The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 9, 1861.

CONTRACT FOR COALS FOR JAMAICA.

Department of the Storekeeper General of the Navy,
Somerset Place, 6th July, 1861.
f THE COMMISSIONERS for EXECUTING the
OFFICE of LORD HIGH ADMIRAL of the UNITED
KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND, DO
HEREBY GIVE NOTICE, That on TUESDAY, the 16th
instant, at Two o'Clock, they will be ready to treat with such
Persons as may be willing to Contract for supplying and de-
livering into store at her Majesty's Naval Yard at Jamaica
3,000 Tons of SOUTH WALES COALS,
fit for the service of her Majesty's Steam Vessels.
Conditions of the Contract and a Form of the Tender may
be seen at the said Office.
- - -

No Tender will be received after Two o'clock on the day
of treaty, nor will any be noticed unless the party attends,
or an agent for him duly authorised in writing.
Every Tender must be addressed to the Secretary of the
Admiralty, and bear in the left-hand corner the words " Ten-
der for Coals for Jamaica ;" and must also be delivered at
Somerset-place, accompanied by a letter signed by two re-
ponsible persons, engaging to become bound with the Person
tendering, in the sum of £1,200, for the due performance of
the Contract.

LA TV 11% TELLIGENCE.-July 8.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.

'Sittings at Nisi Prius, in London, before Lord
' Chief Justice Erie and a Special Jury.)

TURNBULL V. BIRD-MR. TURNBULL AND THE

PROTESTANT ALLIANCE.

This was an action brought by Mr. Turnbull,
who was lately one of the calenderers of State
papers, and the action was to recover damages for
two alleged libels which had been published respect-
ing him by Mr. Bird, who was the secretary of the
Protestant Alliance.

