Court Of King's Bench, Gu...
The Times, 1824-01-10T00:00:00

LAW REPORT. T11115 was an action by the pezvson consmiionlv cilled Sir Gregotr M'Grgor butdeseihig hmsel inthe pl1eadings simply as Greor 'Orgor" aaint t~ to pincpalprorieorsof the MOrtIO flref, oralibl.,Thearicl coplanedofwas.pub. terms:--.~~~~~~~~e oLOwn 1NAVStOxT-1Osssw..Yestrdhy 'IL-. Prince, a Conmmon ounnit cilmnan, wivih Captain Antrim, of thie ship Lloyd's, wvaited upon the Lord Mayor Elect, whlo sat for the Lord Mlayor, to request his lord.. -hip's advice as to the disposal of three or~han children who had -been brought on shore under the followving mielancholy, circuns- stances. C-aptain Joibtia Antrimi statedl, that on the 3lst of' Juliy last he sailed from Honduras. Before hie dleparted froni thst settle. mnent, he consentedi to receive on) boardi one of' the famiflies of the uin- fortunate Poynis settlers, the reniinant of' irhom had sought the pro- tection of the British authorities at'llondutras, and hadt received all the %iuccour whichi the Governor-General, Codd. hiad it in his power togive thiem. The unfortunate tcreatuires who had survived thec effhets; of' ther short residence at the desert swamip to whichl they had been takeni, wvere sent back by thie differenit vessel, wicih sailed fromn H1onduras. TIhe family whbich Captain Alntrimi consented to receive consisted of Thomas Chialmiers, hiis wife, and three chiildren. Thle husbandl and wife, when received on board, were both ill wvith the fever, and died in thec course of thie passaue. Thie Captain said hie hadl landedi the three orphans, who were uttterlv destEitute, at Poplar, and he now requtested hit ltordshiip's advice as to the best imeansm of getting them provided for. Thie Captain then handed in the follow- ing Certificate to hiis lordshtip :-' Honduras.-Ry l1llIjor-Genieral Edwvard Codld, hiis AMajesty's sanperinteindant of the Britishi settle- menit at Honduras4, and commanding thie troops within the samie. Whereas a coinsiderable number of Br-itish subjects hiave bK-en brought into thi settlement front the Mosquito shore who are unable to procuire a livelihood, anid are de-stitute of the means to procure a pasqage to their native couintry ; this is therefore to certify that the peraons nutmed in ithe mnargin have been received oni board the British ship Lloyds, .Joshiia Antriut miaster, front moutives of ptare chiarity on the pa,.rt of' the said mnaster, antI this cer-. tificate is Riven in order that no blamie mnay uttacli to thte s,Aid vessel for the personis so emnbark(ed. Givets unde-r myn hiand( at the Govern.. mnen t house, Ilelize, Honduras, thiis 129th 6f .1aly, 1823. Signed Edwvard Codtl, Major-General, Superiiitendant and' Coinnu:ndant.' The Lord MAliyor E~lect aslked wvhether the children were old enough to know any of' their friends or relationis, or tlie parish thiey canie from. aCaPtain Auitriini replied in the negative ; the eldest wais not now mre thitn seven years of age, au,l couldi give no information. The parents %tarted wvithi the other deluded em-igrants fromi Leitli but the mothier toldi him before slIte dtcd, that shec hail not a friendi in thie world to whiom slhe could commiiend the care tof her infants. The Lord Mlayor Elect stated, that the legitimate intoze of obtafin- ing relief for the unfortunate creatures, wouild be. by apoplication, to the parish officers of the parish where they were lantlced. Doubtless thie parish officers would consider the case to be one demanding par- ticular attention ; but should they object, they must be immediately summoned before the magistrates of the district, to shovr cause for their refusal. Mr. Prince observed, that the Captain, in Consequence of his charity in receiving thw.poor emnigrants, had himself caught the fever, and had narrowlyjle"capeel. Re stated that above 200 of the victims of' delusion hadi returned f'rom the Mlosquito share to Honduras in a state of utter destitution and of disease, which termainated the sufferirigs of a greet part of them soon after. They mnust all have died, ~but for the charity of the people and the autliosities- of Honduras. The poor creatures hiad been led by MI'Gregor to expect a land where thiey would live in-she freateest.