Star. — London, England, 1810-01-20 00:00:00

PROTESTANT DISSENTERS. It was hoped by the real Friends of our Constitu : lion ; na y, by the best Friends of the Church of Eng landas established by Law, that the measure pro. posed by Lor d SIDMOUTII towards the close of the last Session of Parliament would not be revived. It. is Tenoned, however, that his Lordship means to bring the Sa me business again before Parliament early in t h e approaching Session ; and as the plan has occa sioned a c onsiderable degree of interest, .we think we shall r ender a service to the public by now-republish inz hi ; Lordship's speech on that occasion on the 2d of June last : Lord Viscount SIDMOUTH rose to 'move for an at. count cf the number of Licences issued within a cer tain period, under the Act of 1 W. and M. c. 18. commoni Y called the Toleration Act, and of the 19. Geo. :;. c. 44, entitled, " An Act for the further re lief of Protestant Dissenting Ministers, and School. master;." It Appeared, he said, to be highly•desira tile and important, that the information which it was the liject of his motion to procure, should be pos -s.,ssed by Parliament and the public. He had no reason to doubt, that a large majority of those, who had obtained licences under these Acts, had applied for them from motives the most strictly conscien tious; as little could he doubt, that the wise and policy, by which these Acts were dictated, had, in numerous instances, been grossly abused. That such was the fact was well known to Magistrates, who wer e in the habit of attending Oaarter Sessions of the peace in the several counties of England and Wales. r.. der these Acts, it was competent to any person calling himself a Protestant Dissenter, of whatever age, or c ondition, however ignorant, however excep boilable in conduct and character, by taking the oat h s , and making the declarations hereby required, trillify himself, as it was termed, to preach any s!oetriaes he pleased, and thus to obtain an exemption f r om a:: parochial offices, and from serving on Juries or in the Militia. Thus was a strong incentive af forded to schism, and in proportion to its success, an increased burthen thrown upon the members of the established church. He desired, however, to be un derstood, as applying his complaint on this point sn!ely to immunities claimed by self-appointed preachers and teachers, not attached to any dissent ing congregations; or by those, who, being in the ministry, were also engaged in secular occupations .ad callings. Persons duly appointed and devoting taiselves to the performance of their spiritual du tits, ought, in his opinion, to enjoy the same immu iitizs as those who had received episcopal ordination. As to the description of persons, to whom licences ought to be granted (for they were now claimable as right,) it was a point of extreme delicacy, and im portance, concerning which he should be averse to any regulations, but such as all sober minded, and rational dissenters must approve. He could not, however, but presume that every individual of teat description must be desirous that the doctrines, wilich he believed, should not be publicly preached by ersons wholly destitute of ordinary attainments ; of persms not arrived at that period of life, previous o which Deacon's orders could not be conferred, or f whose moral characters and conduct satisfactory v!!estations had not been adduced, It was also L in but tho red bOrs Yea ker- ' , ighly desirable (and surely it would not be deemed unreasonable, or improper to require,) that persons laiming Licences to preach should state, if not the rounds of their dissent, the denomination, at least, d' Dissenters to which they professed to belong ; that .hey should be recommended by the religious society of which they were members ; that they should be at tached to a known and distinct place of public wor :hip ; and that they should not be at liberty to offici ate habitually elsewhere without a fresh Licence.— Whether these or any other regulations should be adopted, it would be for the wisdom of their Lord and of the other 1-louse of Parliament, to de- =mine : but it appeared to be due to that profession of faith, concerning the fundamental doctrines of which we were all agreed, that no subordinate diffe- ' elites of opinion should allow us to be regardless of ie qualifications and characters of those by whom aigious instruction was to be conveyed. With re :pea to the tenets of the various sects of Dissenters, we had, indeed, no right to interfere : but to endea tour that, be they what they may, they should not be preached and taught by the grossly ignorant and Ile profligate, was surely no infringement on the 4 Unti principles of an enlightened toleration. That la number of persons who frequent meeting houses, ad conventicles, had, within the last few years, consi tably increased, could not be denied : but it was not to be supposed that the number of Dissenters had in ceased in the same proportion. He believed the fact to be, that the awful occurrences of the last 20 years had cleated a more general sense of the truths, and import ance of religion, than was previouly entertained; and that whilst these impressions were spreading, and the ?Illation of the country rapidly increa sing, the num bit of plates of worship under the established church, 'I clergymen engaged in the performance of paro cl,ial duties, remaineil nearly the same. Many per 3ons