The Sun.
London, England, 1833-11-29 00:00:00

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, DUBLIN, N0v.26

(Abridged from the Dublin Morning Register.)
THE KING P. BARRETT, PROPRIETOR OF THE PILOT
At hAlf-pist ten o'clock yesterday morning the Judges
took their seats on the bench.

Mr. MARTLEY, jun., opened the pleadings.
Richard Barrett was indicted for a libel printed and
published by him in a newspaper called the Pilot, of which
he is the registered proprietor, on the Brh of April Iwo,
The indictm.nt contained two counts. The first count
set out the libel with the indictments ; the second count

reversed the indictments and set out the libel.
The defendant pleaded not guilty.
The ATTORNEY- GENERAL then rose and said—Al%
Lords, and Gentlemen of the Jury, the publication which,
we say contains this libel purports to he a letter addressed
to the people of Ireland, by Mr. Daniel O'Connell. And
here, my Lords and Gentlemen of the Jury, I cannot
avoid expressing my deep satisfaction, that after un-
exampled difficulties I am at last enabled to submit to
that tribunal the question whether this be or he not a
libel. I have alluded, Gentlemen, to the length of time,
during which I have been endeavouring to have this ques.
tion tried, and as that delay and length of time, though
not a legitimate matter of defence, may be made an
invidious topic of observation before you, I now beg
' leave to state, in the hearing of the public in your
presence, the circumstances which caused this delay,
and they are these—that from the day on which th,
indictment was found by the Grand Jury, my exer-
tions have been unceasing to have the case submitted
to a jury of the country ; there has not, I aver, been
a day or hour lost on the part of the crown, and when 1
say so I beg leave to follow up that assertion by simply
detailing to you what the course of proceeding has been,
on which you will be satisfied that so far as the power of
the crown could avail, this is the first instance in which I
was able to bring the case before a jury. The bills were
found in the last Easter tet in, and from the time at which

the defendant pleaded, it was impossible to have a trial
sooner than Trinity term, and even if I had tried it as a
ease at Nisi Prius, I could not have it tried sooner than
the 13th of June. But, gentlemen of the jury, I did, in
concurrence with my learned friends, who ati,i4 me on
this prosecution, come to the conclusion, that it was a
vise fit and proper to be tried by the full court, at bar,
and knowing how very urgent the business of the court
was in Trinity term last, I did not think it right t 9 avail
myself of the picrogative which the crown pcsses,es to
have it tried in that term ; but I did apply for trial at bar,
and I called upon the Court to fix the earliest day that it
could appoint for the trial out of term, which was the
13th of June, and on that day I appeared in court to pro-
secute on behalf of the crown, and I need hardly tell you
that it was not my fault that the trial did not take place.
On that day there was not a sufficient attendance of jurors ;
then, from the 13th of June to the 2d of November,
I need scarcely tell you, being the long vacation, it
was impossible for me to take one step, and having
declined to call on the Court to try the case in term,
I did not fail, when Michaelmas term came on, to call

on the Court, as soon as I possibly could, to fix a day for
the trial. I made that application ; and in doing so I
called on the Court to appoint the earliest day after term,
which day is that on which I have the honour to address
you. Gentlemen of the jury, it is now right to call your
attention to the publication in question ; that publication,
as I have already stared, took place on the Bth of April
last, and it is contained in a letter, purporting to be written
in London on the 4th of the same in estli ; and it would
appear to me that the immediate occasion of the writing of
that letter was the passing of the Act of Parliament which
is usually called the Coercion 13i11, which received the
Royal A-sent on the 2d of April, and which was, therefore,
the law of the land at the period when this letter was
written. Gentlemen, the circumstances under which that
Act was passed are too recent in our recollections to be
forgotten ; it is a severe and unconstitutional Act. Its
character was never denied by any person who voted for
it ; but the vindication of it as a measure was vested on
the paramount duty of those who had the prerogative
and the power to protect the King's subjects. And when
I speak of the necessity of this measure, I do not refer to
matters outside of this record, for it is a most singular
circumstance, that in the composition which is the sub-
ject of the present indictment, I find that measure recom-
mended in stronger language than I could use. Listen,
my Lord, to one paragraph of this publication. The first
paragraph is this:—" This measure is for the suppression of
the Whitefeet—that is the last name used by those mis-
creants—those demoniacs, who are guilty of murder and
other crimes, demanding the vengeance of man, and also
bringing down the punishment of God." Now, gentle.
