The Sun. — London, England, 1823-10-31 00:00:00

LAW IN'rELLIGENCE. COURT OF KlNtri OcT. 31e. LIBEL , 014 THE KII4O t 0... . . rut xieste J. teeny-el Atm filth? 44. 14 • 0 7 The trial of this ex-:io informatioo, for 'a libel matthe 'it,appointed first fbr this day, excited the eleepcset intereet tbe city, and befote the sittiett, of the Court, every part, ex cept the hunt beach, reterved for Charetel, wee crowded. The lieton de Steel was introduced b; Mr. Campbell to the Lord (thief Justice, end invited by hie Itordship to take a seat on the Beech. The Lord Itlavor, and Mr. She tiff Laurie, with two ethics., wtre also on the benth, end Usti Nugent sat on the hark bench usually occopied by counsel. Mr. Broughem ant within the I,ar, next to the Common Seegennt, and Mr. Hervey was seated behind his Counsel. eebout twenty minutes btfore teen, the cause was called on for (rlsd. &wen rxccial jurors answered to their names. The AT ts ohti hY- Gelt ERat.prayed a tales, and the ury, bworn.eing cones' pitted by the allition of five common jutor*, Was s Mr. Suhhrt nun stated, that this was an informatioufikon t . b, majety's At agaist Daniel Whittle Ilar. vey and John Chapman, for a libel on his Majesty, published tit a paper called the Sehday Time: ; to which they had pleaded "'Net' Guilty." 'J i be rompsehetetr-Oinsetnat stated, that this was a proceeda, ing which, e discharge of his poblic auty, he had fell it negates's., to institute for the publication of a libel as unwire-. rant:able ns had ever issued from the press. The artiele .now wider tOnsiderition was not one of those written in the feir and conetitutional diecossion of public vrieasitres or rani men, nor for the purport of animadverting on the acts of Government ; it woultl not, therefore, give occaston for any of those question* which were frteptently intereloced in such cases as to the ex tent to which the right of public discussion might that be carried. It cold not . give ttecietion to any observations reveing vek.itA'b ..a t eethetraieed by every lover of the rd the Constlibelitunon— , the Itherty of the press. When the Jury hea read they would offensive ed every' tnalignant. and miechievout tend ency, alike to man, whatever might be his po litical sentiments ; for, he believed, whatever might be the opi nisei of men with respect to the conduct of Government, or the arta of public men, there were. none who were not firmly a'- ' tutted to the constitution as by law Wei - dished, nor who did not entertain and wish to Kee inculcated due respect to the persan nt the bend of the government. The Mid contained an unputa ,tion and an insinuation, and not merely an insinuntion bat a eityeet assertion, that his Majesty, early in the present year, vas afflicted with mental derangement. Such an imputetion tevold not bot be injutious to the feelings of any nelson, ena %till more to one filling the exalted station occapied by , hits Ma :sty. But it was mote objectionable still on account of its pub ie tendency, because it watt calculated to engender disttutt with retpect to ttie public measores of the government, by renresent ing the King as incapable to perform the functions which, by tke constitution, be ought to exercise. He would not waste time in-peintiog out the inturioutt effects of this intinuntion ; every man of common sense must tinderstrtnd and feel them viould therefore at once proceed to the publication in question, nod leave the Jur yto jtulge for thexiselves it oe. Ode to entevtain a doubt as to the motive of thewhether was writer, the p na ture of his insinuation a, and the injurious tendency of the pub lication generally. Tbey had MOst probably neva that in the early part of this year his Majesty . was for a short position,disposed, and it wag amine; the period of thie indi that in a peper entitled the Sunday pe g there app' an article which was the subject of the present prosecution. •It was not one of thote light articles coming Frain a eorrespontimt, arid conveying intelligence respecting hie. ,Maiatty's healtht- or any, public d ent; but it professed to emanate. diredtly ttout the •Ealitor, and wax what was usually territed. taleatlitigureidet because it Was meant particularly to attract s the attenCOm 'of those emong whein it was circulated. It was to the followiug t ifect, and was headed, in laege letteetttt t ' " LATEST INT 1.3.1.30E:40.1.—Ttit 14140.—Attitcricl as we sincerely and lawfolly are to 6'61 interest cannectiel With the Sovereign, or any o f his illustrious relativet, it it. with the: deepest concern that we have to Mate that the malady under which his Majesty labcuss is of en alarming description. It is front authority we speak, when with sorrow we inform our reedere (as reehink it quit duty to do), that the King not onl y sill coethmee to be confined to'hisehamber, but that the symp. tonic cf his disorder are of . too serious a nature to admit of i his medical attendants being a ble to say when their Royal Patent will be stiffici en tly recovered to spew himse tlla o h i eil R Panxious. vote and afflicted subjects.' -Dr. Knighton,. hie esri Secretary, end Domestic Physician, is in, constant itttentlance, ecercely ever out of the chamber in Which the' King it confined, - end never faltber front the etene of sickness than the adjoining rootn. 'fhe person% aboot his Majeety foreatteieg that robs: bly it will be a equeidereble time before the seat of hie corn. plaint will be 1O a state tufficiently convalescent to render n advisable that he should quit 'the Pavilion, have, in or der to ense the epprettensione of the public, circulated she renort that ple.asure and comfort, not any afflicting necessity, will produce a protracted stay at Brighton. But far en s M ap't fro provi ng thie deceptioes k i n d of policy, which only uren more violent shock, whenever the real truth of the cesa shall appear, we deem it much the wiser way t.' use on sttch fore w unhpy creat ions the language of fact and, reality; theree ep are 0 desirous of conundniceting, as others are of concealing, the melancholy truth that the King'e dieorder is, it isefeare4, of an hireilitary description. The libel time elleged that the Kingh; indisposition was of an " earmi,kr," nature .t. that it woeld be sotne time before hie Majesty's " seat" of complaint would enable thaphyticiento to (lettere toe Royal patient tn a state' of convateicencet emit then let othere say what they pleased, the :writer deemed it -to he tea ,Jety to express the fees that his Majesty's complaint; rat ," ittealltary," Those particular words were *lilted in italtes, and their meaning' could not be doubtful. If" the lihel, had stopped here, no man could doubt that it wes meant to convey a most cruel insirustion—cruel, hematite knowing the *unhappy malady under which his late Majesty hadlaboured,tt