The Sun. — London, England, 1819-12-11 00:00:00

eed ja least it wa• eS, to tWnt kid' a samii" Sop' epU at the • onkr Alma& rnour• twoll, ,trenco, victual ; hat it late of. )nteXC plain* ached is tract - e that' opi. ;cote(' busivt, u se Of, ,f gr, Aege. ier to of did prac• :confit n that: 3f the of this be e)." , t the of the Intrarf he dill ise t 134 iy t bet Pe"P I 1104) inßitv ? IVO msarefe e what oil that 1 refills* worsc• ree l a ' bring' before art' ti 'ot agio -1 iuse, 05 fustier: I►us de, o f (hi 'cut. it it acted jttstly, to pursue. Either let the Att orney-Genei - al he ordered to prosecute all such P,!'hlications, or let the Bills to put down the se 'itions press, he passed. But let not the two 'lleastares he adopted at once. At all events, let the House only take notice of those libels which Fete most pointedly directed against itself.— (Hear, hear, hear !)—As he thought that on such 'l-githject Hon. Members could nor proceed with thin much consideration, he should move an 41 tlendtnei.t.., that Robert Stod art h e ordered to 4f tvntl elic i t-It:ruse on the .18 , 11 of Tanuarrnext. Mr. D i'GLAS KINNAIRD cotifCll , jed, that from the Only part of the pamphlet which had been 43 d, iry satisfactory impression could be timre -0,) the House, to enable it to determine whe ther it was or was not a libel—(flear, hair!)-- 11 '' tt as satisfied that any one who had read the ' v l'oie would come t o an y conc l us i on b ut t h at i t be lt { out awincitetnent to use brute force against t he. Noose The wot k only contended, that it as,tiot the love of the people, hut the tear of lite laws, that induced them to submit ; and this ibi ght surely be said even of any law without any '1 11citr.,lity. Lord NUGFNT gave his hearty concurrence to th.e Original motion—(Hear, hear !)—He agreed ' t ill) his Honourable Friends in disapproving the Nrduct of Government in neglecting to order the At torney-General to prosecute libels perhaps still more atrocious than the present. But that was 4 0 reason why he should not defend the privilege t't the House when he saw them so violently as 'Cled--(Hear, hear!)--He should not presume to V; as far as an Hon. Gent. last night, and to 4t tribute the pamphlet before the House to any pat .but it contained elitlcnces of `, t Yle which shovved that from his acquirements btie author must be a victim worthy to be struck at y th e House. The Hon. Baronet, he would call i min his Honourable Ft tend. had taken a wrong ievr of the snhjt Ct. He ilad treated the motion 41 if it was not one for calling the Pnhlifber to Ml le liar of the House, but for committing him ax tice. Neither had the Honourable and Learned Imoveroposed that the House should decide in 'ls own rp case. He supposvil that after ascertain what would fall from the publisher, that Hon, its tid Lea; tics! Member would recommend that the *6O Je be laid before the Tribunals of the Conn try On the' privileges'of the Hntise _depended 11 4 t l• only the integrity and existence-of the House, ot th e r i g h ts a nd l i b ert i es , o f t h e P eop l e . : He oew that the course which . he was taking would expose him to great obloquy, tritt Members who * ere not prepared to encounter obloquy in a just were not fit to hold the lists which they !)—So long as they sat in that liatise, they must, support Themselves as.the Re: P r esentatives of the Pe, ! ple of Hogland—..(tier Mr. COURTi:NAY was understobil to . stite in ex. ;migration, that. his .sole:objec!Lat,. present was to cult the Publisher to 'tare Bar. He could not ;ledge himself afterwards to any particular line of stouthket Mr. XVILBEUFORCE declared, that 'he never trill wor d s ' c onv e y a grosser a tt ac k aga i nst the a lotile than those which bad been quoted, nor- Ns he ever inure astortislied than to tear an Hon. Member (Sir F. Burdett) express his doubt whe. liter i t was a lib e l or not. Every thing• depend onlke [elms in which an opinion Was ex-' Pres se d an d the tendency it had to disturb the or• der of s oc i et y. lie knew of nothing more likely ° Persuade and to induce people to carry their ;tilt s further,' than for the House to express it se lt ~.'ghtly On a quest i on of his kind. By doiog so, it 'Nitta betray a shameful weakness. 'Whatever the ki ritle of pr ocee ding might be, it w a s imp oss ibl e t I .