men, you will be pleased to keep in your minds this sub-
ject, that it is the vengeance of man the writer of this
letter would call dOwn on those who are guilty of those
crimes which he has designated. Yet, my Lords and
Gentlemen, the writer of this letter goes on in the very
next paragraph to describe this Act as one of unqualified
despotism and tyranny, and having done so, he draws this
conclusion, and inculcates this lesson—that the legisla-
ture, which was then capable of such an act of despotism,
are sufficiently alien from the country as no longer to he
trusted or confided in, and the people of Ireland are for.
bidden hereafter to place any reliance on the humanity or
justice of the imperial legislature. I will now, Gentlemen
of the Jury, having said so touch, call your attention to the
words of this libel, and which warrants the imputation
which the indictment charges. That indictment chat ges,
that this was written for the purpose of creating hostility
between the King's subj eta and Ireland, causing it to he
believed that the rights of the King's subjects in Ireland
are neglected by the legislature, and that they are oppressed
and injured, so as to engage in acts of insubordination,
and by means of intimidation, to carry into elf et the re-
peal of the Union. This is the language of this indict-
ment, but it is not necessary that you shout i find all the
indictments ; it will be sufficient if any one of those impu-
tations are found. The Right Hon. Gentleman here read
the libel, and commented on it as lie proceeded, and
concluded by calling on the jury not to be influenced by
any consideration but their own sound judgment. He
felt that the jury would act like conscientious and honour.
able men, and he would, therefore, commit the case to
them with entire confidence and satisfaction, at having
at last brought it before the tribunals of the country.
Mr. Vernon (Registrar of newspapers in the Stamp
Office), was produced, for the purpose of proving that
the defendant was the registered proprietor of the Pilot.
Mr. O'Cosislict.t. wished to know if be would be per-
mitted to ask for what reason the gentleman was produced,
because if it were to prove that Mr. Barrett was the
proprietor of the Pilot, he (Mr. O'Connell) would save
him that trouble by at once, and unequivocally admitting,
that his client was the proprietor ; he was not ►ooking for
nonsuit points.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said, there was another
point on which he would wish to ask the witness one
question, and it was this—Did the witness understand the
" Anglesea Algerine Act" to mean the 3d of William the
Fourth.
Mr. O'CoNNELL—It means, my Lord, that very Act
which the Attorney-General called unconstitutional.—
(Laughter.) The Learned Gentleman then said, that
before the alleged libel was road, he would wish that the
Court would direct the officer to bring in the record of
the last trial, inasmuch as doing so now, would save trou-
ble hereafter.
The record was then handed to the defendant's counsel.
Mr. SHELL said, that on an inspection of the record, it
appeared to him, and those conceined with him, that the
Court bad no authority to proceed ; there was no con,inu-
ance entered on the record. There was no mention made
of the venire or distringas in the record.
Mr. PIGOTT said that the defendant pleaded on the 3d
of May. The continuance was until the 23d of May ; there
was then a continuance down to the 13th of June, and if
their Lordships were now sitting on the 13th of June, the
record would be good ; but now their Lordships were
sitting on the 26th of November, and that could not be a
record, which the Court was now made to try; there was
no avowed jury process, the record stopped on the 13th
of June last, and, therefore, under those circumstances, it
appeared to Counsel for the defence that the Court had no
authority to try the defendant.
