The Sun.
London, England, 1806-11-26 00:00:00

LAW REPORT,

COUgT OF KlNG's BENCH, Nbv.
THE KING V. GEORGE M. DANCE, GENT.

The Defendant in this case was brought up. for
judgment, for...publishing; various lib . against Sic
.M. M. Lope-4,:13art.,;. the particulars
.of
,which we•
gave in a limner Paper,. - when an application , was
made fora criminal information, last Easter Term,.
This • information was. tried before Nr. Baron,
TatompsoN, at the last Spring Assizes
~for the
County of Devon, and the Defendant was • found
Quiity-. The libels upon which be was coniviaed
were contained in various letters to the Prosecutor,
to Lady Lopez, and some of their relations, couched
in the most gross, obscene,- and abusive language,
accusing the prosecutor of beina.,the means of his
ruin, charging him with cowardice as an Officer
commanding a Volunteer Corps, and lavishing the
most shameful epithets upon Lady Lopez and other
-branches of the tinnily, with which he himself was
connected. He also published a sort of hand-bill,
wherein the charaaer of the Prosecutor was further
vilified and abused, in which he used the epithets
of " Jew . and Pig;" making comparisons be,
tween the Prosecutor, and a Jew, a Pig„ and a Chris-
tian, Sze.
Mr. Jr.at.yr.,. for the Prosecution,' observed, that
these libels were, suet] a tissue of ribaldry. and - ob-
scenity, he did(tiot wish to offend the ears of the
Conn by repeating them. •
. Theaffidavits of the Defendant and his Attorney
represented, the former to be in a very weak state
of mind, an&i Whenever the subjea of his trans-
aaions with. the Prosecutor was mentioned, he -be-
came:qiiite deranged, and bereft of every power,.
of thinking .or aaing for him Self.: He had been
misled and mistaken with respea to the Prosecu-'
tor's 'conduct .towards him, for he, imagined that
he had been the cause of his pain, by withholding
pecuniary aid, from him, which be thought himself
entitled to by right. From the, very heavy expellee
this .Prosecution had involved him in, he was totally
ruined, and from the deranged state of his mind he
was unable to manage or attend to his business. He
ex.pressed the greatest sorrow for his•offence, and
offered to make every reparation- id his power to the
Prosecutor. Some letters•were then, produced on the
-part of the. Prosecutor, and a former affidavit made
by the Defendant. - The letters were written by the.
Defendant,tathe Prosecutor since his conviction, and
contained matter of libel and malevolence, one con-
cluding with " your enemy till death, G. M. D."
,
Mr.ljaaartea addressed the Court on behalf of-
the Defendant. He-observed, that the conclu& of the
Prosecutor towards this unfortunate tiara, with regard
to pecuniary transaaions, had aaually deranged hi 3
mind ; br, at least, from a misconception of that
condua, he had been disordered. in his faculties, and
unable longer to attend to hiS proleSsiOn as an attor-
ney. He was in a state of absolute poverty, with
a wife and large family ; and although it wasimpos-
sible to justify the offence, he truSted, situated as he
was;. the Court would temperjustiee, with mercy.
• 7•Mr.,.GitititoW and Mr. JEKYL; for the PrOsecu-
tion, said, that this was not the first case in which
tlit# Court had had a difficulty todistinguish between
downrig,ht malice and' a deranged state of Mind.—
This Defendant, doWn to the last moment, had re-
peated those abominable libels, and attacked a most
respeaable gentleman's character in every part that,
in -a an, could be vulnerable. He had stated his
derangement of mind; but if that was actually the
flia, he might hare given much better proof of it ;
if it was madness; it was that kind of madnesiwhich
bad much method in it ; and the whole bad been
contrived and practised for the purpose of extorting,
money frorri this Gentleman:
Lord ELLENBORoUGH observed, that the language
of the Defendant in these libels was the most abo-
minably indecent,. and the most malevolent, he had
ever. heard.. -
The Court, then directed him to be. committed to
Newgate, and. brought up for final judgment on the
last day of the term.