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Court cases following Fenian Amnesty riot

Court cases following Fenian Amnesty riot

The following extract is from the Middlesbrough Daily Gazette of 16 December 1872.

It reports on the proceedings in Stockton Borough Police Court following the riot of the previous day in Stockton at a Fenian Amnesty rally.

STOCKTON BOROUGH POLICE COURT

Monday - before G.Lockwood, Esq,  Mayor, A.C.Knowles, B.Ord, R. Jackson, W. Bennington, and J.H.Wren, Esqrs.

THE AMNESTY RIOTS - the court was crowded during the hearing of a number of cases arising out of the amnesty riots of yesterday ; the prisoners were all charged with violent behaviour and with throwing stones.  They were dealt with as follows:-Seth Reece, puddler, of Portrack Lane for throwing a stone which struck P.C. Paterson - three months hard labour.  -  James Lenon, boilersmith of Sunderland, for throwing stones near the Grey Horse corner - three months hard labour.  -  Peter McGuire, plate-shearer,  Bowesfield Ironworks charged with fighting in Brunswick Street was dismissed, he having been attacked by some boys when returning from a walk towards Yarm. - Thomas Feheeley, labourer, at the Stockton blast furnaces, denied fighting or kicking any one, and shaking his fist at a policeman said "I will have you for this!"  Sentenced to two months hard labour. - Andrew Hardigan, of Middlesbrough, who declared that he had never thrown a stone; John Wilmore, of Newport, who threw stones and escaped several times ; Frederick Durkin, labourer of Middlesbrough, who had brandished a knife about in the air, along Bridge Road ; Cornelius Mahoney, labourer at the North Yorkshire Ironworks, who said that "he could do three months on his head" and Thomas Coyne who had fought with a life preserver, were each sentenced to three months hard labour without option of a fine. - James McCasey, labourer, of Middlebrough, who had been seen to knock a man down, and was then knocked down himself, declared that a policeman had never before laid hand upon him, was sentenced to two months hard labour. - Michael O'Brien, iron-worker, of South Stockton, had been seen to throw stones, one of which struck a man.  Sentenced to two months hard labour.  A young woman, apparently the prisoner's wife, on hearing the decision cried out "O take me with him, I have nobody in the world but him".  She was removed from the court wringing her hands and crying.  - James Boyd, a lad 15 years old who lives at common lodging houses, had been seen to strike another youth upon the back of the head with the remains of a flagstaff.  He was sentenced to one month's hard labour at Durham.

This was reproduced with the kind permission of Cengage Learning from their 19th Century Newspapers online resource collection.

Years of Interest

1872

Location