The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-08 00:00:00

THE MANCHESTER TRANSACTIONS.

THE KING'S DRAWING ROOM.
Lord Chamberlain's Wee, April 4, 1822.
Notice is hereby given, that his Majesty will hold a Drawing
Room at Buckingham Palace, on Tuesday, the 23d inst. at two
o'clock. to celebrate his Majesty's Birth-day.
The Knights of the several Orders will wear their Collars.

FASHIONABLE ARRIVALS. •
The Marquis of Sligo, at the Clarendon Hotel, Bond-street,
rom Ireland ; Captain HarringtOn,.l2th Hussars, at Sir John
Eiarrington's, in Berkeley-square ;. Captain A'Court, in St.
Fames's-street ; Miss. Baring, in Grosvenor-place; Mr. S.
larvey, in Gloucester-place; Mr. A. B. Drummond, in Brv-
anstone-square; Mr. C. Williams, in Grosvenor-square ; Mr.
and Mrs. Latimer, in South Audley-street ; Colonel and Mrs.
Agar, in Wiriipole.street ; Mr. and. Mrs. Lovatt, in Seymour-
street, Portman-square ; General Long, in Piccadilly ;
Mrs. and Miro Loftus, in Green-street, Park-lane ; Mrs.
and. Miss Vernon, in Park-street ; Mrs. and Miss Foulkes, in
Montague-square ; Mrs. and Miss Stanley, in George-
street, Hanover-square; Colonel Clifton, at the Union Club ;
Mr. F. Pulteney, in Hertford-street, May-fair; Capt. and Mrs.
Forbes ; Sir Thomas Beauchamp, Bart., in Portman-square ;
Mr. S. Skinner, in Portland-place; Colonel Gardiner, in Green-
street, Park-lane ; Mr. Welland, in Portman-square ; Lord
Arbuthnot, in Jermyn-street ; Mr. Tebbett, in Liryanstone-
street ; Captain Nugent, in Albemarle-street; Capt. P. Mang-
han, at the Lincoln Hotel, from Cheltenham.
DEPART U RE s.--Saturday morning the Earl of Liverpool left
town for Walmer Castle ; at the same time the Chancellor of the
Exchequer left town for the seat of his brother, hear Marlow,
in Berkshire ; yesterday the Marquis of Londonderry left North
Cray, on a visit to his Majesty, at the Royal Pavilion, at Brigh-
ton ; the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, on a visit to
the Earl of Essex, at his seat, Cashiobury Park, Herts ; the
Marchioness of Exeter, for her seat at Roehampton ; • Lord and
Lady King, for their seat, Ockham, Surrey; Lord and Lady
Holland, for Cashiobury Park, on a visit to the Earl of Essex ;
Lord Carrington and the Hon. Robert Smith, for Wycombe
Abbey, Bucks ; Count and Countess Lieven, for the Pavilion, •
Brighton; Hon.. :Frederick Lamb, for Brighton ; Countess of
Harrington and Lady Caroline Stanhope, for Harewood Lodge,
Sunning Hill ; Gen. Crosbie, for Hampshire ; Mr. Felix Smith,
for Doncaster; Mr. Henry Campbell; forßichmond Park; Major
Davenport, for Lymington, in Hampshire; Colonel and Mrs.
Hammond, for Bath; Major Cunningham,. for Cheltenham ;
Mrs. and Miss Holford, for Bath ; Captain Craig, for Dublin;
Captain Burdett, of the Royal Navy, for Dublin ; Mr. J.
Hankey, for his seat in 'Surrey.

-
Yesterday Viscount Chateaubriand, with the Chief of his
Suite, attended Divine Service .at the French Chapel, in
Little King-street, Portman-square..
On Saturday forenoon his Highness Prince ESTERHAZY
visited the Marquis of londonderry, at North Cray, with whom
his Excellency had a long interview; after which his Highness
proceeded to the Royal Pavilion, at Itrighton. At half-past
twelve her Highness Princess Esterhazy left town for the Royal
Pavilion, where their Highnesses will remain on a visit with
his Majesty until Wednesday.

