The National Register.
London, England, 1822-05-19 00:00:00

WINCHESTER AND HUE V. COOK.

A rule laid been obtained in this ease to discharge the
defendant,Sophia S. Cook, out of the custody of the sheriff
of Middlesex, on the ground that site was it married wo-
man. The affidavit of the defendant staled, that she was
married to James Sanders Cook, and Mr. Gurney, who
moved to discharge her out of custody, stated the follow-
ing remarkable tact ill support of the (-overture :—The
liiishand (Cook) was prosecuted at the Old Bailey for bi-
only, in marrying the defendant. Ha set tip as a defence
that the rior maeritge took place daring his minoitty,
but failing to make out that fact, the Juicy found him
guilty. At the time lie hail a suit is the Ecclesiastical
Coast, which was gained, and lie received a pardon. He
then lived with the defendant as his wife..

........
The affidavits of the plaintiffs stated, that they onpplied
the defendant. at her lodgings its Great licisselhurcet.
Illooinshiny, she declaring hetacif to be a widow.
'Fins day the conditional t tile obtained for het discharge
was oppu•cd, and the Cum t beisig of opiniou the defen-
dant slid nut aWrJr positively to tile in:tillage, ordered the
Jule to be discharged.
SEDUCTION.

Mr. Platt applied, Oil behalf of the parents of a young
girl of seventeen, fur a wait of Ilaheas Corpus to bo
served on Atom e, Esq. a gentleman residing at the
Ilat racks, Portsmouth. The object was to compel
him to restore their daughter, whom he had MAI lIICVd and
carried au Ay.
'the Bifida% its in support of the motion stated, that the
father and mother applied to Mr. Moore, at his lodgings
in the Marine tiariacks, Poi tmiuntli. requesting their
daughter; and Mr. Moire told them she was under his
protection, and she should nut be taken away at the risk
of his lite.

In answer to a question from one of the Judges, Mr.
Plait said she Nay not Inure than se•enteert.

The LUI nriy take the rule."

It is asserted that the common groundsel, given
plentirully to horses in the stable, win etnctu:tily
t;urt; greasy

LAU INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH.
FRIDAY, NAY 1.
THE JOHN BULL NEWSPAPER.

