The Statesman.
London, England, 1819-01-18 00:00:00

i dud on tha scarab! r

top to bottom. They did aot emit to motto. every Rittman was bss chattered 'smote; end if 114• e 1...
canister-sod thimble, end to this day n r motive was voted part of the Constitution, tho•ffshve,
stated fir a eatraordinary a liberty. Indignant at Art, vas at any time saspended In coose.ioenee of
the insalt, he determined, e jib the feeling amoral real or removed danger, it was. season of rslainity:
to an &Willman, to coraplsin to these from oboist thus* who Isere exposed to it, were tett to the di..
he espeeted redress ; anti by the sdsice of a pro- caption of Minettets„ and also @alive to ill. crafty
retsina.' Gentleman, whom be had con,ulted as operation of private malignity. In such an extremity
to the beet means of vitidicatiog hit chatacier from it became all Rood eon to pity those who were
the eonwq•ence of sods an °strap, appliod In the I dragged om their bemerapd jetsam, in a prison,
Magistrates for an ',planation. tionstious of iris withoe opportunity of juatifirstion. It hoceme
own innocence, he demanded the inel(111!y I.n millet I every goo man to look with great jostnu‘y to the
the wearily of his home and the peace of his family power ,but added to the authority of Miniver., Ils
were assailed. Ile was advised to forbear ; hot Ire sell el to meet the necessity that for a Innerly.
felt his nen itidepeotionce, auJ with a holt.ness I mord the right which the immortal Blarkstno, de.
inspired by integlity, persevered in demandiag the' scribed as the oafailiap severity of the British Co..
cause °coach waive at wanton persteotit.n. "rbe stitelioe4 yet *Mei hard r. Clement dew 2 Walls
mat 10 mach M might his Imagined, where power t the unhappy Mimi( was *Mao the walls of a pd.
-woe chided by OM who wws uocloolifiril in use see, la martial's of Wag broval.t face to fare
sills the moderation that shed a glory roond se- I with his accusers ; while Orrotornment tboofght it ne.
thoritys, The Plaiotiff was committed to poiron. Ile I cestary to detain him there from 9 proosated
asked teem for bread, and they gave him a stone.— I ty, Mr. Clement bad the audacity, the Inhumanity,
Ile lay captive, unprotected, and abandoned, for to publish agrinst the helpless and abandoned Mtn,
5.4111. time. A usrront then came down for his re. a &bony of the most effoctive kind, which no one
motel from Nettiegbam, and he was conducted to 1 could reed without saying tie whole matter ha I been
_
ironed anti chained. (Bete' fuly itivestirted, and the assertion of Ward's

guilt was bottomed upon irresistible authority.--
What could have been the motive ? If Ward
was to be tried, why prejudice the Jery against
him ; and if not, why fis nn him for ever the
stigma tallith his imprisonment had Weedy in some
degree given rise to? This was whet the Plaintiff
had to complain of—that daring the Sespensinn of
the Halms Corpus Act, Mr. Clement had endeavour.
ed to oppress an already oppressed man ; that he had
eedeavoored to prejudice the minds of the Jury by
wheat it was presented he should have been tried ; to
wrest from him the benefit of a fair and inspaettell
hearing, and to obese the Liberty of the l'ren. The
Learned and ingenious COunsel for Mr. Clement
might attempt to protect bit Client by general ob•
serrations on that liberty. Ile (Mr. St-silent) would
tell the Jury what he thought of the Liberty of
the Press. Ile cootineed the Liberty of the
Press, and the Habeas Corpus Act, and Trial by
Jory, as sacred parts of the Constitution. Tll*
People of Ett;;lto I had enjoyed the Liberty of lb*
Press Siete the Revolution, and God forbid dear
should ever use it. He felt a greater society ow thin
subject, from a cirtemstance that had lately come to
hi, knowledge. An ingenious Unison, who wee
perhaps arquairsted with the mines of this Govern•
men, had published a work, fifICO translated, tend.
log to show that there were disadvantages coonected
with this sacred ;whiles's, which rendered the pro-
tection of it inadvisable. The man who would n.
sail this imputtant right should be considered is a
public enemy ; and io proportion as the right which
he attempted to violate was sacred. that elided**
ought to be punished. The Liberty of the Pun
meant, that all might think as they pleased. and
publish what they thought,withoet previous (-nourish
Bat that liberty was incomps.ible with the power to
destroy private character. If that were the defini-
tion of the Liberty of the Press, it would be
despotism under which no man (-fluid live. This
sacred power had been abased by Mr. Clement; who
had wielded the mighty engine that Rave and took
away character, and had the power to throw open
the doors of the prisen.house, with a hand guided
by none of thou, sentiments of benignity an cheering
to the possessor. The person pleaded for woo a man
of an honest, temperate life—unhappy—hail beets
a captive for werel months without guilt ; sod
against this object was the nth/trite of the press ea.
ertised ; against him were the mina• of the people
poisoned, by the sting of this peblication, which re.
presented him as a men capable of treason, spoil,
and revolution. Why should this be added to the
stock of calamity of him who had been snatched from
his family, with whom he had enjoyed the sweets of
his industry too dearly to think of disturbing the land
in tallith his labours bad been rewarded ? With
respect to the damages, It was only nereasery to say
that the Plaintiff had been traduced when he had no
means of vindicating himself, and that the injury had
gone into est•nded circulation by the industry of his
to whom he owed this outrage upon hid feelings.
The following evidence was then called :
Ann Ward (resolved by Mr. DVINIVI).—Wit.
nos is the daughter of the Plaintiff, Frank Ward;
he is a late.mitnafactern, conducting his own banjo
sod empltning 10 or PI journeymen.
Witness remembered the constables coming to her
father's house on the 10th of June. Il+l7, and
morning it; bet they did not take any thing easy.
they remaiami nearly an hour, and when they went
her father followed them. This was on the Tuesday ;
and she did sot see her father again till else saw him
in prison no the Saturday following. Ile did not
return to his family till the middle of November.
Mr. Payne. solicitor at Nottingham, met the
Mastiff in the street on the night in question. He
appeared mock agitated at the outrage committed to.
wards him, not knowing under what authority the
constables had acted, or upon what charge made
against him. Requested witness's ,drive hnw he
should act. Witness said he would rev'ilv atroitl
him his advice, sad resorted him to g' to his office
for that purpose; witnesa then advised horn to go to
the Magistrates of the place, and demand to see the
warrant under which the officers had acted.
Cross.elarnined by Mr. GUIVIET..-111 thin con.
versatinn with the Plaiutiff, sinthieg was mentioned
shoat l'ltintiff's having anoristed with other p r.
arms who fiefese.perted: could riot esactly say 11.)w
far Ward had the misfortune to have incurred a gourd
dell of suspicion ; hot he believed some .e.i.otioo•
bad been elicited against him from his having em.
played the attorney who conducted the detest e
the Laddites, rammed the purred nil Aormeet L- tes-
ter. The ques:ica of Mr. Llttrooy, whether the Pico-