LANCASTER, THURSDAY, APRIL 4.
Joseph Prestwick (part of whose evidence
was given on Saturday), continued his description
of the Meeting and of the conduct of the Yeo-
manry. A variety of other witnesses were also
examined for the plaintiff; but no new circum-
stances Were elicited deserving of particular
notice.

SECOND DAY, FRIDAY, APRIL 5.
The evidence for the prosecution having been
concluded,
Mr. Sergeant fIueLOCK rose at six , o'clock in the evening
to state the defendant's case. lie said that he had the honour
to appear before them in this cause as Counsel for the defend-
ants, and he requested the patient and indulgent attention of
the Jury while he addressed them, because he was satisfied that,
under the peculiar impressions excited in their minds, he should
require all their indulgence. He was free to confess his regret
that this duty devolved upon him ; he certainly lamented
that the great talents and abilities of his Learned Friend (Mr.
Scarlett), to whom this case had been originally confided, had
net been brought into action on this occasion; but he should be
guilty of the grossest affectation if he should say thathe la-
mented it beeauseahe case possessed any peculiar difficulty, for
he thought, when stripped ofsuperfluous matter, it possessed none
whatever. He lamented, however, because his Learned Friend
would have had the opportunity of vindicating the yeomanry from
the imputations and misrepresentations which had been levelled
at them since the lfith of August, and of rescuing, not only
their character and reputation from that mass of calumny which
had been heaped upon them, but also that of the magistracy of
the county in which they resided. The first observation he
should make to them was, that they were met in April, 1822,
to try, in a civil action, the right of the plaintiff, who was a
man of an inferior'rank in life, to obtain reparation in damages
for an injury he sustained in the month, of August, in 1819.
He wished not to be misunderstood : the agreed with his
Learned Friend, that in this country the, poor and the rich
were equally entitled to the same redress, and he was sure they .
always received the same attention from their fellow-country_
men, when they had a legitimate ground of complaint. He
would not, however, complain of the length of time which had
elapsed before this action was brought ; on the contrary, he.
would congratulate his clients, that the day was at length arrived,
when they would be enabled to repel the calumnies which had
been so longdirected against them. His Learned Friend," at the
outset of his case, had found something so singular in having to
demand damages at this time for a journeyman weaver, as he
first called him, and a journeymen hatter as he afterwards said,
(for really it appeared that he scarcely knew who or what his
client was), that he thought requisite to plead the poverty of the
plaintiff ; and yet, poor as he was, he had brought down an at-
torney from Toolce's-court, Chancery-lane, London, not being
able, he supposed, to find one in Lancashire to conduct his cause,
and a host of reporters and other witnesses from London., Leeds,
and Liverpool. Had the plaintiff received any sudden accession
to his fortune that enabled him thus suddenly to emerge from
the poverty in which he had been immersed ? or was he merely
the puppet moved by certain persons behind the curtain,' whose
purses, though late, had at last been opened, not for the pur-
pose of redressing his wrongs, but of reviving in that Court
and elsewhere, the memory of a transaction which had now
nearly expired ? His Learned Friend had told thmin much of
the poverty of his client; he (Mr. Sergeant Hullock) would add,
that that poverty was still in vigour, and that he had no more
ability to pay the expenses Of this action, than he had any pauper
who died in Lancaster workhouse. His Learned Friend had then
alluded to the proceedings at Oldham, and described them as
having been abortive. What was meant by that allusion he
could not tell, as it was totally irrelevant. If the plaintiff' was
dissatisfied with these proceedings, he might have attempted
others, as in that case he must have been reimbursed his ex-
penses by the county. But he should like to know who Mr.
Redford was ? It had dropped, ahnost as it were by accident,
from one of the witnesses, that he was a journeyman hatter at
Middleton, and that was all the information about him which
his Lordship would find ttpon his notes. His Learned Friend
had stated, with much gravity, that Redford, the plaintiff; was
a poor man, who had received a wound which had kept him
three months from his work, and from which he had not even '
yet recovered. But had this wound been proved by any medi-
cal man 2 Had any surgeon been called who had ever dressed
it ? The evidence of Prestwick, who was a surgeon at White
Cross, Manchester, stated, that he had never dressed this
man's wound, mid yet there was no lack of medical assistance
on such occasions. There was even a female called, who said
she had dressed a dozen wounded men ; but it did not appear
that she had poured either wine or oil into the wounds of this
individual. In all previous cases of alleged personal injury,
for which a compensation in damages was demanded, it was
the uniform course of proceeding for the individual, either
through a friend or an attorney, to apply for compensation to
