The Sun. — London, England, 1812-12-10 00:00:00

I 1 OtTI.V: PLEBEIAN A'AIBITION, FROM " THE SATIRIST.'] UrtuTtiREAD, whose brains are still devising Or how to raise, or to be rising, To make Vacation shorter, When in the House he Cannot die,' First raises Drury to the skieS, And then—he raises Porter. LAW REPORT. COURT OF KING's BENCH, DEC. 9. The Clerk at Nisi Prins then proceeded to read the libel, as set forth in the record, when The SoLierrox-GENER AL asked, whether the Counsel for the deleDdlluts ‘villed the whole read ? Lord ELLENnoaouoll—" If there are any other parts of this publication to be observed upon, you Lad better read the whole." Mr. BROUGHAM—" only wished a few of the passage: to be read, in order to save time, my Lord; it is my intention to observe upon them." Lord ELLETsnoßouGn—" Then let the whole be read, in order that the context may be under stood." The greater part of the publication was accord ingly read, entitled, " The Prince on St. Patrick's Day ;"—and commenting on an account of a din ner given at the Preemasons"favern, by the Be nevolent Society of St. Patrick, on the Anniver sary. of that Saint, ankl what followed after the health of the Prince Regent was drunk, " with partial applause, and loud and reiterated hisses;" the speeches of the Marquises of Lansdown. anal Downshire, Lord Moira, Mr. Sheridan," &c. Here the evidence for the prosecution closed. Mr. -BROUGII.OI, for the defendant, addressed the Jury in a long speech. He ridiculed the idea that any public -mischief could result to Govern- merit firoin the conduct of intemperate writers. The exalted Personage alluded to had all the powers of this mighty empire at his command ; he had the virtues of his father arid the rights of his ancestry, it, his support ; and though the Go vernment had not the wisdom of Cromwell, nor the wisdom and virtue of Milton, in its support, yet it was deeply founded in the feelings of the people. And yet 'iromwell, without these ad vantages, had nobly set himself to despise all the libelous attacks on his Government; declar ing, that if .it were meant to stand, it would not be beaten down by such' paper pellets. flaying urged these topics with much force and - eloquence, the Learned Gentleman said they hoped only for justice, and justice they would find in a verdict of acquittal. tr\Cl LIBEL. • THE XING V. HUNT AND ANOTHF.R. t riliS was an inhumation against the Messrs, writs, the opt; as printer, the other as proprietor and editor of a Sunday Newspaper, for a Libel on .the Prince Regent. The Libel, which was read, contained , an abusive and scurrilous attack on his Royal HighnesS, accusing 'him of a breach of his 'word with respect to the Catholics of Ireland ; arraigned his ,Conduct in the 'choice of his 'House bold, as associating to himSelfthe profligate-and abandoned ; stat e d' 'that he was over head and - ears in debt and disgrace ; that he had done no 'one act for the benefit of the present times, or to - excite the respect of posterity. The S.OLICI - TOR-GENER AL then addressed the Court and Jars nearly as follows : " Gentlemen of the.Jury—lt now becomes the duty of my office to present to your consideration the Libel which you have just heard read by my Learned Priem!, Mr. Riellardson, Who has inform ed you, that this Cause comes before you for trial in the shape of an information, filed by his Majes ty's late. Attorney-General: I requested of my Learned Friend to r ea d thi s Lib e l f rom t h e record, and I pot it to you the bare reading of it does not convince every cool, thinking, dispassionate, honourable, hottest man, that if this is not a libel' on his Royal Highness the .Prince or Wales, no man ought . to be convicted of a similar offence.- - There is no necessity for nice distinctions or sub tlety of language to lead your at Lids to this con elusion ; but I would ask you whether, if such a libei We applied to any individual; in any rink or station in society, and presented to you 'for your consideration, whether you would not feel the ob vious tendency to be,,to reduce hint to the lowest point of degradation and disgrace ? Ido not de sire you to consider it as against his Royal High ness the Prince of Wales; but, looking at it dis passionately, you will judge, as Jurors, without considering any thing you may have seen or heard before this cause came on for trial, if, as honest men, laying your hands upon your hearts, you are not bound to say it has such a tendency, I noed not say to you, pronounce the defendant guilty. If I could anticipate any arguments that: inig:A or could he urged for the defendants, I 'should en deavour to answer them; but I am quite at a loss to conceive what argument can be advanced, e x . cept those arguments that have been urged in an • other place, to excite a prejudice in the minds of those who are to try the cause. I believe, lan • sure toy Learned Friend will not avail himself of them, :Ind I rest contented. It is .ny wish to address you - Again, Gcnilemen, 7 or to have the libel read once more ; and unless my Learned Friend shall orge something which calls for a reply, I ehall not again trouble you. , You will be attentive, and receive every thing that can be laid before you in the defendants' behalf; and when you have admire:l .the eloquence of my Learned Friend, and That energy And firmness for which he is so peculiarly eininek, you will turn back to the real questio n before you, you will keep your miads unaffected by prejlelice, and I feel you ‘vill do justice to yoursei and to Cie public, and your verdict will be transmitted to posterity, who will say, you have had the fidelity and the courage to do your duty. .