George Smith's Statement to Edinburgh's Sheriff, Archibald Cockburn

Possibly having heard that Andrew Ansile and Humphry Moore (AKA John Brown) had told their stories to Sheriff Cockburn, Smith requested another meeting with Edinburgh’s top lawman. Smith had withheld Deacon Brodie’s name in his statement to Cockburn on 8 March 1788 and used that bit of information in this statement. Smith would make another statement to Sheriff Cockburn on 19 March 1788. That would still not be enough to save George Smith’s life and he would be executed with William Brodie.

The which day compeared, in presence of the Sheriff of Edinburgh, George Smith, formerly examined on Saturday, the 8th current, after having sent notice to the Sheriff that he wished to speak with him. Came to the office and told the Sheriff that he wished to have an opportunity of making a clean breast, and telling the truth, upon which the Sheriff informed him that, as he, the Sheriff, knew he stood in a very ticklish situation, it was his duty to let him know that whatever he told or discovered was not to be accepted of under any condition or promise whatever, or that his doing so would operate anything in his favour, and that therefore he was at perfect freedom either to speak or hold his tongue, as he judged best. And that the said George Smith having declared that he wished to tell the truth, and communicate all the guilty scenes in which he had been concerned for some time past, since he came to the town of Edinburgh, he was desired to proceed.

Declares that, in the end of October, or beginning of November last, the declarant, in company with Andrew Ainslie and John Brown, whose real name is Humphry Moore, went to the College of Edinburgh about one o'clock in the morning. Having got access at the under gate, they opened the under door leading to the Library with a false key, which broke in the lock, and thereafter they broke open the door of the Library with an iron crow, and carried away the College mace.

Declares that the declarant has, almost since his first arrival in Edinburgh, been acquainted with Deacon William Brodie, and he saw him first at Michael Henderson's, where he was introduced to the declarant by one Graham at the time the declarant was confined in that house; that Brodie, in the course of conversation, suggested to the declarant that several things could be done in this place, if prudently managed, to great advantage, and proposed to the declarant that they should lay their heads together for that purpose.

That, in consequence of this concert, the declarant and Brodie were in use to go about together, in order to find out the proper places where business could be done with success; that Brodie, in their walks, carried the declarant to the College Library, where, having observed the mace standing, Brodie said that they must have it; that Andrew Ainslie was afterwards sent by the declarant and Brodie to look at the Library, under pretence of calling for somebody, in order to see if the mace was always in the same place, as they suspected it might be one day in the Library and another somewhere else, which would have rendered an attempt upon the Library precarious; that Ainslie reported that the mace was in the same place that the declarant and Brodie had seen it, and, upon getting this report, the theft of the mace was committed as before mentioned.

Declares that, since the mace was stolen, as the declarant thinks, the declarant, along with Brown and Ainslie, laid a plan of breaking into John Tapp's house and taking his money; that this business was suggested, and pressed, by Brown, the declarant rather being averse to it; that Brown told the declarant that he knew the key of Tapp's shop opened the door of his house, and brought it to the declarant to look at, which, upon seeing, the declarant said there was nothing in it, meaning ny that, that the lock to which it belonged could easily be opened.

Declares that, accordingly, soon after this, and, as he thinks, about Christmas or near to it. Brown kept Tapp in his shop drinking, and the declarant and Ainslie, betwixt nine and ten o'clock at night, opened the door of the house with a false key and took out of his drawers eighteen guinea notes and a twenty-shilling one, a silver watch, some rings, and a miniature picture of a gentleman belonging to Tapp's wife, which picture they broke for the sake of the gold with which it was backed.

Declares that in the month of August last, as he thinks, the declarant, in company with William Brodie and Andrew Ainslie, went to a shop in Leith, which they broke into by means of two pick-lock keys, one for the padlock and another for the stock-lock ; that the declarant and Ainslie went into the shop and Brodie kept watch, to give an alarm in case of danger; that from this shop they carried off two pair of wallets full of tea, which were taken from four chests ; that Ainslie was ill at this time, and Brodie being weakly, Ainslie and he could scarcely manage one of the wallets, which obliged him to put it into an old press bed (as the declarant took it to be) which they found standing in a shed in a field adjoining to the Bonnington Road to Leith ; that it was proposed to lodge the tea in Brodie's, but he afterwards objected to it, which was the reason that they never inquired after it more.

