Court Of King's Bench, We...
The Times, 1824-07-17T00:00:00

Before Afr. JusscCLITTT 7t*--R- -? a AM 7hCMtDALL Opne thie ple&n -t -- -. 'DUK& ' I it thle, ophned the pIgs. be observed, zst; ecton pint te popretog o Tk2'mer oeeanapet to zeaeoerl, dema~e fo cerein ibel pub~hed the oFad voncmning the! 30th f 3au~xy n ths yea. Th defthe 17ha nte Iae The dmaoeaweheeaid a LOM ~. C~~~X~nx AT Lelated the cuet'-th f6r cerinhlbe)opublir.hed by t e taidflj, to=ihsltt,Pek the plainti'4 and when the jury de 5tb"nr rive CirctiklartI of-that piper, they vert siy exeaeqv. what bnust be the feelings of in. *Mn at abused and slandered in it, eatr ht~hniaclr be contveyed, not only througou vapeu- ~' langesage of t:her rieusteslefoe t he um wotej When suchiu wa n aofiL hit characteratakdthonywyett i gl * qb iry, to give ohsacuesao,oru iy SP tacr a=geations agant himift course. Heabrauh the present .so,B ew s~1 Th defendants shrakfo the eroof. hy on the record, but contented thexnievet with thato tb, gmene, issue, thuis denying the libel. In this wmsater his ellQ Wug pre cluded from going into that inquiry whie-.ie oit gaiZiosuI courtea in defence Of his eharactter. All th --Y called upon to decide would be, the - exi me 3`ft -Woul Yhe damages to which hit client wau enttlf,d. But he wiallp no, n thne outset to may, that his client did etoeme 6-reli them foe she sake of dama~s If he was dragged thee, it 'wzi beee be hpA n0 other wayT4 ltof defening h7is cmaacer frei* the unfouanded aspersionas which had berenc a.s pon it-..beuse bt h4d so athtee way of resquing himself froam the caIlumnie* tha usnt 1on into the world agehist him. The piresaen: action arose ozt oif the reulsbish.. ment of a society called ' The lIlendicity, Soeety."1 It was corn.. mnenced in the yea 1818; at its head stood the name of His Ptoyal H*ighnea the Dkeof Yorl _ and it reclaned %sn.ong its, semtermb many highly respectable individuals already lunch disti gitisled sat 6meiety for their active benevlence in eacleavasging to alleeL. ate the distresses of their fellow maen. Amongst thma he Might mnention the names of Mr. WVilberforcer, Mr. "babcok, Iloepd Suffield, and several othe-rs whom he woutld not oamen, as. teywr then present, buxt who were well knw to th juty.. The gret respectability of those gentlemen gave te the public as guarantee that the obects of the charitj wcrld be well attended to,, and itt funds feithfutt administeed. The prilecipal ehje of t.he society was to clear the streete of msendints...j, dietet tho*e who, went about imposing on the charity of tlaejpublic, and to endesvo2r :o administer to the waists of, by- providing somt men=s ol euppore nb those who were really objectz of coDmpassion. That the scireey, .ha already succeeded to a very considermble extent~ would be proved by comparing the stats Of the metropolis neaw, with re- spect to the number of etreet beggr&=, with what it hx4lbocr,~ before the establishtment of this as-ciation. At the conrneno eeme of th i a aociety, the plsinutitff 1MIr. Bodkin,wnaver yactive ib PMoi itg objects. He was, in COnaeUence *F thic activity, suede honoray -sp=etary__% office which he diacharged with s mancis cadjt tol,itn. adfnndadran tagetobe society, that at the ee of the Sut yatr he and eo notlkiieA -to be frem ea tol tinuea to eondu#t hi Selo Mu'h to the satisfactiono thme Oeceral boy. of the s bscribes, b e frquently lxved their unurimour thanks; and in addito to this, a number ef gaenlme, aubema of the society, susrie mongst themseles, and prssentod hIrm with a piece fpae as a tcetimony of their gree amtsrae. tion at the fidltad efficiency of hiis ;ervies.if -VI. soid thus much ofth ndt of Mr. Bodjfroet the z neriiig, be ,would nowv, in order to ninke the jutry more fuly sett6tinsed vltl~' the nature and character Of the libeli, state how the society ha a firat been conducted. Theme wan a Board of Mawnagr appoints. 0 two of whom atte-nded In turn every day, to examine auch cm"es came before them, anel to attendl to the general busineas of the ?so.. ciety. it was, borever, fownd by experience, that thuz prctice of frequently ibar nog the managrs was attended wi thonsiderab3c: mnconvenaeneeit often hs,ipened that a casm could met befnuly peas into in one, and even sometimes in two daya to tlzt it oY have to be decided by those who had not heard all fta tails. It was then suggeted byinoble Lord (Suffeld) Whes bel already menitionedi, that to Obviute the inecoveaxenee, t& a meat of an sasistant-mianzger, a. stipedlry officer vhaftstao 'siould be permnent, would be detirable. Thig afitor '*a to at. tend conktantly from day to day, and was of couOe %bu te link of' communication between the nomeabera Of the For fk should attend froxn time to time. This suggeetioea, thoungfge&a 'vryeh usefuil one, was not hastiy adopted, and it wam not unti it mrit Ihad been frequently discussed, san raontrimaturely considded, that it was carried into ettet. it 'was next left to thti eons aeretim, of 5, Icommittee, to decide whzt should be the Partcular duties of this. assistant- manager, and what his salary for thetr per&tlbrmnec He would state to the ry what it wait determnine4 thesdanties an~d that salary should be. kewas togive biatnsztdfya h fierh society from nine o'clork till tire, and for such further time as the nature and pressure of busineesmi aght~j BLE e Wus not to ab. sent Ihirnaelf from the office withousthte knowledge of one of the presidin m-anagers, and sahoud. leave word where he war to bt found if his attendance were required. be was to held PA* other situation whatever. He vwes to superintend the other clerks; so examine into all &PPlicasiolts nude to the board; to atsurd at tes- sions for the prostecution of va4mtan when necessary; tazppo!nt dthf [route of the constables ; to exawine their returns; to eaamint aA; tradeemen's bills, sod to inspect the quality sand quantityr of all pro. visions and clothing whjich wight be sent ir to thesodcity ; a Fenerally to promote the olWect of the soit y Tyesv os in his, power. Heu had been thus particla in mTontwn those- duties, as they were adop'ted hr ts io' nnte. azre-ed to in the report of the society. :It wasao edt t a sum of SO0L a-year rshouldl be v= to she pzs ic ie~jb appointed assistant-manZlager; annlcrta~Ily, cumsideigtentr and imprtance of the dutios he had to peffrah ,an hthwa devote his whole timne to it, such a salary could nt~ osdrd too great. The gretdifficulty wAs,,tof0ns.bermoampetet to the discarg-e ofthe duties ofzuch 4, taetioii. titbea emg. to find an honect manto under-take e; butt atalont w nort be sufficient, at it recuired a very accurate knowleda of the details of the society' Proesedings, to ennable azy mani to undertake the tack. At length it .aa &eiWd, that the xermn should be made foir oueyear, but if it was difficult to Mmn a aMan competent to fill the situationx permanentiy,itswasttil moreasotafjnd lone who w,neild undertake it for one rear.I Jwas then suggested byr some of Mfr. Bodldn's friends, that lieahouldoetr himsself to act as aasistant..msnagar for onecrear, in order to give'the society an op. portunitv of trying the exierhmaet for the year. He di fbrim.. gelf, aai,f was accented ; but declined any stipoldation 'with respect salary. He left ihthtsobe)decidedaby the board at the end or tb year, that if the plan ucede,the might gave fhs.t remuneato th lougt poper itwaatme otSr.Bodkin still cantinued tool te roaeo -bior secrtaq, but it was by 00 meus necessary that he -should have Eiven it p in eptn that of, aesiatant-manager. He never waspad headnvrxot.. to be paid for tha-tsiuto;adwatvrrmneto hdi receive, it wras for hstobea tn-ing.A h i of the year, it was fudta h bi uce~ l i x pectation of those bywoitasugeed Th of mendicity whic came befr the oitwe ru( o. pared with the formecr year) from 4,55t ,9 x~teewst saving of one-third in the expess eigti,tewnite determined upon tbe appointment of a Perm nt_m#_ nager ; and advertisements were put into the papesfrapro comptent to fillthe situation.in lzvaah~ sn o ee Is~fi candidrtes appeared; hut, after someormntnai nuryth niumber was reeuced to four ; and fre htnme twsarelt sielectone bybsltot; butna thiaw lAr lrtsometln,r odi was requested to continuetoholdthestuion.OfassaNc tit the next annual Meeting, When the bellt would beedd.?