Star.
London, England, 1831-07-08 00:00:00

LAW REPORT.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, 01.11.DRA1.1 ....JOLV 7
Sittings at Nisi Penis, before Lord TENTIRDIM ..o.d
Special Jury.
TIM BIRO V. CORBETT.
This was an indictment againet the &fen& nt, Nlr. Wt...
Cohbett, for the publication of a libel, calcuLtcd to ram:
the labouring classes of the country to acts of outrage anti
violence.

About half-past nine o'clock, before the Judge had yet
appeared in Court, Mr. Cobbeu, accompanied by hi. son
and several friends, entered, and took his seat belliA the
bar, amidst loud cheers and clapping of bards from the spec-
tators, which continued for some time. As soon as the
cheering had in some degree subsided.
Mr. Cobbett turned round to the auditory, and said, It
the truth prevails we shall but them." This was followed
by another demonstration of feeling, after which quietness
prevailed.

As soon as Lord TENTICIIDEN took his scat on the
Bench, the following Jury were sworn :

John Evans,
Joseph Bishop,
Richard Beeston,
James. Il'ilkin‘on,
Joseph Leggin's,
Thomas Jenkins, commou JUROR.
Richard Storey, John Sceley.
Hari Grey, Lord Durham, and Mehl's:l'k of Blandford,
took their seats on the Bench; and Mr. Itelactt, or
was also In Court.

SPECIAL JURORS.
Thomas Morley,
John %Vox&
Junes Frisby,
Win. John Lawaon.

The ArtrozwEr-Otwzitax then proceeded to a ate the
case to the Jury. Before he made any obarva to a upon
the case itself, he felt it to be his duty to adve t oac r-
oes:ranee which had taken place under :heir own ob er a.
tion, becaue he felt it was calculated o irate fere wi h .he
due adnfniuration of justice. He had been -nforised that
the de indent had entered the Court et ended by a large
body of persons, wl o n he had himself calved together, by
an ouncing in his &Atter that the trial was to come on,
and who might therefore be a mimed to be a betted to his
in rest, and to participate in h s principles. He u tder•tood
alto that the defendant had aid:. sal these persoas, stating
to hem that if truth prevailed ha should have a v,:rd:ct„ and
th t hie obserta ion was teceiv.d with shouts of applause
from th_ sarrounding crowds. This, however, he should not
have no iced had it not happened in the pretence of those
from whom the Jury were t t Le chosen, who, it they were
tmd ar weak me.., m ght be thereby a:armed. He was
c minced, however, that, whatever spirit might exist
=angst p.irsons then in Cour, the fen 1 mea whom Ire
t e addressed would think eu.h api it o un-afe guide
for the:, judgment. He did not Wall to imply that
he enterta ned any idea that they would yield to this
spirit of intimidatien, but he el d mean to say that it
was calculated, sad pro:Addy also was intended, to
produce that effect. Ile did Lot, believe, hoe ever, that they
would permit such an imputation to rest upon them, or that
they would be by such means diverted from the exercise of
their duty. The question for their consideration was, whe.
ther the defendant had been guilty of publishing a libel cal.
culated to excite the agricultural population to Kt. of vio-
lence and outrage, to the disturbance of the peace of the
country, and whe her he published it wilfully with that in.
tendon ? The paper which con:tilted the libel was published
on the 11th of December. He felt that it was unnecessary
for him to call the attention of the Jury to the dreadful a.tel
alarming state of the country at that period. Instead of
Inflaming at such a period the minds of the lowest and the
moat ignorant of the community, one would suppose that
any person possessed of the common feelings of humanity
would have endeavoured to allay the irritation, and prevent
those mischiefs to which it had unfortunately given rise.
Mr. Cobbett h re interposed, and said the opening of the
Attorney. General charged him with intending to exist.,
whereas the indictiLent charged him with taming—a very
material difference.
Toed TENTERDEX said that the Counsed had a right
to state his argument as he thought proper, and in due
time Mr. Cobbett would have an opportunity ot• being
heard.

Mr. Cubbett said that he was also in the indictment stated
to be a labourer.

bold Trams's= sail that, in law, the designation was
001Tett.

