The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-12-12 00:00:00

1

II

1

I

I

i

r.rland. Under a tepeblicar gwernu•ent, *Mat he
ad materially served, Paine lied been refused even
Christian burial ; and one of Lib principal objects in
bringing the relics of that moll to this country had
been to 'bow the people of England lion completely
all public spirit and all prti•lic virtue were destroyed
by republican governments. Ihe defentlast went on
to account for his having first justified, ant afterwards
abandoned, his plea of justifieal* . Instructions for
that plea had been delivered to hit attorney, at a time
when he was deeply euraseti with business of mute
interest. and when he was net aware °film precise do-
cuments which wield be necessary for him to support
that plea. He lied power to prove all that he had
said arainet the plaintiff, a•td ten times more: and
whatever course the present action might take, that
proof should. in proper titne, be forthcoming : but it
nal not ready now. He we!lutnieratutal that against no
man hut himself would the resent action have been
bronzlet. He knew the political feeling which the ?Wu-
If misted to. I !whit v had been told that he had 'limited
Sir P. Burdett, and it was hoped that the Jury would visit
that libel npon him in the dasts.:reo which they might
pore for the present. Le treetril, however, that they
world do no such thin, and lie was sure that newton
would despise more heartily than the lion. Baronet
himself such a miserable attempt to !tinder to their
Prejntlices. He Still contended that the Inc•lation of
letter virtually amonnted to a forgery of that letter.
Ewell Dr. Franklin, having made an improper use of
Vane letters obtained from the Government of Massa-
s.h•netts, had been called a thief by Lord Iloaslyn, at
th- bar of the House of Commons. Mr. l'obbett then
remarked upon the evidence which had been adduced
by the plaintiff, and intimated to the Jury the ground
epou which he proposed to rest his defence—that
gruund being simply this :—that it was his son 11'il•
ham, and not himself, who had been the publisher of
the libels in question..and that a considerable portion
el the matter complained of in the Re; inter of the tith
Marc,,et lO9, hail been written by his suns William
a•ul John. lie then called

Wm. Clement, who &poised that the Pviitieal Re-
In I was. legally published by Wus. Cub-
brit, jun. la the beginning of lril witness published
the ReArieter. Witness kept his accounts with William
Cehbett. jun. Ile settled his accounts with his son :
tot always considered the father as responsible. Ile
c .osidered the father the proprietor of the Register,
ttonsgh nut legally so.

In his cresvetosaination, witness admitted that he
}Aid never Mated with the son, but as the agent of the
1. Cher. The father's none was entered in his book:,
; ',holies be settled accounts with the son. Before
At r. Cobbett went to AtnerirA witness gave bills to a
eo!.siderable amount fur his use. Those bills were
g•veh in anticipation of the proceeds which were to
a ise from the proceeds of the Register.
Charles Preston, clerk to the stamp-office. produced
an allidseit of Win. Cobbett, jun., dated sth of Jo-
mktriaaW6. testing himself to be sole proprietor of
th.• I.l!.l:llvistar-ard another of the 25th of
tl e same month, in the same year, stating himself to
be tic WSW, imitlielsot, an sole proprietor of the

Win. l'ohbett, Jun. was next called. The material
part of this witness's evidence neat to the question
whether be ur his father was in tenth the proprietor
of the paper. The witness swore that the property
or the paper was made over to him by his father, and
his falser received from him a salary as editor.
'1 hat Wary varied from time to tinse6 from 35 ur 40
guineas a week to 3501. per month. Witness was
kriter fide: proprietor of the paper. He frequently made
alterations in the matter transmitted by his father, and
made most material alterations in that i art of the
i:ecio:'ir of the 6.1 March, 1519, which alluded to
tt.e ptaintilf.
1-, his cross-examinatian, witness ailnsitted that he
Isis father ne consideration for the assignment of
ti c piper, and that be reassigned it without receiv-
ing any consideration. During the time that the
paper eras the property of witness, his father had not
the power at will to resume it; but, of course, if he
withdrawn his writing, the shadow only would
h..ve !wen left to witness.

Mr. John Cul.bett, another of defendant': sons, de-
posed principally to !some alterations by him, and by
his hral••r, in the article of the Gill ISI9,
which regarded Mr. Wright, the plaintiff. The al-
terations were :oath-, because the article nag nut suf-
ficiently bitter.
Mr. Scant.err, in reply, contended that the whole
course of Ur. Cob!reit': defence had Inca an aggrava-
tion of the injury which he dune to the plaintiff.
IL. Lotto Cuter•,lcs rice, in summing up, held
that 31r. Coldictt, either as the bona fide proprietor,
ur as the editor of the Political Rtffister, would be li•
able for its conteuis. With respect to the alterations he
Lad authority to make : if a principal authurired 311
agent to iu.ske reasonable alterations, then for the 14-
feet of such I-ea:unable alterations he was still respon-
s.ble. It was for the Jury to decide whether the evi-.
de •rr had brought haute to the defendant the libels in
•.lion. If they were of that 'Tinian, the line of do-
te: :.e adopted b►- Mr. Cohbett, if not permitted to
sseigh iu aggravation of damages, would certainly be
a very ►ntfirieut bar to any plea in mitigation.
The Jury retired at about a quarter to nine ; and,
after an Absence of nearly our hour and three quarters,
returned with a verdict fur the plaintiff-.—Damages,
I,ucet.; costs, 40s.

The trial occupied thr Cunrt from half-past nine in
the morning till a platter past ten at night.

Entsitnott, Ore. 7.—A letter from Professoe Ja-
ntelSol2 was read at the meeting of the Town Council
yesterday se'tinight, intimating, that such arrange-
ments were made as would admit of the museum being
opened this day to the public, and inviting the Cuss-
.ii to inspect it. Great additions have lately been
made to the museum in every branch of natural
s-ience, and front the inilef.ttirable exertions of the
ingenious professor, it is advancing, we believe, every
day in importance.
In a Northetn English town, a few weeks no, an
hoprst l_'ri•pin, who odiciatrt as sexton, was thus ad-
d►essed by his better half Thomas, we should have
a KOO4t.every body is getting one.'—' A pope indeed '.'
replied the hatband, 'an hat'ut buried a living soil
these three weeks.'