The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-07 00:00:00

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TRIAL BY JURY.—ANNiVERSARY
OF THE ACQUITTAL OF HORNE TOOKE',
DARDY, THELWALL, AND THE PA'
TRIOTS OF 1794.
—The forty-eighth anniversary of the acquittal of the
patriots of 1794, was celebrated on SaturdayliS" the,
friends, admirers, and supporters of that paSidiuin 01
our liberties, Trial by Jury, who dined together iu
honour of the occasion in the large room at Kadlev s
Hotel, Bridgesstreet, Blackfriars.
took the
Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, Esq., M.r.,
Chair shortly after six o'clock. The Hon. Gentleman
was loudly cheered on entering the room. strneege
who were
the steady anlconsistent friends of liberty
present on this occasion, we recognised Colonel Y
Thompson, R. Taylor, Esq.; Major Revell, the Canon
Riego, A. Galloway, Esq. ; C. P. Thompson, Esq.;
P. A. Taylor, Esq.; Dr. Epps, J. Coppock, EV's;
F. T. Hodgskin, Esq.; Barnabv, Esq.; --„Fils'eL,P-;
J.Es€l. ; P. A. Taylor,
.jun., Esq. ; D. San",
Beckwith, Esq. ; E. Coates, Esq. ; ssbo. u
Esq.; H. Batty, Esq. ; W. SiMpSOn, ESC!'
130 gentlemen sat down to dinner. The cloth 11014
been withdrawn, • he
The CHAIRMAN said that the first toast cs 0
should have the honour of proposing to them
s;°l:liich
which ought always to precede every Ot-sr'..t. 11-
formerly had always been given as the first toll
late
though he believed that on many oecasionS,.4%ben.
years that custom had been departed froiti,VTSlft of
J. Hors‘est,
they were met to celebrate a triumph On'titel4 the
the people, they ought always to commence -.4oad
toast of the Sovereignty of tile People';'`4,. late
cheers.) He believed that that custom hat' °' is-
years been departed from out of a meritorious but
il-
taken notion ofgallantry towards the amiable and fre
ha s
lustrious individual who now occupied the throne.: ,
eve.
believed that of all the Sovereigns that more
reigned over this country, none had ever been
ready, both from education-and inclination, to acisa
eel
ledge the authority by which they ruled, `has felt by
Victoria. Whether the same disposition was,„.'es,sur-
the wretched faction who now, unfortunte`:' into
rounded her, and who had forced themselvesloo
power, as much detested by the people as linss,'e But
to the Monarch, he much doubted.—(Cheersq „Sea
the circumstance that such a faction now suroucers-
tinheenQcouelveinthwdaisintih,einbge,satnrdeasshoonnvisd,h3arhtyys s beala reared
be Ppheess.)
to assert, " The Sovereignty of the People. ''
-'4,'„' may
The CHAIRMAN next gave," The Queen ; long
and
she live, her people improve, their laws refornie
the privileges of the people greatly extended?' nest in
The CHAIRMAN then said, that the. to wept
succession was, "An honest Ministry filer
men—good measures." He was afraid that, n'
present system of representatioo, such a wi,pli,"v I)6'
day-dream of a political enthusiaSt, b°,t noany one
lieved that such a wish could ever he real's' sy the
must think that by the toast they intended to lily de•
slightest compliment, or to allude in the sileillies(l,,ooJ
gree, to her Majesty's present Government', by the
cheers and
te
toast,laugh ttehra.)t
thia'etsi‘tiinigni.tsh.trevGwoasveranninen" :t one
which was composed of consistent men/ 3,,r:d would
gave good measures, what were they ? "theta
mention one instance—the gentleman that cbt'sch-eerS
the honour to preside over the Home-office sold
and laughter.) He (Sir J. Graham) had "..ae- ``the
that tke very men with whom he now acted wer.„ had
materials of the worst Cabinet that this coufni•cstefit
ever produced," and yet they now saw this con,',,,ste-
gentleman co-operating with those identical baac'cleers
rials which_ he had so properly described.--(d the
and laughter.) So much for the consistency
dad or
members of the present Administration; the-g„feon;
evil of their measures was proved by the Pres'-fsine°
tion of the country.—(Cheers.) Whilst the sars
manuf cturer, the duped agriculturist, the starviebwere
• tisan, *ere crying " Shame" upon them, trhe.cbter)
meeting at a handsome houseatWindsor--(l'aukr--"
—and proroguing the Parliament until Febrts's that
(Cries of " Shame, shame")—for he
it was not intended to call Parliament
then. The Ministers were right, as far BS the' venal
convenience was concerned. They they for the
majority at their back, and what cared
wishes of the country ? The members of that I=l,y--
cared for nothing but the sports of the e°, of
, (Cheers.) He verily believed that the m. pore
I Parliament was regulated by the partfirght°l9
than by the people.—(Loud cheers 904 iii-11r0b0T.
