The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-28 00:00:00

THE OUTLATVR F OF THE DUKE OF
BRU IVSWICK.

Beasts .
Sheep ..
Calves ..

THE QUEEN ON THE PROS tHCUTION OF THE PROPRIETORS
OF THE " WEEKLY DI, HUTCH" NEWSPAPER, AGAINST
THE DUKE OF BRUNSW) :CK AND OTHERS.
The indictment in this .case arose out of an action re-
cently brought by the D oke of Brunswick against Mr.
Harmer, in which the I >uke obtained a verdict, with
500/. damages, upon the ) oath of one Charles Casimir
Reinhold, that a number of the Weekly Dispatch of the
19th September, 1830, c csntaining an article respecting
the Duke, had been soli 1 to him at the Dispatch office
shortly before the comme al cement of the action, thereby
taking the case out of th( ) Statute of Limitations, which
Mr. Harmer had plead, )d. It was afterwards clearly
established that Reinhold had committed perjury, and
upon a new trial of the a ,e tion the verdict was in favour
of Mr. Harmer. The I) uke and Reinhold having ab-
sconded, and refused to mppear to the indictment, pro-
ceedings of outlawry we r e taken, and the third procla-
mation of outlawry was I nade yesterday, in the Sheriffs
County Court of Middle :sex, against the Duke, by the
name and description o 4 £ Charles Frederick Augustus
William Guelph, late of t he parish of Saint Marylebone,
in the county of Midcl3.esex, Esq. ; and also against
Reinhold.

THE AUSTRALIAN EAMER.—The Admiralty have
fixed for -the Australian ; teamer to leave Plymouth with
the mails on the 23d of I? ebruary.
DETENTION OF RAILW. AY TRAINS ARISING FROM THE
STATE OF THE WEATHER, —Two decisions have recently
been given in Scotland < ,n this subject, of considerable
importance to railway c o: mpanies and railway travellers.
It appears that, on the L. Bth inst., there was a heavy fall
of snow and sleet, accorrtp allied with frost, about Stirling,
which rendered the rails: t )f the Scottish Central Railway
so slippery that the pro gress of the trains were very
much retarded, and, in fact, in some places almost
stopped. Two actions v "ere brought against the cora•
pany by passengers for ly reach of contract, one of them
contending that it was i he duty of the company to pro-
vide their engines with a pipe to scatter sand over the
rails under such circr to 'stances. In both cases the
Sheriff held that the ra it way company could not be held
liable for the elements, over which they had no control,
and verdicts were acco ,rclingly given for the defendants.

MARKET NEWS-(THIS DAY.)

CORN EXCHANGE

A. full average supply of English wheat, 4,170 quarters,
has been received up to our market, this week, coastwise,
but its general condition has proved very inferior. Fresh
up, to-day, the receipts of that grain by land carriage were
but moderate, yet the stands were fairly supplied with
samples. Selected qualities sold slowly at Monday's prices ;
but all other kinds were very dull, and offered on lower
terms—say fully ls. per quarter.
Upwards of 37,000 quarters of foreign wheat having
come to hand, the number of samples was comparatively
extensive. All descriptions met a dull inquiry, and late
rates were with difficulty supported.
In floating cargoes, next to nothing was doing, yet hold-
ers were tolerably firm.
With foreign barley we were largely supplied ; but the
show of English was only moderate. Malting parcels were
held at full quotations ; but other kinds were lower to
purchase.
Malt moved off slowly, at late rates.
The show of oats being large, the trade was heavy, at a
decline of Gd per quarter.
Beans, peas, and flour ruled heavy, at previous rates.

English ..
Irish ....
Foreign ..

Flour.
1,810

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
W4,l7oheat. I
Barley. Malt. I Oats.
2,310 I fi,610 I 2,240
5,590
32,700 I 1,040

17,0-00 I 15,470

SMITHFIELD.

For the time of year, to-day's market was moderately
supplied with beasts, both as to number and quality. All
breeds met a slow sale,
,but we have no change to notice in
the quotations. The extreme figure for the best Scots
was 4s 2d per 8 lbs. The supply of sheep was somewhat
on the increase ; nevertheless the mutton trade was steady,
and late rates were well supported. Old Downs sold
readily, at 5s per 8 lbs. Although the number of calves
was good, the inquiry for them was active, and, in some
instances, the currencies had an upward tendency. Very
superior calves were worth from 4s 10d to 5s per 8113 s.
Pigs were in fair i 3quest, at late figures.
Milch cows moved off slowly, at from 141 108 to EV
each, including their small calf.
Per 81bs by the carcase.

s. d. s. d.
Inferior Beasts ...2 10 to 3 0
Second quality ...3 2 3 4
Prime large oxen 3 6 3 8
Prime Scots, &c. 310 4 2
Inferior sheep ...3 8 310
Second quality ...4 0 4 4
Prime crse.-wlled.4 6 4 8

TOTAL SUPPLY.

s. d. s. d.
Prime Southdown 410 5 0
Large crse. calves 3 8 4
Prime small do _4 8 5 0
Largo hogs 210 3 6
Small porkers 3 8 4 0
Suckling calves 21 0 24 0
Quarter old pigs 19 0 23 0

934
4,200
319
350

FOREIGN SUPPLY
Beasts

Sheep

Calves

Pigs

Pigs

THE RIVAL CONVERTS.

( From the Times.)

