Gunn. I was at the Cock-pit, and I went from thence to the Sun-tavern.

Sir B. Shower. Whom did you meet there? Gunn. I saw captain Porter there. Sir B. Shower. What room were you in? Gunn. We went into a room next the street. Sir B. Shower. Who was there with you?, Gunn. There was Mr. Cranburne, and I, and Mr. Keyes.

Sir B. Shower. How long was it before Mr. Porter came in to you?

Gunn. He came in about half a quarter of an hour after I was there.

Sir B. Shower. Were you there from the beginning till Mr. Cranburne went away?

Gunn. Mr. Cranburne and I went from the Cock-pit together.

Sir B. Shower. How long did you stay there? Gunn. I was there about an hour and a half. Sir B. Shower. Were you out of the room at all in that time?

Gunn. Yes, I was out of the room once. Sir B. Shower. How long were you out of the room?

Gunn. I went home to my lodging.

Sir B. Shower. Were you ever with Mr. Cranburne at the Sun-tavern at any time besides this ?-Gunn. Never in my life.

Sir B. Shower. Whom did you leave with him when you went out?

Gunn. Captain Porter and Mr. Keys, as I remember.

Sir B. Shower. Were you there before captain Porter came to him?

Att. Gen. Now, Mr. Gunn, I would ask you a question or two first, Were you there all the while that Mr. Cranburne was there, or did you go home?-Gunn. I went home.

Att. Gen. Did you come back again?

Gunn. Yes, I went home and eat some victuals.

Att. Gen. How long were you absent? Gunn. I came back in half a quarter of an hour.

Att. Gen. How far is it to your house?
Gunn. It is not above 100 yards.

Sir B. Shower. Did Mr. Porter come in to you before you went home, when you first came in with Cranburne ?

Gunn. He came in after we were in the

room.

Mr. Phipps. Captain Porter said, when he came into the room Gunn was not there.

L. C. J. He did not say positively, but, as he remembered; now I would ask you a question or two.

Sir B. Shower. Pray, my lord, our inference from this evidence is this: Captain Porter says, that upon Friday the 21st of February he was with Cranburne at the Sun-tavern, and out of one room into another; he came to Mr. Cranburne, and talked with him of this design, and after that Gunn came into the room, after the communication was over: now this man swears he went from the Cock-pit with Mr. Cranburne, he was with him in the room at first when captain Porter came; some time afterwards he went to his own house, and left

back again, and they came away together: now, we say, these two are inconsistent; for captain Porter swears that Gunn was not there till after the communication was over.

Gunn. Yes, I think I was there when capt. Porter came in.

Sir B. Shower. Did you go and leave him there?

Gunn. We went all out together. I was there about an hour and a half.

L. C. J. Nay, but you said you were absent some time.

Gunn. I went home, and came back again. Sir B. Shower. When you went home, did you leave Mr. Cranburne behind you?

Gunn. Yes, I think so.

Mr. Phipps. Did you leave captain Porter with him?

Gunn. I think captain Porter was with him then.

Mr. Phipps. But, upon your oath, was you in company with Mr. Cranburne at the Suntavern, when captain Porter came first in?

Gunn. Captain Porter went in and out several times.

Sir B. Shower. Did you see captain Porter before you went to your own house?

Gunn. Yes, sure.

Mr. Phipps. Then it cannot be true what Mr. Porter says, that Gunn did not come in till afterwards.

L. C. J. As he remembers.

Mr. Phipps. Nay, I think he was positive he came in afterwards.

L. C. J. As I remember, he was not positive; but call captain Porter again.

Mr. Phipps. When you came back from your house, who were in the room?

Gunn. The same company as I left, as far as I remember.

Mr. Mountague. Was captain Porter in the room when you came back?

Gunn. Indeed I cannot directly tell, I believe he was.

L. C. J. Pray observe what your witness says: he says, captain Porter came in and out, and was there several times before he went away.

Gunn. Yes, my lord, he was so.

L. C. J. And you were absent some time; but were you there some time before Porter came in ?-Gunn. Yes, I believe I was.

Then Captain Porter came in.

Att. Gen. Look ye, captain Porter, you see that man there ?-Porter. Yes.

Att. Gen. Pray give an account of what you know of that man's coming in to you at the Sun-tavern.

