The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-01 00:00:00

BRITISH MAGAZINE.

A monthly register of religious and ecclesiastical
information ; drawn up succinctly, and adapted to
the tastes of clerical readers, for whom it is ch'efly
designed. In the present Number occur some judi-
cious suggestions respecting the " Religious Treat-
ment of Lunatics."

A,
GUIZOT AM) THE CA4LISTS.—W e copy from the
correspondence of an Evening Contemporary ale following
just remarks on the scene which took place in the French
Chamber on Friday :" The Legit imatist s, driven into a corner,
turned upon M. Uuizot personally, and were joined by the
'Republicans of the extreme Left. Thus was presented thespec-
tacle of unprincipled immorality ln parties, combined with je-
suitism in religion. They attempted to beat down M. Guizot's
voice'; 'to overwhelm, to exhaust him ; they bawled, barked,
menaced; browbeat, and interrupted—but they
were, nobly
punished. M. Guizot rehearsed, in brief terms, a con-
sistent life ; . and • when he challenged contradiction, the
barkers and brawlers held their peace. 4, you maw,"'
exclaimed the great orator, " heap calumnies upon
calumnies; but you will never bring them up to the
height of my disdain." Never was there such a triumph,
even for Guizot—never was there such humiliation even
for the Left—neVer did the unnatural combination of
infidelity with priestcraft look ' so disgusting and hateful.
Guizot rose above his opponents. lie rose above himself.
He proved that he was as ready for the everyday work of '
debate as for carefully- meditated discussion—an adversary
not to be taken unawares, and,. when assailed, not to be ex-
cited except I bran uninardy effort to beat him down by
physical violence, and then , only to show how feeble and
pitiable are vulgar mob weapons-against genius armed with
truth and honour." .
• CARDIFF.--RATHER MISTAKEN.--,--A certain gen-
tleman, who is well known to the commercial world in the
localities of Cardiff, Merthyr, and Newport, had a meeting
of importance to attend at one of these places on a Saturday
evening some time ago, and having finished his avocations
at a considerable distance from the place of the meeting, he
to rest his horse.
engaged a famous pony to convey him in haste to the place
of appointment. He arrived at an inn on the road not 100
allesseltp with mNegowbodridgcreae,taubroe utdusk, and alighted to regale
comforts, and
After tasting and trying a good quantity of that which the
house produced, and toying with the ladies, till both alcohol
and love made him feel rather bewildered, he was reminded
at length of the flight of time, by his gold chain and watch,
and getting up, and taking a hasty farewell of bright eyes
and rosy wine, he straightway proceeded to mount his pony;
but lo! when- seated, he discovered that his charger was
minus saddle and bridle! Dismounting, as well as he could,
ansdeebtehheold! they discovered that
and in a towering passion, he reached the bar in a twinkling,
and upbraided the landlord in a rnastperolnyys
:lilt duets ibriAidgi: i ikoilr
to come o
outta t
fohret:shwithto
went,
our hero had actually mistaken a poor old cow fir his pony,
g
and had been on her back, in the idea of riding home quite
comfortably, while she was quietly eating grains from a pail
by the door. The pony was standin within a few yards,
going oft' io :I quiet dose, from which be wt.,.. roused by the
1 loud laughter which pealed around, on discovering the
gentlemalf3 queer mistake.-11.1b4.7;,cuth Main,

COMPLETE SUFFRAGE. s•
A meeting of the friends of the Complete suffrage move•
merit was held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern last evening,
Sharman Crawford, E.q., was announced to take the chair.
At half-past fie o'clock, and previous to the discussion, a lar,te
party sat clown to tea. The large room was well filled by the
ksitipanyi amongt whom were Dr. Buwring, Messrs
JvA.yth Sturge. G. Goodrich, and A. Allright, of Bir-
mingham W. Tillet, of Norwich ; Dr. Thomas Price, the
Rev. E. Miall, editor of the Noncomformist newspaper; the
Rev. T. Spencer, of Bath ; the Rev. C. Stovel, and the Rev.
E. lial!iday, of London ; Dr. Epps ; Messrs. Vincent, Davy,
Gardner, Marshall, Woodyard, Hare, Clarke, of linares-
borough, &c. &c.
. At seven o'clock Mr. T. Duncombe, M.P.,entered the room
amidst great cheering.
Mr. S. Crawford not havin entered the room at seven
o'clock, it was moved by pr. Ye, and seconded by Mr. Meggs;
and carried unanimously, that i Ir. Joseph Sturge should take
the chair until he arrived.
The CHAIRMAN Mtn opened the meeting, and called upon
Dr. Bowring to propose tlie first resolution.
Dr.BOWRING, who was received with loud cheers, said he

