The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-09-17 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN. ADDRESS OF THE PROPRIETOR Or THE STATESMAN. -.......- TO THE PUBLIC. .•••••m• " The very head and front at wry ofenkiag Math this eateat, no'atorit"—arysua. After having endealroured for several years tis eonduct the STATESMAN in such a manner as to merit public approbation, and, by every means in my power to sustain the best interests of my country, it is to be hoped that those who have honoured this Journal with a perusal, will excuse my soliciting their attention to the following narrative of my suf ferings, connected with two very important objects in view, that of being a useful lesson.to my contempo. rtries, and of proving to his Majesty's Government, and the Public at large, that I have not merited the weight of affliction which has pressed heavily upon me during the last two years of my life. Previous to entering into any further detail, it is but justice to say, that the national character of my countrymen has ever been, that of read;ly sympa. thisiug with misfortune, from whatever cause It might spring; how grateful then must be the exer cise of that virtuous feeling, when applied to those who, in supporting the cause of the People, have become objects of unrelenting resentment; and have not only been deprived of liberty and property, but all those other enjoyments, without which life ho. comes a melancholy existence. If there be any, who may object to this mode of addressing the Public, I request them to recollect, I that during the course of my imprisonment, it is the first time I have obtruded the whole of my case upon their notice ; and as the fate of one man to • clay, may be that of another to-morrow, this ,statement of facts, though it may produce no fa. Hirable consequences to myself, its circulation will, I trust, be calculated to benefit others. To enter into a recapitulation of all the or-officio prosecutions In which I have been involved, since I became Proprietor of a newspaper, might be deemed superfluous, although they were xll attended with considerable expense, and great personal anxiety, as must ever he the case in similar proceedings ; I shall therefore confiue myself simply to those two which led to my imprisonment in Ills MAJESTY'S GAOL Or NEWOATE, for which I have already suffered upwards of twenty-one months incarceration I The first ex-oficio prosecution against me, was for publishing an account of the riots in Piccadilly, when Sir F. BURDETT was Coinwitted to the Tower. The article was merely a literal copy from a Morning Paper (the Day), and originally written by order of one of the Proprietors, and principal Managers of that Journal, as was proved by their ostensible Edi. tor's affidavit, when brought up forjedgment. On the process being served upon me, I inform. ed the Treasury Solicitor, Mr. Lercurtar.o, that I had copied the article from the Do,.and that if it contained any libellous matter, I presumed the Editor would be made responsible. Ile replied, that an information had also been tiled against the Editor, Printer, and Publisher of that Paper, and that I was left to take what gorse I thought proper. With the advice of my friends, and relying on the Impartiality of my Judges, I entered a plea of Not Guilty, under the impression of not being ac countable for the canduet or writings of others; my hopes, howe•er, proved fallacious. Ica the interval between the notice and day of pleading, I consulted the Gentleman under whose direc tion the aiticie was written, who was decidedly of opinion, that it would be better to withdraw the plea of justification—and throw myself on the lenity of the ArtORNICYGENERAL, adding, that he had every reason to believe, in consequeoce of his influence with persons of high rank, and various other causes, that the prosecution would never be pushed to an extremity; and, oboes al.', that I had no reason whatever to be under any serious apprehen• sions of the ultimate consequences, the more eape cially as I had only copied the article front their Pa per. Being persuaded that this Gentleman was ac. toted by the most honourable motives, I agreed ] to seller judgment to go by default, and the Printer and Publisher of the Day, as well as myself, were ordered to come up for judgment in November Term —when the sentence of the Court was, that we should be all committed to Nov/gate for twelve calendar months; and at the expiration of that time, I should tad security for my good behaviour In the sum of 10001. for three years. The Editor of the Deg was not brong)t up for judgment till the following Term, owing to the pro. feedings against him hot being in so forward a date: In the mean time he made an affidavit, to exculpate himself and criminate others, who