The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-21 00:00:00

cember ?—No, as I said before, his engagement was coati- 1 guards of the law, that an individual who is assailed by its
tional, and made under peculiar circumstances. ; process, might be in a position to say to the plaintiff," what
Was I made acquainted with that ?--No. I aid not con- do you demand of me ? What is the object of the writ
sider it necessary—l did not consider it my duty to do so— , that you have served upon me ? What do you seek ?"
I was answerable to the Paper that the business should be Your experience tells you that some wholesome improve-
properly done. ment in this respect has taken place, and that no person
You told me at our interview, that it was necessary, in can serve either you or me with a writ without indorsing
order to carry out my views, that the reporters for my Pa- upon it the amount he requires, and if the defendant pays
per should all belong to the Morning Press?—Yes. that sum, with the trifling costs which at that period would
And you are still of that opinion ?—Certainly. be incurred, he can arrest the march of litigation. And
Was Mr. Geary on any Morning Paper?—No, but he if, on the other hand, he believes that he owes nothing to
had been, and you made the engagement with him. the claimant, or rather that he owes something, but some-
Was Mr. Griffin on any Morning Paper ?—No. thing less than the demand, he can pay the admitted sum
Had he ever been ?—No. into Court, and the jury will determine what is to be paid
What age was he ?—I don't know—l should think he is beyond that amount. But, Gentlemen, that was not, that
about 21 now. is not, the situation in which lam placed. Six writs, at
Had Mr. Francis any Morning engagement ?—No. one and the same time, for one and the same object, are
Had lie ever had any ?—No. served upon me. I was stopped from interrogating the
What age is he ?—I don't know. witness Knox as to his law bill. The A ttorney- General would
He has brought an action, I believe ?—I don't know ; I not allow me to ask questions as to the bill of costs, unless I
have been told so. would put it into the hands of the witness—thus giving
Do you know whether it has been brought by himself, him a reply. But, Gentlemen, if I am to be vic-
'or his next friend P—l don't know. timized in this action, I will not be lacerated
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected. The proceedings by his fangs ; and I shall exercise my own dis-
would show how the action was brought. cretion as to any persons I may examine, and as to any
Mr. HARVEY—You don't know what age he is, then ? documents I may introduce. But you, Gentlemen, wh°
—No, I do not. I ave to decide this question, have a right to know what it
Was it a special object of mine to give a late edition is—and to know that after forty guineas in the first instance,
on the first night of Parliament ?—No, not on the and ten more subsequently, have been paid into Court, and
first night of Parliament. I think the business was over taken out, that the defendant is dragged into Court again
on that day between three and four o'clock. for an additionaliverdict. Gentlemen, when these actions
But that was my object ?—Certainly on the first night of were brought, I was in no condition, whatever my disposi-
business. tion, to defend them ; because though a sunimqns might
And the proceedings that night were to be expressed ? have been, as it was, taken out for the plaintiff's demand,
—Certainly ; I recommended a certain course, but cannot we are told—" No, you cannot have the plaintiff's de'
say whether it was pursued or not. mand in this form of action ; it is an action for unlioui-
Did you not recommend a man at Barnet to me ? dated damages; it is not competent for you, at least it '4„
—Yes, I did. not obligatory on the plaintiff, to say what he demands.
And did you not know—did you not see his horses ? Gentleman it does appear to me most extraordinary that a
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected to this line of cross- person who claims, in respect of some alleged damage, a
examination, as being totally irrelevant. compensation in law, should not be obliged to say what be
Mr. Haavest—l will go to another point. Ytu wants. Now the Attorney-General has alluded to three
brought your action, I believe ?—Yes. cases :—Byrne v. Harvey, Knox v. Harvey, and this case
Where was it tried ?—At Kingston. now before you, Geary v. Harvey ; and he said that each
Did you live in Surrey ?—Yes. case stood on its own merits. But, Gentleman, it is fitting
Near Kingston ?—No. that you should know more of those two first cases than
Does Mr:Geary also live in Surrey ?—Yes. it was convenient for the Attorney-General to state. Be'
Near you, I believe ?—Yes, within a few doors. cause, though it is very true that by the form of the plead-
And his action is tried here P—lt is so ; I went by the ings, as they now appear upon thi, record, lam not in a cons
advice of my attorney. dition to dispute this contract, aid tln ordinary understanding
Who was you attorney ?—Mr. Dean. of such contracts, that they are sessional in their durati('"
Who was Mr. Byrne's attorney ?—Mr. Dean. yet, on the first occasion, I not only was at liberty to do
And I believe that Mr. Dean is also the attorney in this so, but actually did so ; for I attempted to set up an agree'
action ?—Yes. ment between myself and these parties, to the effect that
Have you ever met either of these parties at Mr. Dean's? the contract should be voidable by either party on giving:
—Yes. fortnight's notice. I cannot suppose that, in the multiPle
You have gone there with them ?—Yes. city of cases which come under the notice of his Lordsh'P
Have you met the boys Griffin or Francis there ?—I he can have a very minute recollection of these particulars
think not. but the question was put very impartially to the Jury OA!
