The Sun.
London, England, 1819-12-11 00:00:00

lONIAN ISLANDS.-SANTA MAURA.

Sir C. MONCK wished (0 put a question to the
Noble Lord (Castlereagh) on the subject of a
statement which he had recently seen in owe of the
Public Papers, respecting an insurrection . said to
have taken place at Santa Minim. He wished to
know whether the Nob% Lord could give any ac-

count of the nature r,f that insu; rection, and whe-
t her it had been quel!eil ?

Lord CASTLEIMAGH said, he was not then pre-
pared with any official information on the subject.
From the last aCConflt3, however, that had been
received, it appeared that tranquillity was re-
stored; that the people had returned to their. duty,
and seemed sensible.. of the impropriety of their
condilet.

Sir C. MONCK wished to be informed, whether
the tax which had given rise to the insurrection
had been withdrawn ?
Lord CASTLEREAGH was unable to give any
positive infornta►i„o upon the subject at present'.
The tax was a local one for the improvetent of
that part of the island. •
Sir C. Alotvmsaid, the Noble Lord must know
more than he did on the subject. He begged
aeair► to ask, whether the tax. had been with-
dra ?

Lard CASTLM.AGI-1 repeated his former an-
swer, and added that, as far as be knew, the tax
was not withdrawn.

The House then adjourned at Eight o'Clock.

LAW IN FELLIGENCE.

COURT OF ICING'S BENCH, DEC. 10.

bfACERONI V. MURRAY.

This was an action against the defendant for
publishing a libel-in the 37th Number of The
Quarterly Review, reflecting upon the character of.
the "1:!ie plaintiff's case was conducted
by Mr. 1-I.ll,and I.lr. Abraham ; and the defen-
dant's by Mr. Stificitor•GLretal, Mr. Gurnty, and
Mr. De,,mtn.

The case 1y3.5 in substance this :—The
a subject of this couott y, had been Aid,du-Camp
of J-,,achirn Murat, King of Naples, during the
Empire -of Boonaparte. After the death of that
personage, whom the history of the late sear chews
to have been shot, in cons toienee of Ills aiding Boo-
naparte a•ter his return from Elba, the plaintiff
Caine to this coitio,y, and published-a woik en' it b-al
"A
-Sketch of tba- Military an 4 Palitical.Power of
Buonaparte, with in erecting facts rrspectiog the
death of Joachim- Murat." In that pablicatioo
the plaintiff gave a history of his connexion with
Murat, to whom he was Aid.dw Camp, which
comprehended a detail of the treacherous conduct
of that person, already known to the public. Soon
after this work caine out, a. critique appeared in.
the 37tu Number of The Quarterly Review num,
it, of which the defendant was the publisher; and
the eriti'qu'u,., in:advering to the :aork and the
plaiutiff's own conduct, as therein described by
hipaself, drew rx Comparison between him end Mu-
rat, in which the following expressions, which
were the subject of the action, were used He
has little lesson to apprehend . the tionoarahle
mode of death inflicted On his thaster—his'voca-
lions seem to be to another kind cif exit," theau-
jug, as the declaration alleged, that the plaintiff
de,erved. to be honked.
The SOLICITOR Ge N anat., in his address to the
Jury, on the'belialf of the defendant, contended
that the criticism, which w,s the subject of the
action, was a (air and candid review of the plain.
tiff's comket • and of his work, as it appeared in
.print, and that the offensive observations and
conclusions emote-such,'as 'every honourable mind,
reviewing the circumstances of the case, must ne-
cessarily draw. He adverted, in an able _and
powerful speech, to the facts admitted in the
plaintiff's pamphlet to prove the force of his ar-
gumeto. The plaintiff, a British subject, was Aid.
dn-Camp to Murat, a Sovereign then in open hos.
tility with England. Murat baring lien driven
from Naples by the Austrian Power, during the
interval of an armistice, the Emperor of Austria
had entered into a negociation, through the roc.
ilium of the plaintiff, by which it was stipulated
that Murat was to abandon' all future projects of
resomiug his dominion it) Naples, on condition
that he should have an honoorable retirement
to a private station, in the Austrian dominiowc,
for which the plaintiff and '4ere to have
passports, to enable them to go to the place of
retirearent, This negociation terminated in
ratification of its terms, and it was understood
that Murat was wholly to 51)4100n att:expedition,
which he meditated against Naples ; but in con-
travention of his agreement, he resumed his ex-
pedition, and made a descent upon Calabria after
Buonaparte bad left Elba. It had been stipulated
that the plaintiff should apprize the Captain of
the British fleet stationed at 134itia,s:iould Murat
attempt to break his engagement. The plaintiff,
however, knowiog that Murat, in breach of his
pledged faith, intended to proceed wi:h the expe-
dition, did not give the British Officer any inti-
mation of the circumstance, until 24 hones after
Marat's expedition haul sailed. It appeared from
the plaintiff's own publication, that he had re-
ceived 40,000 francs through the medium of bills
drawn upon Messrs. Perigand And Co. Bankers at
Paris, which the Learned Solicitor contended
Was the price of his treachery. He urged, that
from the facts thus disclosed, it was not too much
to impute to the plaintiff the grosse'st dereliction
of his duty, tiny, that of high creation, by serving
against his lawful Sovereign in the cause of an
alien enemy. After a most powerful and eloquent
address to the Jury, lie insisted that they, as men
of common sense, must find their verdict for the
detendant.

The Jury immediately rose to give their verdict
for the defendant, but tl►e Chief Justice haVing
expressed his wish that they should hear the case
to its end, his Lordship proceeded to sum up,
ith such observations as occurred to him ; the
elfeCt of which was, that -the supposed libel was
nothing more than a fair criticism upon the plain-
tiff's condoct; as well as his work.
The Jury immediately found for the defendant.
COBBETT'S POLITICAL REGISTER.