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pears in the whole of this affair; neither, with due submission, is it proved, that I was in any m..nner of way concerned, in either writing or publishing the paper now before the Court. And I would humbly ask any gentleman here present (who has attended to the evidence), what harm has that paper done to the public peace of the kingdom?What injury has it done to any individual in it, that ought to have subjected its real author to the cruel treatment I have met with

The cells of priests, and the studies of the great, have been ransacked, in order to furnish matter for prosecution, and for a single paper found there, the author has been brought to the block; as was the case of colonel Sydney. The parliament, sensible of the enormity and dangerous tendency of such proceedings, subversive of all law, and destructive to every principle of liberty, set! aside his attainder, and rendered his memory respectable to the world; since which his works have come down to posterity with ap-on that account? To be torn from a tender plause, and particularly that part of them for which he suffered, viz. his " Essay on Go vernment."

wife, a sick and infant family, and consigned over to the gloomy cells of a solitary prison; where, for some time at least, the very sight I am sensible that no such arbitrary mea- of them or any other friend was denied me; sures will ever be countenanced by his pre- whilst the cutting reflection of their distressed sent majesty, whose every wish has centered situation was still before my eyes-the douin the public good, and the sole principle of ble load of misery to which they were thereby whose reign has been the law of the land. reduced-the want of the necessaries of life, Neither, I presume, will any such measures being deprived of the profits of my labour, be attempted by any minister or magistrate, by which alone they were supported-the who is at bottom a friend to the constitution husband and the father's fate hanging in susof this country, and the illustrious family upon; pence, and all relief sternly denied. the throne. And who shall say, if such mea- · Gentlemen of the jury, your verdict in this sures should be adopted by any interested, magistrate, which are equally destructive to the rights of the sovereign-the liberties of the people-the constitution of the kingdom -and the law of the land, that their fellow, subjects have not a right to point out their error, and show them wherein they have departed from the line of their duty and allegiance, without being liable to be thrown into a Bastile and prosecuted?-Prosecuted for a libel upon that constitution they had all along been endeavouring to support, and would wish to see handed down to posterity, entire, as the surest pledge of their future happiness.

Gentlemen of the jury, as to any declaration of mine, when before the mayor on the 18th of February, being offered as proof in this case, it was partially taken-I refused to sign it. I saw no paper in the mayor's chamber, and therefore could not say, if the Court was then possessed of any, that it was mine. Such evidence is precluded by the law of the land; which is so tender and guarded in this particular, that though a crime should be ever so notorious, and even confessed in writing, under hand and seal before justices of the peace, secretaries of state, or the king and council, yet this is no legal or admissible evidence in any court of criminal law in the kingdom;-it is the proof that has been taken in your presence, gentlemen, with which you have to do in the present case, it is that must govern you in returning your verdict into court.

case cannot be void of importance to your fellow-citizens; you will not only thereby declare me guilty or innocent, in whole or in part, of the crime laid to my charge, which is so far as your verdict can affect me as an individual; your verdict, together with the sertence of this honourable Court, will be entered upon record, and may be pleaded in all similar cases. Put the case, then, that any gentleman within the jurisdiction of this Court, shall, in future, be found reading a paper, a private letter from a friend, or any thing else-a busy by-stander plucks the pa per or letter from his hand--says it is scditious-and runs directly to a magistrate with it, who, thereupon, calls upon the gentleman to give up and turn evidence against his friend who had wrote him that letter, otherwise he himself will be taken into custody. Must not such procedure strike at the root of all free correspondence, and all friendly intercourse? This is similar to the case of lord Saville; who, A. p. 1645, was committed close prisoner to the Tower of London, for refusing to name the person who had wrote a letter to him, the parliament had thought treacherous? But I hope no gentleman here present, would ever wish to see these busy arbitrary scenes acted over again here in England, from which we had been so happily freed by the ever-memorable Revolution.

Gentlemen of the jury, I leave it with you to do in this case as your consciences may direct, and as you would wish to be done by

in a similar situation.