were not in cluded in the prosecution. The sentence upon bins was, that " ha should be imprisoned in the King's Bench fur tzvelee calendar months." It is, however * a we -authenticated fact, that he was permitted to lire in the Rules —consequently HIS punishment was merely itonsinal. How far my being punished so severely for "sorely copying an article, may appear j est or unjust to the Public, I cannot say; but of one thing I am certain, that when my case is laid fully before them, they will appreciep it with that humanity which distinguishes the character of Englishmen. When my twelvemonth expired, on the tact of November last, the measure of my troubles bad again to recommence--a n d another year was to be passed In bondage —caused by the following circumstance : Mr. COLLYER, a respectable tradesman of Man chester, feeling himself aggrieved by the Tax COW Iniseienero having obliged him tax; a Urger sem of money than by coActhed to be ti g ht, Jetted ',mined to lay his' case before the Public; and, for that purpose prepared on advertisement, expressing the particeleis of his complaint—which was accerd• ingly itubtished in two Manchester Journals; sod, at his particelar request, afterwards put into the , Se•reseeas. The Commissioners, in consequence of the publication, instituted a prosecution against all the Proprietors ; when one of the Manchester Editors informed me that the author, CULLY'S*, could unequivocally prove the allegation, or facts, ; stated in the advertisement. In such a case, II appeared to me the most proper line of conduct ; to pursue, would be to plead Noe Guilty; and 1 found that the Manchester Editors had done the same. Previous to the day of pleading to the information, one of the Defendants contrived to make his peace with the Commissioners, withdrew his plea, and suffered judgment to go by default, on a promise from Mess that the prosecution shield be j discontinued, he having made an apologi; that Geo. j tleman also recommended me to pursue the same course.—Not entertaining the smallest doubt but that I should experience the same lenity as he : had himself, I accordingly did so; and even employed an agent at Manchester to wait on Mr. DAUNTSET Waage, one of the Commission ers, and present a letter from myself, in which I offered to make a public apology for the offence, and concluded by throwing myself ost! Itheir lenity. I am indebted to Mr. litmus foe having received the person I deputed with the utmost politeness; and he not only expressed him. self perfectly satisfied with the step I had taken, bet i; promised to interest himself with his colleagues open tie subject of my letter, who, he had no doubt, would agree with him in putting a stop to the prose cution against all the parties. After several subse. quest interviews between Mr. Ilur.ste and my agent, the result was, that some of the Commissioners re-; jetted my apology, and insisted that the law should take its course. In consequence of which, by Mepka of Not Guilty haring been withdrawn, I received notice to appear for judgment, and was sentenced to one year's imprfsonment in his Majesty's Gaol of New. gate, to commence after the first period had expired— and, at the expiration thereof, to give security for my good behaviour in the sum of 10001. for 3 years. As to the two Manchester Editors, Messrs. COWDROY and If Rao?, neither of them were called upon; nor has any punishment whatever been passed on them, although I they were the first aggressors ! Surely such an ex traordinary circumstance would harejustifted the lan guage of complaint, yet it has never escaped me; and I now content myself with submitting the whole of my case, not only to the consideration of Ministers, but to an impartial and unbiassed Public. With respect to Mr. COLLYER, to whoa lam in debted for my sufferings on the subject, the Fablic will hardly suppose, that he wee not prosecuted un til two Terms had elapsed ; nor Is it believed that he ever would have been molested, bad not the peculiar hardship of my case excited the commisseration of Lord FoLusrona, who kindly made it the subject of discussiou in the House Constaorm—but without producing. any effect. The last subject upon which I shall venture to trouble the Reader, relates to my affair with the Transport Board, still undecided; and, though last, It is certainly not least, in the catalogue of my mis. fortunes. it will probably be remembered that I ap peared in Westminster Hall on the Roth of April last, to answer the charge of an Ex-oilscio prosecution instituted against me at ite suit of the llou. Commissioners for the Transport Board, for hav ing published in the STATESMAN, a letter signed arms, refiectiug on theconduct of theComntissioners in their treatment of the French Prisoners in this country. On that