The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-17 00:00:00

Law t•. ►PTATER.

This ease Win tried brtl7rC the laird Jtta•ice. at Guildhall.
It W:11 an action brought by •t merchant ( Mr. laiwi to recover rte
edge of a horse. which had 10.VW torn and alit old destroyed while
his servant was holding it. The 'tot-offence took place opposite the
31ansiou.hoitse. The defontlaiit was a country gentleman of con.
%Linable property, who had hired the coach. coachman. mil horses.
in the Haymarket, from a stable-keeper there. The injury cont.
plaint...l or was ti:eastotted slut, the coach 11.3% driving rapidly
through Mlusion_hause.strect. by one ot the wheels of the Ginkgo
striking against the horse. The injary was satisfactorily proved
at the trial. but a point of law was raised at the trial. that the
owner of the horses, and not the defendant in this aztion, was

The LORD JUSTICE felt the question to be an Import-
ant one. It wits, whether a vellum hirtieT ■ coach and pair of
tweew foe the dite. is 'LIM, to damages tor injury done by them.
As the occurrent.; was nn,• hksly to take place frequently, the better
war would be w harts the point ',critical by the Twelve Judges.
TheJtOrs of thy other Courts intimated their dup• dun to

entertain it, and accordingly they would hear it argued en tLe 24
of next February.

BYRN r r. rAasixs.

This was an action brought by the plaintiff apinst the defend.
ant, to recover the amount of a subscription 111 the plaintiff's
hands, which was raised by voluntary contribution. A verdict of
lila 14s. 4.1. Wu obtained for the plaintiff: The defendant tuhse-
quently obtained a rule to thew cause why a oew trial ahuuld not
be had en the ground of excessive damages.
The Lois II Cut►r Juseice, on the raw being called on, Aug-
paind the propn..ty of a ctimprimiise. Ile would recommend the
parties to settle it by agreement amongst themselves, and not to
bring it Lrfore the Court.
Mr. Fro ncii said he appeared for Mr. Parkins, and was ready
to proceed.
The Loan Cnuer Jurrigt inquired for Mr. C. Phillips, irlo
was Counsel for the. plaintif.
In a few minutes .Itr. Petu.Yres, who was sent for to the Bail
Court, came into Crain., and stated, in reply to the suggestion of
the Court, that an attempt at arrangement had been made, he re-
gretted to say, without success.
TN LORD 01;t1PrE JUSTICE then proceeded to read hit notes
of the trial; in the course of which lie observed that a verdict had
been agreed to for 411/. between the partica in a case of ',ander,
which was to follow the hearing of the case to which the prevent
rule referred.

Mr. C. PHILLIPS then proceeded to chew sause against the
rule being made absolute. It became his reluctant duty, after
every effort at private arrangement had tidied, to dacharge the
duty which devolved iiron him in his capacity of Counsel for the
plaintiff. Ills principal ground of objection to the rule wu, that
the cane wa, peculiarly tone that turned upon the credit due w the
witnesses and this was a yuestiten that lay, for obvious reasons,
cialusively within the proi ince of a jury, to Gem their decision.
The I.OltU CHIEF JUITIcr inquired if there Man any Affi-
davits ?

3lr. C. Pull.l.tn said th►re were affidavits, but they were the
affidavits of witnesses who were examined on the last trial, and
they merely conrained a reiteration of the facts then deposed to. The
only other affidavit was one of the defendant, to which he was not
disposed to pay much attention, as in the event of a new trial being
granted, his evidence would not be admissible, and therefore could
not come befure the consideration of another Jury. The chief
evidence given at the trial was that of Scott, who proved that 311104
was subscribed fie Byrne's use, according to Mr. l'arkins's own
arknowhalgement. This testimony was confirmed by that of
Mr. I:obbett, who was told by Parkins that 140/. was subscribed
for Byrne previous to his departure limn Ireland. and that since
his arrival in England 1341. had been added to the subscription.
This made a PRIM of :1141., from which, according to the direction
of the lewd Chief Justice, a deduction was made for patty allow-
able expenses, and the difference given as the verdict of the Jury.
Against the testimony thus tendered at the trial, the defence set up
was a sweeping declaration, that all the witnesses were unworthy of
credit. As a further set-off in the defence he pnaluced a book, in
which all the receipts and expenditure made by 31r. l'arkins for
Ilyme were alleged to be introduced.