~ accordinzly keep tie,situatibn fo-six seyeo,orhebellee lgtoi longer. the-comintt"'e ord o~ FmahaRment,'ws'rt so 5atisfied. with his services, that -they gave him the ilallsar of 3Ol. for the' year he was emploved end a salary at that rate for theressilulrot thie time he oontiriee to net. He mentioned these fact thesa mi. nutely, that the jury might maLr'k more lerl]y th1echAracter of she charges made againsit thae plantIfF~ An anoLumilccoustwa 16 Ptiblisled J3y the society to s:how its receipts and disburseme5ts;an Aherke is mnight be olfserved5 that the primA aryj~ect of thesoelety Usau se to give noney to indlividalWs found hrgi6g, butT'attherto eh.e the pmetxee...to detect itapostors, and stoPro*ide enImPlratz-fr such mendicants s'erreeally a distress. But 'It' s?"f thiat in sorne aitanec a dis1&Umsment of mo3t1rJe.a nfeegs sarmy for the relief. of some yor psarsons, until the cAlacesty eo otherwise provide for them. ?e could metntion y&)rsfisss*s this, but he would be cotent with stating one. A4UesaifarjwM found begging endl in great distrees; the sciety inquired ]st j- case, and founa tisi he wa entitle to prize4OstY on two aces- siors. Theylhadblislalinhestablslmeda &d`cd?eeVe4fDhehIMamus ,f 501. orr r01. to whic-h be a 'entitinNWj but, in -tlttfitim sb.y~ hiad to tuppiort him;- for such ezxensespzo ~ sa eb aiitayropriabed ut te Sztens whthe~ society incurred was rfoasetiey,in the nusibseofears. employed to earr their g t biert,- the sup'' Or09 ,jm *. intoexecation. ~ahe ans auntiA to wh1 1eadVees. IWA einbodieadit! an igrticle. whVWpsrs.n ~W ,@a~o whlchlisevoWid r cbem ntiante-tbc ON Ury au.~ the items of the acconis,,. it.wento~i'sa 0Rpchs many of the:I iterA-in this accout uq nmiyae lrticle, he 'should observe, ~ appbared i'Tms-ntel rif _1leftcm4hr in the.m nagcnsent,p sasae sapptena.theta ma at- tdown And wot ~e [iesigna "Wa 61ILl $ibscArbi, r "A 4`sP~s tidec went On thus..... Reprehenisible as many of the itemi int this ac,- count tt(iUestor,abllY are, there is one especially whtich, in miy hum- ble opinion, callsfortrhemnost decided reprobationj Imean that which Is couched in these remarkable and equivocating words-.... Voted to the flecretary for actinig as assstant.inanazer, from the 25th Of Malrch, 1821, -to ,25tAh of~ Novemberf. 1822, being. at, thd rate .of01,01i _aMiTM` 5001" if"' I!. Tis, then, exjlains the beces- oft-'fege lljn,, thei fixcheqjitr 6f 'for 512l". lO1---an anniversary dinner, a.piiblie redeetin,'at the Alalnsion.houtse, the widely distri. -btd'drcnlarec,onstafi advertisements, &c.;.but who,t1 beg to knowj,are.thosa voteft ?" The writer 'agked w'ho are those voters. ,He (the Attomney-Gent-ral) wonald::-l himI who th wermTe ,v!e-Lod VscaintBelve; W.r P' Craufoard$ VsL.; C. FrAii~. C!i~f ;J. E. fiordlon, .sq.; -3. Hartisn Esq.; James Jacks, E ~ -hms, Esq.; Irving Brock, Esq. L. Villiams, . q ams Alley, Esq.; A. Corbett, Esq.; H.. Entwisle, Esq.; A. A (~odsmi, Bsq. ; Pqter Polated, Esq.; Johni Griffin, Es .; John. T. Hope, Esq.; Rupert Ingleby, Esq,, Sir J4 W. Lubboeg Jarmer lViiir,'Esq. ; A. G. Milie, Esq., Henry Pownall, Es4.: .S. Taylor, 'Esq.; and the Hon.. Capt. G. G; I aldeg'rave, R. N. JI'he rtrwn 'nj' Let them come forward in propsria per-sona, and eclae bywhbe authority, to whom, EMn upooi what groindls, theyhavethu assmedthe right of squandering propertcy exclu.. sisly elogin tothefriendless poor. As there is no squch per- SOflgeasmjn ecrearymentioned in their list of ' officers,' and bein uniula tosuppose him -a mere imaginary appendage, creat- ed or paticlarpuirpose, -who, I would itbrther inquire, can this secrtarybe, f no i1r. Honorary Secretary Bodkin ? What do the word 'asnssit-nmanager' mean, if riot intended as a disinge.. PUousand subtile trick, forreconciing the extreme awvkwardness and 2neon1sisteflcy of paying a would-be llononarySeretAry~ butloi point Of PLaiair fact, and in the most extensive meaniing of the termt), a mere mencepary, in disguise, endeaYouring to sail by *k tidle-wind and undler, false colours, into Sinecure Harbour ?" He would as' the Jury, was the undertakingz suchtian office as thlat which he had de- scribed was " sailing into Sineciure Harboutn'' Was thie performance of such duties so tritfiag, that the person who should accept a salary for it was to be taxed as eudleavouring by imiproper means toposs himsel.fofasincure? The letterthen-proceeded -" Wh,[ol again ask, do these words.tcaply, I'being at the rate o 01 e ainunu,' ifomgeu..~o nprcdnfrthatsnugadpra nent birth, torW ~.I'..odkin,Esq., Hon. Secretary; for s hsete ~nanuniormy flurelhrugtmout the whole report, atndweeeh isyosd thu~ frhisservces, &c.? lBnt the mioment the pr3ettylittle sum of~ come to henamecas a gift, or a salary of 30. per ~plstO - to e seure to him, then tile blusmn mdest y of th is iSU.cresedproecormust be relieved b3y a itlma uvring on tb- pae f hs cadutors in. thte ftree."IWeewstl inanceu. vrI-~ n he artofthe plaintiff'? Could any thingbhermore plain endhar tat hi cnduct from beginining to end ? He had acted as honprary secretary without any remuneration, antiafterwards, when heacoeptedthatof'mistant-inana,er, he also aecepted thie sumi which the comnniittee considered his great serviees deserved. Where was the -anom.ujng inthis? Theletter then went on-."AndlIseilecit iswe find hlm conveniently allowed to ahrink into the tess obtrusive cha- ?rictezrof simple I secretary ;' andI lest this should nuot be suffi- cient we 046m itee 'him, by the hocus.pocus of official conjuring, *transtrmea into the triple capacity o1' oasistant-manag~er ! Out upor all stch i,nanaaemept: wiry e~aAared to acknowledge openly ndint lil'm nomia llcaracter, what he ha% the indehmec-y to ac- - -ept ~ These shallow and unwoarthy artifices shallnot, howrever, suc- Ceed. Neither tLe isubscribers nor the public at large canl henceforth be-ii'norant of the vivif'ying principle that warmed the Alendicity Society into being, amid it ist melianchdify to reflect, that the sarme Ori,'. may be traced, anid very.conscientiouslY ap Plied, to mally othgCs Those mean and selfishn motives are miore truly demoralizing, andthreaten society with evils re-ally mnole formidable, than menidi- c-anricitself, degraIngs 5nd Injurious to humranity as it certinly is9. Do they not generate qn-ud aniA dissimulation ? W itness the various *delesiont that are daily practised by designing men, on the cre-dulity of the generous anti himmane.in the nariie, too, aend sanctified as it 'werb by the appearanice, of benevolence itself: even honour, theo meatperectandexated of all human sentinients, because thleonlY onetha nethe seksrewardI nor fears puniishment, is hourly pol-. lute andbrouht nto contempt by time successfuil examnple anda con-. * tainatng nd wde.preacling influence of thxose specious pre.. tendrs o god eelng.What delicate or high-!;inded gentleman wil heeafer e fund to undertake the important duties of an ho- norury station, when the term is clailv prostituted and mnade subser- vient td the most deba-sing selflshn6ss, for now synonymous with plaze, profit, and time-gerving? But these are not thieonly evils tobe depiecated and feared from the system adopted by those speculators and joint stock-dealers and chapmen in charitable companies. If not.timely arrested in thuir siefariour career, imipunity will encou- rtogs themn to prosecute the traffic to suchi an extent, ttitat the most prlaceble and bene,volent spirits wil at lenstrh become disrusted, their aff'ections and sympathies gadnaily alienatedl, anid theirsip port. consequentlv wiihdrawa from ever'y puiblic chiarity." Such ,continued the Attorney..General, was the first libel of which the plaitif ha tocomlai. H wa thre cliargedi with having, by croked iniret, nd nsiiou mans, possessed himself of a sit'ston or hic hewasto e pid,but which waa described as a sinoure Now wht wa hi conucton peTceiving this uinfoundhed attak upn hm? H adressd aletter to the Editor of Tire Mlr. SCARLET'rT h wt Mr. BROUGIrAs and ihir. PLATS'T) appecared for the defe=ath,here obsered, that the Attorney-Ge. im?mi was misinstructed..no such letter hiad been sent to the editor of T)he Times. The ATTos'ny GTEY,U'qERAL (after conisulting withi the plain- tiff's attorney) resumed. He was incorrect in stating that the leintilf' wrote to thie Editor of Thre Timzes, but its wastrue that lc had instructed a professional gentleman to write to the ~roprxe- tors on tha subject Of the article. Thiis, however, produces no ax- p,anation t but, on the contrary, a few days after another letter ap- ncsred. wEhich. made matters muach wbrse. It woald appear that Mtr. 3odkciin-lied been honorary secretary to the t1 Houseless Poor So- ciety." WVith refergphee to that circumstance, the writer stated, t" I have it from