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    aau ^ ycowroya tbxax » Owing to the late period of the week at which -fee trial came on ( Friday ) we were onlj able , in a ¦ fur of our last weeks eopiei , te give a condensed Teportof it , tut as we are aware that all onr readers wUl wi * h for a full report—we give it aa below in the whole of our pre ? tnt weeVi impression . ^ " * * ' ^ ' '' *"' ' « " mb . ocowroya tbial .

    1 SISI PRTCS COURT , Friday ; Jtjly . 19 . TOR QTOEK v , FEABGUS O'CONNOR . ( Special Jury Case . ) Ail cnusBally large number of professional gen" ^ eiaeii were in the Court this morning at the very -tasuDerjeesunt of proceedings , to hew what was MHrnallj , the trial of Fb-rgtjs O'Cdkkor , for -a libel on the "W armicster Poor Law Guardians ^ published in tire Northern Star ; tut wbat was ' l «» Jlvj the trial of tfce middle and upper class fgc-¦ tioaw in the eonrt of p « blfc opinion ) Feargu O'Connor being prosecutor *

    The greatest excitemeat prevailed as h > the issue « tie trial ; and long ere the doors-were opened to the public , groups of persons wire coKected in the ywtle Yard , discussing the merits of-the case , and £ mag to the cowardly Government and their den . jk * ble Tools the fall benefit , by anticipation of that -awfel outpouring t > f honest aud virtuout indigsatkm , which they were dsomed shortly to receive . _ 8 b * rdy after tkbc o ' clock , Mr . Justice Coltmak ^ oofc fei * seat , aad the following persons were sworn * s special jurors in the case : —

    Jokn Dest , Merchant , ofHnMergfield , Foreman . tonty Brewster Dwlej , of t&ldenlev , Ssq . Vabaa Perfect , of Stsr-W , Esc . Joaej . ii € tll , of = pTir = Ffi ^ d-pla « , Leeds , merchant . JohmSiaipsnB , ol SUndtsy-irith-OUrton , Kra , Joim Waiicbft * d , orKingsun Terric * , Leeds , merchant . ¦ Jobu Ager , of Stockd » le-on-Forest . Ksq . Tkomaa Kirth , < . f Raasick , Esq . . 3 oim Hai £ h , o ! K- > rtk * wram . merchant . SaLu dnpzntn , of-Fcantiin Rust . Ksa . iaseph Aeils , » f S « rhouae , Hndienneld . Xaocii Bailey , of Binary .

    The Jurors beisg severally sworn , with the ex-« ept ioa of Mr . Tteomas Firth , who , being a Quaker , Sinned in the mode usual with that bod- * of per-* ma , Mr . VTio-etmax opened the pWings , stating ifeat this was a criminal information against the defendant , Feugus O'Connor , Es ^ ., charging him with having , on the 22 nd of December last , p « bfohed in-a newspaper , called The Northern Star , of * rhi « a he was the proprietor , a libel od the Gruart&a&s o : the Poor of the Uniea of " rTaraJnster , in "Wilt * . |

    Mr . Serjeant Atchbrley stated the case . The ^* per ia which the alleged libel appeared was cal led &e-Hor * Aem Star . It v ~ aj published at Leeds , and iad , he believed , aa extensire circolanoH there , afid la other places . The defendant , Sir . Feargus < yConcor Li , or was , ia December last , the period inportan : to this enquiry , the sole proprietor of that ^ aper . The jury were probably a war * that bran -Act of Parliament recently passed , it was nec-i » s . « ary ' Sot the sace of eTery proprietor , printer , and

    peb"liefcer of a newspaper , together with iis place of * b » de , to be given to th-e officers of the Board of ^ Scamps in order that they mi ^ ht be rendered dmeaa-¦ ide to the ! avr , ia case any legal objection jci ght lie * g * In « them . He wa * qai : e prepared to prove , if it ' hoollbe at all questioned . in this case , that in the ZMBth of Drceinber last , the defendant Feargu--O'Cocner was sole proprietor of the paper in question—when that fact was established , the onh -question would be the legal character of the article - ¦ to which their attention would be ghortlv drawn .

    J . t was too well known that for sorce nse there iad existed on the subject of the Poor Law Bill * nd its operations a ^ rea . t cffcrem-e -of cyir . i-n "While tie Bill was peniirg before PariiairtE :, -icany sjb ~ r-rr .: zi ^ i men , with the best intentions . oiffercc in their opinions o : " ia expediency , end of its pub ic tti . ity , ard > oire eten weDt so far ss to &ny or do-cb : tte policy of the me ^ -TTe at laree . Uow , it -was perfectly competent , in this country , lor surr Eaa to esp : c > i his opinion on any measure before Parii . mtrt ; he micht petition PaViitmeiit * e m ; ght _ in ~ tr-ct his rtpresmranvc ; be might enpliV ad proper means to op ; os < r it ? prcsTvss : . aay , more , after a bill had parsed ! Eto a law , " it •* as