liftel of all things most calculated to wound the feelings of het' and ent M elegy, to welt that the' , disorder" was " l eredity," and therefore that he wee lately to be afflicted wit it. In psi vete life, if shy flan was afflicted with thet greatest of calami. then and it was falsely asserted by any person, dieregardful ci the feelings of the children of the party, suffering from that went of afflictions, that they were also deranged, in consequence of the malady having descended to then:, there could be no be that it would he a lihel. How much tnore, then, must it be a libel to publish such an iretinustion respectieg him who yielded the *centre, anti pretided over the State ; No one could 4:tid forth such a pehlicatien without the basest motives and tits worst detigne. But the libel did not stop there; It went on in a sneers whiz': shelved what wee the motive of the lit,el, 1.4 the sneers and sarceents respecting the calms by which his Majeety was supposed to have been visited with thieutott gritv. tote affliction. flaying totted that the " disorder vies of 'an hertAitary description," it proceeds taw s: • " That his Majesty hag bad too ny misfortune; etraying upon his benevolent mind —the loss of a Asughter end a eons ;tort Csittally dear to hint, and of a Royal Brother, whose poli tical principles beloved ; bastdes the excruciating sufferinge of his wicultural. subjects, to sincerel deplored in his late most pro: loos speech ; and the danger in which the liberty of tthe Spaniards • are placed by Bourbon pride and Gothic he ; asstthese and other weighty concerns he.ve oppressed his pater nal fhtlinge, and borne hard on his superior intellect*, we heve too mu ail reation ni fear." Whatever don might have attached to the previout insh:u *tient: here, the Jury had the author distinctly steting the attp posed causes which had operated on his Meicaty's " superior matUeda." It etrocaeded : " Hut if Divine Providence has me:mined that mental Mille tient shall be no less teensmiseiblo than the virtuess of the heart, and the hestt of Pritteu should, bY their long -adn, or the reionated reterns of hie present tiefortu nate morbosity, furnish anoint example of the lamentable fact (whichf Heaven in its goodroeta avert.), still One resource will remain to his Iti ejesty, the preyers of a dettiful, loving teed is al people ; and seldotn, vete , eeldom, lu-' Ile-avert been deaf' to the orisons of nations, when offehed in leshelf of wise and gracious Kings." 'Phis 5'55 the a rticle which the subject of their considere . tien Could arty one of hherti, after haring it read by inti , do oute. ubt the nature of the itnput a tiens here eonveyed, tiret tion and then by direct atteertion, that his Mejlety was afflict ed with mental derangement ? There could he no doubt AS to the effect or such a West circuletiog atnong the public. What confidence could ,trey man have in the acts of go vernment, when the sceptre was widdetl by a person imam petcnt to the &cheep of the dutits oT his StatiOli ? The result of such en opinion must Inc ohvioue. Thistwai a (erotic in which the tfory would to no diecussion et to danger to the liberty of the prees, or as to the extent of public animadvereion on public meanures. The inforinetent was, filed from no peli tiell ferling. The ,FCAZiOII W 33, whether the Monate I -'I li to . 1) Oil wily pertou linelled In this wets and indec.ent ortontetr ? 1$ any private .persln were te Ativked with en imputation, eonveying an insiituation that het iviti unfit. for tine ottlinery detects of ifs, t h e re etetta ben° dobt that the lit Al Weltiti bt.! viiited wob the her penalties. Was it thee to he tolerated that the to onxech &lope watt to 1i;VV . , ,1 hi 3 l' , : , !hltiO Wininded. Vail impunity ? Vttes it to be borne tint the. thlitee of s:tiewshentin should send forth to 'fhb world it hypottrithed and st eering ar. tide, in which it, was first it:meted to , leis ltlitteety that no was afflicted with merited derengentent, arid then the Cansee were enumerated with affected gravity, to which this irippo*cd er . raneement wet , . to be escribed? Such itn article 1113taetiay tended, not only to !tries sueph'hen in the minds of the King's tobut to desttoy ell their confidence. in every act of his Worthy's Goernment. Wett the King, on so dere:ate a peint, to be libelled v. ith ieinteeity ? tttlatt WaS the (piestion fer the Jury. .lle had ho doubt abhut the rerals . it caly a mishievous, malicious. and cruel libel :it VMS% culated he protliice the most serious effects On the public mind ; =lit had been put forward in the most prominent manner, not as a casual article, written by a peetton , who knew little or hothing . on the subject, but e. 3 the lentliog iteticle of the peper, emanating from the Editor, with ell the means of infermation in hie power, and writing from " authority." He woad Lir leave. the case in the lihleds of a Joey. In filing this infonhe . eine he luul only perforMedbis duty, andhe was Mire the Jury wthild not forget theite, bound as they were by this solemn obligation they had taken to defend the King end Constitution of the country froth the attacks of all who sought to injure them. Ile anticipated with confidence that the tehal deliberations would be c. verdict of guilty a gainst the t of their Proprie \ for end the PlT:herd this libellous paper. The Sottoveou-OENrtriaL hroceeded to call the witness''. Mr. Elijah Litchfield stated, he was clerk to the Solicitor of the Tresuatry.Office. '(Stites put in the afet fi or davit mad thee by tar.n llhrvey, stating that he watt the propri of S Vita l . which wait countersigned by Mt. Bouverie, one of the Commiseioners of Stamps. .D A 'N T.—Wit:len is - , C•thois.examined by the COXMON S. ESC3 in,th , 4 office of the Solicitor of the Tree:wry. He did not know terse fact that Mr. B ou verie was a Cotnneiteloner of Stamps,— . He saw the, affidavit, signed by. Mr. 13ouverie. The Co eatoet SzitatANT objected, that the witness's proof as to the sigrottire of the Commissioner was insufficient. 