TDB KING t'., WGArLa, CHACILFLL, AND ARROwNWITH.
I its. t'o•otilou Sergeant proved the judgment of the Coot
00 these three defendants, w his were found guile y at the
rotting before last Hillary- term, at Guildhall, of live libels
✓ r late Majesty.
The Laid Ctisef Justice rend his notes of the evidence, by
whleli it appeared that five as tic ea. reflecting in gross terms
on the late Qaet n, were iterated in the ./uhn Bull newspaper
nu Mt. rvals helot-en Vie latter end of February :tint the end
o' May, 181,1, mad ant I hr defendants were the proprietor,
p• titer, and puibli•lirr of that journal. The libellous pas-
suers sett iCt tut th ill our rellOrl of the trail.
Oa she part of the defendant .t rawsmitb, an affidavit of
a meilictil geutleanati was read, statiog, Cait he laboured
• lister au indispa-ition which impris 0000000 elli had already in-
t—. a•etl, and which fur•lier helmsman •i-t would probably
•iliter dangerous. Nu affidavits were pal in on the port of
iil•e other defendants.
Oui behalf of the prosecution an affidavit was read, stating
time the deponent, toured %Valiant Allen, had regularly
luau chased the numbers of the Jan Bull almost (tom its
r immencement ; that the paragraphs selected were only
pti it of a regular system of cal y clamd oil au.ainst the
late Queen.; and the defendants, haying been convicted of
a lib .1 an a deceased lady, and semeistast to imprisonment
tied hoe, boasted of their inderentlence of prosecutions, stud
asset fed that they had received 9001. 111 l slOnatilv,
imleatitifying them against loss. ft also stated, that in one
of their papers it was stated that more titan 4'16.00) copies
of the rek% >paper had been sold.
Tlii• defendants being severally inked whether they wished
to wee any thing in mitigation of punishment, bowed re..
pecitudy to the Court, and lull mated that they had nothing
tai oir.r.
Toe Common Sergeant then addressed the Court in agent-
•atian of the pniidd mt. The defendants had, he 'said,
put sued a sery di•creet course iii nuking nu addre•s to the
irt—a coni se which, ito doubt, experience had shown
lit be the wisest. !lard as it was to attack thlre who
int tile no resistance, he should be guilty of till abate'
of that duty which hist compelled I l ii t s bring these di..., ow*
Fag pauitUISIS even into discussioa, if lie were induced by
any ;personal consideration to say nothing of the hirliou.
crime of which the defendants stood convicted. It bad
hei•n thought necessary for the public goad, to bring forward
these it.div Waal* tar ju-tice, as they haul gratified the malig-
nity of the must malignant, agithea the highest subject of
la- realm, now no more. The libels of which they were
fat d guilty were live in number—of the grossest and most
in ~mews kind; and yet these were sworn to be but it sainple
Ili I hlt venomous invective which could not he suspi tided e.eii
b b • death of its victim. After she had been consizned to
t •e solent tomb of her ancestors, they still pursued le. in.*
salary with the same um cleating slander 14 itll which they
hat imhitteri d her life. to these libels, they dared to chit*
ea. ter iz.• the hilt subject of the realm its a shameless *cumin
—as a female lust In mill mien-e of propriety and tle•t•euey—
ar one now sunk into oblivion, in *lllOl She *014,1 lilt well
to remoiu fur shelter—as heartless, hat dray& an " example
of profligacy, nastiness, and sitipmvity." The imputed to leer
irittinperilnee ilit• taunt dislusting, wantoeuess the most
odious, profligacy the most open and hold. Could it be per-
mitted to any one hum .11 bring to -peak in sus Is terns- of
noodles ? -Even if till these impatittioits weir as trite a- diey
were seitittlaluusly false—ecru it these defendants hail beeu
eppointed judges of the case ofthuir sit:chit-00111d they
have been justithol in using lango,..e, far mote degrading,
indeed, to the party using it, than to the party nettarst ve I
it was adopted I—lf a Judge were called upon In ez,ness
lies moral rept,,t,iiiimi of the conduct of au ittilividu ul ticf tie
I.i a, he availed himself of that right, or rather of that la .vi-
I- with the temper, caltnne•s, and mod. retain het,. ie.%
ha lace. if an advo..ate, required to deltoid auy c :use
Luau ss Welt he 'night nut shtick with Malmo, wits, io the
coar,eta his duty, compelled to ailinadvert tin the c feel
re. I ar adverse party—it he weir called to give v.lll lit lila
sent jnifighntnill,iaaid-1 all the excitement which a zeal
f r has client enkindle—yet if lie could be tempted to
di+ ert against a female calumnies like these, instead ,:l retiring
It it h the boast that he had vindicated the intlepend nee of his
rideroi 1111 l he would be cos Signed to univeral tied to merited
is may. As the defendant. had said nothing on tin. occasion,
lie would only speculate on those topics which might pos-
stoly occur to their lordships' minds, in eXtreinattoti of the
eiiirtmona offence before them. Could it be said that the
just hbei ty of the press alithorized these slautleisi. No;
there was not • g them one shadow of elierassion—not
among these or all which proceeded hem the +gime mini,
.ono vestige of argument-11001in.; but foul invective
t hich could gratify the basest malignity, or minister
pleasure to lime Dona vitiated appetite. Would it be IllAin.
taitied that libels on one side could wily be put down
Ly libels on the other? In the first place, lie demo it
Lint the Alll4llll of the press famish. d any parole
/ the system pursued by the shim Bull; sod, wets it
',ler% lie, lie should only
.say that tits tiltei fel race of tlue
is/Jlll I W40.111011' (leek/011y failed 10r in prevent I utli 'retinal
et:Arnett r trout being destroyed between the combatants.
la bad been said by au idtsprent friend of his (Mr. Den.
11:410.6) in reference to tills Witte, that vermin coutel only
be destroyed by vet min; but sorely if those vermin
claw led to the tLruat of sume noble animal, they required
yrt.ii pt destraction pout mightier halal:. The pi ',area-
lion was col 1111 l raced .00et alter the puitilicatioa of the last
Of chew libels; the t• 11111 l sel tar her Maj.sty Rio:Limed. so
Inag as any thing like discus-ion was interiutogletl' with
slander, from prosecution ; but no one emu(' read
.vs this series of calumnies without ferliag ilia' their
e,,,y lit their Hoye' Mistress compelled the a at Ica-1 to
tiring her slandertis to justice. The gie4t l.attire Of the
1.,t/•m 01. this infamous paper was consistently sustained
t.;-day. Here was nu lalilaltlUll rfha foln:elnent OM( the
was swim titled —no disclaim tit au intention to
proceed in a similar course; but the /4111 e maeltitiery was
knit at murk, and hopes were yet theeibiled didt bars
us'old lie paid Inuit some stlikulow ti solace, or Mat other
ir.•11,111111111s would come linw4ld to 1.11,41111 the itilitlyll.
Wi,U net) the author of this contemptible 4uti, lie Ishaw
1., 1; the parties stated w print Oast they received ou as-
e in their deti•stable labium*.
Mr. J astice B iyley.— there Is nu affidavit of that, Mr.
C mono' :sergeant.
Cite Co 'in Sergeatit.—No, my Lord ; but it it in the
J 'hit Hall: TioiNs burveser, as sword to, ti at the paper
coattail's a boast that tens of II ands of English women,
who would have believed in the innocence at the Quern,
1: ad.Lrru an& ceived by the labours of the editors ; and a
Li tat, that dotty wuwau 31multi dare to give her public

