Star.
London, England, 1821-08-22 00:00:00

LIBEL.--THE KING V. COX.

This was an indictment against the defendant, Mr.
Isaac Cox, a very respectable solicitor of Honiton, in
this County, as the avowed author of some para-
graphs which appeared in Trewman's Exeter Paper of
the Ist February, and in The Alfred Exeter Paper of
the same month, with some additional observations.
The alleged libel was as follows:
" Sidmoutb, January 50, 1821.
" An instance of most brutal cruelty was witnessed at this
place last week. A young man, about 19 years of age, a stu-
dent at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, after riding his
horse on the beach, ordered his groom to take it into the dung-
court of the York Hotel stables. The groom soon discovered
that his intention was to destroy the 'poor animal, and peti-
tioned in Jain that it might be spared. The young man then
fired a small pistol at it, and the bullet entered just under the
eye. The poor creature flew out of the hands of the groom, and
dashed itself against the wall ; as it went off, another pistol was
fired at its hind parts. He then had it caught and brought up
to him, in order that he might again fire. The wretched state
of the poor animal beggared description; it had a wound under
its eye, where the first shot entered, the eye partly destroyed, and
blood and water running profusely down its face, whilst every
part of its frame trembled with agony ; it was thus kept whilst
the young man sent his brother, a lad of about 11 or 12 years of
age, to cast fresh ballets. A quarter of an hour elapsed before
the bullets were brought, and the poor creature was twice more
fired at by its inhuman master. The repeated discharge of pis..
cols brought several persons into the yard, who at length sent for
the proper people to put the suffering animal out of misery ; but
this was not effected till it had been kept in a most mangled and
pitiable state three quarters of an hour from the first shot.—
Those who witnessed this savage conduct loaded the young
wretch with reproaches, but drew from him no expression of
feeling or sorrow. Many of the inhabitants determined to in-
stitute a criminal prosecution against him, and were about to
open a subscription for the purpose, when they were informed,
to their surprise and sorrow, that there is no law to punish acts
of this description, however barbarous or cruel."
This was inserted in Trewman's Paper of the Ist of
February ; and on the 6th of that month it again ap-
peared, with some very trivial alterations, in the Alfred
Paper, with the following observations prefixed :
44 We cannot avoid directing the serious attention of our
Readers to the following circumstance, which lately occurred at
Sidmouth. The atrocity of the deed has excited, wherever
known, a general feeling of abhorrence towards the wretch who
possesses a heart so lost to the feelings of humanity, as to imbrue
his hands in the blood of a useful and unoffending animal. We
have not been able to ascertain what induced the youth to act
thus, but it proves a savage ferocity of. nature greatly to be de-
plored; and it is a subject of regret that there is no law in our
code to recognise and punish the perpetrators of such cruelty.
The frequent instances of brutality to animals that have of late
disgraced our land, will, it is hoped, induce some philanthropic
Member of the Legislature to bring the subject before Parlia-
ment, and provide a mode of punishment for offences of a simi-
lar nature."—Then followed the former article.

Mr. Serjeant YELL, for the plaintiff, disclaimed
any malice towards the defendant, on the part of
the prosecutor or of his family; but that it was to
clear the character of the young man from the stain
which had thus been cast upon it, and which, unless
removed would not only prove a bar to his advance-
ment in the honourable profession which he had em-
braced, but in every other. That being the object,
the Learned Counsel courted inquiry to the fullest
extent, and for that purpose called the following
witnesses :

Francis Stevens, the solicitor for the prosecution,
resided at Sidmouth ; saw the defendant at the hotel
at Exeter during the Assize week in March or April
last, produced the Newspapers in questi.ba ; in con-
verbation with Mr. Cox respecting a prosecution

against the Newspapers, Mr. Cox observed, that tin-
der all the circumstances, the man was justified in
the comments or expressions which he had made use of.
This alluded to the observations in The Alfred, Mr.
Cox having before admitted that he was the author
of the paragraph in Trew man's Paper.
Thomas Norman, the father of the prosecutor, was
living at Sidmouth at the time in question ; has a wife
and six children ; the prosecutor, Charles, is the eldest
son ; he is a Student at the Military College at Sand-
hurst ; he is not 17 ; in January last had a mare in hip
possession ; the same that was afterwards shot ; had
had it three years and a half; it was too light to carry
witness ; gave it to his son to ride at the vacations ; his
son hunted it; the mare was unsound at the time of the
purchase ; she had been fired, and at the time in ques-
tion was visibly declining ; he wished her to be shot,
and desired his son to dispatch her. The mare was a
favourite, and treated more like a dog than a horse.
(This eXpression, at the suggestion of Mr. Baron Gnw-
u A fir, was qualified to that of a ‘. favourite dog.")—llc
saw his son load the pistols, and desired him to shoo:
the mare in the head, and it would do the business.

