The Sun. — London, England, 1820-04-20 00:00:00

through Ice pure I , fit if Jlic, in' r,ountrY may at• , atom /et! the because wanted MVCVert ul for' culture ertaiu• ave C. Dry ba delude versio" if tite essings e hum• r WO tild r con' lit mei r, 0111 ()Ver .. a t ed *g excite Tal, i° il Subs 6th 0 1 we UV' st Fe' g is so to 3°' the ju st as wore cipic ose a?' ere be' necked. A SSUTOII g MOO I a° )edientt gessio, g in • tlig 3e great irri vett i g b ton dock• thsls 'al eia Te ere rY er trooP 4 )~f.~ Cab a 11 0 ' egenCt a Wa S .01 a t ilenci r in ( ' BRNO/ °rig ,- ARLO :.:ourts t from Paris. ondol ry no. riends reseri'' citt I nn 0. RTAIF 10Y 61 'id Se' :(1 thg —Tfic idoNo , s, Aa tb s It i s ns 1 1(1. All : cow' gaper* oe , t vfa ° nrs6" t,CO O race ' s AO .ol' rTLY , roe , Witt Gorr' ,f the )Ve r ' ov er. , 013 g ,es. cCoo ° SHIP NEWS. PORTSMOUTH, APRIL 19.—Arrived the David Scott, Warrington, from the Downs, for Madras and Bengal. Sailed the Grecian schooner and Camelion gun-brig on a cruise. HARwtctr, APRIL 19.—Sailed the Leicester Packet for Holland, and Lord Nelson packet for Cuxhaven, each with a mail. ti IDDL to.SEX SESSIONS. DESPERATE ASSAULT. A brutal fellow, named Carthy, was yesterday indicted for having committed a violent assault upon his master, - Leake, Esq., of Grosve , nur-place. it appeared from the evidence that Mr. Leake had hired the defendant as coachman 4 days previons to that on tvitich the assault was committed. The defendant had orders to get the carriage in readiness to take his master, and Mrs. Stackpole,' his master's daughter, to Hanover-square, at four o'clock. A rt hour after the time directed, the defendant appeared in the house in a most disgraceful state of driinken- Iness. Determined not to run the hazard 01 losing his own life, nor to put that of his daughter in danger, Mr. Leake ()Meted the coachman from Isis presence ; and, finding that he was intoler ably abusive as well as drunk, shut hint out at the stable door. Soon afterwards the defendant walk ed round to the hall•dnor, and knocked. The Moment the door was opened he fell upon the servants, and beat them most unmercifully. Leake went into the hall to remonstr a te 7ith'him, an d to request that he would leave the —°, u se; but the fellow, without ceremony, attack master furiously, and disfigured him about k i! face Mrs. Stackpole, npOn bearing her fa /ner's voice, ran to the spot where the defendant . 1 , 8 in t h e act o f assau l t i ng hi s m as t er ; b ut arCarthy, instead of desisting at her appearance from further violence, only transferred his blows from her father to herself, and seemed to take greater pleasure in this more cowardly exhibition of his strength and feaocity. He pulled the neck lace and other otnaments from Mrs. Stackpnle's Person. knocked her down, and kicked her in the 4t nnieelt. The lady lies dangerously ill, in con sequence of this ill treatment ; indeed her situa tion is anch, that it may be found necessary to Proceed against him capitally. The Jury found M'Carthy The ekiPaRNIAN advised Mr. Andrews to impress upon Mr. Leslie the necessity of prosecuting the defendant for the assault upon Mrs. Stackpole, its the e v ent o f t h e recovery o f t h a t L a dy, and said that the punishment, upon conviction, should be St lesson to M'Carthy for life. Leake said that no human power should Prevent it. The CHAIRMAN then told the defendant, that he Should abstain from making any comment upon his conduct until the indictment for the assault Mrs. Stackpole should be before the Court. in the mean time he sentenced the coachman for the assault upon Mr. Leake to imprisonment for two months, and to find security for his good be hg.siour to'wards that Gentleman foe. 12 months. SPORIiNu IN 1 ELLIubNCE. .. NEWMARKET FIRST SPRING MEETING, 1820. WEDNESDAY. APRIL Charlton's Mr. Fox's Paella, Bst. 41b. beat Mr. Charlton's Shamrock, ast. 71b. D.M. loors.-6 to 5 ast Mr. Vansittart's Slim, Bst. lolb. beat Mr. Milnes's Morti mer, Bst. T.Y.C. 200 gs, h. tt.-5 to 4 oil Slim. fifty Pounds by Subscription for three-yr-olds,•7st. sib. four, Bst. 1111 s. five, 9st. 41b. B.C. Ir. Wyndham's b. e. by Whalebon e , dam by Young Wood- I „pecker, 3 yrs of Cirafton's b. f. Jingle, 3 yrs Mfr. Powell's b. c. by Orvile, dam by Skyscraper, 3 yrs 3 6 to 4 agst Whalebone c. AT CONSTANTINOPLE.