'rho Sohterrou.hheieooneix. referred to the 38th weer c see, 14, •which-tnade•an nffidavit of proprietorship, when coon teteigned hyha Commiotioner, sufficient evidence. Th e Comaebn-SERILANT begged of the Court to take a note of his 'objection. The Loma erathr-J tomer said he would. Tete AhtronNveth(lei 41:11A1. seiti he WO Lille to put the Act of Mr, ilouverie's being a Commisitioner, beyond all hueetion. \ Mr. Godfrey Sykes said he was Solicitor to the Stamp-office; witness proved that Mr. Botteerie had been a Commissioner of Stamps up to September of the present year. thoht-examined—Witness has seen him acting as a Commis sioner at Some - met-bowie. The LORD Cittor-JuntorohThat is sufficient. Mr. Litchfield being egoin called, said the affidavit was sign ed on the 27th of January. The libel a nd affidavit were then reed. This cloAed the case for the prosecution. The CONIMON SETISEANT said it was now his duty as t e h • advocate of John Chapman the printer of the newspeper pro. t ecuted by the Attorney .Venerid, to address the Jury, for the • purpose of shewing that the verelict of guilty, which ha d been so confidently aekeil, ought not to be recorded, and could not he pronounced on this occaSion; and if, in the discharge of the duty east *upon him Re an advocate, he should he found, as no doubt he would be, incompetent and unprepared to du justice to the great diecuesion which, in spite ofh the admonition of his learned friend the Attorney -General, he should enter upon, he was sure they would attribute that incompetency to the right cause. He would unellectedly declareastonish ment into whirl) he wee thrown, and from which he had not yet recovered. et teeing hie Mt:jotted:l A ttorney-0 enerahin wound e xercise of that discretion with which he should carry into effect the great prerogative lie enjoyed, persuaded, th at king allo the circumstances .of the case, the publication he had read Nay tit to be selected to vindicate the honour of the Crown, and allay the disquiehale of the people. It would be with the most unfeigned reluctance that he (Mr. Penman) should enter upon the topics whiedi would necessarily come into discussion on the, present occasion. But he was not to be told by any man, least of all by the high officer in the exercise of whose privilege this I inthrination wee filed, that the discussion of particular topics I were to be excluded from the trial of this cause, to which, in feet, they essentially belonged ; but it' the Attorney: 0 etieral did - not mietake the duties of his office in filing this Information, he (theVommon-Serjeante ! was sure he hail miss taken the nature of his duty to the defentients, when he said that neither on one side nor the other, the discussion of peblic - ffeire wad enter into the consideration of the Jury on fide o occasion. What! was the state of his Majeety's health no public affair ? The Attorney-(general had admitted its itnpor. lance. In proportion then as it was important and interesting, he would protest against the doctrines held forthby the Atrne. General in eupportof the prosecution , ,Tt was made a Attorney. complaint that the " latest intelligence" respecting the King's health was rot pushed into some obscure corner of the paper,' or made to assume thelight and trivial form of an f insignificant para graph. -This was a strange complaint. I had been hidden in a corner, just ground of censure would have existed, for there it tnight have lurked until dragged forth to notice in public-s• by suc h persons as might be there, either of their own motion, or sent thither to rievanCinflame the minds of the people by imaginary or exagerated K ich circumstance al one wad ei. titet ea in the trout of the paperowh A Imarantee! of the integrkty of the feeling with which it Wait pub lished ; for if it did not indicate sincerity, he knew not how it was to be displeved. There it ell met the eye as it effected the 1 heart of the public ; and every just cause of complaint, or mat., ter of reproach, was removed from those who had to maeshal the columns of this paper. He would :thew that there never was a more legitimate topic of observation, nor a discussion more properly carried an, than in this prosecuted and de hetinCed article. He oso with the con reluctance, and be would avoid it altogether, if he couldistently with his. duty to hie client. Ile would be judged by the feelings of the Jury, which he was Aura resembled his own on the occasio n . There was not one of them he felt confident that would rather not be engeged. le any other occupation than in the diA. charge of those painful duties which were cast upon them • all. Ille wee; convinc th if it were postible for e Jur to declare their sentimen ed ts, at they would at once decline th Efts y the - ' cuesion of the subjects which the Attorney:General was fore ing upon them, and leaving the information and that office eogether, compel him, As he had filed it himself, to obtain a conviction also by, an ex-ecio Jtuot, without which he could have to chance of suCcess. On several occasions Juries had re tired fhom duties of this molt unpleasant and disegreeable na ture. He renierobered once a Jury, who, after a long, perplex ing, ands istreseing debate for a deer and night, came to the Judge, d rehttested to be discharged without delivering a verdict, on the ground that it wits utterly impossible they should wive at an agreement. II e temembered aleo a case whiel: had tie:tiered in the county of Lincoln, where the Jery c a me to the Lord Chief Baron. and one of the jurors intreated to be discharged bocawni he could natterur in the view which the other eleoen had taken of the min dispute. lie was anxious it shohld be left in their hands, an he could not bring his mind to the saute conviction. They, were sent back, and they agreed at last as to their eerdict, by pronouncing an ac quittal; in co nformity with the opinion of the one, and'against the previews wee of the eleven. He (the Cornincn Serjeftnt) did not state these facts to divert the attention of the Jury from the woke to which he wished them to apply all the •eowers of their minde. He stated them to show what had been the conduct of other Juries, when topics as painful as the present bad been before them. . Before he the Jury fo came to the di s cussion of these top ics he begged to , remind r whom he storia there. The name of Mr. Harvey would hardly again be iitehd from hit lips. The cause of that gentleman was in abler hende. thoee of hie Learned Friend, Mr. Brougham, who would teke eve that it should not suffer for want of any assistance that coneutntrate ability and the most brilliant elo quence could give it. Mr. Harvey or a gentleman of educa tion and tel ; lie was the proprietor of the paper in question. It wee far 1n humbler individual that he (the Common Ser. jeant) appeared before the Ju r y ; and if', instead of that sum. mere proof, !chicle eves obtained under a particular statute, it had two necessary to sheet by witnesees, as at Common law, that Mr, Harvey was the proprietor, and Chapman the printer, the different sitteetiOne Of thcAe parties ght have rendered so manifest to the Jury, that even It s a verdict of guilty wait re (ended agsinst them, it might also have been proved that the proprietor might terbeeoneible for euffering articles to. go fordnwhile the prin might be perfectly hantilees of all evil intention., There could be ro crime unless it was c.ommitted , with a criminal intent, it might therefore happen that a libel ieeoing from one pereon, who understated all its bearing and tendency would amount