The Express.
London, England, 1848-05-22 00:00:00

STATE. TRIALS.

CHARGE OF MR. BARON LEFROY IN THE
CASEOF MR. MITCHEL
DUBLIN, MAY 20.
The commission opened this morning in Green-
street. The judges are Baron Lefroy and Judge
Moore. A strong body of horse and foot police were
stationed in and around the court, and in all the sur-
rounding avenues, while chains were drawn across
the street and numerously guarded to prevent the in-
trusion of the multitude. I reached the vicinity of
Newgate about II o'clock, and found a singular tran-
quillity. There were not one hundred persons in the
I neighbourhood of the court, and nothing indicated en-
thusiasm or even common excitement. 'I ho bills
having in the meanwhile been prepared, the learned
baron proceeded to charge the grand jury at S o'clock.
He said :

II sin now in a position to address you on a case which was
not ripe for your consideration. The cue as on the face of
r the calendar assumed an ambiguous 'hope—the cue was de-
, scribed on the calendar es "John Mitchel, charged with
I publishing a seditious libel." That might be a miedemeanour
or a felony. We now know that it is charged as a felony
. under the late act. His lordship then addressed himself to
explain to the jury the principles of the late act and their ap-
plication to the facts. The case they had now to try was so
, cleany deified in the late act as to leave them no difficulty
in deciding on the bill before them. It was quite differeat
from the difficult and embarrassing question of a seditious
libel. The act in °melon was passed on the 22nd April in
the present year. His lordship then read the third section of
the act, which, after referring to two other acts which were
heretofore in operation, went on to describe as felonies the
compassing or intending the deposing her Majesty from her
royal style and dignity, or to bring war upon her so as to
compel her by force to change her councils or advisers.
Here his lordship quoted the third section of the act, and
proceeded. The indictment wan framed upon the first pro.
vision of the act, that, namely, which intended the compass-
ing and imagining depriving her Majesty of her royal name
and dignity, and also to compel her Majesty by force to
change her counsels and her ministers and measures. The
made in which expression is charged u having
been given to those intents are certain publica-
tions in the United Irishman newspaper. There was also a
count charging that before and after the 6th dos of May, the
first publication charged, and subsequent to the passing of
the act charging, that these intents were urged in other pub-
lications before and after. He would observe that the pro-
visions of the present act were to be found in other acts,
but different: in matter, and in the punishment in-
tended for them. In England, at least, they were high
treason, and punishable with death. His lordship referred
to tho 37th Geo. 111., the provisions of which were trans-
pond to this act, but which was never enacted in Ireland. In
1817 that act was made perpetual by thes7th Geo. 111., but as
the former did not apply to Ireland a doubt arose whether
the act included Ireland. The present act, howeeer, there
was no doubt applied to Ireland, extending those provisions
to this country, but as a felony and not high treason. There
was not, therefore, anything new or harsh in this act; on
the contrary, the provisions of the law materially mttigatecl,
and there was, therefore, not the slightest ground for any
charge of novelty or harshness. They would observe the
act did not require that the intents charged should be car-
ried into effect, bat only that there should be such a mani-
festation of those intents as the act required. Not that any
party should be in danger of conviction in the dark,
but that they should be manifested by writings or by acts,
leaving no doubt that the party accused entertained the
purposes and intents contemplated by the act. The in-
dictment, hie lordship continued, having charged the
intents contemplated in the act, proceeded to charge the
prisoner with having published speeches made by himself,
openly avowing that he did contemplate, by force, depriving
her Majeety of -her royal dienity, and of levying war against
her. They would have to be satisfied, first, that the accused
had those publications brought home to him, and,
secondly, that he had left no doubt by his language that
he had the put-pores and intents contemplated
by the act. They would have to read over the several pub-
lication. brought home to the prisoner, and then to be satis-
fied whether they contemplated to deprive the Queen of her
right and dignity to the kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
land. His lordship, as illustrating the poin's to which they
would have to direct their investigation, called their atten-
tion to a passage from one of Mr. Mitchel's letters, in which
he concluded by stating that he contemplated " an Irish re-
public.. one and indivisible." Before repeal meant net any ,
disturbance of her Majesty's dignity—now repeal was to
mean a republic. If they could entertain any doubt that the
establishment of a republic was compatible with
her Majesty's retention of her dignity of Queen of this em-
pire than they would, of course, hesitate to say that the
prisoner contemplated to deprive her Majesty of her dignity
of Queen of Ireland. He had not time to look through the
voluminous publications, but in the next sentence he found
these words, " And how are we to meet that day f—in arms,
my countrymen, in arms," If they found any expressions
in those writings to qualify that language, they would give
the prisoner the benefit of it ; but if not, then he apprehended :
there could be no question as to the intentions of the writer.
The 'text point to which they would have to turn their
attention to was the charge of levying war upon her Ma-
jesty to cause her to change her measures. It was not
necessary that this should be done by an army re-
gulary equipped and officered, but u Sir Michael
Poster, the most humane judge that ever presided on the
English bench said, it was the contemplation of levying war
whether or not it were carried into operation. His
lordship read • long passage from Sir Michael Foster 's
works to the above effect. Therefore, if they should find in '
the publications now charged any passages counselling, or ad-
vising, or contemplating any rising up and forcing the
Queen to change her measures, then they came under the
operation of the act. It was not necessary to contemplate
that an army should be marched to London ; bet if an in-
Junction or rebellion was contemplated, so that under I

