The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-11-24 00:00:00

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tit; career.
lurhear to brine to mind the noble
defence of the Rights of Juries, and
!ress. In a succession of battles, he
ttted the power claimed by the Judges
elves on the character of the writ*,
aria Jurietto_ thmusere fact of publication ;
end at last secured to the Juries the decision, of the, law
as well is the fac4—a point which sreuld be of tire
greatest consequence, were it not fee the power which
the pro.wo. Las obtained of inilueocing the nomivatiou of
Juries.
'fhis combat on one occasion we cannot pass ovet, mat
serves particularly to illustrate that quality for which fiord'
Erskine was so distinguished. On the trial of the vener-
able Dean of St. Asaph, (1784), who has survived his
advocate, Judge Buller endeavoured to bully 'the Jury into
a verdict favourable to his views—Lord Erakine entered
the lists with him, and was triumphant. The following
1 in-a specimen of the dialogue which passed between the
is maims.
" Mr. Justice Bu :
.I will take the verdict as they mean
:10 glee it; it 011111 not be altered. Gentlemen, if I unde,stand
you right. your verdict hathis—yoa swaso to nay guilty of pub-
lishing this libel ?—A Juror : No, thergeyblet ; we do net de-
cide upon its being a libel.'
Mr. Justice atrium t You say he is guilty of publishing
the Pamphlet, and the meaning of the Inuendoes is as stated in
ihe indictment ?—A Juror: Certainly.
.41e. ER31(11413 111 the word wily to steed part of your ver-
dict ?—A Juror : Certainly.
" Mr. ERMINE Then I Insist it shall be recorded.
" Mr. Justice Bucxert : Then the verdict must be misunder-•
stood. Let me understand the Jury.
" Mr. ERSKINE: The Jury do understand their verdict. '
" Mr, Justice Bustte: Sir, I will not be interrupted. - .
" Mr. ERSKINE : 1 stand here as an Advocate for a brother
citizen, and I desire that the word mite may be recorded.
" Mr. Justice Buttes: Sit down. Sir; remember your
duty, or I shall be obliged to proceed in another manlier.
" Mt. Euslive: Your Lordship oterproceed in what man-
se ysis thldk $l. I know my duty ea well as your LordshlP
knows yours. I shalt not alter my cooduct."
Nothing can be more unble than the allusion t 6 the threat of
the Jade, selth which he coseholed his 'weenest :' .
• "It was the first command and (weasel of cny youth. always
to de what my conscience told me to be my duty ; and to leave
the consequences to God. I shall carry with me the memory,
and I trust the practice, of this parental lesson to the grave.
I have hitherto followed it, and have no reason to complain
that my obedienceto ithas been even a temporal sacrifice. I hate
found it, on the contrary, the road to prosperity and wealth;
and I shall point it out as such to my children."
On occasion of this trial, we may add, Mr. Erskine made an
admirable effort to concentrate all the doctrines, and to com-
bine all the reasonings which lay scattered throughout so many
volumes of legal learning; upon the principles laid down In
this speech Mr. Fox framed his Bill.
The independence exhibited by our Advocate on every
occasion, brought upon him the defence of a multitude 01
persons prosecuted for sedition or libel by Government.
His defence of Paine, however, occasioned his sudden dis-
misilon from the office he lied as At!orney General to the
Prince of Wales; but he was subsequently appointed to the
dignity of Chancellor to his Royal Highness, an office
which had lain dormant (or many years.
One of the most brilliant events in Mr. Erskine's profem
sional life was the part east upon him, in conjunction with
Mr. (afterwards Sir V.) Gibbs, in the State trials. in the
year 1791. The accused persons looked up to Mr. Erskine
as their instrument of safety. He undertook their several
defences with an enthusiasm which rendered him insensi-
ble to the fatigues of a long sod continued exertion ; no-1
thing was Omitted that could elucidate their innocence;
nothing overlooked that could tend to weaken the force of
the case stated against them by the Crown Lawyeri.
Sobs' gitently to this period, a great change in the pad,
cal beruilhere c6nverted the eloquent Advocate into •
Judge, and a Peer of the Keehn. Soon after the death of
Mr. Pitt, the subject of this memoir was sworn a blember
of the Privy Council, treated a Baron (Feb. 7, 1506) by
the title of Lord Eiskine of Restormail Castle in Cornwall,
and entrusted with the dreit Seal as Lord High Chancellor
of Great Britain.
In cousequence,howeverof a changeof Ministry, his Lord-
ship did not long retain his high judicial office ; led it was,
afterwards a matter of mach regret ou the part of the public
that his elevation to the House of Peers bad siner
prevented his exertions in those other places where Us
services would have been of more eminent use to the canoe
oftbe constitution, and more gratifying and beneficial le
bit:Olaf. In no part, however, of his lengthened life 641
he swerve from the political principles he professed at itemise
mencement ; and for the great exertions he made, and the
valuable services be rendered, in securing tbe.liberty Of*.
subject, his name will continue to be honoured, as long ail
En;lishmon retain the love of liberty, or respect the split I
of independence.

