The Sun.
London, England, 1820-09-16 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL JOURNALS.

'We recommend to the attention of the People
at large, and to those to whom the Government
Of the Country is intrusted, the following judi-
cious observations on subjects domestic and fo-
reign, taken from The Birmingham Chronicle Of.
Thursday last :
Satisfied that the public mind must be fully,
sated with the everlasting- recurrence of one dis-
gusting topic; and as anxious to escape from the
Queen's trial, as her noble Judges must doubtless
have felt to be relieved from their wearisome at-
tendance on it ; we shall dismiss the subject, for
the present, with a few brief observations. The
evidence for the prosecution, if such it may be
termed,iis now placed on record. It may be ex-
amined, weighed, awl sifted at leisure. If it is
marked by gross prevarications or palpable con-
tradictions. the credit of the witnesses must
sink at once; and if there are even to be found
in it any of those smaller inconsistencies and
disagreements which may cast a shade of sus-
picion
over their testimony, these will not
'escape the rev •ce and searching scrutiny to
which it may now be submitted. If is to be
hoped, then, that all loud and confident talkers on
the subject will take this opportunity of making
themselves acquainted at least with its pre-
sent bearings; and that none who have the
least pretencelo justice or impartiality will join
in 'the vulgar clamour against Italian witnesses, un-
til they can findin the evidence itself some proofs
of that baseness and perjury which the trumpet
tongues of faction and sedition have so impudently
proclaimed. if any shrink from the labour of
investigating this mass of evidence for them-
selves ; or feel incapable of deducing from it a
distant idea of the nature and extent of.the facts
_alleged against the Queen,and.the intricate com-
bination of circumstances by which they are esta-
' Wished ; to those persons we recommend the
clear, judicious, and temperate statement of the
Solicitor-General ; a statement which does equal
credit to the powers of his mind, and the quali-
ties of his heart, and spews that the_ provoca-
tions and calumnies which have been.sO unspar-
ingly .heaped upon the cause he is professionally
engaged to support, and on all concerned in
bringing it forward, could not tempt him to
forget the, gravity and dignity of the noble per-
sonages lie was addressing, or to lose sight of
that duty -which he owed to them, to justice,
and his country. _ • We have examined this im-
portant statement with all the attention we
could bestow : we have endeavoured coolly and
impartially to weigh the evidence itself : to
trace it through its various ramifications, up
to the hideous facts which it purposes to• sub-
stantiate ; to consider . it in all its bearings,
to scrutinize with becoming- jealousy the con-
duct, and motives, and character of the different
witnesses, as disclosed by a cross-examination
unprecedented, as we believe, in its. length, its
minuteness, and its. severity. Wo hesitate not
plainly.to avow our opinion that their credit re-
mains
Lat present unimpeached. We are. far,
however, from saying, that it is unimpeachable.
el he advecateS of her Majesty have yet to bring
rornara 'her . case—what they may endeavour to
disprove we cannot anticipate—they may shew that
some or all of the witnesses are unworthy of belief;
that some or ail. of the facts.alleged never occur-
But if:thesejacts bg,true nay,if .any -dis-

tinct portion of them be true ; if.the conduct al-
leged to have taken place at Naples, or at Genoa,
at Milan, at Venice; or at the Villa d'Este ; at
Catania, or on board the polacca ; at Aum, at
the Barons, tit Carlsruhe, or at Trieste, be esta-
blished beyond contradiction, what must be the
inference ? Can it for a moment be contended,
that such evidence has not been furnished
" as will lead a reasonable and just mind to
a conclusion of guilt ;" or that " the cir-
cumstances are not sufficient to strike a plain
man ?" It may be easy to scoff at all this ; to
turn with a contemptuous sneer from the ques-
tion ; or to meet it with a bold countercharge of
calumny, and perjury, and conspiracy. But
scoffs and sneers are not arguments ; nor will
they long be allowed to usurp,the place of them;
and no man 'has a right to expect, that witnesses
who are upon their oaths, will be disbelieved,
merely because those who are not on their oaths
venture to charge them with perjury. If the al.
legations are false, let their falsehood be proved;
if the witnesses are base, and bought, and per-
jured, let their baseness be established by res-
pectable testimony ; and let the price and the
purchasers of their perjury be exposed. But,
until this be done, we are bound to oppose the
factious clamour which has been raised against

