Verdict on the Mob and the Magistrates

 

RACE & RELIGION?

In looking for reasons why so many leaders of the Dunfermline community had sympathy with the prisoner Alexander Black it is worth noting something the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Hope, identified.

He stated: “That the Magistrates & others may have a strong feeling agt the Irish Catholics & in favour of the Townspeople is very far from recommending in my opinion any Mitigation of this lenient Sentence.”

Lord Hope’s statement is hardly a revelation as the strong feeling against Roman Catholics was in keeping with the popular mood in Scotland at the time. Natives of Dunfermline, who were almost exclusively Protestant, would have been hostile to those of the Roman Catholic faith, especially the Irish influx, coming to Scotland in increasing numbers fleeing the famine or Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór 1846-51), there, as they saw them not only as a threat to their employment prospects, but as a threat to their dominant position in society.

This fear was in fact unfounded, given that the Roman Catholic congregation of Dunfermline town in 1846, when their clergyman became a resident was tiny, numbering a mere 396 out of Dunfermline Burgh’s circa 13,000 population (of that say 10k in the town itself).

At the time of the petition RCs had no resident priest or church, having in October 1851 to lease The Masons’ Hall, in Queen Ann Place for their place of worship. So they were hardly a threat to the established order.

But there is another aspect to the hostility towards Irish RCs and it’s exemplified in an opinion piece in one of the main reporters of the events in Dunfermline in 1850, the Fifeshire Journal. In an editorial from December of that year the Journal comments on an event that had no relevance to Scotland, a church edict from the Pope (editor refers to him as the Man of Sin) on the naming of diocese in England and Wales. Popish Aggression Fifeshire Journal

The above extract from an editorial dripping in vitriol shows that some of the strong anti-RC sentiment and hatred prevalent in Scotland at this time can be traced to Ireland where local, mainly Protestant soldiers were currently stationed, and where, in the past, local regiments had served.

During the 1798 Irish Rebellion various Fife regiments saw action there, including, Lord Elgin’s Fencibles in Cork, the Fifeshire Corps in Antrim, and the Fifeshire Fencibles in Enniskillen. The latter two locations were areas where the Orange Order had been active since the 1790s.

As well as the 1798 troubles, many locals would have served in deployments of the regular army to Ireland since then and brought back anti-RC sentiment, something that led to the formation of Orange Order lodges in Scotland. A problem that’s still with us today.

The Fifeshire Journal and other newspapers were not so much giving a dog-whistle to racism against the Irish immigrants, but a clarion call. Just as the mostly Muslim refugees now arriving at the UK’s borders in boats and lorries are reported in sensationalist fashion by the tabloid newspapers to pander to the xenophobes and bigots among their readership today, so then were Irish RCs the easy target to blame for all society’s ills.

But the history of anti-Irish racism in Scotland pre-dates Orangeism and is as old as the hills. It emanated from London, the headquarters of the British (English?) Empire, which like all empires had to have an excuse for their colonisation of lands they coveted. Ireland was such a target and in order to justify stealing the land the excuse they gave was that the native inhabitants were too primitive and stupid to properly manage the land for themselves.

Scotland largely sided with the English in this land grab, providing most of the Protestant ‘planters’ who were given lands confiscated from the Roman Catholic natives, in the same way that this was done in Africa by the colonial powers there.

While the lumpen bigot might pick up a cudgel to beat his Irish neighbour with, the drawing room bigot practiced their racism verbally, with finesse, but with the same message.

Andrew Carnegie perhaps personified this refined racism when he praised Oliver Cromwell (whose self confessed pathological hatred of Irish Catholics led to awful crimes during his campaign in Ireland), as being worth more than all the British monarchs “a’ thegither”, a history lesson he learned at the knee of his “inestimable” mentor and ‘uncle’ George Lauder.

The historic prevalence of anti-Irish and anti-RC sentiment in Scotland may explain how the crimes of the Dunfermline weavers were viewed with sympathy by many. The “othering” of Irish RCs made them a sub-species, little more than animals as far as some Scots Protestant zealots were concerned and if they were treated in an inhumane manner, as the Dunfermline evictees were, then it wasn’t a cause for too much concern.

RACE ✔ RELIGION ✔ OTHER?