The LoanCIIILF JUSTICE asked 31r. Phillips if he had the
book

Mr. PHILLIP!, replied, that he had not ; it was prodeced on
the part of the defendant, and lie (Mr. Phillips) pertained It was
in his possession.
Mr. Parkins—The Learned Gentleman looks at me, bat 1 tell
Min I have not got the book ; my Counsel have it.
Mr. lentexcii produced a book, which
Mr. l'it 1 1.1.1 PS refused to have admitted, as it was only a enpy of
del which was produced at the trial. That was a fair tranwnpt ;
whereas the confused and irregular state of the accounts as entered
in the original hook was one of the principal grounds on which he
relied at the trial. If the book were a fair book, then the case was
conclusive against his client. Allowances for clerk*. and a variety
of other charges, were there entered, and these he (31r. Phillips)
wag ready to allow fine even abuse the value of the services of Mr.
Parkins. het 'lure was one item in the act-off calculated to stamp
the whole cane with dishonesty and fraud on the part of the defend-
ant. That item was a charge of 1021. for rent and taxes for cer-
tain stables, which the defendant alleged that he let to the plaintiff:
This item was inserted, although Mr. Bell and Mr. Cobbett, on
whore teetiontiny 31e. Parkin*, as well that of all the other wit-
nesses, affected to throw discredit, deposed, that 111 r. Parkins told
them that he gave him perm iseion to reside there rent-free. 11 e would
ask their lordships what would they or could they think of a man
who would let at such a rent premises to such a man, who, according
to his own admission, had not a shoe to his foot, who had a wife and
seven children, without any &tensible means of maintaining them?
11" hat mum the Court think of such a mail ? and what must the
jury have thought of the rent of hie statement and of the litinesty
of his accilitio• The dishonesty of the deleteleet was made stisl
more manifest by the circumstance of this item eon lievitig been in.
serted in the account given to Catherine Byrne; it WAS merely an
afterthought, inserted to swell the charge against this untiotunete
man. Not only was it proved that he let the premises rent free,
but it was further proved at the trial by Mr. Cobbett, that Par-
kins told him he had given Byrne these 'mentos. witu a view to
provide for him ; and, fut this reason, Parkins refused to permit
Ityme to reside in a renege which Mr. Cobbett offered him. Then
was not a single entry of a syllable or figure in the book, that was
not altered, interlined, or craned ; nor wan it attempted at the trial
to ',tree any explanation foe such erasures and interlineations.
3lr. Parkine's Counsel, at the trial, forbore from offering say,
lint although at the trial no explanation wan afforded, an at-
tempt was now made to supply the deficiency. It was contained in
the affidavit of Swift, and what was the explanation? It was this,
that he (Swift) had been called on by Mr. Park ...s to make out an
account for the Demmer in, and its consideration of the heavy
rows of advertisements, &c. lie was requested to compress the
accounts, and make them suitable for insertion in a newspaper.
This precious attempt at explanation was now for the first time act
up, although at the trial nothing was offered to account for the
mutilated stateof the book, or to tontradlet the statement of Scott
and the other witnesses of the plaintiff, if he might except the per
sonal episodes of Mr. Parkins, who every moment teamed up and
charged them all with indiscriminate 'Perjury. An ethirt had been
made, indeed, to throw discredit on the testimony of Scott by a
witness of the name of Taylor, who was examined for the defence.
Ile (Mr. Phillips) remembered to have asked him who be
was? The witness refused to answer; but his Lordship con.
Inhering that a promo who came to arraign the character of other
leptons, should give some aecteint of his own, ruled that he
should give an answer. Accordingly he replied. His answer
was, 's I ant a philosopher—l write for the wieners." (Laughter.)
And c,rtainly his garments gave testimony that he had one tbs.
lacteristic of the profeesion to which he affiyied to belong, for they
had all the appearance of antiquity. (Much laughter.) He was
asked to Oat Nemec he attached himself, to which he replied, that
he lived by the whittle circle of the Sciences ; and it appeared that
he demolished nll the sciences at two guineas a head in a weekly
journal. Another witness was called, who appeared to he theme.
nisi servant of the defendant, and his brother-in-law. On liis tea-
timony, which was unimportant to the ISSJe of the trial, be would
not further remark than that it was illustrative of the contrast which