—A letter from Con. stantittople, dated February the 18, says :—" We hate had at Pera a fire on the 30th of January, U. eleven o'clock at night. All the Foreign D itlinisters mune to the French Palace, which was thly saved by the extreme vigilance of the Ilustquess Riviere, and the O ffi cers of the , r ench Embassy. The firs engines of the ()reign Minister, and those of the Turks, did 4t ict service. During the confusion, the Mar chioness de Riviere, with the greatest courage, took care of her children, and the most precious t i veables, as we ll as t h e persons i n j ure d , 1 ' saved at th e F renc h P a l ace . F our h ouses he chnlting to a French family, two houses of the Ca /14e,hins, on the ground of the French Palace . , Part of the house of the Brothers of the • 1 Y Land ; the magaz i nes o f o il, sp i cer i es, Provisio ns , and 200 houses, have become a 14.e Y to the flames. The loss is estimated at eight ten millions." A d etachment of three hundred men from the Ist Regiment, was suddenly marched from.Liver t"l for M anchester on Wednesday morning, te 12 th insta n t, i n consequence o f an express ihich had arriv e d a t f our o ' c l oc k t h at morn i ng . t ' l l 'eY Were repl ace d by t h e same num b er t ram k . )e ster, brin g a d etac h ment o f t h e same t ig 4 tuent. Th ose who were or d ered for Man t' l er, we b e li eve , a f terwar d s procoetled to the ...,lehbo ur h ood of Huddersfield.— (Liverpool Ad .) 1-I " B 3TT 0-- -On Sunday se'ennight, William viewart blacksmith, Dunlop, Scotland, found, walking on the road betwixt Kilbirnie the Largs, a pocket-book. He deferred open utlg it till he arrived at R o th sa y, w h ere hi s fo wl" lesided, an d i n hi s presence opene d t h e b ook, ijelt was f oun d to contain 2001 . in b ank notes " bills. ,The lad immediately returned to the 4 lts, and app li ed to the parish Minister, who 'rected him to the h ouse o f t h e owner w h o re ,,,rdetl him handsom e ly f or hi s i ntegr i t y. t.. LXS CUTION AT YONK.—Joshua Clayton, who was 4"t9vieted of ha v i ng uttered certain forged b ills, S ainucl King, fo r hi g h way - ro bb ery, un d er - It the awful sentence of the law, on Saturday laS 1 4 ..1 behind the Castle at York. There was a im rt concoorse of spectators present. The mi ilr:ole men spent a soort time on the scaffidd in diller, and were then launched into eternity.— "' 8 01 , 80 1* (if Cl a y ton, also capitally convicted, has r eqed by th e J u d ge, and it is thought will intevedm CHESTER ASSIZES, APRIL 18. SEDITION. THR KING V. JoSRPH HARRISnIst. In this case it appeared the Jury were sworn before lie was aware of it, arid on Mr. ATTORNEY GEN RRAL'S admitting the defendant's right to challenge them, if he thought proper, they were re-sworn with his consent. Mr. MANLEY opened the pleadings by stating the indictment, which generally charged the de fendant with having used at Stockport. on the 15th Aug. cer sin seditious expressions tending to excite the liege subjects of the King to insnr rection, and to bring the Government of the country, as by law established, into laatred and contempt. Mr. BENYON (Attorney-General for Chester) — Gentlemen of the Jury, my address to you on this occasion shall be very short. The defendant, Joseph Harrison, is described in the indictment us a schoolmaster, as you will have perceived from the indictment read by toy Learned Friend, charged with using seditious expressions, calcu lated, from their nature, to bring the Government and Authorities of the country into hatred and contempt. Besides this, the defendant is charged with endravouring to excite the liege subjects of hi s M..jesty to insurrection and rebellion. Gen tlemen, I charge the defendant with uttering se ditious words to work these wicked purposes; and if I am instructed aright, they were made use of at Stockport, within a few miles of the town of Manchester, on the evening preceding that day which had since, .on many accounts, become so remarkable. To this celebrated day I shall not now further allude. The Magistrates of Man• chestlo., however, hearing, no matter by what means, that a meeting was advertised to be held at Stockport on the evening of the 15th of Aug., being alto aware of that intended to be held iii that town on the next day, felt naturally some suspicion