occasion I stated to the Court, my total ignorance of the letter in question, until it had absolutely appeared in the Summar; ; and, requested their indulgence to allow me a little time, In order to discover the Author, and bring him for ward. To effect this, I dispatched a messenger to a distant part of the country, and published several advertisements; offering a reward of MI. to any person who could give me information on the subject. All these endeavours were, however, unsuccessful ; and, in the end, I resorted to' tilt expedient of ad dressing the Honourable Commissioners through the medium of the STA.:Truax, on the 29th of May last, and made a public apology, asap atonement for the offence giros' them by inserting the above Letter. . The following Affidavit has likewise been made by the late Conductor of the STATESMAN, which corroborates my own statement; and I am sorry to add, that several other articles of an inflammatory nature have appeared, of his writing, contrary to my wishes t— _____ IN THE KING'S BENCH. sum V. DANIZI. LOVELL. " GEORGE Houvros t of Fleet-street, Gentle " man, maketh oath and saith, that he was engaged " by the above-named Defendant, DANIEL Lovcr.r., " as Editor of the STATESMAN Newspaper, hi the " 6 month of May, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, and has had the chief management of that " Paper ever since. Aud further saith, that all " Letters and Commanicitions addressed to the " F.ditor, are opened by this Deponent. And fur " ther with, that he, after miters deliberation, " ♦erily believes, that the Defendant, Dmstas. 44 Lovett., was unacquainted with the contents of " a cedsia Lauer addressed to the WA., d the .1 " Under the digpsoluor of 4 1110NUSTUS; 61' . reflecting upon the for w& of tbe-Heneurahlt 4 ' Cothroissioners of the Transport illnurd# previous " to its bein4 published in the St.isgOIAIT, on the " nineteenth day of March last. And further saith, " that he, this Deponent, received another letter, 44 dated Oakhampton, twenty-fifth of March last. " signed A fitIEND TO TituTei,' in answer to 16 and in refutation of the former one, signed 66 6 ilosesttts,' which he, this Deponent, difi not I " Communicate to the said Defendant, DANIEL • " Lorsu., and consequently, he was wholly ig : 46 tomtit of the contents thereof, until the fifteenth 44 day of April last, when he, this Deponent. in , " formed the said Defendant, DA...att. " thereof, wino directed it to be immediately insert ." ed in the 9rATESMAN, which was accordingly done " the NAM day. " GEORGE HOUSTON. 44 goons by site Deponent. newton 40 ilownsvon, this third day of " Jot , at my Cbaniben is 4 4 • Ins, before me, • " J. BAILEY." To ennmerate the various privations j have en dured dace my confinement—the decay of health-- the immense loss of property—and the inexpressible distraction of mind, inseparable from my unfortu j nate condition, would, I think, sicken the heart of any one possessed of common feeling. I will not, therefore, enter into a recapitulation of that which relates simply to myself; and, in concluding this Address, witheatentering into any disquisition on the Liborty SC the Press, k shall merely observe, that the foregoing statement II a plain and unadorned re. ' cord of facts, and a necessary justification of mysiblf.' I became the Proprietor of an independent Journal frau the purest motives, for which I have the ails. Ifactory testimony of my own conscience. And al- I though my sentence has been attendee} with the loss of liberty, property, and friends, yet one conso lation will accompany me through life—that of never having woodenly, or upon slight grounds, injured the feelings or character of any individual ; or, in a single instance, recanted, any popular principle, of . betrayed the Public Cause, which it his hitherto been uniformly my pride and practice to defend. j State Goal, ?know. Sept. 16. O. LOVELL. The pending boxing match betwixt Outer, the for. snidable Lancashire pugilist, and Bone, the sturdy champion, will take place to-morrow, for a stake of fifty guineas, play or pay. Betting on the event is - _ _ even. A party of British Naval .and Military Officers were not long since dining in a jungle at some dis. / twee from Madras, whoa a most ferocious tiger rushed in among them, seized a young Midship. I man, who happened to be present, and flung him ' over his back. In the first emotion of surprise and fright the other Officers had all snatched up their arms, and retired some paces from their assailant, who now stood lashing his sides with his tail and gnashing his teeth, as if dubious whether he should seize on more prey, or retire with that of which he was already possessed. It is usual for the tiger be : fore be seizes his prey to bereave it of life by a pat on the heed, which