The Sun. — London, England, 1817-09-13 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL JOURNALS. (COOtinitdd frOm olir i'aper of yesterday.) CURSORY REMARKS ITON THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LAST SESSION OF PARLIAMENT. (14d7n. The (Theban) Correspondent qf August 16.) The Se”ret Commit , ee of the House of Lords rave the best ry j rly to Lord Grosvenor's iceusa tion agains't 'the .oinisters. They did not report, thit the disaffection which - existed was the 'off spring of he Ministers' uuwillingicess tr. Reform but they stated, very explicitlv, in their Report, that the e‘idenee laid before them leaves no dtpthr in their minds, Ciat a traitorous Conspiracy bad hcen formed in the Metropolis, tor the pur pose of overthrouing, be cacaos of a general iti sorrect t Est3blishment .G"vvrument 1-4 , "v6, and Constantion c.is Kingdom, and Of effect ing a gene' al ph:infer and .divisihin of properly. If , he or, of the Establishment, Go. vcr , ltliuur. Laws, and Constitution of the King dom, a nd th e effecting of a general plunder, be Betorm—certainly the Ministers deserve but little thaoks for a mere unwillingnss to befriend it. If they were not resolved, at the hazard of their lives, to resist such a 'Reform as this, they were little better than the Reformers themselves, who aimed at bringing about such a desperate inver sion of the entire cointnnuity. NVhatever imper fections may belong to the peculiar condition of British society—Whether the Sovereign possess tiehts of his own, and is not a pensioner dim() to Democracy—whether the House of Commons be such as it was in 1215, according to Mt. Cobbctt, ex , ept that the Members are slot now paid, as they then were, for their lParliamentary attend ance—whether the Sovereign Majesty eau be stow a mark of ;;t ace or favour upon a servant, or, upon another, for a servant's sake—whether we suffer tinder the misfortune of having beaten France, broken down her despotism, and rescued ourselves, our liberties, and 11:e annals of our re nown, from the house of bondage—whether we . have the misfortune to be free, more majorum— alCd great, and powerful, gad renowned, beyond all former examples, that ever flourished in the-tide of times, yet, great as those misfortunes may appear to the philosophic eye,-they do, notwithstanding, appear to a people of vulgar predilections, to be endurable enough ;- anti, in themselves, consider ably to be preferred, to the overthrowing of our Establishment, our Government, our Laws, and our Constitution, and to the licensing of a sys temati. scheme of general plunder The latter is, certainly, at all times, and in all countries, a po pular ohjuct. " General phonier " has something very raptivating in it. It is a north-west passage to property. It involves in it, the punishment of all, those who are hated, only because tiny have something to lose, or so:twilling to doln the pub lic N • rvier ;—and, to hate, implacably- , - , o detest, vigorously—and to execrate, dreadfoll, without a possihiiity of mercy or magnanimity—constitute rite distinpuishing and characteristic badge by which cue of the " general plunder" Patriots may Le, known among a million ;—and it also promises a new order of things, an amusing and an interest ing top-y-turvy-ism in our civil system, v. hich is, in itself,- a delightful relief front the tedium of obeAienee and duty, security and protection—au emu:site release front that li , nlessuess, which is engendered by order, authority, LaW and Govern ment—the grand unisance► of life, when Soci e ty teaches its condition of philosophic maturity. The Mini-ters were corrupt enough to resist those inoocent gratifications of a rerunning age. They were base enoto.;1) to rummage out Itoninons villains and metaplossical robbers, sedate and con templatiie rebels; calculating and most eloquent traiors—tlo-y were profligate enough to meet, With vigilance and vigour in every point, those gracious and" placable Reformers, who were pant- Aic to confer upon them, and 'won all who acted %%id) them, or who thought Ilk , ' them, the itu, mortality which is connected with -martyrdom.