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n The trial was held at the Old Bailey on FridaynMay 15th 1812, just four days after the assassination. After the jurynof twelve good men and true had been sworn, the Attorney General began thenproceedings by questioning Mr William Smith, the Member of Parliament fornNorwich, who had been present in the lobby of the House of Commons when SpencernPerceval, Prime Minister, had been shot. Smith described how he had heard anshot, turned and saw a man stagger towards him, who fell face down on thenfloor. As Smith attempted to help the man to regain his feet, believing him tonbe merely wounded, he turned him over and only then recognised him to benSpencer Perceval.
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| Spencer Perceval |
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nWith help from other bystanders, Smith carried Perceval intonthe office of the Speaker’s Secretary, sat him on a table with his feet on twonchairs, and realised that Perceval was already dead. A slight trickle of bloodncame from his mouth and there was a small bloodstain on his shirt andnwaistcoat. Other than a few sobs, Perceval had said nothing and when Dr Lynnnarrived a few minutes later, there was no perceptible pulse. This Dr WilliamnLynn, a surgeon who lived in Great George Street, Westminster, was next to takenthe stand. He had been called and came straight away, but Perceval was deadnwhen he arrived. He examined the body and found a gunshot would on the uppernleft side of the chest, the ball had entered or passed through the heart andnthis was undoubtedly the cause of death.
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| An Old Bailey Trial |
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nMr Henry Burgess, a solicitor, wasncalled next. He had been in the lobby, with about twenty other people, when hentoo heard the shot, and had seen Perceval stumble and fall. Burgess had heardncries and saw a man sitting on a bench beside the fireplace, with a pistol innor under his left hand. With the help of others, Burgess approached the man,nseized him and emptied his pockets, finding another pistol, some money, anbundle of papers and other items. The man was taken to the bar, a magistratenwas called and witness statements, including one from Burgess, were taken andnthe man was placed in custody.
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| The Assassination of Spencer Perceval |
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nLieutenant General Isaac Gascoyne, the MP fornLiverpool, gave evidence next. He had been in the House of Commons, waiting tonpresent a petition, when he heard a loud shot in the lobby. He rushed out intonthe lobby, saw the commotion and a man sitting on a bench, with some pointingnat him, so Gascoyne held tightly onto the man, telling him that he recognisednhim and that he could not escape. With Mr Burgess and others, he had helpednmanhandle the prisoner into the Commons, where he had also given a statement.nMr James Taylor, a tailor, was the next witness; the prisoner had been ancustomer of his, he had made pantaloons and a waistcoat for him, and then, onnApril 25th, he had brought a coat to him and asked him to sew anpocket, nine inches in length, into the inside of it. Other witnesses werencalled, all of whom identified the prisoner as the man who had fired the shotnthat had killed Prime Minister Perceval on Monday, May 11th 1812.
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| John Bellingham |
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nThen, John Bellingham took the stand. He was not now, or ever had been, insanenand against the advice of his lawyers he did not intend to plead insanity. Henbore no personal or premeditated malice to Mr Perceval, who was the unfortunatenfigurehead of the administration against which he was at odds. His problems hadnstarted in 1804, when he had travelled to Russia on business.
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nIn 1803, anRussian ship, the Soleure had been lost in the White Sea but annanonymous letter to Lloyds of London, the insurance underwriters, claimed thatnthe ship had been sabotaged and Lloyds refused to pay out on the policy.nSolomon Van Brienen, of the house of Van Brienen, the ship’s owners, believednthat Bellingham had been the author of the letter and in retaliation, he issuedna writ implicating Bellingham in a debt for bankruptcy. As a result, whennBellingham attempted to return from his business trip to Archangel, his travelnpermit was revoked and he was arrested.
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| Bellingham’s Trial – Proceedings of the Old Bailey – 1812 |
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nHe remained imprisoned for a year andnwhen he was released, he went to St Petersburg, where he attempted to have thenGovernor-General responsible for his arrest impeached, a move that upset thenRussian authorities, who charged Bellingham with leaving Archangel illegallynand placed him under arrest again. He remained in a Russian prison until 1808,nwhen he was released but was still denied permission to leave Russia. Inndesperation, he petitioned the Tsar, and in late 1809 he eventually arrivednback in England.
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| Charles Williams – The Life and Administration of the Right Hon Spencer Perceval – 1815 |
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nHe began to seek compensation from the Foreign Office for hisnimprisonment but, as Britain had cut its diplomatic links with Russia in 1808,nhis appeals were rejected. He produced numerous letters in court as proof ofnhis attempts to gain redress for the lack of diplomatic pressure during hisnimprisonment in Russia, together with replies denying his claims, and he statednthat a civil servant in the Treasury had told him,
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n“… that I had nothing tonexpect, and that I was at liberty to take such steps as I thought fit.”n
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nBellingham had taken to waiting in the lobby of the House of Commons, hoping tonpersuade a Member to take up his case, but was constantly rebuffed. He hadnspent all of his funds on his claims, his young wife and child were in direnneed, and he was at his wits end. In his view, Perceval had placed himselfnbeyond the law by refusing to hear his case and had denied him the rights duento any free-born Englishman. In such straightened circumstances, Bellinghamnfelt that he had no option but to remove the person or persons responsible andnPerceval had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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| Daniel Wilson – The Substance of a Conversation with John Bellingham – 1812 |
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nLord Chief Justice Sir JamesnMansfield, the judge, rejected further evidence that Bellingham was derangednand summed up the case – the jury spokenfor a couple of minutes amongst themselves then withdrew for fourteen minutes.nThey returned with their verdict – regardless of the circumstances, JohnnBellingham was guilty of the murder of Spencer Perceval. Mansfield pronouncednthe sentence, that Bellingham was to be hanged and his body given over to thenanatomists for dissection.
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| John Bellingham |
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nOn Monday May 18th 1812, he was takennfrom his cell in Newgate prison and at eight in the morning, before a silentncrowd, the executioner knocked away the support below the trap door andnBellingham dropped into the void. His body was taken on a cart to StnBartholomew’s Hospital, where it was privately dissected. Perceval was mournednthroughout the country except for one town, when news of Perceval’s deathnreached Nottingham, there were widespread celebrations, with beating drums,nflags flying, bells ringing and bonfires burning. The military was called out,nthe Riot Act was read out and peace was restored.
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| A Newgate Execution |
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nIt is difficult to imaginenwide-spread public celebrations breaking out if the death of a Prime Ministern(or former Prime Minister) was announced these days …
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