CHIEF JUSTICE..— Ile cause stopped on the 13th June?
Mr. O'CotisteLL—Yes, my Lord, there was nothing
about it since ; there it ends, and there it ought to end.—
(Laughter.)
Mr. WouLFE, K.C., followed in support of the point
relied on by his Learned Colleague.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL replied, and after some dis-
cussion the Court ruled that the trial should proceed ; and
that if the objection were well founded, it could be made
use of in arrest of judgment.
Mr. O'CoNstesi, then rose to address the Jury. Gentle.
men of the Jury, said he, I own I feel not a little anxiety
about this trial. It is a contest in which we are all strug-
gling, and this trial is but a part of that contest. It is
not a question of crime or offence ; but it is part of the
struggle which they are making, who seek to turn
Ireland from a province into a nation. A part of the
controversy which leads to that end, is carried on here.
The Administration feel, and I feel, that part of the
struggle now making for the regeneration of Ireland,
is to be decided here. Some of you have seen Ire-
land a province; you, too, have beheld her a nation,
and I trust that you will see Ireland a nation again. This
trial is but an attempt, on the part of the Whig Ministry,

to endeavour to prevent us peaceably, quietly, tranquilly,
!lid, above all, by a combination with each other, to effect
,he regeneration of Itel ind• In their attempt to do this,
•hey think they can se' off one class of Irishmen against
he other. One time they insult the Oraneemen of the
North, and at another the Repealers of the South—that
-bey can play off Catholic against Protestant—at one mo-
ment dismissing a magistrate, and at another pulling down
'he liberty of the press; and thus, by setting off outrage
against outrage---both perpetrated against Irishmen, they
can rule and domineer over the country. I have now the
honour to address jurymen, eleven out of twelve of whom
ire Irishmen ; and I ask them will they lend their
-nuntenance to any proceedings of this description ?
As to the merits of the prosecution, the Attorney-
General can have nought to do with them ; as to ifs
lemerits, lie is perfectly free of them. From the manner
n which lie addressed the Jury, it seemed to me, my
Lords, as if his powers had failed him—those powers
which he certainly has not lost ; but which seemed to
'anguish before the task that was imposed upon him. I
tdmit that he did his duty; hut be did not go beyond the
strict letter of his duty. This is a Cabinet prosecution.
His Excellency the Marquis Wellesley is now our chief
governor ; he is fond of prosecutions—he has tried them
iiefore, and they ended with no great renown—they ter-
minated then in " a bottle of smoke."—(Laughter.)
That was the bottle treason. He is rising in dignity.
It is not yet high treason to call for a repeal of
the Union. Do you, however, but sanction this pro-
secution with the authority of your verdict, and it
will be high treason before we are six months °leer.
Nothing is laid in the four long skins of parchment, that
comprise the indictment, of intention to libel the Whiz.,
and yet the se rongest passaeen contained in the alleged libel
are threw which censure ihe Whigs, and above all, the sting
contained in it is, that there is no satisfying Lord Plunket.
Your verdict is now desirable to the Whigs. The post
'tf yesterd os told us of a chance of administration. The
news comes to us through more than one channel. How
admirably convenient a verdict would now be to the
Whig administration ! How useful to a declining admi-
nistration if they could point to your verdict, and say
that it sanctioned their acts, and was a proof of how po-
pular they are in Ireland—acting against earls party, and
independent of all. It is a sad story, gentlemen, that of
our unfortunate country. Some of us are too young to
remember 1782—1 was a child myself, like most of you,
at that period. It was the first (aod inch recollections
will come upon us) it was the first year that I put down
in writing—the memory of it is still engraver, on my
mind. It was a period of joy and of merriment, and
would that such a period could, as I believe it can, again
he revived. Could I indulge in the hope of seeing ano
ther opening of Parliament in the city of Dublin, it
would be the closing of your mendicity shop—it would
be giving wages to every one of those who are now un
employed—it would b: ing to their properties from sixty to
eighty noblemen—it would cause two hundred of the '
highest of our gentry to have their habitations in
Dublin, and their residences perpetu .fly in Ireland—
it would confide the care of our trade, manufactures,
and commerce, not to the rival of jealousy, or local
prejudices of hostile establishments, but it would place
over them guardians such as you are, and men like you.