The Arruaoar •GICSLRAL—You see, Gentlemen, the spirit
of this gentleman.
Mr. Cobbett—Labourer if you please. You called me 34
in the indictment, and you must stick to it.
Lord TENTIRDEN intimated that if the defendant did not
conduct himself better he would try the cause without
him.
The Arronsair-GziomaL then proceeded to say, that
whether gentleman, as he had perhaps improperly called
him, or whether labourer, as he might have been
called with equal impropriety in the indictment, still the
Jury had then the opportunity of witnessing the spirit
by which he was animated. He culled upon the
Jury to say, when they should have read the libel,
whether its tendency could be doubted. Unless a man were
a lunatic, he must be aware of the consequences of pub.
fishing Mel language ; and the defendant, who was, per.
haps, one of the greatest masters of our language that had
ever 'written in it, could not, therefore. he taken as one who
did not know the effect which was likely to be produced by
that which he had writt.n. It was impossibl. to dive into a
man's heart to know by what motives be was actuated,
and the motives, therefore, could only be drawn from the
obvious tendency of his acts. tie could not see why the
defendant should object to the term labourer being applied
to him; for every one, no matter what his profession, who
had no fortune, and who earned his bread by the sweat
of his brow, was in his opinion, so properly designat.
ed. The defendant mtglo, perhaps, indulge in some
hurnoroas °hurried/at:a upon this, in order to raise a
laugh, and create an indifference in the minds of the
Jury as to the probable effects of the ItLel thick
on the minds of the r feLow-crattures. It was quite unne-
cessary fur him to call evidence to shoe the s ate of the
country at the time, for in the very &gist, r which eon.
tained the libel it was fully admitted, (torn the defendant's
own pen. Violent mobs went about breaking 'limiting-
machines. and for the first time acme tires took place, per-
petrated by masses of people. It was no uncommon thing
for a proprietor of large stores, at night, to wake in tt•e
morning, and find himself a beggar, and a houstlesa wan.
derer. The whole of the Regiater, cf the date he had men.
cloned, was of importance; but he would only extract Well
parts as would bear out the indictment, and tie would then
leave it to the Jury to say, after they should have heard
the defendant, whether it was or was not a libel. The
libel was ushered in with a motto, taken f. um it former
Number of the Potence! Register, to this effect : " At last
it will become a question of actual starvation, or fightiug
for load ; and wlton it conies to that, I know that English.
Imo sill not submit to sit down by hundreds, and starve
by y e way-ilde." Then came the general title—" A
Rural War," a• if the peasantry were titan in the nature of
troops carrying on war with Cte Gaverimietit. Titan
came a lett r t ) the people of Hampshire ei..d
shire about tithes, and other matters ; but the
pan cult paragraph to which he wuuid caul their
attention sam to this effect : " In tie w4.ipubile
the I arsons are reducing their uthes with consfelgfable
alacrity. tl ought it comes from them like dropsof blood.; but
it must all c me, and quickly come, or England will never
know even t e wppcarance of peace. We should not do evil
that goof mey come of it ; but without entering iota the
motives of the rioters, it is certain that their acts do good.
g. 0.• g cud ton. They have been always oath told are
told now; and by the same parson whom I have quot•tl above,
that their acts o: violence, and paeticularly their tmrning,
will do Ito good ; for they destroy the rood which might re-
lieve them. But, alas ! they know Letter. Tile j ow well
that one throilitng-machine takes the wage,, trout ten men ;
acct as for the food, it would not come to them ; and potatoes
and salt do not burn. The argument, therefore, •as not
worth a straw. They see that good dots come, and come
quickly too ; foe they get some bread iiistearai of toe corn
Ihey burn ; and while they know this, it is in vain to en.
deavoar to persuade them that their acts of violence do co
good • • • • Wiih respect
to the tithes, the farmer knows very well that they are an
evil, for what the parson takes in the shape of tithes, is
just so much taken from him. They take a tenth of the
produce of the whole land, all of which is so it arch loss to
the agriculturist, with the exception of what is egsisi laid
out its labour in the parish ; and this is a nitre uifie com-
pared with what goes to the East and West Indies, to the
wine growers, to footmen, and to othet uopnaluctive classes
and so far front applying this in a wage .beuefioal to the
payers of tithes, it is generally applied tossoischievous put.
poses in the perish." Here the people were partly told eh.. r
mach no breaking, burning of corn, violence, *;.,lead s—
led to the reduction of tithes. Such a libel, ho samoodest.,
was calculated to produce a repetition of those canoes •
which the Special Commission had thought it necessary to
punish so severely; to the extent, in some instances, .4
death itself. Another part of tha libel went onto say that