— They %sore degenerate enough to disavow all re renounce every d es i re i n f avour o f the li bt•ral scheme of " gencral plunder" - which the Secret Committee of the House of Lords reported 16 have been set WI foot in the Metropolis. They Were such slaves in heart—such oppressors in in clination—such blood-suckers of the public wealth—such desperate enthusiasts in the support of arbitrary power, that they exerted themselves strenuously in opposing, by all the means with in their reach, the conspiracy " formed in the Metn polls," according to the Report of the Scut , Co emit-tee of the Lords, " for the pur pose of overthrowing, by means of a g ene r,l incur CCI , II, the Establishment, Government, Laws. and ConstituiiorF of the kingdom.'7 it is not to be woudeted at, that Mr. Hunt, at tl,e Jubilee lately given at a Tavern in London, in honour of a very narrow escape, &mold pledge himself to impeach one of those Mmisters, woo it so conspicuously guilty of these, anti other enormities, equally criminal. Th e on ly astonishment is, how any man---,alive to the mi series of a country which is doomed to live under its own Cuustitutton, to observe its own Laws, to &ley its lawful Sovereign, to share the super fluities of prosperity, to riot in the very excesses of civil Itherty, and io he , ailtuircd and ievereneed by the its valour in war and its mode ration i,t vietory—could thitik with common pa tience of such Ministers, or of the hirelings, and wrete'.es, Nutt toist restos, who stand up in defence of such aggravated delinquents. No is order that every Juan, !abuse puke heats high in the glorious cause, wh i ch t i, L . Repot t of the beer e t Committee of the Louis affirms to have its resting pl ace in London, .should vow veogeance against such Ali- Divers—the sm.-line. and - minions of kin ancient Consti.o I ; the laborious advocetcs of its trans mission to posterity; the jealous combatants for its preservation and prosperity. No wonder that the Liberal lies; should itn%eirlt agains t them— wen, Who are stainc.l with the spots and blotches of doing 111 e public! bil;iines—the - bCii: Ad of Watch ing ()yet. the public weitare—the infamy of put comliiions upon France, and upo n Buonapartc—t tie I.:ily true and gettoine raw-licad apO-bloody-hones of every philosophic sconudiel, eoio enjoys the pure and exquisite malignity of c‘deolatingfopon the dtstruction of Estas blishment, the Government, Laws, and CConst;ttt tiun ut thisliiTiOont wonder that tacit, so ineofrigible in sti.ch steeped in pre-_ ju:liee favour "Of - the Establishment, the Go vernment, the Constitution - , and the - Law—so lost, anal .t; irrecoverable, to all enlightened ends of Reform', :or of " a general plunder and division of property --should he squibbed, and peppered, and vellicated, and lacerated, in the Liberal Press, while a scribbler can he procured for Jove or money, to be the executioner of their cha racters. Who can be surprised, if corruptions of this sort were to 'ming such disrepute upon the G O . vernment, that even Fria': Hayes wookl not en trost it with goveroing in a poito—though its his (crest and duty concurred to exact a pore and a sttict discharge of its obligations? Really, the Ministers have In-might the country into a very sad quandary, by their onaccountable pertinacity in supporting its Laws and Government against " a traitorous conspiracy," as the Secret Com mittee has declared, " formed in the Metropolis, for the.purpose of overthrowing, by means of a general instnrection, the Establishment, the Go vernment, Laws, and Constitution of this King dom, and of effecting a general plunder and divi sion of property." On this account they have lost all credit. Their system- 7 -which is depraved enough to be the Ad ministration of the Constitution, according, to law, and tile settled policy of the State, as it has worked for ages—is now very properly the object of, professed derision, and of real detestation, with all liberal politicians. Not a Tavern can receive its little groupe of tippling Patriots, but a toast is given to the damnation of the Ministry. Not a refractory spirit, or a wrong-headed blockhead, can oppose himself to the Government, that he is not canonized into a Patriot, by strong licptors of some slot being drank to his health—not a blatant bell-wether C4ll make a noise,.at thy' head of any flock of simpletons, that he is not em balmed in toasts, and preserved in paragrap;is, against rapid oblivion—not a brazen-tai ed pro fessor of public noise and public caloomy,' who is not site to be hidden to the revels of Reform, and the orgies of its abettors,--where he is certain to be bespeeched and bepraised, until even veteran impordence is almost staggered. 