The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-26 00:00:00

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LONDON. TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 26, 1850.

Mr. LATIMER, the esteemed and respected pro-
prietor of the Western Times, has eminently entitled
himself to the thanks and gratitude of the public
press of every class and denomination, of every shade
and variety of political opinion. To his energetic
exertions, his zealous and unflinching determination,
sustained by a manly and uncompromising spirit, we
are indebted for the important decision yesterday
pronounced by the Court of Queen's Bench, in the
case of " TO. Quern v. Latimer," fur the interpreta-
tion of oneiof the most valuable provisions of Lord
CAmrnaLL's Libel Act, by Lord CAMPBELL himself
and his judicial brethren. We have it now, on the
highest, the most unquestionable authority, that the
illagna Charta of the press, the just and salutary
law that. afforded a tardy protection to the " Fourth
Estate," from the frivolous and vexatious attacks
to which it had previously been subjected, shall
not be frittx.red away, or neutralized by
nice distinctions or fine-drawn technicalities; that
the language deliberately and solemnly adopted by
the Legislature shall he undeistond in its plain and
ordinary meaning, without being clogged or re-
stricted by the narrow-minded erk.ctments of bygone

ages.

•
It is scaly necessary to recall the public atten-
tion to the facts and circumstances out of which the
proceedings in the case in question originated. If
Mr. LATIVERIS bold and unflinching deknce of the
principles of Protestantism., his earrp,h4 and straight-
forward prote*t against the Tractsrian and Puseyite
errors which had unfortunately crept into the Church
of .Erylaod, and been fostered and nourished by ton
many of her ,
unworthy? sons, e••uld speedily
have pa.34eci 120 in te puliiie recollecti-z,
there weed ba but little to encourage pub-
lic men in - their arduous, and but too
frequently • unrequited, labours. Mr. LATIMER was
one of the first exponents of that Protestant feeling
which has more recently been so nobly demonstrated
throughout the length and breadth of the had, which
has received the official stamp and imprimatur, the
unqualified endorsement of the First Lord or' the
Treasury, the head of her MAJESTY'S Government,
wiih the full sanction and consent of his colleagues.
Like Earl FITZWILLIAM, Mr. LATIMER felt that it
was not merely "a question between the Church of
Rome and the Church of England, but Otte between

the power and doctrines of the Church of Rome and
the Reforn-kation itself—the Reformation not as

bited, not as displayed in the Church of England
alone, but of all the sects which have grown
up since the Reformation, which have been
the faithful off. pring of the Reformation, in
all of which vital Christianity is to be found,"
and which constitute the strength and safety of
"Protestant England." He also believed, as Lord
Joust RUSSELL now believes, that there were more
formidable dangers to be apprehended from the traitors
within than from the acknowledged and avowed
enemy without the camp—from "the unworthylsons
of the Church of England herself, clergymen who,
having subscribed the Articles and acknowledged in
explicit terms the QUEEN'S supremacy, had been the
most forward in leading their flocks, step by step, to
the verge of the precipice," than from any foregn
prince or potentate, no matter what might be his
pretensions. Animated by these convictions he
boldly erected the Protestant standard, and in glowing
language most ably depicted the consequences of the
" modern heresy" in a manner that placed the
Western Times on a pinnacle and elevation hat
few modern journals have attained. For this
conduct, while he earned for himself the thanks and
gratitude of the Protestant community, of all-sects
and denominations, he acquired perhaps a more ho-
nourable distinction—the fervent hatred, the -un -
quenchable animosity of the advocates of innovation.
No punishment was sufficient for his crime—the
Western Times should be put down, its daring pro-
prietor crushed by every species of annoyance and
persecution that could be devised ; or, at least, he
should be driven from the position he had assumed—
compelled to desert the banner under which he bad
fought and proved himself to be "a soldier of the
faith," so vigorous and efficient. For this purpose
actions, indictments, and informations were resorted
to. The law of libel in all its varied and
oppressive forms was pressed into the service ;
and it was hoped that his unconquerable spirit
would be broken by " damages," "
"imprisonments," but, above all, by " costs"--the
modern instrument of torture, more potent than any
retained within the dungeon vaults or torture-cham-
bers of the Inquisition.
But these persons knew little of the man with
whom they had to deal. Strong in the justice of his
cause, confident in the honour and integrity of
British juries, Mr. LATIMER accepted the various
gages of battle which were flung down. His tone
was unchanged. It was not bolder or more uncom-
prising than that which he had adopted in the.first
instance—for that was impossible—but it was equally
energetic, equally decisive. His denunciations were
repeated with equal vigour and determination, and
flinging personal considerations to the winds, he con-
tinued the steadfast and faithful champion of the sacred
cause for which he had armed himself. We will not
say that Mr. LATIMER had no cause to regret this
decision, for even the most successful litigation must
ever entail heavy pecuniary expenditure end serious
pecuniary losses to the parties ; but he was not mis-
taken in his firm reliance on English juries. The
shafts by which he was assailed were hurled back
upon his opponents with double power ; and he still
maintains the even tenor of his way, having, as we
have already stated, eminently entitled himself to the
thanks and gratitude of every Protestant throughout
the length and breadth of the land, and placed his
journal, the Western Times, on an elevation which
cannot easily be attained by any rivals.
Among other proceedings instituted against
him was a criminal information for an al-
leged libel, the subject- matter of the
recent decision of the Court of Queen's Bench, to
which we alluded in the commencement of this article.
As in other cases, Mr. LA TIMER was eminently suc-
cessful. The trial took place at Exeter, and the
honest English jury unhesitatingly and unanimously
returned a verdict for the defendant. A conditional
order was subsequently obtained, requiring the
Master to tax the costs due to the defendant in con-
sequence of the verdict in his favour. Against this
rule cause was attempted to be shown yesterday, by
counsel on behalf of the prosecutor. The Learned
Gentleman who appeared in opposition to the rule
endeavoured to prove that the 4 and 5 Wm. and
Mary, cap. 16, was to be taken into consider-
ation along with the 6 and 7 Vic., cap. 96.
By the former of these statutes it was
provided that a party who obtained liberty
to file a criminal information, should enter
into recogninnces conditioned for the due prosecution
of the information, and with that was a condition that
if, on the trial, the verdict should be for the defendant,
then and in such ca-e the Court of Queen's Bench
mien award the defendant his costs, unless the judge
before whom the information was tried should, on the
trial of such information, in open court certify that
there was reasonable ground for exhibiting such
information. From this it was argued that the costs
could not be given at all, or, at all events, that they
should be limited to the amount of the recogni-
itnces, 201., thus setting aside the plain and obvious
meaning of the later and more equitable statute o
VICTORIA.

