The National Register.
London, England, 1808-07-03 00:00:00

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JULY S.

lenborougb, reflecting on his character as a Judge, and debasing
him as a peer of the realm. The trials have been reported, and
our Readers are in full possession of the facts of the cases. The
libels were published on the 20th of December and the 22d of
January. •
Several affidavits were read in Court in behalf of the Defend-
ants. For Mr. White it was stated in the affidavits of Surgeon
Rainsden, and Messrs. Miller and Adams, that he was a man
svho for a length of time had been afflicted with ill health, and
that confine:nent in a prison would endanger his life. He was at
intervals allicted with a fever, besides a liver complaint, and it
was necessary that he should take exercise and enjoy good air.
With respect to the publication of =bets it was alledged in
mitigation of punishment that The I endent Whig was ap-
propriated for getters' and free discussion, 'without the prejudice
of party or opinion. The Deponent White was not the au-
thor of the publications complained of, nor was he privy to the
composition. The authors, such as were known had consented
in order that the deponent White might not suffer, to their be-
ing declared in Court ; and the letter signed Junius, addressed
to Sir Simon Le Blanc, on the subject of the dials of Bennet and
Chlp man for alledged murders, were written by Mr. Gale Josses,
an apothecary at Islington, and another of the faulty publica-
tiuus was from the pen of Mr. Miles, auihor of the Letter to the
Prince of Wales.
The Attorney-General produced the Whig newspapers since
the conviction of the Defendants, in order to prove that no con-
trition whatever had been made, but on the contrary the third
Judge who tried the cause.against the Defendants had been li-
belled, and the spirit of libelling had been kept up on each day
of publication. The newspapers of the sth, 12th, 19th and 26th
Julie were produced and in part read. It appeared by them that
Lord Ellenborough was treated very rashly, and his judicial
conduct illiberally contrasted. The writings in these publica-
tions were as strong, as the libels of which the Defendants were'
convicted.
Mr. Clifford briefly addressed the Bench in mitigation of pu-
nishment. He stated that the defendants had given up the au-
thors of the libels, which were known, and the other writings
complained of were anonymous. He trusted that their Lord-
ships woe's' act leniently as they had clime with the proprietor
of a publication who was recently convicted 'of a libel, but who,
on givi, • up the author, was not called up for judgment.
The Attorney-Generalr replied in a nervous speech, in which he
descanted on the several libels, which he conceived of the most
' tnischievous and malicious kind, inasmuch as they were intended
to bring the laws of the country into contempt, and to incite the
ignorant to acts of violence. One of the libels imputed to the
first Ma•-istrate that he was unworthy the seat he filled, and con-
trasted His conduct with the vile Judge Jefferies in the reign of
James the Secohd, who was torn from the Bench by the indig-
nant populace. If words were to be taken in their ordinary
acceptance, the populace were incited to act in the same
manner to the worthy and intelligent Chief Justice as they
bad dime to Jefferies ; Lord Ellenborough had also been
most falsely acid maliciously accused of having given his vote
as a Peer inimical to the good of his country. The his-
tory of the day demonstrated how cowardly the bold and
insolent acted when the moment arrived for their conduct to be
punished. The defendants had eagerly grasped at every sub-
terfuge to palliate their conduct, after they had failed to intimi-
date by their insolence. Guilt and falsehood erected hold fronts
before trial, and the defendants hasritot scrupled to advance
malignant falsehoods, to cover their intolerable insolence. The
defendants were not forsaken by their bold effrontery after con-
viction, but they supposed that even then by persevering in the
same line of intimidation, under pretence of bringing the Judge
and Jury who tried them into contempt, they would he suffered
to escape with imponity. It had been stated in the Whig since
the conviction of the Defendants, that an appeal would be made
to both Houses of Parliament against the J udge ho tried them
for impartiality. The Learned Counsel concluded with some
comments on what he called this bold audacity, and he trusted
that the Bench would give such a punishment, as would stop
this kind of general libelling in future.
Messrs. Parke and Richard, followed on the same side.
Judge Grose, after reading over the stronger passages in the
various Libels, addressed the Defendants previously to passing
sentence. He conceived the Libels t u be of the very worst
description, and tending to oserthrow all civil society, and such
writers were the greatest enemies to what was so much talked
of, the Liberty of the Press. The Libels went to state that
Judicial corruption should .be exposed, and by this the conduct
of Sir Simon Le Music was called in qae,tiau, fur the purpose

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THE NATIONAL REGISTER".