The defendant pleaded not guilty, and also a plea
in justification of various parts of the libel.
Mr. Kerslake, Mr. Prideaux, and Mr. Folkard
appeared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Bovill, Mr.
"Lush, Mr. Cooke Evans, and Mr. White for the
defendant.
Mr. arslake said that he had the honour to ap-
pear for Mr. Turnbull, who charged the defendant
with having published of him a series of calumni-
ous articles in different newspapers—articles which
reflected on his honour as a gentleman, and his
trustworthiness as a professional man and a public
officer. It occurred that there were in this country
the most valuable collection of State papers which
existed in the civilised world; but, until lately,
these papers were kept in such a confused state,
and were without an index, so that it was almost
impossible for any student of history to get any in-
formation from them. The Master of the Rolls, soon
after his accession to office, made representations to
the Lords of the Treasury, which resulted in the
appointment of several gentlemen to calender the
State papers ; of these the present plaintiff was one.
Mr. Turnbull was appointed in 1859, and at this
time Mr. Brewer had been appointed to calender
domestic papers, and another gentleman had been
appointed to calender the foreign papers during the
reigns of Edward VI., Elizabeth, and Mary. Th.
Master of the Rolls thought it desirable to have a
gentleman to calender the foreign papers from
the time of Edward VI. to the year 1688, and
for this position the plaintiff was nominated. It
must be borne in mind that his duty was
simply to calender the papers, and not to write
a history of the period. Mr. Turnbull was
a member of the Scottish bar; he was the son of
Protestants, and he had been brought up a Pro-
testant ; and he was a man whose knowledge and
skill in literary matters was almost unrivalled.
Mr. Turnbull in 1842 embraced the Roman Catho-
lic religion, and he had written many books since
that year, and some of them, no doubt, showed
that he was a warm and ardent supporter of the
faith which he embraced, but he defied anybody
to impute to him any improper or dishonourable
action during the course of a life now some 50 years
long. Mr. Turnbull had been no sooner appointed
than various religious societies commenced an at-
tack upon him, and among others the Protestant
Alliance endeavoured to induce the Master of the
Rolls to revoke his appointment. The Protestant
Alliance in 1860 published a memorial, which they
had addressed to• Lord Palmerston, upon this sub-
ject ; and this memorial designated Mr. Turnbull
as "not only a Roman Catholic but a defender and
admirer of Jesuits," and submitted " that a person
who has expressed such strong sympathy for the
Jesuits, and antipathy to those who opposed their
atrocious designs, and who thus defined the glorious
reformation, is most unfit to be entrusted with the
valuable foreign papers under his control, and to
be commissioned to prepare an official abstract of
the same." Some letters were published in the
Daily News, and in consequence Mr. Turnbull ad-
dressed a letter to that journal stating that his first
volume would be before the public in a day or two,
and said, "I have therefore to request that my op-
ponents will send some person to examine my work
with the documents themselves, and thus make good
their insinuations against me." Instead of accept-
ing this offer, however, Mr. Bird published the
libels in question on the present occasion ; the first
being dated the 19th January. In it he said, " When
the deputation waited on Lord Palmerston his lord-
ship read a letter from Sir J. Romilly, justifying
the appointment, in which he stated that since the
agitation on the subject he (Sir John) had ap-
pointed two Protestant gentlemen to examine and
compare the papers prepared by Mr. Turnbull,
and to see that he had done his work
fairly, and also another gentleman was ap-
pointed to examine the state of the original docu-
ments on their being given to Mr. Turnbull, and
on their return by Mr. Turnbull, again to examine
and see that they were whole and unmutilated, and
to certify to that effect." "If Mr. Turnbull be
perfectly qualified for his office, and his integrity be
unimpeachable, what need of three gentlemen to
watch him, and to put his country to the expense
of employing four persons t o do the work of one ?"
Further, it was said," Will Mr. Turnbull assert
that there was not in the Foreign Department of
the State Paper Office any letter referring to the
of
plotsc
ootfl
atnhde
PG u slseist teor
eedxitbe
lremtihnaatte in e
a p
er
iod o f Protestantsl3o
years, including the great ecclesiastical strife be-
tween England and Rome. there are no important
documents relating Lo the Reformation ? Have they
met the same fate as too many of the papers on the
suppression of monasteries did in the reign of
Bloody Queen Mary ?" This produced a letter from
Mr. Turnbull, and another :from Mr. Brewer ; and
afterwards the second libel was published on the
24th of January. After quoting an extract from
the Athenaeum, it continued—" From the foregoing
extract, it is perfectly evident that many most im-
portant papers relating to events happening from
the period of the Reformation may fall into the
hand& of Mr. Tarnbull. Is it probable that com-
munications respecting the siege of Rochelle, the
struggles of the Huguenots in the time of Eliza-
beth, were not sent over to her ? And would not
these be placed in the custody of Mr. Turnbull ?
Did our ambassador suddenly cease, on the death of
Henry VIII., to take interest in the religious con-
tests on the Continent ? With all deference to

Mr. Brewer, I cannot accept his statement that
there are no other important documents relating to
the Reformation or to the religious struggles after
the reign of Henry VIII. Is there no correspond-
ence of the Prince of Conde with the English Court
respecting the secret treaty of Bayonne for the
forcible restoration 'of Protestants to the Romish
Church? Has that nothing to do with the Refor-
mation or with religious struggles ? Elizabeth

spent much money to support The Protestant re-
ligion on the Continent, and is it likely that it
was done without the intervention of her ambassa,
dors and without a large amount of correspondence ?
The Protestant Alliance has never asserted that the
war in Holland—thirty years' war, &c.—was part
of the Reformation, but they maintain that papers
relating to them are of the highest importance, and
ought naeoptaenrtsod beti placed in jeopardy.. Their custody
gratuitousoAulgl
ihatepeto b ea perfectlysa
e rti
e n
of
msafe.r. B
rew Notwithstanding
a as
te the
safety the
of all T h
ehnol
es the
ethe
whoß Rolls n
eodffit Office,
memorialt he Protestant
enter_
security." The
good grounds, grave doubts as to their
absenocfeaocfocpeyea(' ifsnleprea,
epafefrtse r referringfrom
the
h e
State
to t
at
thee
records,
tion
Gesner's Bibliotheca " and the
saidv ene
veneration,'
tion,
Mr. probablyTurnbu,laleheiodlden those
esuch
twh
aotanorr
ntgthuehyrefi, Jesuitsrs
esteem,.”
Twhom
This
nidt
itilallsyuburn'a l them, especially if
allusionand
hewa hadwas
ee
contended
separateended w ars oaonm
in which Mr. Turnbull worked. The kindletter of room
on—" Even Sir John Romilly has ' a hand list
kept of all the documents given out to Mr. Turn-
bull,' in whom he places such implicit confidence ;"
and this statement, the learned counsel said, was
most unfairly made, inasmuch as the course pursued
in reference to Mr. Turnbull was precisely that
pursued in reference to the other balenderers. The
learned counsel concluded by asking for signal da-
mages for the injurious imputations made upon the
plaintiff,
At the close of his speech for the plainlptiilvffai,nMtiffr:
name
isK awr a
il
lalki
aein B calledere
ltehye
rpr luarinnht inffll, . w hIo
asmaidt,h—e
and by birth a Scotchman. I was called to the
Scottish bar in 1832, and to the English bar in
1856. I was bred up a Scotch Episcopalian. I was
always a student. In 1833 a literary club called
the Abbotsford Club was founded in Edinburgh.
I was secretary up to 1841. It consisted of noble-

