Star. — London, England, 1820-04-12 00:00:00

ri to of ar 114 • :iewthing lie krevt. Ile did not hear Sir Charles desire them keca the pep.ce, mid be &honk' have beard Alia he• had said lie did not hear the beginning of his speech. The .11astile • re:ntioned a abort time before he save over speaking., Pile here said, unasked ; I saw one nun who bad a pistol in e . 3 paeket.] )Ir. llarrison.”--How did you know ? Witness.—l saw the liarrison.—Was it not the handle of a knife, or or a tin. witnuis.,No; I know the handle of a pistol well. - I: 3om as Cartwright, a mercer and draper in Stockport, saw -4(e.., from Ashton come to the Meeting with s:icks fresh cut apt trees. The hark was peeled off, and some had knobs. Tile r:zi certainly -truck with some apprehension and fear. lie went, c on,equence, to :Ir. Lloyd's office, and represented the dr t:aisz.e:yes. lie went then to the Meeting, and saw many of • forni,ited with sticks. Several . Meetings of the same kind a y_d been there. lie did uce discover female or a child amongst faere, excepting on the charade. Ile thought the first teeing he bard Sir Charles :Jay war, " Three hisses to the prosecutors of :Sagueley, Drtummond, and 3oliusun." Three hisses followed. m o i c p_rsons had attended former Meetings there, and were : , ere pas:nut:3l for consiiiracy. As an individual, he did not tiiink the eTtct very agreeable. He thought, when inflamed by lief •;,:eches which they had been aecestomed to hear made • ,)Cll :4C:3,i , 1!15, the coLse.piences might be serious. weapons were Liu:. branches of oak very I.trga:blughs. Ile saw a great many hundreds of them. - Lae hi,ses were given, but he could not hear Sir Charles call icon them to give hisses. Ile saw a Gentleman .come forward and give directions for hilses. It was the person pointed out to lam Sir Charles Welseley. No doubt any women or chil dren on the outside, would stand between the Cavalry-and the people. There were no Cavalry. MY. Para applied to have Mr. Barrett called back, to ask tart resptetinz . an expression which he was stated to. have used t . :t:r he had left the box, and which might, perhaps, give a cha r:et...l- to his evidence. postpo.:el the point at present. Palph postmaster of Stockport.—Produces Dlr. John Lloyd looks at the letter, and believes it to be the LTA-writing of Sir Citifies Wolseley. The letter oT the .50th of June, front E-ir Charles Weiseley to :he postmaster of Stockport, given try Zdr. Benyon in his open t:.g, 21:d that froin Mattson to Baueley, also Liven by Mr. Eenyon, re..d. Aaron Collyer.—Belongs to the Pollee at Manchester, and was sent to watch the •:ectirg at S!ockpert. Arrived between twelve and one in the day ; r great many people were. there, ;411 more ware nnit,::. Saw the hustin,, , -s put ty. D.d not then see S.r Ch:aks Wolseley. Does not know Harrison. Was s:-:ding rathur no the outside of the crowd. Some one said, :cat is a NO. runner from l'ilanches:er. Witness took no rocs , and walked or. abtrat ten yards, when he waa struck wi:h a s:ick or something. As ho was gob; away belme the Easy, h•_ heard snme or•.e saying he was come as a spy. Was ht the head audknocketldown; was stunned ; and the next Ldog he rememuers is lindias himself in a house, and a woman wasiung the wocnd. Couss-examitte.l.—As be came from Marthester to Stock- Fn-; e:.l not seara.b any person. Did not take notice wilo said, that is a Nadin's riinner. Saw no one upon the hustino. Here the case for the prosecution closed. Mr. PZAP.SON said, that it was now his duty to ad dress tlle J:.ry on behalf of Sir Charles \Volseley, and on behalf of Sir Charles Wolseley only: and in err in.lance, the Learned Counsel said, had he ever risen to addrzss a Jury with nose ernbairassmcnt and anxiety. Not that he had any doubts that the merits of his ease must inevitably lead to the acquit tal of hi. cheat; kit he could not but recollect how long that case lia.l Icon before the Public; he could not forget that, dltring several months, that case had been cauvatsLd in Ne;fs a -apers, and discussed in pri vate parties; the Jury would have heard such'con ♦ersations, nay, they would probably have borne a. part in them; they would have heard assertions made where no contradiction could be offered ; and they had heard circumstances stated as facts, for which, in all probability, there had been little or no founda tion. He (Mr. Pearson) rejoiced that his client at last stood in a situation in which he would have an opportunity of clearing his character,-and justifying himself to the world. Every word which he (the Learned Counsel) uttered would be laid before that Public, who would form their own opinion upon the subject—who would re-judge, if the expression might be allowed, the judgment of the present day. Ile was confident in the