30th November 1812: 'A Soul is of more value than work or Gold' - George Mellor writes from York Castle

I now take the Liberty of informing you that I am in good health as by the Blessing of God I hope they will find you all Pl. to give my respects to my cousin and tell him to stick fast by what he [swore] the first time before Rattiffe and I hope his wife will do the same, that I left there house before five oClock and I did not leave any thing at their House and if the Boy swore any thing tell my Cousin to contridict him & say he told him a different Storey that there had been a man and left them & he did not know him and as for the Girl she cannot sware any thing I know that will harm me and tell the Boys to stick by what they said the first time if not thy are proved forsworn tell him and his wife I hope they will befrend me and never mind thier work for I if I come home I will do my best for them Remember a Soul is of more value than work or Gould— I have heard your are Potitioning for a Parlimenter Reform and I wish thees names to be given as follows — G.M. Mark Hill James Haigh Josh Thornton Wm Thorp Geo Rigg Saml Booth John Hogdin C. Cockcroft Jas Brook Jno Brook Geo Brook James Brook C.Thornton Jonathan Deane Jno Walker Joshua Schorsfiend Jno [Schersfield] Thomas Smith James Starkey — Anthony Walker Joseph Greewood Thomas Green Benjamin Sigg Geo Ludge Wm Hodgson Geo Brook William Barnard Geo Beamont David Moerhouse William Whitehead Joseph Fisher Jon Batley Jon Lum Jon Shore Benjamin Hinchliff Geo Hanlin Jon Laild Jon Fawset James Whitehouse give my respects to all enquiring Friends and acccept These few Lines from your Friend—

[To] Mr. Thomas Hellice
Wool Stapler
Lockwood
Nr Huddersfield

[Post Mark York 30th November]

---

This letter from the cropper George Mellor was smuggled out of York Castle and posted from York on 30th November 1812, before being intercepted by the authorities, presumably at Huddersfield since it bore a York postmark. It is one of a very small number of letters known to be written by an identifiable Luddite (another earlier one being from the Nottinghamshire Luddite William Carnell to Judge Bayley).

George Mellor clearly thought his best chance in the trial he was facing lay with his cousin Joseph Mellor and others in his household sticking to the version of events they had given to Joseph Radcliffe previously. Of interest is his comment that the evidence of 'the Girl' (i.e. Mary Dyson) could not harm his case: by this time, Dyson had left the household of Joseph Mellor in mysterious circumstances, but George Mellor clearly did not know about this. Neither Dyson nor her evidence featured at his subsequent trial, which tends to support George's statement that her evidence could not do him any harm, and may have been very important for his defence.

The letter was not used at Mellor's trial, and it's existence was not widely known, although it was mentioned seven years later at a meeting of the York King & Constitution Club in February 1819, presented as proof that reformers had ulterior motives similar to Luddites. Curiously, the Guardian greeted the coming new year of 2012 with an editorial that absurdly posited that the letter demonstrated that Mellor & the Luddites were becoming reconciled to Liberalism through constitutional methods.

Two copies of this letter exist - one in the Home Archive at HO 42/132, transcribed from the original by the Treasury Solicitor Henry Hobhouse (which this version is based on), and another in the Radcliffe MSS at West Yorkshire Archives (ref 126/127a). It is not known what happened to the original, or even if it still exists elsewhere, which is a tragedy, as it is real treasure.

18th October 1812: Joseph Mellor's servant, Mary Dyson, is examined by Joseph Radcliffe

Mary Dyson, a 17 year-old servant working in the household of Joseph Mellor, had been a witness to what had occurred at the house on the evening that William Horsfall was shot. Although she had already been brought in and questioned by Joseph Radcliffe, along with the rest of the household on 10th October, a longer and more substantive statement she gave 8 days later, on Sunday 18th October 1812, appears in the records of the Treasury Solicitor. Mary was the niece of Clement Dyson, one of the early targets of the West Yorkshire Luddites.

In her statement, the most striking thing is the different timings Dyson gave compared to the others in the household: she stated that George Mellor and the 'stranger' arrived at 5 o'clock, and stayed for only 15 minutes. I have already pointed out that Martha Mellor's statement fixed their arrival at 6.15 p.m., within 5 minutes of the time Horsfall was shot, making impossible the two men could have been there. Dyson's statement is equally problematic: given that it was to be the prosecution's case that George Mellor had brought the weapons used to shoot William Horsfall to Joseph Mellor's house after the incident, this would not have been possible either, as the assassination actually took place over an hour later than Dyson deposed they arrived.

In the statement, Dyson is clearly being asked if the 'stranger' was William Thorpe, whom she says she had seen stood before Radcliffe, but she is reluctant to identify him. She is also clear that this man had his coat on when he left, although she intimates that having to leave through the workshop would mean he could have taken it off.

Dyson was also adamant that the visitors did not wash themselves, as had been originally claimed by Francis Vickerman in his interview with John Lloyd, although she later said she 'would not swear to it' as Martha Mellor had said they had, and had asked her if she had been asked about it at her first examination.

Dyson was also vague about the 'stranger' having a cut or scar, again being reluctant to 'swear to it', but she was perfectly clear that George Mellor did not have an injured finger.

Dyson said she spoke to Frank Vickerman (the nephew of Francis Vickerman, and an apprentice of Joseph Mellor) about what had happened at around 7.00 p.m. that evening, as they were both in a outbuilding, he cleaning Joseph Mellor's horse. Vickerman wanted to know what the visitors had wanted, and Dyson said she thought they wanted work.

Mary went on to relate what else had occurred later that evening, the timings corroborating what the others had stated before Radcliffe. Crucially, she said that was not aware of the pistols being hidden until 11th October, when the apprentice Joseph Oldham had returned from giving a statement to Radcliffe.

Dyson then revealed the contact she had had with George Mellor more recently. She had given a statement about the whole affair before Joseph Radcliffe on Saturday 10th October, and had met George Mellor at a Sale at the premises of Joseph Hirst later that day. Mellor had asked her where she had been, and she told him, and also what for: Mellor told her she must "tell the truth". Later, on the way home, George Mellor had caught her up, and as they both walked past Clement Dyson talking to another man at the side of the road, Mellor asked her if it was her uncle that had sent her to Radcliffe - she confirmed to him that it was. When they arrived at Joseph Mellor's, George asked Joseph "what Clement Dyson had begun the stir for?" - Joseph said he did not know, and declared he would have a talk with him, and left to do just that.

Mary told George Mellor what she had said to Radcliffe - Mellor emphasised to her that the reason he and the 'other man' had called at Joseph's that night was because the man had wanted work.

As Brooke & Kipling point out (1993, p.110) Dyson was part of the web that trapped George Mellor, along with Francis Vickerman's nephew Frank. Parts of the information they gave - and not the whole, since it would contradict the Crown's case - were used to build a case against him and the other alleged accomplices. All that was needed was someone else to corroborate the case they had constructed, and two people in particular were soon to 'fit the bill' in that respect.

One last mystery is what happened to Mary Dyson after she gave evidence. Brooke & Kipling reveal (1993, p.45) that Joseph Mellor subsequently explained to the magistrate John Walker how a constable had 'taken her away' a few days after she gave her statement. She did not subsequently appear at the trial of George Mellor, and we know nothing else of her fate, or how & why this happened.