was called upon most unexpectedly to propose for their adop-
tion the first sentiment of the evening—" The people, the
rnly source of legitimate power, all other power not
emanating frem them being essentially unjast in
its origin. and tyrannical in its exercise."--(Loud cheers.)
It was because the people had been forgotten that England had
been delivered over to monopoly, political, commercial, and
educational—that oppression was at that moment stalking un-
checked in Ireland. bringing about a state of things which no
frieud to the country could look upon without alarm ; that an
attempt was made in Scotland to cut up a State Church in dis-
regard of public opinion; and that the people of Wales were,
many of them, now suffering the severe penalties of the law.
If this ration had ever been great, if it had ever been illustri-
ous, if it had ever afforded an example and encouragement to
the freedom-seeking portion of mankind, it was because the
ground-work of the Constitution was the influence of thepeople,
and that upon that influence the power of the country was
erected.—(Cheer:.) They were approaching a period when
every man would be compelled to come forward - either
fur or against the people.—( Mr. S. Crawford here entered the
room, amidst much applause.) It was a satisfaction to those
who really represented the people to have an opportunity im-
mediately bet*, tre the meeting of Parliament of ascertaining the
state of the public mind, and of deriving thence motives which
should enable them to do their duty. Their duty might soon
he perilous, but their strength was in the strength of the people,
and their fortitude must arise from the people's support._
( Cheers.) They ought not to band about violent words, to
utter threats, menaces, and vituperations in relatioa to their
adversaries, for they had a nobler work to do, and in that work
they must exert all their energies.—( Cheers. )
Mr. S. Caa ',men then addressed the meeting. He first
exp'ained the cause of his not being there earlier. He had,
on Monday last, as was his custom before the meeting of Par-
liament, rendered an account to his constituents of his conduct
during the preceding session, and the account being considered
satisfactory, he had been invited, and had accepted the invi-
tation, to dine with them yesterday, and he had not been able
to reach town in time for the meeting.—( Hear.) He counted it
a high hunour to be called upon to take the chair on that occa-
sion. The time was one when all the friends of liberty should
be on the alert.— ( Hear, hear.) What was now going on in
Ireland was a sample of what they might expect in England.
If the experiment which was now being tried there were sec-
ces-ful, it would perhaps, before many days elapsed, be tried
upon themselves.—:( Hear, hear.) It was the duty of English-
men, therefore, to take measures for securing their liberties.
He had taken the liberty of subrifting a plan of proceeding at
this time to the consideration of the people of England and
their representatives. He would ask that meeting, were the
compla'nts of the people either heard or redressed by the
House of Commons?—(Loud cries of " No, no.") When
petitions were presented, Members were prevented from saying
one word with regard to the petitions or their object; and
when motions were made on the subject of the people's com-
plaints, the discussion was swamped by there being no House,
and they had to begin over again.—(Hear, hear.) Now, be
believed that there was a constitutional remedy for this.
The rules of the House of Commons had provided, some hun-
dred years ago, that, on the motion that the Speaker do leave
the Chair to go into Committee of Supply, any Member might
discuss any grievance of the people. Let them have recourse
to this right, and the grievances of the people must be heard.
He concluded by calling on the meeting to suppert the people's
representatives in the House of Commons.
The Chair was then vacated by Mr. Sturge, and taken by
S. Crawford, Esq.
Mr. J. DUNCAN rose to second the sentiment proposed by
Dr. Bowring. The occasion was most appropriate for such a
sentiment. The time was come for the people to take advan-
tage of the diffusion of the doctrines of moral force
to carry war into the camp of the oligarchy.—(Great
cheering.) In the reign of Jan, when the Magna Charts
was passed, the nobility laboured only to emancipate themselves.
Similar in principle had been all the movements of the Nobi-
lity in relation to the cause of liberty. The revolution of 1688
simply transferred the Crown from James the Second to Wil-
lia.n the Dutchman.—( Cheers.) The public completely under-
stood now that Whigs and Tories had no care for anything but
their own party interests. The principle for which they con-
tended was that the people' should be invested with national
sovereignty. He then referred to the French revolution, and
said the persons who prepai ed that :evolution were the oligarchy
of France; and it was onlyebecause the English people were
more patient and virtuous that a similar outbreak did not take
place here, and that formed one of the strongest grounds for
extending to the franchise complete suffrage—( A voice—
" Universal")—well, universal suffrage.—(Cheers—Another
voice —" The Charter"—Loud cheers.) Let them not intro-
duce verbal distinctions when a great principle was at stake.—
(Cheers and interruptions.) He claimed for every man who
contributed to the defence and support of his country the right
of v sting. It was impossible that they could be worse go-
verned under a democratic system than they were under the
existing Government; and, considering the evils which now ex-
isted, he asked all classes to support the movement in which
those present were engaged.
The Rev. T. SPENCER, of Bath, rose to propose " The
advocates of the people's rights. May the day not be far dis-
tant when their efforts shall be crowned with success, and the
actual reprresentatives of the people sit within the walls of Par-
liament, to legislate for the well-being of the whole commu-
nity." This, he believed, was the sum and substance of all
they sought. By the people, he meant all the men in England
of twenty-one years of age. The people did not want the pro-
perty of the rich, but they did not like to have their own pro-
perty—the franchise—taken from themselves.—(Cheers.) He
would equalise things by the taxation of real property, and
then all would become more brotherly, and all would have their
rights. A Government ought to be a terror to evil doers
alone, it ought to be a praise to them that do well; and till
ministers of religion preached this doctrine from the pulpit,
they could not perform their duty. If he did not believe that the
Bible was a book of justice, he could not believe it was true.
Vas it just that a workieg man should be taxed-the half of his
income, when the rich man was taxed only a thousandth
part ?—( Hear, hear.) He was as great an advocate of peace
as any man, but if the Government refused the people's rights,
the people might justly seek redress, and if that redress were
sought in the proper manner, it was impossible that it should
not be obtained.

Mr. C. His: nnev, M.P., in seconding the sentiment, said
he had yet to learn on what ground the claim of the people to
have a voice in the representation could be resisted. He was
for universal suffrage.—(Loud cheers.) If he thought that
this complete suffrage movement was a trick on the part of the
middle clas.ies to exclude a large body of the people, he would
strenuously oppose it; but he believed that it was an honest
ai.d fair attempt to obtain the full rights of the people.—(Loud
cheers.) The only ground of objection which he had heard
wa', that the people were not sufficiently educated. If that
objection were good as applied to the people, it would tell also
against others besides them. He believed the people were al-
ready fully prepared to exercise the franchise, and that it could
not, therefore, on any just ground, be longer refused.
Mr. F. O'CoNsrou next came forward, land was received
with tremendous rounds of applause, which lasted for a con-
siderable time, mixed with partial interruption. He said no,
attempts to put him down would succeed. He was as anxious
as any gentleman there to join in what he supposed to be the
real object of the night. —( Cheers). As, however, one gentle-
man had been set down to address them at that stage, he would
retire until that gentleman had concluded.—(Cheers.)
Dr. Tiroatas PRICE rose to second the sentiment proposed
by the Rev. Ni'. Spencer. He rejoiced that difference of
opinion consisted with an entire and hearty consideration in
common to one great object. When he saw large bodies
moving under variegated colours, but with the same object, he
wished them success. He was brought up with feelings of
great reverence for the House of Commons, but as he had
advanced in life, as he had looked back to past times, and
traced the page of history, he had come to the conclusion that
that House was a stranger, so far as honest sympathy was con-
cerned, with the people, for whom it had undertaken to legis-
late. It was now the nominee of the aristocracy,
whatever it might have been in other times.—(Cheers).
lie hoped a change was coming on, and that the effect would
be to bring the HOUEIP of Representatives into a mere con•
sistent position.—(fiver, hear.) He looked forward to a
peaceful revolution in that respect.—(Cheers.) This con-
summation was not, he confidently hoped, so distant as some
imagined. The clear apd forcible, yet peaceful enunciations
of great principles' was to him an omen of great good. When
he saw the practical English people grasping with a firm hand
certain great general principles, he felt gratified at the pros-
pect. Look at the peaceful character of this movement. He
thanked God, indeed, that the time had been when the people
had maintained their liberties against the usurpation of the
Sovereign, and prevented him from becoming a military despot.
Military force might accomplish a goad, but there was no good
in the end—( Hear, hear)—coming out of it.—(Cheers.) If
they would wrest from the hands of a privileged class the
rights of which they had been deprived, let them be assured
that it was only by firmly and consistently carrying them out
that they could obtain their object.—( Hear, hear.) He
augufed well from the diminution of party influence,
The age of parties was nearly past. The Whig and the Tory,
who bad long sttuggled for power, and divided the spoil, were
about to give place to a new class, who were determined to re-
dress the grievances of the people. Parties were already
breaking up. They were told that there was to be gathered
together a party made up of all that had ceased to be practi-
ca4 recognised. He feared not such a party. Let the ad•
vocates of monopoly muster; let them recognise the principle
that those who were not with them were against them, and go
on steadily, and in an enlightened manner to their end.
The Cita flora si said he wished to speak on a question of
order. Certain sentiments had been set down for certain
speakers to propose, but it' it were the pleasure of the meet-
ing that arrangement would be departed from in favour of
Mr. F. O'Connor. _ .