Porter. I came several times out of sir George Barcley's room into theirs, and to the best of my remembrance, Mr. Cranburne was there before Gunn came in.

Sir B. Shower. Do you remember whether the first time that you went out of sir George Barcley's room to speak with Mr. Cranburne, Mr. Gunn was there?

Porter. To the best of my remembrance he was not; to the best of my remembrance, Mr. Gunn, I saw Mr. Cranburne in the room before you was there.

Sir B. Shower. Did you not order Gunn to come with him to the Sun-tavern?

Porter. Yes, Sir, I did.

Sir B. Shower. Cannot you tell whether they came together?

Porter. I was not in the room when they. came in first, but to the best of my remembrance he was not there when I came in the first time.

L. C. J. Now, Gunn, you hear what captain Porter says; before you went away to your own house, did Mr. Porter come into the room to you?

Gunn. Indeed, my lord, I am not positive, I think he did.

Att. Gen. Neither of them is positive, and it is a circumstance not very material; for it seems he was absent, and then the discourse might be.

L. C. J. No, it is not material, but you see upon a strict examination what it comes to. Sir B. Shower. They are agreed upon it, I perceive, to be positive on neither side.

Mr. Phipps. Mr. Cranburne, pray ask Mrs. Gerrard what you have a mind.

Cranburne. Pray what do you know of captain Porter's going out in disguise, and wearing false hair and vizards, and going upon the highway, and such things?

Gerrard. I know not what Mr. Cranburne means. [At which the people laughed.] Sir B. Shower. It is no laughing matter, when a man is upon his life.

L. C. J. No, no, let him have fair play; answer the question.

Cranburne. Do you know any thing of your master's going abroad in disguises?

Gerrard. I do not know any thing of my master's going upon the highway.

L. C. J. Did he go out with vizards, or any such things?

Gerrard. I never saw him wear a vizard or false beard in my life, but he had once a patch on when he was forced to keep out of the way, upon the account of the Dog-tavern business in Drury-lane.

Mr. Phipps. See if Mr. Edward Boucher is here. [He was called, but did not appear.] Sir B. Shower. Call Mrs. Burton. [Which was done, but she did not appear.]

Mr. Phipps. Is William Hardyman here? [He was called, but did not appear.]

Sir B. Shower. Then call Simon Dawson, and we have done. (Which was done.)

Cryer. They are all called, but they do not appear.

Sir B. Shower. My lord, we must submit it to your lordship's directions, upon the evidence that has been given, as to the credibility of these witnesses, and whether what capt. Porter says, and what Gunn says, be consistent; so that you can be satisfied there are two lawful credible witnesses to prove any overt-act.

L. C. J. Yes, sure; but I would have you debate it, if you believe there be any thing in it.

Sir B. Shower. I submit it to your lordship's directions.

L. C. J. The question is, Whether I should give any directions at all or no, or whether there be any occasion for it?

Cranburne. I declare this openly before this honourable court, and so many noblemen as are here, that Mr. Porter never made me acquainted with this design, till what he swore bere.

L. C. J. I cannot tell; it is sworn by two witnesses.

Cranburne. I do declare, though capt. Pendergrass says he does not remember it, that captain Porter did declare in Spring-garden the 22d, when he came out of the Blue-Posts by the rails, If this design miscarry, says he, Mr. Charnock may thank himself: for I never communicated this secret to any of my friends.

L. C. J. But hark ye, do you consider what you say, If this design miscarry? Pray what design was that?

Cranburne. He never named any thing but the design, he did not say what it was.

L. C.J. But why were you employed to carry a list from captain Porter to Mr. Charnock, and to bring a list back again from him to captain Porter?

Cranbune. I did carry the note, but there was nothing mentioned what the list was for.

L. C. J. Then you were there on Friday the 14th, and there the design was proposed to assassinate the king the next day, and you engaged in it.

Cranburne. Not a word of it true, my lord. L. C. J. Ay, but Mr. Pendergrass swears it, and that you were hearty in the matter, and hoped you should do your business the next day.

it.

Cranburne. I cannot help it if he does swear

L. C. J. Then you were at the meeting at the Suu-tavern, the 21st.

Cranburne. My lord, you hear what Gunn says.