°i* the House to pass this ov e r. H owever , h e t '!'lught the best mode of proceeding would be, to 4 11 on the Attorney-General to prosecute. It was 11(.4 correct to impute to the House of Commons t tl Y 3,10 principles or motives as those which .7 're freytently thrown our in that House; but ; v iten such gloss insults as th e se were thrown out, I I Was impossible to pass' thearover• without no. te e• As to the assertion, that the context of this I."%sage would have given a different interpreta. ' s n to the pamphlet, no context had been read, nr any e x pl a n a tion giv en to t h e H ouse respect -1114 a ny M. KINNAIRD explained why he had n o t mad the context : it was-, he did not think the 4 fou se would ',troth halt to read the pamphlet, "'e Whole of which would show that the part t. ° lnplained of was only a n i n cid e nt a l p aragrap h 4 controversy i f another oolitic. 1, 51 r. Hum a rose amid general cries of Question! le thou g ht th e course p r op ose d t o b e a d opte d o ) Proper ; hut not being a ll o wed to exp ress hi s inions, sat down. Mr. W. WYNN contended that there never was lore gross attack on that House, or a more V 4 ring excitement to the people to destroy that crus e , than the passage which bad been read; h e must combat the argument of the Hon. 4-)aronet respvctin i ; the privileges of that House, 17 'llieb were well defined, and had always been act :4 "Pfm. A doubt had been started whether the 4 ° "texl might not do away the effect of the pas ge in question; he had read the whole of the 1 8r ltphlets, and so far front finding the context be such as was s t a t e d, th ere were utility pas etts ne ar ly as o bj ect i ona bl e as t h at w hi c h h a d lt e ett quot e d. Let the House form their judgment oth th e f o ll o wing extract : ' 1 , 9 : 1 My determination, for one, is fi x ed ; if th ose have the power attempt to deprive me of the :lie:t a bl e r i g h t o f meeting my Idiom-country ",, by letting loose a soldier a t m e , with ou t t h e ifarniog of an Act of Parli a ment, I will res i st hi m A lan ; they give te warnin " c ( 4. Parliament do , will break h i if I ca n " of an jt He would put it then to the House, whether Lot hound to vindicate its own authority, 11 litat o f di i n f er i or C ourts o f J ust i ce, aga i nst 4 4rh libels .as these. It was impossible for \, , u ", With their common senses about them, -th.tloubt the object of this pamphlet. As to „ It e Proposal that the Attorney-General should A ' s tcute, he maintained, th a t he House ip'krued its own atithotity,:if it yielded its power its privileges to fitly other aut hority. •p t "t - House bud a u .tindoubted right to issue its ' f3c "s, like all inferi o r Courts of Justice. Some 4i1;1,1 recommend the passing this over with con kt/illt• suppose it were said of the Court . of thaieb, daily publications, th a t no pis rice couhl be ohhtiord-there,- be-would nsk, w he aer•that high "tribunal could submit to such et tacks, without losing'its chai'acter and weakening i ts d othority and power with the public. The situation in life and rank- of the person supposed to have written this libel, was another reason . why he should he proSeetned, It was under an impresiion of .that kind, that the noose thought it necessary some years ago to order a prosecu tion ageiust a 4 7,etpleman of the name of Reeves, who held a high situation under Government, tor a pamphlet ht had \critter,. Atter an explanation from Lnrd NUGENT, the Amendment was put and negatived. The original motion, that Robert Stodart be ordered to attend at the liar of the House on Monday next, vt-1, then put and cart ied. The Noes seemed confined to two or three voices. SEIZURE OF ARMS BILL. Lord CAsTt FMEAGH wo►:ed the second reading of the Seizure of Arms Bill. Mr. TutiNEy observed, that, under other cir cumstances, lie should have felt desirous of a post ponement of this - measure''; hu , as delay might be inconvenient, and as the na.ure of the Bill was b o th Liral and temporary, he d;d no! mean to make any objections to its principle Some of th e details, he thought, tegnirett considerable altera tion ; but as the Comuuttee would be ihe proper occasion for proposing theta, should there be any More general difference of opinion, it might he convenient to take the consideration of it on the third reading. One provision , 0 which he sh:odd certainly obj ec t, was Om eua:ding a single Md gistrate and Constable to enter hott,cs and