the force and proms of them twos the sub—
jects of her Majesty, so as to make her in pity
to their pain and sufferings to change her measures ; or if it
was contemplated that large bodies should arm, then it
would be for them to say whether it was not intended " by
levying" war to compass that her Majesty should by form
change bey measures and counsel.. It would also
be • subject for their omaideration whether or not
he had in those publications not only counselled and
contemplated levying war, but had not also advised how it
I might he done. The summary of what be had said was,
that the publications should be brought home to the pri-
soner. Nest, that they should be of such a nature as to
bear out the intents and purposes contemplated by the act,
the wise and merciful latent of which was to arrest treason
before it ripened into all its awful and mischievous effects.
And in this light, so far from an act of severity, it was one
of mildness and wisdom. His lordship having repeated his
view of the operation of the act, and stated that it was much
better that the man who counselled treason should be ar-
rested and punished before he involved other., in his guilt,
than that the country should be involved in blood through
his counsels, concluded by leaving the question to the grand
jury.
It being now 6 o'clock the grand jury were allowed
to separate until 11 o'clock on Monday morning, when
the bills in the above case will be submitted to them.
The court then adjourned.
It is understood that the crown will apply to fix
Thursday next specially for the trial of Mr. Mitchel,
who still holds by his determination to defend him-
self.

The intended procession of the clubs on last night
was prevented. Early yesterday the police commis-
sioners issued a prohibitory notice, cautioning all per-
sons against " assembling and marching through the
street', obstructing the thoroughfares, and shouting
in a disorderly manner." About six o'clock last even-
ing a strong corps of infantry was marched into the
College•square, together with a division of the city
police, who were stationed in the Park.
The Council of the Confederation having bad notice
of the intention of the authorities to disperse the pro-
cession, issued a circular of postponement at 5 o'clock.
The people, however, crowded to D'Olier-street at
night-fall, andlormed a dense mass on Carlisle-bridge,
and the northern end of Westmoreland-street.

At nine o'clock the police marched out in great
strength and drew up at both ends of D'Olier-street,
in which the Confederation-rooms and the Nation
office are situated. They formed in double lines across
each extremity of the street, and suffered no one to
pass, while patrols of horse-police moved back-
wards and forwards, amid tremendous hooting from
the idle and disappointed folk who came to witness
the " silent demonstration." The temper of the police
infantry was much less steady than that of the horse,
for a shout from the multitude was sure to
be followed by a charge from the police, who made
numerous prisoners, about 50 in all, and lodged them
in College-street office. On the charge being entered
they were let out on their own bail to appear to day.
At eleven o'clock the crowds had dispersed, and
the police returned to their stations.
Dr. Hurtle, it is reported, will be the probable suc-
cessor to the late Bishop of Cork.
Nine o'clock, p.m.—The city continues perfectly
peaceful, and there is no apprehension of a renewal of
the scenes of last night. Several of the parties ar-
rested by the police in D'Olier•street were set free, the
charges being dismissed; in some cases, however, per-
sons were bound to keep the peace.
In the United Irishman, Mr. Devin Reilly winds
up by declaring for a republic. and threatens that, in
the event of a jury being hardy enough to convict
Mr. Mitchell, 50,000 armed men shall release him
from the felon's cell. Here are the words :