to an atrocious crime, almost of a treasonable complexion ; while the genie libel from another party would be divested of ell its criminal character, and be come almost harmlees. fie would illustrate this position by soposing tLc fact of an Englishman publishing an Eoglisli libel by the inttrumentality of a Frenchman ignorant of th e lanm. - pep : the latter would cer tainl y be not guilty, though his e ployer would in a double degree. He would tiow rever Fri en t (the th the circumvent:eh of the. cage , as stated by ble Learned d Attorney-General). If the Jerk believed that the article was a piece of irony froth beginning to end, It would still be a question whether an ignorent printer was as likely to discover the iro nical meaning, lurkieg under language the most respectful and decorous, as the Attorney-Om:erg who lied first announced tide discovery to the world e It the Jury Amid believe the article libellous. it would still be far them, in finding their verdict, to consider the share of criminality that belonged to each of the parties. It did not follow at a teceseary infereuce . . that the printer was guilty in the least degree, eipetially if the irony was not evident to a CoMMoil cutlet observer. lie laid claim to that consideration in favour of Chapinan. one If, w hen they retired to consider the article, they, or any of them, found it doubtful in its language, how touch more doebtful mug, it have :viewed, and how much better con celed its object, from the poor mechanic through whose: hands it had paseed, for publication. There could be no question that it' the writing was wankel the irony was well conceal wit ed, h out ar and that y was a eoffi cie nt reason for sending away Chapm further notice than that which the Attorney-General had be stowed on him. If the prosecution hail been submitted to a Grand Jury, he verily believed they would have thrown out the bill, and not have permitted the coati to have comebefore the public at all. The Attorney-General would have done well to feel the pulse of a Orend Tury, and not have taken the entire re sponsibility on h igh lyhsel - The expediency of the prosecution, in every view, was lY q ueetiotable, but more especially by information. If it had gone before a Grand Jury in the first instance, all the painful discussion woad have been prevented on which he was now • comnelled to enter. At a time when the , reports to which the' article alluded had entirely died away, the case came on for tidal. It was now nearly the close of. October, and the paper waapoblished on 9th of February` There was no such report in existence at the present time. Thank God ! the prayers of his "Majesty's esubjects had been heard: not that the. malady had ceased—he believed the vieitation had never taken plahe.Tint in Februarer list (if lee might be permitted to give the papers of the day in uvidence), he could chew, as he now begged to remin senalon d the Jury, there was un ha pp il y a great and general per that some :such malady had afflicted his Majesty. It was dist.ressing to advert to this fact ; but he did so because he centended that it waS the ifsbliinese of a pablic ually to journalist not only to allude to it, but he believed it true, act make it knewn to his reatl.l%. If true, it was important that it should not be kept an hour from the public. All mischief, they had been told by the Attorney-Genera, might be sup posed to flow from the incapacity of the Monarch. It was absolutely neceraary, therefure, that the fact should be known, n order that some ef ectuellthe bletory o check f the distre and ,tree sing malady with dy might be s lied. They all knew which his late Majesty was afflicted ; they knew the bulletins that were daily issued to ease the apprehension of the oblic mind. No proof could be stronger of the importance attached to the health of the Sovereign. As to the report in question, there was an obvious and ensy way of meeting and refuting it , and all their anxiety by his Majesty . going among his people. He had only to show himself to thew affectionate regards would have been removed. His late Majesty was in this habit, until lie was deprived by Divine Providence of the possession of his mental faculties. With respect to the facts mentioned in the article, it was notorious that Dr. Knighton was in constant attendance on his Majesty, and that he was scarcely ever farther away than the wont adjoining the King's chaenher. There was nothing stated but what was already before the piiblice It was not pretended by the Attorney-General that these facts were not true. This was of ell subjects that in which the people took the greatest interest. There was at the time a very current report, and some cis , curnstances that seemed to justify it. It was driven . course in defence of tot client, whom he could not desert. It. was aseerted by the Attorney-General, that this was a creel attack on the feelings of his Majesty. It would be intolerable, he said, if made on tiny man • but most of all when made on the feelings of a yawn) exalted in station like his Mae jesty. When did hit Majesty know that such a paper as the Sunday Times was in existence ? Only sevlt eneen w o uld he more ers bad been pablislied when thin article appeared. advisable if a more powerful foe were selected for prosecution by the Attorney•Geueral the next time he was disposed to vin dicate the honour of the Crown. here was an obscure news paper, which only just reached its 17th number, selected as an object of vengeance to satisfy the wounded feelings of his Ma jesty. It was painful to treat such a subject in a ludicrous style ; but the condact of the. Attorney-General, in best reference to this o this prosecution, reminded him of a passage in the of the wittiest of men, one of the early friends of his Majesty. " There is never,".ser he, " any evil said of one behind one's b a ck but some goad-natured friend is sure to report to us." But here the AttOrney:Genera went even further. Here all 'wee praise of his Majesty ; every word was panegyrical ; but the Attorney-Omer:a would allow no sincerity to the writer. He maintained that all the praise was ironical. " When you speak well ,you mean ill. I will vindicate his Majesty from all your sneers, earcasm, libels, and calumny." This Was hie mode of titfenee—this watt his mode o testifying his friendship for hie :Majesty. lie (the •Commone f. Serjeant) w thase not there to quibble a w ay any pard of the charp against defendants. It was meant, he atimuted, not tering o insinuate that. , but open ly to state, that , ais Majesty wae then ser great A ffliction, in coesequence of which it became the duty of the public to Pee a reeiedy applied to his situation. The Ate, Vhy had he laboured at the word tornev-General had been tigfloing shatn fight, when the enerny met