2 reports of David Smyth on 2 collective petitions (6 people, including the Provost...

2 reports of David Smyth on 2 collective petitions (6 people, including the Provost of Stirling and 12 people, jury members) and 3 individual petitions (the prisoners and William Glen, of Forgan Hall) on behalf of George Murray, ex-soldier now tinker, and Joass Robertson convicted at Justiciary Court at Stirling on 4 September 1798, for a robbery of John Ferguson, soldier in the 5th Regiment of the Stirlingshire Militia. Evidences supplied by John Ferguson, Lauchlan McLauchlan, gardener; Elizabeth Cuthill and unnamed others. Ferguson claims Robertson forced him to give him all his clothes and money and a watch contained within them. Once Robertson had all Ferguson's possessions he then beat him unconscious with a stick. Murray was present whilst this happened. Robertson says that the clothes were exchanged in a drunken frolic and the blows happened as part of this but he didn't know how. There is a letter from John Garnett recommending that any application for mercy be made for both of the prisoner's or none, and that a pardon (if granted) be made on condition of transportation for life. There is a covering note to the prisoner's petition from a 'MacGibbon' stating he has drawn up the petition himself, as 'time is so short that the delay of a day may prove fatal to the application.' Grounds for clemency: Murray only: prisoner was an accessory to Robertson, voluntarily gave himself up, previous good character, was an 'old soldier', has a wife and 'ideot child' to support from only a pension form the 'Irish Establishment' and collecting rags for the paper mills, he lost his arm during military service and lost a large quantity of blood, this now leaves him prone to become intoxicated on small quantities of liquer 'which has immediate effect on him'; Robertson: only the prisoner is a youth (under 20 years), willing and able to serve in HM. Forces, denies the victim lost anything or suffered injury and that the incident was 'merely the effects of intoxication on both sides'. Initial sentence: death. Recommendation: Murray, mercy. Robertson, no mercy. Folios 210-233. See also HO 47/22/49, folios 304-305.