    perfeeiiy ccmpcitBt to him to express k « opinion of that law—to call in qr ; e ? t : en its expeaiercy , and bj all proper meats to endeavour to produce its Ttprral ; bi . t it was not to be borLe & 3 . t acy law , which wa * disapproved cf ., tlould be epposed by physical force , or-by statements tnfeanded in r ' acr , acd of a nature calcnlaud to excite ¦ &e peblio mind . Vs : t » rr the paragraph complained of fell under the ascription Wfcica be tad -ost givin , won ' -d be : c-r them to determine , nnder ihe direcuoa cf the Learned Judge , when the eviflenoe had been laid before them " . He would n-w proceed to read the paragraph in question . The } -would perceive tfeat ibe : eacitg aracle was in ocV ColumB , atd the libel complained of in the Eext . Tbe Learned Serjeant then proc-ftded to rtad frcm a paper which be had in his band . " " YTakminster

    BaSTILE , " ob ? erv-: ng that Vt ' anninster v . as a place in "Wiltshire , ard that the phrase " Bastile" meant » Union "Worthoa-e , and wa « a strong mode of showing the object of tbe writer , whoever he might be—acd here he would observe that it was perfectly immaterial to-day , whether the defendant , who wo aid be shown to ' be the yroprietor of the }> aper in which this paragraph appeared , were him-• elf the anther of the paragraph , or whether it bai 3 » eTi fnrnisbfed to him by gome unknown correspondent , or known eorre--poBdent , or whether it had keen laien from some other paper . Tbes * ci ; cum-• tasee * nirat b = material to be cocsidered elsewhere . and at another time , bE : they were perfectly immaterial to-cay . The Learned Serjeant then read the alleged libel from the Northern Star , and thec jroceeded to fay that he should call before them tie

    persons conLtcied with tbe establishmeLt in qnesc ^ n who would tell them that this statement of a . child's ha-ricg been 5 ta . rved to death ia that woriioose at tbat time had no foandation in truth that In fact there bad no ; any child died at that period at all , and tba : co child had ever died there in cons * - -qnence of such treatment as was alleged in this sateaeiit . "What the defence wonid be i ; would be -impossible for him to tell . With regard to the tecb-¦ mcal part of the evidence that would be very shorr . if tie defendant meant to say that the paragraph , concluding with a statement aboct a boy eating -roe of his fingers , and the fiesh off his arm was so ¦ extrmgavjLEt that eo man of caotious or deliberate mud would believe tbat that eXTemitV of distrfe * ,,

    waseacared , the answer was very short—that it w » a not to persons of calm and deliberate minds —to those who jndged of probabilities— that this article was addressed . Tee mischief was done amongst those who were too ready to believe any exaggerated statements , and too ready also to act « n that belief in a way inimical to tbe public interest . The substance of tbe paragraph is the * e *« rity of tie treatment of the child , wherebv AtdXk was prodceed . He had no donbt many per * , -sona would smile at the assertion , but the miscbief *« ^ amongst those who were prepared to « lieve any exaggeration ; and be had not the

    leirt doubt there were aany persons whe SJigBt smile at the exaggeration , and j-et believe that the euhsz&noe of the charge VU true , and tkrU * T <* tW iTJ prf ^ t of fact died . It was by circclatJDD fjreports snch as these that the pnbfic mind was abused , and pnblic JEaammation produced . Having fMBiised those very few remark- , he-shocld lar before thea tbe technical evidence of Mr . O'Concer being the proprietor of the paper , and he trusted that -the circumstance of this libel ' s appearing being to some jaea ludicrous and extravagan : , would not , od so distinct and grave a charge , absolve the defendant from TWxmsibujtj- . He wocld . therefore . leave tbe &afi » in

    tbeir bands , sabject to the correction of " his Lord-¦ mhi- p , trusting that they , by their verdict , would not * fT ? V&ncooa to excitement , bat pronounce a ver-¦« wt wnieh would at once give calmness to the public * uni , and steadiness and security to the public Benjamin Bastes exam i ned by Mr . -Crbss-• » ELL , _ cepoiei that he is clerk to the Poor Law g ™ . oners . Produced an affidavit from the stipsssa

    ^ Si- ^^ P "'' " ^ ' - ^ gssE £ S ££ * £ BL 3 ak , surgeon of tbe Union in December last Hew present in Court . E E owS Mr . Raven-hil ] ' ctoan of the Board of Guardians it , J ST ^ l , - ? 6 " P rfrsent - H 5 s ( M * wSrT Ti ^ ^ * " in December iast matron of the WarmiEster Union . The Learned Judge here interfered , and said £ ut no endecce to prove either tbe truth tr falsehood * f tiifi paragraph in qCest : en cor-ld be adduced fl . rSJ - 1 ** 1 * f **™* T *** , tiidt that being the case , he hid no further evidence to offer . Mr . O'Connob then rose to address tte Jnrv - » aa spoie Ee&rly as follows : Gentlemen of the Jurf , -Afrer the very tempeftte manner in which tbe Learned Scrgkzt ha 5