him clearly in from. " hereditary ?" He had liinself admined that it was a ma lady whichonee alnico:Mg in families was likely to meter again. This admiesion wee ofgreat weight in favour of the defendants, for what had happenedonce might hqppen again, If i n d ee d it had been a falsehood manufactured by the defendants, he (the Common Serjeante allowed. it wonld have been a cruel attack, but it was no invention of theirs ; it was the current rumour of the day; and every man who mentioned it to his neigh hoer was iet culpable 24 they. Every man now considered it a subject of serious regret, and he watt sure he did not violate his duty when he exprceeed the regret of the togadefenants that they bad in the 17th namber given circulation every goo(' subject. woo g hat. to and incorrect. As to the words tt from authority," whaecould they be underetood to incen but some respectable peraon 1,4 a tuld the defendants so The word had very different meanings when used by a Minister of State and ~3-an Editor of a Newspaper.. Did any body sUp. pose that Dr. Knighton had transmitted a letter, or that the Secretary of Sta.te had sent a dispatch under the seal, of hi* office, to the Editor of the Sunday Times, because he thought fit to make statements " from authority"? Supposing t facts true, he could. not too much el:log:se the language in which they were and The Common eeant then read the libel throug and commented upon it ache proceeded, con tee that it was a sincere and honest production. On the passage respecting the " loss of a daughter and a consort equally dear to him," he asked, why was it to besupposed that the death of her Maiesty . was .not likely to excite the King's feeliugs ? The recollection of all the hopes and prospects of his union, blasted by the pernicious interineddling of mischiev ous persons, might well drew largely on his sympathy. This wits not mere speculation but fact. I know it, said the Common Serjeant, for I was present at a diecusion in another place re specting her Majesty's, funeral, when the late 'Marquis of Lon donderry stated that he observed the deepest affliction in his MA jesty on in s to Dublin, after he bad received the melan choly tidings a the Queen's decease. Was that statement also ironical ? Was that a sneer and sarciusni, and uttered, too, by his Majesty's prime Minister ? Notwithstanding the disputes that an d taken place, an eadtenient of feeling would arise in any manly breast, at the death of the object of early affhction. Cir cumstances had separated theta, foe which it was not necessary to impute blame te the King, but to those whit collected foreign slander in immenee q_uantitie haying digested it into Ira. tame bags, opened them to themnnoyance and disgust of the as re am ; leut he would rather dismiss the topic altogether, as one from which every honest mind would tarn with con tempt. The C,omenon S'erjeant, after justifying every line of the libel, concluded in these words : Let us pray that his M. . jesty may have a lon e; and hippy nOgn, an it may not amiss if we add to cur orisons that when the people are con tented ze d happy, the feelings may not be outraged, and their tranquillity disturbed by prosecutions as groundless and frivolous as those against then defendants, . Mr. BROUGHAM staid he was sure the Jury would give him credit for rising to follow his Learued Friend, not for the same patty, but over the same ground, with feelings of reluctance and regret, for the reasons which his Learned 1 riend had stated ; and with this additioned feeling, that he had.the misfortune to follow hie Learned Friend, who had already gone over the ground with greater power than he passessed. He felt that he must weaken every impreseion, and therefore he could not better discharge his duty to his client than by entreating them to remember, that every thing that his Learned Friend had urged for Chapman was applicable to his client, Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, anti therefore abstaining front touching on those topies. Chapman had justly said, that he stood in a somewhat different situation : ho was the printer and the other was the proprietor. As such they were described in the information ; anti as such they were to be C3usideted by the Jury. Ile deeply deplored that this prosecution. had been but b list by scores which would be submitted either to them or before other Juries in other counties. Surely when a paper was in that embryo state in which it was too obscure to be known, except to the spies anti familiars attached to a certain department of the Governmena, w hile m ore powerful organs, connected with powerful partien, distributing their copies over the country by \ thousands and tens of thousands, gave circulation to the same rumours, it was not to be endured that this diffhrence should in duce the A ttoeneyeaeneral to exercise his great powers against the former, while he suffered the latter to pass unmolestedcral, and . No one would harbour the sitapieion of the Attorney-Gen he would be the last to insinuate what he knew snot to be the case. That officer w ould nut, he bel iev eel, prosecute papers on on side in politics, and awls ethers to go free; but in tins matter it happened that diese ruti:otirs were to be found, not here alone but eletwhere, not only then but previously ; in various places and .it divers times these reporte had loonsben circulated, which case, the Attorney-Genera must they were now all rejoiced to find unfounded. , If, therefole, a verdict was obtained in this proa:to without end, becittnie he stood in ohms dileitinla : It had been justly i e ther ther or e must must e ust A partial exehution of the duties of hs off he prim:cute everybody that, had offended. observed by the Common Serjearit, that therie rumours re lated to a subject which in t his county WnvMestig not merely inwasterest ing, but a matter of :absolute duty to l ate. It now were g roundless. He spoke from knowe that these ruinou re what he might almost call pereonal knowledge. The in:lisp°. anion that - had from time to time afflicted his Majesty, had often g i ve n r i s e tot nquiry, whether some of the disorders to that tevience Wad; they were sometime* apt to do where the whieli lie was su bjec ( t ee gout, fee example) had not taken patient was liable to hereditery disease, and the MORIt satis factory answers bad eleven's been given to those whowe lar- liamentary duties had impelled them to the inquiry. At' no period, in no form or shape whatsoever, by any circum stances whatsoever, either mental or bodily, had ever a shade plena across the brightness of his Majesty's pilot!. He had now told the Jury what he knew to be true. 