1 here is tiothing too mischievoos, nothing too excentric, 01 nothing too absurd, that is not dear and %selcome:to all those who are tired out with seeing the same Go vernment eternally existing, the Same men in power, the Sallie success attending; their measures—the same abominable success in all things—whether against the world's oppressors a b roa d—the pi rate ' s Wonder, or the traitor's scheme. Nobody knows what savage agony all this causes, who is not long matriculated in some 01 the new schools of political philosophy, or who is not furiously in stigated by some of the old incitements—rancid dislikes, adverse principles, inflexible prejudices— all precipitating those whom they atMict into such extremity of antipathy, as to cause a desire for general destruction, rather than that particu lar objects of aversion should possess power or prosperity any loOger.. In the generality of the coteries of splenetic politicians, who • continue disinal carousals as opportunities for speeches and toasts, there are sometimes a few ehangeS fling upon common-places something said upon the dis , ress of the times, die interest of the debt, and the effecs of taxation—as if the times, the debts of the country, and its revenue, were contrivances of the present G,overnment—and then, some individual is sure to be mangled.— F a lsehood and fury seize upon some public man, and glut themselves into a repletion of calumny— and every stupid assertion is pointed with some stroke of paltry scurrility, to make the guests laugh, and to cause them to hate the Government the more. One sontid proposition, relative to the principal cause which really does embarrass the country--the inequality between employment, and the labour which is seeking for employment —is never heard at one of those refractory and turbulent festivals : on the contrary, .it is not once, On fifty occasions of this sort, that any thing is promulgated, in the erojects of returns — which, escapieg restraints, will frequently en large themselves from the mouths of shallow 1111(1 overweening spirits—that bears upon it the slightest author.ty from knowledge or reason, or plain good sense and, it those measures Were to he adopted, which are the most freqttently reCom• mended, by our Lawgivers at Clubs, - and by the Solons of the Tavern, and the Legislators of the Public Mobs—there is nothing which could save the country from confusion and Misery wisest, and the ablest, and the bonestest men that the United Kingdom comprehensively ever produced, could not save it from the most de plorable disorder, if that course of remedies were adopted, which, for the most part, is opposed by the soi-disant friends of Reform, to the measures pursuing by the Government. [To be continued.] LANCASHIRE ASSIZES, Sam Id. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT THE BAR. HODGSON V. SC lELETT. Mr.RtcuAaosos stated this action to he brought by Peter Hodgson, gentleman, for damages on account of words spoken by James Scarlet t, Esq. at the last Spring Assize in this Court. Mr. RAIN-E.—May it please your Lordship, Gentlemen of •the Jury. It often happens to, all of us, owing to professional accident, t►► lie en gaged in actions painful to our feelings. Painful, I can with truth assure you, the pt esent action is to my feelings. Having travelled in - our profes sional walk, with a gentleman of Mr. Scarlett's character fur more than 26 years, I►ayiog known him in private lite for a still longer period, I can not be supposed capable, by any who know me, of hatbouring an unkind sentiment towards him, and still less of giving utterance to such a senti ment, if I could entertain it : but. what I owe to my client, what I owe to the profession .to which 1 belong, what.l owe, I may say. it without. ar rogance, to myself, oblige me to lay before you the groom! of the present action. Peter Hodgson is, and has long been, an eminent attorney in Whitehaven, in the- county of Cumberland, and applies now to you in consequence of the wound given to his plOfessional teputation by Mr. Scar iest's language at this bar. The freedom of speech 'a[ the bar is of the utmost importance. Dut:ng the pres'ent AFSire I hearth with match Pleasure, Mr. Searlett descant 'upon this tonic. I could not help believing that he spoke then in anticipation of this action. This freedom of speech is of the greatest importance, nor only to the dignity of 'the bar, but to the interests of the public, whoSe high anti delicate in tetests are entrusted to the bar. 