It was proposed that, after Mr. O'Connor's address, they ad-
here to the pre-arranged order.—( Hear, hear. )
Mr. F. O'CoNNoe. said he trusted that the advice of Dr.
l3owring in regard to vituperation would not be lost sight of.
—( Hear, hear.) Howev:r they might differ on some points,
they were all agreed on two—first, that great distress existed in
the country; and, secondly, that means must be adopted to
relieve that distress.—(Cheers.) He 'would ask the Chair-
man whether that poverty which he had so 'feelingly described
in the House of (Ammons could be relieved either by charity
Or p •
lundeo If it could not, it was impossible to adhere to
the present system.—( Cheers.) Let them consider what it was
they were met for. Could they hope to pin the object they
sought without having with them a majority of the working
classes? They had been called physical force Chartists. He
repudiated the charge. They were not looking to violent
measures, but to the classes around them—the shopkeeping
classes and the working classes, whose interests were inseparable.
—(Cheers.) Let these two classes unite and they were in-
vincible. They had hitherto been impotent, because they
were not united. They were called the Tory Chartists; he was
tired of the Tories—(Cheers)—and he would-not be frightened
by any hobgoblin held up to frighten them. Never could they
destroy monopolies of auy kind until they united the people
of all classes for one purpose undr.r one name. What did
they see but starvation, distress, and suffering on
all hands? Who would refuse, then, to join in a
common principle' to remove such a state of things ?
(Cheers. ) Let them now direct public opinion. The people
would no longer listen to metaphysical nothings. They were
all alike in principle; would they then refuse to unite in such
a manner as to secure victory for the people's cause ? Was
there a'Whhg in that meeting?—( Hear.) There was defunct
Whiggery. Let it rest. He said that they had done nothing.—
( Cheers.) The people were maddened with distress. The
interests of the middle classes, the shopkeepers, were bound up
with those of the working classes, for the latter were their
customers. If he could have twelve consecutive nights with
the shopkeepers of Loedop, he would make them all jealous for

the name of Chartists. Let the Committee say that they era-
! braced his name, and he would go with them.—(A voice,
" Principle.") Without the name, his whole party would de-
sert him.—( Renewed cries of " Principle. ") He would never
desert the name, since he believed the principle must go with
it. He trusted that advantage would then be taken of his
ad, ice.—( Cheers. )
Mr. C. STOVELL next attempted to address the meeting;
but the noise and confusion was so great for some minutes as to
prevent his being heard. After a vain effort, he withdrew, and
Mr. DUNCO3Ing, M.P., came forward, and was most en-
thusiastically cheered. He had attended the meeting withont
any intention to address them, but it appeared to be their
wish that he should say a few words, representing, as be did, a
metropolitan district. This was the eve of the meeting of Par-
liament—all were stirring, from Sir R Peel to Lord Brougham.
—( Cheers.) No doubt the Queen was rehearsing her speech, full
of nonsen9e and nonenties. That apeeoh was being read at the
Duke of Wellington's, and the other Minister's. They were
up and doing, and it behoved the people to be so. The Chair-
man had told the meeting his plan, which was to stop the
supplies till the grevances of the people were redressed. That
was a constitutional step, but it required great con-
sideration. Had they got the materials for carrying
out the measure ? If they told him they had the
proper materials, then he was ready to join the plan. The
only thing which the people now valued was the franchise.—
(Cheers.) Nothing, he believed, v-as calculated to produce
that better than the Charter.—(Cheers.) He asked those who
called the meeting whether they had a list of Members who
would vote for stopping the supplies till they got the Charter?
—(Cheers.) He was a Chartist, and was not ashamed of the
name. Why, he would ask, should not that name be adopted
because it had a charm in the breast of the working men ?
( Cheers. ) The present conflict ought not to be entered into
unless they were prepared.. Had Mr. S. Crawford got forty,
twenty, ten, or five Members pledged to support him in stop-
ping the supplies?—(Cheers, and cries of " Yes.") If he
believed that by the course proposed good could be done to the
country, ha svoulr!, as an humble individual, support them.
Mr. STuaGE said that the present was not the time to dis-
agree about names. He was for no property qualification--
the vote by ballot—that every man 21 years of age should have
a vote—and the payment of Members. They might call him
a Chartist if they pleased, or a Richmondite he would not com-
plain of ; but when he could not agree with men, sooner than
quarrel he would leave the field.—(Great confusion.) The
Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving, " Success to the
patriots in the House of Commons who were determined to
exercise the constitutional right of refusing supplies till the
grievances of the people were redressed." Now the question
was, would the meeting and the people support them in that
course ?—(The lion. Gentleman addressed the meeting amid
the greatest noise and confusion.)

Mr. SEILTOW then came forward to address the meeting,
and was received with the most discordant yells, noise, and con •
fusion, amid which cries were reiterated of " Vincent, Vincent."
Mr. VINCENT here advanced on the table, and was received
with great cheering; and, after shaking Mr. Skelton cordially
by the hand, they both, at the suggestion of the Chairman,
retired from the table.

The CHAIRMAN wished to know what the wishes of the
meeting were as to the mode of proceedino ?—(Great con-
fusion.) Unless the Chairman was attended' to, it would be
impossible to keep order. A certain course had been proposed
that had been deviated from, and he wished to know whether
it was their desire that deviation should continue ?—(Cries of
" Yes, yes," " No, no.") Here another scene of confusion took
place, several persons attempting to address the Chair at the
same time.

Mr. SKELTON then addressed the meeting, amid much noise
and confusion, which lasted for some considerable time. Amid
this

Mr. DUNCOMBE came forward, and said that, as there
seemed to be some doubt as to whether the majority of the
meeting were Chartists or not, he would, with tile permission
of the Chairman, take the sense of the meeting on the subject.
On the question being put, that those who were in favour of
the Charter should up their hands, a complete forest was held
up, and but few for the complete suffrage movement.
The meeting was suddenly broken up, amid the greatest
confusion, the Chairman leaving the chair and the room in the
possession of the Chartists. Three cheers were given for the
Charter ; and after some time the immense mass of human
beings dispersed.

LITERARY and DRAMATIC FUND.
Yesterday evening a meeting of the above Society, the object
of which is to afford assistance, either by loan or donation, to the
more distressed brethren of theliterary and dramatic professions,
was held at the Sheridan Knowles Tavern, Brydges-street,
Covent-garden. Mr. John Moore, of St. Martin's-lane, in
the chair.

After the usual routine business of the Society had been
transacted in Committee; on the motion of several gentlemen
connected with the fund, ne less than seventeen gentlemen were
unanimously elected as members ; making thirty-seven elected
within the last fortnight.
The CHAIRMAN, in expatiating upon the philanthropic
and kindly objects of the Society, said that it was formed
for the express purpose of stretching forth the hand
of fellowship and kindness to any member of those
two professions who might be suffering from the
fortuitous occurrences to which gentlemen connected with
literature and the drama were more ordinarily subjected than
those following the less visionary pursuits of every-day life.
The constitution of the Society called upon the members to
pay an annual subscription of 10s., which was to be entrusted
for distribution, either by loan or otherwise, amongst the two
classes to which he had before alluded, to a Committee chosen
by the general body of the members from amongst themselves.
But perhaps the point which would be most gratifying to t.be
mind of any generous donor, as well as most likely to do away
with any feeling of pain or degradation on the part of the sensi-
tive recipient was, that no person except those on the Com-
mittee were allowed to have cognisance of the names of those
whose distresses were relieved. Such being the objects of the
meeting, he trusted that the public would stand forward in sup-
port of the Fund, and that any temporary attempt which might
be made to injure the Society would prove abortive.
Mr. GEORGE CRANE, in an able speech, recounted the
objects and acts of the Society, with which he was intimately
acquainted, from the fact of having acted as secretary to it for
some time. In many instances when grants had been made to
members of the dramatic profession, who were labouring under
temporary pecuniary pressure, to enable them to take advantage
of provincial engagements, those gentlemen had at the earliest
opportunity returned the sum so given, with many professions of
gratitude, and thus the Society was enabled to appropriate this
money to a double, and in some instances a treble, act ofphilan-
th ropy.
Mr. FEATHERSTON having been proposed and elected a
member, said his way of life was rather diverse from that of
the generality of gentlemen who formed the Society. He could
boast of no higher qualification to entitle him to the honour of
admission amongst them than a sincere admiration of the
purposes for which they were associated, and an anxious
desire to forward those objects. He was the holder
of a large tract of land in Somersetshire, which
be farmed himself ; and therefore the gentlemen at
present around him must feel the truth of his former
observation—namely. that a practical farmer, residing
170 miles from London, could have but little intermixture with
the class of persons of whom the Society was composed. still,
admiring its objects as he did, and appreciating the philan-
thropic feelings by which the members were actuated, he felt
proud and happy in being enrolled a member, and would do all
he could to forward the interests of the Society.—( Cheers. )
Several gentlemen having addressed the meeting,
Mr. G. FoaMAN In proposing a vote of thanks to the
Chairman said the Society was deeply indebted to Mr. Moore
for the strenuous exertions which be had made in support of it.
He (Mr. Forman) would bear testimony to the good which the
Society had effected in many instances andalso to the fact that
many of those who had shared in the kindness of the Society
had, when they got into engagements, at once refunded the
money which they had received from the Committee.
The motion having been seconded and carried with acclama-
tion, Mr. Moore vacated the Chair.