men and gentlemen, and was founded in honour
of the late Sir Walter Scott, and for the pur-
pose of printing documents connected with the
history of England, Scotland, and France. I
contributed largely. (Mr. Turebull, in an-
swer to questions put to him by Mr. Karslake,
here enumerated the different societies to which he
belonged, and the literary accomplishments which
he professed, and it would seem that he was a man
of the very highest intellectual requirements and
talents.) In 1859 I was known to Mr. Harding,
of the Record-office. I was appointed to edit the
book of " Scottish Chronic:es."The Master of the
Rolls appointed me to the office of calendaring
foreign State papers between the accession of Ed-
ward VI. and the year 1688. I gave up my other
business. I was to have eight guineas a sheet. I
was thoroughly acquainted with the writing, lan-
guage, and history of the period. There had been
no special calendar of those papers. There were
60 or 70 v lames and bundles of papers. I began
my labours at the Record-office in Fetter-lane. Mr.
Hardy was and is Principal Assistant-Keeper. At
first I was in a public room, but subsequently a
more comfortable roam was assigned to me. There
I went on with my ealender. I was constantly em-
ployed. I expended as much as I received in books
of reference which I required for my calendar. It
was a genial employment to me. I felt I was of use
to the public at large. Mr. Brewer was engaged in
the next room on the calendar of papers relating
to the Reformation, the time of Henry VIII. The
domestic portion f the papers of Edward VI.,
Mary, and Elizabeth had been done by other hands.
No more. restriction was placed on me than on any
other gentleman ; there is a code of regulations to
prevent mutilation or tampering. It is only now
tor thefirst time that the historical literature of
England has been vindicated by the Master of the
Rolls. My duty was to make a full and complete
abstract of every document to be found among the
Foreign State papers, whatever the language, to
arrange them chronologically, print them with full
and complete index, and such remarks and intro-
ductions as might be necessary relative to the num-
ber of pages, condition of document, whether in-
jured by fire-damp or otherwise, and, in short, to
present to the world a complete view of the nature
of each document. I did my best to perform my
duty; my whole heart was in it, and I had the pub-
lic and the Master of the Rolls to satisfy. (The witness
, 1861. This is the
here became affected.) My first volume was com-
pleted's reign, is now
volume.
Tdhpe us
eb
cl iosnhde
,de ionnaJparni
sui an rgy
mar y
ready. In the first volume there is very little allu-
sion to religious mattteirrnasn.lstlaalltniiaotnnhefrosmecoonnde
dtehleivoenrelyd
which I found to
bexecbeyptcioarndiins
aal
pseorlme,oan
in English. There are documents referring to reli-
gion, but none important; not one relating to the
Reformation ; merely gossip of the day. I had not
come to the Thirty Years' War, nor to the periods
mentioned in the letters of Mr. Bird. If I could
have used photographs I could not have made a
more correct abstract of the documents. As far as
I know, neither the defendant nor any other per-
son from the Alliance examined the documents with
my book. What I feel conscientiously I publicly
state. In January, 1861, in consequence of what I
had to endure from different societies I resigned, by
letter; to which I received an answer. As far as
the Jesuits are concerned, they have far greater
intellect than I can aspire to. As a body, I honestly
admire them for the valuable services they have
rendered to art, science, and literature. As to the
-latter part of the sentence—[the sentence here
alluded to is the one concluding, " His equally in-
tense hatred to the Protestants," contained in Mr.
Bird's letter of the 19th of January]—my wife is a
Protestant, my dearest friends are Protestants, and,
for my vindication from the libels which have been
published against me, I trust to a Protestant jury.
So much for my hatred to Protestants !
Cross-examined by Mr. Bovill—This work is
mine. Forty copies were printed. I was a Pro-
testant when I wrote it in 1842. I became a
Roman Catholic in 1845. I published a Life of
Luther, a translation with an advertisement and
preface, by myself, in 1856. I edited the poetical
works of Southwell, a Jesuit, not a principal, simply
one of the order. All the Jesuits are Fathers. A
regular battery was opened against me. There were
memorials from three societies, The Alliance, The
Religious Tract, The Scottish Reformation. The
matter was discussed in 1860. There was a deputation
to Lord Palmerston. I was told all about it by the
Master of the Rolls, who sent for me. This was in
July. The Master of the Rolls did not know me
by sight then. I did not then offer to resign. My
case was brought before the House of Commons—
not at my request. There were three motions. I
heard Mr. Maguire's speech. I think what he said
was correct. The report in the Zi3>ies is correct as
far as my memory serves me. Lord Palmerston
spoke also. The order of Jesuits was instituted in
1540, and subsequently they were driven from every
country in the world. They exist in England, not-
withstanding the Acts of Parliament prohibiting
them.