wcre therefore induced to prefer an attachment to tenyenticles, and meeting houses, to a neglott of blic worship altogether. By an Address to his 'laiestY with a view to the improvementof small Bene jos, to which their Lordships had unanimou sly agreed tte preceding day, a step had been taken, which 4 1'i7gst its other advantages tended to obviate oneof !It causes of apparent separation from the Church ; 'a s smuch as the inducement to unite many small , 1 •I'.:ngs for the purpose of affording a decent subsist e, would be weakened, as the actual value of each was materially improved ; and thus whilst the Ivnber cf pluralists was diminished, that of the Isident efficient Clergy would be increased. But rie great and most effectual check to the progress ?t , schism, as procee di ng f rom the causes to which : 1 - had adverted, must be derived from an aug zotation of the number of churches properly en colved, to which all persons should have access.— Proprietary Chapels would in no degree answer the Par Pose, unless it were enacted, as he thought it ought t qx, by the authority of Parliament, that for a cer tain propo r ti on o f t h e area o f places of public wor aal) to be consecrated in future, no pew-rent should taken. He was however of opinion, that the charge t Providing additional places of worship, where an . creased population appeared to require them, ought z pan to be defrayed by local contributions, and not .;)e thrown exclusively on the public. To these objects truaed that the attention of Goveniment, and of. Parliament, would be speedify and eettestly directed it was a duty of primary, indispensable, and urgent importance, the performance of which could not but be intimately connected with our welface, and even with the stability of our existence as a Tnation ; for whatever might be our apparent prosperity, hOwever extensive, lofty, and splendid the edifice of our power, it would be insecure, and transitory, unless funded on the basis of an established religion, firmly and zea lously upheld and protected by the supreme authority of the State. Whether, if his motion should be a greed to, he should submit any m easure to t h e i r ships in the ensuing Session, was matter of future consi deration. It would be far more satisfactory to him to see this subject in other, and abler hands. He had however discharged what he thought a duty, in en deavouring to draw their attention to it, and from the manner in which they had been pleased to receive what he had said, he was willing to hope that in that respect he had not been disappointed.—His Lordship then moved,. " that there be laid before this house an account of the number of licences issued in each year at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, in the several counties of England and Wales, and at the Registry in each Diocese, from the-commencement of the year 1780, under the act 1 W. and M. corn• monly called the Toleration Act, and the 19 G. 3. c. 44, entitled an Act for the further Relief of Pro testant Dissenting Ministers, and Schoolmasters." LAW INTELLIGENCE., COURT OF RING'S BENCH, JAN. 17. FINN O. WILLIAMSON. The ArroaNay GENERAL stated, that the plaintiff was a mariner on hoard the Ocean East Indiaman, of which the defendant was Captain. The action was brought for an assault committed by the defen dant on the plaintiff, and for that which he hoped would appear to the Jury, as it did to him upon his instructions, to be most inhuman treatment ; for ter tatnlyit was so if those instructions were true. The plaintiff was a joiner on board this vessel, when this outrage was committed on him. In answer to this charge made upon the Captain, for this inhuman treatment, he stated upon the record, that this plain tiff was a mariner on board this ship under his coin• mand, and behaved himself in an impertinent and improper manner towards him, the defendant ; and that be *as guilty of disobedience to the order of the defendant, which order was given for the safety of the ship ; whereupon he the defendant chastised him moderately—moderately for his misconduct.— Now, the Attorney General said, he should state to the Jury, what the pretended cause of his chastise ment was, and what the chastisement itself was, to which this Captain chose to apply the term " mode rate." The plaintiff was employed about his busi ness as a joiner, in making a vane below deck. The boatswain came to him to borrow his tools, which he refused to lend ; for he knew that if others got hold of his tools, they would most probably be spoiled, and would become unfit for his use. The boatswain then went upon deck, and related to the Captain something. What passed between them did not ap. pear ; but it was found that the Captain called up the plaintiff, and asked him, " What he was about P' To which he answered most respecfully and submis sively, ic That he was about making a vane foi the ship, below ; according to orders." The Captain told him to go about his work. As soon as he was gone as far as the main hatch-way, the Captain called him back—he obeyed. The Captain bid him fetch up his tools—he obeyed. Then the Captain ordered two men to come forward, one of the name of Ro berts, the other Smith, a black man—who was called black Smith'—they came. The Captain ordered them to take the plaintiff, the one by one hand, the other by the other—they did so. Then the Captain or dered the boatswain to come forward—he did so-,- ordered