CUSTOMS.-PASSENGERS'
BAGGAGE.

The Board having had under consideration the regulations
which were adopted last summer at the Baggage Warehouse,
Fresh-wharf, London-bridge, in regard to the landing, exa-
mining, and delivering of passengers' baggage; and a Com-
mittee of the Board, on the waterside and warehousing de-
partments, after having conferred with several officers, having
represented that the regulations have fully answered the
purpose contemplated, and recommended that they may be
permanently adopted, and extended to the several other
baggage -stations; it has been resolved that the recommen-
dation:of the'CommittOe is approved, and ordered that the
same be adopted accordingly.
The following is the principal portion of the regulations
referred to :

1. That a.cettain label'or.ticket be affixed, with .paste or
gum, to each package of baggage by weighers, under the
directions of the baggage officers, as it is received into the
warehouse, such label or tickets being numbered progres-
sively, front one uPwards, with the name of the ship and date
of landing.
2. That so soon as the whole of the packages are deposited
in the warehouses and labelled, the examining officer do
mediately count the same, in order to ascertain that the
number received do correspond with the highest. progressive
number upon the labels affixed, and thereupon enter the
total number in the baggage book.

3. That each weiglie-I•,—assisting in the examination of
baggage, be provided with a pocket slate, to take down the

uanie of the passenger., and the numbers upon the labels of
each of the packages' belonging thereto, which the landing
waiter is to enter in the proper column of his ledger, before
he proceeds with the examination.
4. That upon .the examination of each package being
completed, and recorded by the landing waiter, the label be
forthwith stamped by him in red ink, " Examined," with a
stamp, to be furnished for that purpose, having the name of
the station thereon.

5. That a numerical sheet, printed in red ink, be supplied
to the officer stationed at the door, and also a stamp marked
" delivered," with which he is, in black ink, to stamp that
part of the label previously stamped by the examining
officer, in order that it may not be again used, and then
stamp the number in his numerical sheet, corresponding with
that upon the label affixed to the package, taking care thipt:
he does not allow any package to pass without being duly
labelled and stamped.
6. That. the examining officer do enjoin the officers actin,'"
as constables, or door-keepers, not to allow any package to
pass out, upon which the label affixed thereto (Lies not- bear
the impression of two stamp;:, as required by these regulations.
These regulations will have the efiect of affording greater
security to the baggage of passengers arriving from the Con-
tinent by steam-vessels at all hours. Steamers, as is per-
fectly well known, very frequently arrive in the middle of
the night, and even when they arrive in the day time, there
is, particularly in the summer season, a great number of
loungers always collected at the steam-wharfs, some of them
not of the very best character, and therefore this order will,
in fact, be a boon to travellers, in consequence of the sur-
veillance which will be exercised by the officers of the Cus-
toms, and of the consequent additional secdrity afforded to
their property. We have frequently heard complaints of
delay in the Celivery o: baggage, parties saying that they
are not attended to in their proper turns, &c. This will be
remedied by the new regulations, which are extended to, and
in operation at all the steam-wharfs. Sonic persons do not
wish to take their baggage away with them, and are satis-
fied, on being assufecr of its being secure, to receive it on
the following day ; but to many it is of great importance
that they receive their baggage and effects as quickly as pos-
sible; to those we would suggest, that their object would be
gained, if they were to take care that their baggage is placed
nearlvat the top of the hold of the ship as possible, on their
embarking for this country, as on the arrival of the-vessel,
the packages are taken out in rotation, hoisted into the ex-
amining floor, ticketed as stated above, and delivered to the
owners accordingly.

•
TRANSMISSION OF SILKS INTO EMMA ND.—One of
the most important lots of rich silks and satins probably
ever imported has just been purchased by Sewell and Co.,
Compton House, Soho. The goods arc of the richest qualities,
and the patterns mo.3t recherche. Families returning to town
will find this a desirable opportunity for purchasing.—N.B.
Several cases of Lyons and Spitalfields Coloured velvets at
prices truly astonishing. Nos. 44And 45, Old Compton-street,
and 46 and 47, Frith-street, Soho.
Another slip of the embankment near the olke-
stone viaduct has taken place, and a single rail has been re-
sorted to for the present, fer the up and down trains a 3 far
Saltwood.

IRELAND.

THE STATE TRIALS.
FOURTEENTH DAY.
(BY EXPRESS.)

(FROM OUR OWN REPORTERS.)
DUBLIN, 'TUESDAY, JAN. SO,
COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
THE QUEEN V. DANIEL O'CONNELL AND OTHEnS.
At ten o'clock this morning the Judges took their
seats on the bench.