'Of thlTa freedom none can he a more strenuous and tenacious friend than I. In' importance 'and utility I hold it to be of the saute rank as freedom of iiiicussion in the Commons' Houte 'of Parliament. - I. bare thus made the highest admission favour-of Mr. Scdr ! lett, hot bounds . nest he set to this freedom. of speech—otherwise, from tyre greatest blessing, it hecoines the bitterest curse that 'can infest and annoy society. Thle s sc bounds Were overleaped in this ease. Mr. Saani.aTt, while - addressing the Joty for the defendant in an action in this Court, went out of his way to triiduee and vilify the character of the Attorney for the plaintiff, and to .round his reputation. - I shall not go into the patticulars of that action : they are not upon the record, and his Lordship will tell you that it was not necessary they should. The words charged, and which we .-- shall prove to have been Spoken, are these—" Some ac tions are founded its folly, some, in knavery" (Mr. B. Woon; That is surely true.- . --Mr. Rama, Yes, my Lord, these are certainly truisms, but they are thus connected), " st,me in both ; some actions in the folly and knavery of attortries, and some in the folly and knavery of the parties."— My triem is not aps to drat iu metaphysical abstrac tion ; you know very, well that lie does not use words a i bout application. We .shall not attempt to prove his whole speech. • You know with how little credit a long story is rTeived from witnesses; but we shall prove the words here entered upon rise ecord : l'e'er flAgsou was the attor ney for the pitititiff 5 lie duct the promissory note; trandnieni!y got Beaumont to pay 150/. to the pla n t lir, This w:is the most profligate thing I ever kaew ‘lone by a professional man." '1" hen follows the particular, expression which we have charged i n the second count on the record : it concludes the rmarks already stated to you. The sting is always in the tail. " Mr. Hodgson is a fraudu lent and wicked attorney." Now, Gentlemen, I ask you, if you were wrong in any action brought into this Court, how would you like such abuse of the freedom of speech by a Gentleman holding a high reputation at the bar ? A humbler indivi (Mal, if he had not the spirit and the honour to vindicate his farne from such an attack, would be ruined. My client has the spirit and honour to repel it. t The defendant has joined the general issue, that is, the words are denied; I have a right to presume, indeed I have more than a presumption, that his instructions did not war rant the words, and Mr. Hodgson has taken care to ascertain the fact. In the hurry, agit ation, and irritation 'of the .bar, words may certainly he uttered that are not warranted but a serious impression to tile injury of character and professional career could never be allowed to he made with impunity. What was Mr. Hodgson to do ? He called upon Mt. Scar let to justify or to deity these words ; he would do neither. Mr. Hodgson, therefore, found he must appeal to a jury. The words will be in disputably proved. Mr. Hodgson was distinctly predicated to ae a fraudulent and wicked attorney. The only question then was, Whether he was thus to be traduced with impunity. I mentioned that . the plaintiff lives in a different county. It is gene rally a suspicious circumstance for a plaintiff to come to a Jury of a different county, as it he could nut trust a Jury who knew his- character.— Bot in this case the action was brought here be cause the wrircls charged had been uttered here: and it is rattier advantageous to my learned friend, for if ,there is one place on this circuit in which be is better known than in aoother place, it is the county palatine of Lancaster. As 1 believe this will be the last time I can address you on the sub ject, 1 tou-t say a word of damages. distinctly disclaim for my client that damages are his ob ject. lie only wants the vindication of his in jiired character. You will take care that he sus tain no loss by this vindication. I do-not ask for angry and vindictive damages. I ask no more than justice to my client. Less than justice you will not give. Mr. Baron WooD.