-plentyr- where eve7~ -this g.sus-arlnuisng, and but little labour would be required. It was menltionedi to them as a mark of the improvement of the place, that a fine theatre had been established, and mentioned other establishments, indicative, not merelyvof civilization and comfort, but of luxury. Captain Antrim mentioined a charge which the oor creaturets had pief'erred to him against Mt'Gregor. Mlost of tgos.e who sailed from Leith were poor people, who had by their frugality saved smiall sutms of mioney, Otf from 151.. to 301. perhaps. MV'Gregor learned the property w'irh the settlers had with tlsem, and telling' them that Scotch money would not pass at "1the settlemnent," persuaded them to give it all up to him, and take his draughit for the amount upon "hlis bankers" at Ppoyais. The savings w'ere all given uip to himr, and it is perhaps unnecessary to adld that the settlers on their arrival at the housele-ss wilolt, of Poyais, found that no such thing as a banking-house wyas in existence Captain Antrim regretted that lie hadl not arrived sodner, as another ship had sailed with settlers for the same plao;ejust before, his arrival, who, he f'eared, would fall a wacrifice. Heff had thought it his ditty to make thie statemetnt publicly, thiat the poor might be put on their guard." Tini first count of the declaration, after statitig that thec plaintiff was a person of good fame, sad never guilty nor suspected of imnpo- sition, fraud, or deceit, set forth that the ilefendants, intending to cause buin to be believed gutilty of these ofl'ences, on the 14th of Oc- tober, 1823, published in the Mornitg lIer-ald the alIlegedi libel in the shape of a report of certaitn proceedings at thia Mansioti.house, in the city of London. This count contained the whole article, and inneaa.sdo that the defenidants meant to charge that the plaintiff made use of impositions and fallse staemenits, in order to iniduce emigrants to emnigrate to Poyais, and thathe haddefraud(edl the said emigrants of their monies. The second cotumt commAienced wfith an allegation, by, way of inducement, that certain persons had eimigrated to Poyais on the Mos!quito shore, in America, with the intention oF forming a settlement thtere, and oh their arrival there had sustained great suf- ferings, and had been compelled to remove to Honduras, and thence to (3reat Britain ; andI that an application was mnade to the Lord Mayor Elect by Mr. Prince and Captain Anrtfirm, relative to certain ebhljren of the said emigrants. It then all~egd that the defendanits, designing to Casuse it to be believed that the plainitiff' had wilfully made use of impositions to induce the said emigrants to emigrate, and had defrauded certain of them of their! monies, publishedl the Ilatter part of the article, beginning with thiestatement of MNr.Prince The third count was confined to the charge of defrauding the emi. granits of money, rejpooted to have been advanced bY Captain An- trim, and set forth the statement only applicable to that charge. Thle damnages were laid at 2,0001. To this declaration the defendants itieadedl-91rst, the generali- sute; secondly, as to the whole declaration, that Mrl. Princ and Captain Antrim didI applv to the L-ord' Mayor, (lid mlake thle st,ate- mients, ask the questions, antt mention the circumstances as stated in the alleged libels ; and,thiat theaiuppzased libels were a true, fair, and correct accouint of the proceedfings ; that the matters of fact were true, anad that the article cortained no fLbe and uintruie allegation whbat- ever; tleirdly, that the report was a faithful raport of what actually took place attthe Mansion-house ; and fourtlely. that all the mattersl in tUP supposed libels were and are true in fact;~ There were othier pleae of'a simijarnature, sPecifically-itppliedeto the second ana third cotantsin thge declaration. * To the special pleas the plainitiff replied,thiat the defendants, With. out the causes therein alleged committed the grievancs stated in the declaration, onn which issue was joinedl. The pleadings having been opened by Mir. RecuAsnjs, The COstxosr SxuTiGpAwT stared the ciase on behalf of the plain. tiff. Hleppeared for agentleman of ancient family in Scotlan~d, well known by he titleof Sir Gregor%Il'Oregor, whose name had been used by the public press with as little ceremony as that of any man in existence. in early life, he had been in military services, and joined the Semith American patriotsi in the strufcgle to obtain their freedom. Havink returnied In 1822, he tuirneds his mind toi a new adventure, and having obtaLined a mrrant of a large tract of the 5fos. qtuito cilluntry, invited persons whose circumstances rendered them winling to emigrate, to share his foitnnes in that dlistant region. The cauntry was described by Bryan Edwards, in his