me.

you,

room there, which appeared to be a key to the clofet at Guildhall, from whence the paper was ftolen. When asked what he had to say in his defence, his only anfwer was, I hope you will bail Mr. Holder, the clerk, replied, That is impoffible. There never was an inftance of it, when the Atolen goods were found upon the thief. The Lord Mayor was then applied to, and refused to bail him.-Of all thefe circumftances it was your duty to have informed yourself minutely. The fact was remarkable; and the chief magistrate of the city of London was known to have refused to bail the offender. To justify your compliance with the folicitations of your three countrymen, it should be proved, that fuch allegations were offered to in behalf of their affociate, as honeftly and bona fide reduced it to a matter of doubt and indifference whether the prifoner was innocent or guilty. Was any thing offered by the Scotch triumvirate that tended to invalidate the pofitive charge made against him by four credible witneffes upon oath ?-Was it even infinuated to you, either by himself or his bail, that no felony was committed; or that he was not the felon ;-that the ftolen goods were not found upon him;-or that he was only the receiver, not knowing them to be ftolen? Or, in fhort, did they attempt to produce any evidence of his infanity?-To all these queftions I answer for you, without the leaft fear of contradiction, pofitively NO. From the moment he was arrefted, he never entertained any hope of acquittal; therefore, thought of nothing but obtaining bail, that he might have time to fettle his affairs, convey his fortune into another country, and spend the remainder of his life in comfort and affluence abroad. In this prudential scheme of future happiness, the Lord Chief Juftice of England most readily and heartily concurred. At fight of fo much virtue in diftrefs, your

natural

natural benevolence took the alarm. Such a man as Mr. Eyre, ftruggling with adverfity, must always be an interefting fcene to Lord Mansfield.-Or, was it that liberal anxiety, by which your whole life has been distinguished, to enlarge the liberty of the fubject?-My Lord, we did not want this new inftance of the liberality of your principles. We already knew what kind of fubjects they were for whofe liberty you were anxious. At all events, the publick are much indebted to you for fixing a price at which felony may be committed with impunity. You bound a felon, notoriously worth 30,000l. in the fum of 3001. With your natural turn to equity, and knowing as you are in the doctrine of precedents, you undoubtedly meant to fettle the proportion between the fortune of the felon and the fine, by which he may compound for his felony. The ratio now upon record, and tranfmitted to pofterity under the aufpices of Lord Mansfield, is exactly one to an hundred.-My Lord, without intending it, you have laid a cruel restraint upon the genius of your countrymen. In the warmest indulgence of their paffions, they have an eye to the expence; and if their other virtues fail us, we have a resource in their œconomy.

By taking fo trifling a fecurity from John Eyre, you invited, and manifeftly exhorted him to escape. Although, in bailable cafes, it be ufual to take four fecurities, you left him in the custody of three Scotchmen, whom he might have eafily fatisfied for conniving at his retreat. That he did not make use of the opportunity you industriously gave him, neither juftifies your conduct, nor can it be any way accounted for but by his exceffive and monftrous avarice. Any other man but this bofom-friend of three Scotchmen, would gladly have facrificed a few hundred pounds, rather than to fubmit to the infamy of pleading guilty in open court. It is poffible, indeed, that he might have Battered

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flattered himself, and not unreasonably, with the hopes of a pardon. That he would have been pardoned, feems more than probable, if I had not directed the publick attention to the leading ftep you took in favour of him. In the prefent gentle reign, we well know what use has been made of the Jenity of the court, and of the mercy of the Crown. The Lord Chief Juftice of England accepts of the hundredth part of the property of a felon taken in the fact, as a recognifance for his appearance.. Your brother Smythe browbeats a jury, and forces them to alter their verdict, by which they had found a Scotch ferjeant guilty of murder; and though the Kennedies were convicted of a most deliberate and atrocious murder, they ftill had a claim to the royal mercy.-They were faved by the chastity of their connections.-They had a fifter-yet it was not her beauty, but the pliancy of her virtue, that recommended her to the King. The holy Author of our religion was seen in the company of finners; but it was his gracious purpose to convert them from their fins. Another

man, who, in the ceremonies of our faith, might give leffons to the great enemy of it, upon different principles, keeps much the fame company. He advertises for patients, collects all the diseases of the heart, and turns a royal palace into an hospital for incurables.—A man of honour has no ticket of admiffion at St. James's. They receive him. like a virgin at the Magdalenes;-Go thou, and do likewife.