The dehumanising of the Irish only goes part of the way to explain why Alexander Black, Senior, was singled out as deserving clemency. He wasn’t the oldest mobster and had his son Alexander Black Junior (who was also jailed) was with him on the riot, so, on the face of it, he was a very poor example of someone deserving clemency.

This lack of any apparent reason as to why Black should be treated differently from the others was something the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Hope, seemed puzzled by, as he commented to the effect that if he recommended a reduction of the extremely lenient sentence of Black he would have to do the same for all the others.

I was as puzzled as Lord Hope as to what set Black apart from the other eleven imprisoned Dunfermline natives. He was a lowly collier, not a prominent member of Dunfermline’s class conscious society and wasn’t in fact a native, being born in Midlothian, so could it be that Black had some other link to the prominent petitioners?

POLITICS?

Could the petition have been instigated by William Kinnis the Provost of Dunfermline whose name is on the top line of signatories? Provost Kinnis had, with Bailies Ireland and Johnston and sixty special constables, witnessed the mob’s actions throughout the day, but despite this was not called as a witness for the Crown. This suggests to me that his disapproval of the acts of the mob was limited and dictated by politics rather than ethics, so could he have been playing populist politics to garner favour for his re-election.

The same could be said about other signatories to the petition who would have to be appointed to their  public office. The Magistrate, John Bonnar and Bailies, Thomas Ireland and Tom Morrison (also Burgh Treasurer) wouldn’t have added their names if they thought this would disadvantage them.

RELIGION?

There is little or no evidence to suppose that Black was a black-sheep, a sinner who had fallen by the way and the petitioners were his co-religionists seeking his early release back into the fold. Black was baptised and married in the West Parish Church, Liberton, Edinburgh so his religion would be mainstream Presbyterian, which would have been in common with most of the petitioners but, others, such as Tom Morrison was certainly hostile to that church and other signatories were Baptist, Methodist, Swedeborgian etc., so the possibility that the petitioners sought to have Black sitting in the pew beside them of a Sunday seems remote.

NEPOTISM?

There seems no blood relationship linking Black to the main movers in the petition. His father Peter Black was a native of Bo’Ness, West Lothian and his mother Elizabeth Dingwall though born in Dunfermline doesn’t appear to have any close kinship with any of the major players in the petition.

FRATERNAL BONDS? 

As well as his civic role Tom Morrison was a prime mover in agitation for improved conditions for weavers and miners, which led to workers’ strikes. When some of these strikes burgeoned out of control into riots it was often Tom Morrison who acted as a pacifying force and go-between for workers and bosses.   It seems odd that the ubiquitous Mr. Morrison’s name is nowhere to be found in the papers reporting the 1850 riot in either role, but once the dust settles he is again prominent as a backer of the petition to release Black.

Could it be that Black and Morrison were brethren in the Radical Party that Tom led?  Or fraters in the Friends of the People, which summoned their members with the booming of the Nethertown Weicht? When Tom Morrison was arrested and charged with Sedition it was as a result of meetings he and the Miners’ leader John Henderson were organising among militant colliers. Black, a miner, may have been an activist in a colliers’ radical movement leading to him having links with Morrison via Henderson?

In my lifetime’s working experience I often found the inexplicable explained by freemasonry so perhaps Black shared the benefits of membership of the freemasons with some of the petitioners? The freemasons, according to Alexander Stewart, a noted historian of the times, were very active and popular in Dunfermline, having many eminent members? The Maygate Lodge

The difficulty in establishing any link Black may have had with petition supporters who may have been members of these three organisations is that they are all, by definition, secret or secretive societies.

The only society of the three that is still in existence is the Freemasons and though the records of the St. John’s Lodge (“one of the most venerable lodges in the kingdom” according to Stewart’s reminiscences) are held in the Carnegie Dunfermline Central Library they are only available to researchers if the lodge grant permission to allow access.

In my case my application to view the lodge records for research purposes to Dunfermline Library (after a Freedom of Information request to the CEO of Fife Council) was directed to the lodge Secretary, of St John’s Lodge, (also a leading light in Townhill’s Orange Order), who refused me access to this record, due to what he says, are my views expressed in this blog and my previous criticism of the Craft.

So in the absence of any evidence as to how Black was seen as being in any way deserving of any preferential treatment I’m left to speculate that perhaps Dunfermline’s self-styled “People’s Champion”, Tom Morrison organised the petition to release Black, a fellow Radical/Friend/Mason from prison?