authoyety, that he laid a dean scheme for transferring the whole of the fup,As of tlmcI'Houseless Poor Society' to Red Lion.. squ4rey"' -Vilett.e the ollice of the M5endicity SocietY is held), "1and proposed that somne of the members of the I Houseless Conmmittee' hbm lhe t').OUght likely to join him in the room) should be intro- need as rianagers to the Mendicity Society, under the impression thiatha. should take an office at a salary. However, his scheme exie.suspicion, and he was Obliged t,gv .i.u" NOW, tI,e'cwas instructed to state, was altogethertkalse anidwithou a sha- dos,o onain hr a h atoiy upo which this ca- ~".tny esed XVitd t e rouce ter tatda? He knew it could not; the whole wasion a ever een aclaby Mr Bodin. he wole was the farication of thewrterfrm smemalcius otve.tWho was there, who had aniy respectfo his character and station in societ, wvho could pass such an attack upon him without notice ? The plain'tiff fair, as any imonourable man would have done, indignant at such a charge, andi he brought his action, and by that gave the propric- rorut of Thre Ti7nes an onporcunity of justifying themselves in the publication of those charges by provingtlseir truth. They had mot availed themselves of the opportunity: they had not attemPted to enter a ijistiiieation orn the -record. rili Bodhin app-eared before the jury to call for justice at their hands-to remove by means of their *verdict thle imputations which had been case uponi his character. They were all at the mercy of the press of the country. He did not qnuirrel with the influence which it possessed ; on ttile contrary, he held it m the highest respect; bat thaen, ought any man to allow hils r-epect for the press to sanction such an abusc, as that its whole -force should be turned on the chiaracter of an individual, for the pur- pose of destroying it ? Let the jury consider, if the power often or- dinr ja ra, thus applied, was found highly injuriouis, what must be,the effectproduceti by a paper of such extensive circnlation as 77m.e Times. That journal was, he adm-itted, oonducted with great relenit, and its circulation w;as very exten3sive in consequence of its being so conducted. lVhat, then, must have been the feelings 01' the plaintiff, at finding that the attacks on his character which it con- tubned, were circua-ted throughout the emnpire, andI throughiout Eu- rope-in places where he was not known, and in places where lie ppsesessed no meansof correcting the misrepresentation? Thieonly -wayI left open to him he had adopted-that of coming to this Court, aod by means of the present proceedings endeavour to make his justification aspuiblic as had been the attacksupn nhim. It was not for the sake of damages that he came before them, but in defence ot' his character. Money wias but a poor compensation for such an at- tlick as had been mnade upon him; but the remedy of an action for damiages was. the only one left in his power. The juiry would hear the witnesses which he would call, and they would give such da- Inages as they thought t-he case called for. lie then proceeded to caLt his witnesses. , The nion. - C. Shore, examine-d by M r. Gua?YEY.-I have leen a subscriber to the Alendicity Society for thre" years. Jr oknhas acted as honorary secretary for that time. The society holds its meetings in Red Lion-square. Alr. Bodkin also acted for n timne as as-istant'-manager. (A printed report was banded to wimess.) I remem-ber the publication of this report. It is the annualI account of the society for a year. (It was then rendL) It was signed by the secretary. The duties of the as- idstant-managerz were to examine the cases - and application tt o the 'cit.(A pape. was then hianded to witness, which he said con- tain adatall of what were to be the duties of the assistant-mana.. ger, as they u~tere stated by the Attorney-General.) Those duties iwere daily, sometimes for eight hours in the day, particularly in- *winter. They were not so heavy for a great part of the summer. 'I hey were duities which required a considerable knowl edge of the society, andl such as any genitlemanl could not fulfil. Cross-exasrined by Mr. SCARLETTv.-I did rnot belong to the so- cietv from the first, I never knew MVr. Bodkcin brfore; I do not know of what prof'ession he was; I heard he was an auctioneer ; J)Vr. Bodtidn had a great deal io do with thie formation of the so- -'t;there was a great deal of activity used by him- in calling thle -,~4lc attention to its; the first board of management consisted of a sibinber of highly respectable gentlemen. I understood that the bu- sinssofth soiey asto e onucedby a number of indepen& dentgenteme, wh wer todevoe agreat part oF their timie to the discarg of ts utie. Tat as m imresson henI joined it; a gret prr f te dtie whch re ow erfrme bytheassistant-ma- ~sgr etc tenpeforedbyth su orin te ffees,and many of tnem by the board of mana ers, the secretary is quite an honorary office. I considered iMr. Bodkmn to havebeen particularlyactivein drawv- iog the attention of thepublic to the society. hlr. Tooke was thesoli- estor to the society. I was present wilen the assistant..manager was appointedl. There were 22 memnbers of the board present. It was iot done by the subscribers at large. It was not then published. It was not pubUshed until a considerable time afterwards. Besides the advertisements rnd puffs in the newspapers, there was a public dinner. Mdr. Idln's health was drank with applause on that occa. sioni. There was a special meeting after the circumstaices which MIr. ATnorney-General stated to-day. It took pLace in February, 1824. One object of the meeting was to remove the imputations which had been cast on Mr. Bodkin. I was not present at that thedng 1,ateyerdelusicn ysn he have existed with respect to Illr. Iiikin, was removeti ry thetesult of! that meeting.. I consi- dere eartices which referred to himtobecalumnies,and the errect of them to have been removed by that meeting. I do not re- Iember having been in the chair, or present at a meeting, after the publication of those articles, at which Air. Bodkin got great applause. Re-examined.I.-t has been found by experience, that the appoint. anD t of an assistant-nmanager was of great usc in forwarding the ob. 3ta of the society. It was not until after considerable discussion ned mature consideration that that officer was appointed. It was Iound to have prevented great deceptions on the societv, and was a erat saving to its funds. -Analmission of the defendanits that they were proprietors of 2Vd 7nies was now put in and read.- Tire Tinter of the 17th of January 1824, and also that of tihe of January, containing the two Jetters from which the Ateor- 'xmey4lener5i had read the extracts, were next put in, and the let- tets read at length, aavere.also two leading-paragraphs in the same Fepers, calling the-attention of-thme public eo the letters. *M4. SCABLETT here objected, that that part of the declaration wh'ich set fortha a part of thea alleged libel that 500]. had been given to the pla"intiff by the si)ciety, w as not proved. MIr. GuRnrxy submitted that it was proved, f'or it wvas referred to in the letter whic4 contained the report. f. SCj%,ILETT.,Itiusonly stated by us. in thrat letter that yott Sir. JUStice'LIrTagLnA,.' did not think there was sufficie~t evi- dence of the fact bef6re the Court. Thie plaintiff's counsel then called.-.. John Stel'eas..I acted as clerk to the society. I perceive by this book (that of the society) that it wias resolved by the BWard on the 22d of April, 1822, (hiere witness read the names of thle parties pree- sent), that the suin of 3001. be given from the funds of the society to W. lie Bodkin, Esq., for his efficient services as assistant mana.. rer. Witness next turned to the entry of the 29thi of April, in wvhichi it was s,tated, "1That it is expedient that an assiastant.mngrb forthwvith appointed, at a salary of 3001. a year, and thatM.Bm kin lie requested to continue his services tilI next annua mein. Mr. Blodkin did so continue his services for the ne-it eigh ots Cross..examinedl by Sir. S'CARrLETt.-.There is no special vote eniteredI of the additional grant of 2001. No vote to that efThct passed. A check wvas iignerl for IOOL on the 10th of Jul y, and another on the 2'2d of December, 1822. for another 1001. There were two ma. nagers presenit whien the check was sigried-AMr. Mleyrick and Mrt. Brock. Several checks were signed oni the same day and this aniong the number. The words "1paid Milr. Bodkin on account" are in my handwriting. I wvill not say they were written on the same day as the other parr. The entrv of the sum ini December had not the words " on account." There is no entry of what ac.. cutant the second check was paid on. I have been fivc years in the emiployment of the Mlendicity Society. The annual meeting is held towardIs the end of Febrnary, and the public dinner soon after. Rr-examined..