search for arms by niehr. BENN ST a,ked if the county of Northutn berland was to he inchide.l 'xi:l,in the Act, as he understood ntrtect tranquillity prevailed there muswer was Mr LAMBTON he4ged to ask the Noble Lord whether d COM municqpo9 had hot been received from one of :be DE:put v-Lie.iteuant% of the Coun ty of Durham, d , sorihing a large district of that coun , N pert,.wly tiut;isturbed Lord CASTLEREAGH read the communication alluded to, a,-,d observe that it did not vary from preceding aecnuirs, which represented the district in que:Hon state ot tomult, but as in a state likely to lead to tumult. Mr. J. ‘AillaaToN declared [hat his information was of the most alarming kind. A system of commuoicatiOn hair been established throtighout extensive districts in Durham and Yorkshire. anti the virit, of disalfeo ion was o, the point of ex• itself in arcard farce. 'l.w colliers and pit-men were thoronglily organized, and assembled every day in parrie% of 20, their leaders a , sembling every. week. A fetter which he had received from a gentleman in that part of the coon , y, and out easPy alarmed, stated, the without sAnte com manding military force, there was an end to all security--that ;pots , rere provided, and the liod , d propel ty already parcelled out.—(A laugh)—An kitmonr4ble Member opposite (Mr.. Latnbton) might be more interested than he was aware ot, and if he knew the source of this information as well as he (Mr. Wharton) did, would come to the same judgmilit. At' many of these meetings Reform was, indeed, the professed object, hut not any Reform of that House * . even upon the wild scheme of Universal Suff, age*. The Reform con templated, anti for which they seemed to enter tain 'an er“busiastic desire, was a transfer of pro perty from those who now enjoyed it to those who did not. Mr. LAMBTON said, if the subject were not of a disagreeable natr►re, he sho , ild have been much amused with the observations of the Learned (Jentlernan. It was singular, that the Learned Gentleman, Who derived all his it►tormatinn from others, should think that 1 , liad the means of to; m ing a more.correct judgment than ot het s who haul resided iu the midst of all this supposed agitation. With regard to the disposition of the pit-men ,he had the ant4iority of a considerable number or proprie tors of coal-mines, after a meeting to consider this subject, and they almost unanimously represented (fiat the men had no aims, that they were in 101 l employment, and that, though classed, they , %I-ere quite peaceable. Ile would here explain what was meant by classing. It was usual for these poor people to meet to the number of 20, in dif ferent parties, in order to read, or hear read, publications in favour of Parliamentary Reform. lie believed this to be their sole purpose, and finless this could be shewn to he synonymous with an attempt to subvert the Constitution, l►e WAS not diSpOSeil to entertain any apprehension,. though he believed his property would hardly come under the operation of an agrarian law.— There was no reason, therefore, as he conceived, for extending this measure to that part of the country. Lord MILTON was surprised at what had fallen from the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Wharton), rela tive to any communication existing between th e colliers of the county of Durham and the tVest hiding of York. fie believed the latter, ataj he had extensive means of judging, were perteedy loyal, and peaceably disposed. It gave him great regret to find a bill of this kind proposed to be continued for two of three years. A long and desultory conversation -then took place on the same subject. between Mr. Clive, Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Brougham, Mr.Latubton, and Sir C. Monck. The Bill was then read a second time, and or det ed to be committed on Monday. TRAINING PREVXNTION BILL. A Message flow the Lords announced that their Lordships had agreed to the Amendments made by the Commons to this Bill. SEDITIOUS AND BLASPHEMOUS LIBELS. A Message from the House of Lords announced, that their Lordships bad passed a Bill for the more effectual prevention and punishment of Seditious and Blasphemous Libels, to which they request ed the concurrence of the Commons. On the motion of Lord CASTLEREAGH, the Bill was read a first time, and ordered to be read a se cond time on Monday, and to he printed. lONIAN ISLANDS.