Catalogue description Report of G. L. Newnham on 1 collective petition (66 people from Nottingham described as...

Report of G. L. Newnham on 1 collective petition (66 people from Nottingham described as 'loyal to the constitution') on behalf of Nathaniel Crisp, butcher, convicted at 'the last assizes' at Nottingham on 4 March 1795, for riotous assembly in Nottingham, and assault on John Burton, (The prisoner was also indicted for assault on Joseph Burton but this indictment was not proceeded with), on 2 July 1794. Evidences supplied by Joseph Burton, stocking frame worker; Henry Green, Abraham Sansom, Town Sheriff; Charles Barnes, William Miller, William Whittle and Ann Corbet. The petition gives some account of a fight between Jacobins and Loyalists in the town in 1794. There is a covering letter to the petition from Robert Smith mentioning the High Sheriff of Nottingham. Grounds for clemency: the magistrates would not take action against the Jacobins, his wife is pregnant, his business will suffer and he will not be able to support his family. Initial sentence: 6 months in prison and 1/- fine. Recommendation: speaks against mercy in the interests of 'even handed justice'. Folios 84-91.