C. Norman, the prosecutor, said, that the mare had
infirmities in her knees and legs; she had been filed;
rode the mare on the 25th of January for a shot t time
on the beach ; the mare was kept at the York hotel
stables; it was a half-blood mare; she was weak in the
legs, and had cracked heels ; his father desired him to
shoot the mare in the head, as it would kill her ; he
went down to the stables, and ordered the mare to
be bandaged, holding the halter in his left hand, he
fired the pistol with his right; the ball entered just
above the eye ; the pistol was loaded with two bullets;
the mare broke away ; in the agitation another pistol
was discharged towards the ground near his foot ; it
was not directed to the mare; he desired Drew the
servant to go for more bullets, which being procured,
he shot again: he wished he could have procured a
' musket ; the second fire did not take effect ; it was
behind the ear ; he fired again, and missed ; he fired
' again hehind the ear, but could not destroy the ani-
mal: a person was sent for who did it with the assist-
ance of a person of the name of Dunstan ; they struck
her on the head ; he had no ill-will against the ani-;
mal, but acted from motives of humanity.
On cross-examination, he had hunted the mare'
four or five days before, and about twice a week before
in the course of the season ; his brother accompanied
Drew to fetch more bullets ; a smith might have of-
fered to put an end to the horse: he sai4b would fire
again, which he did in about eight minutes; in the
interval the sufferings must have been excessive ; in
about twenty minutes after he sent for a farrier, and
in about five minutes after that the horse was put to
eath. On being asked whether he had said that the
horse was his own, and that he had a right to do
with it what he pleased, the witness said that he con-
sidered he had a right to shoot her. It was a quarter
of an hour from the time of getting off the horse to
the time the first pistol was fired ; witness fired four
or five times; several people said that it was an
in-
human act.

Henry Dunstan, a saddler, of Sidmouth, saw a part
of the transaction ; he was of opinion that there was
no cruelty on the part of the plaintiff; but admitted
that he had not always given the same account. He
admitted haring said that he should get some money
by it, meaning that he was to have the horse's skin.

On the part of the defendant, Mr. ARANt made a
very forcible speech, contending, that although the
paragraphs were somewhat highly coloured, yet that,
►n substance, even by the adm►ss►on of the prosecutor,
the account was substantially correct ; and Mr. Baron
GRAHAM, in his charge to the Jury, expressed his
opinion that there had been much of indiscretion and
thoughtlessness, to say the least of it.
The Jury, after a very short deliberation, returned
a verdict of—Guilty.

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, AUGUST Is.

A Prussian Baron was brought up to be heard on
his petition to be discharged, and was opposed by
Mr. Daniel, a silversmith.

It appeared that the Baron's father had bought
about £l6O worth of plate from Mr. Daniel, and
not paying for it at the time promised, Mr. Daniel
had him arrested ; and the Baron, to procure his
father's release from prison, joined him in a warrant
of attorney to Mr. Daniel, on which he was after-
wards arrested himself, from which he now petitioned
to be discharged.
The Baron stated that he was a minor, in proof
of which he produced a copy of the registry of his
birth, certified by the Prussian Ambassador.
The COURT, after some consultation, declared there
was nothing in the case that had been made out by
the Baron's opposing creditor that could operate to
prevent his discharge; but they very much feared
that the fact of minority, which the Insolvent him-
self had proved, deprived the Court of any juris•
diction in the case. The Act of Parliament re-
quired, that every person discharged under it,
should assign his property to an assignee ap-
pointed by the Court, for the benefit of his creditors ;
and also that he should execute a warrant of attorney,
by which his future property should become subject to
the payment Of the residue of his debts. Now a mi-
nor could not legally execute either of these instru-
ments, and therefore, according to the present opinion
of the Court, a minor could not be discharged under
the Act.

The Learned Commissioners all expressed their re-
gret at what they considered an omission in the Act
of Parliament, and declared that their minds were'
perfectly open to adopt an opinion different from that
which they had pronounced, if on argument they
could see reason for it ; and to afford the insolvent
every opportunity in their power to have the point
argued by Counsel, instead of dismissing his petition,
they would adjourn the case, leaving it to him to bring
it again under the consideration of the Curt, when-
ever he might be advised to do so.

'RICK
z-sr. F., . PENCE.

MILITARY RESOURCES OF RUSSIA:

PRIVATE LETTER.
ST. PETERSBURG 11, JULY 24.