1111. COBBErr V. Tux TOLL COLLECTORS- nr 'rue
NEW INUTON, KENSINUTON, AND VAUXHALL
OATES.

• •
UNION liotes..—Elijah Neale, the receiver of. toll, at
the Newington (late, appeared- before Mr. Swaser,
.fictiotta, J. KING, and EDWARDS, Dirs., to answer the
complaint of Mr. Cobbqt, for obstructing • single horse
cart, and refusing to let it pass tie toll gate, without the pay.
went of a larger toll than by Adi 6T Parliament the toll
cul-
lector was entitled to demand. •
' A Solicitor, upon the pact of, the defendant, objocte 1 is
amine, that as the informaticurWas Goo a.pcpal.statute, Mr.
Itobbett was not a competent wits.4Z' •
ilr.:Cohlrett; in atts wer to.this ohjeetloo.;stated tlot be had
•doofter witpess inoodiness, if it were thought necessary to
prod's( ...Aber evidence; but he !lipoid derliee doing so,
.as he was unwilling to establcara preced;iit that any pobr
men who had been compelled to •muy tare thins legal
toll, should not, on making his complaint, bebsard in In
owe behalf.
• The ohjection was,. afee'r-SOMe.tatiiriations from the nor,
• •
cjitet,lieerruled, and the M3Kiitiates requested tatt-r0r.'1.41;•
.liett would proceed to state his compliiet.. • 01 • • •
1 CObelt otated, thatj oo UM • ;10t:r,. be accolopound

,~

„. .. -
H LOR.D• ERSKINE.. ~ bisearter in a sinein borseassrff earl ifrari§torf Viiititfp:s
elr the public, and. especially the t° N:wiilfto°.,foto• the drienO., ,intt 0112141dta Weilinto f , 0: ,
to Lord Erskine, . retitle the me- i forth. toll. ele (Mr.'C'). reme° 4 1 VijOilis 44. •
-offered 3d. the legal toll, bartlie' torahs. t 'in 14oect hi* i
•to dm most grateful acknorileilge. point, and thus subjected himself itq .the.peasLty, ;Thee*
extended._ memoir than we bale
Pris oo incivility in the man's coodagt, beyond ,the.sefewall ,
.0 centribete. In rennin, to the
ofes tb permit the cart to pass without remitiog thi-unaratiotew
sed sum. Prt ealties were not the objeet of thiseonlialltal •
ssionsl onal pursuits, we find him, in the
of the best second business it the ri
thee, a memorable event took lace
All he (Mr. cobbett) desieed was, that pooe mew wire belP*
p
Its into fell activity. The occasion Pei 4 more 'tm” ths"theveelEht" he" 1"14'"'h°1191 1.644
Inlet (fords's, for Merril attributed wive ve back the sums Which bad been improperly, 'hut IMP
London. La this trial, Mr. &skin* eireifallY,Aimemeded.
- for his Lordship, in conjunction •: 40:540401g f gleether Mr. Cobbem meant to perdu* '.;
2 rianis Lord Chief Justice of the 10 hi* Jot/ration to.call asother witness. , -
tty which more immediately devolved Mr. Cohliett laid he would rather sot eill gwitpesi, ?.'.
0f rePIYiOR 10 11,041"0000 1 a duty the-reason beiradilret: lf a paur mei could sot. mak, :
.
Ili infinite jatigmeat anti spirit. and his owe complaint, it would •Ire pelpableithet. lie .had no ft-
I was one of the most Impressive medy; and that the lew was tbereforeimll %sore •
..
ontlici al .assembly la England. and Is ' . • . r ... .
,i''): .: - •
Mr. Cobbett thetfunderwent a .rose-e: hurtle' by the de*
fendwat's eilleitor, on thearsts. of hf:44
be a meat astonishing effort of vi- wade nteaderts%)
,intelleet. • the three to the col •
es , • oyes. tot
-,Wit-I;rifi Milk 4rst plant et the bats inn ".401.0110.•044 1,..., 4141111100 go WI
•l"'.• hers. for Pertsesostb,* laimpesstes • , • sell ' thee filth-he ootthl prilveltat tt1e41004.-
;hit, to follow avinately his - eat was not 11 with "mow the. wootteeotalo: es WA*. " '
. -
place.

