The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-07 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.
THE TRIALS FOR SEDITION.
Shortly after 10 o'clock the learned judges, Lord Chief
Justice Wilde and Mr. Boron Pelf ke. took their seats on the
teach, and Joseph IVilliams, 40, baker, and William John
l'eronn, 40, lecturer, were indicted fin. having, in the presence
and hearing of divers of her majesty's liege aubjecta, uttered
cert yin sedition. words against her said majesty the queen
and her government.
In the whole art our immersion yesterday we gave the
evidence for the prosecution, as well as a portion of Mr.
Parry's speech in defence of Vernon. This latter we re.
publish to-day, and append the conclusion of the trial.
Mr. Parry addressed the jury for the defendant. If
m were satisfied that the minus of the jury ware unbiassed;
th:y had heard nothing of the defendant, or the other
rsons in the same situation, before coming into cunt, the
duty which he had to perform would be of a very differ. nt
character. Such, howf ver, was not the cue. And although
the technical issue which thi y had to try was simple enough,
their decision upon that issue depended .at a variety of
cir-
cumstancta, which it remained for them to luso !tient..
With regard to the conduct of the Attorney-General, he had
no complaint to make, except one, which was with reference
1 to the record of the conviction, a document which he coo-
-1 sidered—n .twithstanding what had taken place upon th
1 question—that he would not venture to read. With regal..
to the caws of Vernon and Williams, and Fussell, an.'
with regard to every circumstance of their proceedings o
panic had I ren raised by the press, by which the public
mind had & en excited to such an extent that it was diffi-
cult fora jury not to feel anal influences in forming their
judgment. He urged them, however, to cast away
from their minds every atom of prejudice which might
be lingering there, and to via* clic caw with a calm and dis-
passion& e judgment. A great deal had been said shout
the words chartist and charter. If by the to rtna in question,
violenco against the privileges and liberties of thin country
was me ,nt, he would say that the person arivocring
such opinions was worse than a maniac—he was a fool. The
name of chartist had Income a b ern of repro,:ch, but he
urced them to remember that in 1780, Charles James Fox,
and he believed W. I'itt co-operated with him—had attached
his name to every principle of the peopM's ch utter—even to
that point relating to the payment of members of parliament.
The charter was undoubtedly an honest and a Saxon !era-
sure, however expedite cy might plead agninst its
adoption. The defendant in this case owned himself
to be a chartist, but denied the truths of the
charges brought against him. He (Mr. Parry) could nut
conceal from himself the tact that the prosecution was the
prosecution of a whig government; but he urged them (the
jury) to be unbiassed by any such influences, and to
remember that it was very possible fir men in
high stations to be in the wrong. Every great
change which had been brought shout in this
country had teen effected through the agency of the
people alone. It was not the custom of statcatnen of rank
and influence to mince their wordy Lord .1. Russe:l, Led
Grey, and that peculiar protege of the whig party, O'Connell,
Ter did so. The shield at protection W. 14 over them.
But when a man of lower station ventured on any
display of turbulence, auventage was taken of it.
According to the principle contained in the present in-
dictment, Lard John Russell and his fiienda, when
they brought in the Reform Bid. might have been
tried for a mind. meannur; but the Attorney-General
of that day attempted nothing of the kind. He con-
tended that all moral force was physical fence 41
perspective, and ho quoted ins'anees in which words
quite as inflammatory as china attributed to the prisoner had
been used without incurring any penalty. Ile would
not contend that the meeting In question was lawful ; but
he called to their remembrance a demoustration which
took place in ISil, when a procession went to
the palace to see the king, by whom end the queen they
were afla'vly received. Oa that occasion they av. n marched
down to the purlieus of the House of ectasenons. He
wished them to objects how different was the conduct
of Whig statesmen in that day—when L sea Melbouenc
toll those who applied to him that he was glad to see them,
and was sorry that they had not tuoucr informed him of
their wishes. . . . .