work, written uinder the sanction anid for the use of G overnment, in the miot glowing colours. The learned Counsel here read A long extract fromn the book to which he referred,, representing the climate of tlit roqito country as healthfuil,isolfete, its riesbonii irk li-sh and its shores with turtle.] So voluptuous, indeedl, were the Pictures given by several authors of this territory, that -a render wouldI almost stppose it had been exempted from Elm~ general cuxrse, and that apll'things necessary to human support were pouired forthi, without requiting the labour"of man. An old 'prejudicE once ipd&ed existed against colonization, which a more en. lightened policy, had rejected-, and which certainlv Mvr. Searlett wouild never attempt to revive. Lord Selk-irk had pro~ved by precept and by example, the beneficial tesults of encouraging a suiperlluous population to migrate ; he had established a ciolony on these very rmhores ; btitt he had excited the jehloesy of e-stablishied compzanies ini the neighbourhoo of his little state, and( the issuei bad beeni war, which must have been decided in thig Court, had it not been ter- minated by the death of the noble adventurer. It had been the lot of the plaintift'to experience similar aninoyances ; his orciect conse. quently failed; bita he was,not, thierefore, to be ceinsiired. He had taken all due precauitions, he had eneSaged a surgeon to attend on the emigrants; he had supplied them wvith tools for tite cuMvatior, of the toil, and hadi shipped a large quantity of provisions for their use. To whosefault the misfortunes wh ich followed were attributable, be would aot assert; perhaps he might be able tb show from the wit.. n6ss~s which tibe defendants threatened to examnine, The settlement, however, failedl, and the etmigrants leaving the spot, werereesived it Hlonduras, tinder circumstances of some suspicion and sent home bY. Various Ca ta's6 On the 313th Of'October,aue Matpion was madet the r id"Myor respeicting twvo children who1" had been brought fioris Honduras. by Captain Antrim, when directions were aSked and -given -respecin their'fototte suppot. nte od) Ilerald of the thilowing duY, AliAtfcle aippearoid Orp4iting to beaa on tat ccason,f1tr exceiding in latitude whic coud hegive tothe public press on suchl oc.. casons an clcuate tocoveyto heworld the grssest calaimnies agans Se paitif e te ostspciusform. LITheleamcd coon. selree th aricl cargd a lil an~d. decared that altbough it ~a ru tht te ettersba b~sxdiseppoirtae, a. d had sustained great rniserv, yek ai?' the inUegations' imputing to' the defendant- intentional decrit or 'frattd- were wh'oll lwrounid- lessI. If, said'-the -learned counsel, othtrs 'were 'deluded, Sir Gregor was no less so-; if thiey sustained losm, he Wgs the greatest sufteree. Thedefen(lahts had placed two defences' on thc record; !irst, tey asserted tiatthev hada rightto piblish the article, because it was aecirrect report of what actually took place; next, tiley as. serted-that the charges coitained in the artidc were in fact trae. As to thc firgt, he believed that the report was u4t correct-that Lr. Prince and C ptain Antrimr never used the laliguage. imputed to the:m but if it were correct, it would be no-justiication of the libel. Granting that a journalist had a right to piiblislh all judicial proceedings in Ia coart or before magistrafes, stil this rigilt extended only to judicial proceedings, antI not to any-siandalous matter, fo- reign to the matter in issue, which any stvanger might ehoose to utter. As. to the second class of. pleas, his dient had challenged them.; he had put h'imself tn his trial;. and he defied his accusers to fixon hin any taint of dishonosur. Whed that justification had been aftempted, an2 had f'ailed-as fail it must-the jitry would not deal but damages with a 5iparing hand. The conductof the defend- ants, indeed,' proved how inveterate their feelings were towards the plaintiff; for on Wednesday - last, when this trial was e-pected tO come, they found ro vt f :ntheir paper,' thou'4s occupied by their trial at Hextford, for a paragraph copied rrom a country joitmal respecting what tfiy caUed " The cruel abd infam'ous l'oyais [Toax." Th;s wasthe case hy should lav before Otmjurv, and he was sure they would do the plaiiuiff'the'jtstice lie had a it I! claim, Tue publication being adm(tttl, the article was read. In cofl- paring it with the record, irwas found that tie word " destruction" Ead been substititted in the first count for" dlestitution," and that counb