Last November there was growing in Ireland (says one of
Lord Clarendon's statists) ample food for 20,000,000 of
men—for two and one ha..l times our population—and now
that is gone; but one poor half of us have one meal per
diem, and thousands on thousands not even that. Yee, to
live at all we must live in freedom ; and there is but one
shape freedom can take amongst us—a republic. To that
wo are all hastening under the one impulse of national
latelreservation—some blindfolded, some stuttering inarticu-
y,
some bombastically enough, tome even wrestling
hard with the power which drives them on—but all to that,
my friends, however little they know it. And into that glo-
rious type of national power John Mitchell shall walk a free
man from his gaol. If by a jury of his countrymen, then
so much the better; he shall have proved the truth on
which he started, that English rule here is unreality—a vile,
horrid dream—a mere goblin of the sense—to which we too
long stupidly shrank submissive, thinking it " government,"
and its airy mumblings " law ; " which needed but that
one man should spit upon, and laugh at, to exorcise it for
ever. And if not by a jury, then by the verdict of some
thousands of armed citisens, ready to back the defiance he
will burl from the felon's dock—and by fif les of thousands
throughout the land, wherever want has been, and tyranny.
Never ,—oh ! never again—shall the faults of '9B bring
down the just hand of an avenging God, in reigns of terror
and tyranny, and famines, upon a people ungrateful—upon
men so bewildered or depraved, as not to know that " to be
brave is to be truly wise."
The subjoined resolutions emanated from a full
meeting of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, held this
week in the city of Armagh :
That we consider the legislative anion between England
and Ireland as essential to the security and welfare of the
Blush empire and the maintenance of the Protestant insti.
tutions of this country; and are therefore determined to re-
sist to the utmost every attempt which may be made to effect
its repeal, as, in our opinion, such attemp.s virtually involve
• treasonable design to separate the two countries and esta-
blish a popish ascendancy.
That, as the strong and well-founded feeling Of insecu-
rity as to life and property, and civil and religious privileges
which exists amongst the Protestants of Ireland, has in-
duced a general desire fir a closer union among themselves,
and, as the Orange institution has been long endear, d by
historical recollection to a large portion of our Protestant
population, we, the grand officers of the Grand Lodge of
Ireland, having reconstructed the Orange Society upon a
strictly loyal basis, in reliance on the blessing of Almighty
God, confidently recommend it to our Protestant brethren
who have not hitherto joined it, as supplying the fittest bond
whereby to unite them in perilous times like the present,
and the best means of forming the closest and most effective
confederation, based on pri ciplcs truly constitutional and
religious.
That, considering the disastrous consequences which have
resulted from the treasonable and wicked practices of
evil-minded men ; the serious loss and injury sustained by
the peaceable, industrious, and well disposed portion of the
community, from a general stagnation of trade in Dublin
and throughout the provinces, we press upon her majesty's
government in Ireland the absolute necessity which exists
for executing the laws with increased energy and vigour,
until public confidence and peace be restored.
That we view with alarm a bill now paying through par-
liament to extend the franchite in Ireland, the effector which
bill would be to place the representation of this country alto-
gether in the hands of Roman catholic priests, and afford a
precedent which may be disastrous also to the interests of
England.

THE ARREST IN THE COUNTY OT CAVAN.-011 Wed-
nesday last, about three o'clock p.m., the house of Mr.
Hugh Maguire, of Kilsub, Templeport, was visited by
Cnostable Rea, of Swanlinbar, with 20 men, who arrested
Mr. Maguire on a charge of sedition. It appears that on
the preceding Sunday, at the chapel of Templeport, a
document was exhibited for the purpose of enrolling the
names of those who were willing to join the National
Guard, advised by the confederates. Mr. Maguire signed
the paper, as did several others. Subsequently the piper
was removed to Mr. Maguire's house, as being convenient to
the chapel. The police having heard of this, proceeded, as
before stated, to Mr. Maguire's house, and arrested biro.
They brought their prisoner before B. W. Holmes, Esq.,
R.M., who committed him to Cavan gaol, refusing to take
bail for his appearance.
?done ARRESTS—Mr. John M'Huoh, of Belturhet, was
arrested on Tuesday last, and committed to our coun'y gaol,
for having a pike in his possession. Another man, named
Michael Gray, has been arrested in Ballyjameeduff, under
this new penal law; but we have not yet heard the exact
charge preferred against him.
CALLING OUT THE PENSIONERS ON PERMANENT DUTY.
I—The government have directed the staff officers of pen-
shiners throughout the country to ascertain whether the
men under their command were willing to volunteer on
permanent duty for six months. On the order b:ing read
for the men on parade last week, the pensioners of this dis-
trict, to a man, offered their services, and were enrolled by
Capt. Hoey. It was gratifying to witness the prompti-
tude with which theyeteran: tendered their services to their
Queen and country. The organisation of this force in Ire-
land will give 15,000 effective men, besides a large reserve
of about 30,000, who are liable to be celled upon to do gar-
rison and other duty. The government have transmitted to
the several garrison towns a large supply of arms for the use
of the inhabitants, should disturbances take place. To this
town 500 stand of arms were sent, with a proportionate
amount of ammunition, which were deposited for safety in
the barracks.—Carlow Sentinel.

SCOTLAND.
EDINUTROW, MAY 20.
The forenoon diets of the established and free
church assemblies were spent in devotional exercises.
In the evening a meeting was held in the established
assembly of the Lay Association for promoting mis-
sions ; and at the same period the reports of the
Board of Missions and of the Jews' Committee were
brought before the free assembly.