The Verdict In "Bodkin v....
The Times, 1824-07-20T00:00:00

[Further Particulars.l Immcdiately after the jury were shut up in tile Bail Court, the tendency of the aleged libel was warmly discumsed. The special jutymen uscd great abundance of language, If not of argument, for the purpose of convincing Ar. Sawyer that It was a falsc, malicious, and injurious publication. That gentlemen manfully defended his opinion against all t.,eir objections; alleging, that he thought the re- mnarks made upon Alr. Bodkin's conduct to be sucb as the occasion required, and such as he himself should have written, lhad he possess- ed the necessary talent. Several speeches were made upon the subject which produced no eF~ect. except it were that of making the speakers more obstinstely attached to the side they advocated. A Nr. Cookc, who was a talesman, was a silent, but not an ineffectual assistant to MtIr. Sawyer. in the vast fire of words which his brother juryinen openedl upon him. He agreed with .llr. Sawyer, that the paragrapits omplained of formed n,o libel; an,d declared that he could not consent to give a verdict whiclh should declare them to be such. Both gentlemen requested their opponents to give them a definition of what wag and what wasriiot a libel; and were anewered with the usual remarks, that every thing isa libel which tentds to bring a man's cla. racter into contempt. rhey were also treated with a dissertation apon the neewssity of restraining the licentiousness of the press, wliich one gentleman recommended as the best means of preserving its liberty. Another told them, tlht theugh the press had been styled the palladium of BriLish freedom, lie could uot consider it as sucl when he saw it making attacks like the present upon the character of private individuals. A third declared, that the malice of the articles of wlich fMr. Bodkin complained wvas so great, that lie would consent to nothing less than a verlict which gave him 3001. dainages. MIr. Sawyer and Mr Cooke cealled upon them to npin out the malice whiclh wa said to be so evideuti in the alleged libel, asserting that they would have no objection to give a verdict for the plaintiff, if they could be satisfied upion that point. The libel was in consequence read over,.paragraph by paragraph, seve. ral gentlemen commenting upon it as they went along. Still the two jurymen remained unconvinced. Under these circumstances, the jury came into court about seven o'clock, and the conversa- tion then took place between ANr. Justice Littledale and Mr. Sawyer whiclh was reported in our paper of Saturday. The result of It was, that Air. Sawyer and Mr. Cooke, in consequence of' the doctrine laid down, by Alr. JusticP Littledale respecting constructive nalice, gave tip their intention of finding a verdict for tie defendant, and agreed to joing their brethren in a verdict for the plaintifF. Thev then lef the box to consider of the damages which they should giie the plaintiff For his loss of claracter. A (question theni arose as to damagesf The two jurors who bad reluctantly consented to find a verdict for the plaintiff, said that nothing should induce them to aive more thain nominial damLsves; and not knowing that in an-action tor libela farthing's dawages iPill carry costs, if the Judge does not certify,declared their intention of submitting to starvation before they gave 31fr. Bodkin more thanl his costs of suit. This declaration was not. Iikely to excite much satisfaction in the nsinidsof any of the jurors; and some of the special jurors. we are informed, evinced great dis. pleasure at it. Their usual hiour of dinner lhax arrived, and the sherry and sandwiches which lilr. Justice Littledale had permitted to be sent, in to Ir. Robertson antd Ir. Horton, on account of their advancel age, tended only to excite the appetite of their brother jurors M. llTO odsall, who, we understand, was en. gaged to dine with his tfather-in-lair, the Lord Chief Justiee of the Comnmon Pleas, seemed particularly to regret the loss of his dinner. He tried fist by pompous language, then by argument, then by per. suaalon, then by entreaty, and in the course of the night by,rio- lence, to induce lr. Sawyer to concur witl his brotherjurors. Air. Sawyer, however,was inflexible, and told DIr. Godsall that een if he were so base as to neglect his oath for the sake of hls appetite there would still be thc integrity of DIr, Cooke to overcome-a genelemnatn who, thouglh be saicl little,wasnethlile less determined to maintain the opinion he had formed upon the present case. MI r. Goodsall appeared to think but lightlv of Dil r. Cooke's opposition, saying thlat lie liad no doubt that ilr. Cooke would yield if icr, Sawyer would set