The Parliament had been prorogued Whel;et again
ing season commenced, and it would n°,,,—ibees pe°P
untogecierstref:lientst,isi
until 'the shooting season was over. 1,1," the Sep
complained of siich conduct, they pointeal° can."'
tennial Act, and said, "Turn us- out if Yell which
(Cheers.) There was a point, however, her% spirit
human patience could not go. There was so
ditchet
abroad in the country- which would 0.03110
5b
. changes. People would not lie dovvn in ..10,
' die tamely. Before they could see an honest
great changes must take place in the state ofro
pad
resentation of the peo le There was a spirit ah
of which the GovernmePntlyid not the slightest notlert
The people must rely upon themselves—mustrthe
themselves boldly—then, and then only, woulat be
wish be fulfilled which was conceived in the
then had the honour of proposing—" honest: 1.0
nistry—consistent men—good measures:'----(Cnneiee to
The CHAIRMAN shortly afterwards again the
propose the toast which was more iminediste;Yi by
object of their meeting—" The purity of Tr'artir
Jury." When he saw himself surrounded by g, jii.
men who half a century ago had witnessed til.eybish
. may, the indignation, and national sorros',
was excited by the exile of the Scotch patriots, the
, Palmer, and the others, and the exultation whitil'hel
acquittal of Horne Tooke, Hardy, and ThellV,3 cl nit
caused, he could not but regret that this toast Bailee
proceeded from some of them. He believed that.til it
never had been a period of British history l°,llvsh,,i,ctil°
was more necessary for the people to stand Li.,sre;
palladium of liberty than the present. T° "rforsi'
the present Government came not so manfullytbs
as William Pitt had done, to attack the libellYsto, b'
subject, but surreptitiously and underhand,, rite
lieved, they were trying to undermine it 11:00 the
as dangerous a manner.—(Loud cheers.) It oiself
especial duty, then, of the Juries who had to tilogsei
of sedition—a charge totally undefined by' the atheit
the country—to be on their guard, and to defeil tor
, oppressed brethren. Persons charged with higDwitolet
son, it had been said, " were covered with the see
armour of the law." So clearly had the law 'reel
what it was that constituted treason, while it iitie t
completely and entirely in the mind of some rumen
partisan Judge, who might be selected by Govereaitioa'
to try the cause, to define what constitutedri at he
It rested entirely with the Judge who presid, srite.se'
trial of any unfortunate person accused of tliA'sge 107
to state what really constituted sedition. J°"7.esPee”
frequently indulged in a great latitude in this the le'
arid he should be glad to see an alteration i° 045'
on this subject.—(Cheers.) He alluded t°A t thnef
consequence of what had recently ties
trials of the Special Commission in the et' bae`t
Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire• tril ad 01,°t
0"
that there was not an individual present TIILCS
read the charge of one of the Learned °Thine"
had '
been selected by the Government for that
re cot'
ant duty. If the account of that charge Wethe
rect—if the Special Juries who were to rit*'sdilijts.;
soners were to be misled, as no doubt the ",,absersl"
had been by Lord Abinger at Liverpool--k ountrYci
no man's liberty—nay, no man's life in theicd' Continue;
would be safe if tried by that individual."' never 05:
cheering.). He said, therefore, that there main
time in which it had been more necessalitst° 'doubt%
the independence of Juries.—(Cheers.) swift'f;
not that many persons there had read DearnfbeDe%
"History of Political Lving."—(Laughter.) Wer't
there said that the Whigs and Tories of hi', -best e
bOth celebrated for lying, but which had tate, swig'
it it was difficult to say.—(Laughter.) Pf4ii-scloi°
hays toe
cose
ever, had lived in these days, he W•ould
ifi
Abinger and a gentleman sitting at the 11,°111,5
equal to any of them.—(Cheers and latignte; ``hat
illustration of his opinion, he would tell tl e7;icb the
occurred on the evening of the day upon le
Commission was sent into the country. In the
Dean had
of Lying" to which he had alluded, the ifying
This "terr
o'f the
styled one lie the "terrifying
lie" the Government had studied, for on Or oe raereci
clay of the issuing of the Commission, they "%try,' °4
arrests to be made in different parts of the cou as 011°
well as in London.—(Cheers.) Several Peri, °Pci
terrifyo t he others, ,
were called Chartists, F. O'Conner, Pen)l7llY,'
non the
wtheerepaarbrleisetednnianidid, faonrwdhatot Object ?
impress urbetch'
Juries the idea that a dreadful conspiracy' livers')
ing—that a fearful revolution was on foot.-- to those
These were charged with offences equal „,01011.
Enormous bail was demanded at
alleged against Horne Tooke, Hardy, and„ -Les„sfices,
th
and the leading Ministerial papers stated,orn" soling
polie.Lat the
tinooisksi"plac
offence with which they were charEed was s..ai corn"
Speel trials
very little short of treason. -1.11 the • s
onviete-s'
were c sisones,
some of them were transported, and many iiinSeipiine,
went
—in
place—man
intoworkn g the
inencountry
which, under the present state of p= -n
isster
h.—(Chk•ers.)
was worse than execution, for it was a
Loadoil '
take their
to ...st twit
parts of the country, on goiwzr do"
trials, foun 1 that the charges 'brought ago3,l",ii 003_0
Tbose persow
were frivolous, and on giving one-eighth, aO, Jai.oeil,
instanees, one-tenth of the b:til oriolnally ci.e!tueril was
they were liberated.—(Cheers.) Smuch a s%4stt those
disgraceful to any Government ; and
,‘ ::;uld
th
people should be put upon their trial, tile.Y %.#l4 had 110
have an opportunity of .seeing if these aft.
rtcrrcd:
been made merely for the purpose of' exciti. juyte,
the minds of those who would have to seilevu,as.lol3:
and to impress on them the idea that there
oro.
ing some great conspiracy against the ViroPepess3
safety of the kingdom.—(Cheers.) If " be el:,
511 d 113° -
were really guilty, it was right they
victed ; but he trusted the Jur:es It ,t 1 IV" tO 141
judgiliiTto bee°
try them would not allow their
warped by any such charge as that whio