the conduct of this detendard prevented, who, while he boasted of
his general sympathy and benevolence. had so near a relative of his
own living in a mential capacity in his house. He (Mr. I'.) would
next beg to call the attention of their Lonlships to an affidavit of
the defendant, to show the meeker' diffiyerice which was observable
between the statement there put forward and his minute detail of
every item of expenditure in the book to which he referred. The
affidavit stated, that, independent of the charges proved in the ac-
count. he had privately expended, the (31e. P.) was sure that it was
most privately) several suing—that he had engaged melons at incal-
culable trouble (a pretty metaphorical phrase for an affidavit) to aid
the subscription ; that he had written some hundreds of letters ;
that there were charges of clerks, &e. which he did not take into
the account which he rife/yid against the plaintiff. tat this be
contrasted with his reel conduct. and it would be seen that the mint
minute article of expenditure did not escape him ; that he chaired
for clerks, for the postage of letter, ray, that he even charged
4a. dada for the scaling-wax with which the ticket, for the dinner at
the Borns Tavern were scaled. (.1 laugh.) Nay, more ; this titan
of ins:eh-M.461e benevolence lied even entered so minute an item as
the following :•-"'llwopence halfpenny paid to you at the Shades."
What an ominous venue he selectee! for the dishorsensent of his
charity. Imbed he (Mr. Phillips) should be surprieed to hear of
any person receiving twopence halfpenny from Mr. Parking, from
a notion of pure benevolence, on this side of the Shades. (Mtich
laughter.) The case had been fully and niost fairly left to the
Jury, and no ground of eon taint was raised, he believed, of mis-
direction. Ills Lordship. in laying the case before them, suggested
three views of it to regulate their decision. Finn. ht they
believed the fairness of the defendant's aceount and his set-off,l
' they would find tine the defendant; seconielly, if thin, doubted the
account, but gave credit to the set-of . that in that erect they would
I find few the plaintiff in a diminished sum; thinii), if they believed
the 'ilaintitl's witnissm, and did rot believe that the admission of
having received 300/. was made lotwelie and as a vain boast. but
WAS a teal deelaeation of the sums received, they would then find
for the plaintiff; deducting allowance for reasonable expenses.
The Jury on the third view of the ease so left to them, and,
disbelieving the fairness of the eons in the book, found fur the
plaintiff deducting which left his (Mr. Phdlips's) client,
the mum of 194/. lie begged now to infer a personal eon.
sbleration, if it were that irregular; it was one which weigh, d
strongly with him in consenting to a ruminel verdtet in the caw
wince was to have followed the resent ; that consideration was a
desire to put an end to the discussion of a caw.. which arose out ad
eirc4mstances which every man would spill, it' possible, to obli-
terate 01101 their recollection. ilia Lorthphip would do him the
justice to say, that in adverting to the citeumetaners out of which
this action stow, he did so most hesitatingly and delicately. He
was anxious that the discussion should not be revived. As to ex-
ists/eve &mains, that was a ground ens w huh the Court were MOO
reluctant to disturb the verdict of Juries. In the case of Swevne
r. llall, lel 11.11 sin, ste. 51r..lustice 11'ilmot said, that although
her own opinion was contrary to the finding of the Jury. yet. as
they were the pr per conatitutioaal arbiters ef such qui stione, the
lourt would not disturb the verdict. He (Mr. Philli(s) timer, (we
hoped that the (Mtn would recognise that principle now, though da-
mages were excessive. but which, he mainlined, were only moderate
and tide, and that they armlet not revive a discussion the circum-
etimeen incident:& to and connected with which they should be de.
Drams or burying in perpetual oblivion.
Mr. PAT T ISO X followed on the same side. The account which
the defendant gave to t'aiherine Byrne, anal which would be pre-
wilily in Court. proved that the insertion of the item WV. was
matte subowepiently, as a set-off, and not intended to be included
in the original account. The Learned Gentleman commented on
the evidence of Mr. ;Watt and M r. Cohbett„ which was fully ("Wiled
by the jury, and on which they gave the verdict which they returned
at the trial. Acceding to their evidence, and the direction of tee
learned Judge. the Meting of 194/. was a malt:nate verdict; aid
lie subuidted, theretine. that as it war the ravish via fair esutuate