-.Tliese items were submittedI to the next general mieeting, ang approvedi by that meeting. The grant of the money was among the accounts passedl and approved oft by the mneeting. Alrl. SC A r.E'rTT now observed, thiat the secondl couint of the dlecla. ration made the suim of 50al. a material allegationi, as it stated- " the sum of 5001. so votedI as aforesaid ;` and he submitted that there was no evidence of the paymnent of that sum. It was in evidence, that 3001. had been voted to plaintiff, andI then that two chiecks hadl been given fot 1001. each without any vote; but he con- tended that this was not sufficiernt to sustain the allegation "1 the sum of 5001. as aforesaid." Mlr. G*RmE Y contendled, that the vote for a salary of 3001., and thentheappintentof laitif attherate of 3001. a year, the pro. porton f wichhe eceied,wer suficentevidence ot the grant of 5001 Th grnt as atogthe asonesum in the annual account, Mr. TSyDAL follwed ~n thesame ide. Ir. Justice ljITrTrLEDAI.E heldl that the evidenice of thie stims voted was quilte sufficient to maintain the allegation. Mlr. Brock wvas niext called, and examiined by Mtr. G1JRwEY._-. There was at soclety called the"1 Houseless Pod't Society." I was a memiber of it. Mlr. Bodfrin acted as gratuitous serretary to it. I thinik the Mendicity Society was established before the other. I do not know who establishea it. Mlr. udlJInn was active in i,. Thiere are conisiderable funds belonging to the "fiouseless Poor Society ;-" at least thiey were so a year ago, and know no reason why they sheuldI a;o be so stifl, as they expended very little since. I have no acquaintance with Mr. Bodkiu, except wha'~.has arisen froin our br. lon,ging tothe same society. I was not present when an,yproposition was ade byayprsnt ipl h ftunds of the Nouseless Poor Society toth pturposes of the Mendicity. I madle a Proposition to that effect for other societies. I had in v'iew the Society foer Vrisiting the Sick. I thought that some of our surplus funcls might be wvell bestowed in that way. I positively swear that I never heard Mlr. Bodkin miake any Proposition to that effect. Johin Stevenis w'as note re.calted, and stated, that at the commence. mnent of the society, thie labours ot'thc officers was very considerable. It's neianagmeait was now conisideraibly improved, compared with whiat it hiad beet,. This was, the plaintiff's case. Sir. SCAmcLET'r' thien rose, anid addressed the juiry. It now be. camie his duty, on the part of the defendants5, to make some observa- tior.s on thie evidence w birh had been giveni, anid on the statemnent I whiclt lhad beeni made, and wvhich that cvidenice had not supported; and hie isoald begin wvithi the first. They would recollect that the Att11o.rney .enera.,l bath assm~rted that a leLtter was sent to the ptopric. toso h Tirne requesting them to miake satisfaction to rthe Plain- tiffha by publishing his, ansWeT to the charges mnade against Itiin, and brfounded on this statement a powerful declamation, in wvhichiIts urgzed that their refuisal thus to do hiim justice comnpelled hint to seek redress at the Itands of the jury. No proof, lisowever, hadl been givenl that suchi request was ever made, and lite was entitled to assumne, and to call on them to lielieve, that the statemtent was a mnere fiction, and th'At no application was toads to rthe defendtants, except for the namie of their attorney. Whien the Attorney-General madec that assertion, he partially, interrupted htitm by calling on himi to retracet it, or def'ying Ititr. to Prove it; and, in spite of thiat defiance, it retnained wvholly unprovedl. lie now came to the merits of the case ; and niotwithistanding his long practice in tue cotiduict of causes, althottgh1 hr miighit be supposed to f'eel as little embarrassed o3 mlost men in selecting the topics which) he should ad- dress to the jury, he diii on this occasion feel confused by the nitnziber of considerations wh'tich pressedl on his mind, anld whiichi, if time permlitted, he should be glad fuilly to develop. Mlaniy of rthe observatiors which lhad been urged by the Attorney-Oeneral withi great zeal were mere truisms whiceh no onie could dleny, bttt the pre- rise application of which miglht be a matter of quiestion. Thus,when he dleclared that a mnan attackeri in a public jourLial was bounid, in Jusqtice to himiself, tn court pttblic inqury atnd by bringing an actioii to give an 'opportunity to the editor of ptitting the truths of' the chiarges tn issue, every otie mnust agree that the ge- neral Proposition was just but it was liable to qualification in Particular instances. Thus, wvhen thie party to whom allusion hiad been mnade, had pecuiliar means ol~ vinlileating his character- wheni he had been enabledl by his, lon to call a pablic mieeting to whom hiis defence was submittedl. -andl when Cthe proceedings of that meeting had been puiblislied, not only in all othier journals, but particularly in that oaper vltiich wvas admiittedI to have the laigest cir- culation of all, and in) which thie charge was originally made-when the same powerful instrument whichi conveyetl the charge hadl giveca the fullest effect to the reply-he lwas an exception to the genieral nule, and, in his ea';a, the necessity for an appcal to ajury woe super- seded by the newspaper itself', wivici hiad assistedi to remove the stain. TheAttorney..General,naturallv anxious to introduce his elient,not in the character of a man who soughit to tuirn -a charge against Iiimself into a mieans of profit, but as seeking a verdict to justif'y his conduact from all imiPutation,strenuously urgedthiat hehaa notneans but thiis of chial- lenging inquiry. But w'hat said the honourable persoR who was called as the first witnes in hisq cause ? He did not perceive that any imputation ever rested on 51r. Bodkin ; he did niot even think that inquiry was called for; but he also said, that if such imputation ever did exist, it wask promptly removed by a public mneeting, whose proceeding aind votes were Pub3lished, by the miedium of The Timnes, thsroughout the kingdom and the world. Was it true, theni, that his inotive to proceeding furthier was to vindicateg his character? Did not the answer ofhIis first witness contradict the assertiotn which his counsel was so anxious to put forth, and prove that he was actuated by a motive which lie was ashamed to avow? rar was it from hir (Mr. Scarlett's) intextion to cast the slightest reflection on those honourable and distinguished hindividuals by whom the Society for the Suppression of Mlendicity was comiduct- ea. li e was, indeed, himpself an hiumble follower of those doctrines by whiich they were influenced, in attempting to suppress the grea nuisance of mendicity, anid shouild, to use a vulgar proverb, " befoul his own nest," if he were to insinuate any thing to their dispraise. But, excellent as the principle of this institution was, and importantt as were its objects, lie wouldi venture to affirm, that neithier this, nor any Other society, could exist with advantage, unless watched withi cnstant anxiety by the public eye. Those establishments which wore the attractive aspect of charity, which were sustained by the gentlest affections of our natuire, and whiich were most calculated to excite a deep and a general symipathy, Were, Of all others, most liable to abuse, andl the most m~ischievous when perverted. There. wvas none of' them, however pure, none, however engaging, which was not liable to degenerate into an engine of private gain, and wh6se fundis, drained from charity, miight not become the filthiy lucre of its servants and pretended friends, without the constant protection of public vigilance. By this remark, he intenided to convey no parti- cular imp-utatioti on th2 plainitiff; he wvould not travel out of this re- cord to fix on him anvstigi-na, nor reflect on him, except to sayv, that he had com-menced an acti'on which he (Alr. Scarlett) declared before Gotil he considered the most un-reasonable, the miost needliess, and the niost absurd, ever brought into a court of justice. But the remiark itself, that the chairities of life were frequently directed by