The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-06-02 00:00:00

nequainiod with the client-ler and conduct of the individual lie
had alluded to. The Ileonuttrable Member hail altovether mistaken
the argument of his llonottrabte and Learned friend, for Mg
only hearsay evidence had been intrimlured and brought to hear
against the bufertunate Ale. Smith, hut wine's,' had been en-
cmtragnl Co give it ; hut even under these t irrumstancss he would
me, &Allay of the fleeter. irsir.uate that the imputation. east out
against tam were founded in truth?
os gaidisperat trait:Nair iralimmre posse reline mitt.
If the evnietier of Earis Irxd been behaved. would rail hi. life have
been preserved like the apple of an ere % Ifin the "lance aiipi,rea
to hare kin to conceal with rlre *mit toasl:ll.c and incredible, and
to expose everything that tended it. tl t• remote...tilt-wee to brio;;
home guilt to Smith, and which coil I be intuit• to bear teen the
semblance of truth ; wo if the trytints win goal er.ilef,ce ogair
st
010111 were Pot Contort& nut of their non if. ttttt lis. It Pas littpt
sible to argue against teatime farts ; Rog tie Mortify! of Presigy,t
Illallailunq had been held up 1111 a ri-assa tor the justice of the
sentence of the Court 31artial ; hut it shoilld be
that every Member of a roma-utensil was initiail to secrecy. emit
the President might he in a monirity on every forasion, and he
hoped that he was. Tnis or is 3 question that every Men in :hat
flume was limed to lay his band upon hi. been anti deed ire, ;
whether in his conscience he believed 31r. snail, guilty; and he
could upon hos horout declare, or whatever t i.e might tic cansi.
tiered more binding Nam hint, that he consider ii smith a moo
virtuous loan, and an Immo-wilt 111311. illegally Ono! Intl unjustly
condemned, by a pence. that would doigrace a mit abseil tloyeria '
tent to the punishment of the worst (-ism al. Ile as. glad that
the Item. Gentleman huh taken the manly course io nrloottli:
this
qmsdan, that In haul not miffed the pro smuts (naafi tttt• or t mica- •
oinged to get rid of it by asi le wind ; it multi rib connive'
that an assembiy, constituted a. that 'louse was, %Moe mat dig-
tidied funcoion was the proonnuoic•ng of iiiilgfnent, and which afi.
pointed a (hand Conaniuee at the eniiiiiienogitwnt al' every Mollie
inent for Courts of Jr-tier—it was not tit for such an ass nobly to
infuse to pronounce juti),niient us this case. The 11111,111111 had been
isr.rught to a conveitieut point to enable the llonsy ill jade-. whetlut i
aositth was galley ; and they 'had first to i ..meatier whether he amen- 1
titled tithe ehaiacter of an enthusiast that had hero so lavishly Iw.
stowed uput hint. If by an enthusiast it was meant thr.t he hail been '
asiiiotts flee the spiritual welfare of his felliow.rreatures. it was
quite clear that he mum plead guilty to the charke; fur what else
Could have prompted hint in endure the climate of Demerara tar
ale or seven year., and to get through all the hardship. and penis
hi endured during that period ? Ile was sorry th:r the
Honourable Member should have occupied se mach time in
reading the evidence of the coortmiareal. because tat had tool
inure to do with the mfr.:ion than the liiinpowder Plot Mu t.
With regard to the widener of PlCTurk, it would not he re.
cared in any Court in Kiimpe. Itatio regard to t tat per-1
non he would say. that if he possessed the stmerstitior.• of
antiquity, he should pray never to Neil in the 141111 e vessel with
him. Ile was a lit objt.n to espouse the principles of those from
whom he was &wended, mind lie thought him a gerson •ho ought
to be expelled from the civilized world. Ile wise merry that the
journal of Smith should have been quoted. It ought never to have
been received in evidenc Wia that evidelee, that hail been written
for thy privet t use and information of the party composing—was it
fair or eon:ducat with any principle of justice, that it should he •
turned against him as an accusation ? The use of Sidney vanished
into comparative insigailicance when the conduct ;ensued with re-
gird to this journal wasi cinisielerial, winch hail been kept even
from the eye of his wife. Bat the head anti friont of Smith'.
offending accrued so bt that lie was an enemy to *lottery ; aro! II
that were§ renroach, the Iloilo. of Commons out g take its 'hare of
it. in common with every man of humanity in the country. The
plume that the cracking of the ship made his heart miserable, had
been urged against him. 'rhese etcetera' were well suited to in-!