From the evidence now before you, gentlemen, whether taken in the whole or in part, Three unexceptionable witnesses having I humbly presume, that there is nothing of spoken to the defendant's character, Mr. Reevil design, malice, or seditious purpose ap-corder proceeded to charge the jury, who, in

See his trial, Vol. IX. p. 817 of this col

n.

about an hour and a half, returned into court, finding the prisoner Nor-GUILTY OF PUBLISHING.-The Court seemed dissatisfied with the

verdict-Mr. Clayton turned to Mr. Recorder, I ing only. The question being again put, the and said, it was the same thing as finding Mr. jury said, they were unanimous in finding the Whyte not-guilty upon a general verdict, as prisoner Not-Guilty.-Upon which he was the grand jury had found a bill for publish- dismissed from the bar,

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ADDENDA.

To the case of lord viscount Strangford,

To the case of Stockdale, pp. 294, and seq.. pp. 161, and seq.

The debates which took place in parliament

on Mr. Fox's Libel Bill will be found in the The proceedings in the case of Hume o. Burton, are reported in Ridgeway's Cases in New Parl. Hist., Vol. XXIX. the Iligh Court of Parliament in Ireland, Vol. i. pp. 16, 201, 554.

To the case of John Frith, p. 311, note.

The reasoning of Mr. Hume on the practice To the case of lord George Gordon, p. 236. which prevails in the Scottish courts in cases

The following pussuge wus by accident of this nature is worthy the reader's atomitted at the conclusion of this case.

tention.

“ There are also several pleas in bar of Burke, in his Reflections on the French Revo- trial, though they do not occur so frequently, lution, takes occasion thus to introduce the con- which consist mainly in fact; as if it be alduct and character of lord George Gordon :

leged for the pannel, that he is insane at the “ We are generous enemies; we are faith. time, and incapable of providing for his just ful allies. We spurn from us with disgust defence. Now, as to this plea, I know not if and indignation the slanders of those who it can be affirmed, that we are yet in possesbring us their anecdotes with the attestationsion of a rule. It is true, that a jury were of the flower-de-luce on their shoulder. We empannelled to try the matter of lunacy, in have lord George Gordon fast in Newgate; the case of Harries, [Maclaurin, No. 85) in and neither his being a publick proselyte to April 1770, where they found tinat his disorder Judaism, nor bis having, in his zeal against was affected; and also in that of John Philp, Catholic priests and all sorts of ecclesiasticks, on the 27th of January 1777, who was found raised a mob (excuse the term, it is still in use to be truly insane, and not in a proper condihere), which pulled down all our prisons, / tion to be tried. Yet in spring [ May 13th] 1786, have preserved to him a liberty, of which he in a circuit court held by the lords Hailes and did not render himself worthy by a virtuous Henderland, at Aberdeen, the insanity of Ann use of it. We have rebuilt Newgate and Simpson, a person indicted of child-murder, tenanted the mansion. We have prisons al was inquired into and found proved, upon evimost as strong as the Bastile, for those who dence,* which was laid before the Court alone. dare to libel the queens of France. In this And in this, those judges had the authority of spiritual retreat lei the noble libeller remain, what was done by tlie whole Court, in the let bim there micditate on his Thalmud, until trial of Thomas Caldwall (June 13th, July he learns a conduct more becoming his birth 15th, 1787] for murder and robbery (as and parts, and not so disgraceful to the far as I know the oldest precedent on the ancient religion to which he has become subject), where, on a proof taken before thema proselyle; or until some persons from selves only, they “ found that the madness your side of the water to please your new ilebrew brethren, shall ransom him. He * « The lords Hailes and Henderland having may then be enabled to purchase, with the considered the depositions of Dr. Skene and old hoards of the synagogue, and a very small Dr. Bannerman, this day emitted in their poundage, on the long compound interest of presence, find it sufficiently thereby inthe thirty pieces of silver (Dr. Price has structed, that the pannel Ann Simpson is at shown us what miracles compound interest present insane, and not a proper object for will perform in 1790 years), the lands which trial; they therefore desert the diet against are lately discovered to have been usurped by the said Ana Simpson.” This woman having the Gallican church. Send us your l'opish been liberated, was afterwards guilty of another archbishop of Paris, and we will send you our act of child-murder (for this was the particular Protestant rabbin. We shall treat the per-turn of her insanity), and was tried for it (Sept. son you send us in exchange like a gentle- 16th and 17th, 1796), and found by the jury man and an honest man, as he is; but pray let to be insane. She was in consequence, him bring with him the fund of his hospitality, ordered into confinement as insane, in the bounty, and charity; and depend upon it, we gaol of Bam.ff. In that situation, she bore a shall never confiscate a shilling of that ho- child, as was alleged, to the gaoler; and this nourable and pious fund, nor think of enrich- also being made away with, he was tried for ing the treasury with the spoils of the poor- the murder in April 1798, but was acquitted. box."—Burke's Works, Vol. V. pp. 162—164, In this last trial, Ann Simpson was called as 880., 1808.