—Can you mention any action of- the same kind, or upon what principle it can be maintained ? Mr. MAINE.,—I do not know that any action of the Idiot has ever been brought. Mr. Miro') Woob.—lt appears to me that an action cannot be maintained for words spoken in judicial proceedings. If a Counsel misbehaves, or goes too far, the Judge who presides corrects his misconduct ; but if 'an action is once main tained, there is no end of it. Actions of this kind would perpetually occupy the Court. If a Coun sel were to prise in his pleading. and to s ty such a man is a great rogue, that would be actionable. Mr. RA; . NE.—That is precisely our case. We say the libellous expressions were voluntarily and gratuitously used. Mr. Baron \Voon.—No ; whether a note was fraudulent or not, as I understand the record, for I know nothing ofthe nature of the first action. Mr. tcnA RDS ON .-The privileges of Parlia ment have been alluded to. I don't apprehend that the question here has any resemblance to thens.—(Mr. B. WooD —Why not ?)—Well, be it, that the utmost freedom of speech is allowed ; but to go out of the way to attack charactcr- 7 --- (Mr. B. Woon.—No, it was not.ont of the way; the words might be too severe, but they were connected with the note. It n ould be a dan gerous precedent to receive an action on such a ground )-11 a man's character is injured, it, for instance, a surgeon is injured and onstriteted in his career, there must surely be some remcdy.-- I, like all my brothers, ant interested in the full freedom of the bar, but there must be a he privilege of Parliament is a peculiar species of right that cannot in its very nature be made actionable in Courts of Law. The plain;tpwstion here is, if tilt: Counsel voald with impnuity "go out of his way, and. say, Mr. Hodgson." is a fraudulent and wicked attorney." Mr. Tom NG.—Does your Lordship wish to 3”' any thing on the question ? Mr. 13. Woon.—Yes. Mr. tXTKCt to hear some ob sneerjoaitli.ons l 1 ts oe . : t e yo to li e r Lo lont ,e n 1 -4 1i,iioC 0 r : t not only to toe ear but to the Cliettt. It :etch ai l acti Can ke dl the his cSonitno unsel, at f,ll ;1;1 (eiorty tilvaY_ vigorous ly his taletlt" ,learning, and iodustry to the cause in which is engilgede 'The words in the record ere (.1y _ o v iffi.,.the the continent, which l ''f Honourable and Learned Friend felt at the tithe to be merited. The facts of .the case warrauted. the 'commeut. Mr. Heine very judiciously il? vely ably—l observe lie shales his head, bus will say --(M l i r. IZattee.-1 read every troril.)—e, Alr.. n ai , e s ay, in n n ead not t tenets interruptedrisno r l / 0. .c lr s IUC, i heo.;,coctri heard t i nt, that he showed great peodence end discre7 don in not communieeting the facts and cirettal', stances of the case. The words were s e vere, bti cause my Hon. and Learned Etieud felt seventh to be warranted. They were the comments whicl: the learning and ability of my friend' suggest ' on the facts proved. " Some actions are loutnle cd in folly." That action was so, for it ende r in a non-suit. The whole pa:,sage eves .not specting the character of Mr. Hodgson in getteraq but in this case. If the Counsel are not allot't'edto Collitliellt 011 the f a cts nroved, t here is alt of the British Bat's ; 3 ett ete. , ,ies are -Pi"' l'alYzed lor ever : without those iair hoover," able exertin s which are thus attempted to I ' 4 , suppressed, it will he neither creditable nor use" lid: The expressions .used by my tricot' wcr' coiled for And merited in wy opinion. But it w 36, necessary not only to preve that they were false, but malicious. Good God 1 vsTi it be said LllO we tech any malice against a parts , agaicst who: l4 ' e exert oursclves at this bar ? Will y o ur I,ooi ship be the first ;ledge to•lettvr the Bar • if I may use a coinse and vulgar expre:-si,ill, oblige every Counsel to ailniess a Jury will' r i halter about his neck Toe danger i• and plaitt. Your Lotdshiii out aeo lei a principle to be established hitherto unkuowu Englidi law. berjeunt HuLLoCK.—That this action i• impressiogis is proof of the unattimous n pinioe id" e l whole Prolession against it. 'the Words %v. re 115" in the fair and legitimate exercise of his pr°'' s e ,, sion ; they were too strong pia halts, but were not actionable. It he had met a man ill street and repeated them, it would be a libel. •giving . tt character to a servant ileac could be LI , ground of action.