The National Register. — London, England, 1808-07-03 00:00:00

of - JULY S. lenborougb, reflecting on his character as a Judge, and debasing him as a peer of the realm. The trials have been reported, and our Readers are in full possession of the facts of the cases. The libels were published on the 20th of December and the 22d of January. • Several affidavits were read in Court in behalf of the Defend ants. For Mr. White it was stated in the affidavits of Surgeon Rainsden, and Messrs. Miller and Adams, that he was a man svho for a length of time had been afflicted with ill health, and that confine:nent in a prison would endanger his life. He was at intervals allicted with a fever, besides a liver complaint, and it was necessary that he should take exercise and enjoy good air. With respect to the publication of =bets it was alledged in mitigation of punishment that The I endent Whig was ap propriated for getters' and free discussion, 'without the prejudice of party or opinion. The Deponent White was not the au thor of the publications complained of, nor was he privy to the composition. The authors, such as were known had consented in order that the deponent White might not suffer, to their be ing declared in Court ; and the letter signed Junius, addressed to Sir Simon Le Blanc, on the subject of the dials of Bennet and Chlp man for alledged murders, were written by Mr. Gale Josses, an apothecary at Islington, and another of the faulty publica tiuus was from the pen of Mr. Miles, auihor of the Letter to the Prince of Wales. The Attorney-General produced the Whig newspapers since the conviction of the Defendants, in order to prove that no con trition whatever had been made, but on the contrary the third Judge who tried the cause.against the Defendants had been li belled, and the spirit of libelling had been kept up on each day of publication. The newspapers of the sth, 12th, 19th and 26th Julie were produced and in part read. It appeared by them that Lord Ellenborough was treated very rashly, and his judicial conduct illiberally contrasted. The writings in these publica tions were as strong, as the libels of which the Defendants were' convicted. Mr. Clifford briefly addressed the Bench in mitigation of pu nishment. He stated that the defendants had given up the au thors of the libels, which were known, and the other writings complained of were anonymous. He trusted that their Lord ships woe's' act leniently as they had clime with the proprietor of a publication who was recently convicted 'of a libel, but who, on givi, • up the author, was not called up for judgment. The A ttorney-General r replied in a nervous speech, in which he descanted on the several libels, which he conceived of the most ' tnischievous and malicious kind, inasmuch as they were intended to bring the laws of the country into contempt, and to incite the ignorant to acts of violence. One of the libels imputed to the first Ma•-istrate that he was unworthy the seat he filled, and con trasted H is conduct with the vile Judge Jefferies in the reign of James the Secohd, who was torn from the Bench by the indig nant populace. If words were to be taken in their ordinary acceptance, the populace were incited to act in the same manner to the worthy and intelligent Chief Justice as they bad dime to Jefferies ; Lord Ellenborough had also been most falsely acid maliciously accused of having given his vote as a Peer inimical to the good of his country. The his tory of the day demonstrated how cowardly the bold and insolent acted when the moment arrived for their conduct to be punished. The defendants had eagerly grasped at every sub terfuge to palliate their conduct, after they had failed to intimi date by their insolence. Guilt and falsehood erected hold fronts before trial, and the defendants hasritot scrupled to advance malignant falsehoods, to cover their intolerable insolence. The defendants were not forsaken by their bold effrontery after con viction, but they supposed that even then by persevering in the same line of intimidation, under pretence of bringing the Judge and Jury who tried them into contempt, they would he suffered to escape with imponity. It had been stated in the Whig since the conviction of the Defendants, that an appeal would be made to both Houses of Parliament against the J udge ho tried them for impartiality. The Learned Counsel concluded with some comments on what he called this bold audacity, and he trusted that the Bench would give such a punishment, as would stop this kind of general libelling in future. Messrs. Parke and Richard, followed on the same side. Judge Grose, after reading over the stronger passages in the various Libels, addressed the Defendants previously to passing sentence. He conceived the Libels t u be of the very worst description, and tending to oserthrow all civil society, and such writers were the greatest enemies to what was so much talked of, the Liberty of the Press. The Libels went to state that Judicial corruption should .be exposed, and by this the conduct of Sir Simon Le Music was called in qae,tiau, fur the purpose 4 I. THE NATIONAL REGISTER". . , • • - s • 4. . ..... 