him to take a ro pe —he believed a two and an half inch rope to beat the plaintiff. The boatswain did so—until the Captain ordered him to desist, which the Captain was not in haste to do ; but told the boatswain to strike harder, assuring the boat swain, if he did not inflict severer chastisement, on' the plaintiff, by striking harder, he should have the same chastisement himself. The punishment was therefore inflicted on the plaintiff according to the Captain's desire ; and as to the manner in which that was done, the Attorney General said, he had rather the July should have the particulars from the wit nesses than from him. After this punishment had been inflicted on the plaintiff, by the boatswain, by order of the Captain, the Captain himself, not satis fied with the punishment which had been inflicted by the hand of the boatswain, took a rope himself, and inflicted further and still more severe chastisement on the plaintiff ; and spared no part of his person ; his head, back, sides, loins and face, and at last gave him a blow on the temple, which was the last, and which brought him down, and while he lay upon the deck, kicked and stamped upon him violently, from which he suffered as much as from the blow, and by which he was disabled from doing his duty for a long time, and he bore the marks of violence about him to this very hour, for there was now upon his fore head the scar of the wound upon his temple. This was what the Captain was pleased to call " mode rate chastisement, for disobedience to his orders, given as they were for the safety of the ship ;" but that was all a pretence, for that, in reality, there was no disobedience to his orders, and therefore, the Captain was without excuse, and this was a case for exemplary damages. He knew, he said, how dan gerous it was to propagate opinions, that Captains of East Indiamen, or of any other vessels, were to be liable to large damages for the chastisement they in flicted, (although it might be in some measure de served) if they went a little further than they ought to do ; that is, if they should in their zeal for neces sary discipline, go beyond the proper bounds. He knew how dangerous it was, not only to our East- India, but to every other shipping service, to propa-1 rate such a doctrine, many ships might have been in danger ; perhaps some lost, by propagating a doc trine, and giving too much encouragement to actions of this sort, which were not brought so much for the benefit of those in whose names they were commen ced, as for that of those who brought them, but this was not an action of that nature ; the reverse. For the plaintiff was an obedient mariner, on board a ves sel, cruelly treated by a tyrant, and who therefore, for the protection of ships, as well as for the protec tion of obedient sailors on board them, the d efe ndant ettgiit tb tie Ade tt ply enfisitletaltie &image& Ife had stated the case to the Jury, is it lad been stated to him.: He had not endeavoured to exaggerate any part of it, and . if proved, he thought the*Tury would make an am pliconipensation to t& plaintiff, for the injury he had received, and whiCh was wantonly in flicted on him - by this defendant. George Taylor said, I was a fore mast Man in the Vessel called - the Ocean, the defendant was the Cap tain. Lawrence Finn, the plaintiff, wat the joiner : he messed with me, I saw him at work on the day of this aftairt I cannot say exactly what day It was, but it was hi the month of May, 1808. The plaintiff was making a vane for the foremiast-headi He was below on the gun-deck. The boatswain came down and asked him to lend some of his tools, he refused to do it, he told hint he lent his tools before and they spoil ed them, *id that he would not lend his tools any more. If there was any thing to do he would do it himself, but he would not lend his tools. The boats wain went aft, and away, and then came down again and told him to go to the Captain the plaintiff went immediately, and I followed up after him The plaintiff said to the Captain=" hour Hotiour, did you want me ?—The Captain said ) " loiner, what are you about ?"—" Making a vane for the mast head," said he • " Go below, and do what you were about," said th e Captain. On which the plaintiff went away, in order to go below, and got as • far as the main hatchway, when the Captain hallooed— " 3 oiner, come here"—All the men almost were then upon deck, but the boatswain was forward. The plain tiff came back, and the Captain said—" Go and fetch all the tools you have got up here."—" Yes, your Honour," he says, and went and fetched them ; he brought them in a basket. As soon as he brought the tools up, the Captain told him to put them down ; he did so. Then the Captain called the Quarter-master,' whose name is Roberts, and he came—" Catch that old rascal by the arm," said the Captain • he did so. Then the Captain said to a man of the name of Smith, a black, who was on that account called black Smith—a Catch hold of the other arm," he did so. The Captain then called the boatswain aft, and said, " Give the old rascal a d—d good :tartly." The boatswain then took up a rope and hit the plaintiff, as the Captain thought too lightly, by the blow ; on which the Captain said, " Strike harder"—=and he said, if he did not strike harder, he should serve him the same as he had done the plaintiff ; and then the boatswain beat the plaintiff on the back ; I Cannot say how many blows