The witness was cross•examined at great length
on the subject of his books and the mode in which
he had fulfilled his duties as calendarer, not, how-
ever, for the purpose of impeaching his ability,
which wasadmitted to the fullest extent, but with
the view of showing that religious questions and
documents connected with religion had come, and
would have been likely to come, under his editorial
revision.

In his re-examination by Mr. Karslake, Mr.
Turnbull stated, among other things not very
material, that the book of which 40 copies were
printed was a jeu d'esprit, and would be well un-
derstood by his friends, for whom it was meant.
Some of them would not take snuff during Lent,
and yet would smoke heartily. He resigned his
place on account of persecution and libels.
Complaint was made in the House of Commons that
papers were not produced. This was a complaint
against Government.

Thomas Duffus Hardy,-4 am assistant keeper of
records, and have 42 years' experience. I know
the character of the documents which were given to
the plaintiff to calendar. There are rules respect-
ing the supervision of documents. Everybody has
access to the records, and there has not been a
single instance of any tampering or alteration of
documents. It is not true that any persons have
been appointed to supervise or otherwise interfere
in the case of documents intrusted to Mr. 'Turnbull.
It is not true that three persons were set to watch
Mr. Turnbull, so that four persons were employed
in doing the work of one. The Master of the Rolls
asked me to ascertain whether there were in Mr.
Turnbull's part of the work any documents of a
religious or controversial nature. There were not
any
important documents relating to the Reforma-
tion. I reported verbally to the Master of the
Rolls that I had found nothing of a controversial
nature. Nor had Mr. Brewer. We took Mr. Turn-
bull's papers between us. The calendar brought
out under Mr. Turnbull might be bought at a cheap
rate. I published this letter in the Daily News of
the 24th Jan., finding there was a controversy t--
" Custody of the Public Records.
"To the Editor of the Daily News.'
" Sir,—The Rev. J. S. Brewer in his letter to you com-
plains of the rigid supervision exercised over all persons
employed in this office in preparing calendars of State papers
for the Government. I admit that strictness. I admit the
correctness of his assertion, that it would be next to impos-
sible for any mutilation or suppression of these documents
to take place. At the same time, in justice to the rules of
this office and the officers employed in enforcing. them, I
beg testate that these rules were not made in special refer •
ence to Mr. Brewer. In the year 1851, and before any offi-
cialeditor had ever been thought of, the Master of the Rolls
devised a code of rules on the occasion of throwing open the
Public Records to the general public. and removing the re-
strictions upon literary men which hitherto had been en-
forced. Gentlemen who are employed in compiling calendars
here are, of course, subjected to the_ same rules as literary
t
inquirers, and the supervision in their case is necessarily
more rigid, as they are uninterrup_sny surrounded by the
officers and servants of the establishment. I believe, there-
fore, that the fears of the Protestant Alliance, or of any other
body, are utterly unfounded, and that it would be impossible
for any editor here to mutilate, alter, suppress, or tamper
with the documents on which he is engaged without instan-
taneous detection. The public may be quite at ease on that
head. I must not, however, conclude this letter withoutex-
pressing my regret at the discussion which has arisen on
Mr. Turnbull's appointment. When the Master of the Rolls
expresse 1 to me his anxiety to find some gentleman qualified,
from his knowledge of the various European languages of
the 16th century, combined with an intimate acquaintance
with the history of that period and familiarity with ancient
handwritings, to catalogue the foreign State papers in the
Public Record-office (the officers in this establishment being
fully employed), in conjunction with other portions of the
great work he commenced, I unhesitatingly recommended
Mr. Turnbull as the fittest person for that task, and the
Master of the Rolls, relying, I believe, on my judgment
and my recommendation, proposed Mr. Turnbull to the
Government. Although having the pleasure of but the
slightest acquaintance with Mr. Turnbull beyond
my official connection with the Government publi-
cations, to which he had previously contributed, I i ecom -
mended him from an implicit belief in his trustworthiness
and his capability. I differ strongly from Mr. Turnbull in
reference to religious opinions, but I never could have sup-
posed that in this land of religious freedom a man's religi-
ous convictions could have been considered a disqualifica-
tion for his employment on a purely literary task, for which
he admittedly possessed all the other requisite qualification s.
However painful the discussion which has since ensued in
reference to this matter, I cannot in conscience disavow
my recommendation, nor, had I the opportunity, would I
recall it. The first volume of Mr. Turnbull's calendar is
now before the public. Every document to which it refers

