The Sun.
London, England, 1835-12-03 00:00:00

RING'SBEIYCII.-(THIS DAY.)

STOCKDALE V. CHAPMAN.
ri2e Phcare,intiff, who conducted his own care, addressed
the r
~Jury at considerable length. The present was an ac-
t'on brought by John Joseph Stockdale, the well-known
Illblisber and ‘‘ something more," against Thomas Chapman,
iparsbal of the. Marshalsea of the King's Bench prison, for
18e imprisonment. The damages were laid at 4,0001. He
4ohopedinto
he should not give offence by claiming the right to
Lnt() details connected with his character, as no Jury,
unless they were more than men, could help feeling some
e_fre of prejudice against the individual before them. He
.._ad been indicted in company with another individual
named Richard MOntprivet, at the prosecution of the Earl
rCountess Cornwallis for a conspiracy, and had been
,'u,nd guilty. It would be necessary to go into the de-
'ths of that trial, for nemo repenle fuit turpissimus.
Lord DENMAN was willing to allow the plaintiff every
possible latitude, but he thought the details of that case
had nothing to do with the present action.
Mr. STOCKDALE proceeded. He had been found guilty
.
the face of numerous, irrefragable, and unimpeachable
affidavits which were on the files of the Court, and was sen-
tenced to one year's imprisonment from the 10th February
1834, to the 10th of February, 1835. He had been the
iletim of a universal and artfully-excited prejudice, apd he
11°1v presented himself as..a proscribed individual, under
Circumstances of persecution, which had been aggravated
"erY succeeding hour, and which he hoped, for the sake
justice and the honour of England, never would again
ettur. His conduct, during forty years, bad been that of
°lle who had clothed the naked, fed the hungry, sheltered
the houseless, and protected the oppressed, for which he
had received nothing but virtue's self-recompense. Burke,
the atrocious murderer, and Tophana, the Italian female,
who put her victims to death by slow poison, were more
fairly treated than himself, for they had able counsel and
ire Partial Judges. The plaintiff proceeded to read several
extracts from comments by the editor of the Monthly Mit-
gkzine upon the life and character of De Foe, the author
of " Robinson Crusoc," and drew a parallel between his
Omen case and that of De Foe, and concluded a long and
ve;.y unconnected address, by intimating to the Jury that
110 should have an opportunity of addressing them again.
Mr. Ser cant ANDREWS, for the defendant, then ad-
dressed the Jury. The plaintiff had omitted to state the
pound of his complaint against the defendant, which
!as, that he had been detained in prison four
'lays after the term of his imprisonment had expired, namely
Until the 14th of February, he having refused to pay The
usual fees, .1/. 17s. 10d. and having declined to petition the
aiarslial to release him 'from their payment, on the ground
°.! Poverty. The whole question would turn upon the
'gilt of the defendant to demand these fees, and upon this
Point lie should prove the usage of the prison, and refer to
the several acts of parliament which authorized the defen-
dant to demand these fees.
The Learned SERGEANT then proceeded to call the se-
veral officers of the prison and their witnesses, who could
speak as to the custom of the prison. The trial is not
'likely to terminate till a late hour.