The better to attain these most desirable and salutary ends, parents, guardians, and others who have the tuition of youth (we mean here the youth of the poor and the illiterate in general) should now and then take occasion to read, or cause to be read, to their servants, etc., divers passages of this true history; at the same time make such remarks and draw such inferences from them, as their own natural good sense and experience might point out; and more especially they should put them in mind that God, by the mouth of His servant Moses, expressly declares, “He who sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”
“I have drawn it up in the way of a Narrative, as the best method of giving a full view of the whole affair. When that is over, I proceed to give an account of their Trials; after which I conclude with their lives, confessions, behaviour, and last dying words at the place of execution.
“I cannot omit to mention here, that Mr. Banks made a speech, exceedingly eloquent and judicious, which drew the attention of the whole court; and which he concluded with that wise saying of the wisest of men, ‘That the mercies of the wicked are cruelties’; the truth of which will evidently appear in the following pages.”
HISTORY OF THE SMUGGLERS.
In September, 1747, one John Diamond, otherwise Dymar, agreed with a number of smugglers to go over to the Island of Guernsey, to smuggle tea, where, having purchased a considerable quantity, on their return in a cutter, were taken by one Capt. Johnson, who carried the vessel and tea to the port of Poole, and lodged the tea in the Custom-house there.
The smugglers being very much incensed at this fatal miscarriage of their purchase, resolved not to sit down contented with the loss; but, on a consultation held among them, they agreed to go and take away the tea from the warehouse where it was lodged. Accordingly, a body of them, to the number of sixty, well armed, assembled in Charlton Forest, and from thence proceeded on their enterprise; to accomplish which, they agreed, that only thirty of them should go upon the attack, and that the remaining thirty should be placed as scouts upon the different roads, to watch the motions of the officers and soldiers, and to be ready to assist or alarm the main body, in case any opposition should be made.
In the night time, between the 6th and 7th of October, they went to Poole, about thirty only present, broke open the Custom-house, and took away all the said tea, except one bag about five pounds.
The next morning they returned with their booty through Fordingbridge, in Hampshire, where some hundreds of people were assembled to view the cavalcade. Among the spectators was Daniel Chater, a shoemaker (one of the unhappy persons murdered) known to Diamond, one of the gang then passing, as having formerly worked together in harvest time. Diamond shook hands with him as he passed along, and threw him a bag of tea.