Star.
London, England, 1820-04-03 00:00:00

ASSIZES.

WARWICK, MARCH 31.
THE KING V. RAGG.
This was an indictment against the defendant, pre-1
(erred by the Magistrates of Birmingham, on the
ground that the defendant had published a certain
scandalous libel, of and concerning the Church
Establishment and part of its service, contained in a
publication entitled the twelfth Number of Thc
Black Book, or Corruption Unmeshed.
Mr. 11 EADER opened the pleadings, and read the
publication in question. The nature and language
of it were such as to preclude us from wishing to
give anv further notoriety to it.
Mr..:Serjeant VAINIIAN, who conducted the pro-
secution, began his address
.to the Jury by expressing
a hope that he should not be supposed to compro-
mise his duty to the Crown by abstaining from all
comment upon the publication which had just been
read to the Jury, and charged as libelous. The very
same work, he believed, had already been under the
consideration of several Gentlemen among them, and
had been most fully and patiently considered. The
character of the work was too plain and easily dis-
tinguishable to require either argument or illustration
from him. He apprehended that no doubt could
arise in their minds, unless it should be one respect-
ing the circumstances under l# hich this work had
been ushered into the world. Undoubtedly, it was
bott painful and disgusting that subjects of this
nature should be brought info a Court of Justice.—
The public discussion, and the free scope of observa-
tion which the administration of the laws frequently
involved, could hardly fail to produce mischief, and
extend its circulation. It was evident, however, that
the Government and Magistracy were reduced .to
this alternative—either to incur this evil, or run the
hazard of incurring a still greater—that of suffering
the most pernicict.. doctrines to be taught and propa-
gated with impunity throughout the country. It was
certainly desirable in all cases of libel to bring, if
possible, the author or original publisher to account;
but, at the same time, he was one of those who
thought a subsequent publisher had much to answer
for. It was not to be allowed, in a land of civilized
order and regulated liberty, that a man should spread
abroad noxious compositions, and then affect to justify
himself to his neighbours by saying that he was un-
acquainted with the ingredients of which they were
constituted. The charge against the defendant was,
that he had manifested an intention to bring the
Service of the Church of England into contempt,
and especially that part of it which related to the
office of Ordination. The Church Catechism was,

•
however, also included. The libellotis matter might,
however, be considered as much more general ; but
it was, by the allegations of the indictment, confined
to those two branches, and he had no doubt that,
upon inquiry, the Jury would be of opinion that the
publication in question was calculated to produce the

effect imputed to it.
Witnesses, were then called, one of.wbcisii proved
that he had purchased (having been employed to do
so) a copy of the twelfth number of The Black Book,
in December last,. at a shop in Birmingham, where
he had frequently seen the defendant, and of which
be believed the defendant to be the occupier. Ano-
ther stated, that he had frequently seen the defendant
in the same shop, but not during the two or three
weeks immediately previous to the time wheel the
purchase of the former witness was made. A third
merely testified that he was landlord of the house in
which the shop was situate, aad that the defendant
bad at that time been his tenant.

This was the case for the prosecution ; upon which
Mr. DENNIA s submitted, that there was here a defi-
ciency of legal proof, and that the Counsel for the
Crow•, in order to sustain this indictment, ought to
have offered evidence that the office of Ordination.
and the Church Catechism were, in point of fact,

parts of the Church establishment, as bylaw appointed.
Mr. Justice BEST, after some consideration, thought
it better that the. trial should proceed, and that the ob-
jzction should be reserved for a further stage of these

ptcted3ings.
Mr. DEN:4 AN then addressed the Jury. He had
thought it his duty to submit an objection, waich, as
they knew, had been overruled, but which might
possibly be of use to him on a future occasion. He
had now to present to them, as Jurymen, consider-
ations somewhat different, though all tending to the
same general proposition, that no case had been
made out against the defendant. No evidence what-
' ever had been brought forward in order to shew that
the form of Ordination, by which the Clergy of our
Church were admitted to the exercise of their func-

