The National Register.
London, England, 1815-10-08 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

OCT. 8.

a very great nuisance.—The scenes which were exhibited on Black.
heath were very different from a boat race on the River Thames;
and those who witnessed, as he did. the vices which were there ex.
hibited, he was cure would agree with him in deprecating their con-
tinuance.—As it was probable his conduct, as well as that of his bro-
ther Magistrates, might become a subject of examination elsewhere
hereafter, he by no means meant to shrink from the avowal of that
which he had done—and he then, in the face of the respectable per.
PIOUS by whom he was surrounded, desired to state, that what he had
done was from his own judgment, unbiassed by the opinions °halters,
and with the best intentions.

Mr. Williams said lie should have expected from the characters of
the two gentlemen by whom they were addressed, that if in friend-
' ship, as brother Magistrates, they had any advice to offer, 11.0 they
would have conveyed it in a more private and less mortifying manner
than that which they had chosen. His motives for declining enter-
ing into the minutiaa of the business then, war founded upon the un-
derstanding which had gone forth, that his conduct world be made
the subject of a fanfare inquiry in a Court of Justice. Ile had been
maligned in a variety of ways—his character had 'Jetta aspersed ; and
the greatest falseln had been detailed of him in the public prints.
Those perhaps would be bronght against him at a tiataire period, and
he wished to reserve his justification till the pealed. arrived. lie
was ;male if be and his brother Magistrates had acted erroneomly,
that they could come to no harm ; they might have been guilty of an
error in juidemeot, but they had acted from the best intentions, and
kith the sole view of preserving the public perm As to the tales
which were afloat respecting him, lie regarded them with the con-
tempt they waited. He despised the paltry threats, sonic even
threatening his life, by which he was hourly assailed.
Mr. Harriet begged to reply tow hat had fallen from the two Geo.
tlemen who had last spoken, by appealing, to a most respectable
Magistrate present, whom he had not the homier to know (Mr. Coo.
stable) whether he had not declared, on entering the room, that he
had come with closed lips, unless called upon to give his opinion,
and he was still ready to give that opinion, it desired.
Mr. Smith—" Yon might have given us your advice privately, and
not in the public manner you have chosen."
Mr. Kinnaird —" I only require that one, two, or more of you,
Gentlemen, should point•out the grounds of the harsh proceeding
yon are about to take."
Mr. Williams—•• The grounds may he discussed by Magistrates in
private, but ate not to be made the topic of debate thus publicly.
Such a discussion, under the circumstances in which we stand, would
be premature."
Mr. Constable—" Mr Kinnaird has asked a plain question, and
deserves a gentlemanlike answer."
Mr. Kintutiral—" I again ask, is the offence imputed to the psis
aoner an offence at Common Law, or against the statute, and what
statute i"

Mr. Williams—" I reinse to answer your questions."
Mr. Smith—" I consider it extraordinary, after what has pa•se•l,
that this business liunhl he pressed further. We have formed our
determination, and will abide by it. Ido not see why Gentlemen,
who so seldom appear at our Bench, should in this particular in-
stance render themselves so conspicuous."
Mr. Kinnaird—" Mr. Harriet and I do more business for the
county of Kent than one-half the Magistrates put together, and I
see no indelicacy in our requiring information on this occasion."
Mr. Smith—'' If such had been our determination, I should have
felt no reluctance in giving you all the information yon require. As
I before said. I acted in my own view of the case, and considering
the scenes on Blackheath highly reprehensible, I agreed to sign the
warrant."

Mr. Bicknell, the Clerk, now said be held in hia hand two letters
frdin Maoistrates who had not attended in pursuance of the summons
sent. He wished to know if lie might read them ?

If Magistrates do not choose to attend; I am at
a trigs to know upon wln ground their opinions are to be received."
Mr. Constable—it Do you object to receiving the official letter of
a Magistrate of this Bench?"
Mr. %Vali:tins-46 Do you know that it is an official letter?"
Mr. Constable—" I do; I was the bearer of it."
The fast letter was then read--jt was from Mr. Goodenough, and
directed to the Bench. It was in substance similar to that sent by
him to Mr. J. Dyer—declaring he had no connection with the war-
rant upon which Wilson was taken into custody, and which he de-
dared to be illegal and unconstitutional.

Mr. Constable now begged to look at the warrant, and, after in•
specting it, declared that there hail evidently been an alteration in
it, subsequent to its being made out, and upon that ground alone, it
was illegal. For his own part, be Lad protested against stopping

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