The National Register.
London, England, 1812-03-08 00:00:00

SPORTING.

BET'T'ING ON THE TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS AND
CLARET STAKES•

'7 to 1 against

"FWD THOUSAND GUINEA to 2 against Handel.
Cato. 9to 1 against Calyba.
Ct, to 4 aguivst Phantom. sto 1 against Cambrian La's
7to 1 abet Mutuitebatik-8 to 1 agst Hit or Mies-9 to 1 asst Wellington.

The famous Phenomenon mare, which Intl once done on a trot PI
inile3 in eme hulls, lost the match for 500 guineas on Friday last. She
was to trot sixteen millet within an hour. The animal is more than 26
years of age. She lost the match by four minutes.
Tuesday sennight, O. gentleman of landed property near Norwich,
- sent seventy guns into one of his woods, when eighty brace of hares
and one hundrbd couples of rabbits were destroyed, and carried away
in carts. He estimates the damage done to the fell, in that single %vox],
by the game within the last yeir, at 3001. Query, What is these stimate
of damage done to the farmers, whose lands adjoin the woos ?

LAIV INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, GUILDHALL, MARcx

SITTINGS,AT NISI rkIUS,REF(IRE LORI) COIF! JUSTICZ ELLENCOROUGN,
AND A SPFCIAL JURY.

.........
I.IBFI,.—PAINE'S AGE OF REASON.
THE KINO r. DANIEL ISAAC E.AToN.
T11.,3 Wali an informr,tion filed ex-dlicin by the Attorney-Cenral
against the defendant, a bookseller, .in Ave Nll:ria-lanc, for. a Libel, in
re-publishing the third
,x had pleaded NotParGt uuitifyri.ine's Age or
don .IReason ; to which inform
. . .
Mr. Abbott opened the pleadings on the part of the prosecution.
that
The Attoriley-Gcricral, then addressing the Court and Jury, said,
holding the official.• situation which be had the honour to bil, he had
thought it his duty to tile the present information against the defendant,
for the publication of a Lib4l, full of the greatest impieties and blasphe-
mies--a. Libel of sr.ch a nature as, he had hoped, the British Pi e,s
would ne,,,r have fern dis,iiraostd by sendinr forth into the w or:tl—it
was a I,i .# 3p,lti:ot ti:e Christian RelLioit,atpi the Holy Founder of it;
and be knew mit how to expresl-the indignation which he felt, that allf
man should be found in this country sufficiently depraved as taisscinis
nate such doctrines- AG this.publication the.author denied tlie truth of
that Religion c whiCh all oar hopes.of happiness in this world, awl ail
the consolation in that which w.is to come, were founded. .11e )1A
stated in this work. that. the Holy Scriptures, from the be: inning to the
end, were a mere fiction. • lie denied the miracles, the birth and r:
lie
of our S:tviour, and .controvereedhis existence. as the :',on cif Got .
,Speaking of infidelity, he exidttined it byisaying, that " he who
in Jesus Christ was an IniMel to God.' The effeCt of such doctrine;
uponsociety at large--upon every: individual Wh'o composed a part ui
that society, Were of the most destructive tdndency, and if such a wotk
believed
was to be generally disseminated, and gave au influence over the minds
of those .who read it, it would effect. a moral revolution of the ino!t
horrid description.. He *di.addressing many inavietuais who were lA'
vanced in life, 'and he would ask them where they were to look for con:.
sedation .01 the close Of their mortal existence, but front tile hopes held
out by religion, that if 'they had acted with integrity they would hoc
their reward ; and, if.they,had committed an y .effence, to whom were.
they to look for. forgiveess but to him whom this impious author drPite.l
to have evsr eisteti.,. 'l those who had fandlies he should particuisell

MAUCH 8.1 _ _ TIM NATIONAL REGISTER.