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nod

the eitmluct of those men who were engaged in the disturb-
ances was free from feri.eity tweeds their savage prosecu-
tors. They had not attempted neither life or limb, except
in the case of the two hired overseers, whom they had
trundled out of a parish. Had they burned their persecutors
in thc!r beds, which it was in their power to have done ?
had they beaten them severely, as it was in their power to
have done ? Still all except that hellish crew would say that
they had no other means of obtaining safety from starvation."
The tendency of all this, he thought, was not to be mistaken
or resisted. It was endeavouring to place the law in the
hands of those who were incapable of acting, except on the
principle of revenge ? What, he would ask, would be the
result, if such things were not to be treated as crimes?—
Those unfortunate persons might be the objects 'of compas-
sion, as b.ing misled by such v riters as the dyfendant, who,
:n the possession of evcty comfort of life, and sitting quietly
in his closer, could yet incite them to their ruin. Such a
Fuson' he thought, should be pursued with every severity
that the law allowed, tempered, however, with as much of
mercy as the public safety would admit of. He had laid the
rase before the Jury with as little aggravation as possible.
It was for them to say whether it was or was not a libel.
and Gon forbid that any motive whatever should induce
them to depart from the strict line of their duty. If they
should have any doubt upon the subject, there was nothing
to take this case out of the general rule, which gave to the
defendant the benefit of that doubt.
The publication was then proved; after which, at the re-
quest of the defendant, the indictment was read, and by the
desire of Mr. Gurney passages were read from the Register,
to show that acts of violence were being at that dine perpe.
nested.
Mr. Cobbett then addressed the Jury in his defence, and
said, that the feeble attempt of the Attorney-General to
prove, by his speech, that this was a libel was rendered nu-
gatory altogether by the agreeable twaddle of Mr. Gurney,
who had caused passages of the Register to be read which
must convince the Jury that he had no such intention as
that imputed to him in writing the article in question. That
trial had not beetle that day, but on the 16th of December
last. He wished to impress this upon their minds. That
trial had been going on every day since the 16th of Decem-
ber last, when it was commenced by 658 Gentlemen who,
with little intermission, had been endeavouring to convict
him. The attack did not even cease until the last night
but one, when Mr. Bruce had said that until Cobbett and
Taylor were put down, there could be no peace in the
country. Lod Plunkett had complained the other night
of attacks made in the Hotise of Commons, and said that,
whether true or fabc, they were generally adhesive. He had
been tried twice over by both parties, the Tories and the
Whigs, and both were of opinion that this was a most abo-
minable publication ; and, Ist that should not be sufficient
to raise a prejudice against him, what they said in the House
of Commons was re-echoed by the hydro mouths of the 300
newspapers which they had in their influence. He would in
the first place, endeavour to remove the falsehoods that
had been circulated against him in the House of Com-
mons—which had, in effect, made the whole country a
Jury in his case. First, Mr. Trevor brought the case
forward in the shape of a resolution, and then it
was withdrawn. Then, again, after a time, it was
re-produced, and then the whole matter was transferred
into the county of Sussex ; after which again the House of
Commons wound up the whole by what took place there
the night before last. After all this it now came before the
Gentlemen of the Jury to deliberate upon, having taken
every step to make them, by the prejudices they had excited,
the instruments of the vengeance of the prosecutors. With
respect to the liberty of the Press, he might have no great
reason to complain, if every publication was similarly dealt
with. In that case he should not object, for they would
all go to gaol together, and the prisons would have to be
enlarged under the administration of this Whig Govern-
ment. The Gentlemen of the Jury had often heard and
read of the love which the Whigs bore towards the
liberty of the Press, and no one professed a greater regard
far it than one Sir Thomas Denman, and yet, within
the six months that they had been in office, they
had commenced more prosecutions agaiust the Press
than the Tories had done for the preceding seven yews.
If the Whig Government lasted there could be no question
but that the gaols would have to be enlarged. The Acts of
1819, called the Six Acts, had laid some heavy shackles on
the Press, insomuch, that no man could begin to print now,
until he had given security to the extent of 4001. It was
formerly only 3001. but by a b:11 of Sir James Scarlett's it was
raised to 4001. Since then, however, a measure of greater se-
verity had been adopted, by which the judge, if he thought
proper, might instantly pass judgment of fine and imprison-
trent on him, if he should be found guilty, which he did not
anticipate, instead of waiting according to ancient practice
until the term following his conviction. This law deprived a
person of the opportunity of making his domestic arrange-
ments for the conduct of' his family and business, and was
fer more cruel than the other to which he had referred.
These arbitrary laws against the Press had been, it was true,
mule by the Tories, but they had been enforced by the
Whigs, who were so fond of die liberty of the Press; but
cone of whom talked of repealing those odious statutes
which held the Press in slavery. When they were first pro-
rosed the Whigs opposed them ; but, coming into office,
they thought it advisable to keep them, and a nice use they
had made of them. The words of Shakspeare might be ap
plied to them in this respect, with a little alteration—" They
are no traitors ; but treason lay in their way and they feund
it." Sir James Scarlett had prosecuted but two persona, and
one of those he had forgiven, though the libel was of such a
nature that, had he refrained from prosecuting, the chat:icier
of the Lord Chancellor would be mest cruelly destroyed.
This proved that there was some lenity—extreme lenity and
generosity on the part of the Duke of Wellington's ministry,
as compared with that of the Whigs. Where a Whig lays
his hands they might rely upon it that he would not let go
until he had drawn blood. How mone the Attorney-General
to shirr his eyes, while not only the judges of the land, but
the parliament also, had been dairy calumniated by other
publications. Sir J. Scarlett had relieved the press from
the punishment of banishment, and libellers could row be
punished only by fine and imprisonment ; but the present
Attorney-General. though in sonic cases so lynx-like, could
yet be lenient enough in others. He was lenient enough to
all chose who a rote in praise of the Whig Government.
While the newspapers puffed hint and his colleagues, they
might write libels of others as long as they pleased. Why
had lie not prosecuted the libel which was published in the
Times, of which Sir Robert Irglis had thought it right to
complain in Parliament. The Whigs got rid of that mo-
tion by moving the previous question, and the Attorney-
General assigned, as a reason for not prosecuting this ar-
ticle, calling the members for rotten boroughs hired lacquies,
that he could not say that what the Times said was not true.
The Times, of course, pranced away quite free from
shackles. He admitted, with the Attorney-General, that
what the Times said was true ; for it was quite impossible
to bring sonic of the Members of the House of Commons
into greater contempt than they were in before ; but there
was another body which, if it once tell into contempt, away
would go the Government of the country—for, as Lord Cla-
rendon said, if once the people twit up the idea that the
Judges were corrupt, and that justice could not be obtained
in the Courts of Law, die Government could no longer
exist. Clarendon also stated that it was the adoption of
that idea which brought Charles the First to the block. Now
lie would see what sort of libels the Attorney-General per-
mitted. A very beautiful poet had said—
" When some escape for that which others die,
Mercy to those to these is cruelty."
The defendant then proceeded to advert to paragraphs con-
tained in the Times, Chronicle, and Courier papers, which
trete notoriously the tools of die Whig Government, setting
forth that the Judges were canvassing actively in order to
defeat the reform bill, and had thus disgraced their high
station. An article in the Times says that, since the bad
times of Charles the First, the judges had had a decorous
centrality on political sub,recte ; but that now the
bad tithes of Charles the 1 list had come back again.
It thew went on to ask what interest the judges had
in opposing reform ; arti it answered the question by baying
that a reformed parliament mi i c ask why, in these hard
times, the judges were to have selaries as high as 5,5001.
per annum ? thus attributing the !Arent of all motives—tile
thy lucre—as the ground of their opposition to referm.—
The Courier, which formed an integral part of every minis-
try, passing like an heir-loon from one to the other, asked
the question as to whether a reformer could expect a fair
trial if brought before such judges, and almost wished that
the judges were again made dependant oe the Crown, in-
stead of holding office tot life. Tile Chronicle singled out
e Mr. Justice J. Parke in pazticu!ar, and intimates that his
conduct might be made the subject of impeachment. What
isehe inference from the fact that none of these writings
have Wei prosecuted, except that the Ado:ln-General
gelleves their cootents to be true. lie hoped he had
.thesitigh• to show that there must have been malice
in selecting WS, or why leave the Judges to defend
themselves? Why not prosecute the Republierns, which
raised *if cry' of " Down with King, Lords, and "Heats."
The Attorney-General said in the House of Commons
that he thought It best to leave such things to the