hitn the example. lIr. Godball then hed out other influcements to Mr. Sawyer, which were, however, as unavailing as his prayers, his entreaties, and his suibsequent violence. In the midst of these dis- cussionis, rime wore away, perhapsneither pleasantly nor rapidly to the gentlemen engaged in them. About half-past eight o'clock several jurymen -wrote to their families, stating that they must not expect tliqm tbtat night; and their rotes were despatched by the officer of the court. As it had now become evident to bath pasties that they could not cotivince the other, the ittatter ceased to be one of argument, ani hecarnbtm e ofn Farvation. At thisastqge of the proceeding,the jiirOr8 fonied themselvesinto detach. .ed grpups, 4nd amusedathemselves as .theyviild in tbelr.idark;, hungry, and desolate situation. It was a Vauxhall ziIglit and vnce of ti,c Zt:y attemp ed to ronsole'bis'fellows by reminding them that at 12 o clock at night they would iave the fire-woris at Vauxhall to anlighten their daikness. ' Twelve o'clock canic, but-the fire-works, though they were h'oard, Were not seen, &jr the towrersftbeAbbey intervered, and, interrupted the line of v-ion. illr. (*odsall at this hour of the night, was' ratlher obstreperls Be. stampea. about the room in a great passilon, anf J'corntittd other ex' travagancics. Mr. Sawyer, havhg heard all t!at could be said against him, and having said all that he could say in his own be- half, now prepared Iiiniselffor sleep. by taking off is coat, rojlitogit up, and placing it as a pillow i upon some chairs, which he had put together to serve him as a bed. gUis brother jurrs expressed di6sa. tist'actjon at this psoceeding, and uirgcd mtan objections to hiis noYe m ode of discharging the duties of a juryman. Aftler givigl thetis such answecr aS hc tboiightpwer,ndsvoruweiudingliipsocondo3t Cooke, to folOw hls ex=ape on thi gtound that sleep *is the best antidote against thc evils, ot ?adng, bch proceeded to carry his own advice into execution as rapidly and comfortably as he could under txIsting .lrcumnstances.. Thi swas the gentleman who. was deserrbed in ourpaper of Satetrd,yay xeen lyingupon some chaintatone of the periods when theroom was openedby theofficer to attend tothecom- plaints of the Juty. Day-light at last dawned upon these unhappy juro6s, butbrought twit it little relief to their miery At half-past five, Mr. Sawyer, who was the only person! dia hadi been able to slcep Soundly, aWoke, aud told histbrothers in tliraldom that he was as nauch refreshed by his -sleep as if he had taken a meal. This was not a verv deUlghtful annunciation to those gentle. men who were sufWering uAder the want of sleeP and the warnt of susternance. To Ir. Goasall it pfrved particularlv exasperating; he exhibifid symPtonisoftempornyinsarity; heiumped uponabench. and threatened destruction to Mr. Sawyer, for detaininghim from his family, by lis obstinate opposititar. He then seized his cane, whiclh was of considerable. himkness, sttruck it so forcibly upon thie Judge's seat as to make several intlentations, and did not cease from this niolene till he liad broken it completely into shivers. He then began to rail with great vehemence against Mlr. Sawyer, who had the good sense not to makeany gnswer to his ravings. This apneared to offend him still more: he criel out, " I. shall go mad, f hall go made: he-he" (pointisg to Mr. Sawyer) '; is cutting mythronat with a feather." fle then made a spring at that gentleman, and would certainly have done him some injury, had he not been preventedby the strong arms of those vrho surrounded him. It has been stated, that he then endeavoured to tear up a bench,as a weapon, and that he broke a window in endeavouring to escape ; but we have reason to believethatthere is no truthin cither ofihesestatements. Hlesunk, at las,, into a silent melancholy, and was for somne time quiet, from comnplete exaaustion. Very early in the morning, the uetion had been narrowed to this poiet-whetlier the verdictsiould bea farthing orforty shillings. Jr. Sawyer was obliged to consort with his silent but effective seconder, M3 r, Cooke. Whenever he approached any of the groups into which the other jurors had fornied themselves, they fled from himn as fiom na pestilencc. Thie consequence was, that he waas fung upoIn bis own resources for amrusement, and at seven o'clock was seen seated at the winlow, gazing very placidly on the passensers in the street. Pcor rMlr. Godsall could not, however, conduct himself thus quietly: he attempted to force himself out of court, but was unsuc- cessful, in spite of all tis protestations that parties within were driv- ing him to madnesa, THE? VERDICT IN " BODI.IV v. PTlE riMES.-