Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1853-03-12
NUMBER 1877
THEINTELLLGENCER,.
tt -l From the London Times.
NEWMAN AND AcHILL1 a

The Court of Queens Bench has lust discharged
one OF the most delicate and difficult duties " hich
can be imposed upon Judges such as we are ac-
c9stomed to see in England. The apportionment
oil sentence is at all mes matter OF great diff
| Guilty, turning, as it frequently does and must do
upon considerations which cannot be ubmitted to
the jury and which much easier to act on than
70 10 avow. But in the instance of the memorable
al 1uSt brought to close, this difficulty was az
graVated to no ordinary degree by necular and ,IT
plecetented circumstances. 1t was iLnpossible tn
forget the past and present positions OF the two re-
n!aIkaoie men brought IN this instance into such
violent collision with each other The rival
| Churches OF England and OF Rome might claim an
interest, nnd asSuredly could not view the fate Of
either with Indifference. The most unftiendIy
criticism, the most uncan ndid Surmises The moSt
hostile interpretations were sure 10 wait on sny
Judgment of the Court on this exciting subject
however nicely balanced and impartialy consider.
ed. -
Next 10 the difficulty arising from the peculiar
and prominent characteristics of these two re1nar-
ka0le men came another difficulty, arising from the
peculiar facts of the 1t was no light matter
for any man, how skilful and learned soever they
might be, to weigh exactly the amou of credit In
to so many witnesses and to apportion the exact
measures of belief to each. Superadded to these
difficulties was the peculiar course matters took at
The trlal, AID the conduct of the Chief Justice in
not as It appears TO us, sufficiently guarding against
the public wish to make this Investigation mere
vehicle ior party and polemica recriminaton-con-
quot winch rendered the adoption o: milder view
by Inc Court open to the charge of vacillation and
inconsistency SupeIadded again to all these. diff
hcutIeS was that occasioned by tht. very peculiar
and very Just provisions of the act of Parliament
Which obliged the judges to look for themselves
INTO the plea OF the justification and tie evidence
adduced TO support 1t. Without the power of Cross
examination OF witnesses, without the assistance cf
ocular inspection of their demeanor while giving
evidence, the Court was called up 10 form an
orinlon on The case as lndependendent and as per-
iectly their own as that of the jury themselves,
| These various and conflicting duties tie Cont
OF Queens Bench has discharged in a manner
iarly emitting 1t, on the whole, TO the commenda-
ton and respect OF the impartial and right iudg-
ing public of this country. DR.. Newman has. re
ccIved the very lenient sentence Of a fine of one
hundred pounds, and the nominal addition of i'm
prlSonment. According TO the invariabIe prac-
tIce OF The court in such Instances, the task of
pronounclng sentence devulved upon the senior
pnISne Judge, and he executed itwih grave and
severe dignity well worthy of the occasion md
only likely to meet with nnriendly criticisms be-
cause 1t Uses above the ordinary tone of par dis
| cussion. Believing, as we do, that the sentence
was quite as severe the case warranted and
that nothing was more TO be guarded against than
The appearance OF persecution, we impro-
prety III either the gravity of the remarks or the
| lenlty of the sentence. Lord Campbell acted both
| kindly and diScreetly in dlSSuading DR.. Newman
| from making observations TO the Court which could
| not alleviate the sentence about to be delivered
and might easily have rendered that sentence in
| appropriate, and forced Severer vindication of
| the majesty CT the law. He could hardly have
sad more for himself or motives than the Court
was ready 10 admit 10 him. OF the proDriety of
publishing the libel, nd of the truth or faIsehoods
oil It's allegations, DR.. Newman himself could not
be allowed 10 judge, but the Court very fairly and
Justly conceded 10 him all that he had right to
| Clam from theM-nanely, that lie believed in the
| uuth of his own statements; that he was incapa-
BILE OF making statements rejecting on the char
acter oi any man without believing them 10 be
true: and that he was actuated in what he did by
no malicious or rindictive consideration but sole
ly by zeal for the church among whose votaries he
| had unhappily enrolled himself.
We cannot yield all equally unqualified assent
TO the observations the udge thought his duty 10
| make with regard TO the truth of DR.. Newman's
principal charges. In some respects these bear too
heavily in others too Lightly, The discipline nd
tendencies of the Roman Catholic Church We fear
that there improbability in the story that a
man notoriously wicked has been employed in deli
cate and responsible employments. The church
has never been slow to avail herself of tie gifts
OF her children, and the biographies of the Popes
are sufficient proof that in her eyes the vices of
such men Roderck Borgia were more than
counterba anced by their inlrigue; ttat julius H.
was not the less acceptable Pontiff because he
| had the Character and manners OF rough and yio-
lent soldier; and that tie Dake of Guise, notwth-
standing the scandal of his private life and turbu
| lence oi his public conduct, the chosen in.
strument oil her revenge against the Huguenots.-
The lmpntailon against the witnesses for the de-
lence might, at any rate, be reiorted with euual
lorce agulnst Dr. Achllli, for he as well es thew
was giving evidence Tor the glory OF the church 10
which he belonged, and had therefore the same
motive as they Tor falSehood exaggeration with
this additional StimuluS,--tlat while they lahore,
for religion only, he had tile additional motivelof
Selt-preServation and vindcation from ACQUISITIONS
rulnous to his character. 1t should also be :e-
marked that DR.. Achllli did not venture ON tie
statement of general chastity, which would render
1t possible for him at any time to be convicted of
perjury; besides, we ought never to forget that
wherever this eloquent divine tesided-whether at
Rome, Elterbo, Capua, Corfu, or England-the
same accusation logged his steps and persons of
the same class of life started up as his accusers
We quite admit that it was impossible for Dr.
Achllll to rebut the evidence brought against him.
not because he was under the ban of the InquisI-
ton, but because the offtnce charged against him
we're matters OF secrecy, which must rest on the
credit OF the narrator. ars "a.
But we do not think it wise to announce that
The Court was entirely satisfied with the finding of
The jury, the effect OF which its sentence nuliies
ana sets aside; still less can we acQuieSce in the
Justice of the remark which ex empts the Church
OF England from any interest in the trial. without
extending the same exemption to the Church of
Rome. IL is true that DR.. Newman no more be-
lorgs 10 our church, though not true that all the
scandals with which DR.. Achill is charged relate
10 time before he became Protestant. As we
said before both churches have an interest in the
character of both these men, the Church of Eng
land i'll the former character of DR.. Newman and
the latter one of DR.. Achilli, the Church of Rome
in the latter of DR.. Achilli and the former of Dr.
Newman. But it is below the dignity of either
church to seek for triumph in the decision one ay
or the other of such issues and it will be
dscreditable to the candor of the Church of Eng
land if she be found to complain of the sentence,
to the charity of the Church of Rome if her or
ganS utter single woTl of exulIation at the cor
parative impunty with which leading convert to
Professionalism has been held up TO public ndigna-
ton. When we remember that all which can be
said of Achlli is. that he has not been proved
guilty Of the most henlous offenseS, while against
DR.. Newman's moral character not whisper OF
suspicion was ever breathed, we rejoice that We
are spared the spectacle of the imprisonment of one
the purity of whose life has been honor, and the
triumph of one the scandal of whose career, wheth
er justly occasioned no, has been discredit to
| fba Of -,