The Sun. — London, England, 1803-02-22 00:00:00

so in the time of peace, but also in' the tithe . of war there_ is in the bare proposition.af Assassina. tion at any time, something so disgraceful and base, thAt it is impossible to support it, being con. trary to the whole tenor of the Law, and ropug., nant to the feelings of the peOple of England. —lt would be base and di6graceful to us in time of war ; what then must it be in the time this was written, which was a time of teace ? Why' then there is no question here, between us, except the tendency and intention with which this publi cation was published. It is of no importarce to the issue which yon.have to try, what the Government of France was at the dine of this publication, It is immaterial whethet the libel was direCted against a Monarch sitting on his thrOne, which descended to him from a long line of hereditary 'descent, or A person to whom the poWer felt by the. events of a revolution, from the choice of a country, or from any other cause, it makes no differenee in this issue. " The Chief Consul, Bonaparte, is de filth Chief Magistrate of 'that country, .and by our law he is to be respeaed in like manner as it he had been on the Throne of France, and had taken it by descent, which had flowed for many centuries, and through a great number of generations. Both cases, by our rules of law, are exafily the same. We may be told, that there are many libels in French News papers, some of which are supposed to speak the language of their Government—that 7'k Monde ~r publishes a number of scandalous falsehoods aid abuses upon the dovernment of this Country. To which I say, What have we to do with that ? It they publish libels on us, let ,them take the fate which will attend such labours ; the fault is theirs, which is no example to us. I say, that the publi. cations here stated are offensive to the law, of Eng. land. If there is a feeling in any other country envious of our prosperity, and they think they can answer any purpose by slandering others, let them have the full benefit pf it, but do not let us have the disgrace." The Evidence was then called in support of the Prosecution, which consisted of proving the publi cation of the two Papers at the desire and by the request of the Defendant, Mr. Peltier, by Mr. : Dehofre, against whom an Information is also filed, but he has suffered Judgment to pass by default. Mr. M'INTosH and Mr. FERGUSON, who were Counsel for the Defendant, at first waved the right of calling upon the Prosecutor to read the whole Charge of Libel in the Information, first in the original, which was in French, and then the English translation, as stated upon the Record, but upon refiedion observed, that they.did not in a Case so important, give up any thing that might possibly be of Advantage to their Client, and therefore an Interpreter read the whole Of the original, and then verified an English translation, and'also at,the quest of the Defendant's Counsel, read a. number of extratis out 61/2.4mbizo, which were not included in the Information, which they said was necessary in order to give to the Jury the ..whole context of • the publication. • All the Readings, both French and English, bring concluded, the Case for the, Prosecution . Mr. Mqtrrostt commenced a splendid and elo. quent speech, of which see profess to give no more than a very brief and general outline. He com menced by observing, that he undertook the de. fence of his client surrounded with, difficulties, and called upon to urge topics, which, he feared might be considered of an invidibus nature. .The Defend. ant had thought proper to select him, to defend him from the charge of which he was the °Ned ; and his Trofessional duty neither allowed him to decline the office of his advocate, Still less, after having under.' taken it, to betray the trust reposed in him. The Defendant had a right to expet from him a zealous and ,fearless defence, °flawed by the apprehension of offending those at whose instance the present prose. eution had been instituted. He should avail himself of the privilege which belonged to his ptofeisional charades., to Stint, without reserve, whatever he thought calculated to shield Mr. Peltier from the atm% hand of power which was raised to oppress bim. Were it possible, to silence the voice of the English Jury could not be sitting for the ad: