Star.
London, England, 1820-10-24 00:00:00

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• . - • - GERMAN. PAPERS. - ._• . .
Last nigyt• we 'received German Papa's, ffoi
whith we give extracts. It will be observed thattlie
Diet of the Kingdom of Poland has given a very disri
dainful reception to the sketch of a criminal code,
proposed by the Emperor of Resale. After an ani-
mated debite, it was rejected by a majority of 120
to three I A Minister, by way, we suppose, of per-
suading the Diet to swallow the new Code, informed
the Assembly, that the Emperor consented before-
hand to its being • revised in the succeeding Session :1
but the Deputies were inexorable. The following are
the chief contents of the Mail:

I LAW DITELLIGENCIA
COURT-OP EMIG'S BENdEIs OCTOBBE 23.
TRIAIIS FOR BLASPHEMOUS LIBELS. •
TUE XING 9. DAVISOIto
The defendant was charged with having sold and
tittered two bla.sphemons and propbane libels, with
the intent of bringing the Christian Religion into ri.
dicule and contempt.
Mr. GURNEY stated the case. The prosecution,
he said, was commenced by the Society for the Sup-
pression of Vice. For a long series of years it had
not been found necesssary to put the laws into force
against offenders of the description that he charged
the defendant with being, notwithstanding that bias-
phemois publications were, during that pericid, quite
numerous enough, but they were circulated pri-
vately, and the circulators were cautious enough
not to challenge public observation. But of late
persons had ostentatiously set the law at defiance,
and thus put it at issue which of the two was the
strongest. The defendant was a bookseller, in Duke-
street, Smithfield. The libels complained of were
contained in a work sold by the defendant, called
The Repuilican," the ninth Number of the first
volume, and in a work published by the defendant,
called gs The Deist's Magazine." Of these works there
was scarcely a line that was not either blasphemous
or libelous.
The publication of the libel was proved by Thomas
Frayley, who was in the employ of the Society for
the Suppression of Vice, and was sent to buy the
works in question at the shop of the defendant.
The defendant said, that being unable to employ a
Solicitor-or Counsel in his defence, he hoped the Jury
would shew him every indulgence which his situa-
tion could permit. He then proceeded to read a
written defence, but in so low and weakly a tone, as
to be scarcely audible to those at a short distance
from him, and to occasion the Learned Judge re-
peatedly to call upon him to raise his voice. The
defendant cantended, that he had a right. to write,
print, and publish, whatever he thought proper in
defence of his own religion. He oharged the pro-
secuters with being actuated with the same feelings
in prosecuting him, as those who, in the days of
Henry and Mary, filled the dungeons and lighted up
the fires of Smithfield, on account of difference of re-
ligious opinion.
The defendant was proceeding much in the same
strain, but in a tone scarcely audible, when
Judge Briar rose, and with some warmth, declared
that he could not sit there and suffer that scandalous
course of defence. He should be sorry that anything
which the defendant said should make him exercise
that authority with which he wits vested; but he
thought it necessary to inform him, that he bad not
dnly the power of punishing him by removal from
the Court, and by committal, but by fining him as
Ofteh as he went beyond the bounds of decency.
The Defendant.—" If your dungeon is ready, my
Lord, suffer me to give you the key." •
Judge 8e5i...,-" For that contempt I fine you £20."
The defendant then proceeded to read the whole
of the libel, and to justify it. He contended that he
had as much right to publish a Deisticil Magazine
as others had to publish Methodist, Unitarian, or
Church Magazines. The defendant was proceeding
to charge some of the profession of the law with up-
holding that by persecution in which they did not
believe, when he was interrupted by -
Mr. Judge BEST, who said, he could not sit there,
where justice was administered, and permit the de-
fendant
to go on in the manner in which he had.
He (Judge Best) had sat there and beard himself in-
sulted, and had heard persons attacked who were not
present to defend themselves. He bad before fined
the defendant £2o—he now fined him £4O more,
and informed him, that whatever became of this case,
these fines must be paid.
The defendant said, that he must be allowed to
conduct his defence in his own way.
Mr. Judge Bur said, that he would not allow him
to scoff at the religion of the country. If be had any
observations to make, he would allow him to make