of their being connected, and they there fore sent the person who was their Secretary to bear and report to them what passed. Mr. Cow per, the Gentleman sett upon the mission, at tended the Windmill Union Room, in which the defendant uttered toe seditious words of which I complain, and intend them from a pulpit ; I know not if his sermon on that occasion had much of religion in it, it certainly h td some politics mixed up with plenty of sedition Cowper then took notes to refresh his memory as to what was said, and he will tell you what has passed, which is pretty nearly as have been already read to you from the indictment. One or two other persons also attended that meeting, who did not take notes of what they heard, but who can still repeat to you the substances of some passages, which will mainly tend to corroborate the testimony of Cow per. It I first prove the uttering of seditious language, that will become the first ,subject for your consideration. It will be for you, as to the proof, to attach what credit you please to the me mory or the veracity of that witness. And having disposed of this, it will be next for you to consi der whether the intentions charged are contained in the import of the words used, and for my part, I venture to say, I never heard of more sedition in so small a compass of expressions. Gentlemen, on. this occasion I shall trespass on you no fur ther; I shall call evidence to prove the uttering of certain words ; you are to determine their meaning, and upon the evidence, I call upon you to pronounce your verdict. Mantle Cooper, examined by Mr. MANLEy— lam a public accountant at Manchester. I went on Sunday, 15th August, to attend a lecture, ad vertised to be holden at the Union Windmill Rooms, Stockport, on that day. It was, perhaps, six o'clock in the afternoon when I went there; Mr. Harrison was preaching to a large concourse the room ; b e f ore I cou ld ge t of persons then in into the room his discourse had commenced ; Mr. Harrison was in a pulpit nea r ly f ac i ng t h e d oor the discourse continued nearly half an hour, it might occupy three quarters ; w h en I l e f t t h e room I took notes of what I heard. By the COURT — There might have been a thousand people there, and from t h e b eat many were obliged to come out ; I saw one female fainting. Examination resumed—l went on purpose to take notes, and within a quarter of an hour of terwsrds took minutes of what I heard ; the first time I heard him lecture, was to live soberly; under that head he called upon his hearers to ab stain from the use o: tea, spirits, tobacco, and other excisable articles ; that was the only sure way of cHosiog the Reform which they sought for; " The Government have starved the people, and therefore it is fit the people should starve the Government ;" that terminated the one head of living soberly. The next and the last head on which he lectured, was to live righteously ; he said the word righteous applied as well to the rich as to the poor—to the governors as well as to the governed ; he then proceeded to state the Constitution of the Country consisted of King, Lords, and Commons ; he added it was necessary for all those estates to make laws, which could not be altered hut by the same consent ; that the Commons House was the House of Assembly of the People, where their rights ought to be.pro tected. When the People asked for their rights, they threatened to make war upon them (the peo ple). Can, he added, laws proeeeding from such a source he considered the laws of the land, or is it fit he should obey them ? This was on the 15th August. I was at Manchester next day, where there were assembled at least one hundred thou sand persons. Examined by Harrison—Nly name is Cowper ; I was a witness on Mr. Hunt's trial at York. Harrison—Did you there acknowledge you rob bed your master 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL—I object to that. Witness—l should wish to answer it. The COURT—If you wish it, it is better to do so. Witness—The person alludes to a time when 1 was only 15 years old; I was then in the service of llaws and Fry, at Bolton ; in that service I applied a sum of money to my own use Pr hich be longed to my employers ; that money I repaid ow of the first 1 could command, with compound in• tetest, to the period when I paid