is in my custody, and I invite those who feel interested in
the subject to inspect those documents and judge for them-
selves. If they have no skill in ancient handwriting, I
shall be happy to assist them with such skill as I possess
in comparing Mr. Turnbull's abstracts with the originals,
and I pledge my reputation as a Record scholar that, if he
be found guilty either of omission or commission, I will
join his opponents in asking for his removal. Until then I
feel myself in duty bound to uphold, by all means in my
power, the recommendation I have had the honour of giv-
ing to the Master of the Rolls. —I am, &0.,
" T. DUFFUS HARDY.
" Public Record-office, Rolls. house, Rolls-yard,
January 23."
Before publishing this letter I had made myself
master of the facts. The duties of Mr. Turnbull
were performed faithfully, honestly, and scholarly.
lam chief of the search office. No one from the
Protestant Alliance called to see if Mr. Turnbull's
calendar was properly done ;7nor anyone else. After
the resignation Mr. Bird called. He referred to my
letter. His object was to borrow the calendar. Ido
not think he had seen it previously. He kept it until
March 18, and then returned it. Ile said my letter
was calculated to throw oil on troubled waters. He
said he had no feeling against Mr. Turnbull indivi-
dually. The objection taken against him by the
Protestant Alliance was not one against him indi-
vidually, but against a man holding strong Roman
Catholic opinions. He thought Mr. Turnbull should
not be continued in the work to which he had been
appointed. I said I was sure that he did not know
what his real duties were. I explained them, and
then asked him how he could say that he was em-
ployed to write the history of religion in this coun-
try under Queen Mary. He said he had not gone
so far. I called his attention to the passage ; he
said that was an oversight. I offered my assist-
ance to collate every document with the book. I
said if he would bring down 50 members of the
Alliance, I would give them as many numbers of
the catalogues, and read the original documents to
them.

Cross-examined—l took an active part in getting
up a memorial to reinstate Mr. TurnbUll. There
were allusions in Mr. Turnbull's documents to reli-
gious disputes going on on the continent. Merely
the on dit of the world. Our historical records are
the most valuable in the world. I should say, not-
withstanding all precautions, documents are missing.
Not since 18M.

The Rev. J. T. Brewer, reader at the Rolls, and
one of the calendarers at the Record-office, deposed
that there was less supervision over Mr. Turnbull
than over the others. He also confirmed the evi-
dence of the last -witness 'generally, and as to the
fairness, correctness, and talent of the plaintiff's
work. The plaintiff's case closed with the evidence
of this witness, and it being nearly five o'clock the
Court adjourned till to-morrow.