Mr. O'Connell and the other traverse's; having an-
sivered to their names, the jury were next called, and
two being absent, a delay of about -five minutes took
place. When all were assembled,
Mr. FriZGIBBON, Q.C., rose and stated that in this
case it was his duty to address the jury on the part of
Dr. Gray, and from the course adopted by the Crown,
in putting the eight individuals together upon their trial,
it necessarily resulted that each of the traversers had
the privilege of making a separate defence ; but, from
the nature of the evidence, it was plain that as the charge
was for a joint offence, the defence must also be joint.
The accusation against the eight. traversers was for un-
lawfully, maliciously, and criminally conspiring together,
and that seemed in its nature rather •a simple charge, •
for even a single act might constitute the entire -
offence, yet the Attorney-General had opened his case - -
with a speech which occupied eleven hours, and between
forty and fifty hours were spent.in reading evidence, not
in examining witnesses. Was it fair to call upon the
jury to read over such a mass of matter to arrive at a
just conclusion upon a narrow issue? And who could be
safe—who could be defended ? What was a man to do
when a vast body of matter might be flung down without
explanation at the feet of a jury, in order that they
might arrive at my conclusion from such a variety of
premises? -If Mr. Shell, conscious of his complete
ablities, felt a difficulty in approaching this chaos
of confusion, and was conscious of the magnitude of
the duty which he had to discharge, what must be
his (Mr. Fitzgibbon's) feelings ? Not those •of emo-
tion, but ofdismay. Eight gentlemen were now charged
with the crime of conspiracy—an offence the most
odious in every clime, and in every state of human
society the most detestable. Who was the first of those
eight gentlemen? A man pre-eminent in his profession
—pre-eminent for his talents and for his many great
virtues, and who, for a period of over forty years, was
the ornament of the bar. Who had he (Mr. Fitzgibbon)
next to defend ? The son of that. father—a candidate
for success in the same profession, and just entering life,
being not more than to enty-eight years of age ; and a
third traverser, Dr. Gray, was also a member of another
high and honourable profession. His opinion was, that
the present prosecution was an unconstitutional, illegal,
and unfair attempt now, in the year 1844, to devise a
ministerial scourge for the purpose of lashing a free
people. The three gentlemen who were highest in point
of rank at the bar, and who were now pursuing the ob-
jects of the Government in this prosecution, he (Mr.
Fitzgibbon) could speak of as gentleinen, severally ;and
individually—" gentlemen," in the best and most fa-
vourable sense of the word, and " lawyers," also,
in the best sense of that word. But when he
thus alluded to those three individuals, he spoke
of theM in ordinary matters, and in the ordi-
nary business of life. It-had never before fallen to his
(Mr. Fitzgibbon's) lot to be concerned in, or to have
witnessed in a Court of Justice, a State prosecution,
but it had been his duty to read many of them ; and if
the three gentlemen acting for the Crown had fallen
from their moral dignity, they were only following the
.•
example of much greater men than any one of them. . .
He said this without disparagement to them, but they
had only followed the fate of Lord Coke, whose virtues
and whose dignity could not preserve him from acting
the part-of a Government lawyer in a State prosecution.
His name had gone down to posterity with a foul_ blotch •
on it, and no friend.of humanity could think of his at- .
tack upon Sir Walter Raleigh without execrating the
tongue that delivered it under the circumstances. '
The Attorney-General had, in his opening speech,
observed that • the jury would take the law from tho
Court, and so they would ; but the Court had not '
the slightest jurisdiction in the world to direct them
upon the question of the guilt or the innocence of the
traversers. That was a pure question of fact, with
which the Judges had nothing to do. In the case of
Hatfield. who fired at the King, in the theatre, intend-
ing to kill him ; he was taken in -the act, and yet the
Court had nothing to do with the intent of the accused,
for that was for the jury alone. The Judges had not
even a right to express an opinion upon the subject of
the intent, because a jury could only act upon evidence
on oath. He (Mr. Fitzgibbon) did not. agree with the
Attorney-General in the statement of the law as to what
constituted conspiracy. Perhaps •it might be said that
Mr. Moore admitted the law to be as stated by the
Attorney-General ; but Mr. Moore stood here for the
Rev. Mr. Tierney, who had a peculiar case, for he never
attended more than two of the meetings, and therefore
there was no necessity for applying his mind to the law
of conspiracy. The jury bad heard a term used very much
—" overt acts." The term was applicable to only, two
offences, that of treason and conspiracy; and treason was
a crime that a man might be guilty of withoutdoing any act
at all—for if one imagined the death of the Sovereign, _
the forming the determination constituted the crime.
In that case an " overt act would be an act from the
the doing of which the intention of killing the King was
.manifested. When the Attorney-General proceeded to
state the overt acts charged against the traversers, he
fidlowed him in the hope that he would stop and call
their attention to some one speech which could not have
been spoken unless •it bad been previously spoken by
more individuals than the one who spoke it—that he
would rely upon some one speech which could not have
been spoken unless by conspirators, that is to say, by
persons previously engaged in a guilty combination. He
expected some of the speeches would have b'en selected
ar.d 'shown to the jury as. speeches that could not have
been the emanation of a - single mind, but concocted by
more individuals than the man .who made it. Did the
Attorney-General do any such thing? In the whole
eleven, hours' during which he read much from old
newspapers, did he point out a single sentence that
must have been the result of a conspiracy ? Not
one. Again, when he came to the acts of the
defendants, did he fasten upon a single act and
show that it could not have been the act of an indivi-
dual unless that individual had been previously en-
gaged in a criminal conspiracy? Again, he said the At-
torney-General did not do any such thing. How, then,
did he attempt to argue there was a conspiracy? He
(Mr. Fitzgibbon) would tell them—and he was sure he
would not willingly misrepresent it—this was his train •
of reasoning. Many meetings had been held that were
Weald. meetings. These meetings were called by the
defendants, and the defendants all concurred in calling
them; and, pray, mind the word he used—concurred
in. calling them. They all previously consented they
should be called. They were illegal meetings; and, ac-
cording to the law of conspiracy, if two or more agreed
to do a legal act, but by illegal means, they were guilty
of conspiracy. If, then, these eight defendants did all
agree to calf meetings, and, for brevity, he would select
one—say the Tara meeting—that, said he, was an ille-
gal meeting; they had all agreed to call that meeting,
and having so agreed, and the meeting being-illegal,
they were all conspirators. If two or more persons agree
to do a perfectly legal act, but do so by illegal means,
these two ate guilty of conspiracy. Now, said the
Attorney-General, they agreed to do a perfectly
legal thing—te petition for a repeal of the union—but
they agreed to do so by the illegal means of calling that
illegal meeting and publishing these illegal speeches—
and all of them concurring in the legal object of petition-
iug for the repeal of the union, but by illegal means, they
were all, to a man, guilty of a conspiracy. This was his
law, and this was the law he (Mr. F.) had to deal with.
lie owned when he heard that law propounded in a court
of justice, in a State prosecution, it startled him a goad
deal. The Attorney-General did not conic there a ithout
seine little books of authority behind him. He read the
law from some of them. That he (Mr. F.) admitted—
[Here the Learned Counsel ceased his address for
short time, and was observed speaking to Mr. O'Connell,
who sat behind him. After the lapse of a few seconds he
resumed]—Gentlemen of the jury, Mr. O'Connell, whose
countenance in this case I deem most advisable, and his
assistance, whether to suggest, to me that which is neces-
sary, or restrain me, if I am wrong—has mentioned
to me that be is obliged to go away, and I regret the
cause to arise•from indisposition.
Mr. O'Connell here left the Court, and—

•
Mr. FITZGIBBON continued—lle claimed the attention
of the jury for a. moment. There was the indictment_;
they were told that this was an indictment at common
law,. the meaning of which was, that this case could
have been sustained in the reign of Edward the Cea-
fessor. An indictment of the same kind had been sus-
tained before the Conquest. He (Mr. Fitzgibbon) told
them this without the fear of being contradicted by the
Court. When they approached the consideration of the
question—guilty or not guilty—they ought to consider
the tone, the country, and circumstances of every crime.
Or alleged crime, which had been committed, and he was
satisfied the jury in the present hastance would leave
nothing undone to enable them to arrive at. a just, con-
elusion. This was an indictment against eight mem-
bers of a political association ; against eight members
of an association formed for the purpose of redressing
an
.alleged grievance—for the purpose of procuring
the repeal of an alleged bad law. Would the jury
not be surprised to hear that, from the reign of Edward
the Confessor down to the year 1794, there never
was in England one single instance of the members of
any political association whatever, from the days of Wet
Tyler down to the year '94--not one single instance
could be found on record of an indictment for conspiraey
against the members of a political association? Now,
was not that, he asked, rather an astounding. fact? Was
conspiracy a crime in those days. or not to be touched
by the law? Conspiracy at a Very early period, indeed,
beentne the object of great solicitude. it was regarded
as a crime so dangerous, so infamous, that it was looked
on as a scourge, and very early became the sultiect of
legislative and statutary legislation. He should mad a
desniption of the crime of conspiracy, and the a
affecting it, from a highhighauthority. Ile then read lawn
affecting
extract from tat vol. of Hawkins' Pleas of the i. n,
he should consider,
standing the nature of r0n81"P"...,
of
be, gouty the crime of
first. who might be said t;,
page 444. The writer said
.that,, for the better under-
w offenders were punished.
betted la than the 3d of
In the first, there was no lll
.Folwar,l the First, eommonly called the Statute
conspiracy ;
of Treasons, which be • (Mr. Fitzgibbon) said
and, secondly,
was. passed•to becenLe a_scourge- in the htnnla ()ethos*
whom it ought to (~overii and not to scourge. Hawkins
cited the Act of Parliament, the intent of which was to`
make a final definition of what. a .conspiracy was. The
LE.,arnedeounel then read a long extract from the work
which he IA ill, b baud--=whicil 145 to t4cteact thst