I don’t know which, if any of my speculation is accurate, but regardless of whose idea the petition was, it was a bad one.

SUMMARY

I may be unsure of who instigated the petition to free Black but I am absolutely certain that those who carried out the expulsion of the Irish deserved to be punished without mercy and that the 1850 riot and expulsions were not spontaneous reactions to an Irish navvy affray.

Like Lord Hope, I’m convinced that “The Riot was regularly conceived & planned”. The logistics involved in summoning and directing such a great number of evil-disposed persons to carry out a systematic eviction and expulsion of the Irish residents scattered all over the Burgh of Dunfermline, prove to me that this could not have been a spur-of-the-moment reaction to a drunken Saturday night fight when the pubs shut. This took some planning.

The resentment of the native workers who felt threatened by incoming workers from Ireland is understandable. If the situation had been reversed the same resentment would have been felt in Ireland by the natives there.

But what is not understandable is why the mob targeted those who were not recent incomers seeking employment, and were in fact settled residents of good standing. And, perhaps more important and inexplicable, is why the civic leaders of Dunfermline, the magistrates, ministers, gentry, and businessmen, who, in a small town where the barbarous acts of the mob of thousands would have had witnessed by all, called for one of the main perpetrators to be released from prison?

This endorsement was all the more appalling as it was done, while at the same time ignoring the suffering of a hundred and more of their Irish born fellow citizens and the death of one of them.

Such callous indifference was unforgivable, particularly so from the Ministers of Dunfermline Abbey Church who, indifferent to the suffering of the many Irish Catholics who were beaten and abused on the road to North Queensferry, preached the parable of the Good Samaritan who helped the poor unfortunate Jewish traveller beaten and abused on the road to Jericho.

The same hypocrisy was displayed by George Lauder, after Carnegie the most famous citizen of his day who had a Technical College built in his honour and named after him by his ‘nephew’ or surrogate son Andrew Carnegie. He was a great inventor, innovator, educationalist and social reformer and of all people should have known the actions of the mob were indefensible.

VERDICT 

If I were judging this matter today I would announce that:

The expulsions were planned.

The mob of native Dunfermline weavers and colliers were Guilty of Ethnic Cleansing. Ethnic Cleansing with the tacit approval of Dunfermline’s gentry as well as the civic, religious and commercial leaders, who signified this with their petition.

If my conclusion seems fanciful, then scroll down the list below and take in the magnitude of the mob’s crimes in the expulsion of the Irish men, women and children. You will find a sorry catalogue of violent, or as Lord Hope put it, barbaric crimes, for which, not one person was brought to book!

Victims of violence by Scottish rioters who all pled guilty to the lesser of the five charges brought so not one person was found guilty of assault, housebreaking, eviction, expulsion :-

To the number of 50 or thereabouts Irish ejected from Dunfermline (Donaldson & Baxter mobs Indictments + other sources :- “And the said houses particularly above libelled, and the said loom-shops or premises particularly above libelled, were invaded, entered, and searched as above libelled for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were, supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons to be so, and the persons particularly above libelled, as having been ejected by the said mob or great number of evil-disposed persons were natives of Ireland, or were supposed to be so, and were all or many of them employed as labourers or workmen in or near Dunfermline, or in the suburbs and vicinity thereof; and the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, wickedly and feloniously  assault the said persons, or many of them, and did strike them with their fists, and with sticks or similar weapons, and did peIt them with stones or other missiles, and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, drive and eject them, or many of them, and other persons to the prosecutor unknown, who were natives of Ireland, or supposed to be so, to the number of fifty or thereabouts, from the town of Dunfermline, or the suburbs and vicinity thereof where they respectively resided or were employed, and did drive, and continue to assault them or many of them, along the road from Dunfermline to North Queensferry, or a considerable part thereof”)

Janet Sharp or Robertson, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- “violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near the Back Row aforesaid, then Occupied by Janet Sharp or Robertson, residing there, and did search the said house, for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

Thomas McCann, a coal-drawer, Address as above, (Black Indictment:- “did, violently masterfully, and unlawfully eject therefrom Thomas McCann, a coal-drawer, then residing there”)