. • •
address himself, awl he woMaill "Them what yvas the. first Object—
what was the first duty to inculeate.httoi. their children's -minds? Ver.
tainly a veneration fOr the religion of their cotmtrb .a religido 'which all
virtuous and enlightened mei beliestedain. Did they not build all their
hopes of their welfare here and happiness hereafter on that tension ?
and what then must be.their feelings if they found that a publication of
this kind had crept into the bosoms of their families, and corrupted
their minds and morals ? To what. were they to look for a faithful dis-
charge of the duties of their domestics, except from those principles
which our Holy Religion imparted ? To what could they look for the
performance of their rvirreetivedutiet, if they were to throw that religion
aside? These were temporal considerations; and taking the subjett in that
psint of view, there could be no doubt that the object of this book was to
lay the axe to the root of religion, and. expel it from the minds of those
in which it now flourished. What right bad he to expect from that
Jury an honest verdict on the evidence which would be laid before them,
if they disbelieved the Holy Evangelists on which they had been sworn ,
To what were they referred when they were sworn to give a true ver-
dict "So help me GOci ?" Were they • not sworn on that holy work
which the author of this publication held up as a fable and as an impos-
ture ? What right had he to expect that the witnesses would speak the
truth, except from the operation upon their minds of the sanctity of
that oath they had taken ? fhe
.hope of future reward, and the dread of
future punishment, operated on the minds of almost all men, and he
believed very few indeed, if any, in this country acted on a different
principle. Ought not therefore the man who endeavoured to destroy
that great bond which united society together be amenable to punish-
ment f [Here the Learned Attorney-General reoceeded to state what
the law was upon this subject, and how such offences had been treated
by the greatest and best fudges of former times.] Having said thus
much, he hoped he had satisfied the Jury that this was an offence cog-
nizable in a Court of Justice; hut, it might be said by the defendant
that he was not the author of the publications; he should, however,
prove, from his own words, that be had gone to the trouble and 'ex-
pense of importing it, he had found the poison growing in another coun-
try, and transplanted it, and had endeavoured to disseminateir in this.
He declined reading the paragraphs as he had proposed to do, but the
Jury would hear them from the Officer of the Court, and he should
therefore content himself w Hi readings the last paragraph which concltid-
ed the work, and from NV fifth an inference could be drawn of the ten-
eency of all the preceding.—" lie who believes in the story of Jesus
Christ, was an Infidel to•Gol."
Mr. Henry Raven was the first witness called. lie proved tse pur-
chase of the hook in question at the defendant's shop in Ave-Maria-lane,
on the of October last: he bought it trona a youn,-, woman in the
shop, and while he was thei:e the defendant came in, and haVing entered
into conversation with him, the witness asked him how he knew it was
written by Torn Paine? to V.-hich the defendant replied, he had been
at the expense of sending to America for it, and procured a copy from
Deva'ne, the Editor of the Aurora, in America, and as further proof
of its being Tom Paine's writing, he referred him, among other passages,
to the paragraph which the Attorney-General quoted in the conclusion
of his address to the Jury. •
The book was then put in, and the several paragraphs charged in the
information as libels on the Christian Religion read by the r op.A. Offi-
cer. These paragraphs contained the most diabolical blividieinies against
keliSion, the Divinity of our Saviour, and the Writings of the 2..postles,
heal the tendency of which, we think, we littst consult the moral and
religious cf cur readers, by abstaining train giving them in detail.
The writings of this Author are already too well kno•svii to require fur-
ther explanation.
Here the zlitonley-General closed the case on the part of theprose-
cation.

Lord FLLEliao ou then called upon the defendant to proceed with
his defence.
The (it fondant rose, and addressing his Lordship, presented a paper
hi; defence, which he requested the Officer of the Court
might be permitted to read fur him, as he labouredundtr a violent cold.
Lord ELLENBOROUQH directed hint to read it hinisolf,and if he found
any (Vaulty in his progress, he would then suffer the Officer of the
Court to proceed.
The defendant then addressing his Lordship and the Jury, reading
from the paper, stated, that Providence had not gifted him with the
Powers of oratory, nor was he designed for the Pulpit or the Bar, not
having studied at the University for the one, or served his terms at the
Inns of Court for the other, hut he had, noverthile,s, received a good
education. He had been six years at a boarding-school, from thence be
went to the College cir the Jesuits at St. Omar's, where that great man,
Mr. Burke, received his education at the same time. At that period
the Jesuits. had been expelleil, but were succeeded by a, sect, if possible,
Incite higotted and intolerant, and his father became so apprehensive
of his turning Roman Catholic, that he prevailist upon a worthy clergy-
man of the Church of England to write to him on the subjecti and this
worthy man desired hint not to Mind any thing these ?eople should say
t(: hint, but to study the Bible, and make it the guide at his conduct. He
did so, but upon reading it with attention, he found it su full of contra-
dictions and gross absurdities, that he began
tto—
Here Lord ELLENBOROUGU interrupted the defendant, observing,
at lie had alread
read Stiffidient to *show the tenden;:y of thepapet ht
was h
then
reading, but he must not take that oppoi tunity of reviling the
Christian religion, it was the highest contenvt tic could be guiity of,

- - 137

and if heiersisted? his Lordsiiip should feel it his duty .to, 4nimadvvit
upon Aid; duet tc tva.s only an ap- Jn of bicelf.

