ermission from Mr. Howley to order his men to fire, but that gentleman
refused the permission. Captain Sibthorpe then asked Mr. Howley to allow
him to take that responsibility upon himself, but he still refused,
saying that as an important trust had been reposed in him, he would
retain that trust, and allow no firing until their lives were
imperilled. The stone-throwing continued; Mr. Howley at length said to
the other magistrates that there was no use in talking any more to the
people, and that he must read the riot act, which he accordingly did. He
then warned them of the dangerous course they were pursuing--a shower of
stones was the response. Captain Sibthorpe now told Mr. Howley that he
would withdraw his men from the town, unless they were permitted to
fire. The order was given; the dragoons were drawn up in sections of
four--each section firing in its turn. In this manner twenty-six shots
were fired, each round being answered by a volley of stones. When the
firing had continued for some time, the people retired from the town;
they were followed by the dragoons, but entrenching themselves behind
the walls and ditches, they prepared to renew the conflict, under more
favorable circumstances, but the opportunity was not afforded them. It
grew late--the town, at any rate, was cleared, and the success of the
troops being by no means so certain upon this new battle ground they
were withdrawn by the magistrates. On their return to town, they found
two men had been wounded, and as usually happens in such cases, one of
them had no connection whatever with the business, being a carter
employed in carrying baggage for the troops. When asked how he came to
be among the belligerents, having no interest in the matter, he replied,
that he was under the impression the troops had orders not to fire on
the people, or if they did, it should be with blank cartridge; he was
confirmed in this belief by the fact, that the first four or five shots
took no effect; but, "at any rate," he added, "when I saw the fun going
on, I could not resist the temptation of joining in it."

The persons arrested on the occasion, fifty-one in number, were brought
up for trial before the sitting barrister in about a month afterwards.
All pleaded guilty, and received merely nominal punishment, with the
exception of "lame Pat," their leader. He, poor fellow, was sentenced to
one year's imprisonment, although he declared he had been four days and
four nights l