You were examined on the trial of " Byrne V. Her- they were to decide whether there was such an agreetneo
vey ?"—Yes. as was contended for ; and if not they were to assess the da;
And Byrne was examined in your case ?—Yes. mages which were justly due. The Jury gave a verd%
And Geary was examined in your case ?—Yes. for forty guineas, and the Learned Attorney-General has s°l s
And for Byrne too ?—Yes. that he was well content with that verdict ; and when he was
Yes. Who examined you for the plaintiff on Byrne's asked by my Lord Chief Justice if he would reserve tb
trial ?—The Attorney-General. point, whether the damages should be increased, be r;
And you were cross-examined by whom ?—By Mr. Platt. plied that he had no wish so to do. Gentlemen, the Poi°
Who was the plaintiff's counsel in your case at Kings- to which I wish to draw your attention is the barrassi
ton ?—Mr. Platt. litigious character of these proceedings. After I had pa
What ! the same man ?—Yes. the f rty guineas to Byrne, I might have said, " You sht'os
Forty guineas, I believe, had been paid into Court on never have forty guineas, nor forty pence, of me, in anY
will
that occasion ?—Yes, and the Jury gave ten more, the other cases, until a Jury shall award them ; and I
Are you aware whether the costs in that cause have yet endeavour to ascertain whether by some succeeding Julio
been paid ?—I don't know ; suppose so ; I have had no cannot establish an agreement, which may destroy Pc
demand made upon me. I have had no bill of costs sent in. claim for compensation." But, Gentlemen, although I 1';
Do you mean to swear that you don't know whether the structed my Counsel to say that I believed the arrango,
costs have been paid or not ?—I can't tell ; I don't know. ment between these parties and myself was that the ee r
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL objected. That would be tract should terminate at the option of either of us, aftsej
shown by the bill of costs, which might be called for by the expiration of a fortnight's notice, yet when I f('`l't
Mr. Harvey. that the evidence by which I sought to sustain ten,Mr. Haevey--Oh, yes ; you would very much like agreement failed—l bowed to the judgment of an ten,
me to call for it, I dare say. (To witness)—Are you still lightened Jury, and not only paid the forty guineas !aito
upon the establishment of the Morning Advertiser —I am. the still heavier costs of that first action, but I paid 100,1
Are you upon the same engagement that you were at Court forty guineas in each of the other five actions, „,efi.,
the time you were a witneis in that box before ?—Yes. the parties took the money out of Court. But P'io
Do you mean to
,swear that P—l do. Knox was not satisfied with that verdict ; but went to
Do you mean to say, Sir, that no fresh arrangement was trial at Kingston, where, having from my anxiety
re,
made at the Advertiser office, in consequence of the result avert litigation, paid into Court forty guineas, I was Pot,
of the last trial:—No. eluded from going into evidence as to the agreca;_e„ep,
Sir, do you mean to swear that there is no man upon the Thus, therefore, I was stripped of my best defence. Greg'
as its profits "s,
establishment of the Advertiser who is not liable to have an tlemen, litigation to some is acceptable,
1" so'
end put to his engagement at a month's notice ?—No. desirable ; and the experiment is now making by five flop
Do you mean to swear that, Sir ?—Yes in consequence cessive actions to extort from me more than the
of the last trial we were called upon to sign a paper which guineas which I have now paid into Court us
merely defined what an annual engagement meant. each ; and what security is there, that, if I vj_c-ro
Are all the gentlemen on the establishment of the Ad- to pay forty shiliings more, I should not re; 10,
vertiser on annual engagements ?—No ; there are three notice of trial in every one of the other three eases?
gentlemen who have sessional engagements. tlemen, it is true the Session is now terminated, 3 r
And cannot these engagements be broken before the end that which before was matter of speculation, is now inat„ teg
of the Session ?—Certainly not. of fact. But the Attorney-General would insinuate t-0
Do you mean to swear that ?—Certainly. Their engage-- the plaintiff in this case was deprived, by his prompt not
ments will not terminate till the last day of the Session. to quit, of great advantages, in respect of which he cop,
t,
Reexamined—Mr. Harvey knew all the reporters that claim larger damages ; and he makes it a matter of nier:,o
were engaged, and was perfectly satisfied, and said the re- on his part, that he does not ask for anything beyond 1111,
p irting was admirably done. There never was a complaint three guineas a week for the Session. On the former tr.