• Sir Jervis Clifton raft " “11“ liable in an action, because he had w tit it raleiter respecting a servant, alto he had given the e" .. racter. There was no vindication 041 record , . be cause the manner and occasion was the two. If this action were maintained, it wow' be the ruin of the British public as well as of a“ : privileges of the Bar. Mr. LITTLeDALE.—The words arose from fair Discussion of the questiOn. if they had be c ' j e used on a question Of trespass, the Case would b- - different. The action is as on a note; the at: was Ira ; it was - lvicktii wist hatA.4leat its an Attorney to act so: Mr. iiodgsoil + . 'ikis 11°15 trauduleot awl wicked Attunlq. '1 he %voles w( . . 1- iiot distinct and independent. I udatit that iV l ' Scarlet t would be li bide it be bad spoke') the ‘vor• in the street, or caused them to he islied newspaper. That hat ve'haewo„ - ield otherwise be i,ber" lons might be said in giving the character of servant was proved iu the case of Weatiest o '' t; ii. Hawkins. Mr. BAINE (in reply).—The words arel -01 '1, The comment was unmerited. Th a t they 3 ", 1 :, malicious, I may say, appears on the face of expressions. I have been twitted twice ; one sile would be enough for not eitiug a case: 't tinctly admitted that 1 knew no,cese. The lion is, whether there are no bounds, and Colo"; , may go any length. If there are, to call my dir t going I : '' "d 11.1 bounds anti limits witicli mtist'be fixer( tZijne sanction this action, of first time, becaus e i t would 10(b)srtonuig:sh,t.bill.ir .) ,,o t : r . not merely to the bar, but to the pablic. 3.1. c itords might overstep the bounds of proori eur i . ' and lie ,100 severe, but they were not to be eI . T I reeled by such au action. It - they had bee° s '" i t i elsewhere, it they, had been publish e d, they Corr '; , be punished. In the privil eges o f P n ailiioe .t - was time same. The principle was this—whate ce : is said inJudicial or Legal P rocee di ngs is not tionable. If published, it i s. Lord was found liableitythe Kiors - Benetion thi• fitP„ ciple, ana was itnin isoned. lie refused on same principle, to m a int a i n au action at Nor t ''' ampton, brought by a Clergyman against a yr rishioner e for lett ers wr i tten to t h e B is h o p of " 16 , Diocese (Peterboro ug h), b ecause h e .oche .make Courts of Law ancillary to Ecciesiesti c° Courts, the P a rishi oner h at i ng A r i g ht to in'" l ' ° such representations to the Bishop. It had be e ; said, some limits mnst he set. His ohjectioft,' this action teas the difficulty of fixing litn it ' , ; During one As',ize, they could do nothing but fr ,• actions brought for words used by Counsel g former Assize. The words might he tote sevcr e ' I cannot say any thing of that.—Plaintiff 11011' suited. Mr. SCARLETT sat with ratich COllll,O5OVe, ordinary place, (luring t;, is warm and interesti°' discussioo. On.Munday last, at Lqngtpril-1-10ttse, Longford, Middle scs Mrs. Edward Oiirbon, of n'son.. On Wt doesday • last, at -Bat tersen, the Lady 0f.3. stable, Esq. of a daughter. . . AIM.1111E1). (3;t'' • Ott the I Ith tilt. at Ci . .ildwall. Ralph Lowe, I:.;q• "f raltar, to Miss haves, of Vti'avertree, near Liverfr,,,,i. ~jesl Ye,terdav, at li . ..tint:ld, G. U. IV:tril, Esq. to Mary, lite e' daughter of the Lite D. \Vilitnn Sawttlees,M.D. ___....-•"" • t" 013 Mon day last, at Orlingbory, in Northam ronshire , 54.11) year Of her uge, Elizabeth Susaona Fredetioh Countess' Wartensiehen, wife of the R e e. Jo n) t 1 1, 7 16 1 ' . 11 ,i , . it -tor of Griii.gliury, and widow of the lat e .fosepl) Esq. formerly his nude!) die '..N.lajesty!s Minister Plec.iir tiary et the Court f On 111 c 10111 July, Anthony Tregent, Esq. late ei mouth, at the advi.theed age of 95 years:and 10 months- DIED, LONDON: Priotrti by J. P. CaIISTAIRS, of No. '2 9 9 I V, Ormond-strect, ndi 1,111,1:gloqi llv SCRIPPS, Of No. 7, Sotit!, 140 ton-street, at T. 11 ,,,,,,er" Otf - ice, No. 119. St:lcm]; WI .I,l,citisPmcbt3/ N ti „ co," '"I o ff 44)t, ct 11 R Nk Al 4, nth ►.4 IVS, 4114 P , o, 125, q. r„, 4 1. r, ekh 3 , ..... • - • , • +' • • p, %. (o ; L; E,;' 1 1 „ r 4 1 1 I E; ,I ( . t . I t141r)(/ !. "I NT dt 1 111 ttf, / 13 the 1 t t r r. I Pr• „ Or th e ( The tei es Ils t i l ton, tb e