The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-06-28 00:00:00

CONSTITUTIONAL ASSOCIATION~

it hying heen generally anderatooil that yester.
iisy was the day appointed by the Lord Mayor to
hear the defence of Mr. J. B. Sharpe and Mr.
Charles Murray, Honorary Secretaries to this So-
ciety, agduat an information that had been taken
out rigatnat them, the entrance to the Lord Mayor's
Court was quite blocked up at an early hour. At
twelve o'clock his Lordship entered the Court, and
at half past twelve, the parties being all in attend-
ance, Mr. Hohler read the i•Sorination upon which
the parties h.id been summoned.

Mr. THACWERAY then opened the CM to the
Court, and commenced by disclaiming all motives
of perrsonal animosity, both on his own part and
that of Ins friend, Mr. Parkins, ugainat any indivi-
iloals connected with the Constitutional Society.
The Learned Counsel then argued at some length
noon the 39th Geo. 111. to prove the illegality of
t•Os A-socie . lie admitted, if they acted up
to the principles they professed, their object would
b- merttoriouri but it was manifest that all their
exertions were directed towards one party, instead of
gforesuiitig sedition or disloyalty generally. A
v.,nthy Alderman (Bothwell) was a meisil.er of that
Sot,-tv ; but although she writ of Minerva might
have descended upon him, to enable him to regulate
t e pru•eredungs of the Society by his mentorian coon-
yet when he was taken fuorn his feast on tors
t!e and venison, to taste of nectar and ambrosia,
sorne 'lemon*, less gifted wi h wisdom, might cots.
vmpt the powers of the Society to an improper end.
The oractice of the Society was at variance with
i s p inctltlea : they called thrinselves the " Con-
rituromitil A•sociution ;" but what signified a
'woe? A ruse by any oilier name would smell as
sweet, and this Assoeistiou by any other name
would smell as runc.

Mr. Pinkies was then called. and examined.
Be f, re he was tirantined, Mr. ADOLPHUS (who
app.steci fur lie Association) wished to ask Mut
t•hrtiorr he ilefrsved any of the expenses of the pre-
s•-tit inforinstion ?

Mr. Riskina ineiwered in the negative. He don
rlrpo•ed, 1114 be knew of an Association called the
" Cinwtittinsinal A•soc'atiint he hail been at a
place where they held tneetisip; he knew a person
or the name of Sharoe. He wi.sir ut•on one occa-
sion to the house where they hell their meetings,
tool sow a person whim he took, from the dcsciio-
lion. to he Uri Ile asked him for one of the
ropers of the Society. and he sheweil Inns uo to a
room where Air. Sha•pr W;l4 sitting ; lie rave him
fssur diapers; he acknowledged his name so be
sitinrd in 411-m. Sharpe s•ked him what was going
t.• be dine with the Association. He 6.1 lie had
oothi,,g to it, with them, but, if they were an
iHe-
g 11ly, the I 111 wouii have to do with them.
Mr. Sharpe soul, thry had t.ikeu legitl opinions
sprout it.
. . .

tun rzurftined by Mr. A D01.1111U9. —lie re.
peatetl he hod terra at the mutts where they held
their Meeting..

Mr. TIIACIERRA Y here made some observation
whi,:4 we c of hear.

Mr. A 1%01.PIIIJS—“ I will not, Sir, he inter-
rupted by thrtle. Iltil•erlille111101/•CIVIIii01111."
Mr. ThiACILEILAY—" I *ill not, Sr,: disgrace
either turd( or the Court by entering into as per-
owns! squabble wilt yon."
Mr. A DOI. r HUS--." Sir, you hive disgraced your-
be It' by the obwration."