Thomas Smith, a coal-hewer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, in a violent and menacing manner, surround the door of the house at or near the Back Row aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Thomas Smith, coal-hewer, residing there, and in which William Smith and James Smith, both coal-hewers also then resided; and did, then and there, or in the immediate neighbourhood, by threats and intimidations, and by their numbers and show of force, compel the said Thomas, William, and James Smith, or one or more of them, to promise that they would abandon their employment at the TownhiIl Colliery, in the neighbourhood of TownhiIl aforesaid, where they were then employed, for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

William Smith, a coal-hewer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- as Thomas Smith)

James Smith, a coal-hewer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- as Thomas Smith)

William Macdonald, coal-drawer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near the Back Row aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by William Macdonald, coal-drawer, residing there, and did search the said house for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

Patrick Linen, labourer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment :- “did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom Patrick Linen, labourer and Owan Linen, coal-drawer, both then and now or lately residing in or near Back Row aforesaid, who were then lawfully within the said house for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

Owan Linen, coal-drawer, Back Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- as Owan Linen)

John Glancy or McGlancy, Water Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near the Water Row aforesaid, then occupied by John Glancy or McGlancy, then residing there, and did search the said house for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

Barnard McGuire, coal-hewer, Water Row, Townhill, (Black Indictment:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, in a violent and menacing manner, surround the house at or near the Water Row aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Barnard McGuire, coal-hewer, residing there, in which the said Barnard McGuire and his family, and also several Irishmen who had taken refuge therein, then lawfully were, and did intimidate the said inmates and order them to leave the said house and neighbourhood, and did threaten to return at night, then to eject and maltreat them if they or any of the were still there for the purpose of violently and unlawfully ejecting therefrom any of Her Majesty’s subjects who were natives of Ireland, or were supposed by the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, to be so”)

Family of Barnard McGuire, (Black Indictment:- as Barnard McGuire)

+Several Irishmen who had taken refuge therein, (Black Indictment:- as Barnard McGuire)

30 of the 60 miners at Townhill (Caledonian Mercury 27 June 1850:-“ Meanwhile information was sent into town of more evictions at Townhill Collieries, and Bailie Johnstone and Mr. Kilgour, town‐clerk, proceeded to the spot, where they found about 300 weavers had been assisting the Scotch colliers in the expulsion of the Irish, until Mr. Mungall, the manager, going up in a determined manner and threatening to shoot the leader with a pair of pistols he held in his hands if they did not desist, somewhat quelled them. They also seemed to have some hint of the approach of the authorities, for before they came up, numbers were seen coming into town by by‐roads to evade them. A number of neutral parties were here sworn in by Bailie Johnstone as special constables, and left in charge of the place, but by this time about 30 out of 60 Irish families in the neighbourhood had been unhoused and had fled the locality., then of course there were their families who were just as much victims as the miners.”)

Ann McGarraty or Kelly, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, Time above libelled, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house or premises in or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Ann McGarraty or Kelly, then and now or lately residing there, and did forcibly break down the wall of a garret or other apartment therein, and did search the said house”)

Patrick Hanratty, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “and did, then and there, wickedly and feloniously, attack and assault Patrick Hanratty, labourer, then residing in Baldridgeburn aforesaid, and now or lately residing with Patrick Conner or Connen, in or near the Cowgate of Edinburgh, and did seize him by the hair of the head, and throw or force him down and did beat and kick him on or about the head and body, and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject him from said house in which he had taken refuge from said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, and did in or near a piece of garden or vacant ground adjacent or near to aid house, again attack and assault him, and did strike him repeated blows with the fist, and stick, or similar weapon, on or about the head and other part of hi person, by all which, or part thereof, he was cut bruised and wounded, to the effusion of his blood, and the serious injury of his person”)

Peter Nelson, horse-driver or labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “on or near the Coal Road leading from Dunfermline to the Rumblingwell toll-bar, near Dunfermline, and at or near the factory situated near aid Coal Road, then and now or lately belonging to, or occupied by, Robert Henderson Robertson, merchant in London, the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, wickedly and feloniously, attack and assault Peter Nelson, horse-driver or labourer, then and now or lately residing with the said Ann McGarraty or Kelly, and did violently knock or throw him to the ground, and did throw a stone or other missile at him which struck him on or about the head or other part of his person, Time above libelled, by all which, or part thereof, he was cut, bruised, and wounded, to the effusion of his blood, and the serious injury of his person”)