101 l
amount of the ll took
Upon this objectiooya lad was examined, but his testldatif '
bore oat that of Mr. Cobbett in every particular: • • •' • • •
The defenclaut'ssolteltor contended that bra elleat hall defect '
altogether ender the direction and contredit of tile lends en
the toll, wbo had received his instructions teem' the trustable 1 s
that at the period at 'which the lessee took- theitelle. en•Aot et
Parliament was in km, which made•the legal demand ded.,eri
appeared by the table salted tottie.gate hose; but wilialods-•
abort period afterwards, the late Act passed. reduclng•the teal 4
on the particular description of carriage alluded to in this Ose
to three pence. It, howeter, was doohthil waether the }ludo •
Mere intended to put that Act in force before the2tih of Jab...
Meet; and. under those circumstances, it was hoped thtl tits •
• leases would be relieved from the imputation of, hating al..'
teroptea to Impose upon the public. lied he supporettlat the .1
Act coraiorinoed its operations' before that the, .he erotrld arm
have directed that the demand should be p rsevered in. sniff'
more than he should, while the oleidet leas la operation, hada
increased the toll authorised by that Act. ~ •
• Mr. Cobbett said it was quite obvious that the defendait Welt-
knew that he was wrong is demeaning, tne Nd., forlopcinefia*. '
ing that he could nut get that sum, be offered. to take VI", 314',
bill no money would be paid to him, as. the obstrurllett
taken place. It was not, Mr. Cohbett deglared. %NAL:: osero:i
account that he appeared as prosecutor on this occasion.
wished to•protett a poor man, who he knew bed peidaeq nth
tvielve shillings more than he ought to hart paid toliit,gpilee-i-
-tors of the toils, and the holy means of obtaining the
redress wet larutagh the hlegistrates,by•receiving repdrtirik.
the penalty which toe Actgare to the inibreser. it was a:341-r
gular fact that lids was the first Aet of Parliamsmt cost g,ve is!
protection to the lessee against any ectiotor other procernier
by which money could be reeovered from them wheat they had ..
illegally taken. Ile (Mr. Cobhett) therefore. tnoughttlis I, the
poor man should he redressed to the-manner Le had stajetly ,
• Mr. Hannan (the Magistrete)said the (Ace had not the.poorr
of a Court *f Requests, and cod d 'not award damages.
Mr. Cobbett said, that wheel a'pdor man paid ten or Melia
shillings mc re then he °ego/ teltaveptirl, hesras entitled in eR
Gimes. to receive it back in some sort of way; and-if Olt INA
not, revel volt at the hoods et We Magletretes, *Odd not r•-••
Oeite it at al. -
• ');e Usgiltrates:thm 15,40148 i . time, .04
doi.ly gave it as their opinion, that too defendant had legally •
hammed the penalty flied by the Act ; but thei: said, that tag- .
lug into consideration he bed acted under as authority which'
had misled him, they thought he had a reasonable excuse fon ;
*hat he had done, and they therefore diva:Lied tad charge eta
his paying the costs.
The toil collectors of the Kennington and Vauxhall trusts
appeared upon informations similar to the Brat. The eircuae-
stances were exactly the same, and so was the result.

CURIOUS EXPERIMENT seiticirmii POISON.