front the defendant during the whole time. At the trial the Attorney-General added to the evidence in favour of
epre
of Knox v. Harvey the defendant quoted from Parlia- client the weight of his own grave testimony—sitting Des,
mentary documents, in order to show that Parliament never as the first law-officer of the Crown—a leading Parliar:eder
sat at a Coronation, and he prophecied that it would rise tary orator, night after argot watching, with no incosliscs
much sooner. At that trial Mr. Anderson and Mr. Murdo able solicitude, all the changes of that uncertain P' c'
Young were examined for the defendant. —(Laughter) he told the Jury that, from his 101
By Mr. Harvey—Mr. Platt at Kingston urged strongly rience, Parliament would, he believed, sit at least so
upon the Jury that the True Sun had been greatly im- August, perhaps till September, and he had knowats
proved by the exertions of the reporters, and with great instance in which it sat till October.—(Laughter.) ,eor
propriety. He did not know whether the sale of the paper the only point which the Attorney-General has ms" ;
had risen at the time they were engaged, but considered it could make, to distinguish this case from the other ter
had from the price paid for it by Mr. Young. that that is now matter of history which was then ma
Mr. John Dickens said, in the early session of 1837 Mr. of speculation. And if the plaintiff Geary had said lie of
Geary was a reporter on the Herald. He was not on that compeers—this corps of intellectual reporters, cariusioll
or any other Paper after Christmas. Engagements on the doing everything, and yet getting nothing to do---
till the
Press for Parliamentary reporting were always either ses- not bring this action ; I shall defer bringing it be Of
sional or annual. Session terminates ; the defendant will • keep ;'
'
This was the plaintiff's case. able to pay now, he will be equally able to pay thee se/
Mr. HARVEY then spoke as follows :—Gentlemen of the shall take no engagement, I shall bask in literary
fifes
Jury, it is not my intention to consume your valuable time, sending to the press, perhaps, some gratuitous Pore
or that of the Court, by unavailing regret at my incotnpe- pictures—(A laugh)—l know that lam entitled "4110'
tency to meet that formidable array of talent, of judgment, guineas per week, which at the close of the Session 1"„os,
and experience, which you perceive is enlisted in the cause struct my attorney, Mr. Dean, to apply for ; and calls, u` 00
of the plaintiff. At the same time, do not either make commercial Jury to exercise their arithmetical &cultic AC
any apology for taking upon myself this task, or express multiplying thirty-four weeks by three guineas, arrive beep
any regret that circumstances have imposed it on me. But verdict of 1071. 10s." This, Gentlemen, would have too'
let it not be imputed to me that Ido so under any impres- intelligible. I don't mean to say it would have bell) Slr'
sion of personal superiority. On the contrary, if this were elusive, quite the reverse ; but the course whici,asay t,
a case involving some intricate question of law, some nice Geary has taken manifests none of this honesty 'cola
point of commercial policy, I should be the last person to " I will not bring my cause on first, there is so(9pegbi
intrude myself upon your notice. But my defence is not more rotten about it than there is about the rest---( ,bot et
one that requires the ability which cases of such a ter)—let me bring on the case of Byrne, and then
character as those to which I have referred do indeed de- Knox ; and I shall have both afterwards for witnesses ;
mend. And there is another species of case, demanding if we bring on mine or Knox's first, only one can be, •0 se;
such ability ; a bad case. I am not surprised, therefore, ness for the other." He could have brought on 00'
that the plaintiffs' attorney has enlisted in support of his tion, if he pleased, at the same Assizes with h!.,siolehj
client, so powerful an advocacy, and has distilled from the door neighbour, Knox, and brought down his
bar its very essence. "I hough I have nothing peculiar to at the same time and nearly at the same expense b. lc':
apprehend from personal unfitness, yet I would not have then, if he succeeded in both, there would be so Ora tbe)
encountered the inconvenience (for it is very great to an in- costs for me to pay ; if lie failed in both, then sotuirsti
experienced person) of examining witnesses, had I not be enabled to congratulate themselves on the same, eGesthli
sustained the loss of the assistance of the Learned Counsel, stance. But that did not answer the purpose of ur008",
the benefit of whose learning and experience I had upon a or of Dean, his attorney ; and first one action is 'lOOO
et
former occasion. The plaintiffs' attorney acted with dex- here, and then another at Kingston ; and then lie:0001/0
terity—for no one knew better the weakness of his clients' with a third ; in order to fasten on me an enormous -,017°,1