• Mr. Henry .1;u1;:win avert, the only witness called, produced a certified -copy of an affidavit from the Stamp Office, stating the d e f en d an t s to h e th e so l e p ropr i etors , printers, and publishers of The Examiner. Ile also produced a copy of The Txaminer of the 22d March, containing the which he had purchased at the - office of the de fendants the goLterrot -Gs!zi?.tt.tt, replied fo tli ,2 tonics urged by Mr.' BaouonAm, and „hewed the foul and malignant intention of the authors of the libel in question. Lord ELLENEOROtIGH then addressed the Jary in the following words : , • Gentlemen of the Jury is an Informs +- against the 'defendants, Jiihn and Leigh Hunt, as printers ami publishers of a libel, , set out in, the Information. To this Information the defendants have pleaded that they are not guilty, and the issue joined this day, as we are to collect from the language of their Counsel,who certainly, if I am to judge only from his speech, seems to have imbibed, in its fullest extent, the spirit of his client, 'and to be inoculated with all the poison of the publication; but law inclined to hop.e and be lieve better things of the person Who addressed yoa, and that in t!:e view he has taken of what might be convenient for their defence, lie has stated to on rather the' principles of his clients than his own. The issue yon have to try under the cir cumstance's is, whether we • are iii future to live under the dominion of libellers, or under the con- ' • troul and government of the law ? For- this libeller, with bold front (and I hare no difticulty.in saying that the person who pu4shed this Paper is a 1 libeller), has put himself in defiance of the law ; and he contends, not only thathe is to be acquitted of 'this violation, but that in all after times, and on aThoceasions, every person holding a Superior rank and situation in society, is, from the very nature Of tlu situation, amenable to this sort of investigation, or rather. to this sort of attack ; that even when his ancestors have accepted the rank for him (and it applies from the highest to the lowest, from the Prince to the. Meanest of ficer), he is compelled to renounce the protection : of the law for h cbaracter. That, Gentlemen, is the proposite.i ; tic-I: the interests of society' require that the character, of indiVifluals are to be assailable by tirades from rbe press, dictated by any person who climes to attack them.—NlThat would be thesittiation of persons so attacked ? In manyinstances individuals do notknOwwhen they are thus defamed; in many 'instances persons are not disturbed even by the commtinication of the li bel; but supposing ,that it does come unkr their eye—is the Prince of Wales' to accept the his Royal, riighne'sS to appear tive bar of this newly erecte'd tribunal ?-=-Is he to pail in his answers through the preSs, frol must he thus vindicate himself from the acusation of anony mons l'bellers, arising- perhaps from mere imagi-_ nation, or coined from the overflowiog mind of slander ?--If such, indeed, were to be the case, and we were th os compelled to resign the protection of the law for the exculpation of their chum acter,what man, who has any sensibility in his nature, would • accept office or tank in the country ? This s p irit of libelling, i n d u l ge d and unchecked, would be productive of the must fatal effects. It would de stroy that. deep sensibility to, and that zeal for the estimation of the society in which we lire, which is the chief sus port and ..xcitenient to virtue ; in stead of and fostering virtue, it would de stroy all those fine'sensibilities by which virtue is encouraged and Whit-lined. - • Now,M(ientlemen ; to advert to the libel. The excuse hehi out is, that a person by'uniust adula tion provoked the disgust of the individual, miik ing, whavis termed a comment on. thit adulation. adtnit„ thatif one person has tittered a fuliome panegyric, any other individual has a right to ex press the disgust it excites, but it never can be allowed; that because one person has - indulged in unmerited adulation, the character of the indivi dual.so.kaised elaall be made juris, so that he may he ii. , :chsed of every thing that is base and calumnious. For instance: suppose a man in a dedi cation has bestowed undeserved praise to a certain extent, (for the least degree of flattery is calcu lated to excite the disgust of ail readers) yet h as another man a r i g ht t o assert, that so far from the person applauded being wise, just, and ho nourable, he is