In answer to an observation, in a low tone, from the
Attorney.o,neral,
Mr. Parry observed that be would do his duty to
his client, noewithstandine any sneer which might le: thrown
out, or any opinion whicli might be expressed en reference
to his conduct.
The Chief Justice deprecated such observations, as disre-
specrul to the bench, and therefore nut permissible.
Mr. Parry—after sonic observations in justification of the
words he had used, for which he cont:nded there existed
many precedents—went on to contend that the ac-
counts of the meeting were exaggerated, and that too
great a degree of importance had been placed upon the
words used, especially riuse of a low and vulgir teudency,
which, with whatever force they might come from the better
classes ce society, were unfortunately too fr. quently used, and
too little considered, by permits ei a different position, to
carry much weight with them. He maintained that no case
had been made out against Vernon, who, so far from haring
taken a part in the proceeding=, had bee.' elated to have
o'..jected to the lai,guage used. His prosecution was comm.
quint upon the chartist principles, which he was well known
to entertain, but that was not a matter for the consideration
of the jury, who bud only to determine upon his actions. It
might be said that per-one of goal intentions should not be
present at unlawful proceedings. lie did not deny such to
be the case. But the mere indulgence of curiosity could
not be considered in the light of a crime. The
government minutes well prosecute the witnesses Fowler and
Potter for atm:Abler a tumultuous assembly iu the execution
of the it duty, as bring the present indictment against the
der, adant. The evidence of Potter and Fowler
was given with great fairness, and was certainly
entitled to credibility, but he urged that the evi-
dence of the podeeinea was to be met with a very different
degree of credit, in particular that 01 Hardy, whose statement
that, in the circumstances under whiCh he was placed, he was
able to take notes of tele proceeding', he disbelieved entirely.
if they considered that Vernon lilt lins...nry square r.e
expected to set a e?rdiet of " Not GI :ito it they be'eved
he was present at Itriloross-greet—which, he maintained,
had not been proved—he was afraid it must be the reverse.
The following witnesses were then examined fur the de-
fence:
Henry Potter, examined by Mr. Metcalf, deposed to at-
tending as a r: porter on Clerk, nwell-green, on the 29th of
May. He saw Vernon at that meeting, in the van. When
Williams told hit blends to LII into marching order, all the
Jarmo, in the van got down. When he (witness) left the
' cart he saw Vern so and two of his fri"nds standing together
ne ir to the wheel. and at that time the procession moved
Witty vs went flown Red Lien-street, and ho saw Vernon
and his two friends again. Hs then hat sight of them, and
he believed they went into a public-house. They did not
go with the procession which went down Aylesbury street.
Witness went ae far as Finebury-square, when he saw Vernon
walking with, he believed. the same persons as before.
Cross-examined by the Attorney-Geoeral: He took a
short hard condensed note of the proceedings. He believed
Vernon was not present while Williams was speaking. Ver-
non got on the van in company with a person looking like a
foreigner, although the while,' could not say whether he was
one or not. He saw Vernon afterwards near the Land and
Lsbour Bank, Holborn, but he could not say that he be-
longed to the procewion.
Charles Smith uepoeed to seeing the defendant in the van,
hut he did not know that he took part in the proceedings.
He saw him afterwards in the Old-street-road, walking 400
or 500 yards behind the stragglers of the procession. Wit-
ness was with a person named Dalrymple. Vernon did not
walk with the procession in Finsbury.square, but
walked in a space of eieht or ten feet between the procession
and the enclosure. Witness met Vernon there, and they

proceeded together to a pethlic-house in Chiswellestreet,
where they partook same refreshment, awl stayed about a
quarter of an hour. Winans Left Vernon at the corner of
Chturelhstreet, when the procession hest not lett the allure.
When they ported, it appeared to hint as H Verzein was going
in the direction of Moorgatesstreet. He afterwards saw the
whole of the procession pass in Smithfield, when be looked
for Vernon and enuld not see him. lie felt certain that be
would have seen him had he been there. He then went by •
short cut to Leicester square, where he met the procession
again, and he subsequently saw it in Princes-street. He
was sure that Mr. Vernon was not with the procession on
either °elation.
Cross-examined by the Attorney-General: He went to the
meeting front motives of curiosity, and wu starching for
Vernon' because he thought that gentleman might be able
to tell him the object of the procession. He differed with
Mr. Vernon on tome points of the chute., and also on other
matters. He knew Cartwright'e coffee-house, but had not
! visited it for • twelvemonth. He did not know whether the
proprietor of it was alive or not; he had not heard that he
wr a dead. He knew the chartist rooms in Dean-street, but
did not remember when he wee lan there.
Ite.examined : Ile went to Mr. Vernon io order to learn
the object of the meeting; be conversed with hint, but did
not gain the information he desired.
Mr. Dalrymple deposed to being present at the meeting
with the last witness, whose esidenee he corroborated in all
essential respects.
W. Godfrey, a policeman, deposed to apprehending
Vernon in Su.sex-street„Tettenham-ceurt-ruau, where he
bete ref he resided.
This wee the epee for the defence.
The Attorney-General then replied.
Mr. Heron Parke summed up, and the jury retired at ten
minutea past six to deliberate upon their verdict, and, at
seven o'ciock, they returned into court, and delivered their
verdict, finding Vernon Guilty upon the first count, of being
present et an unlawful assembly; and William. Gu fry at
the whole charge el being present at an unlawful assembly
and riot.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
Wore Mr. Berkant AJ.una.

GAMBLING-1101'SE Puoesn'esioNee. Rob,rt Ashdown
was indicted for keeping a common gambling-house. The
prosecutor was John Bond, of liunter,treet, Brunswick
equare, whose name has before appeared in our reports in
comp zion with gambling house prosecutions. It was agreed
by the parties ou both soles that the trial should be post-
poned.
Elwin —James Ford, said to be an officer in the Emit
India Company's service (Nizsm Cavalry), was indicted fur
obtaining, by islet, pretence., 101. from Elizabeth Ifylyn, by
inducing her to cash a cheque on als ik where he had no
- The lava of this e..se have hces so hilly reported in
ur p dice intelligence that a repetition is not required.—
Mr. Prendergast took some technics' objections to the indict-
ment ; and the learned Judge decided that they were fatal,
and direct d the jury to acquit the pri‘oner.—The learned
Judge said the preirmer might be thankful that he had got
off ; but it was nut through his innocence. lie had better
be earful how he acted.—Capt. Rose, one of the magistrates
ou the bench, said that he had the honour to know the pri-
soner's father st,d his grandfather as Umber officers. 'He
regretted very much to see him there, and hoped this civet
would he sucn a warning to him that he would never be in
such a poaitioa agar,