Star.
London, England, 1828-11-21 00:00:00

effect of convicting the plaintiff of the offence imputed
to him, and they would not return such a verdict but on
evidence sufficient to warrant such a conviction.
• The defendant being printer and proprietor of the
Times, was admitted.
M.. Turner, from Somerset House, produced The
Times of The 15th of April. The alleged libel was then
read. It stated that Mr. Scott, one of the overseers of
the parish in which Mrs. Walker, the wife of the pd.
inner, mho had been acquitted of bigamy, resided,
accompanied her to Hatton Garden police office, to
Mice a claim on behalf of the parish against her bus-
f sr an allowance for her 'maintenance, and that
in tl‘e course of making this claim he stated tot' e Ma-
gistt ate that Walker had been tried at the Old Barley,
and hai been acquitted in consequence of Taylor, the
constalie, having kept back the witnesses against him.
This was the plaintiff's case.
Mr. Sergeant WILD! addressed the Jury for the
defendant. He said it was his duty to deny that the
dtfendaet had published any gross and scandalous libel,
aid *he felt himself warranted in makifig that denial by
the circumstances of the case. It was important to a
paper of such high character as the Times that it should
be understood that the police report, of which the pl rine
tiff complained, was not made in any spit it of malignity
or hostility, but was justified by the truth of the fact;
and this conclusion he hod no doubt the Jury would
come to when they should have heard the evidence that
he would lay be'ote them. It was one of the great
advantages of the free press of this country, that by the
publication of the proceedings of our Cow is the public
became acquainted with the opinionsvand the conduct
• f ihe Judges, and of the inferior officers of Justice,
'which operated as a safeguard against the abuse of
power. In the present case he could not doubt that the
Jury would be convinced by the evidence that the plain-
tiff had obstructed the course of Justice, by keeping back
the witnesses for the prosecution on the trial of Walker ;
and if they believed that fact, they would give their
verdict for the defendant.
hl r. Charles Spencer Owen produced the copy of the
'indictment and acquittal of Wm. Walker, on a charge
•r f bigamy, and two cettificates of marriage between
Wm. Walker and Ann Glover, and Wm. Walker and
Ann Williams—the first dated 26th of June, 1826, the
second 27th September, 1827.
Mrs.AnnWalker—My maiden name wasAnnGlover;
I married Wm. Walker on the 26th June, 1826, at St.
Andrew's, Ilolborn; we lived fifteen months together;
we resided, five months in Nottinghamshire with his
friends ; he left me on the 15th of September, 1827; I
.was at the Sessions House, and about two months after.
wards I attended at the Old Bailey ; the plaintiff was
'slot before the Grand Jury ; 1 fist knew the plaintiff
through the recommendation of the watchman, who
•said the plaintiff would take him; the plaintiff recom-
mended me to eMploy a Mr. M:snse; he came to Mr.
Cruikshank's, at whose house I lived, and recom-
mended me t emplay that man ; I afterwards attended
*at the. Old Bailey ; I did not give Manse any money
• before I went there ; I first went to get some subpoenas,
and I found the money ; Mr. Cruikshank gave me a
sovereign to give to Manse for writing the bill.—
I *thee again attended al the Old Bailey; El.zabetti
Griffith,, Susannah Sowden, Mary B.V, and Mr. Wil-
bams sere subpoenaed, but could not find the Court,
they went by mist-Ike into the Old Court; Manse and
. the plaintiff were there With tr e; the plaintiff's wife was
piith the other patty; Vie fist day see went to the Old
'Bailey; and the plaintiff said the trial was first on the
• ;it did come on; and we were all there when our
names were called; the plaintiff would not let me go
Into the Cowl; I was •in the passage, and heard the
if g,es ca lei, and I wanted to go into the Court,
„hut the Plaintiff Would not let me go up stairs;
he -told us to stand there. and said. that it was put
off tot au hour and a half, through the clerk of the
second roatiiage not being there ; he said we could
not. go on without the clerk was there; he said, that
• in the mean time he would see if be could not get it
put off tll the next day, but he afterwards told us
• that the sru'clge said he could not put it off till the next
day ; he got us out of Court; he persuaded us to go
over the way to a -public house ; he said the case that
.lerali then to be tried would tike an hour and a half
, •
or two hours, and it would be a folly to stay there;
Ave.* were all aainst going, but he persuaded us to
go;, we sat in font of a window oppcoite the Court ;
.ire set three to Watch Taylor, because he said he
would call us down ; he went over with us first
and then left us, and said he would go v,ith Manse
to watch for us, and see that it was all going on
right ; he returned in about a quarter of an hour, and
sit down two or thtee minutes; he-talked about the case
- that was going on, but I don't kaow what he said ; he said
he should like my husband to be punished, but whether
he meant so or no I don't know ; Manse came up into the
room, and oey went away together; Taylor came
up and down two or three times; Susannah Soa den
said to Manse when Taylor was there, " We don't like
to leave the Court;" but Manse said, " You and 131
ok on ; and she said, Pray don't leave the door r
We remained in the public-house; he said it would bel
of no use for us to go down, the case was so long that
was gore into ; Taylor remained with tia a few minutes'
and went down again; he said he would go down tar'
see if it was all going on right ; some time aftetwarile,
they came and caled .1 witnesses, conic down r we went
dime, and left all our things in the room—we did not
-stisy a minute. When we got down, Taylor said, with
:V •
• tan oath, "k's over;' 1 aylor and Manse called ter
down. Whin they did so, they appeared to be going
• ▪ Imo the Cow t ; Taylor had not time to go into Court,
.and 11 come out again before We came down to him • I
.
• saw my husband in the evening as I was going home ;
•I went into Court, because I did not believe he had got
acquitted; these was another case on then; I saw my
husband in the evening at liberty; 1 after wards attended
at the Police-office to get relict ; Mr. Scott was the
overseer.
Susatinah Sowden and Mary Bath corroborated this
evil nce.
NI.. Fat, sbort.hand writer at the New Court, Old
bailey. stated, that he believed from his notes that the
trial r f Walker was called on about ten o'clock ; he was
acquitted immediately, for want ef evidence.
Mr.-J. J. Macdonald—l was at the Hatton Garden
Palice Office when Mrs. Walker applied there for relief;
I furnished a report to the Tuna Newspaper; this is
my refor• ; I had personally known 'Cal for ; this is a
correct Staten ent of what took place; nothing more
tdok place that I can how recollect; 1 furnished this
tepoi t od the night of the day on which the cis cumstasice
occuired.
Mr. Mallet, clerk at Hatton Garden Police Office,
had read the r. p Ft in the limes, and considered it suh-
stantially correct, though it might be something fullea
• than What took place before the Magiitrate.
M's. Jithn Scotr stated, that he act ompanieJ the wit!
nen, Walker, to Itatton-gar,:en !Joliet-Aire: The sub-
: stance of the report in ttie limes aas something like
who. toi lc )dace there. He did not say that Taylor hid
kept back she witnesses on the trial of Walker ; but Mrs