miniatration ofjustice. It was a sausivary in which fear ,never entered the heart of any one except a cri. mini]. He desired the Jury to refit& that the real Prosecutor of this Indietnient was not ,the Attotney General, but a man who was the uncontroled mas. ter of one of tile greatest empires the civilized world ever knew. The Delindant, on the contrary, was a proscribed, helpless, ana defenceless French Roy alist, who, in the month of Angtist Ooz,.had, with many others, been compelled by the - Revolution in France to fly his Country, 'At, the period of that awful emigration, when the Proprietors, Magi strates, and Public Fudtionaries, civil and •ecelesi astical, were driven by the daggers of their country men from their native land, our. shores were filled with unfortunate , inen, women, and children, who hastened to it, as. if they had been flying before an army of barbarians. At length the greater part of those who were saved from the horrors of the sword, were permitted to revisit the spot ss;hich had given_ them birth. fliankful they were, even for the evict privilege of dyingin their native country ; their return was, however, coupled with such conditions of allegiance ro the ruling Power of France, that the Defendant and a few others, actuated by sentiments of loyalty to their legitimate King, thought themselves bound to abstain from accepting the proffered boon. The Learned COUlliel sail, he could not blame the present Government of France forekaaing that allegiance from Emigrants returning to the Country ; 'all 'he desired way, that the. jury would not thin onfa. vourably of his Client, for refusing to avail hitnself of the offer, by acceding to a condition his conici. ence and principles, of loyalty revolted at. No one he was assured, would think the worse of those wretched Emigrants who had been cast on our 4hoce, for persevering with stubborn fidelity to the laWs and government of their forefathers. The an. fortunate Defendant was a Gentleman who had been bred to the study of literature ; when by the misfortunes ()ibis country he was stripped of all, fie. found himself compelled to fly to it as a source N DON : tinted by At she Sti.Oink: [Atka tqc:e • ' " • t . . of eXistenee. tte h i atilsioducefl' vAtiety of works df cc tiiiderable interest -; but, since the conclusion of the peace with the French Republic, he had disco. gaged his attention from those politiCal and serious frodudions which had before occupied his mind, ral had devoted'himSelf to the publication of this trifling and obscure Journal, which had been thought Worthy of being made the subjed of a public pro. seeution. It was a Journal the most inefficacious : far the purpose imputed - to it. It could not be lead, at least but partially, in England,' because it was not written in the English language : it could not be read in France, because the mandate of the Sovereign Power had prohibited its' admission 'into : that Country. It. was a Journal which could have no other possible effect than that of amusing: and con. soling the few companions of the Defendant's exile, by occasional pleasantries on the fadions which di vide France. It was.a Journal remarkable for' one . circumstance alone, and that was, ..it was the only Journal that had dared to speak in favour of die on. fortunate family which, fourteen years ago, was flat. tored by every Writer, and guarded by every Tri., banal. It had been truly stated by the Attorney. General, that the last libel of a similar description prosecuted in this Country was against the unhappy Queen of France, who had been since inhumanly butchered by her subjects. He did not say this for the purpose of questioning the right of His Majet.ty's Mi. nisters to prated the charafters of those who were at the head of the Government of a country in alliance with us, whether it was a government of yesterday, or one which had.existed for a thousand years. He alluded to it merely that the Jury shOuld attend to the case of this helpless exile, the Defendant, whom the stern hand of authority was endeavouring to drive from the last asylum he h:idon earth. Per. haps it was owing.to the 'lenity of His Majesty's Ministers that he still enjoyed that last asylum, and they were entitled to his warmest thanks fur refusing to violate the rights of hospitality at the request of any Foreign Power, however formidable. The