good sense of the people; seeking thus to preserve Ma
popularity—like Balak keeping the profit—(he did not
mean pecuniary profit) of iniquity—and at the same time
seeking the praise of being righteous. But why, then, had
he not left his (Mr. Cobbett's) writings to the good sense of
the people ? There was one publ:cation, however, of so wicked
a nature, and attended with so many wicked circumstances,
that he could scarcely conceive why it had not been prosecuted
—it was contained in a pretended report of what passed in
the House of Commons, and was a libel upon amen who was
now dead. It was a libel which would never be forgotten in
the part of the country where he had lived. He alluded to
the unfortunate man (Cook) who had been executed in
Hampshire. In speaking of this man, in the House of Com-
mons, it was said that he was a carpenter earning 30s. a week,
and yet this was the man who joined in these riots, struck
down his benefactor, and on attempting to repeat the blow
broke the arm of the servant of that same benefactor, but
for whose interference he would have killed him. That was
the statement which had been made in the House of Com-
mons ; and a more savage and cruel libel had never been
uttered. He had two affidavits, one from Cook's father,
and another of the servant of Mr. Baring, who was stated
ro have been knocked down. The affidavit of the father
stated, 'hat Baring was never a benefactor of any part of
Cook's family. The affidavit was dated from the parish of
Mitchell Dean, county of Hams, on the 10th of March.—
It stated that the unfortunate Cook had worked for several
years as a ploughboy or ploughman ; and for six months
before the riots as a sawyer, and had never received more
than 10s. per week, and was out of work at the time he left
his native village, to which he did not return but in his
coffin. This was the nature of the libel on this unfortunate
young man. lie would say that the Attorney-General, and
those by whom he was surrounded, knew nothing of the
state of the labouring classes. They could not know it so
well as he who had been born and bred among them. They
could not know of the effect of those libels on the feelings of
those people. Now, what was the real state of the Case
with regard to this young man ? There was no arm broken,
no second blow aimed, and the poor young man was not
earning one farthing. They might judge the effects that
the Special Commission had produced on the country peo-
ple, when they heard that they had been subscribing penny
subscriptions to get these lies taken out of the paper—lies
which were fabricated for the purpose of giving a colour to
the execution of this unfortunate young man. He was exe-
cuted because he had given a blow to Bingham Baring, who
had five relations in parliament, and one a relation of the
Prime Minister. The Attorney-General must have given
his consent to the execution of this young man before it took
place. He must not have known the circumstances of this
case; or, if he had, he (Mr. C.) would leave the Jury to
characterise such conduct; and if he had not, it was his duty
to have done so. The Tinier was tolerated to say whatever
it pleased, so that it supported the administration. In 1810,
a noble lord showed him a letter from Walter, the father of
Anne Brodie, in which he complained of the injustice of
Pitt, who had employed him to write libels against the
King's sons ; and that, so help him GOD, he had never
not but 7001. for it. He had seen the report of a speech
which compared the late King to Nero, and designated
the present one a royal slanderer; and the person who
gave utterance to that speech was never above 100 miles
from Sir Thomas Denman. The fact was, however, that
neither party, Whigs nor Tories, ever cared a farthing about
any thing that was said of the King, but never forgave any
attacks on their own faction, or the profits of their places;
and this faction of the Whigs, be it observed, was more
greedy than any other. You might as well attempt to tear a
lamb out of the fangs of a wolf as a victim out of their
clutches, if that victim was one who sought to prevent them
fr.mt dipping their hands into the pockets of the people.—
This was not to be wondered at, they had been so long out
of office—(a laugh ;) 24 years lank—absolutely lank ;—and
it would be destruction to any man living to attempt to pre-
vent them. Mr. Gurney had showed enough, in the extracts
which he had caused to be read, to upset the charge of the
Attorney-General, who had made a very bad speech, be-
cause he knew his speech would be answered, unlike that
of Mr. Trevor, who was one of the six hundred and fifty-
eight licensed libellers. After Mr. Trevor had uttered,
in the House of Commons, all the falsehoods and
calumnies upon the writer which his poor stupid head
could think of, the Whigs then prevailed upon him
to withdraw the motion. It was with sorrow and
shame that he was now compelled to detail the trans-
actions of this Whig Ministry against him. Ile was at
Eattel delivering a lecture. About that time a man, named
Goodman, who had five times set fire to a farm, from mo-
tives of private malice, was left, and justly left for execu-
tion. There was no excuse for him, He was a cooper,
earning 15s. per week, and had set the farm on fire, five
times with his own hand. They tried to get something out
of this man, to see if they could hook it on to Trevor's pro-
secution of Cobbett. A Curate of Crowburst was urged on
by somebody to put up Goodman in the condemned cells,
and get him to say that he was instigated to the offence by
the lectures of Cobbett. This the parson got him to put in
writing. lie (Mr. C.) contradicted it ; for, seeing that It
was invented by a parson, he of course disbelieved it. Sub-
sequently three Magistrates of the county went to Good-
man, who was taken to Horsham with a person who had
been convicted of setting fire to one house. It was little
wonder that the man, feeling the halter tickling his neck,
should be induced to repeat the confession. But conspirators
should be doubly cunning ; and the second confession went
so far as to betray the trick. They asked him to commit
to paper his confession, which he did in a most extraordi-
ary mis-spelt and ill-written scrawl. He said that he had
once heard Mr. Cobbett at Batted tell the people that they
had been imposed upon, and that every man should keep a
gun in his house, and that he (Mr. Cobbett) would tell
them the proper time to use it. Now the fact was, that he
was never at the lecture at all, and yet these three- stupid
Magistrates got him to say this, although there were from
200 to 300 people who could, and many did, contradict it.
What was the result ? Such was their anxious wish to get
hold of Cobbett, that they actually pardoned this Goodman,
who had no less than five times set fire to a farm, solely on
the pretended ground that he had been deluded by Cobbett;
and yet they would not pardon the man at Dlaidstone who
had perpetrated one fire, though it was in proof that he was
not only instigated to do it, but that the matches were even
given hira for the purpose ; and worse still, they hanged
him on the evidence of the man who had instigated him.—
They had only Goodman's assertion for the truth of what he
said. Why did they not go to Battel to ascertain if it were
true. If they did not go to Battel, it was.because they knew it
was a lie. But it they did go to Band, and they found
no proof to corroborate his assertion, or if they did, why
not prosecute him for such atrocity ? Out of 300 persons
who heard that lecture they could find nobody to corrobo-
rate the assertion of Goodman. It was then their duty to
have prosecuted him (Mr. C.) on the one hand, or on the
other hand, it was then' bounden duty to have hanged the
man, and to have proclaimed the charge against him (Mr.C.)
to be false. But what would the jury say when he told them
that he knew the whole to be a fabrication, and that be
knew that the mats had never written one of the papers at
all. He knew this at the time ; but he said to himself that
if he proved it to be all calumny, they would hang the man;
and the people of Battel were of the same opinion, as they
had prepared affidavits ; but when they saw his Register de-
clining to prove it a calumny, they desisted from presenting
them. So that here was a very extraordinary pardon of a man
who had been guilty of five tires from private malice, while
they took the life of poor Cook because he had struck smut'
on the rim of the hat who had five relatives Members of
Parliament. They likewise executed a man at Maidstone
on the proof of the man who had instigated him to crime,
while they pardoned the greater criminal, merely because he
had abused Irian (Mr. C.) so that here was mercy arising
from nialigaity, and the brightest prerogative of the Crown
prostituted to the worst of passions. (Loud cheers, which
Lord Tentarelen checked, and threatened to order the Coot
to bee cleared if silence was not preserved.) Mr. Cobbs..
then denied having come into Court with a crowd of persoas,
as he had only come in a coach with his two sons and Sir
Thomas Beeven. lie was anxious to remove the prejudices
that had been raised against him by this constant series of
attacks, and therefore it was that he should notice another
practice of whispering a man down which existed in the.
House elf Commons and the clubs at the west end of the town
A noble marquis on the bench (Bhuitiford,) had written a
letter to a person in the country that a connection was disco.
vered between the fires and Cobbett, and that the latter
had absconded. Away bolted this person, delighted, to thy
other persons, and the news in a very short time was spread
through the whole country. One of those persons bolted to Ms
Thomas Beevor, and stated the news of his having bolted;
but Sir Thomas knew him (Mr. C.) too well to believe h.
From whom was he to run away ? 11'as it from the Greys,
the Russells, the Broughams, the Lambs, and such a crew 1)
Contempt came to his relief ;hen he though of it. To have
produced Goodman, without having ascertained the truth of
what he said, was the basest thing that ever Government
could be guilty of towards him. He held in his hand a de-
claration contradicting every word that was uttered by
Goodman. He had also a letter front Goodman, written ma
board the transport ship at Portsmouth, and addressed to his