That about two months ago the declarant, in company with Andrew Ainslie, broke into the shop of Inglis, Horner and Company, and took therefrom a large assortment of valuable goods, composed of sillks and cambricks ; that the silks were mostly black, excepting two pieces, a piece of plain white sattin, a piece of variegated ditto, and a lead-coloured silk, in quantity about ten yards, which Brown gave to a girl, an acquaintance of his, of the name of Johnston; that the silks were all sent to England, except the silk before-mentioned, a piece of black silk of about two yards and a quarter, in two odd bits, which the declarant gave to his wife to make a cloak to her child, and about twelve yards and a' half of thick tweel'd black silk for gentlemen's vests and breeches, and two yards and a half of black florentine sattin, with about six yards of cambrick.

That Brodie suggested to the declarant the doing of Inglis and Horner's shop, as the goods there were very rich and valuable, and a small bulk of them carried off would amount to a large sum ; that Brodie and the declarant went frequently to try the pad and stock-lock of Inglis and Horner's shop, and they did so most commonly on the Sunday forenoon, when the people were in church; that the padlock was of a difficult construction, and was opened at last by a key of the declarant's own making; that Brodie made one that did it also, and he on one occasion went by himself with his key and unlocked the padlock, but could not lock it again, upon which he came to the declarant and told him what he had done, which he did also to Ainslie and Brown; that they were all very angry with him, and said that he had more than likely spoilt the place after all the trouble they had been about, but Brodie told them he hoped not, as he had fixed the padlock with a bit stick in a way that it would not be discovered, and, upon looking at the place afterwards, which they all did, they found the lock to be just as it was.

Declares that on Wednesday evening, the 5th instant, the declarant, along with William Brodie, John Brown, and Andrew Ainslie, between the hours of eight and ten o'clock at night, broke into the Excise Office and carried off from that about sixteen pounds, consisting of two five-pound notes, four guinea notes, one twenty-shilling note, and about seventeen shillings and sixpence in silver; that this money was divided among them, and Brodie received his share.

That Brodie first planned the Excise Office, and repeatedly carried the declarant there under pretense of calling for Mr. Corbett from Stirling, and other people, in order to learn the situation of the place, and, on one of these occasions, the declarant observed the key of the outer door hung upon a nail near by it, and, without taking it down, lie clapped some potty upon it, and carried away the wards; that Brodie took a drawing of the wards of that key, which the declarant thinks he has in his possession ; that Brodie told the declarant how to get into the cashier's desk, and where the money lay, which was in two places, and in each of these places some money was found; that Brodie came to the knowledge of these circumstances, by being present, when Mr. Corbett, from Stirling, who is a connection of Brodie's, drew money at the cashier's office.

That, when they broke into the Excise Office, the outer door was opened by a key which the declarant had filed from the pattern before-mentioned; that the plan of accomplishing this business was as follows:—Ainslie was to keep on the outside of the office, hanging over the palisadoes in the entiy with a whistle of ivory, which was purchased by Brodie the night before, with which, if the man belonging to the Excise Office came, he was to give one whistle, and if any serious alarm was perceived he was to give three whistles, and then make the best of his way to the Excise gardens in the Canongate in order to assist the declarant, Brodie, and Brown to get out at the back window of the hall, it being determined in case of surprise to bolt the outer door on the inside and make the best of their way by the window. That Ainslie was armed only with a stick, which he left somewhere in the court, and which stick was purchased by the declarant; that Brodie had a brace of pistols, the declarant a brace and a half, and Brown a brace, which the declarant borrowed from Michael Henderson; that these arms were all loaded with double balls, as they were determined not to be taken, whatever should be the consequence.

That the declarant and Brown were told afterwards by Brodie and Ainslie that a person had come running down the court and gone in at the outer door and upstairs ; that upon this Ainslie had given the alarm by a whistle, as was agreed upon, and made the best of his way, but none of them in the inside heard the whistle, at least neither Brown nor the declarant did, and Brodie said he did not ; that when the door opened Brodie was standing behind it, and, upon the person's running up stairs, Brodie made off ; that the declarant and Brown, when in the cashier's room, heard the outer door open, but, trusting to Brodie's being at the door and staunch, they did not mind it; that the declarant and Brown, when coming out of the cashier's office, heard a person coming hastily down stairs, which made them stop or they must have met him; that upon this the declarant said to Brown, “Here must be treachery ; get out your pistols, and cock them," which they did accordingly; that upon coming to the outer door they found it shut, the declarant and Brown having seen the person that came down stairs smash the door after him when he went away.

That the declarant and Brown went down into Young's Street, where Brown gave the declarant a small crow, with some wedges, and a shirt, as also a large chissel; that the chissel and the shirt were given to Brodie afterwards, with the bank-notes, the declarant's dark Ianthorn, and two bottles, which they had carried off from the Excise Office, and took for wine; that the key with which the outer door was opened, the crow, and a pair of curling irons with which the outer door of the cashiers room was opened, were all hid by the declarant in a wall between the Earthen Mound and the North Bridge.