We did not scruple to express our dissatisfaction
with the conduct of the jury who tried the case of
" the Queen v. Newman" at the time when the
trial took place. Our regret at the nature of the
proceeding was aggravated by the consciousness
that the injustice which we believe to have been
done was inevitable. So far as the result of the
legal proceedings which he initiated went, Dr.
Achilli played a perfectly safe game, whether
convicted or acquitted. He was quite certain
that upon the two issues joined the verdict
of the jury must, technically at least, be in his
favour, and that no new trial could ensue because
no state of the evidence within the range of possi-
bility could lead to any other result. The two
pleas put forward by Dr. Newman substantially
were--first,, that the passage complained of was not
a libel, and secondly, that it was true. As to the
former question no doubt could possibly exist.
In his zeal to overthrow the opponent of his
faith the Anglican convert had raked together
a series of accusations, the, very least of which,
if true, was sufficient to blast the character of
his antagonist. Indeed, the misfortune of Dr.
Newman was that his charge was so formal
and specific, being in fact an elaborate indict-
ment of Dr. Achilli's whole life from the year
1826 to 1851. No one having the fear of
the law before his eyes would have made
so detailed a charge in so elaborate a form, because
it was absolutely impossible to prove the of
the,whole of a string of facts so remote in time and
place, and because failure in a single proof would
vitiate the validity of the whole plea, which to bar
the prosecution must be an answer to the whole
libel. Had Dr. Newman indulged in the style
of the more vulgar school of polemics, and merely
contented himself, like some of our most pious
cotemporaries, with applying to his antagonist
coarse and abusive epithets, he might have had
a hope of supporting by evidence such general im-
putations ; but because he relied on facts and
details instead of vague assertions, his complete de-
fence became impossible, and a verdict against him
certain before a single juror was sworn. The jury
might have believed every one of the witnesses who
charged Dr. Achilli with incontinence, and have
thought that Dr. Newman was substantially justified
in what he wrote, but the want of proof on two or
three charges would have made that opinion im-
material. The case was all along, as Lord Camp-
bell explained, merely a question of the mitigation
of punishment, merely the examination of wit-
nesses vivd voce whose evidence might have been had
on affidavits. Indeed, considering the enormous
expense of the trial, and the certainty of result to
Dr. Newman, it might possibly have been wiser to
reserve the testimony in mitigation of punishment,
and not spend such large sums, and bring over so
many witnesses, for the mere purpose of fighting a
losing battle, when no available amount of truth
could possibly alter the result.
For this state of things we have neither to blame
the law nor the Court; it is inherent in the nature
of the case. It would not be reasonable that the
truth of one libel should justify a man in writing
another, nor would it be right that the Court should
grant a new trial, which could only end in return-
ing formally the same verdict. The only difference
that could have happened, had a new trial been
granted, would have been that perhaps a jury might
have been found to take a different view of the evi-

dente. Happily, by a wise and provident pro-
vision in Lord Campbell's Act, which does great
credit to the far-sighted sagacity of its framer,
this second investigation is rendered unne-
cessary, because the task of reviewing that de-
cision is delegated to other hands. It is pro-
vided that, though the plea of justification be not
proved, it shall be competent for the judges to
consider that plea and the evidence adduced with a
view of seeing whether they aggravate or mitigate
the offence. The judges are to consider the evi-
dence for themselves, they are even bound to do so,
and, therefore, nom to take their views servilely
from the conclusions of the jury. The judges may,
if they choose, believe witnesses whom the jury
disbelieve, and refuse credit to those on whom the
jury relied. The question is fairly re-opened for
their consideration, the evidence is before them,
but of that evidence they are themselves to form a
judgment fairly and impartially. The opinions of
the jury are doubtless to be considered, and, where
testimony is evenly balanced, to be followed ; but
the same discretion which the judges exercise in
case of the finding of a jury against the weight of
evidence will authorise them in forming an inde-
pendent judgment when the amount of punishment
is to be awarded. When, therefore, we complain
of the finding of a jury, it is not that we believe
that finding will lead to any ultimate injustice—
against that we have still the best guarantee, the
unbiassed judgment of an upright and impartial
Court ; but it is because we feel that such exhibi-
tions as the Achilli trial tend to diminish in the
minds of our own people and of foreigners the
respect for the administration of justice in this
country, and confidence in the power of a nation
satisfactorily to administer justice to itself.
Unable as we have professed ourselves to agree
with the verdict of the jury, we must also pro-
fess our conviction that the guilt or innocence
of Dr. Achilli, and the consequent innocence
or guilt of Dr. Newman, are poor, trivial, and irre-
levant issues on which to set the pending contro-
versy between the awakened energies of the human
mind and the crushing despotism of the Romish
Church. Mighty issues are raised between the two
contending parties far different from the scandal-
ous revelations with which intemperate zeal has
sullied the atmospkere of our courts, and questions
enough to remain to task all the powers of the
acutest disputants, even though they should forego
the luxuries of law, the glare of publicity, or the
triumph of fine and imprisonment. That never-
ending controversy, co-equal with the existence
and co-extensive with the duration of human
thought, the controversy between the spirit of in-
quiry and the influence of authority, between inno-
vating speculation and stationary dogmatism, needs
other weapons, and asks other energies than those
which are sharpened and developed in a court of
justice. We trust that with regard to this most
objectionable trial the public mind has cooled down
from its former state of morbid excitement, and
that, whatever be the nature of the decision arrived
at by the Court of Queen's Bench, the successful
party, whichever it may be, will regard the result
without indecorous exultation, and look on the case
as what it really is, a dispute between two over-
zealous polemics—the one of whom has brought
• forward more charges than he caz prove, and the
other denied more than he can disprove. To Pro-
testant and Romanist the case, truly viewed, is un-
important ; its real significance is in the discredit
' it has tended to throw on our alministration of

justice, and the impression which it has tended to
disseminate—that where religious differences come
into play a jury is the echo of popular feeling in-
stead of being the expositor of its own.