The Oath & BetrayalThe Unjust Sentence
The Unjust Sentence
The landowner magistrates found a way of trapping and punishing the Martyrs, using two laws in combination.
The men were
betrayed by one of their fellow labourers, Edward Legg, tried at Dorchester
Assizes in March 1834, found guilty of administering an unlawful oath,
and sentenced to 7 years' transportation to Australia. The harshness and
injustice of their treatment caused massive public outcry.