The Sun.
London, England, 1819-11-10 00:00:00

SEDITIOUS PUBLICATION&

Mr. Cote!Nsost yesterday attended at Marl.
borough-street Office on he part of St. James's
Parish, and sugges•ed to the Magistrate, It. liaxEß,
Esq. that the th:cision of the present case would
prove of some importance to the pttttlic ; the pro.
ceeding was against certain individuals who were
in the habit of placarding the outside of their shop
windows on the Lord's-day, announcing that cer-
tain Seditious Pamphlets were sold there, which
induced persons to enter and purchase them. He
attended at the request of the Vestry, and had
witnesses to prove the act of selling the works.
Mr. Cardey, bookseller and news-vender, of No.
20, Silver-street, Golden-square, was the first
person charged •in the information, founded on the
Statute of the 29th of• King Charles the Second,
chapter 7, which specifies, that if any person per-
forms or exercises certaia worldly labour, husi-
ness, or work of his ordinary calling on the
Lord's-day, the same not being a woik of charity
or necessity, according to the Statute, he dues
subject himself to a penalty of five shillings, on
the case being brought before a Magistrate.
Mr. BAKER to defendant—)o you plead guilty
or not guilty ? Mr. Cardey—Why, positively I
can't plead at all, because 1 am not aware thael,
have committed any offence.
Magistrate—You have committed an offence by
selling seditious publications on ihe Lord's-day.
Mr. Cardey—l must plead Not Guilty, because I
do not think 1 have offended, unless getting my
living is an offence against the law.—He pleaded
Not Guilty.
Mr. I3owser, a Constable of St. James's parish,
after being sworn,-said, that on the 24th of Octo-
ber, according to instructions that he received
front the Vestry of the parish, be went to Mr.
Cardey's shop to purchase Mr. Carlile's pamphlet
called The Republican. Mr. Conley was gone out,
and a boy in the shop served him with one, and
he paid for it. The outside of the shop was
placarded with different papers, and he saw seve-
ral persons go in to purchase., and they were
served with papers, -being at the time during Di-
vine Service on the Sabbath-day.
Magistrate—What have you to say, Mr. Card
dey ?
Mr. Cardey—Why I confess that I have bills
outside my dobr, announcing different publica-
tions, on Sunday, and I have served several per-
sons the same as other newsvenders. The news-
papers are stamped to sell; and of course I dispose
ed of them without any appiebension, and ac-
cording to law..
Magivrate—l know of no law that allows you
to sell on Sundays ; besides, you have no business
to sell them, or to have your place placarded out-
side your windows ; for that alone you are liable
to be punished.
Mr. Cardey—Then I suppose, your Worship,
we are not allowed by law to sell a Newspaper on
Sunday ?
Magistrate Certainly not.
Mr. Cardey—For what reason, your Worsblip
Magistrate--Because•it is not a work of neces•
sity or charity.
Mr. Cardey—Why are we pitched upon ? Why
not proceed against the fountain head ? 1 have
even served the head Clerk of this Office with Pa-
pers on a Sunday.
Magistrate—We know that ; notwithstanding
you are a seller of sedition and blasphemy. I
have frequently passed by your house myself for
the last two years, and you have seen me no doubt
stop and read the papers you have bad on your
windows.

Mr. Cardey—l have, Sir; if you say I have no
right to sell Newspapers on Sundays, I beg you'll
let me have the summons, and I'll stick it outside,
and have mitten upon it—" No Papers to be
sold on Sundays."
Magistrate--That would come under the Act,
having a paper outside your window on the Lord's-
day. . .

Carder—l shall continue to sell thew on
Sundays.
Alagistrate—lf you do, you'll be punished.

Cardey—l cannot see what oftence there is
ti what I have done.

He was convicted in the penalty of ss. and
costs, %Nikkh amounted to S. which he very re-
luctantly paid, asserting, that be would continue
the practice as well as others, as the Newspaper
Offices were guilty of the same, and none of their
papers of Sunday could be sold according to the
present proceeding.
Mr. William Swainley, of Pulteney• court, Gol-
den-square, was charged under the statute with a
similar offence. In his defence he said, that he
did not belong to the_ shop ; his son was a crip-
ple, and not able to work, and he set him up in
the business of a newspaper-seller,
.to procure an
honest livelihood, which he always bad; but he
found that the more honest a man got his living,
he was the worse treated ; none but rogues were
protected.
Magistrate—That language, I suppose, you
think will serve you ?—Defendant—l am under
hail at present for my son, for selling The Repub-
lican.

Magistrate—What ! for selling libels ?—De-
fendant— Your Worship' may thick it a libel, but
for myself I can see no libel in its contents.
The Magistrate said be could not convict, the
father for the action of the son, but suggested to
Mr. Collinson, if the practice liras continued, to
proceed against them by a fresbjnformation, and
intimated to" the parties that they would not be
allowed to sell the papers on Siindays, or to have
placards outside their windows.

Mr. Shorter. of Wych-street. Mr. Harris, of
Broad-court, Drury-lane, Mr. Watling, and se-
veral other venders of seditious publications, were
yesterday served with ex-officio informations for
misdemeanours. in publishing certain seditious-
libels on the 7th and 15th days of September
last.—The newsmen who were held to bail- Fir
selling certain numbers of The Republican of Car-
lile, and against whom bills of indictment were
not tuund by the Grand Jury of Middlesex, have
received notice that the Attorney-General intend*
to move the Court of King's Bench for criminal
informations against them for the sale of the nutn
bets question.