them ; that, my Lord, is the Circuthstanee be allotles ; subsequently kept one situation nine years, till I commenced business for myself. ' By the Coukt - i'l am nuts in business for my self as a public accountant. By Harrison—l was at the Windmill Room ; saw -no advertisement, hut the Magis rates who sent Me, cold me there was one ; I was never there before or since; never heaed defendant preach at any other time ; I do not know the text ; the sermon commenced before I entered ; detendant might have said he preferred a Monarchy to a Republic ; I do not recollect Isis saying he would die by the Constitution ; I recollect hearing the defendant dwell upon the evils of drunkenness. Shaw, examined by the ATTORNEY GENERAL—I was at the Windmill Room when Harrison preached, the eveniog before the Man chester Meeting ; he said he was very happy his townsmen had refrained from drinking ; by so do i'ng they would starve the system that had s o l ong starved them ; he said they would have a dark valley to go through-- By the COURT—Vtlas it they or you ? Witness—To the best of my recollection it was " you ;" the thunders svill roll over your heads, and lightnings flash in your faces. He said Eng land had been tie paradise- of Europe, and lie hoped it would be the paradise of Europe again, and that it was a corrupt Government. lie did not mention any particular one, but my under standing was, it applied to England. I did not hear any thing more ; I was obliged to come out, the pl see was so hot and crowded. Examined by Harrison-1 am sure defendant said, " Starve the system that had starved Them ;" I am a labourer, in different employments, in a factory and a foundry ; my last employment WAS night watching; I was employed by the Ma gistrates to attend the lVindmill Hoorn ; I ant a discharged soldier with a pension ; I never fought at 'Malta ; I have lodged at Chester, at the Split Crow, for one 'night, and ever since at No. 2, in Chapman-buildings; I chiefly spent my evenings at the Split Crow ; I do not recollect saying cold(' clear 1.55. a day, exclusive of my expenses, by this job ; either drunk or sober I never recol lect saying so; 1 gave notice of what I heard on the 1 (idi of August (Monday) to the Magistrates; I do not recollect the text ; I was in but a very short time. George Henning examined by Mr. MANLEv—I attended the Windmill-room at the Lecture on the 15th of August ; I attended by order of the Magistrates ; when I went in, I heard him (de fendant) saying, " be was happy that his towns men had refrained from drinking. And if they would stick to that system, they would starve that which starved them. They' had a dark valley to go through, and thunder might roll over their head and lightning flash in their face ; and if they would stick to that they would gain their point•." 1 went with Shaw ; I did not know Mr. Cowper was there. Examined by Hariison—l am a labourer, the same as any one would employ me to do Cirming work ; 1 have been a soldier in the artillery ; I have keen at Malta, but never fought there,. nor ever leaped into a draw well to avoid the enemy; 1 said all I have to say ; 1 did not say Harrison was like to take any harm from this trial, nor that it might make a little fun in this Conn ; I do not recollect where I was on the 7th of Anwar ; on the Bth in the morning 1 cannot say I was at Ashton ;1 won't swear I was not drilling the Ra dicals at Ashton Moss on that morning ; I have been a special constable ; I never was so long as nine weeks behind with my pay. Re-examined by Mr. MANLEY—I was not drill ing the Radicals to my know:edge. By Harrison—Nor on the 15th, I do swear I did not &ill the Radicals. Here the case for the prosecution closed, when HARRISON immediately commenced his defence, as follows :—I stand before you, Gentlemen, in different circumstances' to wl►at I did the other day. The present indictment is more credible than that, but still tends rather to perplex and confuse one not accustomed to the law, deficient as I think it is, its not specifying whether the words were spoken in my own house, or as a sermon, or as a private conversation. I was not conscious of uttering the' language im puted to me, but it I did, it was with a very dif ferent intention to that as charged against me in the indictment. I cannot admit it, but if I