The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-07-17 00:00:00

THE BRITISH PRESS.

HUM of f/Ciar.
CttMarosn, ittLY 15.
-
J. it. jgogempipc .:.v. 3. Cw rano, Elm.
in Titlesowan action , e proprle of the Krul awl Eve".
Mercary, for • - ":1"( . , i defame libel on Mr. Jessopp,
the barrister. tending to I .., him in hi dession.
The defendant pleaded t ' rend is —Not Guilty.
Me. Sergeant TADDY( with whom was r.K No% ) stated the ease.
This action was bmught bril r. Jes.npr..whote fitnily had resided
in the county of Essex for sgne generations. He cite • practising
barrister, and sertice of the Wes Sessions, aad, me was probably
latt,e known to matted the./ was a gentleman who had acquired
conalderabk rapellailen Mo!ession. On all occasions he (the
Learned Sergatost) wished to a the C3/60 of his client with temper
and moderation, bat more 'ally in this, when he was advo-
cating the eaves of a gent in his own profession, he was de-
111Mtlf of abstaining from se topic of infloottopt ion. This was
solely a question of character, I: wt. so felt by himself as well
as by Mr. Jessopp. Cbsteriar to every than, whether his station
in life was public or privet% wet his best posses:ittn ; it was
his dearest interest. aid IN* valuable Ito bin even than life