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of falsely accusing him, and in language the most abominable,
with having advised the acquittal of Chapman. Yet it was
stated that the author was not in Court, alth►M:gh he werhold
enough to call the summing up of the Judge, and the verdict of
the Jury in question. Time author had dared to stigmatize the
Judge for leaving the Jury to decide on the credibility of the wit-
nesses, and also that Jury for delivering a conscientious verdict
according to evidence. The Learned Judge dwelt on the enor-
mity of the Libels with considerable force; they were evidently
maliciously intended to defame, vilify the Judges and the law,
and to corrupt and excite disc.►rd in the minds of men.
The Defendants were sentenced to be imprisoned eighteen ca-
lender months each for the libel on Sir Simon Le Blanc and the
Jury, and eighteen months each for the libel on Lord Ellen-
borough—White in the comal gaol at Dorchester, and Httrt
in the county gaol of Gloucester,—and at the expiration of the
three years to find sureties to keel► the peace for five years,
themselves in 500'. and two sureties in 25W. each, and to it-
main in prison until such sureties he found.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
The Baltic Convoy has been stopped at the Nore, in order to
wait for several gun-boats which are ordered to accompany it.
These gun-boats are felt to be extremely necessary in the Baltic
particularly, in consequence of the mode of attack adopted by
the Danes. Their employment is therefore grateful to the mer-
chants interested in the trade of that sea.

LAUNCH OF TUE CALEDONIA.-Oil Saturday se'nuight, at
a quarter past five o'clock, the Caledonia, of 120 guns, was
launched from the Dock-yard of PI mouth, in presence of at
least 60,000 spectators from all parts of England ; some we un-
derstand, came from Scotland to witness the interesting spec-
tacle. The vessel glided into the bosons of the deep in a gentle
and majestic manner, amid the repealed plaudits of the multi-
tude, and the firing of guns from the !..hipping. The standard of
England proudly waved at her main; the Admiralty and Union
flags at her fore and wizen. Few sights could be more interest-
ing; a body of such vast magnitude in motion could not fail to
create interest.
For the gratifications of our readers we insert the dimensions
of the Caledonia. She was deigned by Sir W. Rule, and was
laid down in 1804, on the slip from which the Hibernia was
then launched.
DIMENSIONS. Ft. In.
Extreme length from the figure head to the stern rail VS 0
Length on the gun-deck
Extreme breadth
Depth in the hold 23 2
Burthen
On the lower deck she has 17 ports on each side, middle deck
18, upper deck 17, quarter deck 8, and forecastle 2. She will
mount 120 guns, from 18 to 32 pounders, beside, carronades.
Her stern •is light and undecorated ; the Unicorn stlpperting the
Arms of Scotland is the only design. Her head is a bust of a fe-
male figure, with the plaid bonnet, thistle, and bagpipes of Ca-
ledonia, carved on each side. Her main mast is 119 feet in
length, and 39 inches in diameter; the weight of her /anchor is
nearly 9400 pounds.

On Thursday evening a respectable tradesman in the neigh-
bourhood of Grosvenor-square, who has been confined through
illness for a considerable length of time, got up, went to the
window, and lifted up the sash—whether by accident or design
ig not yet ascertained ; but he fell down upon the spikes round
the area, and hung by his thigh for some time upon the spikes;
he then fell upon the pavement. Upon the whole, he is so
dreadfully wounded, that it is doubtful whether he may live un-
til the melancholy tale is perused by our readers.