them, provided he treated the religion of the country
respectfully. He would not permit it to be treated
otherwise, whatever were the consequences.
The defendant proceeded to read the whole of the
Deist's Magazine, and the act of Legislature in Vir-
ginia, by which all religions were tolerated. He
commented on the trials of Daniel Isaac Eaton and
of Wedderburn. He complained that the rich were
allowed to monopolize to .themselves the large and
expensive works of Hume, Gibbon, Bolingbroke, &c.
He asserted that the Bishops, from their familiarity
with works of this dreeriptioti, were infidels.
Mr. Judge Bits.r.—" You are asserting that which
you know is false. I shall not suffer it, and now fine
you £4O more. lam determined to put down this
audacity, by which Justice is insulted in her very
sanctuary."—The defendant said he was not worth
£lO in the world.

Mr. Judge Bur said, it was the defendant's duty
to take care that be did not vilify those Reverend
Personages who were not present to defend, them-
selves, and which the defendant must know was cone
trary to all principles of justice. •
The defendant continued, and said he would read
some extracts from a_ publication by, Sir William
Drummond, in support of his opinions, but in doing
so he hoped he should not be offending the Court.
Mr. Judge Bur..'—"" Sir, do fun put it as offensive
to me. It is too' contemptible for offence."
The defendant continued to read the publication;
and concluded his defence by an appeal to the libe.
rality of the Jury.
The Learned Judge camniented a 4 lengtl upon
the publications is question, and gave it, as his con-
scientious opinion, that they were most blasphemous
and scurrilous libels. He denied that any one could
be permitted to dispute the truth of the .Christian
Religion. It might be permitted tudispute the con..
sanction, but anything farther was never permitted
in any country, with respect to its particular religion.
He confessed that he hid hituself read Hiune and
Gibbon, but they all confesied that .the hest system
of morals ever invented for mankind was that intro,
doted by CIPIIT. The Learned 'Judge described
at considerable length the benefits of:the Christiiii
Religion and said he could *lt conceitte.that those',.
who endeavoured; to ,overthrow this. religion, could
have any other than :wSatauic pleanre in depriving
the Christian df his Only Hope. ..'" •
The Jury itimediii4fOuid.,theticfendait
Mr. GAJANSIC snored tbat.he should. beconamitteti.

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-••- •
Till KIM ti. JAVI CAILMIL
This defendant was also charged with haviniiold
and uttered certain seditious and blasphemous libels.
Mr. }I'LL stated, on behalf of the defeadans that
he wished to put several questions, by Way at Od-
le:we, to the jurors:
The. Court aid, that the time of challenge was
when the JUry were :educed, and that had passed.
Mr. HILL said, that there were instances where
•such challenges were admitted, and he cited the case
of the King v. Frankland. Cause of challenge Might
have arisen since the pannel had been struck: The
qUestions he•wished to put were, whether any of the
Jurors were Members of the Society for the Sup-
pression of Vice, or whether they had given any opi-
nion on the case before they entered the box?
Mr. GURNEY said, these questions were sometimes
put to the Jurors as a matter of personal deliasicy,
not as a matter of challenge.
The questions were overruled.
Mr. GURNEY conducted the prosecution. One.of
the libels was contained in No. 9 of the Republican,
and on which the last defendant had just been found
guilty. The other libel was contained in a book
called Memoirs of Thomas Paine, by Sherwin, in
which there were several extracts made from the 4.
of Reason, for the purpose of elucidating the re&
gious opinions of the latter.
The publication was proved by F. Kayer, an agta4
of the Society for the Suppression of Vice.
Mr. HILL, in defence of the defendant, admitted
the libellous nature of the works in question, but said
'that they were first published by Mr. Carlile, before
his imprisonment, without being prosecuted, or eves
noticed. After that event, the defendant carefully
weeded everything from her shop that she thought
would be offensive, with the intention of supporting
her family by her trade as a regular bookseller. The
two publications in question she had sold under the
idea that they were inoffensive, from their not having
been noticed. He thought it necessary to tell the
Jury, that the defendant was a firm believer in the
Christian Religion. He then entered into an able
and argumentative speech of more than two hours in
length, in which he contended, that Christianity was
not to be served by prosecutions of this nature. He
cited the opinions of Tillotson, Lardner, Lowth, and
others, to prove that attacks on the Christian Reli-
gion, like those complained of, were rather beneficial
to it than otherwise. He called upon the Jury to fol-
low the example of forbearance set them by the
founder of their Religion, and to let the opiniOns ad-
vanced sink under the weight of their- own infamy,
and not furnish the propagators of them with
weapons, or exalt them into martyrs by consigning
them to dungeons.
At the conclusion of Mr. HILL's address, there was
some applause given in the Court, but which was im-
mediately repressed.
The Jury, after a short consultation, found the de-
fendant guilty.--,The Court was crowded throughout
the day to excess.