itself. In all situations. Issi-panicidarl, those connected with a
public profession, it was Ifikeiractet of the party by which his
es.imation in one sty was la be in Iged. It happened to many
persona in a public statism 110 I'd reports circulated respacting
them, which were either endrely false or greatly exaggerated.
Independently of private feeling, such reports must have a most
injurious tendency, as reverted the interests of a person so si-
tuated. The Jury well knew the state of the public prom at
the present period. He (the Learned Sergeant) would vesture
to say land the observation must be borne out by Ale expel ience
of every man who heard him). that never did a pert bil exist, when
private character was so much invaded as it now was by those who
conducted newspapers. Private character was now the subject of
attack, with a degree of malignity which was never known In
former times. No relation of private life was now exempt from
public slander and malicious attach in the daily press. Having
made these generui observations respecting the value of character,
he would explain the cireunistandes out of which the present action
had arisen. The defendant was the apparent and nominal pro-
prietor of the Kent and Esser Mercury, a newspnper which was in
general circulation in both those countless Mr. Jessopp had been
employed as Counsel to argue a demurrer to a quo warrant," infor-
mation, filed in the King's Bench, against a .Mr. Downes, who
claimed to exercise the liberty and franchise of a free burgess of the
borough of Colcherter. In the last charter of Colchester, the King
had specifically named certain corporate officers who were to be the
Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Council of the borough. Sonic
of these persons had not been admitted as free Burgesses' and a
Bquestion arose whether they had a right to be considered as free
urgesses in respect of their noroin Mon as corporate officers in
the charter. The question was argued by Mr. Jessopp in the ne-
gative, but the Court thought the affirmative of it was too clear for
argument, and held, that of necessity the persons so named by the
Crown must be considered as free burgesses. Mr. Jessopp had
urged every argument that the utmost ingenuity and zeal could
suggest for the interests of his clients, but without success, and the
Court gave judgment against him without bearisg the Counsel on
the other side. This decision took place in January last, and on
the 21st February the defendant published a statement, not pro-
fessing to he a report of the argument, or of what passed in Court,
but ridiculing Mr. Jessopp, holding him up to contempt, and ion.
outing to him not only professional incapacity, hut a roes derelic-
tion of his duty as an auvocate. It was signed by a person calling
himself "No Party Man." The Jury would judge whether it was
conceived in the spirit or the terms which such a signature would
import. It was addressed "to John Clay, Esq. Mayor of Colches-
ter," as follows:
" Six,—l address you not as an official automaton, the mere
busy, bustling meddler of the hour, but as one who can and does
think for himself. For albeit your political notions are somewhat
out of date, yet there is a commendable candour in your adherence
to principles, which not a few of your calculating colleagues aban-
doned the instant they cowed to be profitable. Those persons who
are the most sparing of their praise, and who even doubt your firm-
ness, concede your anxiety to pursue the kilter course. You, Sir,
have now an opportunity to silence your enemies, and all are such
who have tried but cannot make you a tool—act convert dime who
are sceptical of your capacity, while they doubt not your desire to
do right—and, above all, to cheer and elevate your friends, who
think they discover something in you that tells them you are sen-
sible of the dignity of your station and its dude", and that in your
hands the important rights of your fellow-burgesses shall be upheld
front foreign pollution, and your name guarded from the reproach
of present and aftermoming times. It is the *pose of this letter
to tell you how this may be done. You are swage that it has long
been a darling object with some half-dozen resoles beings, who re-
side within your ancient borough, to be made fin bargemen there-
of; and having, by a certain hocuti-poett% cajolery. got their names
inserted as corporator% in the new charter stilt wens other really
respectable characters (who, quickly perceithig do kind. promptly
renounced their new associates and ambiguous liesesurs altogether),
from thence inter that they, being corporatnrs. times, ncrerailatr rei,
be free burgesses. Poor deluded souls! they aid like a aquabby.
smutty scullion, who, being seduced and made the mistress of a coun-
try bumpkin, fancies that she is his wife. Now, Mr. Mayor, there
is not more difference between a mistress and a was, than between •
Corporator and a Free Burgess of Colchester ; and may that High
Priest be strangled on his own polluted altar who shall ever dare to
unite them ! You are farther aware (for by yaw manly conduct
under the immediate sanction of your lifget:enisided Wotherinirgeee
was the attempt defeated) that these power. pursuing prowlers some
time since presented themselves in your ancient hall, and demanded
to have their names inscribed on the long and venerable scroll of
your freemen, and even bearded the seat of justice with vulgar
threats, when they found that the patriot throng indignantly spurn-
ed the daring deed. Foiled by your firmness, and cowed by the
courage they encountered, they retreated to the council cell of liti-
gation, and after much debating and doubting, hit on the inge.
Mots device of a feigned quarrel amongst themselves. It was of
this sort:—An application is made to the Court of King's Bench
by one of their own squad (a horse breeches-maker) for a manda-
mus calling on one of the foreign corporators (Derry Downes by
name) to allow cause by what authority he exercised the franchise
of a Free Burgess of Colchester, who, to avoid the expenseof a bona
fide investigation, and to blink thereat munition, and in furtherance
tat the trumped-up scheme, pleaded his right as a corporator under
the new charter ; to which plea, still In furthesat:ce of the plan
atimesaid, the horse breeches-maker put in a demurrer, and on the
sufficiency or insufficiency of this plea the whole question was made
to turn. Now, to any nothing of the quackery of all this (as that
might be preening Perkins and Nunn unkindly), look, Mr. Mayor,
I beseech you, at the Counsel employed to uphold the invaluable
1 rights of our fellow-burgesses, and whose solemn duty it was to
resist the hollow pretence af Downes, who was thus fighting the
battle of the Coventry crew. Mr. Jessopp !!! the big-wigged fellow
who bellowed in all the papers that not a candle was placed in his
window, when all the inhabitants of Cheshunt illuminated ct site
triumph of the late Queen over the hellish plot of cowardly perse-
cutors I—and this, forsooth, because he had seven daughters ;—and
for this reason it may be presumed he was employed by these
seven devils ! Why, Sir, the claim of a hog to a right of turbary
ought not to have been left in such hands ! Well might the Court
stop Chitty; by saying lie had nothing to answer. Not one word was
said on the essentiality of admission to constitute the right and title
of a free burgess. Not one syllable was etrered on this point.—The
only point in contention, if that can be called contention which no
one disputes. is, that the burgesses having accepted a charter, in
which cetain persons are named as corporators, not being bur.
lenes, they arc, to all intents and purposes, curporators.
'o be sure they are—but they are nothing more; nor has
the Court decided otherwise, though it is the drift of a long,
laboured, one-sitled report of the proceedings in the Co/chea-
ter Casette of the 4,11 instant, to stake it appear that these
corporators are Free Burgesses, and have a right to act as
such. Now, Mr. Mayor, this is the sole point in issue, and a most
important one it is. All eyes are on you. Now it is your ditty to
act; and what are the real merits of the question shall be the sub-
ject of my next letter. Certain parts of your Corporation are, like
our national affairs, somewhat ricketty, and require to be dealt
with most delicately. Perkins will tell you that there are some
strong ingredients in this premonition, and that at least one week
must elapse before the dose is repeated.
I ant, 3lr. Mayor, yours,
" No PAITT-MAN.