the party who had committed the injury. Why was not the
same course pursued here in the case of a man who seid he had
been, by the injury he received while peaceably attending a
public meetings deprived, for e, long period, -of earning his
bread ? Nothing of this kind had been done, but an action
was brought in October last to obtain redress. His Learned
Friend had told them that when this affair occurred, great dis-
tress prevailed throughout the country. If such were then the
state of the people, so much the greater blame rested on those
demagogues who came to make use of that poverty to inflame
these people to acts of violence. His Learned Friend had also
said, that where great discontent prevailed, great misgovern-
meat 'must exist. The doctrine might be good, but he could
not see its application here. Were they to be told that the
drillings at White Moss were occasioned solely by the distress
and misery of those who attended them ? Why, the first
man who was called into the witness' box admitted, that though.
he had been there, he was earning 20s. a week by his labour ;
'and the second man admitted the same thing, and that he was
in the receipt of 17s. a week all the year round. ,Allowing, how-
ever, that distress existed, could it he remedied by proceedings
like those at Manchester? Was it likely that these men, by
leaving their work for the day, meant to return from Manchester
to seek work at home ? Was it likely that those men who were
employed in drilling and training, in marching and counter-
marching, and also in committees,- would become rich and good
citizens ? He thought not. His Learned Friend had said, that
the meeting at Manchester was, at the time it was held, perfect-
ly legal. If his Learned Friend meant that individuals might
meet to discuss their grievances, he perfectly agreed with him :
but if he meant to say that 100,000 men, or even 50,009, might
be legally assembled under such circumstances as were calcu
lated to excite, in the minds of men possessed of property which
they wished to bequeath to their posterity, a just and reason-
able ground of terror and alarm, then he would say, that nei-
ther at that nor at any other period of the History el England,
could such a meeting be legally assembled. He would ask
them, then, as reasonable men, could such a meeting as this at
Manchester, congregated as it had been under ensigns of insur-
rection and rebellion, headed by Henry Hunt, now confined in
ilchester Gaol, and Richard Cultic, now residing in Dorches-
ter Castle—could such a meeting be considered as not likely
to endanger the lives and properties of every individual in the
neighbourhood ? He asked them to reply by their verdict ay,
or no, to such a question. He did not think it necessary to
state to them the law on such a subject, because his Lord-
ship would then tell them that the essence of the doc-
trine laid down upon the subject by. Mr. Justice Bay-
ley, at York, was, that where a meeting was put to-
gether in such a manner as to create terror and alarm, it
was decidedly an illegal meeting. If it was so, was it to be al-
lowed to remain ? Were there no legal means of bringing it to
a close ? The law of England had been called the perfection of
reason; but the perfection of reason would be brought to a
pretty pass if there were no means of stopping a meeting of
80,009 or 100,000 people. "Would the law be worth living un-
der, if a man like Hunt could go where he liked, and at his
will convene meetings, addiess them, and direct their move-
ments ? He thOught no good man could wish to labour under
such a state of things. He should lay it down as the un-
doubted law of the land, that any Magistrate, constable,
or private individual, might interpose between the coun-
try and such a meeting. They would
-see in the course
.of the evidence the peculiar crisis at which the Magistrates
of Manchester had formed their determination to disperse
this meeting. If they had not formed and executed that
determination, he was conscientiously convinced that the town
of Manchester would not have survieed that day. To calculate
the effects of such a meeting, he would desire the jury to con-
sider of what materials the meeting was formed : it had been
in preparation for several weeks ; the whole population within
12 miles of Manchester had been for some weeks arranging for a
great , day, and it was something marvellous that his Learned
Friend, who had stated the object of that meeting to be Parlia-
mentary Reform, had even scarcely endeavoured to prove it ; he
had said that it was convened for the purpose of deliberating, but
by-and-bye it occurred to his excellent understanding that
deliberation at such an assembly was quite nonsensical ;
how, indeed, could it be otherwise, when not a word could be
heard on such occasions more than ten yards beyond the hust-
ings ? As deliberation could not be their object, it must be evi-
dent that their intention was to shew, that if they could not
obtain reform in one way, they would attempt it in another.
His Learned Friend had promised to chew the legality of the
meeting, and how had he done this ? He might have called
3,000 individuals (as Hunt once threatened to do) to prove what
he (Mr. Blackburn) had proved ; but he had contented himself
with calling only 2 cotton-spinners, 2
statesmen, or at least 2
who had disguised themselves under that appearance, out of

