The National Register. — London, England, 1819-10-25 00:00:00

r ici.v7 4l bit IP No. 232.—V0L. XII.] Political Vat toopca. WE last week stated that the Manchester Coroner had without any adequate reason, (for to constitute an adequate reason, nothing less than absolute necessity can be admitted in such a case), adjourned Cie Inquest of the Jury sitting upon the hotly of John Lees, (generally believed to have met his death from the blows and wounds he received on the 16th of August,) until the Ist of December, that is ten days oiler the Meeting ig Parliament.— The objects of this desperate manoeuvre are too palpable to be mistaken, too impudent and shameless to he passed over. That justice should have its c,,arse wi•hout stop or impediment is the corner stone of all Government, the very soul and essence dull freedom. Obstruct this and you immediately open a door to al violence and confusion ; to all iniquity and all the cruelties of private revenge ; to the destruction of private peace, to the disso lution of public, order, and, in the end, to an unli mited and desixitic authority, which by refusing protection and redress puts an end also to tiro just claims of obedience and subjection. The dmirinion of law is the dominion of liberty, but the supprea sit's of law, or what amounts to nearly the same thing, its obstruction, is oppression, is tyranny, come from whatever quarter it may. In the present instance it may amount to a positive denial of jus tice. A second principle of the law of Juries is, that they shall be kept together in the strictest and closest manner: that all communion with the rest of world shall be entirely shut out ; that no room ►hall be given either for sophistry to mislead, for influence to direct, or corruption to sway their verdict, but that, left to conscience only, and to mutual discussion upon the case before them, the world and ull its other concerns shall be-excluded, Arid the dictates of impossible and eternal truth be alone present to their MIAs. Another reason for lid- vigilant care of the Jury is, that they may come to thei.- decision With a full and fresh impression of the evidence they have hearth ; and another still, that their dexision may be as speedy as the inves tigation of their stil l ;ect can possibly admit. flow this principle is here violated and abused we should think it quite superfluous to state. But we will just add that if any of the Jury should in the mean time die, whether by the &Aire of a Yeoman or in any other way whatever, the whole proceedings are at once Mistimed, and every charge, however clearly substantiated by evidence falls, and is buried with him. There is, however, one consolation often at tending these gross abuses, and at.tania at wrong. Injustice often overshoots the murk it aims at, and whatever doubts might before have bung over this much agitated quesiiiia, eve think the conduct now .adopted proves what must be the naturally expected verdict and opinion of the Jury, as cle..rly as if iliffid Mu der had been written in Characters of Light nron the brutal expanse of I leaven. It remains only that the Prince flegent should be advised to issue his letter of aporoval and thanks to Mr. Fer ranti and Mr. Ashworth to render the whole drama, as far as it has yet gone, milia.a and consistent. — If any thing could then be wanting, it is another dee:a:alio, of the sincere satisfliction felt by the Ley& pa,t of our commundy. that a further respite has been thus graciously interposed by llstconstituted authorities to the terrible sentence i~f~J/ -.-Qx~~.-r [Pace: 9pl. which now threatens serious injury —and, had the latter lived and enjoyed a more general share of public confidence, a portion of these evils would not have been known. GL at Britain min•ati her aim when she became a great military nati m. To ac quire great maratime influence, was probably con sistent with her policy as a commercial and manu facturing people; and certainly whi:e her eflbrts were confined to the increase and nown of her navy, she not only monopolized tradelnd commerce but acquired a very commanding influence among the Governmenta of' Europe. The ambition, how ever, of•being a great military Kai also a great na val Power, has been a very serious briery to the British. England, by its position, was intended only fiir a naval Power ; but, acilmeil by the mar tial display of Napoleon—by I:is battles, his viaais 'ries, arid his bulletins, the Ministry were restless, until the nation was plunged itt all the expense, the danger, and the doubtful issue of a military origi nation; they resolved, with a feverish anxiety, not only to sweep the ocean with the flag of st. -George, but to exhibit their scarlet coats and Tower-proof muskets on the Continent. To accomplitili this great end, it was necessary to stir up the Continen. tial Powers against Buonaparte ; it was necessary then to pay them, to subsidise each Powcr i^to hos tility, and this was accomplished at an inordinate increase of the national debt, and the British, from thi; weak ambition, became paymaster and auxili ary to all Europe. Well. peace and internal tran quility prey. it every where cseept in -England; the pressure of' this impolitic liberality, joined to other calms, is now felt and resisted. It is true that Buonaparte is at St. Helena, but they ' pail very dear fur the whistle' in getting him there. It is true that the British fought bravely in Spain and Portugal, but what blessings did th.y achieve for those Governments? They drove out a King of talents and character, because he was an intruder, and they restored u legitimate blackhead, whose pride of ancestry and %%hose bigotry has rediteed the nation to a cipher ; as to the King of Portugal, he has left his kingdom in Europe in pawn to pay his debts, and now resides at the Brazils. In wilat manner, then, has Great Britain been benefited by becomin • • a military nation ? In • t manner ;it has nearly ruined her ; she has grasped the shadow end hlat the MOW awe .; her naval power, on which all her dependence rested, has decreased, and her mili tary character, wi.ich teas worth hubs as an insular nation, has increased ; she has made peace on the Continent, and covered the sea with commercial ri vals ; :the has given an impulse to the inanutiictures, to the agricultur..