foolish, unjust, and dishonour able, an'; to store' a variety 'of priVate transac tions to prove his statement ? Undoubtedly not : amid it would be very hard upon a third person, let his, character be what it may, thus to have it ' compromised between the indiseretiOn an adulator and the calumny of a This, Geotlenicn, is the rave defence made this day to you.and other auditors, or rather to Other readers, to whom it will go f or th ; this is the re a l defence. Allowing thaf he has a right to reply to unmerited flattery, and to reply in this tra , o an adulator, yet does it not on the face of th e lib e l appear that the author asserts' these YariOus.accuav sationst nst the Prince in his substqutive son ? He adds, " Tilse are hard truths, but are they, not truths ?'' sufficiently clearly pointing out to whom they were directed. Gentlemen, it is important that the characters of persons tilling the most momentous situations should be held high in public estimatisa. The performance of many of our duties, and the most important of them, depends upon the opinion we entertain of the person whols the object of them : many of those moA iniportaut duties centre in obedi ence to the person upon whom the sovereign autho rity in the Government is for the time cast. , Can those duties be properly or completely performc4,if we are taught to believe that the individual claiming them H . the basest of mankind ; for in that light the Prince of Wales has been held up to 'the world. He is pointed out as " a violator of his word." For the character of the Counsel, I am sorry to see the sort of defence made this day. Ile says that the libeller does not mean to impute. any to the Prince Regent in his private charac- . ter tie does not tell untruths as a man, but be asserts that he tells untruths as a Prince Gen tlemen, does that mend the matter ? in his almost regal character, he imputes to the Prince of Wales that he is guilty of telling untruths ! Can any thing be more calumnious or degrading than such an ipetation ? Then the Learned Counsel enters into a detail of transactions in Parliament; relative to the payment of debts ; but in referring you to the passage in thelibel, be dropped the con text : the author asserts that the Prince " is a , libertine, over head and ears in debt and disgrace ; " so that we are to understand him to say, that the debt were disgracefully contracted : he is, besides, a great libertine and (iebau . chee.,; Then•he is " the companion of gamblers and dernireps." That is defended on the supposition that his Royal High ness has taken into his Councils a person against • ivtiotti claniageg had been recovered for criminal conversation : Iby no means say, that the reco very of such a Verdict is a light imputation upon character ; but there are Venial circumstances in some res?ect connected even with that offence, anti is his tioyal Highness the only ..person who tlite into his consideration ? If we look hack to the last reign, I mean the present reign, that of the Prince Regent's Royal Father s which - was most exemplarvin the discharge ofinoral duty, I will ask, was there never any person associated to his 'Majesty's Councils,. or entrusted with a high office of great confidence, who had had a.si milar misfortune : I choose to give it that name, , because there are circumstances 'to chequer and vary it from a crime of the highest encr:mity to a .venial offence. What follows goes on to, state that he is a man " who has just closed half a century without one single .elaiin on, the gra titude of his' Country, or on the respect of pos terity."—Gentlemen, i t wou ld ill become my place (and I should be doing here what I have never done_ any where) to flatter a per son in a high, or indeed in any situation.— I do not stand ,here to address vou in the language of commendation of this great Personage, but is it to be endured that the Prince Regent should be held' out to the subjects of this country, to the subjects of h;s Government and protection (and hope Objects of the exercise of many virtues), :sis a person who".has not done one act to form a . _claim to the gratitude of his country, or to the respect of posterity; as one 'worthless for the past and- .hopeleTss for the future ; who has bithertti lived without bestowing •a benefit upon, or re ceiving the respect of a single individu,r ?•—I( so ciety can subsist under such nnlimited libels, let us all shirt for ourselves ; let each man seizq what he can and do ‘vhat he can in the general disor ganization and wreck of the community. It, 'Gen tlemen, there be any man who sits among you, who, laying his hand upon his heart, and pledging only the veracity of a gentleman, assert that this is not a foul libel, let i him say so ; but if theme be any man there, who, governed by the more :-. , )cred obligation of an oath, will state the eon trary, then pronounce this publication, as I feel it my duty to pronounce it—a foul, atrocious, and malignant, libel. ~Whether it shall so appear to you, in the same light will appear by your verdict. • The Jury the n t urne d roun d and consulted a few ininates, when Iqr. Lowten inquired if they were agreed in their verdict. AJayman (we he lie've.Mt...l):awson) replied, that only one Gentle man dissented from the opinion of the other eleven. They then retired to 1) room provided for their acconmodatron, and on their return intO Court in a quarter of an, hour, pronounced both the de f*ulants • Guilty. The Court and Westmiirter Hall were crowded to excess during the trial, and it was with the ut mostilifikulty that a great number of special con stables and Bow-street ()dicers could maintain artier and traquility - : The Chief Justice could not reach. the Court without some inconvenience from the pressure. OLD BAILEY. 