The Sun.
London, England, 1813-12-07 00:00:00

cat.' ttt ;o E. itt7.::(..s 41 it ',.-it',,. . )gftjili-Ji.'iN.r.,,

I; vr. ii F. It '29

MNG V. JOHN VAGlit; *KO'PHIP.TUt
ottet:l's rINISit) POST.
,
'W. tire .corirS'e
of.the Cciurt, t fall's to the lot Of my brother Ms'
toptivforin the unpleasant task 'or pronouncing
sentende upon the defendant ip 'this case; - but- I
feel it ditty, previously, to make a few otr-
servatious on the proceedragi which took,place-
in this Conn last Saturday, when.an uffidavisovas
read in aggraaatitra of punishment. That aaidavit
.states pat's of a publication -professing cdhe the
report of a ipeeelt pronounced by CooXsel
,upon
the trial had in this cause ; and one paragraph
from that publication is ;Set out in the affidavit,
which states, that the ddtendant,had only to
serve, that the line of defence .pursued, and the-.
topics- enlarged upon by his Counsel, were pre-'
cisely those which he had been instructed to.
adopt. 'the application for an loci ease pa-,
nishment is grounded upon this paragraph, priet-
ed in a publication subsequent to the trial-7-a pa-.
ragraph to the last degree unwarrantable—re-
fleeting upon the administration of justice, and
calumniating the officer of the Caown. Upon the
arguments which took place upon this applica-
tion, it was said by the defendant's Counsel that
this pubficatiou purports to, be a report of what
passed in a ,Conrt of Justice, and therefore cannot
•reprehensible. It is not denied that the pub-'
lication is what it purports to be. But the grimed
of ehavipplication is not that what is there pub •
lished did not pass iii Court, but it is tht: appru-
priatiou of that defence, itnd those topics by the
prisoner to himself, end the avowal that he had
prescribed them to his advocate. The question,
then, resting not upon the fact of the matter
stated in this affidavit having missed in a
Copra of Justice, but upon the adoption of it
by the defendant, the' case of the King v.,.
.Withers distinctly establishes that matters less
connected with the original offence than this
is, may be brought fel ward in aggravation of
punishment subsequent to the trial. net e
was one topic more made .ase of in the argument'-
of the defeadant's Counsel on Saturday, which it .
is impossible nor to advert to. It has been said,
that. whatever passed upon that trial—whatever,
sentiments might have been conveyed by that
speech of Counsel—were listened to by the
.Court
reproof:. That it was not stopped Pr re..--'
proved, at I acknowledge it ought to have been,
cannot be denied. The paragraphs stated, of at
least 'some of them' stated, undoubtedly passed ;
but they were listened to, at least by myself, with
it mixed feeling of pain and commiseration for
the defendant.' They were not, stopped ; for el-
. though 'nothing came out which could be really
useful, no mail could tell what, matter of defence
might be in reserve. 'We lean, and ia all other
circumstances we find that we may do so with -se-
curity, upon the good sense anti. discretion of.
Counsel ; but, upon the present occasion, 1 tee!
that I owe it to toy Brethren and the Bar, whose
privilegei are. never better sustained than by the
prevention of their abuse, to acknowledge that 4
wns in error,. „littt it I had known -then, whatiii
now disclosed by this affidavit—it-1 had bee
aware that the defence had been wholly refineuish4
ed for the indelgenee of a spirit Such as Is discos
verable in these passages—if 1 had known that
there was no defence in reality—that every thing
like it had; been waved by the prisoner himself,
who had instructed his Counsel to 'lathe the speech
which he pronounced upon'that occaSion—if I had
had notice that thesehole -of wha-(passed was the
couseeneece of 'previous instruction, 1 • surely
would have stopped the 'Advocate, as 1 would
.halve done the traverser himself, trader the same
circumstances, had he taken upon him personally
.-to conduct' his defence. UPou the whole, then,
those topics are so monstrous,, that it is impossi-
ble nor to say, that they, form matter of great ag--
gravation. We shall rake care, however, as in'
the case of the King v. Withers, that the sentence
to be passed upon the criminal shall be strictly
apportioned to the original offence.
,Judge DAY then addressed Mr. Magee as (Oa'
lows a-a-
Mr. John Magee, you have been indicted for
publishing in your paper, called The D loblin -Even-
ing Post, a scandalous and seditious libel hpbn his
Grace the Duke of Richmond, then Lord Lieute-
nant of Ireland ; and upou that indictment you.
have been tried and found guilty by a Jury of your
fellow-citizens. 'The Court of King's 13ench, be-
fore which you now stand fur judgment, fully ap-
prove of that verdict. The libel of which you
stand convicted, was, in its nature, as foul a pub-
lication as ever disgraced the irislt press, even in
this prolific agoof libel, The object of it *vas to
hold up-to the detestation and uhhorretteof the
people, the Nobleman appointed trr the govern-
' Meat- Of-this conotsTrlo-4444m44-14-- I).i W. e
blackest political crimes—to fasten upon tom
.tne
Imputations of fraud,- injustice, and partialkty iu
the administration , of public affairs---to
_charge
hiitr with a desire of oppresaing a portion-of his
Majesty's subjects committed to his care,-7end,
finally, with the stale and stupid ',old lie of. mur-
der ! Ido
.not sit here to pronounce a panegyric
upon any man ;. but, notwithstanding, 1 think it
might be permitted me to assert, that.the object of
that flagrant attach carried. with him on his des.'
parture from this land, the regret and affection of
the good, and, what is. no less. flattering, the
'slander of the bad. Doubtless, the liberty of the
press is'of the very first importanceit; is the sa-
cred, hollowed birth-right of free men—it
should ever command a reverential respect ; but,.
'in order to be useful, it should be under'wise con-
duct—it•should beguided by derency and deco-
rum—it should be just, upright, and honourable
in principle, intrepid in discussion, candid in ar
gement, and impartial in Pigment. , Following
such a course, the great mbral editorship of the
public press would be preserved; itslnitisesitlicneabni(el
m power aintained; its beneficial, its
effects, universally experienced mid ackuowledg-
ed..... Then might we hope that the great parent of
the reformation and the revolution of our religious
aunt
.political liberties, .should still preside over
our inestimable COnstittitioir, and preserye it for
our successorspure and entire.. lint, like all other
human blessings, if perverted and abused, it way
degenerate into a curie; and, from' being tke very