De. frudant felt the most fervent gratitude towards the PiotedOr of this Empire, who, amidst the ruin of the surrounding Kingdonts•and Principalities of Eu. rope, had allowed impartial justice to ..be 3tered to him this our ancient sanditary. , The Defendant, conscious of the justice be had to exped from a British Jury, had waved his right 'Of being tried by a• Tribunal, partly . composed of foreigners.. The Learned Counsel said, he considered this as; the . first contest between the greatest Power on earth and the British free press, the only one now remaining.. That it was so, was a melancholy refledion to the friends of human nature. • Till that great earth. quake occasioned by the French Revolution had swallowed up the presses of the Continent, there had, by the indulgence of the larger Powers, existed 'many States in which a free press had been tolerat ' ed. This had been the case in - Holland, Switzer. land, and the free towns. of Germany. Holland and'Switzerland Were'rlo more, and $9 of the Ger. I manic free States had been erased from the map by a dash of the pen. These States he considered as a very interesting part of the ancient system. Great - Britain could not exist without considering their military system, but small States were obliged to devote themselves to indostryand the arts of Peace and they formed a kind of control over the super rior ones,4or no depravity' could so sink any man in his own esteem , as to render him regardless of the . bpiriOn of the : rest eche world. The undisturbed —repose the states'he had 'referred to were suffered to enjoy, had enabled thew to .become models at!- , testing the ciVilizationlcrtivhieh .Chtistian Europe had reached. *Nothing sal much proved the zatinn of the 'Continent at the period he .referredto,. . as the freedom enitryed by the littleAepublic of qe. nod. It had be.en saffeted to lentain!undisturbed and unthreatetied, while surrounded .by myriads- of the armies of. France. All this was mistnpast s and gone. What the new system was to:be wits not for him-to conjedttre, but. 'be was -perfedly, convinced-, that the arbitrary violence of ambitious monarchs', had been checked by the dreadef.the opinion of the impartial evidence formed among the smaller States; • and in which no sooner were any ads of oppression known, than A thousand presses werc,set. to work to communicate them to the ,world. At, present there was not such a thing as a free press 'from Palerrito to Hamburg!). Not one asylum for the liberty of discussion remained—no public voice, the eapres. sion of which could control the despotic attempts of arbitrary tyrants. Happily, however, those presses - were still secure which were proteded by the: British Government, and by the valour of Englishmen. The ancient fabric, raised by our ancestors, .still endured ; though surrounded with ruins, it stood. solid 'and unshaken. He had served, that this was a contest between De. spotic Power and . the Freedom of the Press, and he considered the ,Jory as the advaneed guard, fighting the first battle in the Cause of Liberty. recommended to them to he extremely cau. tious how, in attempting to repreSs a Libel, they violated the freedom of discussion, Which was the best guardian of the State. , The offeri€e of a political Libel difFered from all others in this re. sped, that in , all Oler offences the punishment could alone strike terror into, those who meant to be guilty, but in .this it filled with dismay the limo. cent. It rendered it impossible. to define thebouh dory between History and Libel. It had a tendency • to repress, not only the must innocent actions, but the most meritorious duties a man owed his fel. tow-creatures. .Even in the case of the most unjust and ambitious attempts against the Independance'of the Country, a man would be fearful of taking up his pen,- lest he should overstep the boundary, of discussion, and write what might be construed: as libellous. He next adverted to the relative situa. (ion of this Country and the COotinent, as it had; stood. since the period of the former ,having waived any inierference ,with regard to France. Great Bri. Lain could now have only two objeds to look to, her own national safety and her commercial prosperity. Her national safety depended on her pursuing anini. form course of justice at homes, and interfering tio far. cher in the concerns of