understanding, the education, and the integrity of the Gentlemen before whom he stood ; but he would tell them that they had need of all their integrity, all their education, and all their understanding, to guard against the effects of those conversations to which lit had alluded—effects the more dangerous because they were imperceptible even to the parties themselves. The question before the Jury was not a political question, nor was a poli tical dissertation from him (Mr. Pearson) tobbe ex pected. In a Court ef Justice, in the Sanctuary of the Law, the voice of party should be for ever silent; and he conjured the Jury to consider that, if it was incumbent upon him (the Learned Counsel) to abstain from obtruding upon the Jury any political discus sion, it was still more incumbent upon the Jury to guard their minds from the slightest shade of poli tical bias. The _whole question which it was the duty of the Jury to decide, was strictly of a legal, and not at all of a political nature. It had been opened with die greatest candour by his Learned FA:id, the Attoi ney-General; and, ire the course of his opening, that Learned Gentleman had stated that there were two counts in the indictment; one charging the defendants 'A ith assembling unlaw fully, for the pUrpme of disturbing the public peace, and for acts afterwards; and the other charging a • conspiracy with the second defendant, Mr. Harrison. The charge of conspiracy, the Learned Counsel thought, scarce deserved an argument ; it had been, by the evidence for the prosecution, completely dis proved; and he was only astonished that his Learned Eiend had not long since abandoned that charge, and confessed that his ground had mouldered beneath his feet. A conspiracy, forsooth, between two men who had not been proved to have met until a few niorneats before the time at which their offence was alleged to have been committed ! It had appeared, he was free to admit, that some degree of acquaint ance had subsisted between Sir Charles Wolseley and Mr. Harrison, previous to the day of the Stockport Meeting. And what degree of acquaintance? A itness had sworn that they spoke in the street ; but that witness had been unable to speak to the subject of their conversation. His Learned Friend had not confined himself', in his observations, to the trial which Zees at present before the Court; and perhaps he (Mr. Pearson) might be allowed to allude for a moment to a trial which had recently taken ylace— a trial, upon which one of the most impartialludges taat the country had ever produced had for many days presided. That Learned Judge (Mr. Justice Ilayley ) ha.l observed, that the defendants were not to be found guilty of conspiracy, although Ler weie pursuing the same end, unless the Jury eie cf opinion that they were acting in pur s,;,t;ice of a common design, with the privity of all. V•;ore had there been a word of evidence to chew tlig ' a design had been laid by Mr. Eitriison, iu con, •... cert with Sir Charles Wolseley? Not one syllable of such - evidence bad been given. That the defend ants had pursued the same end, would not be denied; but there was the . authority of Mr. Justice Bayley for stating, that the mere fact of pursuing the same end, unaccompanied by proof that they had origin ally laid the same plan, did not, by the law of Eng land, amount to a conspiracy. To prove the existence of such a plan not one tittle of evidence • had been given. But his Learned Friend (Mr. Benyon) had put in a letter which he said would fully prow that fact; and truly a notable letter it was. It was a letter from Sir Charles Wolseley; dated two days after the. Meet ing was over ; and it referred to a letter from Mr. Harrison upon some Subject or other, which letter, at the time of the Meeting, Sir Charles Welseley bad not received. Suppose, of which there was no proof, that the letter from Mr. Harrison had been an invi tation to Sir Charles Wolseley to attend the Meeting of the 23th of June, it had been shewn, even by the evidence of the other side, that upon that day of Meeting the letter had not been received. The whole charge of conspiracy was gone;. and it would be wasting the time of the Jury to argue it farther. The other part of the indictment would depend entirely upon the question, whether the Meeting of the 28th was a legal or an illegal Meeting ? and to such a question the Learned Counsel felt assured the Jury could return but one answer. Upon that question he would refer the Jury, not to the opinions of Lambert and of Hale, although the opinions of those high au thorities would be most favourable to the defend , ant; but be would refer them at once to the opinion of Mr. Seijeant Hawkins, who had been declared by the same Learned Judge to whom he had before al luded to. be the' best waiter upon the