The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-09-24

month, and so Of the rest. AS for evidence, there
is abundance OF that. Yea see, at all the meetings,
government reporters actually invited by the stu
pid dupes of the idea of British constitutional
liberty, to sit at their elbows; and seeing accom-
modatoa is provided. they take notes of the
speeches, which are all dressed up for publication,
because they are paid tor by the papers; and the
reporter produces his notes at the trial, and pre-
tends to detail the prisoners language.
Any thing will do to convict upon. An extract
read from, the Herald, out of the reprint Of the
Times and not adopted by the reader, is guilt, rs
upon an Indictment for seditlous language, which
is set out verbatn 1t is sufficient if the witness
says he did not hear such part OF the speech but
at different places In the speech, several OF the SEN
fences OF the pretended extract occurred, or ONE
thing like tn m, as near as he can recollect A
policeman is competent to prove such fact, al
though he does not write short hand, and took no
note at the time, though he did 80 afterwards.
as was ruled in another case at the same court.
The worthy by whom these last decisions were
made, and the expected convictions secured to the
government, Is e-'ry ~ deserving OF his seat,
and of page IN history at the side of Gu. Wilde,
CreswelI, Anderson, Maule, and Baron Plat.
BY the way Crcswell has been repeating at
Liverpool, lately, on the trial of DR.. Mcdonald,
his offences against liberty, reason, and logic,
very consplcuously. In TominsOn's case, at York,
abou month ago, you recollect his convection of
the accused f ! complaining OF the government,
and laying down the law of sedition to be- that it
was seditious to teach people to believe that their
sufterlngs were to be traced to the government,
end that 1t was for the Jury to ask themselves
whether the language used was not calculated to
bring upon the government great amount OF
hatred and dlsatiection, In short, whether the
accused intended to excite dlsaffection towards
the government of the country? On Or: McDonal's
trial, he interrupted Sergeant Wilkins, when he
referred to ever, mans duty of resistance to ty-
ranny The interruption was quite like Chief
Justice Wilde's prrepostsrous exhibition IN Fas-
calling the flight of King James an expulsion from
the English throne, and called it an abdIcatfon,
although the fact was VIGOROUSLY otherwise,
and The Law law Of succession gave the correc G,
course, grasped the eldest son as the successor,
whether his father died or abdicated; and yet the
eldest son, was treated as the pretenderr to the
crown, and the crown itself was conferred by the
people, who had kicked out the king, upon Will
: liam and Mary of Oranse. Now comes Creswell,
and tells the unenlightcned fellows on the Liver
pool Jury panel, that the great rebellion was le-
gal resistance TO- what was not lawful, IN which
the patriots had law for what they did In opposl-
ton to tyranny. Such shifts are necessary to
get rid of the odium of saying to the jury that the
law of England forblds any, freedom of speech
whatever; and that their oath requires them Gas
it undoubtedly does) to convict every Englishman,
who happens to be arraigned and proved to have
publicly expressed political dissatisfaction. And
the Judge PlatD at the old Bailey, follows suite in
servlllty and nonsense, as all these nominees OF
the Quean feel too eager to do like their infa-
nous predecessors, including Jeffreys, himself.
Indeed, after hearing their enormltles, | in
cline to think the memory OF Jefirteys IS
pu.e enough tor such association it will be ad
visabe to look up his life, so as to furnish paral-
lels with these passing events of judicial history.
II is my opinion THAI there =. cono,on+ ;nivs,lsa
done to one, VINO was a model Of the British Judi
clal character, even in the 18th century, whenever
political offenders are brought to trial. That his
Official conduct, in other cases, might have been
much worse than the successors to his place In oul
day, do not presume to deny l do not remember
that he received, or that he refused, actual pecu
mary bnbes; but he certainly could not have
earned his position by mere venal prostitution in
the trial of political offenders 1t is to be noted
ject to his higher duty Of doing justice to
prisoner, and always inclinlng to mercy
detestible hypocrisy Of the Judges, and jurlss,
and counsel, who pretend that the English law al
lows the existence of spark of freedom. Baron
Platt takes 1t to be very absurd that the counsel
should attempt to screen client by showing that
the Liberties OF Enghshmen, now asserted, were
torn by rebels from usurpers, andi supposes tina
the existing law is the sumnun bonWni, which is
not even to be discussed. He actually assumes
not only that it Is the rule of action but the sacred
rule Of right, and supposes himself to have shown
that proposition when he says to discuss it, Is to
break 1t and to break it, is criminal. What abb
surdlty. The same sophistry applies to Spain,
and and Turkey the actual
in those congenIal regions, the rule of action and
ls it not criminal to discuss or even propose q
change But who ever heard before that those
models OF present English emulation were the last
attalnable perfection OF forms of government.
There is height of cruelty In the sentences
pronounced by this man upon his fellow-men, fol
venal offences condemned by no morallst, which
the historian must record for the undying execra.
Z nCfun 10 fPuo n hao ut hoe re.
marked upon by any newspaper; that none could
expect hut 1t is not even repudlated, and, fol
aught know, may be acQuiesced in by the PROBES.
sion ITSELF Baron Plat has actually sentenced the
batch OF chartlss last convicted at the Old Bailey
to penalties only worthy of the darkest ages when
tyrants ruled with rods OF iron, Among the vic.
TINS, you willIobserve ]. ]. Beer, who was guilty
OF reading extracts from your paper, copied by
the Times, for 10000 readers descriptive OF the
British despotsm, but at the same time, dsclam
ing them. 1t was upon MIR. Beser's own defence
that Attorney General Jervis memorably spoke
as follows lit confirmed the opinion he had orr
ability he possessed. 1t was quite clear that he
was perfectly master of the art of adapting
his address to his hearers, aud 1t would be
unnecessary to comment upon the the mis-
chief that might be created by such man
when he employed his talents to excite persons In
his own condition of life to acts of violence anC
disorder The manner In which, also, he had art
fully read the exciting extract from the American
puPsi, anu oiiht'cu uic CouihehtS uPoh ~. sN.h
The bane, but omltting the antdote--likewst
showed his dangerous ability fer mischief partlcu
larry he expected, thereby, to escape from pun
ishment." Fancy that pink of prosecutors talking
his grateful nonsense to Jury not of the prisoner
peers, but OF the middle class above him, and hos
tile to HIM, because they have the human instinct
shared with beasts of prey, and are fools enough
instead Of following the political opinions of Mr.
Beer, to be humbugged out OF all but this mis-
chlevous and mechanical agency In British oflicer
by the press, and the officers Of the ol.sarcny
These shopkeepers and tradesmen are most IN
slluctiye spectacle, when doing duty as Jurors
LlEce the sssnsTy pack, fastening upon the down
:.ssSS.dden object of arlstocratc pursuit and ven
geance, iseir hands hold the dagger by which daily
assassinatlons are taking place, in the very robe
of justice, and In that sacred presence where the
godde So, because che is blind and deaf, alone cal
! pose n instant her equal scales.
The sentences of Bezer, Smell, Grove, and Bry
| son, pronounced by Baron Platt after TORE mt o