Can we look to these advantages, or to any of them, and
all I expect would follow, from the day that we would
see a Parliament in College green, its opening attended
by crowds, who would bless the connection with England,
for it would then be blessed; and who would then obtain
from the fostering guardianship of a domestic Legislature,
that protection which I never expect to see until we have
our Pirliatnent in Ireland again. Gentlemen of the Jury,
are you prepared to stand between Ireland and these ad-
vantages? It is because such an object is sought for,
that this publication is prosecuted. Look to this publi-
cation—look to it from one end to the other, and see
what are the leiding topics. I do call upon you
to do that which the Attorney-General has done—
to pick out a particular passage and view it by itself,
not to weigh a single phrase by itself. Look at the
publication altogether. We are not, and ought 'not
to weigh in scales of gold, particular phrases,
when we are looking to make a great people a
nation. The Attorney• General, in his address
to you, has imputed motives—that was his duty.
He has, too, in reading the document, quarrelled
with the words Algerine Act, and he has told you that
there was great impropriety in applying such epithets to an
Act of Parliament. Perhaps there is—perhaps it is not
good taste ; but did you ever hear of such a thing as " the
Russell purge?" Did you ever hear of the " Church
Robbery Bill?" Will he call on you for a verdict against
the man who uses such phrases? Now, if in this country
of revolutions and strange chang s, it should by any
chance occur that I were for any one moment filling the
office- which he now fills—(Laughter)—if that should so
chance, and that I with my feeble mind, and very
inadequate abilities were discharging those duties which
he now performs, and that there was in that box a
jury exclusively of Roman Catholics, and I called upon
you to find a verdict against a defendant, because he
had been so monstrously audacious as to call that Bill
I have adverted to, a " Church Robbery Bill"—is there
one of you who listened to me on such an occasion,
who w. old not bless the Whigs for having given
you such an " Attorney General ?"—(Loud laughter.)
When the Attorney• General declared that he was not to
blame fir the trial not coming en sooner, I will say, that
the publisher of this letter took no step to retard it. The
Attorney-General is not to blame ; but have you watched
the proceedings in this case ? On Saturday there appeared
in the newspapers a requisition, with the signatures of ~2
individuals, calling for a discussion on the repeal of the
Union, and a petition to Parliament on the subject. On
the Monday morning following, the Attorney-General
appears in Giurt, and applies for a day to be fixed for
this trial. Do you understand that ? Is there one
amongst you who dues not understand those proceedings ?
In the North the Whigs strike a magistrate off the roll, and
they will not gra ify a brother magistrate by telling why
they did so. Why, what is this doing more than they do
in Algiers ? but with this difference, that they strike off
the head, and if another asks the reason, they strike hie
head also ; while here they only strike one magistrate
off the roll, and strike off another magistrate because
he merely asks the reason.—(Laughter.) They must
think us mad when they think they can get us to ald them.
Can you now, then, tell the meaning of this prosecution?
The real object is to suppress, if possible, all agitation on
the subject of the repeal of the Union. And I new ask
you, is it a crime to agitate that question ? The Union
is but an Act of Parliament—is it not right to di-cuss it?
This I tell you, that if yoes prohibit discussion in one in-
stance, the chalice you have prepared for another will, with
its poisonous ingredients, be commended to your own lips.
—(Mr. O'Connell then repeated the libel and commented
en it as he went along, delenting its tene and spirit with
much eloquence and animation.) The Evening Mail asks,
" What advantage has Ireland itained from the Union ?"