did, Ido not still think it wbe seditious. Any thing by the Common Law may be construed into sedi tion, nor do I think I could read three chapters of my Bible, without having what 1 read so con strued. Lawyers can with ease twist and turn phrases and sentences, and give that meant in in nocence and simplicity, a very different turn. I could not employ a lawyer, for the want of means, and I would have engaged a Solicitor to, prepare a brief, and otherwise assist me; but they have stated, if they acted for the Reformers they would lose business elsewhere. Hence lam obliged to become my own lawyer and attorney, unless their Lordships will assist.tne, according to the merciful 'principle of the law, which makes them a Counsel for the defendant, or the prisoner, as I may now call myself. It it be no longer safe, Gentlemen, to preach the Gospel, with such comments upon it as its text requires, why then I say the good old days of England are gone; aye, Gentlemen, are fled for ever ; and as long as people can be found who go about picking up what a preacher says for a fortnight's good living at the Assizes, or bringing a little money to their families, no man can give his sentiments with security in his own house, or in his pulpit. My late verdict, Gentlemen, may prejudice me somewhat in your minds ; but still I cannot blame the Attorney- General, who only performed the duty imposed upon him by his employers. He did his work well, Gentlemen, nor can I blame the Learned Judge who went hard -against us, but be has been obliged to serve his employers. Chief Justice WARREN.---I may be liable to err, but what I said I telt. I have no employers ; shall give you every latitude in your defence, but I beg of you to keep that within the bot►ods of decency and moderation. The motives of a Judge must nut thus be falsely stated. Whatever I may have said. I said because I feel it. take the hint, my Lord, and what I said, I did say, as well as your Lor , tstiip, because 1 thought it, We'll pan ou. Geode. men, however goad the laws of England may be, we want the power of using them. There may be bad laws ; but it there be, they are void, accord ing to the docti in, of Lord Coke. All 1 ws must not be considered good because made by Kings and GovelilMents ; for you ail yeeollect that Empson and Dudley were banged with.sheir Bills of Indemnity about their necks. A person.preach ing from Sabbath to Sabbath, three titaies a day, gives room to men who, for a few pence, will carry on any Wicked trades ; and if we are to be indicted every time we. preach, better not do so at all. • I now, take up my Bible—[Here be opened . the Bible e and having read a ,t4,etg extract] ask, how could I illu s tr a te therith safety ; how speak of the wickedness of the nation at large, and allude .to the high and low. Why one would he indicted for sedition and placed at the Bsr, it he had spoken the extract I have read to you. Suppose we turn to the fifth chapter of Jeremiah, iv here the Prophet complains of the means by .which." people prosper, and ;he right of the needy they do not judge. Shall tiot my soul be avenged on a nation like this ?" flow am I to avoid taking a text like this, end if not allowed free inquiry, if me longer' allowed any discussion of the truth as it is in Jesus, why' are not these texts taken out, and the Al misters of the Gospel told whet texts they shall.discuss, and whet they shall nor ? In the twenty-second chapter of Ezekiel there is much that is seditious. The detendatit here read the 25th sod following verses. There is sedition for you, Getelemeo ! Again, in the 3il chapter of Ames, 9th verse, it might be field one was calling on the people to excite insurrec tion. Why a man paid for taking advantage of another man's expressions, might tortere the ex tracts I have died into sedition, so that , Gentle men, even out of the Bible yeti see sedition might he charged against me. Again in the 3,1 chanter of Micah, the heads ofthe-.house of Jacol, are charged with judging for reward ; the priests or teaching for gain ; and yet they say, is not the Lord among us, no evil can come to us. To say such things now, however, %%emit! be held in rite Court, called a COW t of Jostiee, as likely to bring the Government into contempt. Again, in the 7th chapter of we fiml it said, the Prince asked) and