Lent Assizes.
The Times, 1824-04-07T00:00:00

N151s k'ssUS;OURT..-ReforC Mr..J2sijice PAnrc and aSpecial Jusry. THEEXY V.BENJAMIN YEATES. This was an information in the'aature of a quo 7-zn. to, calling on the defendant to show by what authority he exercised thec fun c-. tiona of a burgess.of iMonmouth. Sixty other informations, of a irmilaf kina wee-teuoved,for ard rules to show cause granted; but the Cors P. King's Bench directed that only this case should be tried, and that the others should abide its issue. In reality this caulse is pXrt of a strugglo which has been carried on for some tinie between the independent party at Alonmouth and His Grace the Duke of Bcanfort, and wbic& hai for its ultimate object the repre- rentation in Parliamentoftheunited boroughs of Ilonmouth; Usk,and Newport. On twoformer occasions, where the electIon of the .layor wat immedi4tely in questtion the independent party have'been sac. cesafuv n(a* this. occasion alr DEN3iAx came down Ppecially as their advocate;-and. thi circumstance; added to the importance of the resuI, xected great intereat, a-d causel the-Court to b'e thronged at an early hours, although the detains of the case were necessarily dull. Aftex a contest, who had a right to begin, vhich was decided by 31r. Justice PAim. zn:favour of the defe.,dart, Air. DEHr.swr proceeded. to address the jury, and to epen the evidence by whntch he should sbow that his client was duly elected.' e stated that thc defenldant was electsed'o Ion, t17th of July, 1520,ancthatthecorioration n t'oe confidence. thatthi6ection wasvalid. leantickipatedthattheprin. c.pal objection to beraisedwould be, that be'was elcted bytltebu. ; gesseSatlarge,w;toutthenolinaexo-I orsanetioonofthecomrioneount. cil; but he should prove that this, in the absenceofexpress direction in the charter had been the immemorial isage. Besides this -point, which involved tlee-'eftral qaestion, perhaps an attempt mighlt be made to.invalidate tlij.election of this p1%ttculat defendant,.on the grouniid that due notic'ahad not *beeo Agven~ to all; tbe: bragesses.;i that was done on this' wliictb had been .doneon aU 'Eormeg.occasio'rts--i the bell of the courithouise was rung,and even .more- thank usual delay.allowed to give time-fot the'bpwe*atance of; voters.- . No mouive could be suggested for'sarprise'.beeausb thelipaity against *hom' it was alleged had just before pbtat4d aL triumph: In the election of their own candidate, }Ir: ' the o the ventleman whom tbey had' suceeded in removing, and therefore they had no gro.And to fear superior number.,Utt .rather. wtild be g,lad of` a'striiggle WhiJ6 must terminnate n victory. ,:f suc.h i bb- Jectuonwas tobermitsed, it ought to be-aised at te e'liest nim4 ?nd not after a lapse of years, especially as iM. yleti, the ittotneo for the relator, waS acntally present at the elvetian, and though he pro- testedags.instit on thebroadground oithe incompet'encyoftie ttics,. lie never cormplained that tlne hotice was n6t giveni. In conclusion, the learned counselobserved thaFtthe inqa'tv inmst be uninteresting In its process; that at first sight its object nmight appear-ttivlal L but there was miore in it than met the eve: and its , intcipal rights had contributecl greatly to well-organizea freedoib so it was of high im- pottance that they should-be pteserved !0rom 'ieing either usurped or purchased by the rich and the -powerful. For the defendant, the charter of the borough granted by Edward V1. was produeed, and found to con tain iio directions as to the mode by which future burgesses should be chosen. Entries were pro- dtuce(d bearing date as long ago as the reign of Eli:abeth, recording the election of several parties " bv the asseat of all the burgesses." A petition from the corporation, addressedin 1703, to his Grace the Dtike.of Beaufort, and Lord end Lady Granville, was read, praying redress from the grievance tf the admission of strangers witnout the consent of the council, vwhence an argument: was raised thatt such admission could not be ihlepal, because those who felt it as a griev- ance ti( not avail themselves ot a legal reinedy. It appeared that tlis particu lar election took place a few days after tile tfumph of the party in returning Mlr. Heatlh as uiavor, Who was chosen by a majority of three. On that day, trhen the -Quaiter Sessions were loltlen, the bell was rur.z for five or ten minutesi and the members present p.-oceeded to 'eleLt Mr. Yeates ard. others, who had not been nomina.led by the commoin eouncilh The party preSenlt censisted of about 25, most of whoml had been previously summoned on the grand jury, and out.of rheti one proposed and the other seconded each oF the new candidates. After Mr. Yeates .wag pmrlaimnad, the mecting waited an hour by a watch before he was sworn in, but no one clse canlle. The liberties of Ahonmtouth extended on one-side two miles from the town, and on annther over the bill caled the Iymin, and about six voters lived bevond the hearinag ot the bell. An atLempt wras made to chow that the inetiu- tion to elect the burgesses was' notorious in the town, but it did not :learly appear- to have been' known, except to Mlr. ieath a supporters. The witnesses, whose accounts of the mode of etedtion somewvhat varied, did not rept sent them- selves as having been moved and seconded in the manner adopted to- wards nr. Yeates; but were generasll chosen without their previous knowledge, and under circuinstanees which rendered itprobible that some common councilijan hatl interfered in their election. it Mr. TAU1;T0a addressed thejury for the relaior, premising that it was for tius defendani to rhow that be bad been. de debito snodo elect ut, and contending that he hadl'not been so chosen, even accord- ing to the evildence adducet by liimself. In the first place, the mode of election was unlike any wlhich had been betote adopted:t . and, in the next place, if that niodc was right, there was a: surprise on the burgesses to whom no notice was given, for they would not all hear thebell ; many oftheni would not understand it; and many of them who did, could not arrive before the election ias over. In truth, it more bold and impudent usurpation was never attempted, tlan that whichl had been practised by these reformers in the mo- ment of' their victory. Mr. Justice PARRtK said, that as the result of the case was import- ant, involving 60 others, and as it evidently excited great interest, he woUild, thoughhe considered it unnecessary, read over the whole evidlence, lie accordiniglv proceetled to do so, and left the jury to decide whetber the tlefendant, on whom the affirmative of the issue was, had prove(e that he was properly elected as to principle, and Justly as to manner and notice, `as, ifhe had failed on either poirit, the verdict must be for the Crown. The jury consulted for about a quarter of an hour, and then found a verdict for the Crown-thereby deciding that the election of the defendhant, and of the sixty others against WIhom informations were granted, waas invalid...'rlie trial occupied the whole day. LENT ASSfZES - - - GLOCESTE.LnES A -, r