(»sae the pnanoliee against Smith. He bad a areal:dire
'plea 71 that slavery Moat die by a convulsive effort bring made
against it ; but the &VIM:111011 Of 11331 !Tint. a in the way he used it
nuaht nut to have been wage a charge against him. The Hon.
Gentleman maild not Islieve that ISr. Johnson was not a man of
p u I.mee, end line whit ought to he trusted ; and no one would
is wee him as wishing to unsettle the oroht of thiags wantonly.
its. at a limner !toms to him by the 3laa•er of a College,
when be was a member of the 'niversity of I taford, 'ace a toast.
4. Meters to the first intuit t f the negates." But Dr. Johnson
only meant in a ref me in:nonce to ileclar • Isis abhorrence of slavery ;
but the opinions of the anho.tnnive Gentlemen in question had
been analysed as it they had been atattl upon. This question
could only have excited the interest it hid done through
the medium of the presx publishing nut the trial sent
forth by the 3lessionarits, but the sacral Report itself, which
Produced such a sentience' in die honest henna of Englishmen as
hid melted the interest now so apparent. The Honourable Mem•
her then argued at wane length that martial law was only legal
where the common law could not be mete.' upon, and quoted the
authority of Sir Edward Cake, Sir Matthew Hole, and Judge
Foster, is continuation of his argument, and also the 39th 116 e.
111. relative to martial law in Ireland. to she-v with how much
caution It was always acted tgam. lle then referred to the Dutch
Jurists sad the conduit of the States General on this point in 17152.
0.1 the 27th November they 1111111 7,1 a proclamation to the fitovemor
of Ikaietarti, in which they said nothing in fa .anir of martial law,
but this against it, via. That military crimes were to he tried by
martial law." It was then f ore, he contendial.not warranted eitlicrbi
Ihitch or Englosh law, and was altogether illegal. The !tomtit/11.
had thought proper to deal in gear:rainiest but the questiian was,
had Smith knowledge of the insurroction ? Much had been said
about magmata' of treason ; but Whore that took place an overt
act of mama must take place: no miapririon of treason could take
pi et Sofas: high treason ma coomibted. He knew that there was a i
considerable ferment ansonpt the mgr.* , and he informed 31r. UM I
and Stewart of the fact, the latter the manager of a neighbouring
*areal/op. and Ike other an attoeney. Warn it not a proof tha.
Sea t whited asieentesal lathing by Infarming Core and Stewart.,
one of whom wa. a member of the Court of Policy and by this
step he (Sir J. 31arkintoali) eat:tended, that it was nut of smith's ,
power to keep tilt insurrection sears; for r.mhing vas settledl
cowrie:lig it until the 17th June, and therefore, whatever Sandi
did before In expoaing, %hewed that he wished it be cheekeiL
If Mr. Pvulth wee guilty of iiii.prision of treasua, :11r. Hamilton
was guilty of actual treason. 11 1.,- was he nut therefore put ttpon
his trial ? It seemed that the Government there waited only for
the muftis tempsra peal. Ile %Amply appesled to tit- Ilouse to
judge fairly between Mr. Smith roil his Les-users up to 17th of
August, and it would be found fr the report that he did as
much as in hint lay to vivaria the evil consequences out the fin.
prudence and the impolvey of the measures taken by the Cavern_
mot. Ile (Sir J. Mackintosh) amid deimmerateout of the mouth
of the Hon. Gentleman who smoke last, that the court.manial was
not lased to pronounce 3lr. Snoi:h guilty, and he entreated the
patience of Haus:, while he considered what was the evidence
of the :tr i outruns. He dreaded the infitience tof the rotes which
his Hiel t lion. Erieiml, the Agent for Demerara, would be re-
soled to raise by the magic of the Moque:we mound him. But
the Hose should reeolltyt. that Mr. S It had been found guilty
upon the testimont of slaves, as to. the import of worths uttered
before dawn In a foreign language ; aml here lie cold not help re-
calling to the recidlectuni of the House the language contained in
an elayucttt &arc of Mr. Justice F'oster's, on this subject--
" Word.," he rant, •` are hut wind, uttered in the force of passion,
and orally fir{ etris ;" and lie was (anvil e.d that dare was no
Judge who wouhl instruct a Jury to find a man guilty of high
• a•or, no the construction of a iew womb spoken before men in a
language which they could not thoroughly understand. ll'hat were
ward' delivered in a foreign language to an ignorant people?
