The National Register.
London, England, 1817-11-23 00:00:00

TRIAL BY BAT'TEL.

In case of an appeal of 'insider, if a ballet is fought, th'e
combatants meet bare dMaded and le:re-hinted, the appellee
otitis his head *haves', the appellor as usual, hut both shall be
dressed alike, They !sleet at sunrise, and fight with staves of
one tinniest sit the end. y first take the oath
altainW awl sorcery. If the appellee be so tar
that he cannot is, will slot light any longer, he shall
he adjudged to be banged immediately ; and then, as well as
if lie oe ksllrJ ill oat tel, Provideime is deemed to lias e de-
trfuffileil ill favom of the tenth, and his blood shall be altaint-
et Btu if lie kills the appeliam, ur out snaintain the light
fruits sun-rising till the. stars appear in the eueilill4, lie $ll4ll
he stespaitti il. So also, if the appellant bee iiiii es recreant,
and pronounces the horrible %old of c,aren, lie shall
hie liboyan Icvm, . ; and the apps lee
Shad recover his damages, and shill be for ever quit, not old)
of Use appeal, hist lit all inslietinents likewise of the saner of-
fence. There are eases where the appellor may counter-
plead, and put the appellee front his trial by babel: these
a. e vehement presumption or sufficient proof that the appeal
is I. lie or where tile appellor is ler 11, or above 110, years
0, age, or is a WOlll4lll, or a priest, Of a pus v, ur, 15.11),
of Loinloo, because the peacelul liaints of the chi.
w ere sisppused to unfit them for uatiel. The reason
give.) in Ilie mil law books for this steamy WOCeedilig by
duel, Ihrinsliesrii itself the strongest ground by %Melt the
appelce's si lit might sometimes be defeated. 'Die appeal
and U jai try matte' were allowed hi cases %here there Was
411 ahsence of all usrect proof as to Use ',crews who had COAL
milted the crime in qucsunn. Fur instance, a murder was
perpret sat eil : the author it a, mak now : 11. being next of
km In the inirdereil person, presented tiiniself, and swore
Chit C. D. hail eu iiiiii Stied it : C. D. denied it; there was no
prim'', out only positive affirmation on ttttt side, and positive
denial oil the oilier. In a case or this d tilesdty, where de
tertian seemed impossible by hntnan means, the stiperstition
of sine forefathers slept in with a remedy; they conceives',
that it' the tWu owls, the appellor and the appellee, were
fisirty pitted against each uffier, without human aid, and sin
der the soli invocation of the Divine stivernitellileilee,
then Providenre Itself would interfere, Anil by the result of
tee eomoat furnish 4 vertitet sae they termed it) which shuniii
'punish the guilty and clear the innocent. This then being
the illative of Ilse proceeding, it seems clear that in all cases
where either direct pro,:l' conlit be adduced tita, the ace:used
was euillieeteil Willi the came, 0r where, in the abseisce lit
direct proof, sufficient ground of suspicion Aline limit colla-
teral evidence to afford nutter for ail indictment, then the
pessuu charged was not to have his trial try battel ; or, iii
oilier words, the interposition Of Braves it As slot lit 111•
itecessarilw invoked, where lisillialt szig4eity tent:lst unravel the
knot \1 tiellies Ilsu present ease of 'llturaitois copies under
this deseripii is the great point to he detailed: cud, prism
furie, we ca ull si ills express an 01)11 i iiii that the verdict or a
Coroner's Inquest, sill the silbseilllelit hotting of as Grand
Jury, though ilsey this not :1111011111 to inisilive proof, at least
supply the other leaps site in a cuunterelea—ibe existence of
" vehement suspicion."

- . -
Besot", the bully which on the very face of this proceedin.,
most hie merlons to every reader, namely,' that .•right should
follow might." there ale other ,thsturtlities which must tend to
make It equally imps ataule to an enlightened age. For in.
'slatite if 111. app. is, the 'slams; 01 the '.lend person
awl 111 Just indignation should proceed against his murderer,
yet tt she sl 1,1 111.111. y before the appeal comes into CUIIVI,
11,u she can have no redoes against the slayer ut her nisi
Itusinintl, u srduse, iu the eye of our legislators, out Mall was
as good as 41111111 cl ; 411(1 as she was taus supposed to have
.aketi competisalluil into her own Mien's, site was not entitled
10 teem% e any from the law. Again, though, the appellee,
if fauud y would oe out of the reach ul pardon from the
Cron ti, yet the appellant might sell his ilfe to him for any
% Inch he chose to ask. Tlllb last IllUde it 111411'8
I,fe like That ut all o• or a slurp, was a remnant ut the must
liatharuas ages, and is IL/ he fnuntl among many tithes M.
:Vries,' and Indian savages.