That, in virtue of repeated observations, it was discovered that two men watched the Excise Office time about, and Ainslie and Brown found out that from eight to ten o'clock at night there was commonly no man in the Excise Office, which was the reason of the thing being done at that time.

That it was concerted by Brodie, in case of interruption, by the man coming into the office before the business was accomplished, to conceal themselves quietly until he was gone to rest, and then to secure him; and they were, if this happened, to personate smugglers who came in search of their property that had been seized, and the declarant had a wig of Brodie's father's in his pocket in order to disguise himself; that the wig and scarf and small wedges were left in the second arch from the south of the North Bridge; that the scarf was within the wig.

That Brodie, after having been in the Excise, where he had on black clothes, went home and changed them to his ordinary dress, of a marbled colour, and a round hat; and that Brodie told the declarant that his sister had remarked him changing his dress in such a hurry.

That there is in Brodie's house a horse-pistol belonging to the declarant, as also a very large, remarkable key, which Ainslie and Brodie stole from the Abbey when there was a sale there; that Brodie has a parcel of keys of different sorts, which he has been altering, and among them is the key which he had made for Inglis and Horner's padlock; that, in Brodie's bedroom, there is a chest containing a false till, in which the declarant inclines to think some of Brodie's false dice and other things leading to a detection of his guilt may be found.

That the College mace and Tapp's watch were sent to Chesterfield, under the direction of William Ward, at William Cowley's, "Bird in Hand," Chesterfield, Derbyshire, to which place, and at which time, the rings taken from Tapp and the gold from the miniature picture were also sent; that a private letter was wrote by Brown, as he thinks, to one Tasker, formerly of this place, and whose real name is Murray, a man of bad character, which letter had no name at it but only a G. and S., and a stroke for each of the other letters in the declarant's name; that the pocket-book taken from Tapp's, with the money, was thrown by Ainslie and the declarant into a deep piece of water to the south of the Meadows.

That the goods taken from Inglis and Horner's shop were sent to Chesterfield in trunks, one of which was purchased by the declarant and another by Ainslie; that the declarant knows the places where they were purchased, and will point them out.

That the first trunk went from this by the Berwick carriers three weeks ago on Wednesday next; that the goods were removed from a cellar, in which they were originally put, in Stevenlaw's Close, taken for the purpose, notwithstanding of what was said by the declarant in his declaration of Saturday last; that Ainslie went and brought a porter from the street, who received the goods from the declarant and Ainslie half-way or more up Burnet's Close, where Brown and Ainslie lodged, near the bottom; that the porter had no creel, but only ropes, with which he tied the trunk upon his back ; and Ainslie followed him and saw him carry and deliver it to the Berwick carrier's quarters, for which he received sixpence.

That the second parcel of the above goods were sent under the direction of Elizabeth Scott or Sprott, at William Cowley's, "Bird in Hand," Chesterfield, and the reason of putting this was because the initials of her name were upon the top of the trunk; that no letter was wrote to Tasker or Murray about the last parcel of goods, as the declarant's wife was to have left this on Saturday last, and the declarant told her he had some goods for her to dispose of at Chesterfield; but she knew nothing how the goods were obtained, and is entirely innocent of any participation or knowledge of his crimes.

Declares that Brodie brought with him to the declarant's house, a day before, as he thinks, the Excise Office was robbed, a coil of ropes, new, which he either had in his possession or must have bought, as also a strong chissel with a brass virral, and two pieces of wax taper; that the brass chissel is, as the declarant believes, now in Brodie's shop or house.

That the coulter with which the inner door of the Excise Office was broke open, and two iron wedges, were taken from a plough by Brown and Ainslie near to Duddingston, as they said, the Friday before ; and the declarant makes no doubt but a black dog, Rodney, might be with them, which used to follow the declarant and them; that the coulter and wedges were left in the cashier's office, and were concealed in Salisbury Crags from the time the coulter was taken away to the time the Excise Office was broke. This he declares to be truth.

And further declares that the ropes brought by Brodie, as before mentioned, are in the declarant's house, as also a vice and files and a spring-saw, with which the declarant used to make and alter keys; that the saw the declarant got from Brodie about five or six months ago; that the declarant, before this, bought a saw, with a pair of large pincers, at a hardware shop below Peter Forrester's, on the High Street, and the declarant inclines to think that Brodie bought his saw at the same place; that in the declarant's drawer, along with the said saw and files, there will also be found a keyhole saw, which was bought and given to the declarant by Brodie.

This he also declares to be truth; and declares that the declaration emitted by him on Saturday last, so far as is inconsistent with the present, is not true.

[Signed by] George Smith and Archibald. Cockburn