•
•

Wednesday se'nnight, as Miss 11AIti1111* 13t.tertY,
third daughter or Avis' BLANDY, Esq. of Kingston
House, Berks, was standing near the drawing-room
fire, her clothes caught fire, and she was so .dread-
fully burnt, as to occasion her death the following day.
The Bridge Ward Deputation,_ consisting of Ladies •
and Gentlemen, will go up the River to-morrow, with
an Address to the Qum at Brandenburgh House.—
The party will proceed from Fishmongers' Hall, at
eleven o'clock, in the barge in which her MAJESTY
lately took an excursion to Woolwich ; and should
the weather prove favourable, the arrangements will
make it one of the most splendid scenes yet witnessed
on the River.
Thursday last a Meeting was held at Brading, Isle
of Wight, for the purpose of addressing her Maurer,
when a series of Resolutions, expressive of the sense
of the Meeting on the %object, was proposed and
carried, as was also an Address to her MAJESTY,
which is to be presented to-morrow by Alderman
WooD. The Chair was moat ably filled by Geo RGII
Stun, Esq. and thanks were voted to Mr. WILBURN,
the Junior Bailiff, for his promptitude in calling the
Meeting, after receiving the Requisition, and a vote
of censure was passed upon Mr. J. CAVIL the Senior
Bailiff, for refusing to concur with his fellow Bailiff
in calling the Meeting ; after which a large party
partook of an excellent dinner at the Whe4tsheaf
Inn, and the evening passed off in a convivial manner
Mr. Pearson, accompanied by Vickery, returned
late on Sunday night front France, after a successions
pursuit of Fletch Er. Yesterday Mr. Pearson was in.
formed by Mr. Birnie, at Bow-street, that a letter had
been received from the fugitive, ridiculing all attempts
to apprehend him. Mr. Pearson immediately went
to the Home Office' and requested Sir Robert Baker
to chew him the letter, that he.might be enabled to
ascertain whether it was in the band-writing of the
accused. Sir. Robert said that it was in the possession
of Mr.ilobhouse, the Undertecretary of State, who
was gone with it to Lord Sidmoath, in the House of '
Peers, and that the letter in question contained, OA
the part of the accused, a full confession of having
published the placards; and entered very fully, into
his motives and reasons for their publication. Sir
Robert. Baker- admitted that the reasons adduced
were very ridiculous, and further observed, that the
letter was written and sent by Fletcher with a view '
.to publication.' Mr. Pearson then waited upon Mr.'
llobbonse, and was treated with a view of the Miter.
antiphon wig sigtwthrre of the letter, which filled three
.sides of usheet of paper, closely written, and .wag
dated the 19th. inst. and bore the poet-mark of Dun-
kirk. There was also produced for the first time :a
stad kW, from .Mr. Fletcher to Sir Robert Baker, -
hut whence it had been sent; or what were its con.-
tents, Mr. Pearson 'could not learn. As, however,
Sir Robert kindly informed that Gentleman that the
letter was written by Mr. Fletcher, and sent with :a -
vietato ruhtication, Mr.tFletcher's wish will; of course;
be gratified; and the Public may be furnished with
some • explanation of the. motives and reasons" of ' •
Me. Fletcher, • not only in publishing the placards,
bit also in thus confidentially corresponding 'with
Sir Robert Baker. •

In one of the interviews which Mr. Pearson had
with Mi.. Birnie, he was informed by him, that, among
other communications which he had received upon
this subject, was an anonymous letter, bearing .a
country post-mark, assuring him that Fletcher was
in a place c( perfect security, and was laughing at.
his pursuers. This letter was considered A lit hoax.