-SANTA MAURA. Sir C. MONCK wished (0 put a question to the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) on the subject of a statement which he had recently seen in owe of the Public Papers, respecting an insurrection . said to have taken place at Santa Minim. He wished to know whether the Nob% Lord could give any ac count of the nature r,f that insu; rection, and whe t her it had been quel!eil ? Lord CASTLEIMAGH said, he was not then pre pared with any official information on the subject. From the last aCConflt3, however, that had been received, it appeared that tranquillity was re stored; that the people had returned to their. duty, and seemed sensible . . of the impropriety of their condilet. Sir C. MONCK wished to be informed, whether the tax which had given rise to the insurrection had been withdrawn ? Lord CASTLEREAGH was unable to give any positive infornta►i„o upon the subject at present'. The tax was a local one for the improvetent of that part of the island. • Sir C. Alotvmsaid, the Noble Lord must know more than he did on the subject. He begged aeair► to ask, whether the tax. had been with dra ? Lard CASTLM.AGI-1 repeated his former an swer, and added that, as far as be knew, the tax was not withdrawn. The House then adjourned at Eight o'Clock. LAW IN FELLIGENCE. COURT OF ICING'S BENCH, DEC. 10. bfACERONI V. MURRAY. This was an action against the defendant for publishing a libel - in the 37th Number of The Quarterly Review, reflecting upon the character of . the "1:!ie plaintiff's case was conducted by Mr. 1-I.ll,and I.lr. Abraham ; and the defen dant's by Mr. Stificitor•GLretal, Mr. Gurnty, and Mr. De,,mtn. The case 1y3.5 in substance this :—The a subject of this couott y, had been Aid,du-Camp of J-,,achirn Murat, King of Naples, d u ring the Empire -of Boonaparte. Aft er the death of that personage, whom the history of the late sear chews to have been shot, in cons toienee of Ills aiding Boo naparte a•ter his return from Elba, the plaintiff Caine to this coitio , y, and published-a woik en' it b-al "A -Sketch of tba - Military an 4 Palitical.Power of Buonaparte, with in erecting facts rrspectiog the death of Joachim - Murat." In that pablicatioo the plaintiff gave a history of his connexion with Murat, to whom he was Aid.dw Camp, which comprehended a detail of the treacherous conduct of that person, already known to the public. Soon after this work caine out, a. critique appeared in. the 37tu Number of The Quarterly Review num, it, of which the defendant was the publisher; and the eriti'qu'u,., in:advering to the :aork and the plaiutiff's own conduct, as therein described by hipaself, drew rx Comparison between him end Mu rat, in which the following expressions, which were the subject of the action, were used He has little lesson to apprehend . the tionoarahle mode of death inflicted On his thaster—his'voca lions seem to be to another kind cif exit," theau jug, as the declaration alleged, that the plaintiff de , erved. to be honked. The SOLICITOR Ge N anat., in his address to the Jury, on the'belialf of the defendant, contended that the criticism, which w , s the subject of the action, was a (air and candid review of the plain. tiff's comket • and of his work, as it appeared in .print, and that the offensive observations and conclusions emote-such,'as 'every honourable mind, reviewing the circumstances of the case, must ne cessarily draw. He adverted, in an able _and powerful speech, to the facts admitted in the plaintiff's pamphlet to prove the force of his ar gumeto. The plaintiff, a British subject, was Aid. dn-Camp to Murat, a Sovereign then in open hos. tility with England. Murat baring lien driven from Naples by the Austrian Power, during the interval of an armistice, the Emperor of Austria had entered into a negociation, through the roc. ilium of the plaintiff, by which it was stipulated that Murat was to abandon' all future projects of resomiug his dominion it) Naples, on condition that he should have an honoorable retirement to a private station, in the Austrian dominiowc, for which the plaintiff and '4ere to have passports, to enable them to go to the place of retirearent, This negociation terminated in ratification of its terms, and it was understood that Murat was wholly to 51)4100n att:expedition, which he meditated against Naples ; but in con travention of his agreement, he resumed his ex pedition, and