Charles Burns, railway-labourer, Miles-mark, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Miles-mark aforesaid, then occupied by Charles Burns then a railway-labourer, and then residing there, by forcing open the lockfast door of said house, and did search the said house”)

Isabella Chalmers, Miles–mark, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Miles-mark aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Isabella Chalmers, then and now or lately residing there, and did search the said house”)

Henry Meldrum, carter Rumblingwell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Rumblingwell aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Henry Meldrum, then and now or lately carter there, and did search the said house”)

John Burns, Rumblingwell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did violently, masterfully and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Rumblingwell aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by John Burns, then and now or lately labourer there, by forcing open a lockfast door of said house or otherwise to the procurator unknown, and did search the said house”)

John Macdonald, labourer, Rumblingwell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Rumblingwell aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by John Macdonald, then and now or lately labourer there, by breaking two or more of the pannels of a lockfast door of said house, and forcing or breaking off the lock and latch from said door, or otherwise to the prosecutor unknown, and did search the said house, and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom the said John MacDonald, and James Conner then and now or lately lodging or residing with him”

James Conner, Rumblingwell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- as John Macdonald above)

John Reilly, coal-waggon-filler, Rumblingwell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Rumblingwell aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by John Reilly, former railway-labourer, and now or lately coal-waggon-filler there, and did search the said house”)

David Wilson, weaver, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by David Wilson, then and now or lately weaver there, and did search the said house”)

Peter McIntyre, railway labourer, Baldridgeburn, ( Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then occupied by Peter McIntyre, then railway-labourer there, and did search the said house”)

William McCartney, coal-drawer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom William McCartney, coal-drawer or labourer, then and now, or lately residing at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, and James Grimes, labourer, then residing there, or one or other of them, and both and each, or one or other of them, then residing in said house”)

James Grimes, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- as William McCartney above)

Charles Brady, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then occupied by Charles Brady, labourer there, and did search the said house, and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom the said Charles Brady”)

David Bell, publican, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by David Bell, then and now or lately publican there, and did search the said house”)

Peter MacMahon, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom Peter MacMahon, Peter McIntyre, and John Flatly all now or lately labourers, in or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, or one or more of them, who were then lawfully within the said house”)

Peter McIntyre, ( Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Peter MacMahon above)

John Flatly, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Peter MacMahon above)

Michael Mitchell, labourer, High Street, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, at or near Miles-mark Quarry, on or near the line of the said Stirling and Dunfermline Railway, at or near Miles-mark aforesaid, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, force and compel Michael Mitchell, labourer, now or lately residing with Thomas McGlachan, in or near High Street of Dunfermline, John Kough, labourer, now or lately residing in or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, and Peter Dillon, Peter Cusey, Felix McCann, Michael Mitchell, Peter Rice, Michael McVaney, George Mulcan, and Thomas McPhillips, Iabourer, all then and now or lately residing in or near Dunfermline, or one or more of them, to abandon their work or employment at or near said quarry, and did by threat and intimidation drive them, or one or more of them, away from the said quarry and their work there”)

John Kough, labourer, Baldridgeburn,  (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Peter Dillon, labourer, Dunfermline, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Peter Cusey, labourer, Dunfermline, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Felix McCann, labourer, Dunfermline, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Peter Rice, labourer, Dunfermline, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Michael McVaney, labourer, Dunfermline (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

George Mulcan, labourer, Dunfermline, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

Thomas McPhillips, labourer, Dunfermline (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see Michael Mitchell above)

James Croall, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house at or near Baldridgeburn aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by James Croall, then and now or lately labourer there, and did search the said house, and did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom the said James Croall and Martin McDonald, then and now or lately labourer, residing with the said James Croall, or one or other of them”)

Martin Macdonald, labourer, Baldridgeburn, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- see James Croall above)

John Orr, shoemaker, Bruce Street, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the house in or near Bruce Street aforesaid, then or now or lately occupied by John Orr, shoemaker then or lately abiding there and did search the said house”)

Peter or Patrick McBrine, labourer, Bruce Street, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “did violently, masterfully, and unlawfully eject therefrom Peter or Patrick McBrine labourer, then and now or lately lodging or residing, with the said John Orr”)