It is a proper question, and never yet has been answered
until this day. This prosecution is the answer. Our
properties, our lives, and our liberties, never can be cafe
rill they are un ,er the guardianship of a domestic legisla •
cure, and over which there shall be the control of the
public eye. The desire for repeal originates in no wish
for separation. My opinion is, that to prevent sepirarinn
cimTsohabaneyt
norceru:eene;naeuel
r,cnyati
connection
trthti:aeatenuont
nhmoietri,nonly way to attach the connexion
in the minds of the rising generation is by that measure
saythat
purpose,
Whenought
e it
e not—to
t g-1
b;
doe
ble will
for repealed.nto t,a
s
carried, and it it cannot be brought about in that manner,
no good man will wish for repeal ; and accordingly you
will rind throughout this letter this idea incessantly
impressed upon the reader, the necessity—the absolute
tgnyaeentmuedhnot
remember
‘icy9mtoohohneueo:i:bkei
stateknn combining
fwf eotvri
rleaiartdyeri
et
irepeal class
alni7
oawl
Ireland
nd?d thepp party of
jou,
jeLntl
oer
di stu
Ihht
to
ynumoenecuojeosr:seoit
be. going. along the
obwnaarastkiesrbif the Dodder a few days since
a oengagedks
oin f
thatthe rpaperiver, ttrhaed
sites of
tP"rh°lirnttiteeaednir°cliff rent manufactories which existed in 1800;
there are now but four of them. What is become of
their proprietors ? Some of them, who were then
rolling in their carriages, their families might now
be hound in the eighteen hundred and t.venty-lex mendi-
cants who are collected in Moira House. What has
happened to the remainder? S .me are under the seizure
it
is
n paragraph rabgyra isolated
; or
paragraphst is h
of English revenue t fficers. But is there any other trade
prosperous? 1 know not; for how is any trade to be
prosper fns, when
the purchasers are taken out of the
coo"trY? I want to go through this publication para-
graph b t !s upon the context of the entire you are to decid
an
you are to pronounce
for it whiffle
a you are to judge
i nt
an ?pinion upon the publication. " Argument anti rea•
coning are over. The inevitable conclusion is arrived at.
13efore the repeal of the Union no good can be done for
Ireland—until the repeal of the Union Ireland can reap
but little benefit from British connection. I repeat, that
those who oppose the repeal are blindly and ignorantly,
but not the less powerfully or certainly, driving towards
separation. To us, who are not at present separatists,
and never will be its if we can he p it—to toi, who honestly
seek the restoration of Irish freedom and the establishment
of Irish prosperity, but one duty—one great all ab
sorbing duty
effectuate the restoration of the Irish Parliament."
remains—it is, peaceably and legally to

This, Gentlemen of the ury, is a libel ! Peaceably
sod legally to effectuate the restoration of the Irish
Parliament," 'is a sentiment indicted as a libel, and yeti,
ipso your oaths, are eine(' upon to decide so. There
is but one problem to he solved—that is, the mode or
legally and peaceably accomplishing our object." Will you
helieve it now, that you are asked upon your oaths to de-
clare that it is by intimidation the repeal of the Uninn is
sought for—that it is sought for by this publication to
carry it by intimidation and force ? This is the questi.in
which you have to try. Good God Is it not too bad?
a All we want to know is, the manner of doing the thing.