'Hi knew it to be a fact ; it had been a year or two in his pasession, but it did not follow that every eaitor of every newspaper knew the fact also. The health of the Sovereign 'had always been . an anxious topic. The records of thi country would prove, during the late King's reign, how much it had eiegroseedpub lic attention. No man knew better than -his present Majesty, from what occurred in 1788 and 1810, how deeply interesting it was to the nation to watch over the competency of him who 'woe the life and spring of the Government: -The Learned Couneel then contended, with oneat force and ability, that the libel was written in sincerity . He referred to the Klng's Speech 'at the opening of the late Session of Parliament, and main ' tained, that the sentiments in that document, and those in the libel, were identical as to public nffairs, allowing for the diffe rence between the solemn and decorous language befitting the time, place, and occasion of the King's Speech, and the more familiar 'kyle of a leading atticle..He then passed on to the other topics of the libel. Ile would say nothing about the loss of the Duke of Kent and the Princess Charlotte. He would come at once lo the mention of her late Majesty. lie would grapple with it. What then watt the fact ? The Fong did feel for her Majesty's death. 'Why then was it ironical to say so? If she were still alive, exposed to those persecutions, of which sonic in Court knew more than he did; if tl:at last calamity had been spared to the country, and she still lived as at the time when the trans actions took place, perhaps the same alienation between the parties would have continued, but when death struck her down, to say that the King's animosity survived the grave, was to de scribe him more as a monster t h a n a man. Because he hated her before death, it did not follow he might not lament her afterwards, unless it were intended to represent him as worse than a brute beast. He admitted there was very little love on either part ; thee had long since departed, but the late Lord Londonderry had stated, as his Learned Friend had mentioned, that the King had iliewn sincere sorrow on the decease of her in jestv. Who would dare to say this assertion was ironical, or his :Majesty's sorrow affected ? In conclusion, the Leartieti Couneelaaid, we were apt to praise and plume our ourselves on the difference between our condition and that of other nations in Europe as to cur liberty. In a pharisaical spirit we blessed Clad that we were not as other nations were.— They had no free press, whilst we had a press which at lea st was file enough on one sidel of the question. He was willing to suppose that we were still free; but sure he was, that without honest Juries, and firm and independent men,our freedom could not long continue. The press would still be, as now, free to the Court flowing in licentiousness no excess, with security, protection, encouragement, anti patronage; but not free for the people, and we should sink to the condition of worse countries in respect of liberty, and in respect of the press too-- countries where it exists not at all, either to do harm or good to the people. lie looked to the Jury to prevent so lamentable a consunretation : lie, looked to them to dineurage such prose cutions as these. He was glad he was before anury of any part of the kingdom to urge this topic, hut peculiarly glad to he before a Jury of the city. of London. S urel y , said. the Learned Counsel, with great animation, it is good fur us to be here. We are in Lon. don ; and you are the representatives of that famous city, the cradle of English liberty. You are the guardians of that sacred charge, watched over by your immortal ancestors with more than aparen to t p .s re a s n er x v i e ey y r oo th re e . y wllipooadtihtlisndotayheseiil sitat e e c t t o o l p ay t d o o t w h n e r th ri e n ir lives . ciples of your glorious forefat he r s, anti not by your deeds stig matize thew renown, a nd tarnish their fame. _. h The ATTORNEY:(IEXERAL replied. Notwithstanding t e brllliant display made by the Learned entleman who had ust sat down, he trusted that he should b G e able to satisfy a Jury - of enlightened Englishmen, acting under the obligation e _ of an oath, how baseless were the arguments Urged by th Learned Geutlernan for the defence. lie agreed with his Learned Friends opposite, that the Liberty of the Press depended main. l ly upon the calm and conscientious discharge of theirduty as Jurors; and he now called upon the Jury,, if they should not be fully satisfied, after calm impartial coneideratuan, that the, article which .was the object of this prosecution did nest. possess that tendency which he attributed to it, to find' a verdict of Not Guilty. One word about himself. Mr. Brougham thought he would reserve for his reply observations upon the 1 e., individual who was the object of this p rosecution. If he could_ Tu. be guilty of such conduct, he sh ould des p ise himself. He should , no no speak of hint an the author of this libel, and in that capacity only. Onio n It wee a paper, of the existence of which he was ignorant until it was brought under his official notice; and he hoped hie toen L e a r ned Friend did him but justice when he said, thathe trusted ole D 13A 11, la', V. lie (the Attorney-teenerel) did not select this paper from any political motive*. Ile could assure thqt Learned Gentleman . 40 1 that lie never heard that these rumours were in an y other Papa:l; MANistAtuniTEß.—Yesterday :IneG::::::1:67,0:: and he belie:vs:a he bad never, since he had the honour of on- feloniously' dthing a certaM dr ay . at and age.inst he , ts tP w orthily filling the other which he now had the honour to ht!la. Tuck,r, and throwing him against . n e e g round,. oron e eann ~ manifested any thing like a disposition to put down fair political said dray end than aria ltl&te, to . wit,, ,in tits parish en, 0 O s : , discussion. As to the discretion exercised in instittitkngthis ditch, drive against the said John prosecution, be would merely say, that I . ls e l n it e td ra t i te w vtr oe known e a . ground, and the wheel thereof did run over the 1 - O. ' r ' prosecution instituted by any Attorney ti h Tucker, end inflict a mortal wound, we': f r 'eon € .7, tion in instituting it was not impeached. His Learned . Friend_ sternly did then and. there die.