L. C. J. As to that, they are neither of them positive; but you did there promise and undertake the matter, that captain Porter is positive in, that it was agreed by you all to do it the 22d; and Mr. Pendergrass says, when you were disappointed the 15th, you all agreed to pursue the same design the Saturday following.

Cranburne. My lord, I did not dine at the Blue-Posts that day.

L. C. J. But you were there; I think, in

deed, Mr. Pendergrass says you came in after dinner, and bad some steaks.

Cranburne. I never heard directly nor indirectly of this design, till what I heard them swear here.

L. C. J. Gentlemen of the Jury, You do understand for what crime this prisoner at the bar is indicted: it is for high-treason, in desiging and compassing the death of the king, which was to be effected by an assassination in the most barbarous and wicked manner, that any attempt of that nature can possibly be made, being to surprise the king, and murder him in his coach.

The question, gentlemen, is, Whether this prisoner be guilty of this crime or no? There have been three witnesses produced that have given evidence against him, captain Porter, Mr. De la Rue, and Mr. Pendergrass; and they do all tell you that there was such a design on foot to assassinate the king, as he came from hunting at Richmond, after he came on this side the water, in the lane between Brentford and Turnham-Green. There were diverse persons engaged in this design, which sir George Barcley was come from France to promote and manage: captain Porter, as it does appear upon his evidence, was a person that was principally engaged, and at that time was hearty in the prosecution of it.

As to Mr. Cranburne, captain Porter tells you he was a man that he had had a long acquaintance with, and had employed him, and designed to employ him as an officer under him, in case a revolution happened, which it seems about that time, and some time before it, was expected. Captain Porter was to have been a captain, and I think he designed to promote Cranburne to be his quarter-master; and be sent him to buy arms; and preparations were made for that business; but that is not the thing that we are now upon; the matter that now properly falls under our consideration, is this: the coming over of sir George Barcley, the latter end of January, or the beginning of February last; upon which, as it seems, Mr. Porter was engaged; and having an interest in this Cranburne, and there being horses to be furnished to attack the king and his guards about Turnham-Green, this man, Cranburne, was a person that was engaged to be one of the horsemen that were to make the attack; and he tells you that he did employ him to provide horses and swords, and to prepare the pistols; and that he did engage in it, and particularly that the design was to be executed on Saturday the 15th of February, and that he was then ready to go with capt. Porter; but on that Saturday the king did not go abroad, whereby the design was disappointed for that time; afterwards, there was a meeting at the Sun-tavern in the Strand, where he met with sir George Barcley, and others of them; and there comes to that tavern Mr. Cranburne and others, and they were in another room, and captain Porter says he came to them, and did discourse about pursuing the design the very

next day, which was agreed, and Cranburne was ready to go the next day.

Then he tells you further, that the next day being Saturday the 22d, the second time that this assassination was to have been executed, upon the desire of Mr. Charnock, who was a person also that was engaged in this design, captain Porter writes a list of the men he could bring, and sent it by Cranburne to Charnock; Cranburne carries the list to Mr. Charnock, and brings it back again with an addition of the names of Mr. Charnock's men underneath.

Mr. De la Rue is called, and he swears to that very circumstance, that Mr. Cranburne was sent by captain Porter with a list to Mr. Charnock, and brought it back again from Mr. Charnock, with an addition of other names.

Then Mr. Pendergrass tells you, that he was with this Mr. Cranburne, the prisoner at the bar, the 14th of February, and there was a discourse of going in pursuance of this design the next day, and the prisoner agreed to it, which he is positive in: he tells you, that when they were disappointed the 15th, being at the BluePosts, they then agreed to pursue it the next Saturday; Cranburne was one of them that agreed.

Captain Porter and De la Rue inform you that healths were drank to the late king, and the late queen, and the prince of Wales, as they called him, and then at length, as the concluding health, captain Porter, or some of them in the company, having an orange in bis hand, squeezed it, and drank a bealth to the squeezing of the Rotten Orange, which was pledged by all, and particularly by Mr. Crapburne, as is proved by both captain Porter and De la Rue.

So that now, Gentlemen, I must leave it to you, whether this is not evidence sufficient to prove this man guilty of the treason whereof he is indicted, that is, of designing and intending the assassination of the king, and being engaged as a party to execute this design, whenever there was an opportunity.