the Judge asketh for a reward, !lie best of them is but a brier; trust ye not in friends, keep the doors of thy mouth) from her that lietii in thy bosom. A mart's enemies are the judges of his deeds. Yes, Gentlemen, when I sit in darkness or in a solitary cell, the law s!iail be light to me. Again in 3d chap. 1. and tew suc ceeding verses of 7sephaties, we fiad it sail, of the Princes of Jerusalem, that they are " loaning lions;" her Jittlges are evening wolves ; her ore.. phets light and treacherous ; and tha , her pries , e have dmie violence to the laws." To close he cpiotations from the Holy Book, I shall bring you, Gentlemen, to the 31 chapter of Malachi, and Upon its perusal I will only say, that hail this language., Gentlemen, been my_own, it would, beyond a doubt, have been coustrued to be sedi tiouet, Ido not say passages in Scripture should be affplied deceitfully ; far be it from me to apply them in any wrong manner. I acknow ledge that Mioistets of the. Gosliel ought not to engage in angry politics ; but I ask, Gentlemen, if you please, what is meant by the words "..angry politics it" I have been always against them ; I never recommended any rash or illegal acts in po litics ; my public career as a Reformer was, in deed, by wishing first to prevent the spread of in fidelity. It grieved tne to the very heart, though 1 had long been at the side of liberty, to find these principles widely spread amongst the Re formers. 1 must tell you, Gentlemen, my father is a Whig, a minister of the Gospel, and from - the Whigs 1 learnt my politics. I have, Gentlemen, a volume, written by the Rev. Robert Hall, its favour of general liberty; . but as there is another indictment against me, I shall reserve this for the other occasion. When I came to Stockport, I determined to lift up my feeble voice iu defence of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and let who would dispute angrily with me, I made many enemies in proving the truth of that Gospel, which its }gainsayers could not deny. Another object in my view was,' by any infloeace I eoold exert, (though poor myself), to do all I ceold the relief of the people ; but, as Moore's Almoratek for this year says, " A man's charity is mew matte his crime." In my disposition to do good, Idm generally styled die notorious Harrison. I fur ther, Gentlemen, becaMe a Reformer to induce our Rulers to redress our grievances, aed put things on a better foundation than they were ; I thought if we had a Reform that this would fol low. On this ground, and for these motives, I have acted as 1 have done; and I an) willing to stand or fall by these motives. If I have of fended the law, let the law punish me ; if I have acted according to the, rights banded clown by our forefathers, I can lay claim to an acquittal. It is bard, in these enlightened clays, that there, should be more severity than in darker times. 1. believe there is a law of Queen Anne, which, pre vented 'indictments for words uttered, and. another in the last reign, by which, unless information of seditious words was given in. tour days after they were used, no charge could ensue upon them. But it now appears we must not find fault, we must not complain, we must not say any thing in poise of th o s e above us, either good or bad. It we speak well of then), it will be said we meant it as derision ; i 1 bad, of course we are punished. And if this should still prevail, our. mouths must be locked up, and all this is to be sanctioned. by a British Jury ! Surely they have a higher value for their rights.- Surely, Gentlemen, you can. not sell yourselves to work such wickedness ?- 2 - The first witness brought against me to-day stated he did not beer the text nor the com mencement of the subject on which I spoke but be picked up a few words, which, by twisting, he thought might answer the ends of his employers ; lie took no notes at the time, budge says that he wrote at the Buckley Arrne what he heard in the room—the defendant recom mended the people to abstain from using excisa ble articles, as 'that was the only sure way to starve the Government who starved them. Why, Gentlemen, I never recollect using such language. iii praising the people for their abstinence (too many of whom spent their money in the public house), I uiay.have said. ecteacthing about *terve-