subject. The opinion of Mr. Serjeant Hawkins was this—" That any Meeting of a number of People, under circum stances to create fears and jealousies in the minds of the King's subjects, is an illegal Meeting." Those were the words of Mr. Serjeant . Hawkins, and what did those words prove ? That it was not numbers which would constitute an illegal Meeting ; there must be circumstances, and strong circumstances, to excite the fears and jealousies of the King's subjects. It would be for the Jury to say whether there had been any such circumstances attending the Meeting at Stockport, and whether Sir Charles had attempted to convene :a Meeting of such a description? The num bers attening that Meeting were unimportant ; and he, the Learned. Counsel, would go at once to the con duct and to the language employed by that Meeting. —What then were the Resolutinns which had been passed at that Meeting ? 'lie (Mr. Pearson) would venture to declare, that even from the partial detail of those Resolutions which had been given by the witnesses for the prosecution, nothing would appear by which his client could be affected. It appearet that, on a former occasion, a Petition had been sent to the Prince Regent, which they conceived had been prevented 'firm reaching his hands by a barrier in terposed by a Minister of 'State. It was natural to feel anxious to prevent such a recurrence. They met for Reform. In order to .carry their object into ef fect, the witnesses had told them that there was be a Meeting of the Nation at Oldham to appoint Delegates. Of Reform, whatever might be his opi nion, he would here say nothing. It was a legitimate topic of discussion. It had formed a material topic of political writers at various periods, ever since the Revolution, and the wisest and best Statesmen had endeavoured to effect it. Need he refer to Locke and Bolingbroke, to Fox and Pitt? It was surely too late of the day to make it necessary to argue that Reform was a legitimate object of Meeting and Pe titioning. Universal Suffrage certainly seemed of - all chimerical projects the mostchimerical ; but still, it was not unlawful to discuss it and to Petition either House of Parliament, or the Sovereign,.or, if the Pe- 1 tition was refused, to remonstrate boldly, but respect . fully. NVhere was the limit to Petitioning ? What- ever Parliament could grant, the People could Petition , against, and they had a right to give force to their dividual opinions by meeting and uniting their wishes. He could not think of wasting their time by remark-- ing upon the absurd evidence that all the people of 1 , this great empire were to be assembled at Oldham. That it had been seriously urged for the prosecution was singular in judicial proceedings. It was beyond everything in real life, -beyond everything in comic action. The wildest of wild romances had nothing like it. The flamers of memory and mathematical ! carving of meat in Gulliver's Travels, were not com parable to this: and the alarm of the inhabitants of the Flying Island, that this earth would be destroyed by the tail of a comet, was as reasonable as any alarm for this Wild speculation of a national Meets; ing at Oldham ! Say that they were to be delegates who met. He needed not to tell them that that would'' not be unlawful. Need he to remind them, that it Meeting of Delegates was held in London, among whom was Dr. Jebb, Sir William Jones, r. Pitt, Mr. Fox, the Lennozes, the Cavendishes, and the Howards ? They were not prosecuted by the Attor ney4..;eneral. Why, then, should a Meeting in Cheshire be thus visited? But such a Meeting would not have been illegal. But if they had the dictum of a Judge, which they had not, that it was illegal, still, , .in the present case, it had, accirding to the evidence, been only proposed. Then there. was a subscription proposed for the prosecution of Ministers who had violated the law ; but to the law, and the law only, they applied. How•could this be a violation of the public peace? Next, as to the conduct. of the vaities 'at - the Meeting, there was notating illegal in mere numbers. The Acts of the last Pasha. merit were a distinct admission .that Meetings of the kind were legal before. It had been laid down by that upright and impartial Judge, Mr. Justice Bayley, that if there were sixty thousand, it was not, therefore, an unlawful assembly:— Our ancestors justly conceived that the leave and license of a Magistrate for a Public Meeting was net the mude of raising the spirit and power of this coun try ; they knew it was the system in Italy and Spain,l where even amusements were regulated by the Police ; but they were aware that at Meetings men felt their own importance, and they knew that men must feel themselves important in their own eyes, before they could become formidable to their enemies. Juries might watch such Alcetings till they produced the security of Italy, but with its security they would produce its insignificancy, or they would reduce the People to the necessity of rising, like the inhabitants. of Spain, against the Government, at the hazard of their lives. Here there had been none of the cir .. 