The Sun.
London, England, 1803-11-18 00:00:00

TII NOTTINGHAM,

This is a• very remarkable.case, the particulars
of which will be detailed, with more propriety,
when the Judgment of the Court shall ,have been
prinoitnced; the, mote especially, when the. Court
granted the Nosecutortime to answer the Affidavits
which .were exhibited for the Defendaa, so that.
perhaps all the circumstances are not yet.before the
Court. The Defendant, is. a i...ery .young,-man,
an `Aucnney----7the Prosecutor is seventy years of
age, and an. Wellman of the City of Lincoln-;.—
master or the Ceremonies. of the Ball Room there,
to which the, Defendant was. a Stibscriber ; a dis.
rte arose, and the Defendant Areared.the.Prost.
color wi,:h great indignity, 'pulled off his wig, and
beat Lim with a• cane, eke,---alterwardi wrote binv
A letter, full:a the most silly impertinenee. •
The Court (tittered him to, be committed, and to
be brought up to morrow sennight, ," •

THE KING, a! rnsecution Bf PHILIP BAllirsoN,

P. W 144110,4 jAmus.

Tlie Defendant had hem' inaltlo at -a Quarter
for assaulting the PrisiefittOr ; but the 'Of.
fence beirig oft very agg,ravattd nature,- whereby
the PrOsecutor irreparable injury, he was
oduiSeci by his Ageot and,;.counsel .16 11,1%e the Bill
indidttent removed by Cirtiarari into the C6urt
of Moo Bench, by wh,ich it Of course was put on
she.Mt;l4;--igs record roll, and A dial was had
tore Lord Eiieriborough, at the Sittings after List
Tri y Term,

kits Lordship read his Report of the Evidence,
and recapitolated the whole of it with his accustom.
ed perspicuity precision.
The Witnesses for the Prosecution were many,
nd their testimony was ccumiltent, according with

the evidence given by the Prosecutor, who has sus-
tained the injiary, and with that given by each other
respe4ively, it established the following :
the Prosecutor is an industrious poor man. His
brother, a tradeSman, lodged in. the Defendant's
hone, 'and he.wentr frequently to visit 'him. at his
room. The Defendant bore: i:6rne malice or
• grudge towards the • Proiecutor, aod on the day
laid in the indictment, he availed himself of the
opportunity which the 'Prosecutor's loving then
visited his brother affirded, of attacking him in
a most wanton, violent, and, outrageous manner,
without any just provocation. 1-le 'struck, him re-
peatedly with the handle of a hair:.btoom,, and gave
him als 'suds a dreadful severe wouiiil and contusion
with his constable's staff(fOr this inhuman assailant •
,was a Peace Officer), that the Unfortunate victim of
hiS fury lay convulsed in fits and weltering in blood
for five hours after. The assault also occasioned a
catch or impediment in hii speech, like a coovr l.
sive stammer, which has afilided biro ever since,
and may Probably continue to the end of his 4,15.
The Witnesses for. the Defendant Were. also nu:
merous ; but their evidence was inconsistent: and
eontradidory ; it sought to establish that the Pro.
secutor gave the first blow, and the Defendant, as
appeare4had aditally so sworn before a Sessions of
Grand Jury, and had the Proseeutor indided in his
turn.

The, Jury concur ting with Lora, Ellenhorough's
opinion, found James guilty, and he was now brought
up to receive judgment.

Mr. EKst:trre, as his Counsel, pleaded his poverty,
his large family dependent on this labour for their
daily sustenance, the sufferings he bad undergone
already, and urged every extenuating cirettrnstatice
in mitigation of punishment, as impressively and as
judiciously as was possible for any human Advocate,
but the fags here were too glaring for ingenuity to
screen ; and were it possible to throw a veil over
them,