base and designing men to their own personal adlvantage, was al- mnost proverbial. It had formied the ground-work of miany of those Aictions by which men of genius delighited anid instructed their fel. lows, and whose success depended on ltheir seizing upon teuths ofge. netal interest and value, and investing theiss in somneappropriate formis which were peculiarly agreeable to the fancy. In one of thie mioat POPular suovels in the world, whlich every ma-n in court bad probably read, and which all who ha~d read recollected withi vivid pleasure, Gil Blaes, aui incident occurred well fitted to elucidate this position. They woul4, no doubt, rcemem-ber the myeeting betweeti the hera), and his friend Fabriciwz? whiom hescarcely recognized under his disguise, and, whose demnure lace, solemn halbit, arid eyes cast down to the earth, with the bunch of kcey fatnd a hi ;idl',e, lef scicey a inimation of the gay, jovWal and lhappy friend of hiis Youttful days. '"rhen, at last, hie'rerogntzed the poet atid orator under this strange garb, and accosted him,bhe found that he was ser. Nant to one Don Motamsuel, whio was director of the poor of the city, and who administered the charities of the hiumane. " Comne anid s'ee mie at homre," said Fabriciazs, " and you will see howv we live; my master is old, and I ant not without litoes of succeeding him ; and you may wel kelievc we have a larger share of the bounties we re- ceiv,e' than ethe pootr." (A laugh. Suchi, probably, without any patclr imptation on M5r. Bodkin would have been tl,.e fate of this society, had it -not been for the conduct of this cilitor in calling the attention of the public to its concerns-conduct not onil innocent, but most lAudable-..condtuct to shrink from which wiould disgrace anov man occupying a leai sieain n h lmubic pess.It was in evidlence that Air. odkin was mainly instrumental in forming this societY ; lie devoted to it hi~s talents and hiis eloquence, and resorted to every tneansn~ . t.; power -- t --enlarge -t Iiuec an it ftns n(wi i i e power to enlarge its influen'ce- a'nd i_-s fuds - ( -- e din i;el;e present as the nmainspring of its vitality, ard the best pledge of its success ? He appealed to the voluntary exertion of those who had leisure to bestow; he called on the intelli ent, the humane, and, without offence be it said, the idle to give t ?ueir tinle to the manage. ment of its concerns; and he held it forth to the world as conducted entirely by their honourable and gratuitous labours. Hlis own name was widely diffused with its fame: in pamphlets, in newspapers, at meetings, and at dinners, Mr. Bodkin protninently shone forth as the advocate of the society; anti utider what pretence did he solicit for it general aid ? Was it not chiefly on the pretence-then, no doubt, a just one-that its concerns were notsuperintended by mercenaries, but were under the direction of a class of gentlemen who felt the in- tolerable evil of the poor laws, and wbo were determined to relieve actual misery, and to suppress those classes of beggats who ought rather to be sent to the house of correction than liermitted to infest the streets ? There was scarcely any of the public Journals which did' not contribute its assistance to so excellent a scheme; anct cer- tainly The Times, of which the circulation was widest, did not do the least. MUr. Bodkin himself, who was not known before to any of its distinguished patrons or tsie world, by their aid was raised in- to general notice, and acquired reputation as the huniane, dlisinter. ested, and generous Mr. Bodkin, who wAs ready to devote his talents and his tine to this good work, without the sliglitestliope or desireof gain. In February, 1821, the general meeting of thesubscriherawas lield,and then no intimation was given of a change in the constitution of the society, or of an alteration in the terms on which Mr. Bodkin contributed his se5rvices. Now it was very important toobserve,that according to the evicdence of Air. Shiore, the proprietv of appintitig an atssistant-manager witvi a salary had been suggested betbre, and had undergone repeated dliscussions. Wlhy, then,, was not the su'b- ject iintrodMCt~ed at the general meeting, anl openly submaitted to the sabecribors ? Mrhy did'the advisers of' the measure wait till just after theilr anniversary., anti them appoint iUr. Bodkcin 'for a year to this newv office? ~Jndoubtedly, the managers' by whom this WtlS doae were men of the'- highest' bonouy .and worth, ad inapbe fparticipating in any dishonottrable thought; but til thir onduct was unwary, and rendered the pro- ceeing whle nexplained,, the subject of suspcon u pSasng tis b; suposig this inere accident,; was4 it not remark. abl that,Wth tixtgeneral. meeting, whesi Mlr. Bofikiti had been elevn i~nthsinths oi~ee,no Oic hOuldibe taken of the office, tr o anychage-i his aluatin? e 'Still fituced as, honorary secetry;stll ecive al te reit O givint his servicesOfor no. thin; an neiher n the- report, in -thfespee'ehes,-6r at'the dinner, where hi elhwsgiven with kappropriate honours, was there any the least ito hisnew office. rhe subscribers were still left cti 'suppose that all their nioney v-as devoted to the poor, and that the laboars of the society, excepting, of cour-se, those of the lowest class of agents, were performed gratuitously by the ~ecretary and the managers. To, the mhsutes and to the accounts they would lookc in vain for any trace of the imuportantand costly experiment whbich wa.s theni in a course of trial. At the expirationi of thie year,- in April, 1822, the office was madep permanent, and 3601. voted, a'nd paid to Mr. Bodkin, for his servicets. This was now explained ; but surely it would have been well if the m-anagers. had paused ; if, convinced of the necessity of appointing ani sssistant.manager, they had for- born to ay tt moey utliteybad obtained the sanction of the saibscribers, and thus had preventAI any suspicion from attAching to their proceedings. They, however, paid the money; and af- terwards, by two checks, paid two ether sums to MIr. Bodkini, on account of the second year. By the nowe appointmient a great chiange was effected in the admninistration of affairs - the attendance of the mnanagers was greatly relaxed ; anti the whole active condluct andl control in the society devolved on tepantiff. As secretary, it waz his duty to record a l proceedings, ndyet there was no minute of these payments, nor did the checks ahrthemseves express the account for whichK they were given. In the first of them were the words "4on accounit," hut they were obvi- ously written at a subsequent period ; and though the wittnlss Stevens swvore, they were introduced withiin a week, yet still the circumstaneeI was not unworthy of' attention, and accounted for the ereat reluct-. ance of Air. Gurney to give this evidence. When was this arrange ment, theni, first made known ? Not till February, 1823, whente report came fortl, wvith this little itemi of 5DOO. voted to' lr. Bed- 'Kin, the lhonorary secretary, for his services as assistant-m-anager. Even tlen,bhow scanty wa.sthe informationgiven- Therewasnostate. ment of the time when thiis large sum was voted, the parties by whiom it was voted, or the reasons why it was voted. Might notI the sub.,cribers,who hadl given their inoney in the faith that it shouldI niot he applied in patyment to an officer reasonably feel a little sur- prsdwen they found that the liberal Mr. Bodkiin, who professed to seek only the good of mankind-who, at all events, sought only for empty praise andI not forsolistpudding-hon received nohess asum than 001O. as assistanit-mranager wbile retaining the title of' honorary secretary ? All might be capable of explan,ation ; 'that e planlatiotsi had since been given ; the town Was surfeited with it but whien this report was published, with thtis one startling item, was it not enough to excite suspicion2 sand to-..cal.l for inquilry ? Under these circumustances, the articles were published. A correspond- ent, feeling that the case diemanded investigation, wrote a letter to the editor, con,taining a sort ot' reproach that he had not sufflici ently directedt the attention of his readers to the abuses of charit:ible institutions, and this was publishied in The Times, with an intima- tion of its importance in the leading article. No one wvho knew him (Mr. Searlett) wvould suspect him of an inclination to flatter the public press ; but this lie must say in justice, that if~~~~~~~~~~~~,,ustce,t a it there was a~' one papr which deoted itsel to the ton- reins f publc impotanceand pulic inerestin opposition to' such a taste; but it applied it powers to subjects ofgetpbiin terest, and was as fee from prvte slander as any paper eve,- pub-t lished in the world. Itws,tetefore, a paper thie i ost unlikeyt receive any Matter ofinividal scandal, or to be rendered subser-I vient to the purposes of individual malice; and he confidentlv ap. pealedt to every mani wlho heard himn if this was not true. 1In the I leding article, the replort itself was ailluded to as tliw foundation of' the obse...vaiotis, It these terms-" We do most cordially Tecoin- mend to universal notice aiid attentioni a letter iii this day's journal, written and signedl by I A Friend to thie Poor.' Thie subject is of use utmiost importance to the best interests of hiumanity and the ten- derest feelings of the heart-namely, the apprehended abuse of cha- ritable institutions, exeniplified in one even on the famce of its ac- ecounts.