was accordingly set aside. The case, therefore, rested on the second and third counts, whicb only set forth the latter part of the article. The Coara{oN SEHRGAVT was about to close lhis case whien, The LonD CH'EF JUSTrICE remindedf nl,thatthe secondco ult vas prefthced by an inducement stating-that persons had emigrated to Poyarlr; that great distress and siclknes bad prevailed amoing themn; and that oumbers had gonie tlrt to londuras, and then to England; that the third count referted to this inducement by the wvords, " said emigj-aatsg' and that oits lerpin- he muustprov this induceipent to be tr'ue, before hee'ould proeed. itMr. Edward Irving twhose niame excited some expectation, bul Wbo ptoved not to be the Caledonian preacher) was then called, and -ald,l- know the plaiitiff, and was emploved by him as a land. agent, in Edinbtirgh. Al v business wits to nmake sale-s of land in the territory of Povais. Agreat many persons-went out from Etin- burgh in fhie-beMinning of last year.' Some bItud gone out in i22, but not direct from Leith. The first went in the lhontdulras, the last in the Ktinuiers-le,, 'aWte, and afterwards in the Skeceiee. I have lheard the libel read. In my opinion it applies to the plaizitiff: The LoRnD 'CstEF JtlSTrcE.-He sues here as Gregor Al'Gregor only.. I supp'ose lie is tiesatneperson with'Sir Gregor Mt'Gregor ?- Mltr. SCAILETT-.-Sir (iregor ill 'Gregor, Cazique,orSovereign, ,or vwhatever he pleases. (A laugh.) - The witness proceeded, being cross-examinedbhy r.SScATILETT. They went out aslabourers. I made representatiOls to them as to the natureofthe place whither tliey A-ere goink. In the whole from 270to280wenton tbe voyage. They sailed fur Poyais, I never visited that hapiv spot; my representations were founded on vublisheiA workst. r 'tranIgeways' book was not the chief of them 'think it was nt thien pobleihed. Bryan Edwards's book, and Wright'A Men of .Mosquito Shioe, were the principal. Thesewere in the Land-office. Mir. SCAILn TTr (lhaniiaiga botkio the witness)-lb that the book, witli the picttire of the Sovereign ? The witness stdd, that book was puablWihed afterwards. It pur- ported ito he by Air. Strungewavs, K.G 3.C., Knrigrht of the Oi-en i'ross. I believe lr. Strangewars wrote the book himself; I do t not kno, who drewvthis beautiful picsttreoftbie Black River: I have ; rea-on to believe AI r. Strangeways tlid. I recollect the " Poyais i Emigriat," a song: I also remember the address of' " the Poyais blover to his uisiress." There vere copies in the l,arid-ofice. Mr. S'tCARLtETT read several verseg from each of these produc. i tions, which weie intenided to be very seductive, anid produced miiuch laughter. 'he learned coutusel said, '- I doi't think the lines are b;ud. really." i'te witness thien looked at " Lines by a Poyais," and said, they I were circulated among those who asked for them. I printed the iotes of the Povais Bank, at Edinbitrgl; there were many thout. jsaid.sofilten struck off and sent to Poyais. I sholild think niot 7tl000 I cannot swear to ayv precise nu'niber. I m:ule many sales of land for thc Caziqute dAlc Gregor, and received money to the ainoint of several hundred pounds; I tbink not 1,0001. Ily office still continues: blit I have sold no more since we | heard of the failure of the settlement. I do not recollect hearing the (azique say that lie would Ihavea theatre. A dIlr. Picken, who ha(i been tipotn the stage, was tecomraendted as secretary to Sit ;regor gnd there night be conversation with hiti about a theatre. The 1 izique nlever csailed to his t,rritories itn int time. (A laugh.) I AIr. Picken went out in the Kiinulerstel Castle, as clerk in the civil I departilment, withi S0). a-yeas salayy. (A laug1h.) I believe he is now in Court, as a witness for the deleatlants. Governor (fall was chief Of that departntcnt; I do not know what his appoinutiments were, I was to be a Knight of tbe Green Cross. (Great laughter.) I had no costumne: there was a drtss-coat of a green colour, because I f was Knight of the Green Cross. The huttons had a coronet an. (Y., signifying Gregor; the plaintiff assumed the title of Cazique; I ! do not know he had any licence front the King. IRe-examined.-I had many millionis of acres to dispose of. IlMr. SCAULt.sTT.