The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-11 00:00:00

solicitor's lien on the amount of the cheque for the
costs of the action

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
(Sittings in Banco before Lord Campbell, and
Justices Coleridge, Wightman, and Erle.)
THE GRAND JURY.-OBSCENE P CBLLICATIO NS.

Justice Coleridge, in addressing the grand
jury, who are summoned to this court every term
in accordance with immemorial custom, said, after
a few preliminary observations, that it occurred to
him to say a few words with regard to an offence to
which public attention had been recently drawn,
an offence to his mind of great magnitude, and
producing mischievous consequences—he meant the
publication of obscene books, prints, and pictures,
which every one must be aware tended very much
to the corruption of minds, especially of young
persons. In the course of last session the noble and
learned lord who presided in this court (Lord
Campbell) introduced a bill to the Howe of Lords
for facilitating the punishment of persons who were
engaged in this wicked and most nefarious trade,
and if possible for putting it down. After some
opposition, the bill had happily been passed into
law. Its object was rather to give greater power
to the magistrates—to put down the sale of such
publications by the power of search and seizure,
and then by the destruction of the articles—than to
create any new offence, or alter the mode of punish-
ment. When the bill was under discussion in the
House of Lords, it was said by a high authority
that the common law of the country was strong
enough for that purpose. He did not mean to
enter into that controversy now, but every person
passing throngh certain streets in London must know
that thecomnion law did not prevent the existence
of this evil, and that the trade was carried on to
a most mischievous extent in London. It was
not the business of a judge to exaggerate mat-
ters beyond the truth, but he thought it was
hardly possible to exaggerate the mischief of a
thing of this kind. They had all been young, and
they retained recollections of what passed at that
time in their bosoms ; and looking into their own
hearts they could not doubt that if publications of
this nature had the misfortune to fall in the way of
the young they were calculated to do harm ; and,
unhappily for the depravity of human nature, such
impressions were retained longer than matters more
worthy of being treasured up in the mind. He, for
one, thought the noble and learned lord had done
a great service to his country by introducing thebill,
and ho hoped it would be acted upon with good
effect. He was led into this train of remarks te-
cause sometimes persons who carried on this busi-
ness were disposed to encourage and defend it by
resorting to a mischievous kind of ingenuity. They
thought they could turn the tables upon the public
by instituting prosecutions with regard to other
works and publications, under the colourable pre-
tence that they were of the class indicated by the
legislature, although there was no foundation for
such a charge. It was not uncommonly said that
this or that picture of some great artist—this or
that statue, this or that poem—might properly form
the subject of a prosecution, being of a loose, perni-
cious, or voluptuous character ; and it was very
easy for ingenious persons to deceive themselves,
and perhaps others, by such a tone of argument ;
but common sense ilipplied an answer. No doubt
the publication of a picture or a statue, if impro-
perly treated by mischievous ait, would have a bad
tendency, but if treated merely in the course of high
art and in a natural dealing with the subject, it
would have uo such tendency. A corrupt mind
bringing its own corruption to a picture, statue, or
poem, might perhaps make it worse, but an honest
and chaste mind looked at it without injury, and
received from the contemplation of it a high, pure,
and instructive pleasure. Take a familiar illustra-
tion. Every oue must have read Milton's descrip-
tion of Eve soon after her birtb, contemplating her
person at the fountain. It was well known that a
modern sculptor, taking his idea from that beauti-
ful description, had made a statue of Eve at
the fountain, which was familiar to the eye by
casts in shops and elsewhere. Who would sup-
pose for a single moment that the author of "Para-
dise Lost" or Mr. Badly, the sculptor, believed
that in what he did he was producing anything
which would have a bad effect upon morals, and to
prosecute " Paradise Lost " because it contained
those beautiful lines, would be absurd. To repre-
sent Eve at the fountain as dressed would be an im-
propriety, and it would not only be opposed to the
law of the country, but an insult to common sense,
to present a bill to the grand jury on any such mat-
ter. On the other hand, common sense pointed out
that the object of publications like those to be found
in Holywell-straet was to excite depraved passions,
and when that was the case the parties selling them
ought to be brought before a tribunal for punish-
ment. His object in making these observations was
that it was possible bills of the kind he had referred
to would be laid b .fore them, and that this court
would be insulted by trials with respect to matters
of high art and high literature. It was possible
that advantage would be taken of the statute to
bring such matters under their consideration, and
if they did come before them, instead of looking to
an isolated passage or picture, they would look to
the book itself' and see whether the general object
of it was of the kind represented in tee indictment.
If it was not, they would throw out the bill and not
stiffer the case to come before a court of justice.
Take any medical or surgical book; they all knew
that author, in dealing with his subjeet, must tell
things for the sake of instruction. A person of
impure mind might take up the book and dwell on
a particular passage, and it might do him some
harm, but it would be most absurd and mischiev-
ous to consider the aut'ior a criminal because he had
introduced matter of that description for the pur-
pose of instructioh in a book on science. They all
knew that in the book of all books—the best book,
God'sgift to man—there were stories such as Joseph
and Potipher's wife, which to au impure mind
might be perverted to its own pollution ; but this
particular story was not there for that purpose, it
came there by way of history and instruction. He
mentioned these familiar and striking instances in
order to point to their mind the broad and grate
distinction which existed between the two cases.
Therefore he only suggested, by way of caution,
in the event of anything of that kind coming before
them, that it would be their duty to throw out any,
bill which was presented purely for a mali-
cious purpose, and re ally and truly with the object
of bringing the law into discredit. The learned
judge then remitted the grand jury to the discharge
of their functions.

The court was occupied during the whole day
with the special paper, but none of the cases argued
presented any feature of public interest.

COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.

(Sittings in Banco before Mr. Jusitce Williams.)
The Court only sat this morning to hear motions
and almost immediately afterwards adjourned, their
lordships having to sit in the Court of Error.