies
appeared, and announced that the examination would be a strictly private one,
but when the parties were brought up for final hearing, the public would be
admitted. Mr. Powell, the reporter for the Times,
who had come that morning from Carmarthen expressly for the purpose of being
present, applied for the admission of reporters. Messrs. W. Walters, J.G.
Jeffreys, and J.R. Tripp, solicitors, who were respectively engaged to defend
the prisoners, made a similar application in writing, and in reply, received
the following resolution of the Magistrates — “That all meetings, with a view
to the investigation of charges relating to the demolition of turnpike gates
in this neighbourhood, be strictly private until the parties are brought up
for final hearing.” — From enquiries made, we understand that the information
relative to the destruction of the gates was given by a man named John Jones,
who has stated that he was present at the destruction of the Rhydypandy gate.
On , this man told Mr. Rees,
the Inspector of police, that he knew all the parties concerned in the
destruction of the gates, and could give their names and residences. This
induced Mr. Rees to communicate the circumstance to the authorities, who
subsequently issued warrants for the apprehension of the parties. It would be
unsafe to offer any opinion as to the correctness of the information until the
case is brought forward, but we deem it right to state, that the public place
no confidence whatever in his testimony. His wife declares that he was in bed
on the night of the destruction of the Rhydypandy gate, at which it is said
that he was present. She also stated that, ever since a seizure of his effects
for debt, his conduct has been such as to lead her to suspect that he is not
altogether sane. It also appears that some of the Welsh have a notion, that if
they can erect what they call Ty un nos — that is, if
they can build a house on a common in one night unobserved until the following
morning — that the house so erected becomes their property. Jones erected a
house of this description on a common, belonging to the Duke of Beaufort, over
which Messrs. Jenkins, of Cenhordy, and Morgan, of Cwmcillau, had a right of
pasturage, and which house they demolished. This, coupled with the fact that
the sum of 100l. has
been offered for the apprehension of the destroyers of Bolgoed bar, tend to
throw considerable suspicion on his evidence; for we understand that he is the
informer respecting the destruction of both bars. Various rumours were afloat
on , respecting the conduct of
Capt. Napier and the police,
towards the Morgan family, for which, as it appeared by uncontradicted
evidence on , there were
not the slightest grounds. Had the assault case been publicly
investigated on , those injurious
reports would not have been circulated.
Rebecca in North Wales
We find that pulling down toll-gates has become the fashion of the day, and
that North Wales is imitating the South. On
the turnpike gate of
Brynefal, near Tre’ Madoc, was destroyed. It appears that there were from
twenty to thirty of the Rebeccaites, some speaking with the South accent, and
others in English. They told the toll-keeper that, unless he was silent, they
would make him so, and tried to effect an entrance into the house, but he had
the presence of mind to place four sacks of salt against the door, which
prevented their effecting an entrance. Having pulled off the post,
&c., they
carried the gate about a mile, and then cut it in pieces, and left the
fragments by the river side. We are given to understand that no clue has been
obtained as to the perpetrators. We trust that the proper authorities will be
on the alert. — Carnarvon Herald.