4 _ t. . cumstances proved to have ta / kin pace at the Meet- 1 ing at. Manchester. If a Constable was hurt ? .it was before Sir Charles- came; even if ft were notb how could he be answerable for that more than for a pickpocket who might steal property in the crowd ? Sticks for convenience, or even parade, were not unlawful. If they were held up, so were hats. Bat in no shape were- they connected with his client. Why were not the men who were said to haie been in the public-house, joined . with the defendanti in the indictment? Did not Barrett give evidence with the eagerness of a Police-officer—in such a manner as to be unworthy of credit? But if they believed him, he would again refer to that enlightened Judge at York, who never suffered his mind to be biassed on the judgment-seat by political opinions, and . tell them, from his authority, that if six or ten did any thing unlawful at 'a Meeting, the Meeting or its conductors were not answerable.. As to the cap of liberty and the flag, they were aware that at York, where such things ,were proved to have-existed to a , much greater extent, Mr. Hunt was acquitted •on every count,' similar to what they were trying at pre sent. Here he read the count on which Mr. Hunt had been convicted,and called the attention of their Lord ships particularly to it. Perhaps the cap of liberty was a bauble unworthy a the attention of men of sense; but the multitude, men as well as children, valued the symbol more than the thing signified,— " Pleas'd with this bauble still as that before." Of the rattles, titles, rosaries, or garters, mentioned by the Poet, were they any more harmless than the cap of liberty, originally emblematical of the manu mission of a slave, in England the symbol of liberty? It had been used and abused in France, so had li berty. Heconld not suppose the Constitution of this country could,- be destroyed, like a necromancer's spell, by a breath, a hiss, cr a shout. What sedition was there in hissing the prosecutors of Baguley and others? They had not been tried, and ought to have ben supposed innocent. But if it was improper, im propriety was, not destroying the public peace. The informers, and not the King, were, in common lan guage, the prosecutors. Were they to be told in this country that shouts and acclamations were not to be suffered because they were offensive to delicate ears ? Their ancestors thought, and wisely, far otherwise. The Learned Counsel now adverted, a: length, to I r the speeches. If the Meeting was not illegal, the speeches could not make it the Meeting described in the indictment Seditious words might form a sub stantive crime, but it was not the crime before them. If others used seditious words, Sir Charles Wolseley was answerable only for his own words.- Here he felt peculiar difficulty. Sir Charles Wolseley was a, person of the highest honour and respectability; and would not separate himself from a fellow-sufferer; but he (Mr. Pearson) could not suffer considerations of that kind to influence his conduct as his Counsel. Mr. Harrison was here to deny, or explain, or prove to be an idle joke, the allusion to an Illustrious Per son. Such expressions, he must say; were improper, disgraceful, indecent, and mischievous. But Sir Charles Wolseley was not answerable for. every ab surd remark made by others. The expression of. " a struggle to be made and ended in a few weeks," if he could not contradict he might explain to al lude to the Meeting of Parliament, and the Bill of Reform to be intrbduced. The Learned Gentle man then animadverted upon the manner in which Johnson gave his evidence, and asked if they could, as men of honour and understanding, believe him? —The Bastile, it was evident, and he would prove, had been mentioned only hypothetically; and Sir Charles Welseley took no greater liberty in this re spect than Mr. Burke had done on the other side. Sir Charles, in saying that he would assist in destroy ing similar buildings, if set up in this country, said no more than every English Gentleman felt. Mr. Burke had said, that our prisons were almost as strong as Bastiles; yet none would say he wished for Bastiles. He asked for the same indulgence for his client which was given to - the elaborate and rounded periods of Burke. Sir Charles Wolseley's fortune was opulent, and affording the elegances and luxuries of, lite ; his family, his rank, his wife and numerous family, proved that he could not be influenced by envy, or a desire