The Sun.
London, England, 1833-12-18 00:00:00

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tion of disappointed vanity we have given above
is, we may suppose, symptomatic of a con-
sciousness of equal failure in this its more re-

cent attempt.

The following explanatory particulars of an
action for libel, which has been lately brought
by the Rev. Mr. LYONS, parish priest of Erris,
County Mayo, against Major BINGHAM, a
gentleman of large fortune in that county, and
which, throughout its progress in the Exchequer
Court, has excited intense interest in Dublin,
have been furnished us by our Dublin Corres-
pondent. The verdict in the case has not yet
been given, for the Jury, consisting of Catholics
and Protestants, cannot be brought into anything
like unanimity :

DUBLIN, DEC. 15.

(PROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
"The weak, perhaps, are moved, but are not taught,
While prejudice in men of stronger minds
Takes deeper root, confirmed by what they see."
The Court of Exchequer has been occupied for the last
!Our days by a trial not yet terminated, which will exhibit
many of the worst characteristics of this country. It is
an action of libel brought by the Rev. Mr. Lyons, parish
priest of Erris, in the county of Mayo, against Major
Bingham, a gentleman of large property in that county,
William Bingham, his son (who, as O'Connell stated, can
never be heir-at-law to the Major), and Patrick Lavelle,
one of those persons called drivers, on the Bingham estate.
The plaintiff is said to be a man of considerable talent and
energy, appointed some years ago by the Roman Catholic
Bishop of the diocese to the moral charge and instruction
of about 10,000 pet sons of his persuasion in that part of
Ireland, which is, comparatively speaking, wild, uncivi-
liz,d and uncultivated. The defendant, Major Bingham,
to the influence of an extended landed property, unites that
of a resident landlord, and connexion with some titled and
respectable families in this part of the United Kingdom.
He had been, until lady, a magistrate of Mayo and two
adjacent counties, and still continues a justice of the peace
for the latter, though, since the accession of his present
Majesty, his commission for Mayo has not been renewed,
his advanced age, as alleged by his counsel at this trial,
being the reason of his not soliciting that honour. It
appeared that the plaintiff and the Major had been for
some time jealous of each other's power and influence in
Erris; the former endeavouring to improve, by bringing
under his control, the condition and habits of the people;
the latter unwilling to surrender that supreme authority
and command which his rank and authority had given
him. ,‘ When Greek meets Greek, then comes the tug
of war." The libel complained of was a publication in a
local journal of a document purporting to be a memorial
to the Roman Catholic Bishop against Mr. Lyons, and a
letter, signed by William Bingham and Lavelle, imputing
to him misconduct as a clergyman. It appeared in evidence
that a memorial, signed by 136 parishioners, had been
actually sent to the Bishop, who instituted an inquiry
which terminated favourably to the priest ; and the
defendants, in this action, were charged with having,
in the first instance, caused the said memorial to be got
up and signed, and subsequently published, together with
the letter alluded to, for the purpo-e of injuring Mr.
Lyons' character. Lavelle pleaded a justification, alleging
specially the matters charged against the Priest in the
memorial. The other two defendants pleaded the general
issue. Baron Smith, the presiding Judge, in charging
the jury yesterday, recapitulated the leading points of the
evidence, and commented thereon with impartiality. The
general impression made by his speech, was favourable to
the plaintiff, and the only question for the jury seemed to
be, how much damages they would consider him entitled
to under all the circumstances of the case. The jury,
however, seemed to think it a difficult matter to deal with
the parties, according to their several merits or demerits ;
for, after long deliberation, they signified the improbability
of their agreeing to a verdict within any reasonable time,
and were, therefore, adjourned until eleven o'clock to-
morrow. They consist of Catholics and Protestants, all
men of character and respectability ; and the obstacles
to their unanimity, no doubt, arise out of the anomalous
state of public feeling and opinion in this country, as much
as from the peculiar facts disclosed during this tedious and
extraordinary trial.

The Romance
would appear by its titl
writtenTii Eby BLACK AlaCteKmr.WpAickTeCn,Hur.
to involve subjects of powerful interest. The gallant band
of Highlanders, formerly known under the name of " The
Black Watch," and who were subsequently enrolled as
the 42d Regiment, may boast of more stirring adventure,
and proofs of individual heroism, among their own wild
bills, during the civil wars of Scotland, than perhaps any
association of oleo similarly formed. The reader expects
much from a Romance wherein their deeds are rendered
conspicuous; and no one knew more of their remarkable
history, than Mr. Picken.
Byron (according to Lady Blessington) was
peculiarly fond of flowers, and generally bought a large
bouquet every day of a gardener whose grounds he and her
Ladyship passed at Genoa. He told me, says her Ladyship,
that he liked to have them in his room, though they excited
melancholy feelings, by reminding him of the evanescence
of all that is beautiful, but that the melancholy was of a
o fter and milder character than his general feelings.

puthority upon which we bare good right to tely--whi/e
we remind them that two days have passed since we
published, and that it has not yet been from any quar-
ter contradicted—while we profess our perfect conviction
that the tale is nakedly true—we still hope against hope
that we have been made the dupes of some malicious
fraud, or some silly mystification."

Is it possible that the mighty Post, to whose
circulation there is no limit, whom all Ministers
of State assiduously study before venturing to
eat their breakfast, before whose frown the
boldest Reformers quail—is it possible, we say,
that this observed of all observers, this read of
all readers, can have made an assertion so far back
as Monday last which no one has taken any
notice of ? This neglect of his character by Lord
BROUGHAM is highly reprehensible, for he must
feel that the undeviating veracity of his oppo-
nents, the strict impartiality of barristers whose
practice he has abridged, of attorneys whose
knaveries he has checked, of place-hunters whose
expectations he has disappointed, are calculated
to create implicit faith in any statement they
may make, however improbable upon the face of
it. To be sure any secretary his Lordship
might employ to watch and contradict all the
falsehoods which may be propagated by the
worthies who still look forward to a restoration
of Tory rule, would be rather hard worked ; but
what is that compared with the conscious feeling
of nhilapthronv he would havv,when he reflected
tslltti,WitqllFutLejts,Ra,r,f6st,l
either secretly endeavour to undermine his cha-
racter in the obscure columns of a Tory print,
or openly snarl at him in the Courts of the
country, without having the consolation of know-
ing that one person at least was obliged to notice
every calumny that might be published, however
absurd. We recollect that a fashionable weekly
paper rejoiced, not long since, at having given
circulation to an infamous slander upon the
character of an amiable lady, because it afforded
the injured party an opportunity of contradicting
the invention. It is charitable to suppose that
the Post has been exercising its inventive facul-
ties upon the LORD CHANCELLOR'S intentions
with similar benevolent views. To endeavour
to distort his past conduct ; his amendments of
the law ; his exertions to spread education ; his
abolition of sinecures ; his reduction of over-
grown emoluments ; his attempts (frustrated by
the Tories), to bring cheap justice to every
man's door,—it has, we suppose, found vain,
and it now, therefore, embarks upon the safer
sea of conjecture as to the future. The ebulli-