the 700 who had signed the requisition convening the meeting at
Manchester, to take care of the combined interests of the whole
nation. These individuals said they had signed a paper, but it
had not been produced ; they said, however, that their object was
Parliamentary Reform i that he would show not to have been the
case by a statement of their real object. It had been stated by a
witness of the name of Tyas, that Mr. Hunt had attended at
Smithfield, where, as was usual, he was chairman ; he had
there proposed certain resolutions, one or two of which he
should now read; because they appeared to him as treasonable as
any he had ever read. He would shew to them that this itine-
rant demagogue had no other 'view 'in Manchester than to for.
ward the object of the meeting previously held in Smithfield—
a meeting not only illegal, but as nearly treasonable as was pos.
sible. He should produce a witness who had received these re-
solutions from the hands of Mr. Hunt : the resolutions he would
now read, and they spoke for themselves.—(The Learned Coun-
sel here read the Smithfield resolutions, and commented upon
them as he read them, but his observations were chiefly
levelled at Mr. Hunt and Mr. Carlile.)---He then proceeded
to say, that if a meeting were held to carry such resolu-
tions into effect, one of which expressed a conditional allegiance
to Government, it was palpably illegal. How did he con-
nect the proceedings at Smithfield with . those subseqUently
occurring at Manchester ? He would now explain. First of
all, he would show them the placard calling the meeting of
the 9th of August, which had been most diligently and
assiduously circulated in Manchester and its neighbourhood.
This placard, calling upon 'the unrepresented inhabitants ofj
that district to meet for the purpose. of electing a person to
represent them, and for adopting Major Cartwright's plan,
the Learned Sergeant then read. He remarked, that amongst
the persons invited by this placard to attend, was Sir Charles
Wolseley, who, by obtaining a seat for Birmingham, had af-
terwards obtained a seat, a close borough, at Abingdon ; and
that Mr. Wooler, who was also among the invited persons, had
now his residence in Warwick gaol. Now he would ask the
jury, whether it was more likely a meeting of such a descrip-
tion could be held. for deliberation, or for adopting some mea-
sure in contravention of the law ? He would now call their
attention to the manner in which that meeting had been as-
sembled in Manchester. His Learned Friend had said, that
they had come in beautiful order :—He allowed it ; but they
would have come in still more beautiful order, if they had
been clothed in regimentals. - His Learned Friend had also
stated that they had been trained :—That appeared by
their own evidence. Why had they been so trained ? Was
a man less able to decide upon any given measure, because
he had not been drilled during the night for some weeka ?
No : it was not to enable them to decide better that they had
been drilled—those drillings were of the same nature as those
which raw recruits underwent in his Majesty's service. They
were employed night after night in marching and counter-
marching, in wheeling in and out of line, and in clapping their
hands at the word " fire." That surely could not be neces-
sary for the purpose of deliberation. He would state another
fact, which would prove that deliberation was not their object
in these drillings. At a certain word they fell down, at another
word they rose again. Now that was a light infantry move-
ment; and for what purpose could it be practised by these
men, unless they contemplated a conflict at no distant period
with regular troops ? It was also worth while to consider when
these drillings took place ; they were all in the night time—They
began at dusk, and lasted until the morning. Two or three
individuals, who had visited them from curiosity, had been
almost murdered by them ; and he would show that at one of
these drillings, of which several were held, some at 'White-
moss, some at Cockey-moor, others at Tendon-hill, Redford,
the present plaintiff, had been present—sometimes as a com-
mander of a squad, sometimes as a private. Ire would like-
wise shew, that he had been carrying a flag in the Middleton
division et the moment he received tae sabre wound for which
he now demanded reparation. The Learned Serjeant then de.
scribed the barbarous treatment which Murray and Shea-cross,
two of the Manchester police, had received at Whitemoss, and
I stated that the party whom those individuals had seen drilling, .
on passing Murray's house on the 16th of August, while re-'
pairing to Manchester, had added insult to injury by halting,
yelling, and hissing before it. He then described the march
of the reformers from that place by the E:cchange, and the air
of defiance with which Hunt had stopped his cavalcade before
it, to hiss the gentlemen engaged there on business. He
likewise detailed the manner in'which the column was halted •
before the Star Lnn, where the Magistrates used to as-
semble, and also the hooting which there took place. After
stating the manner in which this division arrived at St. Peter's-
field, after a circuitous route from Smedley Cottage, he pro-
ceeded to describe the military manner in which the other
divisions took up their ground. He should prove that
they marched to the geld. Mr. Shuttleworth had said that
they merely walked. To that person's opinion he would op-
pose the opinion of military men, who said that their stately
organized step was that of regular troops. They had likewise
music, bugles, drums, and fifes, none of which were necessary
to assist their deliberations. They had also banners with in-