Mr. A DOLPHUS then continued the cross-ex-
'ruination of Mr. Parkin.. Ile did not make the
ahont this Association for the phrpoie of
laying the pre,ent is formation. Ile did not re-
member having applied to the Lord Mayor before
he went to the Association ; it might have been he
applied two or three times; he had Mr. Therciteray
with him upon those occasions ; he dial not see Mr.
Sturpe Oleo, nor Mr. Murray ; he did not know
Murray, until he saw him one day get out of •
coach with his stiff leg. Ile did not tell Mr. Sharpe
titat this proceeding was brought forward for the
!surmise of distinguishing a certain individual pre-
ri pus to going to Indio. He told Mr. Sharpe,
upon his inquiring who Mr. Thockersy was, that
I e was a young barrister, who had counexions in
It was possible he might go out there, and
h- would have the credit of detecting the illegality
ur this Association.

A paper issued by the Association was then put
1:1 and reed as evidence.

Mr. Shelton, Clerk of the Peace for the City of
London, deposed that he registered certain Socie.
ties,. hot did not register this. There were various
other Societies he did not register.

Mr. ADOLPHUS then addressed the Court at
length, and with great ability. He animadverted
with considerable severity upon the speech of Mr.
Thackeray, which lie describ,d as an assemblage
at coarse and vulgar quotations, about roses
smell-
iug sweet, and such trash as that. The name of au
lion. and worthy Alderman had been introduced,
with some stile observations fiom %he Adventures
of Telemachus; hut he was well scquaissted with
that worthy Alderman, and bethought him a plain
nun like himself, with some portion of understand-
ing, u•sistrrt by the aids of education ; but he
never thought that Alderman Rothwell was pecu-
liarly blessed with the gift of "absolute wisdom"—
(Some larrghter.)—lt appeared to him that the
Lord Mayor was bouud to dismiss the information,
uut only because the statute could not be construed
so as to reader .the society illegal. but also because
,sio evidence had been adduced in support of the
charger.
The LORD Mmroa then consulted for some
minutes with his as.enior, who attended for the pur-
pose, and finally decided that there was not suffi-
cient evidence to support the information.

Mr. TORRANCE has been removed to the Bisimp's
r.dace, at Limerick; he is quite convale,cent.

The 37th regiment, for three years stationed in Lower
Canada, is about to lease the colony for Englend. The staff
corps wee to proceed to the Ottawa, to carry into effect the
inteuiled plan for removing the obetructioaa in that ricer.
The Std light infastry arrived is Dublin on Monday,
frvoin Liverpool. This regiment is to do duty in Dublin, is
taw room of the 33J, ordered on foreign service.
There was a thin attendance at Norwich market
041 Saturday, acid a abort suvply of all kinds of
ram. KOtll IVbeat and Batiey advanced ls. per
s:,,ouibe.—Theie was lit:le sah olterutiou is the
Cattle 'Marko.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Wurmisesse,
WIDIIIBIDAT, ill/Nll7.

THI KING V. GLOUOP.•

This was a rule obtained by the Defendant
against a conviction of the Magistrates at Union-
hall, under the statute of 10 Gro. 11. for the De-
fendant performing Et the Cobutg Theatre an enter-
tainment of the stage called Hichard the 7'hird, or
the Battle of Bosworth Field, he not having ob-
tained the Intense of the Lord Chamberlain, by
which he had incurred a penalty of 5011. in which
sum the Magistrates had convicted him.
Mr. MARILTATT, with whom were Mt. Casberd
and Mr. Adolphus, was uow heard against the con-
viction. Three points were urged : brat. that it had
not appeared by evidence that it was by Mr. Glos-
sop's order or direction that the piece was per-
formed ; secondly, that the evidence had not been
properly taken ; and lastly, that the penalty was
adjudged to the parish of Lambeth, whereas it
ought to have been to the parish of St. Mary,
Lambeth.

Mr. SetaLars. was heard in support of the con-
viction.
The CotMT decided against the Defendant on
all the points, and affirmed the conviction.
The Couit roe at 12 o'clock, and the LoaD
Catair JUSTICE afterwards sat ■t A isi Prias, but
no ceu.e of public interest came on to be tried.