Star.
London, England, 1825-08-12 00:00:00

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14 N.

et the ruLet end of the Ebbing rod' firm that to which
tl.e line was' bathed—(d laugh). The Learned Gen,
Veinal) theu'fkad the first libel. It was, he said, an
adtertiSement-aoldl mankind, or at least to all man-
kind to whornike latmberland racket was sent, nOt
toj
eityloy such a man as Mr. Wheatley for their atco.rney,
inasrinitit as lie was .destittite• of all those qualities of
discretion and conduct which it was esointial fur an
~t.tcrney to possess.. Such 'was the firi; libel of which
his client complained. He then read 'and commented
un 4e second libel ; and added,that the Jury would now
see the way in Is hick things were conducted by the pol-
luted pat t of the press..- It was proceedings like these
which brought the public press into di4epute, and ten-
den d those who were its best ft iends'ainv.st doubtful of
the ben fits of unfettered and untesoicted discussion.
Ile wa. so t y to find that if for ptivate pique any skulk-
ing villain thought fit to put into the slight slit in the
uiudow of Nlestrs. Peile and Gibson, any anonymous
slander, those Gentlemen were ready to print it, after
the manner he would not say of their bent-Ts, hut of
thosf ;I•ealtere, whom they profess• dt, i:nkote. He
ailed whether calumnies such as the defendants Lad
disseminated against the plaintiff could be tclerated w ith
i,.:iotnity? The plaintiff said %Ism Yh y were utteily
a;.J dated the defendant to justify them. His
assertion w s CO armed .by the conduct of, Ow defend-
a..ts. They Irad pleaded no justification ; and yet, if
any pan of th. ir %tot), hod been true, it would have
he.ti useful to plead it, Ili it Would have gone far in
mitigation ssf dartnagei.—The Learned Counsel then
C tiled witnes.es.-
Willi,. en Wearers worth,Esq the author of 1 Ile Fscursine.
examined. by Mr. BROUGHAM—I am head distributor of,
...tarniis in the whole of the county of %Vest motland, and
t-e disticrof Cumberland in which the Cumberland
Packet is primed. I produce an affidavit from the
S deep-s ffice; also two numbers of the paper—that of
the 29. h March, and that of the sth Aptil last.
Cross-examined by Mr. Sealtirr—My Learned Friend, Mr.,
Drou&liam, has alluded to yes, I believe, Mr. Wordsworth, as a
Gmtlemaa more conversant in poetry than eater himself or rue—
may I ask you, have you read the poetical line taken by this paper
far its motto, of which my Learned Friend gave so flourishing a
description?-1 have many a time when I was a boy, 40 years ago.
When you and I were at Cambridge, together, Mr. Words-
worth, should vi.? not, front the rhythm of the' syllables, have
divided this enormous line into four verses ?—ln my younger days
it used to be printed in four lines.
In the course of your poetical studies, did you ever meet with
line containing so many syllables?—l did not know that it was
printed as one line till I heard Mr. Brougham say frO. I never met
au long a verse in my life.
The papers containing the paragraphs charged as libellous were
handed in, and the paragraphs read by the usual oaken
Mr. t-CARILLT r thin proceeded to address the Jury
f r the delendants. In the course of his experience he
had seen several extraordinary actions fur libel, but ht.
remembered none in which the labour of Countei had
been so great, and in which the libel complained of had
been so trifling, as in the present ac ion. His Learned
Friend, amid the difficulties by which he was beset, in
the management of this cause, had thought fit to wan,.
tier eta of the record to vent his indignation against
What he called the polluted pact of the press.• What
part of the press his Learned Friendmeant to designate
by those expressions he did not pretend to know; but
probably it was that part of it which differed from him
hi political opinions. His Learned Friend had also
v ar.dered out of hi. road to abuse the line which formed
tl.e motto of the paper published by the two defendants.
His Learned Friend had represented it as a line as long
as that-appended to a fishing-rod. It might be so, ae.
c' rding to Lis Learned Friend's mode of reading k;
hut he read it as four harmonious and melodious lines.
He-said nothing of the poetry which they contained;
but four lines of verse they acre, if he had ever seen a
verse in his life. Let the Jury read them thus:
V.Thera moderation dwells, the soul admits
Distinct ideas and mauled debate :
Ai: eye impartial, and an even scale—
Hence wisdom sound and unrepenting choice."

In that University where he and Mr. Wordsworth bad
t' e good fortune to be educated, there would be no
doubt that these lines were four lines of blank verse,
whatever doubt there might be as to the fact in that
University cf which his Learned Friend was to be the
founder—(,4 lau,glt, in the midst of which Mr. Brougham
said, " At any rate we wi 1 not write four verses in one
line.") His Learned Friend, who could not allow an
oportunity tif hitting his political opponents to pass
by him, had accused the defendants of publishing a
wry offensive and a very dull paper. He would not
s3y that their paper was a dull one; but if it were, he
would say so 'much the better for the plaintiff, since
ealun;ny it contained would be less read. What
was The charge against the plaintiff in this libel ? That
be had received a reptimand from a Bench of Magis.
trates for rudeness and officiousness. For his own part,
he could'not see how words like these could be construed
ilto a libel on the, character of aa attorney. He bad
never heard it stated that it was necessary for an attorney
to be the pink of politeness. Why, every man in the pro-
fession of the law was busy, •bustling, and officious.
He himself was so; so, too, was his Learned Friend.
The Learned Counsel then read through the paragraphs
complain d of by. the plaintiff, and contended at great
length.thu they contained nothing libellous.
Mr. Limn litiLsocx summed up the case, and told the Jury. if
they thought either paragraphs libellous, very moderate damages
would, in his opinion, satisfy tare justice of the case.
The Jury considered for a few minutes and then returned a
verdict fur the plaintiff—Damages One Shilling.
Stutturrr.—ls this a case, my Lord, fur a certificate?
Baron If ut.r.oce.—l will consider of it. I think that, un-
der the circumstances, it is possible that I may grant it.
llootranaw.—lf any apology had been offered, this action
would never have been brought.
Mr:: Eaton lium.oce.-1 think your client badly advised in
brir3log it.