—The prisoner pleadetl "•'' Mr. Denman had accused him of haste in filing his informs. Guilty, lion; and said that he filed it in six days after the publication. George Evans ? a silk. dyer, stated that he was steedif e o Now the fact was, that the publication took pine on the 9t , the corner of NS , orship-street, on the 24th of Septerst" o , tn• and the information wan not filed on the 2Oth ; but he would when he saw two brewers' drays • the deceased t o ern , beg leave to say, that if he thought it a libel, the sooner he same side as the driver should be ;'flie first dray h .i nd! e t.4:n decided on btinging the delinquent to justice the more et& and passed the deceased ; the prisoner was a con iti r r' ta ', c iently did he discharge his duty. As to delaying the trial mince behind. his 4ay ; himself behind len until October, lie would only say, that in the course 'of bun. the dray, by proping himself behteid it ; thad e ls o p u .ed; ness it could not come on sooner, and for that delay he was up with the dray, the accident would not lave I I) ~=',,, ,, irj , , not .all blameable. The Learned Gentlemen opPosite said, , nere part of the dray passed over the - decessenns tits', could it be irony to say the King was 'd benevolent, pos. crushed it to pieces,and his brains were nattered° t sessessed of eupcnor intelligence," &cc. He randsb that deceased died ingantly. ' _ tim etin o e a Gentleman who was so well versed in irony 'sump as . Three other witnesses gave exactly the sat-11074 t h Mr. Brougham should argue in that way. Ni as there no irony An officer from St'orship e street proved that th 7, 4 ' lA , except when that which was untrue was told ? The irony and carriage-way was near 14 feet. the drays were 11 sneer of this publication, and of which he oornylained, was that of The Jury Buxton and Co. . r id.'' verdict o"" s r ti the author wrote things which were true, but in such a manner The Jury without hesitation returned a 7 _, e , 0110 ,et as to lead people to believe they were false. 'The Learned The RECORDER having made sevend obseh e ard o ' Gentleman then contended at great length, that this species of scandalous neglect of drayme.n, ordered the prts s onne n ee to hard labour in the House of Correction for sun IP' ee l irony ran through the entire of the third paragraph; and that the publication of the unfounded rumour was libellous. He SENTENCES. n it' concluded by imploring the Jury, if they did not after due de liberation think the libel bore his construction, to acquit the The Sessions having concluded, the RECOPPEZI P O ICII to pass the following sentences on the prisoners t• ~o w victed during the present Sessions : defendants.or je,' The Lord Chief Justice ABBOTT, in addressing the Jury, Death--John Williams , for stealing in a dw' o r ett. o n detailed the nature of the case. Ac cordin g to the law of the James Gregory , for house-breakin g in the lofes.dern land, the printers and publ ishers, as well as the proprietors , Young, for stealing goods, monies, notes, and hTeen. 4 SI were liable for the contents of their papers. As to the in a dwelling-house, to the amount of upwatols,?; fif Ifse' matter that Was charged to be libellone, he had no hesita tion whatever in dietinctly asserting that, if it were falsely Scott, for feloniously cutting and stabbing 0 ne It y 4, tent to kill and murder her; William Ludoi n gce: ie, l' stated of the King. or of any . subject in the realm, that the party pub:mil ." house-b s re ib itt r dn 'fi g te i a n lin th g e d ir e ' he was afflicted with mental insanity, breaking ; Joseph . Farmer, for a similar .° Jon IlS o til icsr suet' statement would be acting criminally. point he had no doobt. The question then was, On this . t " l;e 4 daytime; Henry in fi g e . n b r o y ulc l,ol4 , l.l lo; o ,..n tn: i far ; Jas. Field, fora like offence; Jose?" heft Ito' Paper' in question promulgated such a statement regarding his Majesty ? and that was the question of fact which the and (leo. Fletcher, for stealing in a dweaine-h° 6,,, ,, law very properly left to the Jury. But he would observe, Trate:porta:lms for Life.—Caroline Willitto"' lid, Ism Barrow, John Scott, and John Lewis' en Oltl. $' Trios. Craven. if it were a libel to make any such statement, falsely against a private individual, that it was a still greater libel to, pub. To b. Trantoorted for Fourteen Years-- - J% 140 4 _Led:worthy, Jas. Tibbs,. Wm. Hunt, Cha r " - Ari f o 'i Hitt such a statement against the highest executive auteority in the country. In cases et libel, in particular, it was the e .11, custom of the Judge to express to the Jury his cpimon To be traruprted for Seven Years --Ai r - `"i: s ta P 0 ' 11; Win. Wm. Jennings James of the publication. He had ever done so since he had had Alelville, Ab r '?o e il l itdteo the honour of a seat on the Bench, .and he would do so now; and he therefore bad no hesitation in declaring his John Collett, Win.Cu i Inminge, Elizabeth Devi te e'ec eur , r Margaret Steward, Thomas 'Evans, Jaines„ o ,l/1,0 1, o opinion to be, that the publication was a criminal libel.— )?_tit lee 'T y., tio Scurrah, John Ballantyne, la jo bp ili oJ l ' } !tilt at the lia.me time he must tell the Jury they were not "" 1 Charles Fisher, dames Ild Tr ' s°3 '•tb. J °' 'W ' derick Forte., Henry Millard, James S mi e nen e 11 ' bound to act upon ids opinion. They were calmly to eta cise their own tudgmeet, and if after coesideong tine " 71;114 . Jol; v. n d ‘ g V m ar e e e , t hwdawsarrdeillpiotedmviolle,jaonlidnJonutred'et j04i,,eed.,., ter calmly they rho: td arrive at a conclusion, they muet, with. out looking.to consequences on either side, give thfir verdict ; anint Henry Pe't use ' ,d e ..e for the beet blessing which an Englishman cold enjoy cot. JohnLINC: ?ear's in . i.prt:' pmen!, irentiouteii-T;i' 5; ( ,.4, : r..,-i . Mated in the sound and constitutional discharge of the duty of ilatiimone , .11 ":"" '''''' Jurors. The Jury retired at a few minutes after . one o'cloek, and at n • I / - ‘ - , • • w Pe b r i.. t ed ltf az;:rooentes.,,arti I. ( . , s iti ll a F iv ti ti cu p i u; d a 1 1, ,, I r b li l i c' three they refused. ship's opinion as to whether the proof of a malicious intention The Foreman —My Lord, the Jury wish to have your Lend eonfilkenli,bwelhienn d a li4 os c arl ase p ? ublislies c t'e''.. ,* is t ir iel i :c e ss c a li ry m to v ti z te us es T t i a c ni z is_hi o ne e n oti t Tbe ranainder of the Prison:;rs 'aFr , e r. m i matter somTplit.ei 0 j w eu l ir d sy c t h haagt ,1i openlytnhretired, et slanders ieer etdis, ivandt e n a a t i o n t d ito ai4:t vilifiesau:tel gnu:quarter stos hs e c r hr , pre- : t u hret: eatits a , s a o Elect rn r e e l e , li a e te l ijo . " : 0 31:fr t i h n y a s , .I°.4.s;:cri:',Tiltit‘hTt°‘i,Ti: Ifslair'y ' l vst o , , .:,;,:-. ". . ' ,--. • risonment, and the Seeneo die , D•i .....,nagoone" .on? o h' .....—. = _...............: 7 --- - 0 / 7. y r lo . .... COIIIX4II- IfuNIANr. rycpait:rrs..--.A.Fre'l- w" if'ten i The Foreman—My Lord, we recommend the defer:dente te ild l ' isPd b ()bi verdict of Gailty against both defendants. ya n 1 111,.