tions, constituted, in point of law, a part of the
Church service. There could, therefore, be no legal
proof of any intention to defame, vilify, or bring
into contempt, any service or formula of the Church
of England. Ile was the more fortified in thinking
this to be necessary, by his knowledge that in Mr.
Hone's case all this sort of evidence had been deemed
necessary, and had in consequence been presented.
The charge embraced two points; and the first re•
lated to the Catechism, on which he would make no
observations, as being ready to admit, that from early
instruction and familiar knowledge, it was not im-
portant to put a Jury into further acquaintance with
its nature and contents ; but when i. 6.2 turned to the
ceremony of Ordination, he could not but recollect
that in all probability it was not read by many, and,
if read by a few, not long can ied in their minds.—
He must, therefore, in the discharge of his duty,
submit, that it was not competent to them upon their
oaths to determine what perhaps might be a point
of law, and what, at all events, was a point of am-
biguity. It might be well to mention here some
circumstances relative to what was generally called
Holy Ordination. It was well known to many that
a person was qualified to officiate as a Minister of
our Church who had received no other Ordination
than that of a Catholic Bishop. This was one of
the remarkable features in theframe and constitution
of our Wotestant Church. How could they, as men
of character, and acting under the sanction of a
solemn oath, which bound them to form a judgment
upon a single issue, be brought to say, without know-
ing what the Church formularies were, that they had
been cast into scandal or contempt ? He entreated
them, therefore, not to suffer their minds to be pre-
jUdiced or led away by phrases now embodied into
the current language of the day, as to the necessity
of putting down publications of a particular kind,
and that it was the province of a Jury to exercise a
vigilant guard over the moral and religious interests
of-the country. He did not stand there to say that
such a necessity might not exist, but he did contend,
that they, sitting in that box, did not sit there either
as the censors of the press, or the guardians of pub-
lic morals. Their duty was simple and specific ; it
was to decide, upon their oaths, whether the evidence
was such as to prove the guilt of the defendant upon
the precise charge preferred against him. Supposing
that he had sent into the world, or been the inno-
cent instrument of sending into it, a noxious pub-
lication—supposing him to have done what was
both mischievous and dangerous—still, unless a
criminal intention could be made out upon satis-
factory evidence, he was entitled to an acquittal.—
The smallest doubt or slightest deficiency, whether
in legal or circumstantial evidence, ought to be con-
strued in his favour. One part of the alleged libel
consisted in a description of the forms of ordination,
and quoted certain words used with regard to the
eertmony of imposition of hands. These words were,
" Whose sins thou retainest, they shall be retained,
and whose sins thou forgivest to him they shall be
Forgiven." Now, as this was literally part of the
doctrines involved in ordination, it could hardly be
considered libellous thus fairly to state and describe
it in any publication or for any purpose. lie could
assure them, and the Court at large, that he wished
to speak both of the Church and of its members only
in language of veneration and respect; but that the
dgctrines ascribed to the Church were to be found in
its articles and tenets was hardly matter of any
doubt, when we found that in one part of the Liturgy
" the absolution and remission of sins" was a point
specifically mentioned.
Mr. Justice BEST here interfered, and suggested
to Mr. Denman that the coarse of defence he was
pursuing was inadmissible.
Mr. DENMA N said, he did not wish to adopt a line
of argument disapproved of by the Learned Judge,
and he should confine himself to the plain avowal oft
his opinion, that the sooner the doctrine of absolving
sins by human power was abrogated the better, whe-1
ther it was entertained by our own Church or any'
other. Such an effect, however, could only be brought
about by discussion ; and, if Luther and Knox were
now alive, he doubted not but that they would be
inclined to exert themselves most strenuously for that
purpose. In this case also there were several cir-
cumstances of a different kind to be considered. The
Learned Counsel then proceeded to comment upon
the evidence, as affecting the fact nif publication by
the defendant, or the authority given by him to the
individual who had sold it. On all these grounds
taken together--grounds upon which be, as a man

of.honour, would not venture to pronourice a decided.
opinion—they, it appeared to him, could not, with=
out the risk of committing, perjury, or at least with.:
out doing a violence to their caths, declare that this
defendant was guilty of the offence imputed to his
charge. To the Magistrates of Birmingham he gave
full credit for their motives in this frosecution: they
might be engaged in an useful and salutary work;
but that work might be accomplished more effec-
tually, in his opinion, by finding out the original
publishers than by attacking persons at a distance,
gaining a wretched and precarious subsistence by the
sale of what they found in demand. •
Mr. Justice BEs+,. after stating the particulai
charges contained in the indietinent, and recounting
the evidence; observed, with reference to the attempt
which had been-Made, that the Learned Counsel had

urged and maintained doctriues which he himself
(Mr. Denman) knew had been over-ruled-1i r half, or
*he might say, an entire century. Lord Mansfield,
Lord Kenyon, and Lord Elknborough, in Courts
composed of some of the most able and virtuous men
who Had ever sat in a Court of Justice, had united in
rejecting them. It was lamentable to find great ta-
lents exerted in controverting first principles, or iri
bringing into doubt subjects which had been settled
by such grave authority. As to the circumstances
of the publication, no evidence could be more cleaC
or satisfactory. Newspaper publications were un-
doubtedly useful to the community, so long as they
were conducted within the rules of propriety, mode-
-1 ration, and good sense. Upon that understanding he
was graiied to find that their proprietors enjoyed
large profits. But if the Learned Ccunsers doctrine
were to prevail, those proprietors might live at a
distance from their establishments, and after the in-
sertion of the most wicked and insidious matter,
whether as reflecting upon Government or indivi-
duals, might turn round a..d say, " Bring your ac-
tion against the author, or one of my printers devils."
It was the duty of every bookseller to take care in
whose hands he left the conduct of his business when-
ever his own absence was unavoidable ; and for all
that was done during that absence, by the sale of
libels, he was legally responsible. The Learned
Counsel had gore into observations which appeared
to him to be totally inapplicable; he did not believe
that Knox or Luther had ever attacked the Church
Establishment, in their day, in this manner or lan-
guage : had they been as scurrilous and as contcmp—
tuous of all religion as the author of this infamous
publication had been, their glorious efforts at refor-
mation would not have been crowned with that suc-
cess which had happily attended them. " rut," si'd
the Learned Judge, with much emplia,is aid great
animation, " there are booksellers who would sell
their Goz►for gai►: ! And if the present nublicaion
is, as the defendant's Counsel has himself described
it, a foolish and impudent thing about the Church cf
England, the impudence alone renders it a libel."
The Jury, in less than five minutes,. returned a
verdict of Guilty against the defendant. "