` Anid wvas not this fair and just ? In the letter itself MVr. Bodkin was not. chiefly aimied at, but the remarks of the correspon- dten-, were rathier directed to the carelessness, the wvant of att eation, or the imiore unidefinied uiiotive whichl had induced tlie Commrittee of .larnagement to make this grant; anid yet none of themn thought it. necessary to bring hiis action. He Of Stn.Scarlett). must express hiis convictioni, nor. only that. thie p\aX grounded on the report it- sefwsinnocent, hut ihat the editarof'a paper possessed ofsuchpower as, had been justly attributed to 2'hce Timtes, would not deserve to be treated with comnion anid decent respect, if he wanted the courage so to remarkc on such a document. The letter wait, in fact, a miere dissection of the account whichi the society itself hadi publisthed to thie world. If its mianagers chose to sendi forth suchi a naked state- mleit, to accompany it withi none of those explanations whichi they now offered to gtive, were they to com plain, id?the editor of aL public journal puhlished the just-, the fair, the natural observations whcic it was calculated to raise? They found, it mnight be, that their origi- nial plan was not sufficient-that as the society advanced, its business cou.ld not he tyansactea by those who were willing tco affordI gratuit- ous services ; and that it was wise to appoint ilr. Bodkin assistant mianager, witli a salary ; but theis, if thjey wishied to place their pro- ceedings beyond e,rasure or doubt, they should have stated themi folly to the world; If they withiheld thiis, and if the remark-s of the writer were only the fair inferences from the omission, he calledl on the juiry to give a verdict for the defenidants. Had not the public a right to demandl who gave the vote of 5001. to the secre- tary; who the secretary was, ; whether it was the gentlemian whio continued to call hlimself honorary, when lie lisad becomie mercenary in the proper sense of that term ? Every part of this article-he freely avowed it-seemed to him the fair, and natural, aind candid deduction from the report itself. He asked the jury to lay their hands on their hearts, and say whiether they would nat have so felt andI so expresse4 themnselves on. suiel information, whiich was all Mfr. Bddkiss and the societyAslose 'to- give. The subscribers were under great obligation to the paper which hadl been the means of affording them an explantation which they d a right to demand, and which had saved them 1001. a year; as iMr. 'Walk-er, the pre. sent assistamt.managtr, perfornied the duties of that office for 1001. less than wvas g,iven to Mr. Bodkin. Mir. n.i ey in terposed, and said that M r. Walker was ap. painted long before the publication of the atticles ; they thierefore had not affected his salary. Indeed, the business was reduced in consequience of AIr. Bodkin's exertions. Mlr. SCARLErTT resumed, and directed the attenition Of the jr to te scon leter whch e cntededalso was flvarnrdb laid a scheme for a transfer of the funds of the Society for relieving thie R-ouseless Poor to these of the Mlendicity Society, was that a libel? IIlight he not do so withiout grievous imiputation ? And if he chose to accept a salary at all-if he once consented to derive profit fromi the society-would it be libellous to intimate that he conitem- plated an increase of' salary with increased funds, increased influence, atnd increased labour? No one of the managers had. thought the worse of .1r.11Gdkin for these articles; they had lost tohimano friend orpatron; and it was now admittedl that all was set righit, and it was clear that a salutary lesson had been given. What, then, did M4r. flodkin want'? It was not fame-that lie ladl managed to. get even, to a surfeit. It. was not a vindication of his conduct as to the particuIar charges alleged against him in these supposedc libels, for his own witnesses lhad strited that they thought no worse of Ihini than before. Alr. Shore still heldL commu- nion with him: M1r. Btock had not abandorled him:, nay, tile ev ry paper against which he was now proceeding had published fully uneevdythe elaborate testimonials in gBfvu,vtdb his strenuous supporters. What, then, diii hehi favour voeated b that whiich hils learned advo-cate thie Attorney.Geiaeral was ashamned to avow-niay, sedlulotasly disclaimed, on account1 of the baseness of the motive-he *arited money. The ho. ~iorry ecrtar watedmor moey: but he trusted-'tiay, he doubed not that he jurywould isappont the greedy hopes ofI the uonam uctoner. he ttoneyGeneral spoke justly of theimuorance o the ress, s preervg to us every-valuableI blesing; ad h spke lsojusly f te necessity of restraining its abuses.These buses ere bet corrcted b the tibuLnals of the i county and of all tribunals best bythprsn but there was a Yet hihrdt hich thle jury wercaldo to pttrfdrm-.to protettehns journalist in the conscetous dischiarge ofI lisisofc-otk care thiat lie was not pnsed for comment-I ing on a report published by a soceyoth world, writhout private enmtity or malice - and to secur ohmta degree of fear- '1essness, without which thse press was o ovle If in time case of other insfitutions....the Phiilwithrojsic Insttitution; for examnple-a Si- m-ilar warning hadl been giVen in tiMe, bowv ninniy mein *oixld hare been saved from ruin? If, thert,thedcfendantshad p ublisheadwith. out one trcait of indivdualm nialice; if thecre was not the srellestpre- tec orsyng~ that they were actuated by any feeling of hostility to Mlr. Bodkin if, while the report was unexplained, it was their imperious duty to cell the public attention to its import ; they were entitledI to a verd4ict. tt would beseivere da therji, if, writing ohi a topicof great 5importance, 'withouit any design of injuring an indivi. dugal, they) eduld be compelled to pay damaFge becauseimeidentally and necessarily their remarks miight affect lisa chsaracter, b utit would he yet hiarder on tse piublic, wlio wouxld thus be deprived of their best prtectiots.. He therefore submitted, thlat if fthe plaintiff were enititlerd to recover at ull, he could only claim the lowest dainages but that, on the fair coiisideration of the whole dase, the defendants were entitled to a verdict in their favour. PMnJustice LTTTLED3ALE summedup thecasetotisejury. He began by adverting. to the statement of the Attorney-General, that application hadl bee'n made to tlse defendants requesting tleem to give a contradiction to the articles consplaiued of, and which Mr. Scar- lett. had properly called on them to dismiss from their minds. No proof was offered of any suclh request, and therefore they mutst con- sider the case as thoughi none were matde. It appeared that some years ago a society was fiermed for the suppression of ipendicity, in a great measure by the exertions of the paintiff:, Hp ecame its ho- norary secretary-an office which, as the name implied, was entirely gratuitous. It appeared from one of tbe members, that he expected the whole business of the institution would be transacted by gentle- men who sought no reward for their labours. These gentlemen ori- ginally attended in rotation, but this arrangement was found inconvenient, as the determinations were sometimes foend in- consistent with eaeh otlier, and it was impossible to guard against impostors who preUented theniselves withidifferent stories on dif- ferent days. It wais at length determined that Alr. Bodkin should he appointed assistant-manager, by way of experiment, for a year ; and accordingly he was appointed at a meeting of 22 managers, in Mlarch, 