brother; and, by comparing the orthography of this with
that of the other letter, it was clear that the latter were
sheer fabrications. In this letter Goodman also said that what
had befallen him was the result of his own evil courses, and he
hoed that nonce( his family would follow similar courses
and keep bad company, as he had done. It was remarkable
that In this, his genuine letter, the spelling was, with few
exceptioos, correct, and there was no such thing as a point
at all, while in his confessions the spelling was miserable,
although they were ungrammatically pointed from beginning
to end. He trusted, now that he had done away with an
the prejudices that had existed against him, merely because
he would not suffer the pockets of the people to be picked by
this Whig Government. Mr. Cobbett then contrasted the
conduct of Sir Thomas Denman with that of Sir James
Searle; saying that the proceedings of the latter were manly
in comparison. The Tories also, though inclined to be
violent, were open enemies--their violence was to be seen
on the face of their proceedings; and you knew that
all you had to do was to fight it • but the Whigs
concealed their's, as the Attorney. General bad done in
the present instance, by taking some garbled extracts
from the indictment, for the purpose of inducing the Grand
Jury to find the Bill. If he had inserted the two sentences
from the Register immediately preceding that with which he
commenced, the Grand Jury would never have found the
bill. He traced the malice of the Learned Gentleman, how-
ever, not to the wig on his bead, but to the Whig in his heart.
(Great laughter) The Attorney-General had given him great
credit for ingenuity, and in return he felt it was only candid
to say of the conduct of the learned gentleman, mat he
never met with any thing so stupid, or so fraudulent, in his
life—(laughter). He had chosen only part of a paragraph
out of thirty ; but Mr. Trevor had had the honesty to take
the whole paragraph. When he handed the Register to the
Jury they would be astounded at the fraud that had been
meorted to in scooping out this paragraph. Defendaut
then proceeded to contend. that the whole tenor of the
alleged libel was calculated to do away with the out-
rages that were going forward. It expressly stated that we
should not do evil that good might come of it. What was
that evil? The fires and outrages to be sure. It was impos-
sible to conclude from this paragraph that he wished for
more fires because those that had occurred had done pod.
This trial had done a vast deal of good in wiping away the
slander that had been cast upon him • but the result would
do more good. Their verdict would good; but did his
saying that imply that• be; was desirous that the Attorney
General should commence more prosecutions ? (Laughter.)
They must all admit that the crucifixion of our St boos
had done good to the whole Christian world ; but did his
saying that imply that the Jews were justified in crucifying
our SAV:OUR ? The defendant proceeded to comment on
the harsh conduct of country magistrates, hired overseers,
and bard-hearted farmers, as tending to produce that spirit
of revenge which had recently displayed itself during the
past winter in open rebellion, and caused destruction of pro-
perty in numerous counties. This state of things, if the
tanners were asked. the Whig Ministers would find wee
likely to be renewed, with increased horror and more ara&
ful scenes, the ensuing winter, unless some material altera-
tion was made in the poor laws, as applied to hired over-
seers by Sturges Bourne '5 Bill, and the horrible game laws
were abolished. He would relate what had taken place at
Lingfield, in Sussex, as exhibiting a specimen of the treat.
mcnt experienced by the distressed persons seeking relief
from the hired overseers. A woman, whose husband had
been transported for a breach of the Excise laws, was,
with her two children, compelled to apply to the parish
for relief, in consequence of her being thus widowed by
her hushand being sent out of the country. Immediately
they were admitted into the workhouse, this hired over-'
seer, with the assistance of two labourers, caused them'
to be thrown on the floor • and, with a pair of shears, had
all their hair cut off', caused a disgraceful badge to be put on
them, and, in a coarse disgraceful manner, ordered them in
this state to go to church, to excite the gaze of all their
neighbours, or else to turn out of the workhouse to starve,
or lead a life of prostitution. He would ask the Jury if they
had daughters of their owu, what their feelings would be
under such circumstances? But this was not all; it was
well known every species of degradation and disgraceful
treatment was used towards the unfortunate objects com-
pelled to seek assistance by the hired overseers. Whilst he
lived in this country his tongue should not lie idle, nor his
pen remain unemployed, in exposing this barbarous system
of oppression; and that, too, in defiance of all the measures
of the Greys, the Lambs, and the Broughams, to crush
him, lie then proceeded to read further extracts from
the Register containing the alleged libel, to show
that his observations were directed to protect the farmees
against the acts of incendiaries, and ascribing all the evils
and difficulties under which the labourers were suffering to
the tithe-eaters and tax-gatherers. He had in the same
Register inserted the only conciliatory passage, the only just
act done during the whig administration—he had inserted
the circular of Lord Melbourne; and this he did to mollify, as
much as possible the feeling existing amongst the labourer
at the time. Withisespect to what had been dwelt upon so
much by the Atieswey-General, that the alleged libel was
headed " Rural War," he could say that it was no more
than the title which had been given to the state of things by
all the newspapers. The Morning Chronkle had called it
the Western Campaign. His object in writing that article
was to draw the attention of the Ministers to the sufferings of
the labouring classes, against whom a Special Commission
had just been issued, at the suggestion of the Times news.
paper, which journal was ever keen in scenting out blood
with its nose; who had praised the massacre of the Pro-
testants at Nismes, and called for the blood of the unfortu-
nate Cashman. It was this Journal which suggested the
issuing of the Special Commission, and in a day or two
afterwards out it came. His object was to prevent the
shedding of blood. He appealed to the Ministers in every
way—he even used the license allowed by Paley,
telling
lies to soften them in their severe measures. His
Lordship would tell the Jury they must consider the whole
writing, and not a part of it, and he felt convinced they
could not; for a moment believe that be could ever have the
intention of exciting those feelings which was attempted on
the part of the prosecution to make them believe. In the
same Register appeared the address of Lord Sydney, im-
ploring the labourers to join heart and band in suppressing
the fires which were at the time destroying the property of
Kent. This must be read with the libellous pat: and it
was stated by the Attorney-General that his hegister was
exteneiuely read by the labourers who clubbed together to
purchase it. lie hoped to GOD it was so ; and it was fairly
to be presumed that if they read the beginning they would
read the latter part. He would appeal to the sense of the
Jury, whether, if his intention bad been of the base and
mischievous description attempted by the vile Whig Minis-
ters to be imputed to him, he shoold have implored the
labourers by his own writings, and inserted those of others
to the like effect, to desist from their mistaken course.
But the Whigs wanted to crush him--it was his destruction
they wanted. Paovitonics had given strength to the
horse, sod the sting to the viper : bad the strength
of the first been combined with the latter, the
consequences must have been dreadful—we should not have
been able to live. The Whigs, possessed the viper's sting
without possessing the strength of men of honesty, or the
usual intelligence and undastanding possessed by men in
general, or the cor.sequences to this country must have ban
dreadful ; but with the sting they were given a weakness,
which would doom them s. to crawl on their bellies on the
face of the earth all the days of their life." (Loud laughter.)
The defendant proceeded to show, that on his return from
America, thitty years ago, he had taken a great
inteteat in the welfare of the labouring classes ; he had
written several works to encourage them ,to acts of eco-
nomy and indtatry. Amongst the number was his Cot-
tage Economy and the Poor illan's Friend; and in the time
of the riots in 1816 he bad written his letter to the Luddites
akainst the breaking of machinery. This letter was viewed
in so favourable a light, that he had been applied to so re.
gently as last November, for leave to republish it, by no leas
a person than the Lord Chancellor—by Lord Brougham.—
What would the jury think of the present Whig minister
coming to Cobbett s seditious shop for something to quiet
the labourers ?—(laughter.) He should prove this fact by
Lord Brougham himself. And what would the jury further
think when he should tell them that the present Attorney-
General, his then prosecutor, was the president of the very
Society by whom the republication was to be made, the
" Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge." He
ill. C.) consented to its republication, provided they pub-
all of lt, not a part because be never wrote to quiet
the labourers without telling them their rights. Here then
was the Lord Chancellor in November botrowing his book,
in the next month prosecuting him fcr libel, and as a false,
malicious, and seditious person, to be robbed or his property,
and of his life too, if the Whip were to have the power tit
causing it. So vilely bad he( Mt. Cobbett) been calusoniMedi:
that he dare say the gentlemen of the jury expected to ass
him "hoofed and horned ;" a pair of borne on his bead, sad'
booth up to his knees—(a laugh.) He proceeded to draw She
attention of the jury to his speech delivered at a dinnerof thi
farmers at Salisbury in 1822, and also Nab of the " 711 M. ,
penny "la•ash," to show that his feelings were favourable le!
the farmers, and that he upheld their interests. He UMW