case—in depriving me of the services of Mr. of costs. Gentlemen, am I not justified in callilsoce,
Platt. You have heard that in the case of Byrne you to rescue an individual thus helplessly eiretunlose
v. Harvey, Mr. Platt was my Counsel, and with from the effect of such persevering litigation ? S° solo,
cheerfulness 1 confided to him my case, and though I considered I was not bound to accede to these der° oe/1
the sequel was not what we anticipated I was well resisted them—but, when a jury determined otheralcoe
content with his exertions. I should have been hastened to pay into Court fifty guineas in everYoset,,r
equally well pleased to have had the benefit of them at the other actions. Supposing, fur the sake of argil_ shit
Kingston ; but as I thought the other claimants thought ten guineas more due, what security is rher:lie
could not have dreamt, after the verdict that had what has happened, that it would net be said, " jg trt
been given by a London Jury, in the first case, frightened—he thinks more ought to be given-41600,
Ij,
shat it should be made the subject of a second measure ofhis apprehension, not of justice—the 0, tog,,,
trial, I did net think it necessary to arm myself by the re- must be ascertained by a jury." Oh, but then we
;mP° 1J
tainer of Mr. Platt ,and thus I left to my adversaries the ad- " You dismissed these men abruptly—there is ant
ssosir
vantage of his great experience ; I will allude to tion on their character." Gentlemen, I admit 114
no other advantage. It is enough to know that have been guilty of injustice, which could hart:l'lli,
Mr. Platt was against me, having before been been characterized too strongly or visited too ste!%cls,"9,
for me, and therefore I am here in my own per- had dismissed them while the Paper wes in my eas it s
ip,
from necessity, not from choice, for lam not in had no reason to find fault with them. But, 0.6 ra1:101
a condition to stand these assaults upon my slender means. No. Did ever anybody but the Attorney-Geneard'fi4
I might, indeed, have had Mr. Platt again upon this sinuate that these men had been at all Ie."? Os,
occasion, by dressing up the old brief in a white sheet, in their reputation by being abruptly dismisse otorib'e,
and putting upon it a becoming fee ; but I have preferred, the reason which led to their dismissal was as nogcl ,be
upon the whole, to be my own advocate, with as the fact itself. You have heard that on the
red;
all its disadvantages—and none feel them more than Ido cember, my connection with the True Sun ce4 eteorjeil
—because I consider this an appeal to you, to rescue me paper itself fell from the system of politics, like a I<t en re
from a course of extreme, heavy, and unmerited litigation. a comet, and was absorbed in The Sun itself.
For notwithstandingthe interposition of the Attorney- partly to my prejudice, partly to my advantage--tasante
General, who could not afford to let the whole truth out, judice, as I could not carry it on longer—to mY
whereas to myself it would have been matter of indifference as I got rid of it.—(A laugh.) Could it be ;00'14
if all that had fallen either from my own lips, or from the then, that these men left my service on a fairand rovaPtil
Counsel on the other side, upon the former trials, had ground. It was nothing short of an act of bald, th;al
been stated, the Attorney-General could not afford and are you, the merchants of London to be ts'
Ct
to let the whole truth out. And permit me to say, you engage clerks or other servants,annually,otdo:.3_oraell:o4:o;
that though it is a wholesome rule that proceedings in by some of those commercial storms which oceas'abe
Courts of Law should he subservient to some general prin. the firmest establishments, that you are still
ciples, yet there is an equity in justice which controuls to pay those servants their salaries ? Are tpeci sreel
the dry sophistries of the profession, and its per- cumstances to be taken into consideration ? .And of
nations technicalities, in order that justice may be Juries to do justice between man and man, ins to oleic(
done. And I maintain that this is pre-eminently bound down by the rigid rules of an 010 jogy'so
a case in which you should assume such a 'line- Oh, but then, these parties say, "If the world is oet, the
tion ; because, though you are impanelled as a Jury, cheered by the sight of the T'ue Sun,
you are in effect arbitrators. Look at the nature of with it ?" Everything. For is it notwthwalmt hitat_evecleattrec:f
the proceedings. We hear much of the reform of the law. damages are matter for assessment and arbitrem o, r/
Experience tells us bow muck is necessary. And, to a cer- consecutive Juries have assessed those dame6„orte,
Lain extent, I admit some reform has taken place, but by says Geary—a member of that corps u 4
„sf rer
no means sufficient ; for it ought to be one of the safe- selected with so much discrimination--liter"