•

conspirators were persons who bound themselves by oath
to do an illegal-act—who bound themselves together to
tyranise over others—to undertake malicious enterprises.
Such (continued Mr. Fitzgibbon) was the definition given
of this early statute, for the purpose of making a final
definition of conspiracy. He was quite free to admit
that, in the same hook, there were passages which might
be Considered unfavourable to his case, but he (Mr. Fitz-
,. gibbon) would not keep out of the view of the jury that
which the leading member of the Irish bar had done.
He would not suppress from their view one single pas-
sage that inight tend to explain the passage which he
should cite,
.and he would not say whether this course
was right or wrong—
The-CHIEI J MlER—Where is that?
fr.
FITMIBBON—On page 446. He then read a ,
pastNge respecting the kind of conspiracies which should
be prtisecuted by indictment, and proceeded to say, that
when society began to emerge from a state of barbarism,
that confederacies of the most criminal and dangerous
• character were formed, and it seemed to be only a ra-
tional thing, to have a law to punish such villains. He
then cited the case of the King v. Edwards, which was
an indictment for conspirncy, arising out of an attempt
on the part of the officers of a parish in England to ob-
tain possession of the money raised upon it for the bene-
fit of the poor. t fne of the party - charged married a
cripple, not for the purpose of matrimony at all, but to
make her chargeable to another parish. There was an-
. other instance of an indictment for conspiracy. A card-
,. maker conspired with the members of his family to bribe
the apprentice of another card maker to injure the paste
used by him,- by putting grease into it, and thereby
.destroying the reputation he had gained in his trade.
They were indicted for a conspiracy, and this case
was a fair illustration of the meaning of a Con.;
:piracy-. No one knew of the conspiracy. but the villains
themselves ; no one could actually prove that there was
a conspiracy but by what appeared to be done at various
times by the several individuals. They gave money to
the apprentice. The. father gave money one day—the
wife gave money another—on the third day one of the
servants—another servant on the following day. Evi-
dence of theseovert acts were offered, and the Court
allowed them to
,he given to the jury, because the accused
par: ies were all members of the same family--all in •
eluded in the same practice—all influenced by the same
• design—that of ruining the rival card-maker by these
means. The acts of each separately could not he ac-
counted for, but it was left to the jury to consider whe-
ther the acts of all were not the result of a previous
conspiracy. This he conceived to be a fair illustration.
Mr. Justice BURToN—Where is that case ?
Mr. FITZGUHION—It was reported in Strange, and
well known as the card-maker's case. He would now
call the attention of the jury to the definition given by,
. the Attorney-General. Ile (Mr. F.) took it down from
his own lips. He told them that conspiracy was a
crime that consisted either of a combination to do same
illegal act, or to effect a legal purpose by illegal means,
and. in support of his view, he cited two cases--one
the King v. Rose, in 4th Barnewall and Adolphus, pages
349-350. The defendants were indicted for combining
to conceal the effects of a bankrupt. In this case there •
was a conviction, and the jury found a verdict of guilty.
.There teas a . motion for an arrest. Of judgment, and, in
• giving judgment against the indictment, Lord Denman
said that the indictment ought to have charged that the
parties combined to do an unlawful, or a lawful, act, by
unlawful means. This was -a mere dictum, or saying,
and not the decision of a Court; and no judge should pay
much attention to these, the mere " ipae dixit.;,"
he might. use the word. These dicta were well des-
cribed by Sir Anthony Hart, when he said they were
used to mislead one judge by misrepresenting another.
• lie (MrsFittgibben) heard a judge of equal ability—
the present Baron Pennefather—repudiate the principle-
. or practice of citing in one case what a judge had said
in another : for this reason, what was said in a par-
tieular case was said with reference to the facts proved,
and net said as laying clown a general law, to effect
cases that might be composed of very different facts.
In the ease of the King v. Seymour, there was an in-
dictment against the officers of one parish for conspiring
to throw paupers upon another, and after a verdict
there was a motion for arrest of judgment, as in the
former case. The motion was granted—the judgment
arrested. Lord Penman spoke again, and supported
his former dictum in the case of the King v. Jones.
This was going a great way to establish the correctness
of the point—the same high authority, speaking and
acting similarly on two occasions. It so happened
that in 1839 there was another case before the very
same Chief JuStice, of an indictment for
,conspiring
against a set of persons who opened splendid shops
and induced tradesmen to give them goods on credit
They were convicted, but there was a motion for an
arrest ofjudgment, because it was declared not to be a
case properly Within the law of indictment. Lord Den-
Man had his own dictum cited, but he would not receive
it, and decided against it ; and so far as the authority of
laird Demean in this case went, there was no weight.
elms' JUSTICE—Where is that case reported ?
Mr. Ferzcinnox-s-lt was the case of the King e.
Keck, 2d Adolphus and Ellis. There was also a dictum.
of the late Lord Chief Justice Bushe in the case of the
. King v. Forbes, cited by the Attorney-;General. That
very able man did lay clown the law pretty much in the
same way. Tit his charge to the jury he said—
The CHIEF JUSTICE inquired where this case was to
• be found., •
• Mr. FITZGIBBON—It was at page 347 in Mr. Green's
report of the trial of Forbes and others, charged with
conspiracy in Dublin in 1823. In that charge it was
laid down that when two or more persons confederated
. together for e&cting an illegal purpose- by legal means,
it constituted the crime of conspiracy ; also, that they
were guilty should the object never be effected. He
(Mr. Fi!za°ibbon) cautioned the jury against adopting
. text-books of law, which he compares! to' map-making
—the writers of text-books generally adopting those
which they already found in existence. The Learned
Gentleman next adverted to the case of the King v
Edwards, in East's Pleas of the Crown, in which it
was reported that the Court said the bare conspiracy to
do a lawful act to an unlawful end was a crime. This
was the bare dictum of the Court, describing an offence.
In vain would they look for such a definition in the old •
books, or in the common law. No doubt it was to he
seen in Mr. East's book—a man almost of the present
day, hut no authority. He was not a judge, but a re-
paler, of the dicta o'fjudges. In the case of the King v.
Ede areas, he made a commentary on the decision before
him. th, would now proceed to the second proposition
of the Attorney-General,who told them if the defendants
had been engaged in a common design to obtain the
and sought, they were all equally responsible, and
the acts of one -were to be held as the acts of all. What
was the common design ? To obtain the repeal of the
union, . One million, at least, of their countrymen had
been engaged in that common design. If there be guilt
in that design, then are the million guilty, and they
are involved in one of the most serious crimes that could
he charged-against a subject of the realm. Nothing could
he inure monstrous or more unconstitutional than this.
According to the Attorney-General, the act of every
one of that million is to be taken as evidence against
the entire. The conversation with a person totally
unknown to Capt. Despard, behind a hedge, should, ae-
, cording to the dictum of the Attorney-Genera', he taken
• as evidence .tot only against the trasersers here, but
against all who had been at the meeting, or who mixed
. in, the repeal movement. Could the jury, as men of
. common sense, or as honest men, give their sanction to
a do trine so utterly monstrous? That declaration of the
unknown man behind the ditch, is adduced here as an
overt act against the traversers: The jury were not
there strictly to try whether any of the meetings were
illegal—whether sedition was uttered at those meets
lags. The meetings were in evidence to show that the
repeal of the union was sought by illegal means. It was
only in that way that the question of illgality could arise.
The meeting was brought in to show, that without pre-
vious coacert amongst the defendants it could not have
taken place. Could any rational being believe the story
told by Captain Despard—that 2,000 able-bodied men
had marched all the way from Shilmalier to Tara ?
Did they travel in a balloon, so high in the air that they
could not lie seen ? Did they travel under-ground ?
Did any human being. see them on the way ? Where
is the man, of all the police at the Tara meeting-, to say
he saw a single Wexford man at the meeting. ? Cap-
tain Despard did not see one—nor did any body else.
Captain Da.pard is a handsome-looking fellow, flippant,
clever—a very ready witness, who came here to tell not
, a very prithable story. If he (Mr. Fitzgibbon) had been
a witness to such a fact, he confessed he would be very
anxious to receive some corroboration of so startling a.
statement, that there were 2,000 able men—strong, fight-
ing men—al, Tara, who had come all the way from Shil-
nudier. And it should be recollected, too, that this Shil-
mailer man volunteered this statement of the fighting
men--men of bone and sinew, such as O'Connell
wanted—to the Stipendiary Magistrate, the very indivi-
dual to whom it would be dangerous to communicate it,
-if it were a feet at all. The Superintendent of Po-
lice was standing in immediate contact with Cap-
tain Despard, and must have heard this story ; but
he is not produced, aid yet the jury were called
to believe that such a conversation took plate.
Why was not'Major Westenra produced? He was there
—the pretended Wexford man was there—they were all