he gave him ; he might get near twenty or more. The Captain was then stand ing on the poop, about ten yards from where the plaintiff stood. Atter the boatswain had done beat ing him, the plaintiff turned round and asked the Captain what he got that cruel usage for ? He said, he had worked for the first noblemen in England, and that he had never had a blow nor a black eye before ; and that he should like to know what this was for, for that he was not deserving of it—itpon which the Captain ran from the poop where he then stood, and caught hold of a rope, and then beat him as hard as he could, until he could not beat him any longer—he was out of breath ; it was ariciut a two inch and a quarter rope ; he did not care where he hit him, and as he was striking him, he at last hit ,him on the temple, and the man fell with the blow ) and as he fell, he Captain stamped on his right side as hard as he could; he also gave him a kick. After that, the Captain told the boatswain to start the old rascal arm on the deck ; on which the boats wain gave him three blows more as he was walking along. I cannot say what part of the voyage this was, but it was on the other side of the Cape. That plaintiff, after this, never could go about the deck, without laying hold of something to guide him along. He appeared to me to be always lame afterward s during the rest of the voyage. I used to help him in and out of his hammock ; he never wanted help before that happened ; be was not stripped ; he had his shirt and a light jacket on, and I have them here ; the clothes which he had on at the time, and here is-the blood upon them now, the blood which was occa sioned by the wounds which he received on that oc casion. He and I messed together. He had the things upon him, and he stripped and sheaved his messmates his back, which was bruised, and the blood starting in a kind of a jelly. Cross.examined by Mr. GARROW.—He said, that they had had their boom carried away in a storm, and that the boatswain wanted the plaintiff's tools for a young man on board, who was the assistant of the carpenter, who was then on board the Elphinstone East Indianian, which vessel had also lost her mast by the gale, and it was necessary that another boom thould be fastened to some irons, for which the plain tiff's tools were wanted ; the plaintiff refused to give his tools, saying that whatever there was to do, he would do it himself. Re-examined.—The witness said, that the plaintiff was not in the least degree uncivil to the Captain ; never saying a word to him, without “ your honour." , The witness said, he had no action against the Cap tain, nor did he know how many there were. Three other witnesses, sailors on board, one of whom had obtained a verdict for selso against the Captain, but had not yet got the money, gave an ac count to the same effect as this witness, and added some further particulars, such as, that the Captain stamped on the hip of the plaintiff as he was down, and again kicked him as he was endeavouring to rise, and also, that he was several days unable to do any duty,th; he applied to the surgeon for assistance,who would not give him any, saying that his back would heal of itself, &c. They all agreed, that the Plain tiff never offered an uncivil word to the Captain be fore this beating. Mr. Gwaitow addressed the Jury for the defendant, whom he extolled for his general humanity; conten ded that the whole of this truth did not appear from the testimony of these witnesses, nor could the whole of it appear on this trial ; for most of those who could have given the most material evidence for the defen dant were_now with him at sea, on their voyage to the East Indies • and therefore he was in a great measure at th e mercy of these sailors, who were leagued against him, as was evident by their telling 'this tale precisely in the same manner, which ;hew ed that they had been rehearsing it. Captains of In diamen were men of education, and gentlemen, were received as such into the best societies in England, and welcomed as fit partaken of their elegant pas time ; not like the Captains in the African trade, who had, too often, been guilty of cruelty ; but here the aceotint had been exaggerated; for the truth' was, that . &VOW!! izteniled claw tor **it orillvi44, and he had of the plaintiff' to lend his tools for that purpose to the carpentet's assistant, the carpe vet hithself having gone on board the Elphinstone to help to repair a mast, and the plaintiff had refused to lend these tools. As to the refusal of the surgeon to as sist the plaintiff to dress him, it was because he w ed nothing 1 nor Was it probable that a surgeon sho ild • refuse assistance to one who wanted it ; that was an inhumanity which could not without extraordlna evidence' be believed. •He had the boatswain, the cooper, and the surgeon here, and they should prove that the account here given by the witnesses for the plaintiff was etaggerated ; and although he did not expect that they would give such an account of th.., transaction as to make out the justification on the re cord, yet they would reduce the damages to a very moderate price. MK - George Canney, the surgeon, said he examined the plaintiff's back ; it vtas not bloody; the skin was not broken; there was froth silt to twelve livid Marks upon it; but he had seen many persons' backs who had been started, much worse than this, who had not asked surgical aid. As to this matter, he