plalned of the severity of his sentence Gable former comic.
Lion for libel. This was the second indictment of this nature
which bad been preferred against him, and all emanating
ftom Whigs. The first prosecution was by an Attorney-Gene-
ral who swan apostate Whig. He had lived 21 years under
a Tory Administration, and under six Tory Attorney- ,
Generals, but had never been prosecuted, although, if the ,
present were conridered a libel, be had written plenty of a
similar description ; but there woe no set of men more
aping or more tyrannical in their conduct. The country
been ruled with rods by the Tales, but the Whip
scourged them with scorpions. What was his offence on his
former conviction, but holding up to execration military tor-
ture, in condemning the flogging of local militiamen under
a guard of German bayonets. What were the feelings of the
country now ? Every paper was expressing its indignation
at this species of torture. After some further observations,
the defendant concluded by declaring, that whatever might
be the verdict of the Jury. if he were doomed to spend his
last breath in a dungeon, he would pray GOD to bless his
country—he would curse the whip, and leave his revenge to
1 his children and the labourers of Lngland.—[ Mr. Cobbett sat
down amidst loud demonstrations of applause by numerous
persons in a crowded Court, which the officers with dial.
cushy suppressed.]—Mr. Cobbett then proceeded to call his
witnesses. The first was
Henry Hay, printer of the letter to the Luddites, was then
called, but did not answer.
Mr. Cobbett—l will thank your Lordship to let Henry
Brougham be called (a laugh).
Lord Brougham then entered the Court from the Judges'
private room, and was sworn by the officer of the Court.
Mr. Cobbett—Does your Lordship recollect ever applying
to me for a copy of my letter addressed to the Luddites,
against the breaking of machinery ?
Lord Bronghatn—l recollect making some application, I
believe, through the secretary to &society to which I belong,
for a copy of a paper, written by you some years ago, the
date of which we could not recollect ; and also applying for
permission to make use of it by republication. I have no
recollection of the mode of application; it is possible I
applied, through the medium of your son; but I have but
an imperfect recollection, and it Is only within the last few
minutes that it has been brought to my mind that it was a
Noble Lord. closely connected with Wiltshire, that first
drew my attention to the letter In question. I think I had
some intercourse with your son, respecting his admission to
Lincoln's Inn.