in a group, yet the . Major was not produced. Ile
thought he would be able to show them, in the progress
or this case, a little of management. They ware now
in the year 1844, and should do things now a days in
something of a more civilised style than in former
days. It would not, do that a man who had been the
auggester of the matters charged should be produced
as evidence for the, prosecution. In reference to the
devices ou the Repeal card, if Mr. llidbrooke had
been a noisy bustling person—a forward Repealer, a
wearer of the-repeal cap, it would not do to produce
him, for.testimony of that kind would not for a jury
heliad two young men in his employment whose
character had lint been -impeached, and
who had no 1
--
connection with the movement, anti they were produced.
Hvibrouke had been employed by the Association—he is
now. working for the Government—and the facts re- •
garding him had appeared, there would have been a cry of indignation. IVas not there in that evidence of •
management, subtlety, and craft? Combine this with-
holding of Holbrooke with the story of the IVex-
ford man, an-i was it too much to ask the jury to be
lieve, that there was here some signs of contrivance on
the past, of the Crown ? The Attorney-General had
tittot,..d Mr. JuAice Coleridge in upport of his monstrous
prevpOsiiion—he Merely u-ed the scissor,. and cot out '
the itiettan,of that judge. It was, however, only fair to
the man to give the entire of his judgment. (The Learned
Gentleman here read from thz‘ judgment, to show that,
althoueil the- common design was the root ot the charge
of conspiracy, yet there shotild be evidence that

!hei e b:en a pre( ious combin: t:on to use the

same means for a ceminvu end.) The prepusit:on of
the Attorney-General was a fiat, monstrous, and absurd
version of the law of conspiracy. He concurred with
the view of Mr. Justice ColeriJge, taken as a %). hole.
jn the eta:: eiteted,,he had spoke to the jury of act:,
prov- --liikerP.7coultiuiri been no 'mistake as to his
•- • •
Attt.ll2c,:y.