-, and to the commerce of the Continent. This ecrtaiale is very benevolent, but it is like pa.aing with a last sixpence iu charity to others. "In this s:ate of affairs, the aimours arising from an increase of taxation, and from a want of employment, have becorie very powerful, and the tumultuous meetings lately held have been subjects of real alarm to the Government. Hitherto no de finitive plans have been adopted ; various resoluti ons have been passed, ana many speeches made, yet the Iler,rtners have mule no satisfactory proress. They talk of wiring oil the national debt, which would go to annillEate the existence of the Govern ment—a change of Ministry would produce no real benefit—a more Car and equal representation is Parliament might be 10,T:ea—the over,, , ;rown pen sion list might be decreased, :nil a syst in of greater economy inlopted. These measures might Iti; ay the popular fitry. and pitslime tranquility ; out it is un questionable whether a radical ref tat can be prislu. ced in the prcst .it disordered state of commetee and manufactures; and, if it can, it 1110 St grow ma of a c 04,1 xmldispc..sionate view of things ant not by Inman or tumultuous asse,•ia Lord and Lady CaAlereugli nrri•:cd on Tuesiloy nt their house in St. James's-squar e , from th. it seta, North Cray, Kent. The Address voted at the County of York meet jog, ib to be presented to his Royal Highness by the Duke of Norfolk, awl the Earl of Thautt. aitionaT Y iroitittr+ Our Win, Congtitution anb abA. MONDAY, OCTOBER CS, 1819. evidently intended by an et,il-disposed Jury upon the bold and manly anticipation of riot at Manches ter, and a petition that so disagreeble a sill ject may be stirred no further. Should this pretty interlude be acted we hope it will be carried on and performed by real characters. It is .Iwa) s of some importance in Society to know who are its Cols. There is an unfortunate and blundering wrong-heac'edness in the Ministerial paper,s as now conducted, which render the comments on public business, which they ventures to give quite ridiculous. They deprecate County Meetings upon the outrage at Manchester, because forsooth it would be unjust and ungenerous to say any thing upon a sultjnt which would be discussed before other tribunals, and because they never approve f cjudging the the high and venerable authorities, whose conduct was already in course of inquiry in our Courts of Law ; and yet these ve v Papers set out by pronouncing long ago w' all the solemnity of judgment, that the Riot had been twice read, that the Meeting was ill s that ruin and devas tation, end the overthrow ' ry thing sacred and profitne was threatened an tended, and that the soldiers and Magiabales hat neither clime -too much nor too little, neither fallen swrt nor exceeded the narrow path of their duty, isnd were entitled to their thanks. " Verily they have their reward." We wish the other wiec reason they assign us, were really true, instead of being. false and groundless. For neither the Magistrates nor Yeomanry of Man chester are upon their trial at all ; nor is it, we firmly believe, intended that they ever shall, if the P°werof Government, exerted to its utmost strength, can save them. No, we arc doomed, unless the the firmness and unanimity of the public voice avert it, to ,see what Mr. Burke predicated of another memorable instance, " a tract -comedy, perlimmed by his Majesty's servants, fitr the benefit both of Hunt and the stipendiary Justices of the New Bayley, at the expense of the Laws and Constitu tion." But, thank God, this idle sophistry of the " Courier" is now fully and nobly ansteered. Norfolk is at length roused, to fiAlow the great examples of York and Cumberland. She is at length awake to what she owes to herself and to the country, to the throne, and to the people. The most splendid and numerous m(14146)11 ever sent to the Sheriff of that County, is Air rigned, and we are happy to say, that in the iltdividuel now i t occupying that important (Ace, i st man whose sound judgment and tinistitiltio U7i , lerstand. ing, will give rise to none of'tl'ose impediments nliielt, to their shame and disgrace, have been thrown in the way of the eNpression cifpoblic sen timent and feeling ;n several otherAila.t?s. (i.V TIIE 1111'01.1C)* Ol•' 1:.\(;1..,111) /..11; A .11//./TJUI NA/MA. The iinpolicy (if England negleeting her N a vy.. ttl sacrificing its wcildre to the military mania, has often been descanted ou ; we have however, met with no observations more appropriate than the which are the pro,:uce of an American w ri: er '• In carlinal pints there w••:. but little aiffercnee Letween the admillismition 41f l'i!t and Fox, though to the former may be ascribed the Arent nt state of things, which has been gradually acquiring a form 0 17:i S. ft , 'I • ,- . & 445 - 1 ‘ 3 ' ll .; ~-I'%► "1 ---- " • -