Whether the Emperor Alexander entertained ot
not, since the last Treaty of Paris, previously toi
during, or after the Congress elf Aix4la-Chapelle, and
those of. Carlsbad and Laybach, views of future,
aggrandizement, or whether he was only desirous of
insuring the maintenance cf peace by the display of
an immense military lot ce ; it is at least certain, that
he has been continually augmenting the number of
his regular troops, and that by his system of coloni-
zation, he has evinced that he had in view to instil a
martial spirit into the entire population of Russia.
Russia contains about 38 millions of inhabitants;
that is to say, 19 millions of males. The object of co.
lonization is, that there may be always two in a hun-
dred capable of bearing arms, which, if all the Rus-
sian Empire were colonized, would give 380,000 men,
exclusive of the regular troops. At present, the Em-
peror can only draw, at the utmost, 250,000 men;
besides, the Russian Nobles, who are proprietors of
immense domains, and numerous inhabitants, are op-
posed to his system, and do not introduce it in their
possessions, but think it sufficient to furnish the men
whom they are bound to do f9r the contingent of the
Imperial mops.
These troops, at this moment, amount to the alarm,
ing number of 912,000 men, exclusively of the col°•
nization.ibrces, the permanent army of Siberia (the
number of which is not very accurately known), and
the Polish army, which, in truth, amounts only to
23 or 30,000 men, and which the Russians hold in
sovereign contempt.
The 912,000 men at present enrolled under the
Russian banners, are disposed as follows :
Ten Infantry Corps d'Armee, each consisting of 54,000
men, and dispersed throughout the various Pro-
vinces of the Empire - - 540,090
The Corps d'Armec under Prince de Wittgenstein, en-
camped on the frontiers of Turkey - 92,000
The Corps d'Armee of General Yermanoff, which was
thought destined to Piedmont, and which, at the re-
quest,
it is said, of the Emperor of • Austria, conti-
nues stationed on the frontiers of Silesia . . - 112,000
The Imperial Guard, composed of • 40,000 • Infantry,
and 10,000 Cavalry - - .50,000
The permanent Corps of 54,000 men, which watches
Persia _
A Corps d'Elite of 14,000 Grenadiers - -
And, finally, five Corps of Cavalry, each 10,000 men
strong - 50,000

- 51,000
- 14,000

Making an aggregate force of - 912,000
It may be imagined, that with such a shew of
strength, the Continental Powers bordering on Russia
have no inclination for a rupture with her, and that
it is not by those Powers, whose territories would be
immediately occupied by the Russian troops, that'
any opposition could he made to the aggrandizement
of Russia in the Turkish States. If the Turks, by
the result of the events of a war, should be driven
out of Europe, and canfined to Asia, it would be
the complete destruction of Ismalism ; the Sect:
of Ali would very soon be the only Mahonietan
sect, and the Persians would do that for the Truitt
in Asia, which Russia would have accomplished for
the Turks of Europe. One thing, which it is important
to remark, is, that this immense Russian army is, or
would soon be, useless, if Russia only aimed at Tur•
key, and if she had not to fortify herself against the
great Powers; for Russia, in her wars with the Porte,
never employed more than 50 or 60,000 men. She
requires a much less force in the present day, as
Turkey has suffered so much by the vigorous de-
fence or the attacks of the Greeks on land, and espe-.
cially by sea. What induced a belief that war would
take place, and that the rupture was threatening on
the part of the Porte was, that the EmperorAlcxander
required of the Grand Vizier an apology for the con-
duct shewn to his Ambassador ; threatening, at the
same time, to advance his troops if he had not satis.
faction in the interval of eight days.; and the eight
days elapsed without the required satisfaction being
given. Whether motives of prudence—the desire, at
least apparent, of only acting in concert with his
Allies—or perhaps the heat of the season, may hi-
therto have restrained the ardour of the Russian
troops on the right bank of the Pruth, war does not
to us appear the less inevitable, and the months of
September, October, November, and December, are
the most favourable for carrying on hostilities in that
country. If the Russians march upon Constantinople,
and it is in that quarter that they would begin, it will
not be by skirting the borders of the Black Sea (not
that the passage of the Muth, the Dniester, and the
Danube, can be attended with great difficulty), but
they will, in the first place, penetrate by Yassy. They
have calculated, that it will only take them twenty.
three days' march to reach Constantinople, and they
then conceive that.the corps of Yermanoff, combined
with some Austrian troops, would occupy Wallachia
and Moldavia.

A fatal accident happened on Monday se'nnight, at
Woodend lime work, East Monkland. As the work-
men employed in sinking an air•shaft were bringing
up the bucket, it came in contact with the stone used
as a balance, and brought it up till near the mouth,
when falling down, after striking upon the side, it
alighted upon the head of John Duncan, and killed
him on the spot.
All the capital convicts at the late Assizes for Cam-
bridgeshire have been reprieved.
y y
A Yhf ARK ET THEATRE-O'K F.F.FE'S Opera of Fors-
laihbleau was last night produced at this Theatre,
with all the vocal and comic strength of the Com-
pany to support its characters. It is a most success-
ful revival, inasmuch as it accomplishes the end of
exciting a double interest, and consequently creating
a double attraction. Jutirts's Lach/aud was, in itself,
enough to deserve an overflowing House ; and the
enchanting tones of Miss CAnEW, and her delightful
supporter, Miss CoRRI, ought also to form an ine.
sistihlc demand upon the Put2ic. The Opera cannot
fail to serve the ticasury of the establithment.