Newspaper Transcripts
Some Selected Reports from the Hampshire Chronicle
Monday, September 9th, 1782
WINCHESTER, Saturday, August 10.
At twelve o'clock this day came on the tryal of David Tyrie, for High Treason, at the Castle in this city, before Mr. Justice Heath, under a special commission held for that purpose.
Previous to the opening of the cause, the prisoner begged permission of the judge to state some reasons why his tryal should be postponed till the next Lent Assizes. These reasons were, that the short notice he had had of tryal, did not give him time to procure those witnesses on his behalf, from whose evidence he had no doubt of being acquitted. But it happened that one of them was now confined in Tothillfields-Bridewell, and he had not the means to procure an Habeas Corpus to bring her down. Another witness was on a cruize, on board one of his Majesty's ships of war. - One was at this time in Brussels, and another in Ostend. He therefore prayed the indulgence of the Court to put off his tryal till the next assizes, in order to give him time to collect these witnesses, and prepare himself for tryal. After the Judges and counsel had investigated the matter, the motion was over-ruled, on its appearing that the prisoner had not hitherto made use of any endeavours to procure this evidence, though he had been six months in custody.
The cause was then opened on the part of the crown by Mr. Morris, who in a very able, humane, and comprehensive detail of the grounds of the prosecution, begged leave to call the attention of the Jury to the circumstances of an offence big with fatal consequences to society, and destructive to the good government and well-being of a great and commercial nation.
The first witness called, was a Mrs. Harvey, who keeps a School near Scotland-yard, London. - She deposed that Mrs. Askew, understood to be the wife of the prisoner, brought to her house on the 13th of February, a bundle of papers, requesting her to take particular care of them, and not on any account to let any person see them - struck with the singularity of the circumstance, and the tremor and anxiety of Mrs. Askew, she was induced, after her departure, to examine the papers, and finding them of a very particular nature, she carried them the same evening to a Mr. Page, a friend of hers, to desire he would examine them, and let her know his opinion of their contents.
Mr. Page was then sworn - He confirmed the evidence of Mrs. Harvey, and said, that on finding the papers of a treasonable nature, he went the next morning and placed a constable at Mrs. Harvey's, to take the person into custody who should come to enquire of them - By this means Mrs Askew alias Mrs Tyrie, was taken into custody; and after a few days search, Tyrie himself was also apprehended. By these papers it appeared that Tyrie had been at very great pains in collecting lists of all the English ships of war in and out of commission; their different situations and appointments; their present and intended stations; number of Ships building, and under repair, in all the different dock-yards, and merchants yards in the kingdom, all drawn out in the hand writing of the prisoner, which was proved by two witnesses.
A Captain James was then sworn, who deposed, that in February last he met Tyrie, the prisoner, on the beach at Gosport, who, after some conversation, hired him to go to a port in France, at a premium of 15 guineas, to bring home a cargo of wines. That he met Tyrie and his wife by appointment at the Crown Inn at Gosport the same evening, where he finally engaged to undertake the voyage, and received a packet from Tyrie, which he was to deliver at Cherbourg, or Boulogne, which ever port he could soonest make. The packet, he said, was made up and sealed in his presence by Tyrie, at the Crown, and was directed and delivered by the prisoner into his own hand. That when he awoke the next morning, and considered the agreement he had made, he thought it had a very suspicious appearance, and went to an acquaintance of his, a Capt. Harrison, at Portsmouth, and related the circumstance, producing the packet, and expressing his dislike to undertake the voyage.
Capt. Harrison was then examined. He confirmed the testimony of Mr.James, and deposed, that when he received the packet out of his hand, and observed the direction to the Commandant at Cherbourg, he concluded there was treachery somewhere, and therefore broke open the letter; when being confirmed in his opinion, he set off immediately for London, and delivered the packet to Mr. Frazer, then Secretary at Lord Stormont's Office, where it remained till the prisoner was ordered for trial.
Mr. Frazer was then sworn. He proved the receipt of the packet from the hand of Capt. Harrison, and deposed that the packet thus produced in Court was identically the same as he had received from Tyrie, and had delivered to Harrison. The contents of the packet were next examined, and were found to contain five letters, one of which, to the Commandant at Cherbourg, set forth and specified by name a squadron of English ships, just then sent over to hover on the French coast, to intercept a fleet of victuallers and merchantmen expected to sail from Cherbourg, and to rendezvous off La Hogue. Another letter to the Minister of Marine at Paris, contained the most comprehensive account of the sailing of the East and West India fleets from Spithead, in February last, with the names of all the men of war appointed to convoy them. With a variety of other particulars relative to the sailing and stations of a variety of ships, then under orders on different services. - Thus, after a most fair and candid trial which lasted near eight hours, the Jury, without hesitation, on the clearest evidence, brought in their verdict, GUILTY.
On the verdict being notified to the prisoner, he was asked if he had any reason to shew why the sentence of the law should not be inflicted, as in all cases of the kind ? He replied, That it was totally unnecessary for him to say any thing, since it had been put out of his power to provide those witnesses who would have proved his innocence - but he had a hope beyond the grave, and he despised all that this world could do to him !
The Judge then, after a most pathetic and moving charge, passed the following sentence upon the prisoner, - "That you be taken to the place from whence you came, and from thence drawn upon a hurdle to the place of execution; you are there to be hung by the neck, but not till you are dead, your privy member shall be cut off, and your bowells taken out while yet alive, and burnt before your face; your head shall be severed from you body, and your body divided into four quarters, and disposed of as his Majesty shall think fit; and the Lord have mercy on your soul."
The Judge was pleased to order that he should be executed on Saturday the 14th of August instant, at PORTSMOUTH.
Wednesday last the Rev. Mr. Townsend, Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, was presented by that Society to the Rectory of Rotherfield Grays, in Oxfordshire, worth �440 per annum. At the same time, the Rev. Mr.Wa.ton was presented by the said College, to the Donative of Hill-Farrance in Somersetshire. Both benefices were vacated by the death of Sir Harry Parker, Bart. elder brother of the brave Admiral Hyde Parker.
In the course of last week 300[?] Spanish prisoners were exchanged for and sent from this prison to Southampton, and this week 508 were received from Bristol, and immediately sent off for the same place, in order to be put on board the cartels lying there. And on Monday 94 French prisoners were conducted to Poole to a French cartel there. Twelve French prisoners were brought to this prison from Bristol, part of the crew of La Ville de Paris, and upwards of 70 officers from the different captured French ships, were sent to Alresford on their paroles, the greatest part of whom are since gone to Poole, in order to embark on board cartels there.
Major Horatio Armond[?] Powlett[?], of the 49th regiment of foot, is appointed Captain of Carisbrook Castle in the Isle of Wight.
Tuesday died at Eversley, in this county, the Lady of the Hon. George Nares, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. Her Ladyship was the daughter of the late Sir John Strange, Master of the Rolls.