scriptions. His Learned Friend said there was not wrong
in that : that they were only used to distinguish the different
townships from each other. If that had been the fact, they
would have simply put the name upon the banners; whereas
they had put " Lees" on one side, and " Liberty or Death"
on the other. Then there was a black flag. A fat jolly-looking
man had been called to prove that the flag was painted black,
merely because he happened to have at that time no other kind of
paint. But that statement he was sure the Jury could never be
induced to believe. The Learned Counsel then commented on
the impropriety of such an inscription as " Liberty or Death,"
and said that it was intended to express insult, defiance, and hos-
tility to the constituted authorities of the country. There was
also the inscription " Let us die like men, and not be sold as
slaves." Were the people of England, then, in that state of
thraldom and misery, that it was better for them to.seek death
than to endure it? If not, was not such an inscription calcu-
lated to excite disaffection, insurrection, and absolute rebellion ?
After condemning the inscription of" No corn laws," he pro-
ceeded to point out the revolutionary, tendency of the caps of
liberty, which were paraded through the field with so much os-
tentation, and to call the attention of the Jury to the " dagger,"
or " the piece of tin," as one of the witnesses had called it, which
surmounted one of the flags. He thought that he had no* sa-
tisfied the Jury that the meeting was illegal ; but even supposing
that it was not so on account of the banners, he woultt. ask them
whether, under all the circumstances, it was not so constituted as
to strike terror into the inhabitants of Manchester ? After eulo-
gizing the conduct of the Magistrates in very strong terms, and
stating that it was absurd to suppose that they could wantonly,
and without cause, lend themselves to acts and proceedings which
had put in jeopardy the hires of his Majesty's subjects, he asked
the Jury, whether, under the impressions which they had deriv-
ed from the facts that came within their knowledge, the Magis-
trates could have acted in any other way then they did'? They
r were aware of all the facts which he had detailed. They knew
Hunt was not easily to be put off, and that, though he had ac.
ceded to the postponement of one meeting, he had not aban-
doned his intention of disturbing the peace of their neighbour.
hood. In consequence they left their homes, came to Manchester,
and there consulted, day by day, not how their own property, but
the property of the inh.abitants of Manchester, and the tran-
quillity of the county, could best be preserved. The Learned
Counsel, after some other statements of this nature, informed the
jury that the Magistrates, in pursuance of their duty, hired Mr.
Buxton's house, in order to be eye-witnesses of the proceedings
of the day. They left the Star Inn at 10 o'clock to repair thither.
They found a cart placed in the middle of the square, which they
naturally supposed was left there for the purpose of being used
as a hustings. Having sworn in a number of special constables,
they formed diem in two lines for the purpose of keeping up a
face and uninterrupted communication between the cart and the
house. After describing the military mode in which the different
parties arriving on the ground took up their position round the
hustings, he asked whether such a circumstance, passing before
the eyes of the magistrates, was not calculated to excite their
fears ? It was true that it did not alarm the fears of the plain-
tiff's witnesses; but then it ought to be recollected that, with
the exception of' Mr. Stanley, they either participated in the
transactions of the day, or entered strongly into the feelings of
the parties there assembled. The inhabitants of Manchester,
however, when they saw the area completely jammed with a dis-
contented population, became alarmed; for what meeting, as Mr.
Stanley had well observed, was not dangerous that was headed
by such men as Hunt and Caidile The communication between
the hustings and the waggon remained open for some time,
but in consequence of its object being observed by some of
those assembled, the waggon was removed, and the space be-
tween its old and new position filled up by the multitude. He
would prove this fact by indisputable testimony. Indeed, there
was not one witness ion the part of the plaintiff, except Mr.
Stanley, who dared to state that there was an uninterrupted
I communication between Mr. Buxton's house and the hustings.
He would shew to them that there was an interruption, caused
by the locking
.of arms, six or seven deep. It was not sur-
prising that the witnesses should speak of the peaceable de-
meanour of the meeting before the arrival of the Yeomanry,
because at that time there was nobody to quarrel with except
themselves ; but the danger was from the collection of so
great a mass of excited persons. In defence of the vigorous
measures taken by the Manchester Magistrates, he refer-
red to the great mischief done by the mobs in 1780, which
he ascribed to the pusillanimity of Kennet, the then Lord
Mayor of London, .who had neglected calling in the military
to quell them. For that pusillanimity a criminal information
had been filed against him, on which he had been found guilty,
and severely fined. He also referred to the extreme danger to
which the city of London had been exposed, arid the plunder
and destruction which had taken place in it at the time of the
Spafields meeting, in consequence of an observation that had
been made to the mob by an insane individual. Now, he
would ask, had human nature altered since that time ? If it
had not, was it not likely that the same fatal results would '