Here a letter was handed to his Lordship, who admitted
it to be in his hand-writing. It was put in and read :
" Dear Sir—Though I could not attend myself at the
Bench when you were called, being engaged at the House of
Lords, I took care all should be done correctly. I want you
to ask your tither about the date of a letter he has written
against the breaking of machinery, as a Society with which
I am connected are working on the same grounds, and he
might, perhaps, on proper terms, give us the benefit of his
labour."
Examination of Lord Brougham resumed.—This note was
written some time about Christmas last. The Society to
which he alluded was the Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge. The Society's publications were principally
designed for the working classes; but that publication to
which his letter bad reference was more particularly directed
to the labouring classes, to counteract the bad feeling ex-
isting among them, from their erroneous ideas respecting the
use of machinery. Sir Thomas Denman, the present Attor-
ney General, was President of the Society. He (Lord
Brougham) had, however, no communication with him on
the subject of this application, and probably this was the
first time he (the Attorney-General) had ever heard of it.
Recollected that the work was obtained on condition that
the whole, and not a part, should be republished.
Cross-examined by the AT T MINE Y-G PE ItA L— r.Cob-
betes letter was rejected, not on account of any thing impro-
per, bad, or criminal in it, but because it contained observa-
tions on individuals. Some parts of it were considered
useful observations, and likely to allay the existing tumults
and outrages. One ground for applying for it was the
effect Mr. Cobbett's name had amongst the agricultural
labourers.