sanction, she would be laid open to public obloquy, in-
spection, and contempt. Was there coy thing equal to
this in the whole history of the press? No wonder if her
Majesty was milavourably received at the opera—no
wonder exalted ladies, who would have been proud and
happy to ittlord her the consolations of their society,
slitunk back ; fur these defendants threatened an expo-
sure which Ito female mind could brave, and to defy which
required an heroic courage scarcely consistent with the
setter virtues of the sex. The detentlants. according to
their own statement, had made large profits—something
near 5,0001. (setting the subscriptions against the dedue-
• for fines) by their detestable and unmanly traffic.—
He would well believe they were not only the publishers
of the work, but its limbo's; for lie declared before God,
that he weld,' accuse nu man of so revolting a crime with.
Out the (dearest ;Hoof. He felt that he could not pursue
the topics which this case suggested with that temperance
which lie was bound to preserve, and therefore Ire would
lot bear. 'lice national morals, the national character, the
public peace, all violated by the defendants, called on the
Court to s.istain them. l'hcir Lordships would not allow
these men to glory in theirill-gotten wealth ; they would
not suffer them to enjoy the thought that they would be
indemnified by their readers, also thought their tease of
atrocity 411 excellent S lay repast, tiara all harm. If
one of the defendants snuffer should ser pecoliatly trout impri-
sonment, it Wit,. matter of regret; but the Court had
scat-rely any optionotow that another mode of ponisliment
was abolished, but to hilted imprisonment or tine. lie
called on the Court, on behalf of the living anti the dead,
for that protection which the living, and the memory of
the dead, had ever received from their hands.
Mi. Brougham followed on the same side. The Court
would, he said, pet ceive at once that the defend:ints had
been guilty of a most deep and serious offence, fur which
they had expressed no contrition; the motives of their
labour was avowed—their tendency was obvious—their
effects were matter of lamentable history. Their slanders
had tended to imbitter, if not shot tell, the life of the first
&object of these realms. They had been engaged in a
coaspirary to outlaw that illustrious lady ft out the society
of her fellow-stilijects, and had vaunted of their suc:ess to
the world. Th .y had degraded the press, that best ist-
strionent of public itistrite,iee, and bad made it their
boast that they inn °deiced into it one mighty mass of cot-
roption. It they set re [whir uto be the most atrocious of
criminals who poisoned the wells of a great city, what
should be said of those who infected the springs of know-
ledge at the fountain head, and made its waters fit only
fur unnatural add degraded appetites to banquet on ?
They might or might not he the authors of these odious
winks; and if they were only the base hirelings of miss
I creative lurking in the back wowed, the Court would re-
! gard them with no less indignation. Their sentence would
I reach these miscreants, ifinich they were, and would place
them in such a situation not to be envied by the lowest of
Minima beings. They would know in the bands of what '
agents their sect et wes deposited; they a mild tremble
i hunt ly fur its dieclostire; and when that disclosure, should
come, as collie it must, they would be pointed at with
I wiugled feelings. which were usually incompatible, of the
I uttermost contempt and the uttermost hatted, and would
be pm sited with the indignation and scorn of the high.
minded E.thill people.
The Lind Clued Justice, after consultiog with the other
Judges, said, " Let the &readmits be brought up for
~ judgment usi the last tiny of elm."
DIR. CII•RLES itt;RIIAY.
i Mr. Witch ois Itch of of the pal lice who originally
ire rucl. d Mr. Murray in the ccse of appeal in the light
Court of Admiralty, for a rule to Ain't% l'l.lUte %%by he should
nut account to them for money r. re ieed, and pay over the
I.teatice in his hoed,. The NO cciioa, he appre-
litied, any five fr.int those formal objections a loch inured
livid to In. late iul .•
The Court granted the rule, but intimated that if it should
aitpeat tit it the real applicants were the s,pmc as tin the
toaster atiplicati )))) the same ohj. • would again arise.
The LoutChiefJu.tiee,astheJudges sveic retiratg, in-
' mitred of notch it' his silt ,av it slut. d that Mr. Mutiny
Clad refuted to account, to which he replied in the affirmative.