The National Register.
London, England, 1819-11-21 00:00:00

INIDICTMNNT FOR ■COITION AND BLASPUICPAY.

On the motion of Mr. Welton, Joseph Manion was had up
to plendio an indictment charging him with horn ingly,
end waist lously publishing a teller' haze, scanda.
iris, and seditious libel, tenclirc to tiring one brallCil of the
Le,islattire tido cunlrmpt ; Mite In a libellee, a deck Ai 11011
tAr Mweistretes of Muutheater, end lihewive for .41 snailr
liheqehe attack, on the Yeomanry Cavalry of Cheshile and.
Mancliesier.

The in. 111.; went was then read Ly the clerk. It was very
Tung. and mustard several c ts.

ice could not cohect the name of the work or pamphlet
in which the alleged libel smuts coutained2 but we understood
it to be an address to the people of Manchester, who lead met
together on the !nth of August. It was published uis the
gist of September, at liirusiiighant. In one e t the de-
fendant was charged with exciting his '.ll,jesty's liege subjects
to no unlawful ineetiliA at Nlasichester. The address talked
let the murders alleged to have been committed at Munches-
tea, and advised the people to have another meetiug as
mom as possible after the assizes for the county ; to choose
a more convenient spot than the field of Pries 100,
%hese they bad met before; and inorder to defend them-
selves freon violence. to come with anus its their hands.—ln
roma which charged the defendant with a libellous at-
tack on t he ll ouse of C s. there was one passage a Melt
al In ileser ibilig the ;louse of Commons as is con apt body,
Ac. dime ;was a passage to this edict, "If toe louse of
Commons is melt a house, then lel vs boast of hi lug cialispita•
tors, and fairly avow that our object is to subvert that house,
and to erect it into a }louse uf Represeutatins of the
people. ' &e.
The Clerk, by order of the Lord Chief Justice, went on
with the reading of the indictment. " L know of no publi-
cation which has ever coma' under my view, that tends
to degrade and demoralize magi than that book," (mtureing
the Old Testament). In another coma, . tie Alfendant was
charged with it gfus. and malicious attack vu the Clii alma
One passage of this coma was nearly to this
etre. "as the grand jury have Mated at the extinction of
magma, it may out lie now premature to say a word upon the
soldert, and I fur one have nn hesitation to 45be110k,„ !hut
ultkulily would increase in a ratio proportionate to the
divesture of religioo" (meaning amongst others the Christian
religio; .• far every species of Fell, ton" (meaning ainungst
othem thut of CM istiaint) )*s a grans fraud, 'lrani% if by base
and designing men, on the credulity of mankind, and obliged
to hr upheld b) force whenever it to attacked by reasw.."—

_NOV.

There were several otber counts in the indictment, but vur).
ing only in technical points.
As soon as the clerk ikaa concluded, Mr. W A LTO x moved
that the sitleatil..o be committed. Defendaut was asked
is teeth. rheu a. recut ill plead.
it was now intimate.' to the Court, that the defendant was
to he brought up for judgment, in the course of the term,
for
a hick

Tlie LORD CI►IKP JUSTICE 101 l 'lie dereMinnt, that
he might stand out upon his former bail till then, and
that um Comwg up, hi 3 hail to the present charge might he
at rang. d.