“ 1 • " NI ' 0 ,ili ephicopal palace, reptane-- 1 Osi e o 01 . I shall take a note of it, Gentlemen. fe ren ce be tvee en yaurad vi on 811" ills f ;p i : i;l e mercy. The Chief J ustice: BLASPHEMOUS LIBEL. The defendant, a very young man, who kept a linoa at the oe in e TUE KING v. TIteST. adviseil Jesus to chanee slog- - el O n fen, o s t ub d a le y corner of Giltspo [...street, in Newgate-street, for the sale of :nhipcitiertheeapvt:tromoitzu,:tSlttue:ifoeti,ur,. ~.i '': tioto , i tr e .,i9 tpr Crirliie's publications, was charged upon information fii K t, b y to turn the brew(', of the poor lot ° 4,0' hie Itlioeety's Attorney-General, with publishing it . piasplie- elf .o. t it —..,------ et, le , nIOUS libel, namely, Pairnel.'s P-inciptes of Nature. with intent p to bring the Holy Gospel and the Christian religion it cers detected the defendant in the :tale of die book, end prir.redot . 4 t.tri , i o ,t. et contetnpt. It appeared from the evidence th4t t" police , lilt° Europe, is gotten ty • (, fi ftd4 is .i 5 the e publication. It t f l t e also a a r pz s ea h r u eci ng in ui r' ge ide n n e r ai tl iy i:: ;tt h ra is c nep a e "'n to aka a. rilli'vorti,,i, ji., (I.l.thil, who 16g ). .tilt re CrOVid of persons, and often endangered. the hves of the pus sengers. The Parish Beadle on one occasion seized erght - 4 pli es ap re ,i tc ,, e 'tit Torn V ar irginia shout the ye . a lp ri• fri' lit :e a t:i t: a i :1 ; s ° i s :a : :: o l: r I :i e n i li n itsr i g n )ds ; : :• d 'i t l i : t:ll o : fi t°.r i e el y : (Q ii, l : ;'' f i':'.l . i l i v i ' e : of tut: obnoxious placards, and carried the same to the Crete. l o ot l'' lAD 'dye rd The defeodant preferred a charge of felooy:„. end benne lna! hi added , that this P nro v I Ya • Alderman Anneslv, the Sitting Magietrete r e 1 (1 l'° . [ , proclaimed hi - rn•lf I wild in Vir-: ,* It was uw 'al ' ' '1...1.1a. the supporter of Is r. Cathie princip.ed The charge oftelony • froth Perri - , d ial l` en v not made out. . roni , wnere 'i 't gro ws • ' „eill' After the fleets of the p u bli ca tion had been etsablished, the Cordelieras nod whore it St ' e read Lis defence, in the course of which he told t. 44:: cultivated. ' roductioti ot s, 0 0 1( ~ 0 Jury he was once a Christian, but he had ceased to be one.— After endeavouring to impugn the Christian religion, t'Y at' tempting to read die whole of the libel, which the Lord Chief Justice would not-allow him, the Jury, without the least hesi tation, found him Guittr~." There . , Tkit: Loan CHI EF JUSTICE , after the Mat, Saud-- be a more convicting proof of the mischievous ten de ncy I4f these -publications, than the effect produced on the mind of this unfortunate - young man." COURT OF CO'3ISION PLEAS, THURSDAY OCT. 30. Mr. Sericant V ,CHEAP SCHOOLING. it seldom fell to his lot to detain a case of more anxiety Or :I:GHS°l.tilitsatatVe.dskithewea.se, and observed. that portance. The plaintiff imputed to the defendant, who ie a S.choolmaster in Yorkshire, gross inattention and negligence, as much, indeed, as could . ' well be committed. G rat a Veered that Mr. Shaw kept a seminary at Bowes, near beldge, in Yorkshire, and advertised to teach young gentlemen read ing, writing, arithmetic. Latin, and Greek, with board, clothe,, and lodging, for twenty pound.; per annum. The p lain", being recommended by 31r. Seston, the Defendant's agent, sent his two sons, Richard and William, i n October, 1819, to the establishment at Bowes, where, as it woßld e 2 e rm ' 'there were near 300 scholars. Some time after being there William Jones was attacked with bad eyes, and eve ntuallY lost his sight. The question was whether thi' arose fromthe the uncleanlines of the school or f r om . ophthalmia? and n whether sufficient attention had been paid ? It would also be proved that the defendant, though aware of the boy's situation, did not inform the parents for a considerable length ofeime.--- • The Learned Strjeant then proceeded to state the mimeo in which the boys were clothed and fed, es afterwards eleteded in evidence, and concluded by observing, that it was for the J u l to determine what damages should be give n. The boy ho totally lost his sight, and considerable expence had be l in" coned in curing the eyes of his brother liichard since rival in London. Edward Jones; eldest son of the plaintiff. stated, t hat his brothers went to school on the 18 th of Oct. 1315 e. In r , " Ja ll ' 1821, witneee, with hie mother, saw the defendant a t the Lienrge Cid Blue Boar, Holborn. Witness's mother had :!orals eonve,`", sation with Mr. Shaw on the subject of the boy's eyee, slid 11— desired him to write on his return home, which he preinivinwd w do—Witness's brothers came he on the2Bth of Al arch ol ev; m f so ing—William was totally blind, and has rema ined „ since—there was nothing the inciter with his eyes vat4t went away—Richard was in a bad n :catt.:, and could only sae i a strong light—he had since been e.ttendrd by m edical men -- w ti i u t e ne ed ss is p i a t i l d A isle lr h . a S n i, d a w w r a u. q uarter's schooling--tee recein P lll. Cross-examined by S it erjeant Pr I. era s pat with the small.pox about six weeks or two months in Idl7, it dill not at all anct his sight. William Jones deposed that he wet; twelve years of age. n" collected going to 'Mr. ih m'e •aw's school ; went insi de Ti g :i coach. Witness could then see as well as any bass the ernell.pox about a year before, but it did n ot at all aife: pat his sight. The first week after his arrival at school. Le used very well, and had toast for breakfast ; but og 1 week he was turned among the boys, and had hasty r for breakfast. The witness then proceed ed to state , ' had meat hash and potatoes for dinner fi ve days in the wee to and on the others cakes. When gentlemer o r parents °me s t • h is e lt bo th r e , w c h h o ih i l lad ren n , u l t a r n . y Sti co a a w ts uorectibrteoecsiejentilotini,e usher to rnl b , tables : the boys had their clothes again when :47'; ate;-4„; ed ; they all washed themselves in a long trough, stich Eel; have, and there were only two towels amongst them. Ailr7lo, was no dapper, but they had milk and water dad arY bea its for tea. Witness's brother and three others lay in nne rase a room where there were about 30 beds ; the r e were n: . t. ono in every bed; in some only three or four; ther e w stub laid and a quilt for each bed ; one part of the ehee r . laid upon, and the other covered them. .There was Thep in the middle of the room, which often used to run over' vio l were troubled with fleas every other morning. to have quills given them by The boYA„ her , were maitioti, and' the usher prothised a penny for avers toe thee could be caught. Witnes% a ft er being there abnrtilloa, o M • the usher to kill the fleas. On e months, could -not write a coprand mentioned who said lie would beat witness if he did not H aste. The witnesses- were cross - exam i n ed b y Mr. Serjeenteat,,a;e4 but no material fact was elicited. Verniet— Penned, Demage.s. Thre