made a descent upon Calabria after Buonaparte bad left Elba. It had been stipulated that the plaintiff should apprize the Captain of the British fleet stationed at 134itia,s:iould Murat attempt to break his engagement. The plaintiff, however, knowiog that Murat, in breach of his pledged faith, intended to proceed wi:h the expe dition, did not give the British Officer any inti mation of the circumstance, until 24 hones after Marat's expedition haul sailed. It appeared from the plaintiff's own publication, that he had re ceived 40,000 francs through the medium of bills drawn upon Messrs. Perigand And Co. Bankers at Paris, which the Learned Solicitor contended Was the price of his treachery. He urged, that from the facts thus disclosed, it was not too much to impute to the plaintiff the grosse'st dereliction of his duty, tiny, that of high creation, by se r v i ng against his lawful Sovereign in the cause of an alien enemy. After a most powerful and eloquent address to the Jury, lie insisted that they, as men of common sense, must find their verdict for the detendant. The Jury immediately rose to give their verdict for the defendant, but tl►e Chief Justice haVing expressed his wish that they should hear the case to its end, his Lordship proceeded to sum up, ith such observations as occurred to him ; the elfeCt of which was, that - the supposed libel was nothing more than a fair criticism upon the plain tiff's condoct; as well as his work. The Jury immediately found for the defendant. COBBETT'S POLITICAL REGISTER. WRIGHT V. J. CLI3I4IENT. This was an action agaitiSt tiie defendant 'for publishing two alleged libels, contained in Cubbett's Weekly Political Register; one o►► the 4th of January 1817; and the other on the 3d of July 1818, imputing to Ole plaintiff the forgery of cer tain letters, obtaining money under false pre tences, &c. &e: Tlie plaintiff's case was conducted by Mr. SCAR LETT, Mr. GURNEY and Mr. DENMAN, and the defendant's by Mr. ADOLPHUS and Mr. PLATT. SCAELETT, iu stating the case fur the plain. tiff, distinguished this from the action which had Jost been tried e by observing, that this was a case of a notch more aggravated nature ; inasmuch as' it seriously affected the interests of a private in dividual, on points upon whieh'his very existence, in society depended ; witereaS the former arose out of a matter connected solely with the politi cal character and conduct of a person, who was art actor in some of the continental transactions of the last war. This distinction was the more likely to engage the attention of the Jory, considering the • aggravated nature of the libel now presented to their notice. The plaintiff %Vas a person well known to the literary part of the City of London. as be ing the conductor or manager of part of the Parlia mentary History of the 'Country, namely, Reports • of Proceedings in Parli4ment, published under the name of Mr. Cobbetr. In te.oimotty of the value and importance of that publication, in - which Mr. Wright had displayed so notch talent and indus try, for his own part, he confessed there was no book he had ever read; from which he had derived so rued) professional knowledge, as troni that upon the «Object of Election Law. The defend ant, Mr. Clement, was a gentleman well known • as rite editor or proprietor of The Observer news paper, and he (Mr. S.) would say of that publi. cation, that he believed it to be a most respect- . able newspaper, and conducted in such a way as to excite very general satisfaction, by taking no part in pclitical discussion, but merely publistong occurrences of the week for the information and instruction of his readers. The pUblication in which the . alleged libels, whi'lt were the subject of the present action, were contained, was not one of which the defendant avowed himself to be the 'proprietor, although it would he proved that lie was the agent of the propri,oor. What share or interest he , had in the sale of it was not publicly announced, par indeed for the purpose of the pre sent action was it necessary to inquire. In order explain the nature of the libels, tor which Mr. Wright 9Onatit a compensation in damages, it be came necessary that he shoal ewer into the his tory of the party libeilio4 and lie pall libelled. The Jury were intorrned from the plear , iings, that the libels ware Pablished in Cobbett'a Political Re gister. It was unnecessary