The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-20 00:00:00

said Mr. Baron Parke, happilystill spared to us, "has
a reason which the Lord Chief Justice did not know
for watching you narrowly, and he will remember my'
saying to him, when you sat down, 'Brother Tindal,
did you observe how carefully Phillips abstained from
giving any personal opinion in the case?' To this the
Learned Chief Justice instantly assented." This is
my answer to the second charge. Thirdly and lastly,
I am accused of having endeavoured to cast upon the
female servants theguilt which I knew was attributable
to Courvoisier. You will observe, of course, that the
gravamen of this consists in my having done so after
the
.confession. The answer to this is obvious.
Courvoisier did not confess till Friday ; the cross-
examination took place the day before, and so far,
therefore, the accusation is disposed of. But it may
be said I did so in my address to the jury. Before
refuting this, let me observe upon the disheartening
circumstances under which that address was deli-
vered. At the close of the, to me, most wretched day'
on which the confession was made, the prisoner sent
me this astounding message by his si licitor—" Fell
Mr. Phillips, my counsel, that I consider he has my
life in his hands." My answer was, that as he must
be present himself, he would have an opportunity of
seeing whether I de-erted him or not. I wss to speak
on the next morning. But what a nieht preceded it r
Fevered and horror-stricken, I cou!d find no reposee
If I slumbered for a moment, the murderer's forth
arose before me, scaring sleep away, tow muttering
his awful crime, and now shrieking to me to save his
life! I did try to save it. I did everything to save.
it except that which is imputed to me, but that I did
not, and I will prove it. I have since pondered much
upon this subject, and I am satisfied that my
original impression was erroneous. I had no
right to throw up my brief, and turn traitor
to the wretch, wretch though he was, who had
confided in me. The counsel for a prisoner has
no option. The moment he accepts his brief, every
faculty he possesses becomes his client's property. It
is an implied contract between him and the man who
trusts him. Out of the profession this may be a
moot point ; but it was asserted and acted on by two
illustrious advocates of our own day, even to the con-
fronting of a King, and, to the regal honour be it
spoken, these dauntless men were afterwards promoted
to the highest dignities. You will ask me here
whether I contend on this principle for the right of
doing that of which I am accused, namely, casting
the guilt upon the innocent ? I do no such thing;
and I deny the imputation altogether. You will
still bear in mind what I have said before, that I
scarcely could have dared to do so under the eye of
Baron Parke and in the presence of Mr. Claikson.
To act so, I must have been insane. But to set this
matter at rest I have referred to my address in the
Times—a journal the fidelity of whose reports was
never questioned. You will be amazed to hear that I
not only did not do that of which I am accused, but
that I did the very reverse. Fearing that, nervous
and unstrung as I was, I might do any injustice in
the course of a lengthened speech, by even an
ambiguous expression, I find these words reported
in the Times :—" Mr. Phillips said the prosecutors
were bound to prove the guilt of the prisoner, not by
inference, by reasoning, by such subtle and refined
ingenuity as had been used, but by downright, clear,
open, palpable demonstration. How did they
seek to do this ? What said Mr. Adolphus and his
witness, Sarah Macer ? And here he would beg the
jury not to suppose for a moment, in the course of
the narrative with which he must trouble them, that
he meant to cast the crime upon either of the female
servants. It was not at all necessary to his case to
do so. It was neither his interest, his duty, nor his
policy to do so. God forbid that any breath of his should
send tainted into the world persons depending for their
subsistence on their character." Surely this ought
to be sufficient. I cannot allude, however, to this
giant of the press, whose might can make or unmake
a reputation, without gratefully acknowledging that
it never lent its great circulation to these libels. It
had too much justice. The Morning Chronicle, the
Morning Herald, and the Morning Post, the only
journals to which I have access, fully corroborate the
Times, if, indeed, such a journal needed corroboration.
The Chronicle runs thus :—" In the first place, says
my friend Mr. Adolphus, and says his witness Sarah
)lacer—and here I beg to do an act of justice, and to
assure you that Ido not for a moment mean to sug-
gest in the whole course of my narrative that this
crime may have been committed by the female ser-
vants of the deceased nobleman." The Morning Post
runs thus :—" Mr. Adolphus called a witness, Sarah
Macer. But let me do myself justice, and others
justice, by now stating, that in the whole course of the
narrative with which I must trouble you, I beg you
would not suppose that 1 am in the least degree seek-
ing to cast the crime upon any of the witnesses. God
forbid that any breath of mine should send persons
depending on the public for subsistence into the world
with a tainted character." I find the Morning
Herald reporting me as follows :—" Mr. Adolphus
cal!ed a witness named Sarah Macer. But let me
do myself justice arid others justice by now stating
that in the whole course of the narrative with which
I must trouble you I must beg that you will not
suppose that I am in the least degree sea king to cast
blame upon any of the witnesses." Can any dis-
cleimer be more complete? And yet, in the face of
this, for nine successive years has this most unscrupu-
lous of slanderers reiterated his charge. Not quite
three weeks ago he recurs to it in these terms :
" How much worse was the at'empt of Mr. Phillips
to throw the suspicion of the murder of Lord lVilliam
Russell on the innocent female servants, in order to
procure the acquittal of his client Courvoisier of
whose guilt he was cognizant ?" I have read with
care the whole report in the Times of that three
hours' speech, and I do not find a passage to give this
charge countenance. But surely, surely, in the agi-
tated state in which I was, had even an ambiguous
expression dropped from me, the above broad dis-
claimer would have been its efficient antidote.
Such is my answer to the last charge; and, come
what will, it shall be my final answer. No
envenomed reiteration, no popular delusion,
no importunity of friendship, shall ever draw from
me another syllable. I shall remain in future, as I
have been heretofore, auditor tantum. You know well
how strenuously and how repeatedly you pressed me
to my vindication, especially after Lord Denman's
important conversaticn with you, and you know the
stern disdain with which I dissented. The men
conscia recti, a thorough contempt for my traducer,
the belief that truth would in the end prevail, and a
self-humiliation at stooping to a defence, amply
sustained me amid the almost national outcry which
calumny had created. Relying doubtless upon this,
month after month, for nine successive years, my
accuser has iterated and reiterated his libels in terms
so gross, so vulgar, and so disgraceful, that my most
valued friends thought it my duty to them publicly to
refute them. To that consideration, and that alone, I
have yielded; in deference to theirs relinquishing my
own opinions. If they suppose, however, that slander,
because answered, will be silenced, they will find
themselves mistaken.