generally breaks the scull ' • but this is not his invariable practice. The little MO. shipman lay motionless on the back of his enemy, but, nevertheless, the °Seen, who were not cer tain whether he had received the deadly pat or not, dreaded to fire, lest they should kill him together with the tiger. While in this state of suspense, they perceived the hand of the youth pass with a gentle • motion over the side of the animal, and conceiving this to result from the convulsive throes of death, they were about , to fire ; when, instantly, to their utter astonishment, the tiger dropped stone dead, and their young Mead sprung from the carcass, waving in triumph a bloody dirk, drawn from the heart , which he had been feeling for with all possi ble circumspection and coolnees, when the motion of his hand had been taken for a dying spasm. faILCAT INCREASS or WHEAT.-. 411 October last, ' three pints of wheat were dibbled into a small spot of jground, whereon formerly stood a blarksmitlOs forge, in the parish of Beckley, in Susses, occupied by T. Bowler, which this year produced six bushels ' and three gallon:. It is common to sow 192 pint/, or three bushels on In acre, which, according to the I above would give 408 bushels, or fifty-one quarters / of wheat per acre. TUN POET AND Till Sotosent.—While Prion, the author of The Metromaine, was Imbibing at School the enthusiasm of poetry, he contracted an intimacy with another youth, of whom he was afterwards used to speak in the following expressive terms:— " His imagination was inflamed by the study of the Medea Andel, and at 15 he enlisted as a dragoon. I was about thirteen wise]) this wild young fellow set off to gratify his propensity. ' Adieu, my friend,' said he, assuming the tune and manner of an Artibanes, I will either lose my life, or grasp the palm of valour.' He already flourished in fancy the truncheon of Marshal Fabert.—' Well said, my friend,' replied I, in a tone nothing short of his own In pomposity, ' and I too will lose my Latin, or I will cull nut inferior laurels. Return an Achilles, and rest assured thsit you will find in me a 'Homer, worthy to sing your mighty detids' Such was our heroic farewell. We parted, and made pretty mach tithe same progress towards the attainment of our re spective objects. The poor fellow died at the Inert lids, in the rank of a private soldier, with the ad dition of forty-five years, and the subtractiou of an arm." THZATKICAL ANYCDOTE.—A French actor, named QUINAVLT Duras.sna, happened to play in Paris the part of &wens, in the Polyenete, of Commit ; when he came to the place where, having been sent by the Emperor DeDIUS to persecute the Christians, &aerus communicates to kis friend his private senti 'menu with respect to that calumniated sect, he low ered his voice to the tone proper for the cemtnani (*doe of a secret, the publication of which might be attended by the forfeiture of life.—Some per sons in the pit cried " louder!" to which injunction the actor replied—e" and you , Genitemeh aha P • lowa." t ' MARGATE, Sim lb. The Hall given last night, in it alb, alien of Madrid, was most nemerousty attended, since it was under the patronage of Lord and lady lieneker, Sir W. and Lady Pole, Col. Allen, M. P. and several other Noblemen and Gentlemen, at present residing in the Isle of Thanet. It is calculated that about 600 persons were present, including a great number deb* b i,i tors of Ramsgate and Broadstairs. The room was very splendidly illuminated with festoons of temps, with various devices, with stars of different orders of Knighthood, and with the letter W. above each of the wiedows. The most fashionable part of the, company, from Ramsgate and Broadstairs, was the least conspicious ; but the Ladies of Margate, as might be expected, did not fail to decorate tbeinselvia in a manner to attract peculiar notice. It had, dure, ing the morning, been generally reported, that It would be necessary that every Lady, out of compli ment to the Marquis of Wellington, shoeld wear a bouquet of laurel, or that the leaves of the tree of victory should adore some part of their dress. By , the time night arrived, it was considered an indispan. sibte requisite, females were seen harrying in all di. rections to procure it, and a very large quantity brought into the market-place for sale was Instantly disposed of; for there seemed a glorious contention who should make the most extensive portholes, duly to celebrate the achievements of our armies. The doors were opened at half.past able, and as the dames of this place had toug been bedizened and 1 i belaurelled, a large numbe r i i n me di a tely proceeded ! up stairs to the entrance of the Assembly-room.