A reprieve, during pleasure, has been received at Derby for
George Weightinan, one of the prisoners convicted of High 'freason.
oran Oohing lately arnved from Batavia. among his other
extraonlittary qualities is de,bribed by his keeper; as the link dust
seiniraics the blow from the numan species I
Woof. La, the wtiter of the Weekly silt:ate:Med The Black Dwarf;
Was been served with toe following notice from Air. Litchfield, dated
Nov. IL (sr,' Take no;iee, that tae issue joined in this prose.
corset will be tried at the sitting of Nisi Prins. to be holden by
adjournment. after this 'Ferns, in and or the city of London."
otti 'Lac y AND I: Lux D.—We lately mentioned that a bill of
indictment had been found at the Old Sessions against Iliiritrn
perimns for eonspimey and fraud, by opening counting houses, and
pretetaiing to be merchants. by wined ineani they had obtained pro.
,t eiy of various persons to the amount of one hundred thousand
poulids:—The tidlowing arc their names and residences.—John
Aleyer, run away ; John Kenncare. Alartin's lane; Thomas Keyse,
Weyne.hall, Edmonton; Henry Lee, Btiinal-green-litne,Snoretlitch;
Lewis Levy. l.'re.cott.street. Goodman's-fields ; Joseph Leigh. or
Lee. late of Bucklusauty; Joan Leven, gore to India; William
Leigh, or Lee. gone to India; Mostly Woolf, Salter's-hall-court,
an.. Man.ell.street; Samuel Jacobs, Bury.street, .Vary.le-lionne ;
Henry Weiller, King's Bench; William Talbot, George-Yard, Loin.
awed-sueet ; George Newman Hardy, King'. Bench.
LI.Mk HICK, No'. 3.—A atoir PAINIVL Cass.—An
tho rime. Cn.xtu, of the name of 1% Hurley, brush
maker, had his family for some weeks alnirted will. fever.
Tot, poor man and his wife took the complaint some days
since; bat so terrified were the neighbours by the malignity
of the, disorder, that the poor et onion. although attacked her.
sell, was the only attendant on her afflicted husband ; %slum
melancholy to rt late, he died, his %vile got op. shaved and
washed hum, and, lying !WWII, ex pied last Satin day by his
side: They were carried through our streets yesterday
et ening and interred iu the some grave. They have left lout
children, the youngest all infant torn Gone its mother's breast,
and the eldest in the fourth relapse of levee.
LL-re DEse NTS.. —ll i• ulivay% an object of coati
sits to know what over:hoes of the descrmilasit, of remaikable
met.. A Nuremberi paper gives the tidlot%ing itiformat.
respecting the tinily of Luther ; —Luther himself, though he
married, as is known, a min, died without posterity. 111.,
brother, %%hat rcumiueei in the village of .Vier:., in Saxony,
where he was left se% end sons, of one of whom there
still exist Iwo descendants. The wile of tie first h. es in a
hamlet with her mu, who is eriieptic. Slie and her 1111,6.111 d
are is the greatest distress. The other is engaged in a rus-
tic oceripat hut. iu :mother hamlet. It hile tilt' Germans,
theteliire, celebrate solemnities in honour 01 Luther, they
stiller Ili, family to struggle with poverty im ohm:wits.
'I lie 'subscription to the Oratiil Canal between Edinburgh
and Glasgow is at length completed, and the work ha now
commenced.

POLICE.
-op-

3,5 m.

GUILDHALL
Fin Es.--Tuesilay iklessrs. Roller and Chamberlain, pro.
prietors of the Red Lion inn, Aldersgate-street, were tann- . .
mooed to answer the complaint of the beadle of the Ward of
Aldersgate, for refusing to pay die legal reward for the ex.
tiul•tiun of a fire in their premises.--The Beanie observing
on Saturday senniglit sparks issue from a cl t i tttt ley in the
ited Lion, proceeded to bring an engine, as is usual in such
eases, and another was brought by sonic of the inhabitants.
lire, however, proved of 110 trivial a twine as to render
the assistance of the engines tinnecessary. It was on this
latter ground the defendants resisted tine• payment of• the te-
wit d.—ou reference being had to the Act of the tith of
Gat). 111. cap. 78. it was tumid to be there enacted. " That
if• there shall be seen in any house or premises, sufficient tire
to create danger and alarm, it shall be the duty of tile proper
Otheria, or of• any other persons, to bring an engine or en-
gines fur the extinction thereof; and 4)11 a certificate being
produced of the sank', signed by the Alderman and Depoty
of the Ward, and attested also by two respectable inhabitants,
the persons bringing the engines, whether they play or our,
shall he entitled to the proper reward."—A certificate re-
gularly sigurdaud attested. :recording io the statute, nas put
iu 11 the iicudle.—An hiliabilatot of the Wald prove d, that
there was tire in the chimney, though 'of a very trifling na- •
titre.— The Magistrate observed, that however trifling the
tire first appeared, serionv consequences might have resulted
from neglectitrg to check it ; and he was of opinion that the
treadle had done no inure titan his duty, and was therefore en-
titled to the reveal ei. Mm. Butter immediately paid the sum
daunt:a, 11. as, mud costs.