Thomas Foley, Bruce Street, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did violently, masterfully and unlawfully invade and enter the house in or near Bruce Street aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Thomas FoIey, then and now or lately labourer there, by breaking or forcing open the lockfast door of said house, or otherwise to the prosecutor unknown and did search the said house, and did violently, masterfully and unlawfully eject therefrom the said Thomas Foley”)

George Kirk, weaver, Beveridgewell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did violently, masterfully, an unlawfully invade and enter the loom-shop or premises at or near Beveridgewell aforesaid then and now or lately occupied by George Kirk, then and now or lately weaver there, and did search the said loom-shop or premises”)

Patrick Lynch, weaver, Beveridgewell, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “did, violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject therefrom Patrick Lynch, weaver, then and now, or lately residing at or near Beveridgewell aforesaid, then employed in said loom-shop or premises”)

Peter Kelly, hawker, N Chapel Street            (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “The said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, at or near the door of the house at or near North Chapel Street aforesaid, then occupied by Peter Kelly, now deceased ,(died between 24/06/& 02/07/1850), wickedly and feloniously attack and assault the said Peter Kelly, and did seize hold of him, and did drag him or force him away and violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, eject and drive him from the town of Dunfermline, and along the road therefrom to North Queensferry, or a great part thereof, and did by the way peIt him with stones or other missiles and beat him with their fists, and with sticks or similar weapons, and did otherwise maltreat and abuse him, to the severe injury of his, person”)

 

William Finlay, manufacturer, New Row, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, violently, masterfully and unlawfully invade and enter the said loom-shop, or premises at or near Newrow Street aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by William Finlay, manufacturer in Dunfermline, and did search the said loom-shop or premises”)

James O’Hanlon or Hanlon, weaver Bothwell Haugh, (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “having fled to the house in or near the Rhodes Building aforesaid, then and now or lately occupied by Benjamin Lyons or Lyness, then and now or lately weaver there to escape from the violence of the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons, the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did follow him there and did, violently masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the said house then and now or lately occupied by the said Benjamin Lyons or Lyness, and did search the said house, and did then and there, wickedly and feloniously, attack and assault the said James O’Hanlon or Hanlon, and did strike him repeated, or one or more blows with the fist and with stick and bludgeons, or other similar weapons, and did knock him down and did kick him when down and did forcibly drag or throw him down the stair leading from said house and did; time above libelled, at or near the foot of said stair again attack and assault him in manner above libelled, and did otherwise abuse and maltreat him, by all which or part thereof, the said James O’Hanlon or Hanlon was cut, bruised, and wounded to the effusion of his blood and serious injury of his person”)

Benjamin Lyon or Lyness, weaver, Rhodes Bdgs., (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:- “the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did violently, masterfully, and unlawfully, invade and enter the said house then and now or lately occupied by the said Benjamin Lyon or Lyness, and did search the said house”)

Catherine Macafferty or Lyons or Lyness, As above           (Donaldson/Baxter Indictments:-

“the said mob or great number of riotous and evil-disposed persons did, wickedly and feloniously attack and assault the Catherine Macafferty or Lyons or Lyness, wife of the said Benjamin Lyon or Lyness, and did kick her and strike her repeated blows with the fist, and with sticks and bludgeons or other similar weapons, on or about the head or other parts of her person, and did otherwise maltreat and abuse her; by all which, or part thereof, she was cut, bruised, and wounded to the effusion of her blood, and serious injury of her person.”)

 

2 Irish agricultural labourers, Urquhart Farm, (Dundee Evening Telegraph, 19 Aug 1905:- “One of the poor fellows was seized with violent hands, and ruthlessly thrown over a
dyke. His companion, alive to the menacing disposition of the assailants,
endeavoured to escape by hiding himself in a drain. But his action was observed by
the rioters, who hauled him his hiding‐place by the legs, and pommelled him
soundly. The two labourers were the ordered to leave the locality at once if they
desired to escape a more serious fate.”)

Frederick Lennis, 64, Armagh born weaver Spittal St.D/line (Dundee Evening Tele., 19 Aug 1905, :-evicted from workplace)

….Continued in Part Five: Riot reflections, my personal experience of anti-Irish racism/anti-RC bigotry and what I believe sustains it