'WEDNESDAY, DEC. 9. Martha Nagle and Sarah. Jackson w ere p u t to the bar,, ch arge d upon an indictment, the former with feloniously stealimr from Samuel Whitero*, in a dwelling-honse,, one coat, two waistcoat. one pair of pantaloons, a pair of half-boots, and a hat, his property ; and the Ender with receiving th e s arr , linowing them to be stolen. On cross-examination by Mr. BARRY, on behalf of those wretched women, it turned out that :Nagle, herself was robbed of her clothes as well as the,prosecutor, her paramour, ;Ind she was obliged to borriw garments, even to tit her to go . to the watch-house. As soon as this fact came to the knowledge of the Court., the COMMON SEIbEANT directed that Nagle should he acquitted of the theft ; am! as there was no evidence of the receiving against Jackson, although the property was found in her apartthent, she also must be acquitted. The Jury accordingly . brought in a verdict of Not'Guitty, and the Common Sergeant admonished theta both to avoid their present course of life. • The traitor LESSEPS, who was appointed French Consul and Governor of Moscow, incurred dis grace tuna his ❑ew sovereign shortly„after his elevation. "laving been ordered by BUONAPARTE to make. contracts for provisions, he applied to some of the Russian merchants at Moscow ; they, however, declining it, on the ground that they were without the means; he next resorted to the Jews, who professed their willingness to serve their grand Patron; ,but stated, that as they would have to go to the small villages and towns to make their purchases, the peasantry would expect to be paid' in ready money, and therefore it would be nece4sary that the French should advance consi derable sums for rhat purpcie. The necessities of the French were great ; there was no time to lose ;- the demand was therefore complied with. The French waited for the.provisious much longer than was convenient ; Lut neither money, Jews, nor provisions, ever returned. LESEPS was, in consequence of this aflltir,'. displaced and dis, graced Qn Sdnday the 29th ult. at t wo o'clock in th e day, , several of the Felons confined in Fishercon Gaol, 'macle a, deSperate attempt to elect their li, beration.—ln cat der avoid, as much as possible, inflicting punish went before guilt is proved, the prisoners committed fur trial have for some time been without ironS,tmless there was a special ea son to the contrary. One of the prisoners bad by sonic means obtained a knife, which he kept con cealed ; with this he contrived .4) open the door Of his cell, and those of his accomplices. The un der.tnrnkey having some business in the ward, on bis appearance they rushed on him, seized the keys, andforcing him into a cell, fastened the door on , him: 1 Nine of them then_ ran out, and others were following, but retrepted on the appearance of Mr. Rnwden, the Gaoler, who, hearing the noise, : ran into the yard. The nine, however, were too far advanced to be immediately stopped ;, among the keys, they pitched on the right one for the iron wicket at the entrance of the garden, and haying opened it,tbcy scampered of in different directions, but were so closely pursued; that the whole uiue were retaken in the afternoon. SMITIMIELD ',A.Ttilit• snow. ester ;!a y the Fat CitC and e,Slwep, a rigs, beganto Arrireitn great numb.:rs, at 3adier'.• Yard, in G . ns - tti!stre-et, for I:he ensuing exhibitiori.-- Several very tine tutinals from the stocks of the al.liedfor;l„ Lord Viscount Gage, and n:her distinkuiQied gt'-ee4ers., had arrived before d.:rk. Gilerrier, of Popiar . ; Mr. William Harrison, of i?.oiltington ; and krr. Rminuci lis ter, of Yeovii, tkree.erninent ga - f:; , ,•rs, have been appointed by- the Cub to decide this day on the premioms offered, by them. SpollTlNG.