The attempt was, however, a total failure ; Lord
CAMPBELL declared that " it seemed to him to be the
intention of the Legislature to give the defendant his
costs ; and he did not think that intention could be
expressed in a plainer or more explicit manner." In
that opinion he was confirmed by the high authority
of Justices COLERIDGE, WIGHTMAN, and ERLE, and
the rule bas accordingly been made absolute without a
dissentient voice. On this important judgment we
congratulate the community in general, who have a
deep interest in the integrity and welfare of the public
press. We congratulate our brother journalists on
the heavy blow and great discouragement thus given to
the petty annoyances and persecutions to which they
have been, or may be, subjected by vindictive oppo-
nents, but, above all, we congratulate Mr. LATImEE,
who has thus deservedly obtained the meed of his un-
tiring exertions, who has gained a triumph and victory
of which he may well be proud.

Our correspondent " MARINERO" has mistaken us.
We never intended to draw an invidious distinction
between his Grace the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND
and his gallant companions in the list of flag-officers.
Indeed we took occasion, explicitly and distinctly, to
repudiate any such intention. Our sole reason fur
referring to his Grace individually was that in his
promotion to the rank of Admiral we recognised the
last illustration of that fallacious system of advance-
ment against which we have so long inveighed as
against a system detrimental to the interests and
enervating to the energies of our maritime pro
Whoever might have been the object of
promotion we should have taken exception
to, as we took exception to his Grace the Duke of
NORTHUMBERLAND, not so much as regards the fact
as the manner of bis promotion. What we have
protested against already so frequently, and shall
continue unremittingly to protest against until such
time as we perceive a comprehensive and adequate
innovation, is the circumstance that we are supporting
a number of flag-officers in the Royal Navy of Eng-
land, so unnecessarily enormous that we might select
out of the list an admiral for every one of her MA •
J E`,TY'S vessels of war. While such is the unthinking
extravagance displayed by England in reference to
her flag-uklicers, her lieutenants may grow grey in
undeserved obscurity and sigh in vain for the oppor-
tunity for promotion.
-In this blundering and obdurate system we observe
so many germs of injustice, and such very fi'grant
inconsistencies, that we can never cease asserting the
folly of its continuance. The superfluous hardships
thrust upon the junior officers of the servico are too
egregious and too unmerited to mope any reasonable
observation ; while the "witless of promoting after s
certalo stage, and not before, upon the princi-
ple of seniority, without any regard whatever
for personal inflit. or brilliant services, compels us
fr,,tn its prominence to d.mand some speedy and
holesome revision of the entire scheme of naval
adeniniitration.

rePsion.

A few emphatic and significant truths force them-
selves upon our consideration whenever our thoughts
revert to the conduct of affairs in the maritime ser-
vice of Great Britain. Age is no more essential to a
commander-in-chief by sea than it is to a commander-
in-chief by land. ALEXANDER had conquered Asia
before he was thirty-two. NAPOLEON had van-
quished Northern Italy and had beaten back
the veterans under WIIEMSER before he Was
Clavz Was still little more

twenty-seren.