a witness. Hume:

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and fatuosity alleged for the pannel was only tion was stated, at receiving the verdict in affected, and wilfully feigned by him to screen the trial of Thomas Gray (August 3rd 1773). himself from justice;" and therefore they re- And the diet was in consequence adjourned mitted bim to an assize, who found him from time to time, till at last, if I mistake guilty of the charge. It thus seems to be not, the case dropped out of the record : at doubtful at least, if we have yet sufficient least, I have not been able to discover, that it anthority for annexing to the province of the came to any issue.” 2 Hume's Comm., 342. jury, a pre-judicial inquiry of this nature, which is utterly exclusive of the very libel whereupon, and the purposes for which they To the case of William Hudson, p. 1019. are summoned, as these are announced in

I have observed that in the publications of the concluding clause of the libel itself. This the day, this man is sometimes called Dr. too is such a matter, with respect to which, Hodgson. Pigott, his companion, calls him especially as the condition of the man is Hodgson in a pamphlet relating to these prounder the eye of the audience, as well as of ceedings, which he published in 1793, under the Court at the time, there seems not to be any reasonable cause for jealousy of judges, i

the following title:nor the same natural inlet to prejudice or “ PersecuTION. — The case of Charles passion, as in trying the merits of human ac- " Pigott contained in the defence he had tions, or in weighing the proof by which the prepared, and which would have been guilt or the innocence of the accused shall “ delivered by him on his trial if the grand ħnally be determined. And indeed, after his jury had not thrown out the bill preferred plea of insanity has been repelled by the against him. By Charles Pigoti, author judge, the pannel has still his refuge with the “ of Strictures on the New Political Tenets assize, who may do with respect to his con- “ of Edmund Burke, and other well known viction, as they themselves shall sce cause." “ popular publications. London, printed 1 Hume's Comm. Tr. for Crimes, 229.

“ for Daniel Isaac Eaton." “ The pannel must not only be present with bis person in court, but in that due state of sobriety also, and possession of himself, which are requisite towards conducting this

CORRIGENDA. solemn part of the trial with decency, and with hope of benefit to the audience. If, P. 442, L. 13 from bottom, the* should be at. therefore, he appear to be intoxicated (as hap- L. 11 from bottom, for June 1737; pened in the case of Maccuillin, in 1797), the and, read June 1737, and. Court will adjourn the diet, and take order P. 509, last line, for Edir, read Editor of for keeping and presenting him, in a state of

a

Erskine's Speeches. mind more befitting his unfortunate condi- P. 509, last line but one, for cases there cited; tion. Or if he seem to be disordered in his and, read cases there cited, and. senses, sentence shall in like manner be de- P.577, the second and third notes are wrongly layed from time to time, that it may be ascer- marked. tained whether bis disease be real or affected, P. 1006, L. 15 from bottom, to the words “ į and whether it be fixed and incurable, or an the case of Mr. Holt the printer,shou occasional derangement only, of which he have been subjoined a reference to th may be expected to recover. Such an objec

case, p. 1225 of this Volume.

END OF VOL. XXII.

1

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