-A country rather larger than the kingdom of Portugal. The Co0rstoN SERGtEANT said he would go no further, at pre- sent. The LoaD CIrlEF JUSTICE observed, that he mutst go on, in order to make out his inducement that the emigrants arrived, and that there was disease and destitution among them. Mr. POLLsOCK submitted, that the third count was free fron. the necessity, as it did not contain the inducement, and the words " said emigrants" might refer to an innuendo in the first cnunt of the decla- ration. The Lorn ClrIE:F JUSTICE., bowever, held that these words must be taken as applicable to the inducement; and tlhit therefore the wbole must be provetl. Robert Swan, ayoungScotchman,wasthen called,and said-I sailed in the ltndturas Pacd-, on the 10th December, 1822, for the Black River, hlosquito Shore. She carriesi out upwards of ii) emnigrants, most of wham came by smacks from Leith. 'Ihere was a surgeon on board, providr. by Sir Gregory's agent, ir. Ogilvie. There was mnuch provision on boardl for sis months, at all events. I re- mained at the Black River, from the Ilth of February to the lath of June. The KinAzersley Castle arrived in March *ie .SkIcene, af- terwards. The settler:s went awav at.different times; the remainder of them at tlec end of July. Some of thetn were suffering, sonie were noL Some went to Honduras, some'returned to this coUn- try. Cross.examined by Mr. SCARLErTT.-I was clerli to the store- keeper's departisent * I have no office now, nothing to do in the office of Walbrook. The stores had been all taken away by Gover- nor Hall, and I went with them. I was the last bit two who camne away. There is no onethere now. The settlers were afflicted with fever and ague, btit I cannot say itow diseases come. I found tht Iwvills of houses at the chief town-the ruins of an ancient city i (laughter)-only two houses coaWplete, malse f bamboes, with duots of cedar. (Repeated laughter). ditr. Gouyer,who went outtto supieh. inetind the Bank, is in Americ. I amn now dnhl- 18. I had one snu before I went. ' Bonnie lassie, will you gang ?" (Lau&hter.) The COtsrose.SEaogAwr.-Did Governor Hall conuinue to govern? The LnnD CsIts:s' JUsTIcE..-There was no one to be g;,vermed. (A 1aug11.)I C.ross-examined fairther by i)]r. SCARLET1.-I was a grocer's shopman. dIlr. SCARLLETT.-And went to the country of.peets ?-Yes, to set up for myself. Re-exanmined bv the Cosistoac SERGEAI:T.-.ParL of the pro. visions were taken into the celiar of d1larshal Benictt, Esq., of Belize; they were taken under the ditection of Governor Hall. I wentwith=part of then. Every one went away-so I welit bymy own order. (A laugh.) I would have remained away if I had known as much of a tropil climate as I do now. There were walis in the city left by Spanish settlers and pleity of bricks for buildirg houses. | "r. SCiARLETT addressed the jury fort se defendants. He wished the cause had been called on at an eatlier period in the day, that lie I might unfold the wbole of that delusion to which Sir Gregor Al Gre- gor, or th6filaintlff, by whatever title lie was called, had made so I many i etims. He had no wish to say any thing to his ptecjudice he would rather deem him a vi-ionary who had allawed apower- ful isagination to overmaster his reason-vwho had been irn- toxicated by dreamrs of sovereigntv, power, and coniquesti till he had actually becomse peruaded that his visions were realities, and had induced numbers to leave their louses aiid iisk their lives on the slender web of his fancies, He 'was a sovereign without a sub- ject; haP a land-aFent, vithout an acre to selU; captains, without soldiers; notes, without a bank or funds ; and a theatre in tHe midst of the desert ! To swell the tide of hi3 glory and conquest. he had descended to artifices which might never)haavebeen g. nerally known, but for this action-ef which now the must be cog- nisant, and from which they snight take warning. He had held out to all who were given to change, induuements which they could not re- sist; he had picttired to them an'earthly paradise-a climate where labour would be alnost superseded, and where the ronan- tic adventurers niylit pass their days in the mnidst of ani- mal luxury. He had calleeted together all the most favour- able accounts Of this happy region, and lhad published them as if authenticated by an eye-witness when the compilation, adorned with his own pictUre, was really romb his own hand. Thelearned counsel read the concltiding passage of thiss work, published in the name of Mir. Strangeways, which gave a most captivating description of the intended settnement, as prdheing torteise-shell, diainonds,and gold dust, and as one of the fairest of "n Radiant realms bevond the Atlanticrmain." He theii read a podie, supposed to be addressed bv a Povaiz