The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-03-24 00:00:00

TRIAL

SIR FRANCIS RURDETT.

LICWISTia. MAN( 11 3.
.'t Sic o'rlock in the Menling the body of the
Court was filled. and so great was the public-Curiosity
upon this occasion, that as early as seee• o'clock the
Castle was crowded beyond all preredent—every little
nook and corner was tilled with ladies of the
est rank and fashion, waiting wit!, the greatest anxiety
tor the trial to rommence: and the small space allotted
for the Reporters, tibial was MI 11311111111:Irly portioned 1
apart for the Gentlemen connected with the press, by
the I:older-Sheriff. Ur. Iturbitlxe, that the eagerm.ss to
procure seats was infringed upon.
Loud shouts annotimed the aptiroacls of Sir Francis "
Burdett to the l'irstle— he was accompanied by a Icientl.
ill. shook hands with several gentlemen round the Conn-
*Alias' table. Serjeant Vaughan bowed on coming into
Court to Sir Francis, which was returned by the Ba-
ronet.

The brand Jury-room, a sort of gallery, whirls looks
over the Court, was reserved, And each Juryman hail
taro tickets allotted him. Lord lloLert Mannert is the
foreman, and wee present, in which we were also in-
formed was Lady :Soaks, the mother of Lady Byron.
The latter eletrant (sonata was expected. anti alio the
Ikchess of Itutlani. !Cr George liobertson, M. P. for
Northampton. also aeceral county Magistrates were pre-
sent. Sir William Walker. Knight. made when the
Prince went to lielvoir Castle; Lady Elisabeth Norman
also Lord Denlaigh. Lady Palk, (away CAV,., EST Zvi%
the lion. Mr. Curzon, fir John Palmer, Dart.; s:r.
Kirk, M. P. for the county of Leicester.
Mr. Justice MST haying taken his sea an the Beath,
the follewing were chosen as the .ynry:—
Edward Farnham. of tot.
Henry tireen, of Haldane, Eng.
Thomas Wright. of Lebbenhi...i. Esq.
John Mayeoela, of Crosston. Esq.
Henry U. Volesnan. of Cooney. b:sq.
Valentine (been, of biortoonton Heath. Esq.
Frederick William Wollaston. of Moulton, Esq
Clement Winstaoley, of hrtinstoo, Esq.
Francis Forrester. of Moronity. Eng.
John Adams, of Loatlngstone„ Esq.
JanieoPiekering Onj of West Lassibton, Esq.
John (loiislacre, of I.."ll.sthorpe. Esq.
Mr. Baton. read the inilia Non, which we gave in
THE. STATsini.ts vesterlay ; and the address ref Sie.E.
Burdett to the Hiroo; s of Westroinnter, which formed
the subject of the indictment. '1 he Learned l'onnsed
that the information contained other fount., laying
the charge in a differeut manner.
Mr. blerjetiit VAt74IHAN then add . J the Jury. lk
said, he rose in ohedience to the duty whirl' bail been
cask :Ton, as Counsel for the Crown, to call their aura-
thin to the writing whirls had hero published by the
dcfewhant, as stated by his Learned Friend. Consider-
ing with whom this prosecution originated, and against
snoop,, it teas levelled, he was nut surprired that it had
exeltosi the curiosity asol interest which appeared in the
Coast, 'A great Law-officer of the Crown Lad th.:uglit
it tietressary to bring before a ,Incy of his country a gen-
rienian of an accieut family, of great fortune, and of
Alden/lid talents, sad who was now, he bell:-red, the fa-
vourite candidate for sepresunting in Parliament one of
the principal title, in the empire. If it were necesanry
oil ital. ortlsion to employ either subtlety of I%mile:it
to conflate theirs, or elooptence to porsuaile thew, that
the eliarge. against the defengant was true, anal that it
was an act or high sedition, lie .1 lel regret very touch
That the task had not fallen into other hands but he
felt petteadetilhat lie had a straight-forward course to
rime, and that they lsaJ a plain. and easy duty to din-
ehaege. The only points for thew to tonaider•were,
tvhs, her Sir Frencis Borden were the author or pnlr-
lislxr this Poet ; and if so, whether it bore the %esti-
tious anal libellwes character whirl. the Information ills-
voted to it. Ile took it for piloted, that there would be'
lot scfor a: to the publication of the letter, as the de-