The counsel insist upon it, on the behalf of the prisoner, that what captain Porter says is no evidence: in the first place, they urge that he is not a man of credit, for they have mentioned that he used to be disguised, and wear a vizard mask, and go abroad under odd circumstances, and therefore his reputation they hope is not good enough to make him a credible witness aginst the prisoner: now the prisoner's witness being produced, says she never knew him go in disguise, or wear a vizard mask, but once he wore a patch, because he was under some ill circumstances about a riot in Drurylane; every body understands what the meaning of that was, his drinking of healths at a riotous assembly, upon the 10th of June, and he being under some prosecution for that, occasioned him to wear that disguise, but it was not done to binder any person, or do any mischief.

But then, say they, he is mistaken in his

evidence, of the meeting at the Sun-tavern the 21st of February, the day before the last, that this design was to have been executed, for whereas he says, that Gunn was not there when he came to them, yet Gunn was in the company at that time, and whereas he swears positively that they discoursed of going upon the same design to assassinate the king the next day, as was agreed the Saturday before; Gunn heard no such discourse. Gunn is called, and he tells you he did come to the Sun-tavern at that time, with Cranburne and captain Porter, he came into the room, and he heard no such discourse. They did open it, indeed, that Gunn had been there all the while, and if so, then if there had been such a discourse, he must have heard it. Gunn has been examined, and does tell you he was not there all the while, but went out and was absent for some time, about half a quarter of an hour.

They have made a question, whether captain Porter came in when Gunn was there? He says truly he thinks that captain Porter did come into the room while he was there, before he went out, but he cannot tell certainly; he was there some time, while he was there. Then captain Porter was called again, and captain Porter does say he knows Gunn was there, but whether he was there at that time he came in, he cannot say positively; but Gunn says captain Porter was going in and out several times, as Porter says himself; and Gunn was absent for some part of the time. So that I cannot see any sort of contradiction between the evidence that Porter gives, and the evidence that Guan gives; the one is uncertain, and so is the other as to that circumstance.

But, Gentlemen, they would infer, that if there was any such discourse while Gunn was there, it must be of necessity that Gunn must have heard it; but it is not necessary the discourse should be when Gunn was there: captain Porter swears positively, that there was such a discourse of going the next day to pursue the design, and he says he thinks Gunn was not present at that time when the discourse was, and Gunn says he was absent some part

of the time.

And so I must leave it to you: upon the whole matter, if Mr. Cranburne, the prisoner

at the bar, did consent and agree to act in this bloody and wicked design, then you are to find him guilty; if you are not satisfied of that upon the evidence you have heard, or you think there is any inconsistency, or incoherence in the testimony on the one side, and the other; and that there is good reason to disbelieve the evidence against the prisoner, then you are to acquit him. You have beard your evidence, and you had best consider of it.

ci. of the Crown. Who keeps the jury? Cryer. There is an officer sworn.

Then the Jury withdrew to consider of their verdict, and about a quarter of an hour after returned.

Cl. of Ar. Gentlemen, answer to your names, John Caine?

Mr. Caine. Here. (And so of the rest.) Cl. of Ar. Are you all agreed of your verdict?-Jury. Yes.

Cl. of Ar. Who shall say for you?
Jury. Foreman.

Cl. of Ar. Charles Cranburne, hold up thy hand, (which he did). Look upon the prisoner: how say ye, is he guilty of the high-treason whereof he stands indicted, or not guilty? Foreman. Guilty.

tenements, had he at the time of the treason Cl. of Ar. What goods or chattels, lands or committed, or at any time since?

Foreman. None, to our knowledge.

Cl. of Ar. Then hearken to your verdict as You say that the court hath recorded it. whereof be stands indicted, but that he had no Charles Cranburne is guilty of the high-treason goods, chattels, lands, or tenements, at the time of the high-treason committed, or at any time since, to your knowledge, and so you say all.-Jury. Yes.

sires they may be discharged from their atMr. Caine. My lord, the jury humbly de

tendance to-morrow.

L. C. J. We cannot do it, unless the jury be full without them; if you come early, we shall dispatch you presently.

Then the Prisoner was taken from the bar, and the Court adjourned till seven o'clock the next morning.