~'~

N. II

1 General was totally unsupported by the judgment of
that Judge. Counsel next referred to the case of the
; King v. Watson, a case of treason, and quOtted from Mr.
Justice Bailey, who, in his charge to the grand jury,
held thidthere must be previous consultation and design
to establish conspiracy. The jury should believe
than the parties actually did consult for a criminal
design, before they could hold them guilty of con-
,' spiracy. He came next to the third proposition of
the Attorney-General, and entreated the attention of
• the jury. Ihe Attorney-General said that, provided a
man subsequently came into the common design, he was
equally responsible as if he had been associated from the
beginning, as a criminal conspirator. Perhaps, by-and-
bye, the Solicitor-General would endeavour to explain,
and get the Atturney-General out of this absurdity,
by contending that the parties subsequently coming in
would become responsible by seditious and illegal acts
—by calling large multitudes, and uttering seditious
speeches. The Attorney-General, -in support of his
propisition, had quoted Mr. Justice Bayley. (Counsel
read from the opinion of that judge, to show that the
cases were not at all analogous.) He would now deal with
another proposition of law of the Attormy-General,
who had referred to the case of Redford and Birnie,.
which arose out of a far-famed transaction in Manches-
ter, in 1820. They had all heardof the meeting on the 16th
of August, 1819, at Peterloo, in Manchester.. Mr. Hunt,
who vj'as in the chair, was arrested, and several persons ;
were killed. Hunt was prosecuted, and the indictment
charged him with a conspiracy. There were three counts.
He was ch urged with con spiracy,con federacy, &c., with the
other persons indicted. The Attorney-General of that day
did not think it safe to ge to trial merely on three counts
for a conspiracy. He knew it would be a novelty to an
English jury, and, therefore, added a tburth count, for
attending an unlawful assembly. They were tried at
York, and the case occupied ten days. The Crown,
strove, by every means, to establish a, conspiracy, which.,
was the very question for trial. before the jury—it
not being competent to any judge to declare any man
a conspirator until twelve men on their oaths, who are
not judges, had found him to be so. That tribunal,
the Jury, decided that Hunt was not guilty of con-
spiracy. They gave that verdict, not because they were
political partisans, or men of one-sided views in politics;
but they gave their verdict as ,honest Englishmen on
their oaths.
_Redford, who had been wounded at the
meeting, brought his action against the man who
wounded him with a sabre. That case was tried. There
was a plea of not guilty, which is as much as to say the
act was not done; but that plea was not always safe,
and there were other pleas, to the effect that the meet-
ing was illegal and the plaintiff, being there illegally,
the defendant only did his duty as a yeoman by assisting
to disperse it. Conspiracy being illegal, it became ne-
I cessary to prove it, and a witness was produced who
had been ill-used by a party engaged in drilling pre-
vious to the meeting. That very evidence must have
been given on Hunt's trial; who, was acquitted of the
conspiracy ;. but when the evidence was tendered on the
civil action, it was admitted by the judge, and the jury
found a general verdict- for the defendant. A motion
was made to set that verdict aside, on the ground of the
admission of illegal evidence. The judges refused to
-set the verdict aside, and the Attorney-General referred
to the dicta of the judges in support of his view of the
conspiracy and illegal meeting. The judges in that
swap only referred to the admission of evidence, as to the
drilling, to go before .•• the jury in a civil action.-7-
And it was in such a case as this that the Attorney-
General sought a precedent and authority to prove a
conspiracy and illegal meeting here. Hunt had been
acquitted of conspiracy, and the judges had not, in
. fact, the question of conspiracy before them. The
dicta of the judges about the admission of evidence of
drilling in Manchester, had been urged by the At-
tornev -General in refrence to the Repeaters, who had
no drilling at all. The Attorney-General had only read
a snrill extract from Lord Wynford; he (Mr. F.) would
read the entire of it, with note and comment. Lord
Wynford referred to the parties engaged in drilling in
Manchester- being armed, in rank and file, and firing at
the word.of command, being ordered to advance at the
sound of trumpet. Such were- the drillings Lord Wyn-
ford spoke of. Was it fair to read the extract the At-
torney-General had read, without bringing under the
notice of the jury the sort of drillings that Lord Wyn-
, lord had spoken of ? A lawyer was bound to state the
law fairly and candidly—a Love all, he was bound to do
so in a Statesprosecution, where a man of his:own rank, in
his own profession, who had been nearly half a century
• distinguished in his profession, was concerned. The Ai-
- torncy-General, in such a case, was more especially bound
to state the law. fairly, when a man was concerned who
hatrbeen so long his admitted superior ,in the profes-
sion, and. who was charged with a crime for which, if
he were found- guilty, he would be .conveyed to a dun-
• neon in the closing period of his life. -Hever there wa,
a case when it became the duty of a barrister in th,-
, discharge of his public duty to prosecute a brother
barrister, he ought to do it fairly, justly, honourably ;
but if in the discharge of that public duty, as Attorney-
General or Crown prosecutor, he aims below the mark—
• if he cites the law for own particular purposes, and omits
passages which he ought not to have omitted—if
he seek a conviction, no matter by what means it is to
be obtained, he is no longer deserving of public respect
or of public confidence. He (Mr. Fitzgibbon) if he
had stooped to act in the manner he had described,
would cease to enjoy his own self-respect. He could
not consent to earn the guilty wages of professional suc-
cess ; he would feel that he had been guilty of an uct of
turpitude, which would for ever disable him from raising
his head in society. The jury,.. he was quite certain,
could not be totally ignorant of the history of their coun-
try, or of the great events which took place in their
hemisphere. They were not ignorant that when Wil-
liam the Conqueror landed in England, the greater por-
tion of the population of the island were bond slaves.
This was an indictment charging the defendants with
the exhibition of great physical force. It did not
charge them with seeking to attain their object by the
use of physical force—the use of it was not; at all con-
templated. An immense mass :of the community were
dissatisfied with a law, and they came forward in large
masses, to express their determination never to cease
their . - constitutional efforts until that law shall
have been repealed. And the Attorney-General calls
that a crime. Was there a crime in the attainment of
Magna Charta ? Was there no exhibition of physical
force at Runnymede, with the Barons in full at mour,
requiring their Sovereign to sign . a charter they had
bought ready made ! That is a charter which no At-
torney-General, no Judge, no King would dare to say,
that, because it had been procured in that way, it was,
therefore, void. But there were other instances in
1 English history of great changes produced by the
very same mcani. Was there, in fact, any great
change produced without them? Was there no ex-
hibition of physical force at the Clare election ?
The people were discontented with the state of the law,
and they sought, peaceably and in large masses, to
effect a reformation. Why was this a monstrous case?
Because the Ministry of the day sought to get into their
hands a scourge to prevent and repress the expression
of popular discontent. He next referred to the
period of the French revolution, when an indictment had
been pryferred..against a great man, Borne Tooke. As
in this case, a chaos of. papers had been. thrown on the
table, and the jury were left to spell their way
throngh them.. That prosecution had been counte-
nanced by the King—it was pressed with all the energy
of the Attorney General and • Solicitor-General
of the day ; but the common sense and honesty
of the jury prevailed—they Anind' -a: verdict of not
guilty. lie (Mr. Fitzgibbon) felt .a . great responsibility
in this case, from a• knowledge of his own deficiency. In
the case of Hardy, publics liberty had for its champion
Mr. Erskine; Hardy was acquitted. They then brought
forward Tooke, and he was acquitted. The Crown still
persevered, but each successive jury defeated their at=
tempts to establish constructive treason, and that was
the last attempt in England.
.At this moment (ta o o'clock) the Court retired for
refreshment. '
During the absence of the judges and jury for re-
freshments, a scene of the most singular, remarkable,
and truly unprecedented character took place in Court
which perhaps it ever fell to the lot of a journalist to
record. It was observed that some hasty observations,
and in a very excited. tone and manner, passed between
Mr. Fitzgibbon and the Attorney-General, and there
was, to use the language of Mr. Sheil, "a hush of public
expectancy and almost breathless silence ;" when, after a
much more protracted absence than usual, their Lord-
ships resumed their seats upon the Bench.
Mr. FITZGIBBON ruse and raid—My Lords, as I was
coming into-Court after having, from the effects of ill-
ness, endeavoured to take a short respite in the library,
after an exertion not very seasonable, . having regard to
the state of any health, a note was put into my hand,
signed by .the Attorney-General, which I ask him now
to read to your Lord.hips.

A short pause ensued, and the Attorney-General
having made no reply,
Mr. FLTZGIBDON continued—My Lords, I hope that
in opening the case. I did very clearly and very plainly
express any sense of the position in which I had been
professionally placed. I think I did very clearly and
plainly express what my opinions and what my feelings
were in respect to the gentlemen who here represent
the Croivn. I very clearly separated any reference in
What I said of my private feelings from what I consi-
dered my duty required of me to express, not in refer-
ence. to themselves personally, but to their conduct in
this prosecution, and I do not think that I
travelled out of the line of my duty in making those
observations. I observed upon no act or thought of 'a
single one of them, except an act done or a thought ex-
pressed in the course of this prosecution. I said very
plainly and distinctly that I would despise myself if I.
left unobserved any point upon which my client might
observe if he were in my position, and defending him-
self • as his own counsel, or I in his, as a '
traverser at the bar, and defending myself.
I pursued what I considered to be the course
and
which my duty indicated, I don't think I went
beyond it. Now, my LordF, I ask the Attorney-Ge-
neral to hand up that note ; and if he will not, I will tell
your Lordships the substance of it. lie tells me in that
note that I have given him a personal offence, and he
calls upon me, if I do not apologise•for it, to name a
friend.—(Sensation throughout the Court.) I need not
advert futther to his position or to mine on the present
c •asion, nor is it nece,3sary fir me to refer to my pecu-
liar ps:,sitit.it at titi tnotm.nt, while defending one of the
•::' 11 4 . "' • '' • '..
Vbi!wa4,i'...llS, shall
,%!
to oU:hi 'll conduct.
111 , ATT.,,,N+A-1 t.:, ER AI. 1.6,e ant said, in rather an
r. FitzglbOn has any application
to eat'. e .11 rourt, let ra.de in the usual form.
1..1 fr..
,!,1 the faxt
s.
1 ti:et. Lve to state '
thilt he attributed to toe in this Court—and it
wa, so taken down in writing by some ofmy
f ends—that my public conduct in the conducting
and carrying on of these prosecutions was influenced
by private and dishonourable motives. By the effect
..• 1.!- 1. tt Ic-40., of its failure or

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