The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-13 00:00:00

JULY 13, 1846.

The witness then handed in the letter in question, mid it
was formally read as evidence:
Another letter, written after, the plaintiff had commenced
his action, and in which the defendant complained of his
being compelled to defend an action on account of his having
exposed what he considered a very great abuse in the admi-
nistration of justice, was alSo puf in and read.
Cross-examined—Sir James Graham sent down Mr. New-
man Rogers to inquire into -the -"circumstances of the com-
plaint, but that gentleman had,not yet made a report.
Mr. Henry Edwards deposed that the letter was in the
handwriting of the defendant.
Cross-examined—He was a bankrupt two years ago, and
be was one of the bail in 2001. for the prisoner Hutson.
Witness, was fbrmerly a clerk in Muskett's bank, at St.
Alban's ; and Mr. Blagg was their professional adviser, and
used to raise money for them when the bank was in difficul-
ties. He had raised thousands of pounds for them. He re•
membered a transaction with two bank post bills, payable 40
days after sight, one for 2001. and the other for 1001. Mr.
Blagg got the money for these bills, and there was an under-
standing that fresh bills should be given to take them -up
when they became due.

Baron -PARKE—What kind of bank post bills do you
mean? not Bank of England bills? Witness—Oh no, my
Lord, St. Alban's bank bills—(Roars of laughter.)
Cross-examination continued—Mr. Muskett's bank was
not now in existence. He found a box in the possession of
Hutson, which contained a great quantity of bills of ex-
change, but he did not examine them to see who were the
parties to them. -
Mr. Debenbam, the solicitor employed by Mr. Kinder to
prosecute Hutson and Gutridge, deposed that he was pre-
sent at the examinations before both _ the liberty and the
borough magistrates, and he expressed his opinion that
Mr. Blagg did no more than his duty justified him on
both occasions ; and he said he had-no complaint to make
of the manner in which the cases were Conducted.

Mr. Grove Lowe, the clerk to the liberty justices, gave
similar testimony.
This was the case for the plaintiff. _

Mr. CHAMBERS submitted that the letter was merely such
a comment upon the conduct of , a public officer by a party
interested as was sanctioned by the law, and that, therefore,
it was a privileged communication, and could not be made
the subject of an action for libel.
Mr. Baron PARKE said he thought there was a question
for the jury whether the letter was written bond fide, with
the view suggested by the Learned Counsel, or whether the
writer was actuated by malice in making the communication.
Mr. CHAMBERS then addressed the jury, and he argued
that it would be very unjust to convict the defendant of
having published a libel under the circumstances that had
been detailed. He submitted that the defendant had told
nothing but the truth, and he would ask the jury whether the
plaintiff was not really placed in an anomalous position in
the borough ? He • appeared before a bench of magistrates
one day to defend a prisoner, and when that prisoner's ac-
complice in the robbery was charged before
,another set of
magistrates he had to appear as clerk and legal adviser to
the bench, and in the result bail was refused for one of
the parties accused, and he was committed to prison; and
in the other, where the plaintiff was clerk, and where
he would have to advise the magistrates as to the course
they ought to pursue, the prisoner was allowed to go at large
upon bail. He would put it to the jury whether such a pro-
ceeding as this was not calculated to create a suspicion as to
the purity of the administration of justice, and whether the
inhabitants of the borough of St. Alban's could feel any con-
fidence while such a system existed. The defendant, as one
tohfethpousere
administrationinhabitants,andofththereefloarwe
,hadvidingfeealdtehepatinsutecrhestin
pro-
ceedings were improper • and what course did he pursue?
Why, he wrote to the Secretary of State, the properly-con-
stituted authority, to inquire into and remedy such griev-
ances, asking him to make that inquiry and afford the remedy
demanded. As to the inuendos contained in the declaration,
that the defendant intended to charge the plaintiff with con-
spiring to obtain the discharge of the prisoners, and that he
had shared in their plunder, he denied that the letter could
fairly be said to convey any such charges, and it merely
stated facts which he submitted had been fully proved by the
witnesses for the plaintiff. All the defendant said was, that
Mr. Blagg was acting in the borough of St. Alban's in a
double and doubtful capacity, and could the jury come to any
other conclusion with regard to his position, • upon the facts
that had been laid before them ?

Mr. Baron PARKE hiving summed up,
The jury, after deliberating for a few minutes, returned a
verdict for the plaintiff—Damages, 1001.

THE POUR MAN'S GUARDIAN

SOCIETY.

