The National Register.
London, England, 1821-02-25 00:00:00

fle

( I mperianrcial Parllo ettittiihed
•from page 59.)
Juries 'Tito") verdicts if corrupt intenttuus were not proved
against the High Sheriff? As he deemed it n matter that
afferied the constitution, lie thought that house ought to
Interfere. (Hear.) Hr concluded with moving that this
fetisitioa be beought ap,
Mr. IA LBO l' six...idea the motion, expressing his regret
that the high Sheriff had heel' led to commit so violent an
infraction of the constitution. The gentleman who moved
the amended address uarroa ly escaped ait It life. W hen the
military emered, ill Unr elllllllSilill he dropped his papers;
stooping to pick them up, he e,ciiped from the blow of a
but-end of a musket. Ile was really to t• to Logland to
prose these facts. The him. snemb..r observed, It ihe go-
vet 1111 l rot would remove religious distitictimis—would give
back the Irish their pailiament —and ceive to tax the
Ii ii
of 'lOOl.ll, their would he an cod of those di-tractions a hick
agitated that ill-fated country.—( Hear, hem.)
The petit was then hiou4lit up. It ails DI great length.
It aus then read amidst the must profound aural of the
house. Ordered to be printed.
Lord J- RUSSELL then moved, that the petition be re-
ferred to it select committee.
Mr. C. GRANT began with remarking, though it might
be uonecessaty to make the observations that the go
vcru-
Client of Ireland had no conuection with the arrangements
adopted by the High Sheriff at the kilinainhato meeting,
either he collet:Wig or the introduction of the iii.litiiry,
it also might hr unnecessary to state, a hat he hail found to
be true. since his connection with the Irsli government. that
government wits unfriendly to the introduction of the mili-
tary, where that aid could he dispensed aitlt. As to the
proposition of the motile hod, he contended that the facts,
were more likely to be ascsrtained before a jury ; and if the
parities relied on the facts, if they were confident of a ti
i-
ungallant result folloa hug investigation, he could not con.
ceive aby they should tit sire enquiry before that Helete
rather that' before a Jury. He was against the inquiry of
that house; he its for upholding the supremacy of the
L.., and therefore he must oppose the motion.
Mr. M. FITZGERALD dremed the arguments adduced
agniust stir ITII/111111 to be atolls inemiclusise. It was a
question of the coustitutitio, anti theleftomlit held It in be lit
for the cognisance of pal liament al/Ile/AI to the Grand
Jury of the comity of Dublin would he to appeal to the
parties who were implicated and interested in the question
at issue 6 and therefore he was a:;ainst the question tieing
referred to such an authority-. He held that enquiry before
that Loose alone (void be effectual.
The house divided tin Lnrti J. Russell's moi iou, when the
ambers were, fur referring the petition to a Con:tattler
O, against it Ml.—Majority agninst the er.iition 31.
The other orders a ere disposed aunt! the house adjourned
at twelve o'clock.

FIIIA•1*, IFEE. 23.
A petition was presented sum av owners and occupiers
of land in 6ussea, eomplitining of agriculturist distress.
Mr. LOCKHART presented a petition from the ship-
owners of Shields against ally altetution in the Timber
Duties.
Mr. J. LOCK presented a petition from the Atclieleaconry
of Leicester against any alter.ition of the laws allecting
Roniaa Catholics.
11r. Sergeant ()NSLOW gave notice, that on the 4th
April he should move fur leave to bring in at Bill to repeal
the usury laws.
CO*DUCT OF MR. JUSTICE BEST,—Mr. DENMAN pre-
"tented a petit ion from l'hoinas I)4V ISM), late of Duke-street,
Smithfield, huolurller, complaiiiing of the conduct of Mr.
Jai-tire Best during petitioner's trial. He represented that
he was filled three times in the (41111 W of his defence by the
learned Judge. This was a subject tic (Mr. 1).) thought of
illiii.1111111011:11 11111101 saner, rather than of legal consequence,
and theiefore iii.ll ninth) the cosi-ides at ion of the house.—
It was new, and the petitioner urged sestet al cases
of g real provocation, where the judges had assumed uo such
powers; pal Ocularly in the cases of Sir Waller Raleigh,
el &Vane' Basta irk, Sec ; Col. Lilburne's case win also
mentioned;—they attacked their prosecutors with great vi-
rulence—some of them uttering what was called treason—
und yet the Court never thought of inflicting fines. The
defendant distinctly asserted that the sclera! flues bad so in-
timidated him i hat he was unable to make the best use of his
faculties. 'lke tines, it was true, had been remitted ; but
had nut that beet' the case, the hothinember much questioned
ss !whet they could lie euthi red.—As to the cative of the
first line—the reflection on the Bar, that all honest counsel
could not be found. lie was at a boss to conceive how that
caul,* be construed into modem pt of Court." He hoped
the petition touching so novel mid unprecedented a prac-
tice mould receive the consideration of the house; and if

•
received any encouragument, he should move to refer it
to a committer. Ile did not know, untie, tie peculiar cir-
cumstances of the case, w lteiher it was not a tit subject to
address the Crows' for a remission of the seutence. lie
thought it might be argued that the ducts ine of contempt did
nut apply to the defendants: autl in the present instance lie
thought the defendant was making his defence hunt: Ale.
Mr. illoitllOUSE bierundedi the motioti, that the petition
be brought up, considering that the case was tune that ealicd
for the most serious cousideration of the Impute. lie hod not
been able to Sind any care that justified the Judge's comiut t
Sowards Davison; and according to Coke, where there was
non-usage, it was strung proof that the law would not bear
it. Contempt of Court ails generally widerstood to apply
to scornful conduc t and ri sistance of the oilicers, anti of
process. Where n man bad been fined fur contemptuous
words towards the Court, it was said by the J edge that it
would have been better to nicht I the patsy, lit the ease of
William Penn, the net-ostler of London (Jelleties) had lined
Penn to musks fur not pulling WI his Ind; and the conduct
of the J edge was held lilt to be praiseworthy- and justifiable.
Sur, I) that conduct, it Inch ltil• not justifiable in Jaren ics,
would hadly he held anti:int:dile ill modern times.
The ATI °RNLI' tiENEIt AL said, that the legality
of the judge's conduct had not even been questioned by
the learned gents titan opposite. The defendant had been
elmiged with a blasphemous libel. It charged the 110 ill.
fill es to be hard with teilheliuoth and blasphemies. 1-111 S
was only a spec:taro of the libels. lo the (1/111:•C of the
de fence the titan haute the most virulent attacks on the
judge; amongst other things, telling him to prepare the
elinigetin, ere. Thr-Le had been no interruption so lung
a reasucable defence was purstied. Arcot ding to the
ducti Me now contended tor, a defendant, because he was
deft-admit, ass to By) abet he pleased ; he was to atter
NU' no wait else a` 111:Ul‘td to say.
Mr. CHLEVEY ajl, the cliaige was for doing that
which nu other judge had ever done before. tact
was, Mr. Justice Hest was a moat intemperate judgc—i.e
Nab an at LeiCasxler, amid ou the trial of Davison. When
in the Linnet., his conduct was whilst. Ile travelled from