--. Here, however, as unexpected difficulty arose, for although the entrance is of sufficient magnitude to admit persons far above the ordinary capacity, yet the size of some of our buxom beauties was so incom. siderately augmented by the leafy ornaments they r wore, that their attendants were obliged to contract 3 the branches of their mistresses before they could gain admittance. When, however, they had passed, • the doorway, their confined decorations spread again, like-a peacock's tail, and many of the ladies actually appeared like walking trees. Here were hummer. able transformations of Daphnes into laurels, and if Ovid had lived in our day, he would never, in hie ' 3 11cteunorishosos, have related that fable as an et . traordinary occurrence. Some of the younger fomalste were really beautiful, and we could not help lament.- ing the disfigurement their mothers compelled them Ito endure. Surrounded as they were with foliage, Ithe vivid flashes of their sparkling eyes, and Skip general light of their countenauces, reminded us of nothing so much as the burning bush of sacred Writ. Soon after ten o'clock the room was filled almost to excess, and the dancing commenced. The ladies, 'standing iu the four sets, formed • very singular' j and remarkable spectacle. They looked like tre many rows of trees, and brought strongly to our recollection l'ope's lino, .. Grove sods at groves each alley has RI lumbers" _ which, perhaps, never had a happier exemplifies. tion. When the harp was stricken, and the Chaucn began, it seemed as if Orpheus, new risen, had' touched his magic lyre, and had again awakened the woods to their fantastic but long-forgotten move. meats. The men, like— " Satyrs and sylvnn boys weft sera. hyping from forth Hoek alleys green." now tripping from the shade r now lest amid theme. banging foliage. Those ladles whose heath end, boast. ad, not a wreath, but nearly A whole laurel, brougitt to mind the renowned Baron Munchauten's destolp. tion of the s:aat, which he had ones shot In the fort• head with cherry-atones without killing him, and seine years afterwards was surprisd arseeing the Animal is the woods walking under the shade of it fine bolt. bearing tree, which_tiouvished between his antlers.— The comparison, as far as relates to the kerne might be mere applicable to the male than the female per. tion of the assembly. The apartment being much crowded, great ;weave. nience was sometimes experienced from the redundancy of the branches : ladies in the middle of the figure be. came eutangled, and the disengagement of them oca. stoked not a little confusion. This misfortune most frequently happened to such females as Pouessed the greatest personal attraction. We do not mean beauty, but that at traction which all large bodies, according to their magnilude, are found to possess. In Brobdig. nag, this kind of perfection was held in high esteem, since the females were admired in the proportion to the number of tons that they weighed. The rooms were closed at two o'clock, and the ladies retired much gratified to repose under the shade of their owa laurels. Miss Duncan closed her 'engagement at Margate last, night, in the characters of Peggy in The Coign. try Girl, and Maria in The Citizen. They were played for her benefit, but in consequence of her having had an overflowing house only four nights previous, the visitors here did not think it necessary to patronise the performances again, for her sole ,ad. vantage, so soon afterwards. The ball, we appro. bend, alio tended to diminish the number of attend. ants at the Theatre. Tonight the last Masquerade at the Theatre le given, but as the characters are generally ill sup. ported, very few will be present. The town is not so full as it was some days ego, and the owners of lodgings are growing renikrkably civil. About 70 persoits took their departure, per Packet, this day s - for Loudon. .* PSALg SINGIII4,—The Covenanters, is the the of the civil wars, were passionately addicted to pastas. singing. When the great Montrose was taken prl• suffer ' his chaplain, Wishort, the elegant historian of his exploits, shared the same fate, and was condemn. cd to the same punishment with his patron. ask% desired on the scaffold to name what psalm be wished to be sung, previous to his execution, he pitchei on the 119tk (consisting of 14 parts). His ollject succeeded, for before two-thirds of the psalm was sung, a pardon arrived. Any other psalm Would in all probability have hanged him. _ The Freacb General *MAUStIff, who lately bras his parole, and deserted from Abergsver ny, has afta rived in Paris, but was received coldly, in copse quencc of the were nnimactlevsions In the 11 sgfhh Parliament and Newspapers, upon the frequency of this shameful defection on the part of the French , Ottlcers of aistiaction t pritosers of war s in thig, country. lt/ II i i F 1 t • • '• I • I • • • • • ~, e ; ;~ ~':