Now that the Anti-Corn-law League has fulfilled its
mission, and ceased to exist, we shall doubtless, ere long,
see other similar associations formed for the accomplish-
ment of important objects. The signal success of the
body which dissolved on Thursday cannot fail to operate
as an inducement to other public-spirited men •to form
themselves into a committee, as the originators of the
League did into a council, preparatory to their com-
mencement of a great general agitation in favour of their
particular views. There is one association which al-
ready exists, and which, if we mistake not,• is not only
destined, before many months have elapsed, to fill a
prominent place in the public eye, bat to take up a posi-
tion resembling, in some respects, that which the
League has occupied for some years past, The body to
which we allude is the Poor Mans Guardian Society,
A more praiseworthy society nowhere exists. It has no
political or party purpose in view. It is based on the
most comprehensive principles. It is the offspring of
a pure and enlightened humanity. The proor and the
unprotected are those whose cause it espouses, It seeks
cePiiinNt uldn harsh
rich and the noble are treated with far more kindness
and attention than those whose misfortune it is to be
sunk in the depths of poverty. Poverty is considered
synonymous with criminality ; and with criminality, too,
of the most aggravated kind. The great object of the
Poor Man's Guardian Society is to extend to our pauper
population all the protection from oppression and injus-
tice, which it is in its power to give. It is founded on
the great Christian principle, that all men are naturally,
and in the eye of the Great Supreme, equal. Nay,
more, that all men are brethren. There is something
more than nobility in the aims of such a society ;
there is divinity in its great object. The countenance
of the Deity will not be withheld from it; it bears on
its visage a divine impress, and, so approved, and so
encouraged, it must needs go on prospering and to pros-
per. We shall be equally surprised and disappointed
if the Poor Man's Guardian Society do not speedily
become one of the most popular of the popular associa-
tions which have of late years occupied so prominent a
place in public estimation. If any existing society is
destined to the place of the Anti-Corn-law League, we
believe it is the Poor Man's Guardian Society. Mr.
Cochrane, a gentleman of high intelligence and the most
fervent humanity, was, if we mistake not, the originator
or founder of this society; we shall be surprised and
grieved if we do not find, ere long, that that gentleman's
name, like the name of Cobden, has become a household
word. We know of few questions more calculated to
attract national attention, or to enlist the sympathies of
the country, than that to which the Poor Man's Guar-
dian Society addresses itself. Though there are among
the officials connected with the, administration of
the poor laws, and among the general community
also, men whose bosoms never heaved in sympathy
with the oppressed and suffering poor, the heart of
the country is sound on the subject of their wrongs,
and will readily respond to any appeal which may be
made to it on their behalf. If the agitation com-
menced by Mr. Cochrane, and those associated with
him in this most laudable enterprise, be carried on, as we
doubt not it will be, with judgment and energy, there
can be no risk in predicting that it will, as already ob-
served, become, next to the corn• law agitation, now
happily concluded, the most popular enterprise of the
day. " Cautious" persons may keep back for a time ;
they may stand aloof until they see how the wind blows ;
but the moment they discover the tide of popular feeling
setting in its favour, they will rush in breathless haste to
encumber it with their support. Let not the humane gen-
tlemen who are originating what we confidently anticipate
will become a mighty movement be discouraged or cast
down by the lukewarmness which they may, in the
outset, have to encounter. Can they tell us of any
great enterprise which was not at first exposed to the
chilling atmosphere of indifference ? What could have
been more disheartening than the apathy which the
Anti-Corn-laiv League had to encounter in the com-
mencement of its career ? Yet see the attention it at-
tracted in the brief space of two or three years ; and
behold the mighty moral revolution it achieved before
seven years had run their course. Let the Poor Man's

Guardian Society take courage from the experience Of
the Anti-Corn-law League. Mr. Cochrane, like Mr.

Cobden, will have his triumph in the end. ,And in the
meantime, whatever may be the amount of opposition or
neglect with which he, and those who are leagued with
him in the good work, may have to encounter, they
will, we are sure, have in the meantime their reward in
the approval of their own consciences and the gratitude
of the poor ; and, at no distant day, they will receive
the further recompense of hearing a nation's acclama-
tions greet the mere mention of their names.—Morning
Advertiser.

DEATH or ATTILA.—This celebrated, racer, the
six
winner
o'clock,of the
at Derby
the
Hyde-park-corner.
He had been let during the past season to Monsieur Lupin, to
lliinessrs. 1842,Tattersalldl ed
on
I'4,fevening, about
,iday
improve the breed of horses in France. His engage-
ment having terminated during the past week, he was
sent to Boulogne, where he was Shipped for London.
Whilst at sea, heavy weather came on, and the horse became
extremely restless, kicking and plunging violently, so much
so, indeed, that the box, in which he was placed was nearly
shattered to pieces.
. At last he was found lying on his
severely injured ; and the man in attendance upon
him, assisted by some of the crew, got him out, placed him
on deck, and covered him over with a tarpaulin. When the
vessel arrived at the London-bridge Pier, it was found ne-
cessary to lay him in the tarpaulin, and so carry him to land.
After lying on the quay a short time, he got up, and vi3s
led gently to Mr. Smith's liverystables, close where
remained from Tuesday night till about
1-,‘l.f.tersall's, where he
:
morning, when he was talcen to rut-, I
died as above stated. (2.l)ck next

TvN
/1.!Olff, in a letter to a friend, says—
"lt is curio".: that the
present Pope, when only Conte
Ft'l'ettl, was my fellow pupil in the Collegio Romano,
at. Rome, from the year 1816 to 1817, when I went over
to the Propaganda. He is an amiable, zealous, ta-
lented, shrewd, pious, and liberal gentleman, and it is
therefore to be hoped that he has transferred these
qualities from the simple Conte Ferretti to the throne
of Benedict IX." Thus goes the world ; one of two students,
on almost equal ground, becomes a " Sovereign Pontiff;" the
other, though filling the world with his name, is the humble
vicar of the small parish of Isle Brewers, in a retired part of
this county, where, however, he has the sweet reward of
ministering to the spiritual wants of an attached congrega-
tion; anxious to be taught.—Somerset County Gazette.