The van was driven
by a policeman; another usually sat beside the driver on the box; the
whole escort thus consisting of three men, carrying no other arms than
their staves; but it was felt that on the present occasion a stronger
escort might be necessary. The magistrates well knew that Kelly
and Deasey had numerous sympathisers amongst the Irish residents in
Manchester, and their apprehensions were quickened by the receipt of
a telegram from Dublin Castle, and another from the Home Office in
London, warning them that a plot was on foot for the liberation of the
prisoners. The magistrates doubted the truth of the information, but
they took precautions, nevertheless, for the frustration of any such
enterprise. Kelly and Deasey were both handcuffed, and locked in
separate compartments of the van; and, instead of three policemen,
not less than twelve were entrusted with its defence. Of this body,
five sat on the box-seat, two were stationed on the step behind, four
followed the van in a cab, and one (Sergeant Brett) sat within the
van, the keys of which were handed in to him through the grating,
after the door had been locked by one of the policemen outside. There
were, in all, six persons in the van: one of these was a boy, aged
twelve, who was being conveyed to a reformatory; three were women
convicted of misdemeanours; and the two Irish-Americans completed the
number.
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