The followieg experiment, Which was maid' by Sie
Astley Cooper, on Friday li.st, is inspertant, ag thatch"- -
'tremens employed in it may afford the ineassrPefsiee:
stantaneouslymuiptying the iteueath in case of polies' -..0... '•
Friday, Nov. 21.—At half paittme o'efcick thelfleinfilft
The 'tee was crowded to excess, in consequence Of; i,th' !sit.'
ing been stated on the preceding Tuesday, that ttoome•ei-
periments were to be tried on a dog this day, fcietbai_ari
pose of iteertaining whether liquids could be peiliitiO•lto
stomach, and removed from it by means of du lostr,Ottote,
which had been lately ',rented by Mr. Reedy'' 'the
menden Lone, Kent. At 2 o'clock precisely • * flail
placed on the table. Its legs and teddy being eecur tt far'
two or three of the pupils, dairdo pestle, was pct Into its
month, to keep the saws separated i and then a stra4larij of
opium, dissolved in four onnces of water, was poure4 Inti
the stomach. After this, the peille was iemoved„,l4 ibis.
dog left free on the table; lei the space of 20 i'minitym
the dog manifested a disposition to. vomit,. sthAe4 0411
immediately checked by pressing the thsger age.enit pro'
(esophagus. The opium; bowever, had no very semlble,
effect on the dog till the expiratiOn of 30 minutes. wink 7
the dog was unable to stand Upright. Witco the *plea,
was adMinistered, the dog's' pulse was 120. In Ie.IIAS.
minutes • aftee.it became 110, and gradually sulk to .9QO
which was the lowest point, At the expiration of 33
minutes from the time the opium was given, the storisirtb.
was evacuated of its contents by means of the kristitebeoli;
and the dog appeared to be little worse for the experiment,: ,
Mr. Reed was in the Theatre during the whole of tbet
time, and superintended the use of the lostraolent Le.'t
quitting, he received the nuanimeds'aptiketle Of tleols,
'elegem. Sir Aetley Cooperjust after the eipetiant hmk
been tried, looking at what bad been ;emoted fronik,*
stomach; smiled, and said that the instrument would do,
well for an Alderman after a city fealo.;--(The.Ltancet4 "
Oo Friday night an inquisition was )egid it tlseltert•
Lion, Portland Street, Soho, On' the body dr Iliisi.Ens
Jane Rotten,a young womeo, aged 00 years. kappeliliit
that the deceased 'resided with her 'Mends in Lientilltk I
Street. She had for some time 'pelf 'bolted sytoptosaik',ol"
mental derangemett; and was three titnetplaced ender prop'ett
ca
re to prevent self desteection ; the last hoe' was io Jame:
from that period until'the last six Weeitir'sbelad brio?' de•'
pressed in. spirits; -nothitig disturbed her ,niinti: Chi:.
former attacks ,were brought- (Or by the Woe' appealable:
411.
' and manner a etindoct. The ereoing.isieAsus - tit t •
' deceased hingihg herself, the 'seemed better, bent to . !
' at heruseal time, bat 'noe• getting.' opt s'
• was. her tts a ,
practice, to attend upon het Whet, who was afflicted . tis,''
a paralytic attack, and riot -istegtveifigg the batld heZ..,IW
rang, or to the call of " Elite" severilllnres, an ioun lite
egarch took place, teed' on •ents'elhle %He bed room, the' des '
ceased was foiled 'suspended tette bed Ott; the body 'it at
imtantly rat dowrytted hithoogb Valle; all anietrticreVtd i
' ceased. Mr. L.. K. Brown, sergelikiveras Called in, so4b
immediately Mod the'llecesied* In' e' itgular vein; Wit '
hardly any bleed.. monied t 'hirthet iitt .61 to inst e V.:9
~,
lungs, which hroontinued for 'llisvi MVAir an hour, lilt:
• Inetfentnally. Theft wee an- idepleglien uhaf.r the chid.
' closed by the deceased deettoybig herb/Calla in hid a. i . •
aloe she tlicd• of-strangtaidoe : tirek *ere tro dfler
sharks of violence about tor peretio.isMes Jury retortsst4 '
!their verdict, that "Obi' &corona* intitstralilt ih a. '
, state of ices ,pity,"