" Destroy the web of sophistry—in vain—
The creature's at his dirty work again."
No, no, my dear friend, invention is a libeller's
exhaustleai capital, and refutation but supplies the
food on which he lives. lie may, however, pursue
his vocation undisturbed by me. Ilis libels and my
answer are now before the world, and I leave them to
the judgtnent of all honourable men.

C. PHILLIPS.

WARD OF FARRINGDON-WlTUlN.—Yesterday a wardmote, which was numerously attended, was held at
the Queen's Arms Tavern, Newgate-street, " for the
choice of a Common Councilman for the ward, in the
room of Mr. T. Pearson Hayward (deceased), late one
of the deputies of the ward." Alderman Thomas Kelly
(alderman of the ward) having taken the chair, said that
since the annual election an Act had passed the Legisla-
ture, which he thought a great improvement upon the
former practice of electing Common Councilmen, as the
election was now limited to ono day. A great inconve-
nience was suffered by the continuance of the election for
three days, which caused a very great hindrance to
business. The Alderman then directed the precept of
the Lord Mayor to be read, which having been done,
Mr. Warwick proposed Mr. Thomas M'Gregor, who
was foreman of the inquest of the ward; and Mr. Welch
seconded the nomination. Mr. Edward Knight proposed
Mr. Christopher Phillips, whose nomination was seconded
by Mr. Emery. A show of hands was taken, when the
choice was declared to be in favour of Mr. Phillips ;
up,e2 which a poll was demanded for Mr. ADGregor.
Alderman Kelly stated that, by the recent Act of Par-
liament, the election must take place on the following
day, between ten and four o'clock. He should therefore
attend tc-morrow (this day) to take the votes of the
friends of the candidates. The wardmote was then ad-
journed to this day.
PUBLIC THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC RELIGION.—On Sunday a pastoral from Bishop
Wiseman was read in all the Roman Catholic churches
of the metropolis, ordering a solemn thanksgiving to be
performed next Sunday in acknowledgment of God's
mercy in relieving the kingdom from the awful scourge
of cholera, which propitious event will be celebrated by
high mass and a solemn Te Daum in every place of
Roman Catholic worship. The Bishop's
especially enjoins works of mercy, such as feeding the
poor, clothing the naked, and contributing towards the
support of several public charities, as the most Christian
mode of acknowledging Heaven's mercy,
LIUNCU OF THE PiloPoSTis.—A line screw steam-
ship, built of iron, by Messrs. Mare and Co., Blackwell,
from a design by Mr. T. Waterman, jun., was launched
lot° Bow creek at 3 30, P.m., yesterday. The Propontis
will be the third constructed for the General Screw
Shipping Company, and of the same class as their two
vessels the Bosphorus and Hellespont. Her dimensions
are—length 175 feet, breadth 25 feet 6 inches, depth 17
feet 6 inches, and tonnage 531 86 94, and she is to be
fitted with auxiliary engines of 80 horse power, by
Messrs. Maudslay, Sons, and Field, and will be com-
manded by Captain Brenan. Mr. Thomas Jeffs named
the vessel, and broke a bottle of wine on her bows, in
the presence of E. Zorab, Esq., Ottoman Consul-General;
James Laming, Esq., managing director; Captein lord,
of the Ottoman navy, apperintendent; and a numb., of
gentlemen who witnessed the ceremony