foreign countries than was ne cessary to prevent any one froM aggrandizing it s ielf, so as to become dangerous. The commercial prospe. city could only be attained by peace and the labour al) andindustry of die Ptitsite. - Labour anal industry Le considered as the soutrerof - wealth, and wealth as the me,ins of v ILA a floti. ; Under:date -- ,circtrtn), stances he-cciheeived itrobviously. for the hitesestaal, this country, that 'a bold examination into, and the public and free discussion of the; condua of other Powers, 'shpuld be tolerated. It had been said.by an ancient orator, « that no man, ever had been the, enemy of - the Republic, but-he had at the same time been liis enemy." In the :same manner, no man had ever intended ;ought, against the liberties of the great, Republic of Europe, but. as the first step .towards the promotion of hi s design he had direr ed his endeavours against England; justly-con sidered the guardian of the rest of the world. In all cases 'when the Liberties of Europe' bad been endan. gered, England had always been placed in the first of the battle, : Ha then drew the attention of the Jury to the Libel, observing the ATTORN E Y GENE RAL had expressly stated that it was not .his inten tion to attack historical narrative. 'He had said, that the essence of this Offence was, that it was published with the intention of disturbing the peace of the State ; and that it had no reference whatever to histo. rical discussion, Ile had admitted that it was not only necessary to relate fads, but the causes of them, and to explain their view and object. If a Government abroad was to publish a Declaration of war against this Country, couched in the most insolent terms, .any person might republish it as a matter of' historical information, though it should be of a libellous tendency, and he was at liberty also to accompany it with such observations as he might think proper. Such was precisely the principle on which this supposed Libel had been published by Mr. Peltier. His intention was to amuse and instruct his companions in exile, by pointing out to them the effeas of a Yaaion stated to exist in France. The Learned Counsel read the Ode which constituted the firs Libelin the indiament. He next referred to the impunity with which Newspapers were allowed' in translating the most Violent Libels from the. French Journals. A Manifesto had recently' been translated, which related to a subjea lated to excite horror. It charged General Stuart with writing letters for the purpose of procuring • e w l ; y li , ch o had ne w n h e i y e r h cboeuebni s a t s a s i t n s e i d na w ti i o tl n l , ;e n r ( fi l d a y n o a r tio e n ru Waist mutinies without blood Shed—mobs with. out violenee—and revolution without bloodshed ; ---,of promising, to reward him :1 successful, with thatlionOUtahle badge which was reserved only for the most meritorious services. He reviewed many of 'the Circumstances which had occurred • during the progress of the French Revolution, till the assumption of the Government by Bonaparte, in. ferring, that after such scenes of guilt an d a t r o c ity as had been prauised for so long a 'period, it was not likely that the dispoSition and Charaaer of the French People should have become entirely amelio. rated, and consequently that it was very probable, the fattion alluded to in the Ode had existance.. He justified the satirical strain in which it was drawn by reference to the writings of Swift. and Butler. The Learned Counsel afterwards' examined the Libel sup s ' pased to . be conveyed in the par Ody on the. Speech of Lapidus. lie insisted, if it didcontain a Libel, it was direded against Fouche, the Minister of Police of Paris, if it was possible such a man could lie the objei of a Libel. To shew that he could nor, he read the letters of that Minister, ,as se . rted in a Report printed at Paris, ,which mani fested the most sanguinary disposition'. Having concluded his Observations- on the Libels, lie stated' the various exameles to he found in 'the English Hiscory, against the interference of .the Govern." me nt, the request of Foreign 'Powers ; particu. larly, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, with .resped• to the fifty thousandpersons, who took refuge in England' upon the Revocation of the Edit} of Nantes. He also referred to the unrestrained freedom of , the