Did Mr. Winterbotham enforce obedience to them?-Yes, he recommended obedience to the higher powers, under whatever names Did the defendant mention any thing about whether king, potentate, or any other. the different orders of magistrates?—He said Then Mr. Winterbotham showed the nethat there must be a chief magistrate, by cessity of magistrates, did he?-Yes; he said, whatever names they were dignified, whe-"that without magisterial powers, neither our ther emperor, king, &c.

was

cution, by popery or papal powers : he re- Did the defendant preach that evening?ferred to the persecution of the people of God Yes. by popery, with respect to which he observed, Were you there all the time the defendant it might be said the night was far spent, as was preaching his sermon ?-I was. we did not suffer it now.

Did the defendant utter the words laid in Did Mr. Winterbotham use the words laid the first count?-No, he never said any thing in the second count?—No, he did not; he about darkness, he spoke of a night. spoke of the Africans, and of the endeavours Did he speak of it as applicable to this that had been used in parliament to free them country?-No, he did not apply the words to from bondage.

this country. Did the defendant apply the words to the Did the defendant say that magisterial French nation ?—No, it was the Africans he powers had been a scourge to the rights and spoke of.

liberties of the people?- No, he recommendDo you recollect any other parts of the ed magisterial powers very highly. sermon ?-Yes, he spoke of casting off the Then the defendant did not say they were works of darkness, and putting on the armour usurped, did he?-No, he did not call them of light, in a spiritual sense : the works of usurped, but quite the reverse; he said there darkness he considered to be sin, and the ar- an absolute necessity for magisterial mour of light he treated as the gospel; and powers, and that all were bound to obey therefore it became us as the children of them, particularly christians, had he used God, not to live after the course of this world, such words, they would have been quite inbut to the honour and glory of him who had consistent with the rest of his sermon. redeemed us.

Did the defendant uller the words as Pray did Mr. Winterbotham in his sermon charged in the second count ?—No, he spoke of enforce obedience to magisterial powers ?–1 the Africans as being in a state of bondage, never heard any thing more forcibly urged but did not apply the words to the people of than he did through the whole of his sermon, this country. to induce his audience to obey the existing Did he say any thing in his sermon in praise powers; and he exemplified it from the ne- of equality -No, he said that any body that cessity there was of a head to a private fa- could entertain an idea of equality in characmily.

ter or property, must be litule less than a fool Cross-examined by Mr. Serjeant Rooke,

or madman. (through Mr. Gibbs).

Then you are certain he did not in any

part of his sermon recommend equality to Do you think when Mr. Winterbotham be introduced in this country?-Yes, I am urged the necessity of obedience to magis confident he did not; it would have been a trates, he spoke from his heart, or that he contradiction to other parts of his sermon. said one thing and meant another ?-It did Do you think the defendant's sermon had not in the least appear as a latent doctrine of any seditious tendency ?-No, the sermon was disobedience; I understood it as the language not in the least seditious, and the latter part of his heart, because he is not used to dissein- of it was quite of a religious nature. ble.

Did you ever see the sermon ?-No, I never Then you really think that what Mr. Win

saw it. terbotham said in this respect, he spoke from his heart? --I had no reason to think from

Cross-examined by Mr. Fanshawe. the other parts of his sermon, that they were Did you make any minutes of this sermon? not the genuine dictates of his heart.

-Yes, I put my ideas to paper. Have you seen the sermon ?--No, the ser- Ilow came you to make minutes of it? --I mon has never been shewn to me. I speak heard of the prosecution by Mr. Lyne and from my recollection, and the minutes I made then made minutes of what I recollected. myself. When did you make minutes of the ser

Rev. Philip Gibbs, sworn.---Examined by Mr.

Gibbs. mon ?-It might be about two or three weeks after the sermon was preached; they were Were you at the meeting in How's-lame on what I then recollected.

the evening of the 18th of Noveinber lastDid you copy any part of it from the mi- Yes, I was. nutes of any other person ?-No, I never co-' Did Mr. Winterbotham preach that evenpied the minutes of any other person. ing?-He did.

How came you to be so particular in the Were you there during the whole of the recollection of this sermont-I heard people time the defendant was preaching this servery frequently misrepresent it, which occa- mon ?-I was. sioned me to remember it.