have occurred at Manchester ? It ought to be recollected
that it was a hot summer's day on- which these men, with
their wives and families, resorted to Manchester; and the
exhaustion that their journey and fatigue in standing Would
create, would have obliged them to ,have resorted to -the
alehouses for refreshnient. Now after they had been filled
with the politics of Hunt, the religion of Carlile, and the
porter of the alehouse; he would ask whether the lives of
his Majesty's subjects would not have been endangered by
'such a number of individuals preparing to leave Manchester
about nine or ten o'clock at night ? Would not such a circum-
stance have generated universal dismay ? and if it would, there
was an end of the argument. The Magistrates hid as good a
right to disperse such a meeting as they had to abate any other
kind of legal nuisance. Under these circumstances the Magis-
trates thought themselves bound to call in the aid of the military.
They issued a warrant to apprehend the leaders of the meeting.
They put it into the hands of the constables, who one and all of
them declared that it was impracticable in them to execute it.
Ills Learned Friend had said that the civil power ought at least
to have tried to execute it, which was in other words to say that
two or three constables ought to have been killed in an at-
tempt to perform an impossibility. In consequence of the Ma-
gistrates coinciding in opinion with the constables, a message
was sent off to Capt. Birley to advance part of his troop to the
field, and to Colonel L'Estrange to bring out the Cheshire Yeo-
manry, and the 15th Hussars. During the interval between
their arrival on the field, and the despatching of the message,
the riot-act, as he would prove, was publicly read out of the
window under which the witness M`Kenna was standing, and
over which Mr. Stanley was looking at the crowd. , It mattered
not whether the public heard it, but read it was. On the ar-
rival of Major Trafford, the constables put the warrant into his
hands, and desired him to assist them in executing it. He
allowed
that the cavalry returned the cheers of
,the people
before they set out for the hustings, and he maintained their
right to do so. They did not, however, proceed rapidlv.
Ile would prove that they had never struck a blow till
they had arrived at the hustings ; that they were assailed
by brickbats and stones, and that they met with an almost
insurmountable resistance in their way to the hustings: It
was not till they were attacked that they used force, and then
they had a right to defend themselves. It was his belief, de-
rived from the testimony which he would adduce, that but for
the prompt aid given by the 15th Hussars and the Cheshire
Yeomanry, the Manchester Yeomanry would have been
utterly, annihilated. Orders were therefore given to Colonel
L'Estrange to rescue them. The Learned Counsel then pointed
c-at the parts of the plaintiff's evidence that seemed inconsistent
with each other; and afterwards proceeded to say that it was not
what reporters from London and elsewhere felt as to the danger
to be apprehended from the meeting that the Jury had to con-
sider, but the feelings of those who had property at stake in
Manchester. He had a few words to say regarding the manner
in which the trespass had been proved. It was only proved by
one witness, who said that he saw Oliver strike him a blow on
the shoulder. Ile did not say with what side of the sabre,