to throw his property as a prize of some desperate gambler in revolution. The Learned Gentleman thanked the Jury for theinattention ; said he felt the force of long intimacy, and that he might have urged - upon them, the _consideration of Sir Charles's 'wife and family, whom he (the Learned' Counsel) tenderly loved. But Sir Charles desired him to .meet the calumny contained against him in the indictment in the face of day—to plead for . no. thing—to urge no pleas of his family or liberty, or his station in society ; but to meet the case upon its merits. He had met it accordingly. He thanked them, not so much on his own account, although a stranger to - them, for their attention to him . ; but he thanked them for bestowing their attention and un derstanding upon this case, important to the country as well as to his client. He committed that client, his liberty, his happiness, 'and the happiness of his family, with most entire confidence into their hands: Mr. Harrison began to address the Jury at four n'clock,, and spoke nearly as follows:—" Gentlemen, I stand before you in a very particular situation. I was compelled, by force to plead to theindictment, awl I pleaded Not Guilty. The cause was afterwards removed to the Court of King's Bench, and as I stand before you in the manner that I do, I think it necessary to say a few things, perhaps a many things, even for three or four hours. So 1 beg of you, Gen:- tlemen, to exercise the greatest patience. And first,, I must call your attention to the speech of Mr. Marshall, one of the Judges on the Bench, as it seems particularly addressed to my case, humble indivi dual as I am. (Here the defendant read the remarks of the Learned Judge on the conduct of these des- Tecate adventurers who were attempting to subvert the Constitution of the country.') Whether it tended to represent him as one, who, impatient of industry, started from his obscurity with the diaboli• cal object of overturning the Constitution of the country, he,could not say, and of this it was for the Jury to Jude. .When he (Harrison) began to ad vocate the principles of Reform, he was aware that he risked incurring the displeasure of those who wished to remain as they are . ; but that risk he was deter mined to run, legally and constitutionally. He was determined to act in strict conformity to those laws under Which he had hitherto comfortably lived.— He then; lead from the Judge's charge some pas sages, Alescribing it to be . the object of some . . ' bisiciiiiiies to 'bring about •3 • singuinatal iiib i lit: Sion, in the hope of profiting by the plunder which might be made in the confusion that might 'ailie.- - -a This he considered at equal to coademntng 1 man before:Alia!: If; however, he Must fall, it-shirald be '''' ~ by "...Wrice—he meant by the violence of his prose cutori, and so violent would the shock be, that the hi ..... very earth would shake when he fell. He then no ticed the indictment, which he called a sham docu:- ment, which tied him and Sir Charles Wolseley hand- ' • and' font together, to be cast—where?—why, into Hell ! But for the remarks which had been made by the Judge, ha thought he should hardly have had anything to address to the Jury ; but now he would defend himself to the utmost in the face of his coun try. It might be said, what was his country to him? 'He would answer, ' Every thing.' Should he be torn ftom his affectionate partner, his country would stretch out its arms to catch him when he fell, and if torn from his lovely babes, his country would - pro = tect them, and they would gain ten fathers for one. For himself, he had endeavoured to the utmost to stop the progress of irreligion,"by preaching the Goss- PEI, of CHRIST. Doing tl is, .he .had perhaps been guilty of ' going up and down the cormtry as a va ssabondizing Orator.' With thestrength of HEAVEN, I shall now improve the opportunity affAled me, and vindicate my character. I wish not for rapine, I wish not for plunder : and however Reform may be called 'a* nostrum,' I say, that whatever makes knaves honest, and bad men good, must prove a 'service to the community. Reform would, I know, in a great measure, effect these desirable objects. I do not want the riches of others, nor do I think Par liamentary Reform v:ould make poor men rich,- or rich men poor. If I give a wrong direction to my Lord's speech, I hope he will rectify it. ' Once the Constitution gone, it is gone for ever; so say I, and 6 military despotism will ensue;' that is what the Reformers halm all along dreaded.. The cheering doctrines of Redemption have been my constant theme, and are still the delight of my soul. If it be blasphemy to glory in the truths of the Gospel— to be grateful that our DIVINE SAv:Oua came down from Heaven, and stock on him the nature of man, for