Did Mr. Winterbotham make use of the Mrs. Holland, sworn. Examined by Mr. did not: he paraphrased on the former part of

words as charged in the first count :-No, he East.

the chapter as was his custom, but he gave Were you at the meeting in Ilow's-lane on from the pulpit a particular reason for so dothe 18th of November last?—I was.

ing at that time, lic said he had been misse

pass unnoticed the fate of our African brethren, for whom he said much had been done by the friends of humanity, yet there still remained much to do; but he hoped the period would soon arrive when they would enjoy equal privileges with others now in a different situation. The defendant spoke of the night mentioned in his text in a spiritual view, and observed to his hearers that a night of darkness had covered their minds, and that Satan had tyrannized over them, and kept them in bondage until the knowledge of Jesus Christ had set them free.

Cross examined by Mr. Serjeant Lawrence.

Do you always attend the meeting to hear the defendant preach ?-I frequently attend when opportunity serves, but not particularly

to hear him.

Pray did not the defendant treat of politics in his sermon?-He did not, except in the case of the natives of Africa.

Did not the defendant use the word politics? -Yes; he made use of the word

How did he apply it?-He said, in the chapter preceding that from which the text was taken the apostle had given us a complete system of Christian ethics, but in the chapter of which the text was a part, he had given us a system of Christian politics.

Pray tell us Mr. Wooton, did not the defendant speak of France, or of the affairs concerning the French nation?—He did not, directly or indirectly.

As the defendant pities the Africans, might he not speak by way of commiserating the distress that prevailed in a neighbouring kingdom-France?-He might have spoken in that manner, but as I am on oath I do not | recollect he gave any person the minutest reason to suspect that he adverted or alluded to the French in any manner whatever.

I believe Mr. Wooton, you have a retentive memory, have you not? It has been admitted so on other occasions.

Did you ever make any minutes of this sermon? - I did

When did you make those minutes?--Immediately on my return to Plymouth after attending the sessions.

How came you then to make minutes, having made none before?-To answer this, I beg leave to intrude on your patience while I relate a circumstance that took place prior to it. Soon after the preaching of this sermon, I had occasion to call at the shop of a Mr. Pearce of Plymouth; he then asked me if I could recollect any part of this sermon. I told him the sermon had made a peculiar impression on my mind, as I thought it so well calculated to settle the minds of the people at such a time; and on my relating some part of the sermon, Mr. Pearce, to my surprise, told me that he believed there would be a necessity to call on me to give evidence, as two young men had given information against the sermon: I desired Mr. Pearce to take no

notice to any one of what I had said, as I did not wish to have any thing to do in the affair. We then parted, and fearing I should be called on, I judged it prudent to bear in my mind as much as possible; and seldom a day passed but I pondered in my mind what at first made the most striking impressions, until my return from Exeter; and then, to relieve my mind, I committed the substance of what I recollected to writing.

Did you ever read this sermon?-Not a syllable of it in my life.

You are sure that what you have given in evidence is the truth?-I am no way interested in speaking for the defendant; it is much against my inclination that I am here, but I came with a determination to speak the truth, and nothing but what my conscience

coincided with.

Mr. Thomas Coxworthy-Examined by Mr.
Dampier.

Were you at the meeting in How's-lane, on the 18th of November last?-I was.

Did Mr. Winterbotham preach? - He did. Did you hear the whole of the sermon?-I did.

Did Mr. Winterbotham utter the words laid in the first count?-Some of the words were made use of by him; the others are entirely perverted: but I deny, in toto, that Mr. Winterbotham said any thing in his sermon, in the sense charged in the indictment.

Did Mr. Winterbotham say that magisterial powers had been a scourge to the rights and liberties of the people ?—No, he did not, nor any thing like it.

Did he say that those powers were usurped? No, he did not; he inculcated obedience to the magisterial powers.

Did Mr. Winterbotham utter these words, "darkness has long cast her veil over the land?"-No, he spoke of a night, and that in a religious sense; he said that night had overspread the world before the light of the gospel.

Did he apply the idea of night in a political sense?—No, he did not use it in a politi cal sense.

Did Mr. Winterbotham make use of the words charged in the second count?---I deny that altogether.

Did Mr. Winterbotham say any thing in his sermon in favour of equality?No; on the contrary, he said that man must be a madman or fool, who had any such conceptions either as to property or character.