1821. At the public meeting in February, 1822, the year of experiment had not expired, and no mention was made of the appointment or the officer. It miiglht have been better had sonme mention been then made of the subject; bat there was no evidence tbat Alr. Bodkin was answerable for the omission. In April, 1822, lie received 3001. for the services of the year; and afterwards, oon- tinuing for eight nonths longer to act, received 2001., being in the same proportion. In February, 1823, the yearly meeting was held when the accounts were submitted, and this payment appeared among others. Fromn this meeting a report rssued, contain- ing tbis item among others, and en this report the ar- tices in question were founded. Now, If a society thought fit to publish a report to the world," it was undoubtedly comnptentto any mian, either in a pamphlet or a newspaper, freely,-yet fairly, to discuiss the report and the measures i't disclosed. If the articles were fair bono fide discussion, the defendants were entitled to a verdict: but if tbey passed the bounds of disc*ssion, and if they tended to vilify the plaintiff, to wiound li8 feelings, and brilig hint into public odiusii and contempt, lie eas then 'entitled to recover. Th&tearned .Judge thnc read the lelter and the passages in the leading article, di-. rectingtlte attention ofthlereader to them;and repeated his dirp;tiobn that it ivas for the jury to determine whietter thepassagesscontained fr discussign, or whether tley vilified -lr. B3 odkfii an lo give thela.verdict according to their conviECtion. He then rcadlover all the evidence ; and directed the jury, if' thecy thouight the defendants had stepped beyond thieline of theirduity, to give the plaintiff's-zch terpe. rat _angesas would satisfy the juatice ofthecase. M.Bdi a beeni origioaUy an honorary officer; hc afterwaras-acceoted a snlary,, and therefore perhaps he was not in so favoisrable a situatioa Iin asking for damages as if he had received pay from the-first. If, however, the plaintiff' was entitled to a verd'ict, it was peculiarly their province to measure out the damages. The jury retired at tlhree o'clock to consider of their verdict 1.and the Couirt proceeded in the trial of aniother cause of no genea n Aboest fieocokthe officer annouce that the jury wvere com- ing ntocour,bu thy di no appar;andwe understood that sorre. of tem fte leaingther rom, entback again, as if finding that the hal ben istkenin upPsin tey had the conctirrence of The trial then pend,.ing beIng, closedl, Mlr. SCARLETT roe and said, he wishied to call the attention of the Court to a circumstanre which had just occurred, and whichi was of imiportance to the administration of 3justice. Bit Brock, a witnss, ho ad ben eamied fr te Dlaintiff in the cause on whic th juy wre nw dlibratng,had insulted AIr. Platt, the attoneyforthe efedans, Rd hd prposely and violently trodt on hisfee, apaenty wtha vew o povke im ofight a iuel. It would b for hs Lordhip to ay wha he wo ldo, afret hie hiad transaction. udgv l h Mr. Justice LXTTLEDATE intimated that the witnesrtes should :se called. Mlr. George Hicks was then sworn, and calledl on by I I f SCAR- L.ETT, to relate what hie had seen. He said, " Mfr. PI'att came to ne and said Air. Brock had behaved very ill to hiim, and uised very, neuling language, and he wished me to come hack and hiear wha't ic; had to say. I went back withi Mr. Platt to Mir. Brork, and Mr. Platt desired him to repeat the language he had Lised. Alr. Birock lid not seem to recollect; when AiVr. Platt said, "1 You told me ~nd shaby fllow" Mr Plat ased r. Brat k ptou repeat thes worep i myof arsnce hesin seemed norrt undrstand br.ePat; he itepped in between thiem. AMr. Brock's manner was very insulting. ['his, was close to the door of the Couirt." AIr. Brock asked Mr. flicks if lie was not enioloyed by thle Pro. seletors of Thte Tinnes ?-Hle replied, " I am a -pro'priet'or of The' 7'i-mee myself." .Mr. Ro'bert SVilson, whio was wvaiting to serve on thie jury, said-I mow niothling of thesparties. AS I was waiting at the door I saw hir. Brock and Mir. Platt in clese conversation. I did not hear whet rassed. Alr. Brock's foot ca-ine on M'tr. Platt's, and his elbow, against hlr. Platt's breast. I put miy hand forward to Tievens. Air. Plaitt rum falling, ag I expected he wvould fall back. k'e bimpression at hemnoment was, that Air. Brock was ill. When Mr. Plate reco. 'ered, he said, " Good (lod ! what's that F" I separated them. Alr. Platt then saidl-I was standing on the iniside, MIr. lrock at on the o:stside of the dloor of the Court. Hle atddressed toe, inl ask-ed why I looked at him in the mannccr I did when s8aw hiim. I saidl it was impossible to erase certain recollectionsI hiich wvere wvritten on the tablet of my memory. I seas not aware hiat [ looked at hiim more than otrhers4. He tu~rnei uipon me in a nose insulting manlier ; he told me I wvas iio gentleman ; that I was t low attorney; and that lie liad autliority for saying so. I asked is authiority? I told himi thait whiat he hs~d said w;as false, and that it presumedA on his personal strength. He hiad a stick in his hand, ,nd movaed as if hie mieant to assault irie. As I dIl not wvii,h a die-. urbance on my account, I went to Mlr. Hicks, and lie accompanied Ile to Air. IBrock. lie answered mue coneremptuousl,., affected not o understandI my questions, sotil then deliberately pudt h-is foot on nine, and at the same time hiis elbow camne its contact witLh my - treast. At thie first impulse I Stretched out miy hand to k-ce'l rimi offi. Air. Brock theni Questionedi Mlr. Platt, who said, the reason I poke of my recollection) was, that you asated " Why do you look at ne so whenever y-ou see mie ?" Mlr. Brock asaled what it wvas thiat occasioined Mr. Platt to glive the unsawer ? Air, Platt replied, thait lie alluded to sonic transactions which ook place thiree years ago; they were coninectedi with one of thie larties in the cauise now befor-e the jury, and hail been studioiuslyvI zepbakcoviw If, lhowever, it wval the wishi Of the Uour:. lie ia n objectioni to state themi. Mlr'. JUstice L5TTLEDALE intimnatedl chat the Court could not tear themn. Mr, Brock said, that lie was anxious the public should kneiw what I was to whicht Mlr. PlaLt alluded, as it might bh' supposed to be' momething affecting Isis private character. The only tr~ansaction to whic Ai. Phtt ould aIllude, was a formier stecusatimn raised by the maie journal against Mlr. B3odkin when he too], his plart,' and wh)en IAout of17i manag-ers.approv,ed ofhis conduct. As tothec per. lent matter, lie was ats finnocent of any assault on Mr. Platt %s -his l,ordship. Wihat his conducet hiad been, fie would leave to be stated ay his witniesses. The Rev. Richard Pottinger wvas then netlled, and desiredI by lIe. Brock to state all lie saw. fie said-I did not hear Mir. Platt's first ]uestion or the atmswer. I hieard Aler. Plate Speak in a contenmptous ind an inisulting manner to Air. Brock-, inore in inatnee than in words-"1 that he wvas his superiort ina every tbing,and would niot put qimnself on a level with l iin." Mlr. Brock inereli' answvered, 1 ihink not." Air. Platt returnedl, and mtade usc of observations ri' hie same tenour anid then Air. Brock wvas provoked to uise thlat lan. ;uage of which ~hlr. Platteotnplains. Mr. Platt ivenit away, antl re. turned withi Alr. Hicks. Air. Brock evaded the question putb U Platt; MVr. Platt saicd, "Are you an idiot ?" on whichl Mr. llro,ck :ushed pa-st Mlr. Platt. I cannot say I saw lila foot ; Air. Pluit ~hen struck Mr. Breock; thiat I did see'. Air. Brock replied, "1Don't lisgrace yourself, Mfr. Plattc; thoughi a blow fromi mewud crush vou I would nent do it for thie worldl," or wNvods to thai effet. Air. Brock nasked if the statemenit of Hicks was not substanitiaIlly alss ? Mlr. Justice LITTLEflALE toldI him, he couldI not ask ti us ion, but mu'st examine as to whiat the witness saw. Alr. Brock then asked whethier else witness thiouight Ilis coniduct iustifiable, under all the circetunstances of the case, and accordinig to hepicples of tIle Charistiatn religioln ? T?herwinsCtness replIied. that in hiis judgmient it was. Air. SCARLETT', in cross.excaminlation, pressed witness to say Whether he did not believe Air. Brock stam-ped as Mlr. Platt's foot, wvith intent to inisult him ? The witniess replied that, jUdging from :he provocation Mir. Brock received, he believedi that he dlid. Mlr. Robinson then was called, and said,_Afr. Brcock atid myself Rere walkting in the passage when Air. Platt came by. Mlr. Brock iskced wby he looked at him in that manner ? Mc. Platt answered, Mlind what you are about ; remiember what you swore this miorn- ng." Air. Brick said. he considlered himself a gentleman ; Alr. Platt said. "1 I don't consider you so, and I won't put Inyseit'on a Iscting with you." AIr. Broek 8aid, "1Sonie part of your chara.