43t of falsely accusing him, and in language the most abominable, with having advised the acquittal of Chapman. Yet it was stated that the author was not in Court, alth►M:gh he werhold enough to call the summing up of the Judge, and the verdict of the Jury in question. Time author had dared to stigmatize the Judge for leaving the Jury to decide on the credibility of the wit nesses, and also that Jury for delivering a conscientious verdict according to evidence. The Learned Judge dwelt on the enor mity of the Libels with considerable force; they were evidently maliciously intended to defame, vilify the Judges and the law, and to corrupt and excite disc.►rd in the minds of men. The Defendants were sentenced to be imprisoned eighteen ca lender months each for the libel on Sir Simon Le Blanc and the Jury, and eighteen months each for the libel on Lord Ellen borough—White in the comal gaol at Dorchester, and Httrt in the county gaol of Gloucester,—and at the expiration of the three years to find sureties to keel► the peace for five years, themselves in 500'. and two sureties in 25W. each, and to it main in prison until such sureties he found. NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE. The Baltic Convoy has been stopped at the Nore, in order to wait for several gun-boats which are ordered to accompany it. These gun-boats are felt to be extremely necessary in the Baltic particularly, in consequence of the mode of attack adopted by the Danes. Their employment is therefore grateful to the mer chants interested in the trade of that sea. LAUNCH OF TUE CALEDONIA.-Oil Saturday se'nuight, at a quarter past five o'clock, the Caledonia, of 1 2 0 guns, was launched from the Dock-yard of PI mouth, in presence of at least 60,000 spectators from all parts of England ; some we un derstand, came from Scotland to witness the interesting spec tacle. The vessel glided into the bosons of the deep in a gentle and majestic manner, amid the repealed plaudits of the multi tude, and the firing of guns from the !..hipping. The standard of England proudly waved at her main; the Admiralty and Union flags at her fore and wizen. Few sights could be more interest ing; a body of such vast magnitude in motion could not fail to create interest. For the gratifications of our readers we insert the dimensions of the Caledonia. She was deigned by Sir W. Rule, and was laid down in 1804, on the slip from which the Hibernia was then launched. DIMENSIONS. Ft. In. Extreme length from the figure head to the stern rail VS 0 Length on the g un-deck Extreme bread th Depth in the hold 23 2 Burthen On the lower deck she has 17 ports on each side, middle deck 18, upper deck 17, quarter deck 8, and forecastle 2. She will mount 120 guns, from 18 to 32 pounders, beside , carronades. Her stern •is ligh t and undecorated ; the Unicorn stlpperting the Arms of Scotland is the only design. Her head is a bust of a fe male figure, with the plaid bonnet, thistle, and bagpipes of Ca ledonia, carved on each side. Her main mast is 119 feet in length, and 39 inches in diameter; the weight of her /anchor is nearly 9400 pounds. On Thursday evening a respectable tradesman in the neigh bourhood of Grosvenor-square, who has been confined through illness for a considerable length of time, got up, went to the window, and lifted up the sash—whether by accident or design ig not yet ascertained ; but he fell down upon the spikes round the area, and hung by his thigh for some time upon the spikes; he then fell upon the pavement. Upon the whole, he is so dreadfully wounded, that it is doubtful whether he may live un til the melancholy tale is perused by our readers. DIED. Near Milltown, in Derrlaghy: ' Ireland', Mary Dela!), aged 106 years. She retained all her facultiestil within a few days of her death, her sigbt excepted, which she lost about six years ago. On the 4th ultimo, at Ctuncullen ' near Kilternan, Dublin, aged 109 years 3 months and 17 days, Valentine Walsh, farmer. This venerable patriarch enio)ed,a perfect state of health until a few days of his death, was a keen sportsman and a constant companion, of the famous °tinny Adair, of Kilternan ; he was a jolly companion, much attaehed to his native whiskey, IA which he drank regularly two quarts every day in grog, until a week before his death. His funeral was attended by above SGO i:erwas from the neighbouring villages. ~~ 'w6 ~- ws V AI 1