the purpose of seeming us a victory over sin, hell, and the grave—then, indeed, I have been a 'vagabond orator—then I have been a blasphemer. Pamphlets, containing improper things, have bean cir culated ; but I consider it an Englishman's right to read every work, and then think of it as he feels proper. That cannot be considered as a right in any man, for the exercise of which he may be punished. Now mark the but, Gentlemen ; we have rights, but if once they are exercised, they render men liable to be punished. At the Meeting at Stockport, one-fourth of the inha bitants only were present : surety one is not a match for four; but, indeed, it has not been proved that any terrerem populi was used. 1 hope it will not be said here, as it was said in Scotland, that Scotch law is not English 'lake, and that Cheshire law is not also Eng lish law. It is not from your prejudices, Gentlemen, that I expect or fear for anything. I hope you will not defile your oaths; and if you give a verdict con trary to the evidence, you will do so. The leaders of Reform are-charged with sanctioning military training : 'I know of none who do so ; and if such practices were now followed, it would be against the law : that I know ; but then it is because of a recent enactment that makes it illegal. But the Reformers are charged with everything to bring them into dis repute. What is said of large Meetings of the People, equally applies to Election and other s County Meet ings. I shall dot- say the indictment was framed to murder two innocent individuals—no, that would be too strong ; I dare not say so ; but I say, the Afire hat pierced to the vitals, and was only prevented . killing because it could not reach far enough. Then • we have something on the Cato-street Conspiracy, as it is called, I suppose, to connect me with those foolish, absurdfliash men, who engaged in such .an enterprise ! Some Gentlemen behind me tion't let me speak. Perhaps there are some men who would accuse me of participating with the men on whom sentence, was so solemnly pronounced this morning ; but of that I am wholly guiltless:— Why was sentence pronounced on them this morn ing, if not in same 'measure or other to be connected with me by some association of ideas? The attempt at Birch was an injury to me, an injury to the cause of Reform, and if I saw the man lift the pistol ' against him, I would have interposed and saved him. . 'Birch behaved to me like a Gentleman, like alriencl, and I hate the man who could attentpt to assassinate hint, If we bad base designs, if we were such vil lains as are described in the Learned Judge's speech, we would deserve the punishment that impends tipon us. Ido not think it worth while to comment on the 'praites" even to the Magistracy. - The Chester Yeomanry ' flew to arms,'—civil war, Gentle Men! ' Hew to arms not against the Spanish, not to cut down the Erencb or Germans; and should not I be very neglectful to myself, if, as it may be, you are some of these ptaised people, not to•noticehis'speech. You are all strangers to me, but you are Englishmen, 'and emery Englishman I love. Butave are 6 pretended Reformers; still hypocriteso—that hurts me; we have been zealous and sincere, and we have shewn our selves in earnest to obtain redress for our grievances. We have grievances, and while we use every zeal to procure Reform, I cannot abide it that we shotild be called hypocrites—pretended Reformers—(Leoelus tary langhter here burst forth, from the vociferous manner in which the last passag e was e x pressed).— You might have hitherto heard that Juries have done their duty ; so far good. I hope all Juries will do their duty. So much for the Learned Judge's speech as far as refers to one individual. I can't suppose my dilating on his speech will offend the Learned Judge, for he looked upon me while I .was 'Ling so with a very pleasant countenance—( Loud and con tinued laughter through the Court).—Gentlemen of the Jury, I hold in my hand another help, unbought, unasked, unsought, and unexpected, as if that PRO VIDENCE, . who knew my condition, had given me a help when most I needed it. That help is, " A fro brief Remarki by Jeremy Bentham"—(A laugh )—a great lawyer, one of the ablest in England, perhaps I might- say in the world, and I dare say, if their Lordships spoke of him, they wou!e say the same.— Bat, Gentlemen,.l have not yet read over the in dictment, and I shall proceed to read it“—(Laughter). He here read it, and as lie proceeded, it excited the continued risibility of the crowds who heard him. s [Harrison now commenced (a quarter to seven o'clock, trad ing lienthan's Remarks, and, if he perseveres in pa ns t h rough -them, the trial must bd resumed again to-morrow.] 14., , .._-~ .; , i f‘.; . • t. tv: bt 1 4 : t: t FS bi .f 1.. i I i • • c' .