of the amount due by Parkins to Byrne, it ought not to be dis-
turbed.

Alf. Fveittec If appeared to support the rale. The rule had beets
obtained on the application of Mr. Parkins himself, and if he had
acted conformably to what his own interest pointed out, he should'
have undertaken to argue it himself on the present occasion, and
not transfer the teck to hint. It was a task which he (Mr. P.) wan
touch better qualified to execute. Ile felt more anxious lay the re-
sponsibility which devolved
,upon him, as he knew that on the ree
cult of thin day's application depended the pease, the heppineet,
and the enjoyments of his chart, for the remainder of his life. If
die present rule were refused, it would deeply and for ever wound
the feeling, of Mr. Parkins. of whom he would soy, that his gme-
rosily was as unbounded as his purse was capactotia. Yet was this
excellent man represented in the speech of hie Learned Friced
(Mr. P.) as • monster incapable of any generous sentiment or any
noble action. He was painted in such colou re by the Learned Gent.
that were it not that he was sustained by the consciousness of the
integrity of his own conduct, he would have sought, ass matt farts
intrepidity of nerve mit:in have done--refuge in the arms of suicide.
The question did not reime to • mere item of accounts—reputation
wan at et take • it was the mititution of character, and not of "tends,
and pence, that Mr. Parkins looked for I this, slid this
alone, was sought for by him, of the generous lisp esitien and
lettuce sensibility of whose nature, he (Mr. F.) was wel aware.
Ile could assure their Lordships, that the characterof Mr. Parkins
did not present thee gross picture of dishonesty and fraud, which,
on the day of trial, was decanted to the Jury, and which wan now
repeated to their Lordships. The whole tenor of his life con-
tradicted and falsified such an. imputation. When placed at the
pm of power, In the office of 41ienft of London, hr passed =ay
sleepless days and nights in the pert miance of acts of mercy, of
kintlee,s, and theniost disinterested benevolence: and it has awn
been his happy lot, by his succeseful exertions, to hate robbed per-
jury of its prey—the blood of amdetuned innocence. one of
these occattiorts, the. persons who, owed their safety t• his active
efforts to preserve their Urea, wife !nehmen. He (Mr. F.) did
not know what impression that consideratinn had on the mind of
Mr. Phillips (a laugh), but for his own part he would own, that
when he heard it, um tear of gratitude started in Ids eye, and be
felt deeply obliged to the man who had preserved their lives. He
had not then the honour orb's. P.'s acquaintance, but he respected,
and was grateful for his conduct towards those unfortunate met_
The maltgnity of his enemies might affix as many XX's to his
name as they pleased, hitt it could nut efface the merit of such cm.-
duct as this —it stood, with tn tny other instances of his services,
recorded in the newspapers of the day. His conduct was applasded,
and the applauses of his friends were answered by the applauding
echoes of his own conscience. It should be moreowee borne in mind,
that Mr. Parkins stood in acominanding attifude in the intellectual
World, and their Lordships, who sat on that tribunal over which
justice as, wont to hover, would not allow such • man to he un-
justly stigmatized and branded. Ili' motives were misconstrued,
and what he did from the purest benevolence was attributed to the
basest and n.out unworthy intentions. He had been accused of
gluttony, of avarice, of acting towards the unfortunate plaintiff in
thins case from a desire of gaping after popularity. These were the
nines r.-sorted to extort the infamous verdict which had been ob-
tained against ;inn.
The Loa at ("sore J [er tc E—Too strong, Mr. Ffrench ; I can-
not Know such words.