Did the defendant say any thing in his sermon about the affairs of France I never heard him mention any thing about France; the only part of his sermon which related to politics, was in his paraphrasing on the eleven preceding verses to the text, which he said contained christian politics.

Cross-examined by Mr. Clapp.

Do you constantly attend Mr. Winter

.

botham's preaching? - sometimes I attend reach of the law, and which, if the testimony Mr. Winterbotham, sometimes others, as I of the witness for the crown was to be relied live at Duck.

on, contained expressions worse than the What led you to attend this meeting on the former. The learned judge observed, that it 18th of November ? — Nothing particular was for the jury to determine, what degree of drew me thither.

credit was to be given to this evidence, Did you make any minutes of the sermon? against the unanimous testimony of so many --Yes, I did make minutes of wliat I recol- other persons. Under the circumstances, he lected.

said, he could not think the defendant guilty; When did you make minutes; how long but the jury were to determine for themwas it after the sermon was preached ?-I be- selves -- Only they should remember that lieve about a month afterwards.

after the verdict of yesterday, if the defendant What induced you then to make minutes of was again found guilty, it would be his utter it?-It was in consequence of the various opi- ruin. nions about it

Pray did you ever see the defendant's ser- The jury desired to withdraw, and after mon.--I never saw or read the sermon. being locked up for five hours and a half, re

How came you to be so particular in your turned a verdict of Guilty.
recollection of this sermon ?-I took parti-
cular notice of it, because of the asper-
sions thrown on it a few days after it was
preached

COURT OF KING'S-BENCH.

Mr. Serjeant Rooke having replied on the

Thursday, Nov. 21st, 1793. part of the prosecution,

Mr. Baron Perryn proceeded 10 sum up The counsel for the defendant spoke in mi the evidence: he stated the words laid in the tigation of punishment as to the first trial. indictment, and observed, that two witnesses But with deference to the character of the had been called forward in support of them, learned judge, who presided at the trial, both young men: the testimony of one of begged leave to express their astonishment, these witnesses (Mr. Darby), the learned that he had omitted in his report much of the judge said, they must put out of the question; evidence adduced on the part of the defenfor though, he observed, Mr. Lyne, the dant, in the second. That five or seven other witness, had said, that he did not com- witnesses had expressly sworn there was no municate his notes to him for several days, evil tendency whatever in this sermon :-On yet Mr Darby acknowledged that he copied the contrary, that the general tenor of it was his minutes from Mr. Lyne's on the next day to inculcate dutiful submission to the laws, after the sermon was preached; and this is &c.—and that one of the witnesses for the farther corroborated, hy his having given his prosecution repeated the charge in the indictevidence in Mr. Lyne's words; he said, the ment, at the trial, almost word for word, jury must therefore entirely lay aside his tes- saying, he heard that from the defendant's žimony; and the support of the charges would mouth, although he admitted he neither rethen rest on the testimony of one youth. collected the words, nor understood another The learned judge then observerl, that on sentence in the whole sermon. Upon these the part of the defendant many respectable and other grounds the learned gentlemen conaduli persons had been examined, persons tended, that had the learned judge before who, he observed, were in the constant whom the cause was tried, reported these habit of attending on the defendant's mi- facts as they appeared in evidence, the Court nistry, and therefore might be supposed to would have felt themselves bound by uniform be better qualified to judge of the doctrines practice to grant the defendant a new trial as he advanced; these, he said, had unani- to the second indictment, even without a mously denied the words laid in the indict- word being said by his counsel. But whatment, and had likewise given a positive evi- ever evidence might have been given at the dence of a very contrary nature : they stated trial, and although the learned judge himself the defendant's sermon to breathe nothing strongly inclined to advise the jury to acquit but loyalty, peace, order, and obedience to the defendant, yet they could not travel out the law; this evidence, he observed, would of the report in this stage of the proceeding. be duly weighed and considered by the jury. The Attorney General, and other learned The learned judge farther observed, that it gentlemen on behalf of the prosecution, conhad been admitted on both sides, that the tended that both the convictions were just; defendant was a sensible man; and it was and that the defendant's case was such as extremely improbable that a sensible man, called for exemplary punishment. with a prosecution hanging over his head for Lord Kenyon. He must be committed now a sermon preached on the 5th of November, to Newgate, and brought up the last day but should again preach another sermon on the one of the term. 18th of the same month, which he must The Defendant was accordingly committed know would again bring him within the to Newgate.