Newspaper disussions, with 'regard to Corsica in rhs reign of Louis XV. the two partitions of Po land, ,and the invasion.' of Switzerland. After the supposition, th a t t hi s co untry h ad be e n at peace with France, at the period of the tyrannical condu(of Itasbespierre, Marat; and CiftritV, he' argued, that had the English Newspapers refrained from speakipg of their proceedings'svith becntningindignation ; the ATTORNEY GENERAL' Would have been one, of the' first to havecensured the disgraceful pusillanimity' of their Editors. Having enlarged upon these aneia variety of other topics, he terminated by expressing • his firth confidence in the JOE . y pronouncing aver. did of acquittal. The ATTOANEY G E NERAL COMpliMCntelr upon the splendid speech he ',had delivereth' 'Had not thegreater :part, of,,it beeh of a general nature, and avoidedaiarticular referenee to the Libel con. tained in the. Indiament, he should have foUnd some difficulty in. replying to 'observations so elo.: quently delivered. • He proceeded to comment' Upon , a few of his point s , conten di ng t h at nothing tic had advanced, in : the least - degree tended to alter the' .proposition with ,which lie had set Clat that: the ,character of, the Libel was of the'most violent:and inflammatorY nature; arid tlire&'tly aimed at the life' of the First Consul. Lord Et.l.Lat anttoOGH shortly addressed the jury. His Lordship cohiplimented the D'eferice.ai one, the most eloquent he had COft heard, bot observed, that it did not appear t o ham remove ATTbableY. GENE r. from that clai m he had made of a Ve i rdia against. the Defendant. , The Jury, af t er consulting a very short time,:pro. nounced the Defendant Guilty. OLD BAILEY. rmn DAY"...NONDA Y ) FEB. 2to THRU capital . convielions occurred this day, namely, that of tinn Windsor, on a charge of error, i. c. feloniously setting fire to a house, of which it appeared She was left in charge, in Rupert -street Christian `fors:, a Dutchman, on a charge of rob. bery ; and Ricktryd ,Eady, for stealing a consider. able quantity of shoes in a dwelling.house, &c. John S'keriff was conviaed of - stealing a consi derable quantity of uncut cork, the property of Messrs. Bridgood and - lirown. Willinrn Chbiley , Was found guilty of stealing . , . 4,: r ttiK poic w , weight , 0 ` ._ loltt .,. tp ... tv i trite -frapc 1 t Y 44 r : \ 1 (1 , 4 7 r, ' ..... , •: . ..,_ ...., i .. f ., :/trilliam Climer was tharged '''ih a 90!Y.1" - !fence, in feloniously stealing. a box, eptit.rinAg ..i. rem articles, valued.pt 21. Vii.' Bd. .the:pr,gsricy. 0C ; John Smith, in the dwelling house of Geeritei:gic.. 'The cair,. generally speaking, was made. out to the satisf4Ction of the jury] bur the point af.value,. as regarding the capiatlpartof the clorge, not I)e.. ing clearly proved, •the verdief was guilty of strk ing tti'the value 01395. .. ' Correa - statement of -the Trial of lofephiem melt at. the Old Bailey, on Saturday la“, for for. gery on the Stciwmarket Bank, in Suffolk. joieph leismett was indicted for , forging a 5 1 . note of the Suffolk and, Essex Bank, and uttering the same, knowing it to be forged. - William Gitlin, printer, Newport-street, saidi that in January last, the Prisoner at the Bar came to him with a note, which was produced in,Court, ancf ordered him to inake'rt- place corresponding to it. The Prisoner said that;-the Bankets of the Sur folk and Essex , Bank were intended to be changed, but presented him with an old note of that Bailie, ordering him to keep that circumstance in view 1C forming the plate. The Priioner called some clay after, and informed him the intention to change the Bankers was laid aside, and requested therefore that the plate might be made exactly corresponding to the old note. This was accordingly dope, and Or plate finished according to his; directions, was d ell. vered to the Prisoner, whopaA 21. 