them ; and in so doing we have a right to expect
the support and applause of those, who, in the
case of her Majesty, have so loudly exclaimed
against the injustice of imputing guilt until it has
been proved.
It is however obvious to remark, that, of all
attempts, that of establishing by perjury such a
charge as is now brought against the Queen, is
the most hopeless. Great as would be the villainy
of those who could project it, their folly would
be still greater.
The Queen's Attorney-General himself will
tell us, that no skill could conceal subornation of
perjury in such a case from detection ; and that
any endeavour to tamper with witnesses, or to de-
feat the ends of justice by withdrawing them
from the search of those who required their testi-
mony for the full disclosure of the truth, would
infallibly entail disgrace and contempt on its
contrivers.
But we are told (and the confidence with
which the assertion is daily repeated seems to
increase, as to a common apprehension its foun-
dations appear to be giving way)' that the inno-
cence of her Majesty will be established beyond
the power of cavil or dispute; and that the foul
conspiracy of her enemies will be completely de-
tected and exposed. We wait with patience for
the accomplishment of these predictions. We
rejoice in the .certainty, that her Majesty's
triumph must be speedily celebrated, if the hour
of its celebration is to arrive at all ; we know

that the truth, whatever it may be, cannot by any
sophistry be much longer concealed ; and that the
impartial decision of a tribunal as honourable as
it is wise, as just as it is patient, will soon relieve
the public mind from a painful anxiety,and a still
more painful subject of thought and discussion.

While the attention, of the nation is singly di-
rected to matters of domestic interest, clouds and
darkness, the forerunners of commotion and mi-
sery, are gathering unheeded in the political ho-
rizon. At any time but this, with what a deep
and fearful interest should we have discussed the
intelligence which every foreign mail brings home
of the progress of the revolutionary spirit through-
out Europe !
Another nation has become its victim*, and
still we are not alarmed. Spain, Italy, and Por-
tugal have fallen under the rod of military revo-
lution. France has hardly escaped ; and though
the foul and bloody conspiracy, which was to
have plunged her once more into the abyss from
whence she has emerged, has been detected and
prevented, scarcely does she dare to congratulate
herself upon her safety : scarcely does she pre-
sume to hope that her visitation, though delayed,
can be avoided. And yet we sleep on in secu-
rity, as if we had learned no lessons from past
experience, and could derive no warning from
the fate of others.

Our own army has indeed most steadily and
honourably withstood the contagion ; and 'Lon!,
we trust it will continue to blend with the gal-
lant. feelings of the soldier, the steady and loyal
attachment to the Laws and Institutions of our
Country, which should be the pride of a Briton.
But woe to the nation which depends for its
safety upon any army, however loyal, gallant, or
brave ! Englishmen should know how to defend
themselves, and their Country, and now, when
domestic treason is abroad, and derives confi-
dence from the success of foreign traitors, they
should rise in arms, a patriot band of volunteers,
prepared to assert their liberties and their safety
against internal foes, with the same ready and
determined spirit which formerly united them
against a foreign invader. We trust, that the
warning voice of experience and observation will
not he raised in vain ; the cry of discord and con-
fusion is abroad, the spirit of evil is stirring ! If
we would meet, and resist, and quell it, our ex-
ertions must be specAy and effectual. Look
back for a few short months, and who would
have anticipated the misery now endured by
Spain, by Naples, by Sicily and by Portugal.
Let us look forward to a few months more of
apathy, and what may be the state of England ! !

Mrs. DAVISON is engaged at the Barnwell
(Cambridge) Theatre, which opens on Monday
next, to perform in both the comedies and farces
for four evenings.
A water-spout was observed from Maidstone
on Wednesday last in a south-west direction, and
it since appears that this singular phenomena
burst over Pembery, in Kent, and its neigh-
bourhood, which in consequence were deluged
with torrents of rain, but fortunately did no very
material damage.
Bow-STREET,--Yesterday Henry Hart, driver
of one of the Hampstead stages, appeared to an-
swer.tp an Information laid against him for carry-
ing more outside passengers than is allowed by
the statute. The facts being proved, he was con-
victed in the mitigated penalty of 51, and costs.