lover to lis mistress, beginning, "0 come tome, my owil dear loVe." which he said irelly, in t6ese times, might be called poeirv-not suclhas tvould have satisfied the fner tastea of our fa- thers- but as good as the wa-erish comnpositions which pleased-t1de world in, our days, when the old line, apphlcablp tomediocrity, "Xiton dii, non Ioinines, nmmconceivsere Coluntnee," bad ecoipW obsolete. lVhat were the feelings ofthose deluded speculators when they avrak- cned fios their dream-bwhen they foundi the great city consisted of two hu--that the beautiful region was a swamp-when the King of thecountrv told tlem, that if they rertpained at all, they must do so as his sub2iects anid lnot those of hl'Gregor- and they perishied with no room but that which supplied them witlh a grave? He would cll-sorue of the survivors-the greater part of the sufferers were dead-hut he ould present to them a widow whose husband had perished; Ar. Picken, who was to have conducted the theatre, and others who would detail their hopes and their soreows. All this, however, was unnecessary to the defendants' case, for they had merely given a true report of a proceediag in a public Coart, as tlsi had a right to give it. They Ifad said- that statements were made whiich were made, and tbr the tmtlh or falsehood of those state. ments they were not hound to answer.- Conducting, 4owever, a paper IJk&the JtfdrningHerjdg of greatresoectability and inbderation,thty wereanXious to do theireduty tothe publicwan.d tomeettbisquestion airlyin adlniS bearings; It was nmost important. tbat statemnents nsade before a mag;sratebshoild be faithtdifLy .sblisbed, toafftbrd the party wvhoni they nlight nntunate an-oppoxtunity f6fontradictin; them openly, or to put thbepublic on their:guard against those who would impose upon theol. On the whole, the learnedt counsel cor- dluded'with exprssing-his confidence that thb jury vvould find a verdict.for the- defendants 4 or, if fromi 'soine unexpected slip,~ fihey should he compelled relictasialy to find for tbe plaintiff, they- would tDiatk the sense Of s conductb >Uffcring the lowest- coiriof tihe realm as th amolimt of his. danages.. lir. John Prince was then examined, andl said Iam a{ aomimpa Councilman nfthe city of LJondou. Aboutthe 23dof Octoberlast lat tended beforetlueljordt hlavor.Ti4e report Ihaveheard rea aisthe satue eis that in Zhre Times; the whole of the particulars took place, but thc~arenot lwas reerrd tothe igharmes Part Ativez as Smote was cammunscated lay Ca tsnAntnrisu. aI do-not think that I rsen- tioneditdescrlpioA ai t?o b Uey (;isof ebt-Qountry i ut it was, mentioned by some one. Captain Antrim did mentioi the charge of fraud. Iri 'ubhatance the whole is correet. Cross.exLinined by the CommoN SEUtGEANT.-I am able to swear-that Captain Antrim said that some of the settlers had-told hilmi of the obtaining the money. Some eduversation took place.. I ,listinctly recollect Captain Antrim's expressing his regret that he d:d not arrive earlier, to prevent more impositions. .1lr. Huglhes said-I was at the Mansion.house. I read this state. ment the following day in the Mornling tc rai ; it is quite correct; I was quite surprised io find it so correctly reported. Captain An. trim also said that the dying parents told him that Sir Gregor MlI'Gregor lhad taken their money, and given them an order on the banik of Poyais. CrowstexamiWed.-I have no recollection of any thing passing which is not reported. I really think the particulars are riven to the right-persons. The very next Aay I expressed my surprise as to the correctnesitof the report. Ann Bagster. a Scotch woman, in a very sickly condition, said- I went out to Povais in January, last year, with my husband and tix children, in the If innersieyCede. dily husband was a mrason; i kept a shop; while he worked at his trade. He bought 40 acres of land for 8il. and-.paid the money at t officc, he reccived no order on the bank. When he arrived tl:ere was no land. In .March we arrived ; there was no towen-no coverin(-nothing but the bushes and the moonshine above us, qf nature's rurnishing. We were told there was a town before we went out. There was no white inlabi- tonts-nothling, but the pale momt,. All seven of us were lying ill. and had no one to give us a drink of water. MAy husband and two cld1dirn died within fony wceks at Belize. They died of fever and ague. Above lO0of the settlers ont of the 150 who wvent out, died of the same disorder at the Black lRiver, or Belize. There are ro sWamps at the Black River, but at Belize. The people at Belise were very ktind* they sent meat, and all we wanted. I was bro ight horne by Captin Wilson. Cross;exarnined.eBelire is a great way trom the BEscL liver. I was too much distressed to know howr ni:ny died there. e tvook! ti provisioins; the passage was to come oat tif niy hu.;band's wagel. Re.exariined.