17s. in at"' James Hammond, printer, St. Martin's-lane, de posed,, that the Prisoner came to him, and request ed him to make a hundred impressions from the plate which he prochiced. This he undertook to do, and accordingly cut the paper for the purpose, and sent it along with. the plate-_ to:one Thomas Prausser, whom he was accustomed to employ on such occa sions. The Prisoner called next "morning, and being presented with the notes, found great bolt with the coarseness of the paper, saying it was worth, a damn, and did not in the least resemble Bank paper. He then direded the Witness to a place where he might find proper paper, anti ordered hurt to throw off another hundred from the smile plate. This was accordingly done as before, and the whole of thi notes and the plate were delivered to the Pri soner. Thomas Prausser, engraver, Tun-court, Strand, stated, lie had in January last, thrnwn off I,w 6 lt u i zl4 tired notes of the sex and Suff)lk Jiank t . by " e orders of James Hammond, one impression 1310 thick paper, and the.other,upon thin, B e i ng shewn the plate and notes,. i said -that. hebelievecl-thei were theiame which helad had it r possesion. ,qoa . g., : l49ptpari.to Waliam . P.orter, draper, Cranbourn-alley; Leicester-fielfi L saii l ; lll2 ' on the t7tli of January. the Prisoner came to his 1113:0-, ten's shop, and gave. a 51. note of the sort a!," 1 Essex Bank in 'return for some purchases Whith:r made. He did . not think it nececialy to smirk note, as he had often seen the Prisoner before, bet immediately gave it to his master: ' He 4iiriettaiu as to the perstm of the Prisoner. Porter, said, that on the 17th of January, he rect.:is-ea a'nore of the Sufffi and Essex Bank, which was the y' con ;my ba'; :c , note n: he had 'his possessio the it, along with several notes of the Ba'nl.: lam blid, into the the bank of Mr. D orr i en . Charles Row, Clerk to Me.. Dirstrien,'-swore, that be had entered the , note, And produced th& book ; Thomas:Dick eyson; Clerk to the saitiei I ' 6 , had carried the rare to t h e h ouse o f Me s srs. Boy. ial k and Co. Agents:for the' Essex and . Strfe] k John Low, Clerk to . Mesers, Barclay, stated, t '' - i _ he had received the mate fr o m t h e last witness , !won looking at it, suspeBed .to be forgedt' ur • therefore' marked it inunediately: James Brown, brother to one of the partre" c: • the Bank, whose naine'liad been foegetl,..said , he was perfeetly acquaiiited with the hantl.Aeri ti 3O; of his brother; and upon looking . at the - olit''' ‘l4.* dared his brother's name to bit forged. John Miller, .a BOw-street ()leer, said; tha t 1:: went with George-Brown, one of.the partners al Suffblk and Essex' Bank, ,to the prisoner's 10(301'1 to receive him iri'charge from Mr, Brown; who 19 ,: u _himself apprehended him.— . -Upon searching 'lir" , faint' a key which opened a portmanteau trunk h!#_ longing to the Prisoner, and there he fou nd ali t notes and plate, which: last being A beveri to Messro• Girtto, Hammond, AildPiausser, they all immediate' ly pronounced it to be the same they had seen hc' fore. r „ • • 'The faas were clear, and the jury fuOnit him Guihj. ; • tiv . lie appeared extremely th . .jea:eji and w. l °- • abandoned : to his fate., On his coming to the Bth he wished the, Coot to pet off his trial to IVion ll '9' when he said lie.shoUld have some witnesses to n' t charaaer . in town—and on being told the Cc't' r could not comply with his request, he shod reds took his stand the bar, and scarcely loot=ed li during the ,w hole of his trial. :He .was. exccf,il a well dressed, and had the exterrial'appe#o9 . Gentleman. • MARRIED. Yeitertla!,k, at St, ,iatnesos • h it m• Church ; mr. 14 ' ' of St. •411.trtok's-1441e to NV B tl 11 r 10111. bliss oy e ,o. DM©: mits W ort the tath inst. at Cork', after a very few • 1116°1- (1 - ale' nesi, the Hon. lames To nson , brother to Lord Iti l a r— G.ltt. Last week, :% , Irs. Marriot ' Print-c$ court Store Y 's Westminster. ' ) —...-=-•". r tt IC t YEST 2 ZO:I.4CS. Ittialr,. • India Stock' Inch Bonds Excneq, liil it Fundable ditto preen. 3d Exchequer Dills ail. t)tnnittin Impel. 3 per Cent. 7 0 1 Ditto Ann. !link for opening India for Ace. Cons. lot Feb. 7 114nk Stock Navy s per Ccnt. zeta 5 Per Cent. t 797, to4it I tislts per Cent. 4 ver Cent. Con,, 84 8 ; per Cent. lied.-74 1 k, 3 per Cent. Con. 71 ittto .Scrip hank L. Ann. 20 'll-16i Ditto Short ,Ann. 4i 9- l 6 Ditto Scrip I , BUCHANAN 14 4 M11.1,A1N, id! llow•tirreer, Covent-Garden); and Published by WILLIAM ARMU:1;11. SC:RU.I.j, , k,t Sn irh Moltan•strea, CtmvOnor:quare); E No. lit, Straw/ ; where ifavettisemeutt, Order, for the J'airr, halm for the Editor, &c, (post.taid), must be addte.;seti. A YOUNG PERSON WANTS A PLAL;.! 1 as WET NURSE ; can have; agoodßecommendat7if Dive to M. D. at Mr. Godfrq's, Baker, Ha ric Y -s Cavinitish.square. -