kodant had forrneilyaeknowlislgeol Wound(' to tie the nu•
thor edit, and tin doubt he moth{ again admit that fart to-
day. 'Fhe only Int-silo.] Was. whether it were or n-ne not a
libel, and of this they were the proper judges : for what-
ever opinion ;night have been formerly entertained re-
%prelim tht province of Julien on qua-owns of this hind.
there *WI 'now no doubt on the noihjert ; he was happy
that the law in rJ us of libel had lwen settled, and that
a Jary. load now 14.11 rawer give deliverance to a de-
fendant; if thelv considered him entitled to it. With re-
spect to the trios libel, it dill not appear to him that
there at as.any. thing inynterious or difficult in it. He
hart nu hesitation in saying, and he wished it to be no-
ticed as'his opinion; that any Writing that was published
with the intention of bringing the tioyerianent of the
country into hatred anal contempt was A ; and'
schen tie vaid that, he said it without any apprehension
of lowing contradicted by the intelligence that sat at
the bench. The information charged, that the defend-'
41a, beiNhr an ill.4lisported perion, and intending to ranite
his Majesty's sithjeeta, an.. particularly the aohliern, to
sedition, and wishing and ip7ending to have it be-
lieved that certain troops of the King killed Pertain sub-
jells of the King.. did poblish the letter in .pient' .
Tiny, most therefore try this question—whether there
aras this intention to excite hatred and contempt of the
Government, anti to ex.-ite the vilifiers agtinst it. With
respeet to motives, we could only jialge of 'hem by the
acts or declamations of emu ; and tutting that ride.
eras not newharitlble to suppose that the writer of this
letter meant that which appeared on this face of this
infitEmation. if they thought it was his intention t., is
shako:l4os was charged against hint, it wee their duty
to hneigiut guilty, Every man was stipposeik. to be ac-
qoainted with tlah efiriktotroeso-of Ms own now, owl for
hisotwa act he malt be responsible. The letter related
to certain tramtOtliotio rit•lllaiselsester, whirls were tom
node, digs atsison in another county. They were tut stow
to make qp their min`als whether the• ineeting sat Man-
chester on the 16th of Atigust was a legal or an illegal
meeting ; but no reasonable man, I.e thought, road{ gay
that ,it was ant an illegal reeetiug. He admitted the
right of the subject tfi petitioh ; it was, as it ha 1 been
proprrl railed, the birth-right of an Englishman; and
he •hotild IH! one 4( tin' last' to intr. fere with that
right. . it and restrictions were iiiipmetl on it. they must
lie 11,Sfrillfil to those Min brought great Itmilen of
people together, to the terror of the neighbourhood in
which they asetesohle.l. Evervutan had the right to petition
the King, or either Ikon. of Parliament; lost then, every
man hail weans! to him the right of personal liberty
and Prtmulai properly; and those who met to petition
liathiut ri,,lit to meet in such manner, and in socks mow
hers, as iv toteite terror; if they dill inert wider such
rircuitotawen, and were too strong for the civil tooter
to ripress them, they constituted an ilteyal weetilo!.
hot if the meeting of the Iti.h of Aulost butt beeis a le-
gal assetialtly,, anal hawk horn illegally dispersed, anal if
the soldier-awl dimwitted those escrows and cro..l.ies
that wetr Charged against turns, a person waei not josti•
Owl in writing inch a letter as the our in /pest ion. 110 ea
this, 4. t. Wit& it not, a libel upon the Gortettnneant end tsar
wadies, ,The truth at the libel .waatao artsoxer.to atiy-
inch terror. Ile catiseenow to the knew itself.: It tint-
'writ-sten he addressed to theitlectora of ,WOOtwiesster,
and Was at rifle's 01144.11 the hest information irtieft 'thy
4letendent received
,of the ir.oloartiona at Alaucheater:
The first 11.1‘Page W.V. as fs.:!OWS:--" mt.
rea•le.l4 the iirwsparct this 'meriting., hat is, entrtsttlintt:
e.lo nor .

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