and therefore it did not follow that the wound of ti e
plaintiff was caused by that blow. He must ag -in sub-
mit to - the Jury that there was no evidence to affect
this person. There was another part of this case upon which
he must address to them, and through them his Lordship, a
few observations. He meant this—that the defendants acted
in obedience to a warrant from the Magistrates ; the resistance
experienced, was, in point of fact, a resistance to that war-
rant ; and, -if that were so, there was, as he should con-
tend, an end to the whole of this case. If they acted with-
out a warrant, though under the orders of constables, then
the plaintiffs for an action of damages, should have brought
their case within 6 months after the occurrence. It was no an-
swer to say, that the parties contemplated redress for a criminal
wrong, and that they had brought this action last summer, the
moment they felt that there was no chance of obtaining the re-
dress which they sought. That excuse was unavailing against ,
a protection secured to the public by a positive statute. He
should lay before them in evidence abundant proof of the case
which he had stated for the defendants. He knew that the.
Jury had a weighty duty to perform. He a Imitted it was of the
utmost importance that the justice of the country should
be administered to the satisfaction of the country ; and in an-
ticipating their verdict for his clients, he felt himself only ask-
ing what would satisfy the country and the justice of the case.
The Jury ought to feel that this question was, whether or not
the laws and constitution of the country were any longer to be
permitted to exist—whether, in fact, they were to be sub-
verted at will by those who exercised the calling, as it were, of
managing meetings of this description. " It is for you, Gentlemen
of the Jury," said the Learned Serjeant, in conclusion, " to say,
as honest judges of the whole case, whether that meeting at
Manchester was congregated under such circumstances, (I
shall not now allude more particularly to them,) as to en-
titleeit to the name of a legal Meeting—whether its circum-
stances were such as to give it legitimate protection." If
you think so, then I have only to submit the point of form
in behalf of my clients ; but if you think with me, that
these banners, these flags, and this music, were indicative only
of a movement for the purposes of revolution, then I must
ask what conclusion can you arrive at, but that this was an
illegal meeting, and not one assembled to promote a con-
stitutional purpose ? If you think that this meeting was called
for the same object as that just before held in Smithfield, and
that for which the placards were issued in July in Manchester.,
then the meeting was clearly illegal. The real question, strip-
ped of all form, was this—was or was not that meeting of the
16th of August assembled under such circumstances as to
endanger the public peace ? Was it calculated' to alarm the
anxiety and awaken the apprehension of the peaceable people
residing on the spot ? If it had that effect, then the defendants'
case stood sustained; and if, in the language of Mr. Stanley, a
meeting convened under the auspices of Mr. ilunt or Mr. Car-
lile might be dangerous, then equally there was an end of the
case. I leave it in your hands, with a perfect confidence that
he verdict which will satisfy yourselves will satisfy your
country.
• The Learned Sergeant concluded at half-past eight o'clock.