His Lordship then retired.
Lord Melbourne was the next witness called and sworn.
Mr. Cobbctt—Does your Lordship recollect a man named
.. Goodman, who was sentenced to suffer death ?

W itness--Yes.

Mr. Cobbett—Upon what grounds did he receive his Ma.
jesty's pardon ?
The ATTORNEY objected to so Irregular an
inquiry.
The LORD Calif JUSTICE decided that such a question
could not be put.
Mr. Cobbett said, as that was his Lordship's opinion, he
had no further questions to put to the witness.
Lord Radnor sworn, and examined by the defendant—
Had known him upwards of 30 years, and during that pe-
riod had been a constant reader of his writings. Vrom what
he (witnes►) had seen of him, and read of his works, he did
not think he was a person likely to excite the working classes
to outrages against their masters, or any one else, but quite
the reverse.

(Here there was a strong expression of approbation by the
numerous friends of the defendant in Court.)
The Loan Cater JUSTICK said that, unless proper de-
corum was observed, he should be under the necessity of
ordering the Court to be cleared, for such interruptions were
not to be allowed to interfere with the due administration of
justice.
Lord Radnor now proceeded to add to his evidence, that
it was upon his recommendation Lord Brougham made ap-
plication to Mr. Cobbett to republish the letter alluded to.
Some weeks after the publication of the alleged libel I waited
on Lord Brougham, pointed it out to his Lordship, and re-
marked, that perhaps Mr. Cobbett would not be unwilling to
republish his letter to the Luddites, which would neutralise
its erect; and he believed Lord Brougham acted on his
(witness's) suggestion.
Mr. Cobbett here observed to the Court that his object in
subpeenaing the Noble Leeds then on the bench being to ex-
amine them as the cause of Goodman being pardoned, and
the Court having decided that the enquiry he proposed could
not be made, he could have no necessity for longer detaining
them.

Earl Grey, Lord Palmerston, Lord Melbourne, Lord
Goderich, Lord Durham, and Lord Brougham, then left the
Court. The Marquis of Blandford and the Earl of Radnor
remained.
Mr. Cobbett observed that the evidence he was about
to adduce would tend to prove that so far from his intention
being such as to lead to the excitement of labourers, he
went into the counties of Rent and Sussex purposely for
putting a stop to the tim, and he wished to know if such
evidence would be received.

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that it might be so
received in the form of general evidence.
Mr. John Penn, of Lewisham, examined by the defend-
ant.--He had known him and his writings full twenty
years. Had attended his lecture at Lewisham, in October
last, and also at Deptford From his knowledge of him,
and of his writings, he did not think he was a person
likely to excite the working classes against their em-
ployers.
Major Waite, a land-owner and proprietor of three or
four farms near Maidstone.—Had been a reader of the
Register since its first publication. Had been present at
the lectures. He decidedly concurred in opinion with other
witnesses that the defendant was not a person likely to ex-
cite feelings of labourers to outrage. He thought his lite.
wary labours were likely to produce a contrary tendency.
Mr. Francis Cousins, of Tonbtidge, Kent, miller, had
known defendant since 1817, and concurred in opinion with
the preceding witnesses.
Sir Thomas Beevor, of Norfolk, had been a reader of the
Register 13 or 14 years, and had known defendant intimately
for the last live years, and gave a similar opinion with the
other witnesses.

Mr. JAMES Outsell had been a reader of the Register
seven or eight years, and gave similar testimony.
Mr. them Palmer, of Rom, Herefordshire' farmer,
had been a reader of the Register 30 years. and had known
the defendant intimately for 10 years ; and
Mr. Blount, of Netley Abbey, who had been a reader of
the Register since 1802, gave evidence concurring in theopi.
nion expressed by the other witnesses as to the tendency of
the defendant's writings.
Here the examination of the witnesses closed, and the
printed speech of Mr. Cobbett (delivered at Salisbury) was
offered to be put in evidence, but was objected to by the
Attorney.GeneraL
After some discussion, in which Mr. Cobbett referred to
the trial of Home Tooke, and the opinions delivered by the
late Lord Ellenborough, in the ease of Perry and Lambert,
as bearing on the question.
The Court allowed the report of the speech to be put in
and read. No. 6, of Coo6sU a Twopenny Trash for Novem-
ber, 1830. was also put in, and partly read; and also Lord
Sydney's Address, copied in the Register of December last.
The defendant base intimated that he had dosed his de.
fence.
The ATTORNIre•GINBIAL replied at some length.
The Len Quer Jusricss saving summed up the evi.

dence very minutely, directed the Jury dispassionately, &T,,:
free from prejudice au either side, to deliberate on th, ir
verdict.

The Jury retired at ten minutes past six o'clock ;
and after about two hours' deliberation, sent a mes-
sage to the Judge, to say that they could not ay, ,e
in their verdict. His Lordship sent back word
"that they MUST agree;" and the Jury were
again confined to their chamber. At eight o'clock
this morning, however, the Jury were discharged,
without coming to any agreement; and thus the
charge against Mr. COBBETT falls to the ground.