Mr. Fl HE WC it resumed—lfe was sorry if he had used ton strong
an expression ; but means which. In ht: opinion. could not he Jus-
tified, were resorted to to procure the temict whch the Jury re-
turned. The emptiness of his head had been contrasted with the
fulness of his overgorgill stomach.
The Luau CHIEF. J 11:1171C E —ls ail this essential to the argu-
ment on this rue?

Mr. Fr u seri felt it to be so. Mr. PI illips had digressed, and
it was his duty to follow him, he conceived, in the discussion of the
topics on which he adarged. He knew Mr. Parkins—he had heard
him *peak in public and private, and he could assure thei- Lord-
ships that he could deliver himself in good extemporary Inriguse ;
and he could any of him further that he was as incapable of 'tinnily
indulging in toe sensual gratification of the palate as his soul was
elevated above the practices of fraud. He begged now to dire,'
their Lordships' attention to the book, and to its retentive memory
he trusted for overturning the charges of freud conveyed in the
exaggerated eloquence of Mr. Phillips, and the statements of il.e
witnesses produced for the plaintiff One of the witnesees. Scott,
was a discarded servant of the plaintiff. and he outrageously await Ite d
Mr. P. at the very door of the Court of King's &nett, for *filch he was
now buffering imprieonmenL He bad been re ntent to falsify the
contents of the book; he stated that he had never himself in-
serted any items or figures in it, whereas it was now sworn in the
affidavits with which lie was prepared. that the very last item in
it was in his hind-writing; and there were several items in it in his
hand-writing. If Mr. rarkins's intention haul been to commit a
fraud, would he not have had the bock copied is a fair hand, and
thus exhibited to the .lury ? He would at least Lay, evinced some
dexterity in the execution of a dishonest design. Hut he had n,
such intention ; and it could not be seriously supposed that he,
who by 'inn-faxing industry and the powers of his creative genius,
lied raised a large fortune in a foreign clime, would condescend
to harbour so base re design, as for a motnent to entertain a
plan of enriching himself by appropriating a few pitiable do-
nations of charity ; and this, too, when the eves of all Eng-
land were fixed upon him. He was incapable of such cue.
duct ; and this be would say, in despite of the malice of the vet,.
press of this venal country, which daily invented some new tate
or anecdote of slander to vilify and depress him. He (3lr.
Ffmtch) for one would never join the faction that malevolently
decried his character. It wan by exaggerated statements, and net
by fair argument. that the Jury had been induced to find a rent t
against him. The statements of the Learned Counsel consisted of
assertions, and sere uni:ke what the great Roman orator described
an argument to Ire--(bed rat en?: onnntein ? A rgumeatani eft re.c
ipso reran,—Aist.wis in,l4,•iani vet itai;s nolo. But if the argurnte.r
of Mr. Phillips was an argument at all, it only deserved to he
characterised as an argument ad pasperiarent. It was said
that Byrne was not in a situation to pay for the premises hd oc-
cupied. This was a consideration fur Mr. Parkins; it might
phew the folly of the lessor in letting the premises, but it was by tv
means an exemption to the lessee from rent. Byrne had been in
possession nine months, and it was .Me. Parkins s intention to
charge him only for half a year, and this he believed he would
bare remitted, if Byrne had not been guilty of gruss misconduct.
Resides, he 431 r. F.) thought there was no fair presurriptiuti
that Byrne would not be able to pay the rent. It was possible, nay,
very ptobable, that he would dually become very rich. He was
al patently on the eve of acquiring great wealth, and he would
have done so, were it not that there happened to be a great Layne-
tion of change in this country about that period. Ile himself had
a right to expect it, and he (Mr. F.), as sell, he behead, as every
other gentleman, expected that great riches would have poured in
upon hint. What, he would ask, was more likely, when the un-
heard-of atrocity in the punishinent inflicted upon him became
known to the world? When the detection of that grawde serer
was made—he would that he could add monk piandum, tiff he was
sorry the culprit had escaped—it was natural for poor Byrne to
expect that public pity and public charity would have extended
sunistatice and relief to him, it, compensation for the injustice and
