The National Register.
London, England, 1818-08-16 00:00:00

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1.C2

CUU.VTI,ASSIZES.

'CORNWALL.
Inv RING V. :NAV.: ANN Tt/rMER.

Thi4 wig an ludo rtitent again•t the defendant fee n libel,
weld-Iced in a euettity ne.it.pance, r. li d the e,t Itrittpi urd
oram,lll.4Jee:timr, upon the nhinititr, Mr. It. Gurney, tltr
oat cgt r, Vice-Walden of the Slonna'
,v iti the enmity
tit De% on. The t atise %a> no sootier called. than the Lady
.nppeared iu Coin t her 080 advocate, aid was accotiono-
tkteil et the Banister's table. The pleading> wets: opened by
tit. word.

Mr. tt.,erjeatit Pell then stated dee case, and read tin libel 1.
i'sell, as it appeared in the 11 eq Briton, in the shape of a
lewd,. to the t.dlossing effect :
.• fact k hich I am about to communicate, may, perhapt,
sppear more singular than ini;antalit ; ailthough, in times le, cola-
u.itous than thepresent. statement of any eiteunistaureilluorative
et :be lkorou4ll-inon4ering system, now universally execrated, must
c: itself excite 11.1 interest; it is saint:thing new in the history of this
e.suntry, that it si told poses. an ottt-pawed Judge. It might be
tailed an instance unparalleled in the annals of Europe, if a case had
rot ree:ntly °canted at Vienna, of a Maistrate and Minister of
Justice being semeticed to the punishment of sweeping the streets. A
ntlentan of the name of Tonikin, was some time past removed
from trendies of N'ice.tV anlen of the Staimury Colin, in order
tnake ressin for Mr. It Cioney, bon of the Rev. It. Gurhey, of de:.
lostotisty. This last Gentleman, not satisfied with two
ac,m-iderable heneCcs. the rev drd of former services. on prwwing
this ituatior. for hit s‘m, obtained at the same time k protrme, th..t
fne saidry blik,lll.l be iwt isromi..e which, to the honour o'
the ratam, its, not sooti atlil this pittinotion of .Mr.
Gurney, the younger. it unfortunately happened that he was etil-;asal
to loave the emintry, tit which he had been sip knitted to evreise
functions. and [hi:- necessity arose tip RI p.cuniary eir,bnrrass-
v.ent,,
.rn consequence of this abiaance, a petits ni was pr.:stated to
tl:e land Warden. complaining of ttlr negfett, and delay* justice,
occasiared by this conduct, and desiring theiapKitristni a new
Lut no notice was taken of this re own: ti . After
st,.tel tient, it may be a:Latta,. lootAld ?till re.
told his.placz; and the fact can only be traced to the nntintitsburough-
rtiongenng system, and to political motives. Lord Yarmouth has
purchased largely in the borough of Tregony, with a view of
.E,posing the interest atilt: Earlof Darlington. tinder this protection
7.1 r. Currey found it convenient to go to the Continent, and was
tc.:ceout.lawed in the market places of Plymouth and Dock, which
ocrlawry had not bet. revered. Instead of attending his Court, he
was therefore obli.;;.d to secret himself. Now, Sir, aPer this state-
) no oin can 1-e at a loss to conjecture what are the motives
w',ien operate in retaining this man in a situation, the duties of
w!dcli is unable to discharge. I forbear occupying too large a
portion of your valuable and patriotic Paper, or I could mention
anecdotes, showing how Mr. R. Gurney, and his son, have
profited in the adlool of con option. I shall only add, that he de.
vamden vartou; sums of money from the 'Suitors, over aid above the
fees of Court, in the only two muses which he ever decided, viz.—
Lopez v. Doubtfree, and Whiteliair v. Webb,—l am. Sir,
t• AN ENEMY TO CORRUPTION."