Mr. GARROW, Counsel for the Prosecutor, was
fully competent to draw it aside and expose the jus.
lice ,of the case. .Mr. GisattoW concurred in an
obset varion made by his Learued Friend in . the
course of his address, namely, that very great diffi.
culties often-arose in the administration of Justice.
(Mr. Er.sx NE itad said so, when alluding to 'the
testimony given for the Defendant,. in opposition to
that which was adduced on behalf of the Crown.)
And it is by.men of a similar desCription to the
fendani that , these difficulties are occasioned. For
what has he done ? lle has abused the authority
with whiCh he had been-unfortunately entrusted for
tie preservation of the peace, and becothe one of its
grossest violators. lie has all but killed the wretch.
ed Prosecutor., He' has reduced hiM to a state of
triiie:rj which can only be closed, by that which is
to terminate all his earthly suiDrings. Hq..has add,.
ed perjury and sitheirnatitio of perjury, to his hpr.,
Winos cruelty; far he, well knew the utter falsity
of the tale which 'he produced. his ,unhappy insiru.
tivqtts to' support ; and by means of the wicked
falsehoods which lie deliberately fibriCateci, he con.
trived to get the. Prosedttof indided, and the Bill
is' at' this moment pending.. , I am not, continued
GARROW, in the habit of adyocating for the
utmost severity to which the laws .may he
.stietch.
ed.; but the present occasion, feel .it a duty
which I owe to my client and to Society,. to, resist all
attempts to obtain such mitigatiOn of punishment as
might operate rather as ,an example to encourage,
than to deter others from the commission of such of-
fences ; fn is no excuse for gross violation of
the peace and infradion of law ; if it were, the loivest
rabble Might indulge with impunity, their evil clic.
positions: in the perpetration of crimes—Q 4; nor
&Jet in trumoia hiestYiaorpore.

Mr. Justice' Gtoss, after expatiating on the enor-
mity' of the
,offenee, 'and the neceSalty of exemphiry
punishment, with that degree of feeling anti energy
which the occasion called forth, pronounced sentence.
In consideration. of his circumstances and family, no
no fine was irOOStd ;,but the. Defendant is to be irn.
prisoned for one year in HisiMajesty's gaol of Ne.w..,
gate, and until he shall find two Sureties iii.the sum
of: tool, for his keeping the peace for two yeats
'ofuir the expiration of his imprisonment.

Mr. Glans moved for leave to file a Criminal
Liformation 'against Lieutenant: John, Mitchel, for
having impressed, Mr. Robert Thomimun, Master
ofa ship or vessel called the Nancy, upon an-Affi.
davit, charging the Defendant with hiving.wanton.
ly impressed and for a whole night detained Mr.
Thompson,' nOtWithslariding. his Nal/41. declared
who and what 'he was,_ and offeted to shew his pa-
pers
to proVe it ; and•it was allcdged also; that
others who were'passing by, assured On: Lieutenant
who' Mr. Thompson was, one of whntn the Lietite.
nant was *said to liave impresied also, and kept for •
the same 'length of time as Mr. 'lshompion ; until
they were discharged the following day by a Ma.
gistrato before whom the. east was heard, By this
Mr. 'Thompson was stated to have:lost'his voyage,
&C. and had sustaine;l much injury.
Rule to 4liew Cause granted. - :

COMMON PLES,ItiuRsDAY, Nov..t7;

Mr. Serjeant flimsy stated, that the objed of
his application tu the Court was, to accelerate-111e
progress of 'l)4 cathe, corn rare to an order that had
been made ;nit• by Mr. Ju,t,N. ROOK-E,
Mr. Serjeaut RUNNtNGTON stated, that thii
Affion was brought tu'recover Penalties to the
amount of one million four hundi4d and seventeen
thousand potinds_sterling. .•

Mr,'Serjenot WHAT4MS stated- the dechitatio9
will 37 :long: ' • ' - :
Mr. Justice Itootte said, it hati'lven represented
to him, this Wai or Very great tirort.
:Ina on the 6. per cent. , -w• fiich was alluiveil the
Statute to he taken by Webt TVrerclnnits Orl
West India securities: *There was a Wi.oess
lutely :tieteSsary, who wastO'cOMe-froin the Weit
Iridies. in order to attend the trial, atid
could ribt ptoceea to triAl without hitn:' His Lord-
ship told them, if that was so,"at all 'events to- take
a week, anti at, the end of That week to come with
what information they I..:,'Ord,,hip

it unreasonable to call in a party in such a *ale as
this, to ple.ad to. such a declaration in four days.
Lltt CHIEF JUSTICE said, justice • coeld not
be d me. The penalties were very high—three
time; the amount vf the money borrowed.
Mr. justice ROOKE said, if he was wrong the
Court would corral him ; but he thought, it that
Witness was material, and had not come,they ought
'to have further ti roe to plead.
• Lord AI,VANLny s,tid, he had had prodigious
diflicaltie's in this Aa, of Patliamznt at the Roils.

Mr. Serjednt .11,0 LEY. said, he. w:ts not very
willing to mention it.
. Mr. Justice litioN.B said, he would :ell them very,
fairly, he. should, think himself very well warranted
in giving them farther time. Ile did nut mean to
pre4s on such an anion._ • • .

Lord ALVANI.Ey said, in every case where the
penalties were very high, the' Court • ought to see
the Defendant had an oppOrtunity of making a full
' defence, and that all such cases were favoured by
the'Courp •

The Learned Seijeant took nothing by his Mo.
lion.