Tillery of which he had been the victim. There were certaitiL
causes to account for the failure in the collection of the
subscriptions. The Bishops, the sacred guatilians of the Church,
and It Ito should have been foremost to wash away the stain which
had been lined upon thou:, did not, as they should have done, come
forward and augment the subscriptions by their contributions. An.
other cause of the disappointment in the amount of the receipts wag
this: it was well known that the ladies were the t charitable e;'
the charitable sputeies. Ltd to them of course the subject could nut
be whispered. There were other cruses which he might enumerate,
which 'obstructed the progress of the subscriptions, but at first there
was a fair presumption at least that they would be large. He men.
honed this malice/ that there was not the great inaprubability rated
by the Learned Counsel of the inability of Byrne to pay the ret t.
He came over to this country, was protected by Mr. Parkins. and
instead of being grateful fen the kind treatment he received, lie be-
gan soon to indulge iu the sullen murmurings of ingratitude.
wli:eli at length burst in full malignity &ono( his benefactor. The
Learned Gentleman was about again to animadvert on, the omelet.;
of the Malloy." and heals of the /'butch in not assisting I • , when
The Lout, Er JUSTICE interrupted him, and desired that
he would net !auger indulge in reflections of that kind ; they writ
immaterial to the case, and beside the issue between the parties.
Mr. Fr • Ewen tesunted, and repeated his compLaint of the et-
aggerated statement of plaintilrs Counsel ; it was more cruel than
if he planted a dagger in the breast of his client ; for with such a
verdict hanging over him, he felt his character, which was dearer
to him than life, held tip as lost, and blasted in the eyes of the
world. This he could not rehire, and would sink under it were he
not sustaii.ed by the integrity of his conscience--:hat antidote whiter'
was implanted by the hand of God in the breast of man to heal
the written of calumny and slander. lie t Mr. Ffrench) would not
be at all apptehensive of result if it had been permitted to go
to a Jury. unaccompanied, to use an expression of Mr. MalTyatt,
with the fringe of Mr. Phillips's wit. He had now disposed of the
witness Sn.tt, ahu way discarded for drunken psalm-singing coo.
duct. (Immense laughter.) Ile should wish to offer a few words
on the deposition of Mr. l'obbett. Far be it from me (said Mr.
Ffeereft) to speak of William l'obbett otherwise than in language
of respect. I glory in the man (a laugh), but he is encumbered
with too mighty projects to burden his memory with the minute de.
tail of matters of this kind—it is vomit for hint to execute the
mighty projects he loss in view—it is his province to strike terror into
tyran.s, to impose the villany of Hely Alliances, and to engage in
affairs of similar intportarre and magnitude. netted all the faculties
of the mind in lerfection, but his mind was too much token up with
enlarged vices on tI,, vast subjects that occupied it to have
it taken tip with matters of Recount such as had been adverted to.
Ridicule •as constantly resorted to by his Learned Friend. fe'ith
this he assailed 3lr. Taylor. because he raid that be was engaged
philusophy ; and he ails tufted to his appeararance ; but he was rot
to be discredited because such ea. his pursuit, or because his
apperrarxc was not preposseseieg. It had been said of Virgil.
.tergeate in•xe;ara Lrtet rub hoc eveeere. And he could assure
their lardshipe, that lie could, it' it were required, produce at that
nimnent root-% of his upon the sciences, which, in their
judgmcnt„ would ruse him. not unworthy the character he as-
. lull (A laugh.) He (Mr. Fs saw no reason why he should
not cultivate the sciences. Mr. Phillips himself cultivated ors-
tory as a science; he cultivated it successfully, and he con-
bratulated him on the renown which he had acquired by it:
ut he should not obtect to others cultivating the sciences that
their note 11.10, induce them to attend to. His Learned Friend
completes-el of the atfida it tseirg too metaphorical. He was sur.
prised to hear dila nude a ground of complaint by the learned
Gentlemen., as it was well known to him that metaphors wete in-
dulged in in their (Mr. l'hillips's and Mr. Meech's) country
freely, and that they grew and flourished there se spontaneously
and abundantly as dulness in other countries. (Much hughter.p.
He would nest call their Lordshipv' attention to a part of ehs,