Tlie thing itself is inevitable ; so inevitable, indeed, that
the ' Anglesea Algerine Bill,' instead of retarding the
progress of the repeal, has to a demonstration greatly pro-
moted its ultimate and most satisfactory success. This
demonstration I will take up a little later. For the pre-
sent I content myself with some preliminary topics. In
the first place, it may be a matter of surprise to some that
with ail the madness of slavery upon me, I should write
with as much of cool calmness." I enter into the feehnes
nithe writer completely. What was the unconstitutional
law that had been passed ? It was one that had been
passed by men who held office because they announced
themselves as the putifiera of the constitution--tnen who
trampled down every thing that had the rust of antiquity
upon it—rust which I certainly will not call venerable, but
they were men who declared that in order to arrive at the
principle of purifying, as they called, the constitution, no
chartered rights were safe, and they beat down every-
thing of ancient practice. They rendered uncertain
every property which was certain the day before. In
England, where money commands everything—where if
it does not constitute a divinity, it at least " makes the
man"—in England, where Lord Monson had given
150.0001. for the estatc of &than, sold it, since the Re-
form Bill passed, for 30 0001.—suppose an individual was
so injured, by this Ministry, in what they called their de-
sire for reform and their determination for change, what
would you expect from them? Oh, they say, we are
models of perfection—we are models of everything that is
extremely useful—we are the men who are desirous of doing
sway with every Opine, and yet, iniste id of acting up to
their professions they sanction the passing of an Act,
which they said but a few months before would he unne
cessary, and that Act one which takes from the subject the
right of appealing to Parliament. Surely such conduct
could not but disgust men who entertain my opinions, and
when you think so, you cannot censure the writer
for saying that lie speaks in calmness when be
alludes to an Act of Parliament, which the At-
torney-General himself has called an unconstitutional Act.
I console myself, and am consoled by the certainty that
the great measure of national regeneration is advanced by
the actions of our worst and most malignant enemies in
every part of the British empire. Our friends, and the
friends of liberty in Great Britain, are up, in heart,
courage, and generous sympathy ; and the very meaatue
which was intended to crush the agitation of the repeal,
actually makes the repeal irresistible. That is true, per-
fectly true. With the exception of the allusion to Lord
Anglesea and Lord Plunket, there is no expression in the
letter which can be called a personal libel ; or it is not
complained of as turning them into ridicule, in the im-
puting of bad motives. The indictment is free from any-
thine of that kind.
After Mr. O'Connell had concluded, amidst loud ap-
plduse, the Judges left the bench, and the immense crowd
which thronged the Court soon dispersed.

(From the Dublin Evening Mail of Wednesday.)
The Court assembled this morning, at half past ten,
and the Jul y having been called civet,
The SOLICITOR•GENERAL proceed-d with his address
to the Jury, in reply to Mr. O'Connell. The Learned
Gentleman concluded his speech, by denying thst ti e
present was a Whig prosecution. The time, he said, hsd
arrived, when all differences between Woig and Tory
should c ase—and it required the united t Title of all
honest men to stem the tide of Rsdicslism, which thiew-
ent'd to overwhelm all the institu,ions of the country. The
Learned Gentleman did not conclude his appeal to the
Jury until one o'clock.
The CHIEF JUSTICE then proceeded to charge the Jury,
and said they had but one question to decide—namely,
whether the pubication had the tendency to produce the
effects charged in the indictment, or whether it did not
transeress the liberty of the press. It was the province of
the Jury to judge of this. It was the undoubted libert)
of the press to discuss the policy of either passing or
repealing Acts of Parliam-nt. The indictment charged
that the publication was published with intent to excite
hostility between his Alsjesty's subjects in England and
It eland, and stir up the people of Ireland, by intimidation,
to effect the repeal of the Union. It also charged the
publication with bringing into contempt the 3d William
IV. if the publication had that tendency, it could not
he protected by the liberty of the press. Toe question
was exclusively for the Jury to inquire whether the pub-
lication had that tendency or not ; and it was not the
intention of the Court to interfere with them, confident
as they were that they would discharge their duty con-
scientiously.
The Jury then retired, and having continued in delibe-
ration tor about a quarter of an hour, returned with a
verdict of—Guilty. with a recommendation to mercy.
The CHIEF JUSTICE then inquired whether there were
any objections on the part of the Crown, to permit the
traverser to stand nut until next term ?
Mr. Sergeant PENNEFATHER. said he should not offer
auy opposition.