-I have niever been well since; I have still tbe fever and ague. Mlfr. Andrew Picken, of Glasgow. said-T went out as clerk in the civil department. I first became acquainted with' Sir (iregor in 18121; lie engaged me as clerk, but promised me a cornetey of Lan- cers. Sir Gregory asked me to write soisething hi favtour of Poyais. I asked low it was to be done? He said he utider- stood I had a talent for poetry. I produced this (tie " Lines to Povais"), except a few li-es at thie end. The song, *' The Poyais Enligrant," wva4 written by his desire; it was written by my sister. (A laugh.) It was publi3s.d and circulated by Sir Gregor. He said, the balad was to be bawked thiougli the streets to attract the vulgar. A part of the book, purporting to be wrltten by Mr. Strangeways, was written by Sir Gregor, the nominial author being then in Ja- maica. I believe the c"Onversation about the theatre was merely in jest, said over wine, but it conveyed a serioiu impressioli. L ul-! derstood a banler had goae out, h'ut I do not know that a bank, was prormised. Before I left PoVDis, I called on Governor Iall, resign- ed, and tsahed if I might expect salary. C,ol. Elall said he had tlO money, but there were plenty of Povais notes. I foundnotbing at the Black River. corresponding witfh tile print-nocilirches, no towvin, twvo huts belonging to an Anierican, and a hut and stone house iu. ruins. The climate had at least novelty to recomminend it. I took the fever and agite Wvith neariv th e whiole settlement. I h.ad reason to ex- pect land to be allotted. "'he Kingi of the coLunjtrv come to iie. and prevented the settlers fromi) takirig land as the subjects of Ml'Gre- gur. He said, a grant hal been madet but some stipulation not being fulfilled, he chose to considler it null anid void. I 1,;tad miderstnod there were to be tilree legislative hiouises in Poyais, inr tinie: suich as putchaied lanid enotSli to be tlesignated veonien, were to be of'the l,,wer louse, auid there wvere bajons. (Creat 1sgII,ter., I Ilad larmd bitt cotild make no use of it. A ver) shattered reusnalit only have comle holme. Cross-examinedt by the Co:%tmox Sr .E.sst. r.-I was taken ill at ithe Black River; then I went to Honduras. I thought Poyais a beautiful couittr; the fol.age was very prettY that ivas all tha! eould be seen. The Mosqunto lKing liA nut sa' what stipulatitnis hadl iot been performed ; lie did not mention the Ilonduras Coln. panv. The settlement is surrounded bv bush ; it vould be a very :o pleasant wanlk for any person to get through it. I never salf a Bank note signed ar issued. I receive(d a salary fori my seiVices in Edinburgh, 51. al. a niiotli. Sir Gtegor itiade several liberal, even munificent, advances to perSDns in need, who went out by the Kin. nersley Castle. Rc.exaniintd._I found no gJobules of gold in the Blaek River; Sir Ciregor had mentioned t1itat by washina the sands of the river y ou might obtain globules of ptire g Id, antd tifat there waS at goldl mine which might be worked to advaditage. There wsva a lagoon about four or five miles from the town. SIr. ScaRLtETT hanided in the books and p*emis as esidetice, but did not wish tlhem to be ftitther read. Mr. Edward Lowe said-I was one of those etnigratl6i. 1 'tent oin the repre:entation that a town was ther,, tublic buildings going on, znd a Colonel WVordbine in co,umand of somne men, aid that there was a fine *ountry prodticing veery tbing r..ised in Egllal.snd. I was in an oflice in M' rk-laiie betbre r set out; r eniibarked i tile 11oe- darurs P'rcket. Colonel Hall was with us. On tile :o0h11 ot' J;5- unary. 1823, we first arrivel. There was no tovwn: the land was not as represented l no regiment, except a re- giment of Mosquitos. (A laigih.) About a mon th after, I was selected as one of a deputation to vLsit George Frederick Auiustuts, King of the 111o-quito niation, to know what he intended to do with us. He declared that a grant liad been given -to ?l'Greuror, but the conditiois not being fulfilled, lhe held it null and void. He said he might remain, but must be in subjection to him and renounce Sir Gregor l'Gregor; and no more should land wvithout his permission. I wa laid up xvith fever and aue. under which I an still suffering. Cross-exarnined.