-- aer is bad." Air. Platt west away, atad broughi back AMr. Hicks;, I idvisedl AIr. Brock to say nothing one way or other; Mr. Platt tae and desired tiiai to repeat his wordst. AMr. Broclt seemed as if lt did not understandI the question ; Air. Platt said, "1 Now, you ire Performing an idiot." MIr. Brock pushed through by his side. Cross-examnined by AIr. SCARtLETT.-I am a grocer, in Hoilborn. h ave known AMr. Platt and Alr. Brock both inany years. I did iot hear M1r. gcoc'k say "Yu re a. low attorniey." Both were not n very I goo humour. Idnot think A1r. Brock intended to insult dr. ~lt,o tamp upon his foot. Ar. lV. IC. Thompson was called and swamn. Mlr. Brock said he wished to ask him generally whether he did not onsider hilni the party aggrieved. Mr. Justice IJITTLEDALE informed Alr. Brockc, that he could aot ask thie witness his opinion of the transaction, but that he mnight xaraine him a.s to its details. Mr.'Brock declined to agk any othier qisestion of this witness, or to all any other. Air. SCARtLET T said, the whiole transaction was; now before his ,ordship, who would say -what ouglit to be done. lie did ilot, for ininself, wish to make any commelits, beyond observing that it'ap. 'eared from rue statemeaqt of Mr. Brock-'s own Witness that he had tam ed on the foot of the attorney in the caus,e at the door of tie &euirt. Air. Justice LITTLEI)ALE_-I have heard the evidence ons both ides, and do not feel myself called on to interfere. At the close of thisi discussioni, Air. Justice LITTLEDALE Pro. ucsing to leave the Court, sent to the juryi to know wisethet theyua mny question to ask himn before lie retivad. The jury returned an- wee, that they wished for refreshment ; to which hi.s Lordshipre ffled, that he had nO power so order any, unless to such as could iwear that their lives would be endangered by the want of food. His Lordship then quitted the Bench, leaving Mr. Bellamy to take the re'rdict. Atcseven o'clock Cthe jurty sent a paper to the learned Judge, who was in his private room, and who slsortiy a'ter appeared or, the Bench. Seven of the jury came into the box; hut the others re. nained, until informad tkat if aniy qu1esteia 'was to be asked, their presenco Was requisite. Thejurv having re-assembled, MVr. Justice I ~TTLn DALE, said the paper he held in his hand re- lated to two special juryinsen, wlho required refreshment. One of Lhems Said he wvas 81), and the othier 718 years of age ; but ha could sot order them food, unless they could say that thiey coiild not lpro- reed hin the conisideration of the case without danger of their lives, urnless they received it. Air. Heeton, an old special jury San l ai he Was 80 years of age; he could not say his life was in =agr hut be could ne'tgo on with- Out food. Ai)r. Robertson, another special juryman, said he was 71. He had been in court since nine in the morning, and was under medical advice; and hiis life would be endangered by the want of food. Air. SCAP.LtTT.-AIS Lord, these gentlemen should have known that they were not bounn to serve the objection niow comes too late. MVr. Justice.LITTL.EDALE.-Certainly, they were not bound t serve. Aler. Sawyer, one of the takes men, then addressed hits lordshinp- " My LAord, I wvish to know whether , if we find a verdict for theI plaintiff, we shiall impute any bad or malicious mnotive to the de- fenidant ?"I Air. Justicw LITTLEDALE,-The question is, whetlier malice is- to be fairly inferred fromrtlse articles themnse'lve. It is not necessary to show special malice-not personal malice in the minds of the de- fendants; but if the tendency be injurious, the jury may infer what the law calls malice. Air. SCAULET T.-I subnit, miy Lord, that the question of ma- lice is entirely matter of fact for the jury; the tendency of a writing is evidence of motive, but the conclusion is for the jury to draw. Air. Justice LITTLEDALE.-Thejurywill consider the publica- tion: if its tendency is injunious, and there are no circumstances to explain it away they w il probably conclude that it was designed to produce the result to which it tends. Mlr. Sawyer.-If malice be an inference of law, I am satisfied. Air. Justice LITT LEDALE.-It is not so; but if the tendency of a publication is bad, and if there is nothing to explain or excuse it, ajury will usually infer the motive, and think if it was without excuse, that it was maliciously doine. It is a priinm facie presump. tion wbich the defendant ought to destroy. Certainly it is not neces- sary to prove direct inalice-that the defndants intended witfully to injure the plainti*; but if they have published matter defam-a toty of lsim.withouit any excuse, they are liable to him in damages. Air. 8awycr.-But how can I find for the plaintiff, if I do not imr. psite iny had motive to the defeudants ? Mlr. JYustice LJ rrTYEDALED.-Yoo are not caUed on to find a per- sonal motive. The defendants may never have seen tdus paper at all: it may be the worTef mere seivants, and they may know no. thing of the plaintiff, and have no wish to injure hiini; still, if their seriants have published defamatory matter in tbe course of thieirem- ploy, they are liable, ia point of law, as if they had done it them- selves. Air. SCAULETTT.-I. submit that the Sury may.take into consader. ation all tbe circumstances under whicb theartides were published; and if these negative malice, they need not find it. -Mr. Justice LsTTLsEDAL.-CertaiWlythey may. Ihavetold them thatthe defendants had a right to comment oD the report; but n'ot to go beyond fair and leaitimate discussion. If the articles tx- ceed this, then the plaintiff is entitled to a verdilt Mr. Sawyer.-l v Lord, as no justification is pleaded, I stppose vre are not at liberty to considar the justice of thc allegatiort in the paper. Lr. Justice LITT rr.rDALE.-Yes, so far as this4wlether it be a fair and boon& ,e cg.nutent ou the report of the managers. If it be not, then the defendants could only justify themselves by pleading its trrtth, anl then that 'rutr woulg comre in issue. 1r. Sairyer.-ly Lora, I am quite satisfied with the answersyort havegiven to all my questions. The Jury then consul!ed for a few minutes in the box, and thea said, they were agreed as to the verdict, but not as to tle damages. They then retired again, and the Jadge left the Court. Refreshment was ordered for th&etwo special jurors who had asked for it. At half-pwst eight, Air. Sawyer and three others of the jury wrote to their families, stating tbey must not expect thera ftr the night; and the notes were despatched by the officer. At a. quarter before 12 o'clock the jury knockcd, and on opening the door, one of their bodystared that they were not likely to come to an agreement, and pointed to a brother juror who was lying orn some chairs. We were informed, that the jurors for the gr-ater part appeared in a state ot' great exhaustion, and seeraed anxious tor the morning, which was likely to release them froms their bondage. Soon after one o'clock, the officer who was in attendance upon the jury, c-ame into Court and stated, that the juror who had already obtained the indulgence of a glass of water, requested another, as he was still Ill. Plr. Belainy said, that if the gentleman's health required it, it was an indulgence which he would not refuse. In a short time a note was sent in from one of the ju,-y. addressed to Mlr. Bellamy. In this note it was stated that the jurors wisbed to be allowed a pack of cards and a cribbage-board, to amunse them- selves until they could agree. Air. Bellamy informed the officer that no answer could be given to this application. In aboat a quarter of an hour after this another notc was sent from one of the jurors, aldressed to the Judge, conveying a reques; that a message might be sent borne to his (thc juror's) wife, to in- form her ahat he was not likely to be at home Tefore rnornirlz. To this note Mr. Bellamy stated that there eould be no objection: the gentleman might send the message if he pleased. SlAtrP-PAST TEtEtE. At this hour tie major part of the jury were asleep: at least they we'e snoring very hard. COURT OF KING'S BENCE. . -- z IODKIf V. THR PROPRIETORS 0' 6S, - _ w