COO-- tki the J).ity• - only . Jggraistiloi
fence, and his Lordship would not suffer theChrisdan religion to be Mei
vili in a Court of deface. _
The defendant, then proceeded to-vold his defence in theiraMe Manner,
without attending to the admonition of the Learned Judge. He luotrit
several passages. (ram the Book of Esdras, and the writings of the
Evangelists, tracing, the progress of the Jews from their earliest ages to
the liabylonish captivity ; from which he proceeded to argue, that the
God of the Jews was Mars, or the God of War, a cruel viiiaictive deity*
who could not, therefore, according to the Prophets, be the fathernlf
Jesus Christ, nor the same God worshipped by the Christians, when.,
Lord ELLaNaubtouGH again interrupted him, and told him he must
not proceed in that manner, but if there was any thing in that paper
(which, from what he had heard, he greatly feared there was not)
which could be useful towards his defence* his Lordship would give
him time to select and read it.
The defendant replied, that there were but twoor three sheets more,
if he might be permitted to proceed. _
Lord Et.LzNaoROUGH said that it was not the length, but the Matter
he objected to ; and he thought it but charitable to tell him, that it was
not only mischievous to himself, but unfit for. a. Court of Justice to Mars
He could not sit there and hear the Christian religion reviled in such &
manner.
The defendant, notwithstanding this caution, was proceedings as te+
fore, when •
Lord ELLENnOROUOII again said, he should be put to the necessity of
precluding him from reading any more from the paper. If, therefore,
the remainder of his paper contained matter so highly detrimental to re.
ligion, he must coi sider his persisting in it as meaning to insult the
Court, and if he did so, he must take the consequences.
The defendant said, he conceived that every pact of this paper forms
ed a part of his defence.
His Lordship then told him he should give him time to look it over,
and desired he would omit those passages which were offensive.

After a short pause,
Lord ELLENSOROO6II observed, that upon consideration, he thought
the ends of public justice would be best answered, by permitting hint to
read every line of it, but if he did, he must abide the consequences.
The defendant then proceeded to read the remainder of his defence*
which contained nothing but the most :lbominable blasphemies against
the Christian religion,; he denied the divinity, or even the existence of
Jesus Christ, and the Infalibility. of the Apostles and Evangelic writers.
In conclusion, he defended the doctrines of Paine, alledging, that his
books were as fair in point of language and argument, as any bookscould
be ; and, so far from being written again►t religion, he did not inderdict
csny sect, but only sought the truth ; that these writings were only re-
viled by the priests, who were afraid of 100-ing their good living, and
if they must preach, he advised them to preach something that could be
understood, and confine-themselves to preaching upon moral goodt anti
the social duties, to abstain from theological controversies, whiokonly
tended to encourage Methodism.
to have concluded, and

t

Here the defendant seemeL
Lord ELLENBOROUGH asked him, if he wished to call any. witnesses,
The defendant replied in the negative; and again addressing the
Jury, observed, that he was far from wishing to offend against the laws
of bis country ; hut begged to remark, that this book had been in circu,
lation ail over the Continent for several years, where the people were
well known to be more Ibigotted, and. firmly attached to their religion
than in this country, which boasted so much of its liberty. The book
had also been in circulation in America for six or seven years before he
sent fur it; but it there was any thing bad in it, or if any Lawyer, or
any other Gentleman, could convince him that it was improper, be
should nut have published it. He contended for the right of discussing
religious topics, as tending to narrow the spirit of biggotry and intole-
rance, while, on the other hand, any restraint put upon it only tensed
to encourage both. He 'mitt adverted to the persecution against himself
the Book had been only two days odblished, when a prosecution was
commenced against him. He had ulaready 'suffered 'under various pro-
secutions; had been fifteen months in confinement at one time; Ihis
property had been' d'estrciyed by five, and hehad suffered IlOnsiderable
losses in other respects. - He could not see that any punishment was
applicable to his case—all -such punishments was against the interests
of society, and againstreligiota itself. • Having thus concluded, he at.,
tempted to present thednry with twelve copiesuf the publication.- But,
upon the suggestion of one of the Counsel fur the prosecution, Lord EL..
L::NBOROUGH ordered his officer to take them into his custody.
The Attorney General then said, he rose merely to assert his right to
reply, but it was Impossible for him to give any more conseirjence to
the ,case than the defendant had done, by the manner in which he had
shaped his defence.
Lord ELLENBOROIGIi then addressed the Jury, observing,that when
;le considered h?. was addressing twelve Christian men, sworn upon the
Holy Evangelists, he vit3uld ask thent whether they believed there was
any validity in that oath they had solemnly taken, when the defendant
himself had told them,
_.thaebe hoped he had proved, to their satisfaction,
the invalidity of the 1-roly Evangelists ? Such abominable blasphemy,
such reviling igalnit •the 'Christian Religion, had never before been
heard in a Court of Justice ;''and he had felt more- pain than he could
well express, while he attended is the defendant's addreFsl
:anti ;lie beginning to the end, was a tit,..ue.of the 111$5i 1;-