-I went 190 miies to see the King, being cnosen by Colondl Hall with four others, in consequence of a letter froti the King. lie speaks and writes English. I never sawr Sir (Gregor. The representation4s wvere made by SiEr. Ogilvie, and poor Colonel Hall, w. hn was led astray us well as the others. , This was thecease for the defendant. The Comt,Iom SERGEANT replied.-No man could hear the de- tails of misery given by the witnesses, espedally by the poor widow. wi`thoutfeeing the deepest sorrow * and none, he was sure, felt mere deeply than the plaintiff; but the voistbrtunes of the settlers raised quite a different question from the swindling and fraud with, which he had been clarged. Tihe representation which he made respecting the climate anid soil were only borrowed from the best approved sources of inforniiation. lie had intended no fraud; he embar1;ed much propertv in the adventure, and had been the greatest loser. There was not *only no proof that lie laid been guilty of fraud, but there was evidence that he had acted ic ith liberafity, :mnd even munificence-that he advaniced money to the poor ;and that lie reallv had a grant of the linds, tiiouirh the native king thought fit aftcrirards to rev0kC iL. 'ith respect to the accuirucy of the report, he asked how they could depend oD it after the discrepancy of the witnes,ses, and whether the manner in which it wvas drawnil up did not show a dexire to injure the plaintiff'r .is ClientL.. objectivas norL da- unages; he wvished only for the vindication ot his character: that tib- ject he haid already in' part attained, bv the admission that lie was not the swintdler reprersieted by the libel, but u romantic enthusiast, and the.jurv would complete 'it y giving such a verdict as would throw back the caltuin so crueily hurled upon hiis name. The Loan CeItEP Jis,ticE, after stating the nature of tire ac tuin, said that on the ground of variance the defendants were at all events entitled to a verdict upon the first count of the declaration, setting tbnth the whole of the aUeged libeL The most material paj- %sages, hovfver, were recited in the second,and third counts; and to these tuere wete two defences advanced-first, that the article was a true and faithful report of a pEroceedmg at the ;\ansion-liousc; and seconidly, that the facts stated in that report were true ; on w hich is- sue had been taken. The legal effect of the plea that the report was correct would not be decided here; tiey, on the issue taken, liad onilv t say, whether the report was made out to their satisfaction ro be accurate, as it was to Iiis; and if so, they would find for the de- fendants on those pleas. WVith respect to the pleas that tile lust- ters were trite in fact, it appeared to hin that in part they were proved-that the emigranti were deltded-that thev came home in distress or died abroad.-and that their hopes were blasted. But the allegations imputing to the plaintiffthat he fraudulently gave Poyais notes in eschange for money, did not appear to be proved; and il they thought it Pas not, they must find fo>r the plaintiff on those is- sues. If they did so find, tben would arise rie question of damages. Now it might be hoped that the plaintifftwas himself deluded-tlhat he deluded others was beyond question ; that he induced theiri to leave their hotnes in pursuit of forrune. ease, and luxury, and brought them to a place where they found penury, dlisease, and death. It behoved a iuan before he held out lutes and inducemenpet to others to go to a distant land, to ascertain t.hat his state- ments were accurate, and not to lead chei, even through his igno- rarce, to misery and a grave. The question of damagcs was u-ecu- liarly for their consideration; and lie did not doubt tney isould de justice. The Jury, after a fee minutes' consultation, found a -erdict fot the defendants on the pleas, stating that the report was faithful l and for plaintiff, on the pleas setting fortb that the matters charged therein were true., with Is. dsmagems. So that on these pleadings. the question, if it be one, whether a person giving a correct report of proceedingsbefore a magistrate is liable to an action,may be brought befQre the Court. .Sir Jfohn Copley appeared in Court, after being sworn in as At. torney-General, and was received with a low bow bh the Lord Chief Justice. The trial was not over till six o'clock. COURIT tW fTNcr: nvxnn. ' T... . M"GREGOR V. THWAITES AND ANO'PT4 'R-