My charge against you is now made good. I fhall, however, be ready to answer, or to submit to fair objections. If, whenever this matter fhall be agitated, you fuffer the doors of the Houfe of Lords to be fhut, I now proteft, that I fhall confit der you as having made no reply. From that moment, in the opinion of the world, you will ftand felf-convicted. Whether your reply be quibbling

and

and evafive, or liberal and in point, will be matter for the judgment of your peers ;-but if, when every poffible idea of difrefpect to that noble house (in whofe honour and juftice the nation implicitly confides) is here most folemnly disclaimed, you should endeavour to reprefent this charge as a contempt of their authority, and move their lordships to cen-fure the publisher of this paper, I then affirm that you fupport injuftice by violence, that you are guilty of a heinous aggravation of your offence, and that you contribute your utmoft influence to promote on the part of the highest court of judicature a positive denial of juftice to the nation.

I

LETTER LXIX.

TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD CAMDEN.

My LORD,

TURN with pleasure from that barren waste, in which no falutary plant takes root, no verdure: quickens to a character fertile, as I willingly believe,, in every great and good qualification. I call upon you, in the name of the English nation, to ftand. forth in defence of the laws of your country, and to exert, in the caufe of truth and juftice, thofe great abilities with which you were entrusted for the benefit of mankind.. To afcertain the facts. fet forth in the preceding paper, it may be neceffary to call the perfons mentioned in the mittimus to the bar of the house of lords. If a motion for that purpofe should be rejected, we fhall know what to think of Lord Mansfield's innocence. The legal argument is fubmitted to your Lordship's judgment. After the noble stand you made against Lord Mansfield upon the queftion of libel, we did. expect that you would not have fuffered that matter to have remained undetermined. But it was faid that Lord Chief Juftice Wilmot had been prevailed

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vailed upon to vouch for an opinion of the late Judge Yates, which was fuppofed to make against you; and we admit of the excufe. When fuch deteftable arts are employed to prejudge a queftion of right, it might have been imprudent, at that time, to have brought it to a decifion. In the prefent inftance, you will have no fuch oppofition to contend with. If there be a judge, or a lawyer of any note in Weftminster-hall, who fhall be daring enough to affirm, that, according to the true intendment of the laws of England, a felon, taken. with the maner, in flagrante delicto, is bailable; or that the difcretion of an English judge is merely arbitrary, and not governed by rules of law ;Ifhould be glad to be acquainted with him. Whoever he be, I will take care that he shall not give you much trouble. Your Lordship's character affures me that you will affume that principal part, which belongs to you, in fupporting the laws of England againft a wicked judge, who makes it the occupation of his life to mifinterpret and pervert. them. If you decline this honourable office, I fear it will be faid, that, for fome months paft, you have kept too much company with the Duke of Grafton. When the conteft turns upon the interpretation of the laws, you cannot, without a for mal furrender of all your reputation, yield the post of honour even to Lord Chatham. Confidering the fituation and abilities of Lord Mansfield, I do not fcruple to affirm, with the moft folemn appeal to God for my fincerity, that, in my judgment, he is the very worst and most dangerous. man in the kingdom. Thus far I have done my duty in endeavouring to bring him to punishment.. But mine is an inferior, minifterial office in the temple of juftice:-I have bound the victim, and dragged him to the altar..

JUNIUS

THE