" East-bill, Colchester, Feb. 10, 1820."
No doubt, it would be said, on the other side, that such libels as
these, ought to be despised. In many instances they might ; but
those who were libelled were the best judges of the degree of for-
bearance which they ought to exercise on such occasions. finless
everybody was possessed of a krowledge of die circumstances which
compelled the party injured to make hit complaints the subject of
public inquiry, he was in no condition to judge of the propriety of
his conduct in taking serious notice of such publications. I t was
with great reluctance that Mr. Jessupp had instituted this pi tweed-
ing ; and it was only in tonsequeoce of a series of attacks of the
same nature, that he now felt it his imperative duty to seek redress
for the gross insult which the publication in question contained
Who the defendant en the record was he (the Learned Sergeant)
did not know, but notice bad been served upon 31r. J., which was
expressed in such terms as manifested that some person of the legal
profession was connected with the paper of which he was the sup
posed proprietor. That notice called upon Mr. Jessopp to produce
his books, containing a statement of the refoiners and fees lie had
received since the publication of the alleged libel. With what mo-
tive such a notice had been served, it was not easy to divine. It
was known to the defendant that the sole object of this action was
to vindicate Mr. Jessopp from the insulting and contemptuous libel
of which he complained. The Learned Serjeant then dwelt upon
the injurious tendency of the libel, as it affected the plaintiff's pro-
fessional reputation, and observed, that in the hands of the Jury
his client placed his interests, with perfect consciousness that from
them he would receive an ample vindication. With respect to the
liberty of the press, compared with former days, he would only ob-
serve that in those days, satire had done its best in the exercise of
that liberty ; but now that liberty had done its worst, by vilifying
private character, and bringing before the public unobtrusive indi.
viduals, for the purpose of wounding their feelings and disturbing
the repose of domestic privacy. It was the province of the Jury to
correct this abuse. anti exercise a salutary control over those who
trailed in the slander of private character, and the sacrifice of indi-
vidual reputation.
Admissions were then put in of the publication of the libel by
the defendant, and that the plaintiff was a gentleman of consider-
able reputation, and of extensive practice in his profession of a bar-
rister at the time of the publication.
3lr. Sergeant Oxstow (with whom were Mr. GUIIWCY and
, Mr. Rot; xn) then addressed the Jury, in an ingenious speech for
' the defendant, and contended, that taking the whole of the paper

together, it was quite obvious that the author did not mean to libel
the plaintiff who was a gentleman or witnowledged reputation and
honour, loth hi public and private life. With re•pect •ri the criti-
ciom of the Learned Sergeant, is ill the character of the press in
modern times, he pmfessed his incompetency to judge Arita propri-
ety, for he hardly read a newapaper once in three years. It WAS
obvious that the object of the author was on,y to impeach the pm-
priety of the decision upon the Corporation qiiestina, and not to.
cast any imputation upon the general eom?etericy of Mr. Jeasopp
an aft advocate. The very terms in which the paper was wt itten
demonstrated that it was the production of an angry man, (Haan.
pointed at the result of question in which lie conceived the
rights of the burgesses of Colchester to he compromised. There
was one expression in it which the defendant was extremely sorry
had been used, namely, in the application or the term "fallow'
to a gentleman of 11r. Je ',TWA station. That expression, how-
ever, was not libtllolll. The defendant. however, regretted ex-
tremely that it had been used. With respect to the notice ',treed
upon the plaintiff to produce hie retainer hook, the object of it
was very natural, and perfectly legitimate. when the cause of the
plaintiff's complaint was ctmsiderett. The allegation of 'rend
damage was, that by reason of the libel in flues ion, the plaint:lF
had sustained great Imo of professional gains, and that ninny me-
sons in ennaequence thereof had ceased to retain him as Counsel. 'Now.
so far from this heii g the fact, he (the Learned Sergeant )11% well
as the Jury, most have tolioerved with great satiafartion that there
was not the tightest diminution in Mr..lessopp's professional
practice. Ile was still in full business at the Assizes, and he tin-
+ rstond that he maintained his station at the Sessions. of which he
was determinedly the hauler. both in point efrank and ability. As
the plaintiff 11,141 declined prothicing his remitter-hook. the necessary
result was that lie had sustained no actual damage whatever from
the publication. At the u'inost, the supposed libel 'oily amounted
to an Impeachment of his knowledge of Corporation Lawn ; hot
this was a point upon which the sound:st lawyers might very fairly
plead ignorance. without any diminution of their general reputa-
tion. Ile submitted to the Jury that there wait nothitig libellous
in the paper; hut that it' they found themselves bound to limy a ver-
dict for the plaintiff', their damage. ought to he v...ty inconsokrdtle.
Air. Justice II ot.noYD charged the Jury that the raper in ques-
tion was a gross sad scandalous libel on 3:r. ilessopp's professional
reputation ; and if they were of the same opinion, they would give
the plaintiff such damages as the circumstances of the case would
The Jury found their verdict fur the plaintiff—Damages, i'ifiy
Guineas.

SAT t 7 R DAY.