for him to state who Mr. Cohhetr w as. When that gentleman cane to Eng land, he opened a bookseVer's shop or Pall-mail, under the emblonatical insignia of the Kittle, the Crown; the Cnahion, and the Mitre, 'with the - . loyal device of '" Fear God and Honour the King." . Under such circumstances, nothing was Inure likely than that Mr. Wright 'shotild antici pate the most advantageous results, in point of character and respectability, from - a connection with .his Gentleman, so announcing himself to public notice. The Le tried Counsel • proceed ed to read an extract from the Works of Mr. Cobbett, of that day, to shew the horror and . con! ehipt Which flie author entertained towards Paine, in which a lively and eloquent deserip. tion was given of that man's situation when doomed to a • dungeon in Pat is, having fallen a .victim to those persons whose violent pas-. sions were turned loose tinder the inflaence of his pen. At this period• Mr. Wright f owed his connection with Mr. Cohbett, Which . cominued until the year 1810, dot big which interval the plaintiff had been his mast oseful and active co iolintnr, in bringing forth the Political Register and the Parliamentary Debates. In 1810 Mr. Cob bett was tried and convicted of a libel published in his Register, with respect to military panish ments. On that ocra , ,ion a negociation was en tered into by Mr. Cobbett with the Government,- for the purpose of arresting the judgment that awaited him, on condition of his discontinuing the publication of his Register. Mr. Wright was his confidential agent upon that occasion, but the negociation having tailed, Mr. Cohbett was sent to Newgate. In consequence of this the Regis.. ter proceeded ; but in the• mean time 'disputes having arisen between Mr. Cobbett and Mr. Wiight;upon matters of .pecuniary claims on the part of the latter, which coded not long after in open hostility, the negociation alluded to having tailed, it was an object with Mr: Cob.. bett, for the preservation of his public popularity, to keep that matter out of view. Mr. Wright was the only depositary of -this secret, except Mr. Reeves, a. gentleman of high character, through whom the application was made to Mr. Percival, then Chancellor of the Exchequer. This circutn-, stance, however, by some means was divulged, and Mr. Cobbett, attributing the connunnication of it to Mr. Wright, published the•libel on the 4th of January, 1817, which was one of the subjects of this action. The libel consisted of a letter, pub lished in The Register, and was occasioned in con sequence of certain observations published in The Times. Newspaper of the day concerning Mr. Cobbett's applied , ion to Govermneut to deprecate the sentenc of the law. That libel, Without n am i ng Mr. Wright,' sufficiently express ed Mr. Cobbet's conviction, that that Gentleman was the channel of the communication, and was expressed itt toms the most injurious to his ch. •••1 racier ; and any person acquainted with the par ties and their connexion must at once come to the conclusion, that Mr. llrtight was the object of the libel. That Gentleman, however, thought the subject then unworthy of legal proceedings, front the obscure mannet in which it was expressed, he being then desirous of withdrawing himself 'troui . public observation. 'l' hos matters rested unlit the year 1818, when a General Election took place for the City of Westminster, for which there wet e several Candidates ; amongst others, the late s. diitingnished ornament - of his country, Sir Sa m ud' Ronolly, Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Kiunaird, and a Gentleman named Hunt. This latter Gen tleman was considered to be a popular Candi date, and certainly, in, one sense, he might be so ,considered, 'inasmuch as• he (Mr. S.) understood that he was a very great favourite among the-old veuitteli ; -and ehildreu, who gene rally formed his audience. It had, for a consi derable time before, been the study' of Mr. Cuba btu, in his vs' icings, to recoil - Intend this Gentle man to the favour and goad opinion of the Citi zens of IVestminster, as a fit and proper Repre sentative of their sense in -Parliament. In short, his object seemed to be to write . Hunt up, as the only man who could properly represent the free and enlig,htetied inhabitants of Westmins ter. On the occasion in question, Mr. Cleary, Who interested himself in the su c cess of Sir