The Learned Seijeatit then proceeded to stale that the I
truther of the defeisdant bad been Secretary to the Vice-
Wet den, and upon Iris information she had venni, ed to
charge ,lie. Gurney w tilt bribery and corruption ; ones with
V.e specific act of extol flog 20 gotineaa from Ilse riiks in a
muse, which he rs lased to decide, till the sum au question
was paid. The defendant, he understood, would be het a'
advocate, and was a woman of no ordi. ary undershustline
lit had to lament that she dill not make
faculties with which Pi ovidence had ht en pleaserfts ifa
it was ant too late to make on atonement, altiioti;:MsatAtiifie-
mutt must fellow n verdict of
. Mr. E. Dodd, the Editor of the West [triton, proVed the
libel to be the composition of defendant. .
'I lie Lady now rose, observing that she stood there 'with
re vet slice, lint without fear. Fear, indeed, was the inteparable -
concomitant of guilt, and of any offence in a moral view ,lier
conscienre entirely netptitted her. She did not appear there
personally, ft star not feeling of presumption, Intl from Ur in-
ability to proem.. i'amusel. The inability was colored by is
debt due to tier i.!other, which the plaint iii refused to pay,
and her ow ti disinclinatimi to encroach on the conduit* of a
widowed patent. She might be indiscreet, lout she as •tiot
conscious of criminality. It was the first time slit hail ever
entered a COlll 01.111Atice, anti no permit, could entertain a
deeper sense than het self of the excellence of the enlightened
as 'tern of jorisprodence, which was established in this coun-
t! The prosecutor would, however, derive his chief ad-
vantage from her iassurence of the law, for she could only take
,c plain and simple around of denying the falsehood and
malice charged in the indictment. W ith the permission of the
t:oi.rt, site would 'low cad n passage from Lord F.2.11:111.101Ullxli'm
aildre.s to the Jury on the trial of Wm. Cobbett. (Here the
I :uty read an extract from the reported *perch of the Chief
Jastice, touching the license of discossing the character god
conduct of men in Politic Others.) The main point On hhirh
at e rested her defence was, that Mr. Glititcy was a Ptiblie
Y,tricer, and that she, atol every odor stioject, were•elitilled
t examine Isis conduct its that capacity. She was folly pre
ai•eil to prose the (loth of every statement contained iu the
published tette-.
sir, Justice Vorrough. —That the law of the land does not
• w von to de .
Cbe delemlent p-ocredcd, exprestitig a hope that she
night at least be allowed to prose that the pablication in
question was sum libel. The Jury, she trusted. wild not be
induced, try any legal sophistry!, to sane a pritoc'ple
. ego Illy adscr-e to religion and to morals—that troth
could be • libel. It was the doctrine not of the lair, lint
the abettors of ty, rattily, Carr vigilant to instate oo-
kind. V•ottiteatore, not the vindication of eh:nailer,
the outwit, thy and mitumily motive of the rooseclitor, hail
lie been 11VIOsito .1 by is loiter feeling, he %stolid his+e brote.:at
Ili. :triton. tt e holt, as a lawyer, liC most have known, that
p,„(1,„...4, with regal,' In .very 1.41'1 uIASe.I
b •
111 t. 10011111',. ion He had, however, adopted the rowaldls
refootirti of indicting a telltale for an act lending to a his earls
of the peace; be liontsell having, not long shire, lei n
tented 411 NI% imptisonment try the 011111 a KWIC'
?trusts, but a pushier breach of the peace, in leppolx
pra•s-tit Sontitto-Cretteral. The statement %filch Alit. 11401
sent to Ilse Editor tit the treat !triton, etelrecti %holly to the
I,fsei„, and vaosie sanded of the Ito o.erioliti j and %sib 21'.0-“t
tab+nissi•no to the t'esurt, she apptcheitileil that she cosolui
of rsery ',cr.,' in a Is111111i• tld!asill, Oa, open to politic es •
ajoin4rion. This postimit, as she bad before stated, aloe 15051
the .10110, it of Loud Elleolsormieli in maiatioiniug.
Mr. J 0.111.. Iturestogli.-11.ord ter could
tans sweh sir asset t that a rain, In a
.01.111141 01114.1%
1,145 Ile 1-1:•,s,;..•1 wsth blibtr► and coo 5111.5i0n, by any pet soil
who lions, io "pee t.. podded' siren a stalenn nt so Os' 11 011'1.—
I OM tni ,y to .1, wit oraissa.essing the I.sw at weed step.
front a t.als. notion us 1111444 1.141.1. Many Geode...en at
thin bar ai old isevo happy 4t5.1•1 50.5 •11
litte, bay. all Ii ed a per
lrs, us kt. I co. • ae •1, and lugged leavt to lead arlause

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