THIRD DAY, SATURDAY, APRIL 6.
At nine o'clock this morning, the names of the Jurors were
called over, and Mr. Justice HOLROYD soon after entered the
Court.

Mr. Sergeant Iltric.i.ocx said, he had one or two remarks to
make to the Jury, before he proceeded to examine his witnesses,
witich he begged pardon for having omitted the preceding even-
ing. Ile had forgotten to advert to the sticks which were car-
ried by the people who attended the meeting of the 16th of Ati-
gust. Sotne inquiries had been made on this subject, and they
had been told that the people carried small rods or little bits of
sticks, such as were ordinarily used in walking. Now, he
should be_able to shew, that they were large sticks ; and that
the people, on their march, carried them as soldiers did their
firelocks. He would also prove, that the night before the 16th
of August, great care had been taken to clear the ground from
stones and missiles of every description ; but that, after the
meeting, the place was strewed with stones and sticks. Facts
such as these required no comment.
[The examination of witnesses for the defence then commen-
ced, our report of which shall be given to-morrow.]

PEDESTRIANISM. - Martin, the boxer, undertook on
Thursday, within two miles of Brighton, to run eight miles
and a half within an hour, for a bet of ten guineas. He did
the first two miles within fourteen minutes, and went on at a
winning rate, completing the distance, with three minutes to
spare. Henry Rayner on Saturday undertook, for a bet of ten
guineas to go five miles in twenty-eight minutes. He start-
ed on the Lewisham-road, and performed as follows :—The
first mile in 5 minutes 12 seconds; second in 5 minutes 24
seconds ; third in 5 minutes 25 seconds ; fourth in 5 minutes
20 seconds; fifth in 5 minutes 51 seconds; winning the match
in 48 seconds within the given time, and which is the greatest
performance on record.

THE MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE, ArRrL 8.

,
Our market was largely supplied with Wheat this morn-
ing, and although the sales were very heavy, yet prime sam-
ples obtained last Monday's prices; but the inferior quali-
ties have merely a nominal value, there being little or no de-
mand for them. The supply of Barley was considerable,
from accumulated arrivals since last Wednesday, but the
chief part being of ordinary quality, superfine malting sawn.
pies sold on as good terms as this day se'nnight, but all other
sorts were dull sale, and rather cheaper. Oats are Is. per quar-
ter lower, the arrivals being very abundant. In Beans and
Pease there is no alteration.

AVERAGE PRICE OF CORN IN ENGLAND AND WALES.
Wheat, 455. Id.; Barley, 19s. Id. • Oats, 16s. id.; Rye,
17s. 7d. ; Beans, 21s. 3d. • Peas, 235. 011.
The Average Price of Brown.or Muscovado Sugar, computed
from the Returns made in the Week ending the 4th day of
April, 1822, is 345. Od. per cwt.

SMITHFIELD MARKET, Arrtri. 8.
Although the market this morning was not so well supplied
as on former Mqndays, still it may be quoted upon the whole
a fair Holiday market; Beef was rather short, in consequence
of which the price was somewhat higher than last Friday. There
was a good supply of Sheep and Lambs, and the prices are
the same as last market day.
Beef 2s 6d to 3s 8d Veal ss Od to 6s Ed
I
Mutton 2s 6d to 3s 8d Pork 3s Od to 4s Od
Lamb .... ss. Od. to 7s.

...., t 5,...:.
. - ..—.,...-; ~..
;.. 1 ;60
,77.--. ,„g.....- 7,:e c,
••• .:,..;, ~,,For ~,.
41
~., ) ^f 1, . ...-- •/ 4..
_
...
.t. 5.,., .. ____, ,),5
!ZR OF
.x__„,
k„,j,,. ife,
&4„) :., $

THE KING'S LEVEE.
Lord Chamberlain's Qffice, April 4,1822.
Notice is hereby given, that his Majesty will hold a Levee a
Carlton Palace, on Friday, the 19th inst. at two o'clock.