—Th e Essex fox hounds byl very good sport at the Duninow Meeting. The six (!ays they hunted, they lad sport each and !ci:led five Tue4ay the Ist, and ThusAoy t.Ld 3d, were Very superior runs r; ol) ti,tt ar:l3y, vtr their ret:trn home. they L:d a ve!.y severe thiv's sport, having run nearl; J miles; but eiulteci. foxes sever:A times. The •Kin , f's Sta. , Hounds on Monday at. Broothhill ',Hat ; on Friday they will meet .t BurrowAiii, neau Brachne.l. The Hatfii:id hounds met yesterday at Knell worth ; on Thursday they will meet at Ikamingham, at half -past ten Ce10 , ..71 , .. Last Tuesdriy the Nt:wtiniber Fox-hounds threw off vin'y nigh to AVallingmore Wood, Sussex, •but ivithout fi!rling. The same dogs chased a very galh in t,fi )x n o t m an y d a p before fro!n the h bourhood of Chai;cy, near Lewes, to Seven Oaks is Kent, where iteynard, quite exhittisted, drop pca his brush, and gav , . way to his pursuers. COlonel DAvis, Of the 22d Light Dragoons, has been aopoitited a Brigadier-General upon the Staff of Malta Colonel BYNG, of, the 3d Foot Guards ; and Colonel BaisaANP., Assistant-Adjutant-General in the Kent Disteici, are to •be Brigadier-Generals , in the Peninsula. The Ist battalion, Rh foot, and the 20th .regi meat, arrived at Lisbon on the 14th ult. and were immediately landed. They muster about. 800 each, and will proce e d t o j o in Lord WELLINGTON with all possible dispatch. His Royal Highness the Prince Regent is'afiout to make sonic provision for the benefit of old and deserving General Officers, of a certain , ber of years of actual service, whom it has been impossible otherwise to provide for, by ziving them, regiments or governments. There arc many of this description, upwards of forty years in the service, who are not 'employed on the tafE, and have no other benefit from Government but the pay or half-pay of Lientenant-Colonel. General DowNin, whose wounds arc likely soon to be healed, intends to retarn to the Spanish Army in a few weeks. MAJOR-GENERAL SIR 'ROGER SHEAFFE.--Tilii gallant Officer was born at Boston, iallorth Ame rica,- and is the son - of a Gentlewaneof that coun try, who held the office of Deputy Collector of his Majesty's Customs, till about the commence ment of the late American Nvar, ‘ , ..hen he died, leaving an amiable - widow, with a numerous children, not in affluent circumstances.— Lord PERCY,' the prese.nrDuke of Northiunber laud, arriving about that -time -at Boston, with hi:: regiment, generously became the friend and patron of this distressed and loyal family, and in p - artieular hefriimded young SHEAFFE, by sending him to this cOuntry for education,„ and when arrived at a pr o p er age; giving him a corn tni...son in his own regiment, the sth. Since that time he has gone through the several grada tions of his profesiOn, wit:, reputation and ho alour, to his present rank - of Major-General, when, on the 13th of October, as stated in his official report to :air GEORGE PREVOST, our post at QueenstoW•n, in Upper Canada, then under the immediate command of the lamented hero, Major- General Sir Is.tAc Brock, was attacked by - the Amer{ .:an troops: With the fall of Sir Ist c, the position' was for a while lost ; 'but the command of our troops devol,ing on Major-Gen. SHEAFTE, • he nobly imitated the glorious example of military skill and fortitude exhibited by his departed Com ' manding . Officer ; and, as stated in General Or ders by Sit GEORGE PREVOST, the disposition of the forces and plan of attack adopted by Ma jor -General SILEAFFE, cannot receive a higher or more just praise, than by .stating, that nine hun dred prisoners of war, under the command of Bri gadier-General W.AnswoaTn, surrendered their arms to a force inferior in numbers, 'and without sustaining any considerable loss on our part." We have to record another instance of disho nourable conduct in French officers, prisoners of war in this country.—General Brun and another officer escaped froth Pool pn Sunday night ; but by the activity of the Magistrates, who h a d kept a watchful eye upon them, their flight was soon discovered, a pursuit took place, and they were both apprehended on Monday, at the Lion Inn Shrewsbury, to the gaol of which place they were instantly committed. Singular Method of discovering Theft. —At a cot ton-mill, in the neighbourhood of Wasgow,.in one of the rooms, where a number of women were . employed, a small-quantity of yarn was stolen: . The person who had the charge of the rooms called the women together, and 'informed theth, that it was in vain forthe s thief to deny, for he had an infallible method 'of' di scover i ng her Ire then , procured a numb'er of pins, of equal length. and desired each of the women to take one, which she was to take home and produce next morning ; at the same time, he informed them, that the pin to be produced by the thief would be one-eighth of an inch - longer than the others.— The women returned' their pins next morning, when it was found that one• of them was One-, eighth of an ineh shorter. The master then in-' formed the girl, who produced the short pin, that she had cut a bit Ott it to prevent detection, and, 'thereby discovered her guilt. (:urious* afarriage.—A curious marria7e to:)k place on Monday morning last, at. the Parish Church of St. Margaret, Westminster, betwatenan elderly couple, whose united ages make 156 year , , the bride being 80, and the bridegroom 76. H They had a courtship of nearly 40 years, and had' never come to a determidation of having the mar riage rites performed until the present time,. when the bridegroom was led 'to church upon crutches amidst the continued .acclamation of up wards of 400 spectators, who were ',assembled in the church-v:4rd_ 'tett), rthi,,,,,to :- .