cons'dered that the plaintiffapplied for his help, more with a vie* to get rid of his duty by being put on the sick list, than having any medical assistance—He saw no wo d on his temple —He thought that if he had been wounded there he must have seen it. John Williamson, the boatswain, gave an account of the manner in which he had beat the 'plaintiff, by order of the Captain, which was that of a regular start ing; a much milder punishment than that of fizzing: He did not recollect that the Captain ordered him to hit harder, but he would not swear he did not: He did not see him kick the plaintiff, but would not-swear he did not. The Captain bade him go to the plaintiff for his tools to prepare a boom, and the plaintiff refus- ed to give them, on which he reported him to the Cap tain. The rope's end with which the plaintiff was beat was about half an inch thick. - - The cooper gave evidence to the same effect as the surgeon. The plaintiff, who happened to be in waiting, was then called in, and, on examination, his temple cera tainly exhibited a scar, although the surgeon swore he had seen no wound there ' • and the witnesses swore that the scar was not there before the beating which he received of the Captain. And the plaintiff's shirt and jacket were exhibited, they were covered with blood, although the surgeon had sworn that the plain 'tiff's back was not bloody, nor the skin broken. The Attonsxy-GetiftAL made an able reply, ob serving, among many otheri things, that if the des fendant was a man of education and conducted him self with propriety among gentlemen, this cause proved him to be a hypocrite who knew how to conceal the tyranny of his disposition, where he dare not indulge a. He was civil to those who could resent his mis behaviour, but he could be abundantly cruel to those Who happened to be in his power ; the Jury, if they had any humanity in them, would take the case into most serious-consideration ; if such men as the plain. tiff, who had behaved with entire submission and pro priety, and had been thus cruelly and inhumanly treated, were not to be protected by the Jury they would have no protectors any where, for on board it was manifest they had none ; and be it remembered, that the blood would flow from the wounds of such a poor man as the plaintiff as well as from those of the defendant, and persons of the higher ranks of society. If the Jury thought that discipline was in danger of being relaxed, or subordination diminished, by giving se rious damages to the plaintiff in this case, he must surrender it to the public good. But as he viewed this case, he had no apprehension of any such effect from such a cause. Here was a case in which the defendant made subordination and discipline the pre• text for gratifying the bent of a malicious and re vengeful temper, and which should be seriously vi sited, as well by way of justice to the plaintiff, as as lesson of descretion, prudence, and humanity to men of such a tyrannical disposition as the defendant. Lord ELLEssoltoccu summed up the whole of the evidence, and observed, that, unless the defendant's witnesses had Made out that the chastisement which be had, in this case, inflicted on the plaintiff, was ab• solutely necessary to support the discipline and subor dination of the ship, and to enforce the commands which he gave for the preservation of the ship (which was the substance of his plea), there must be a ver. dict against him in this case. His Lordship appre hendedihe Jury would be of opinion that the Cap tain's justification was not made out, and then the only question would be, what should be the amount of the damages ? 44 Upcn which (said his Lordship) I have no observation to make, because I know in whose hands that question is deposited for decision ; and I know the moderation and good sense with which you conduct yourselves, and therefore; attending to the observations which have been made on both sides, considering what is due to the public, and what is due Ito the individual; you will give such damages as may appear to be fitting under all the circumstances of this case." The Jury found a verdict for the plaintiff—Da mages £l5O. SCHROEDER V. YENNING. This was an action brought to recover the price of 94. tons of Riga Rhine hemp, sold by the plaintiff to the defendant under contract, and which the latter declined to accept. The contract was made in the month of June, 1809, and the hemp was to be deli vered on or before the Ist of November following.-- It appearing, however, that the plaintiff had deman ded payment for the hemp on the 29th of October, when no hemp had been delivered, and the defendant had declared he was ready to pay when the plaintiff should fulfil his contract, under his Lordship's direc tion the Jury found a verd'ct for the defendant. Thursday, being the day appointed for celebrating her Mammy's birth-day, the same was observed at Plymouth withevery demonstration of joy—the troops in garrison fired afiu de joie round the lines at twelve o'clock ; and at one, the ships in Harbour, the Bay, and Sound, fired a royal salute. SERMITINE Ittvita.—The skaiters continue to be very numerous. A young lady made a very conspi cuous appearance yesterday. She was attended by a servant, and appeared to take particular delight in sliding. The peculiarity attached to her was her dress, which resembled the covering of a swan, being a pelisie made entirely of swan's down, and white feet.