They could ned I e consttued into a proof of guilt ; besitlns which,
those two witnesaes contradicted each other in the most essential
points. There was no evidence that Qiisinina was a leader in the
mrospiraey, and he would submit to time flume wholicr it was mot
natural for Mr. Smith to rely a little on his own power of dissuasion,
even if I.e had twill aware mat any thing Introper hail been 111e-
dttated ; and would it not therefore have biro an art of treachery I
en his part to have imposed them to persecution and prinishment.
after be had advised th..tu to refrain front violence. But let the
Moues look to the manner In which Smith had been treated.
Ile had bees confined from tbe 27th August to the 10.11 of I tc-
%ober. and sentinels had been placed over him, who accented hint
every two hours no their Acing rrliert il, to as•ure themselves of hi.
safety. They wire not satisfied with seeing him, but compelled
him to Speak to theta. and this vetatimis lanaeattling was tarried
on at a period when the thermometer wart at la the shade ; and
the uoly person allowed to conointine with him un any other subject
was the person who carnet° him with 311 acnniation and denunciation'
oldie:h. Ile wrailll ask wheth r any flue. )tem, was prepared to jus-
tify or iodinate such conduct ? Ile felt mitred that there was none. '
He was an enemy to the sudden emancipation (trainees by violence;
hue thought it the greatest calamity that could happen, eacept the
continuance of slavery. Ile hail no objection to allow time for
this work, If it was required; bat he certainly would not alb : it
foe the purposes of • perpettlal llht.wm. He draired ihc flow to
bow in maid the conduct of the Govirnor to Mr. Smith after his
cotAnesmat. Ile permitted his (Mr. Smith's) wife to see
him daily, fer one hour, bat then she was obliged to Peek
this permission daily until the packet saikd, and then she —a.
allowed to visit Mot fur as long a rated as he pleased. Ile carried
his animosity further. It had bean said that English vengeance
war* not with the dead, but in this instance the reverse of the
maxim vat adopted. His funeral was ordered at two o'clock in the
arovologs is order that the negmet alight not slew their attachment
to hint by attendiatel it ; and when bis widow, the unfortunate lies.
Smith, teittested permission to attend it site was denied ; and whets
Mrs. Elliott reiterated the request, the soldiers said that thrhordas
ware peremptory. taut notwithstanding the oaiers et the Ibis:mot,
the two females, at four o'clock in the morning, enjoyod thy
ataalt ) the sad coombeion of paying him the last sad tribute.
Thus—
" Servetur ad imum quails ab Inapt° Kocessit."
31uch °him& had been heaped oa his 'tight Hon. Friend near
hiss (Mr. Willeutivere), but he was satisfied to he classed among
any body that 31inisami might put providid he was at the
head of it. About eighteen days after the death of Mr.slinith, a
resolution was published by his perm-cmor, that lewd Bath ant and
the larnthrs MissiOnary Swirly had arrested the course of justice,
by requiring that 11 r. Smith should he Nell hone. 'They were not
contest with his dying in a .lungeon, hut wished that he night have
died on the gallows, to Kaye as 11 beacon to their power, and to act •
as a warning to all who might he thaeorwol to oppugn it. (Cheers.)
---(We ale awry that our limits sill not allow us to give a fuller
of Sir J. 3lacintoali's speech, in consequence of his rising to
Xrr stas the Haase at so late an hour.'
Mr. SCARLET? said, that he was anxious to mama himself
of the Wolof the case, In order that he might be enabled to arrive
at sonic conclusions. Ile bad listened with the most profound
attention to the ingenious speech-a of his Honnur able Friends, the
Members for Winehelaa anti Emireabomtigh, Ma lie still had con-
siderable doubts whether he could noncom in the rewidutina. Ile
could cot condemn men as murderers who had no advacate of their I
own preeent to defend them, which he inust do if he assented the
taws of the reoolution. Ile wad also an to hear testimony to
the honour and integrity of Cie thief Justice of Itemerara : he
was also an accomplished scholar, Wing a fellow of Trinity College.
l'andwidge, and a man of independent character, quite incapable of