Q. You say Perrin was troubled with the rheumatism; why would you take a man with you that could not help you to carry off the goods?
Race. I don’t know; I am sure he was with us, and had his share of tea when we divided it at Brooke.
William Steel was called, and appearing, was sworn.
William Steel. When I came home, I was told the goods were taken by Captain Johnson. The first time we met, I cannot say any of the prisoners were there. When we met in Charlton Forest at the Center-tree, I believe Richard Perrin was there; there were a great many of us there; this was some time in October; we met to conclude about getting this tea out of Poole custom-house. We came to some conclusion there; from thence we came to Rowland’s Castle on a Sunday in the afternoon; there were about twenty of us; I think Thomas Lilliwhite was there.
Q. Were there any of your company armed?
Steel. I cannot say there were any arms there on the Sunday. On the Monday, in the afternoon, some time before sunset, when we set out, every man was armed.
Q. How came they by their firearms?
Steel. They had them from their own houses, as far as I know. I do not remember one man without: some had pistols, some blunderbusses; all the Hawkhurst men had long arms slung round their shoulders, and Fairall, alias Shepherd, had a hanger. We went from Rowland’s Castle, and when we came to the Forest of Bere we were joined by the Hawkhurst gang; this was on a Monday night. The prisoners Kingsmill and Fairall were part of the Hawkhurst gang that joined us, and had with them a little horse which brought their arms and would follow a grey horse one of them rode on; there were about seven of them. We went from Dean to Lindhurst, and when we set out from thence to Poole we were all armed; we all looked at our firearms to see if they were primed.
Court. When you looked at your arms to see if they were primed at Dean, are you sure all the prisoners were there, or which of them?
Steel. They were all five there at that time, and we went together till we came near Poole, when Stringer and Willis went forward to see how the way stood; and when we came within about a mile of the town, Willis and Stringer[16] came and met us, and one of them said it was impossible to be done. We turned our horses again, and came to a little lane, and every man got off, and tied our horses up to a rail, which was put along a sort of a common. There were thirty-one horses; we left them under the care of Thomas Lilliwhite and Perrin; we every man went to the custom-house, and broke it open. I and another went to the quay, to see that nobody came to molest us. When I came back again the custom-house was broken open; they said it was done with iron bars. They were carrying the tea when the other man and I came to them.