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    ; uou ut proper to luirocuce tlis case , 1 tiiOuiu no ! i have thooght it Ky dnry to address you , bad I not I been convinced that there has bfen ' a perverri ^ , characters in this trial . I censor fii . y ^ -U io be the plaintiff , not tbe flef ^ dant . ( H t&s ca ? e ; and when tbe Learned Serpenht ' tells vou that the only question for . y 0 B to fclinsid ^ r is the legal P v 11 v " ' f TOf € ? l ¦ " € * lBst that doctrine , for I - -hall skortl y stew youj and I trust with the approbation of his Lordship , successfully , that you are the judges of tbe whtrte ewe , of the fact as well as the law . Ttre Learned Sergeant has very gravely read before you the alleged libeland in so doing he ha ? ^ ™ £ \ "TI *™ ^^ 2 " T . T , ^ W

    , maoeout a stronger case for me than anything which I can Ray for myself , for I observed tbat many persons in court , and several gentlemen at the bar , could not refrain frem laughing when the Learned Sergeant read it , and he himself told too that soberm ' . nded people would be likely to treat it as a joke . Upon that alone I mi ght rest my defence ; but he Baa also told you that the question was not as to the effect produced upon those pen » onn , but nn the minds of those who are reedy to believe anything had againit the law , however eatrageous those statements might be . But I would remind the Learned Sergeant that those who are inclined to believe

    anything bad agaiwt the law , who have constantly petitioned against tbe law , ard whose petitions are not likely to be attended with the desired effect , are not the persons to be affected by such pop-gun paragraphs as this , which has been magnified into a libel . "Was there ever a more ungenerous , a more mean , a more preposterous , a mere insolent case brought before a Court and a Jury as an alleged libel , than tbe four lines which have been read by the Learned Sergeant ? True he has shewn you " that the paragraph rs in juxtaposition with the leading artick in the newspaper : what he mean ? to deduce from that 1 kcaw not , but I will shew you that it ic rather in my favour than otherwise . Probably it was

    from such motive as that which the Irishman enlisted into the 31 st Regiment , who said that he had done » o in order that he might be near his brother , who was in the 32 nd Regiment . But I beg the Jury to observe , tbat notwithstanding the leading article of that day ' s number of the Nartherji Star consists ] wholly of an attack upon tie New Poor Law , the tit-bit contained in these four lines is not revxed up with ir , nor at all attended to in it ; aad I ask you _ whether it is likely that a person writing en that subject , and strongly denouncing the law , would have passed over such a topic if he bad been aware that it had existed ? No ; he would rather have seized upon it , asd held it up as one of tbe strongest reasons why the New Poor Law should be repealed .

    And with respect to the nature of the alleged libel itself , if you could for a moment believe it po ?* ibie chat a boy , in the extremity of hnn ^ fr , would ea ' bis own fisger * , I am quite sure that after you have # ren the master of the vrr > rkhou » e , you will not be "low to believe tbat whatever he may feed tbe inmates on , he has at least taken good care of himself . The Learned Judge has told you tbat he will not allow the Learned Sergeant to call witnesses to the truth er falsehood of the libel , nor would he allow me that privilege , even bad I been in a ceBditioa to require it . I do not , however , a * k to prove it , for I have no kcowltdge on the subject . I never was at Warminster in my lie ; 1 never << aw the article in the newspaper , and I Eever even beard of it till the rule for a criminal

    m'ormation wa ? moved for . It has been copied from anothrr new-paper , which the Learned Sergeant and tho . * e who had instructed him had overlooked . It is not , however , so much in consequence of tbe . « -cjpo--ed mischievous character ot the libel itself , as from a wish to .-ilerce me that this prosecution ta * been ir-tituted . To the fame end the Attornej . General , about three months alter the Northern Star started , tiled an information again .-t me for a wrong imprint , but upon examination it was found that it was cor : ect , aLd he had to withdraw hi * information on payment of heavy co * t » . It would have been a * well bad he do :, e the .-ame in this case ; »; i ! l better wouid u have beeii if he had never filed it at all . Indeed , I am inclined to thick that the Attorcev-Gereral himself was d

    tfie came opinion ; else why did he -. lumber frora TbrS ^ d Dec-mber , to the 15 th April ? Wken the Northern Star was an insigR-. ficant ^ aper , he paid no attention to it , but now that it is a rlouri-hiEgp ? perhe prosecutes it . It was onlj thought worthy of pro .-ecuiion when the Parliamentary reraras . 'bowed that it- circulation wa » 32 COO w ee ' klv s-nce then it had icerea .-td lo -42 , 000 a week ; and after the Ministerial spur has hetn given to ' itb } this prosecution , it will no longer be at tbe head of the Provincial press , but at the head oi the prefof tte British empire . In the course of preparation lor tV : s trial I ba-re befn served with a list of fortyeight name ? for the Jury , from which I had the

    privilege of stnkirg out twelve ; but I had suffieient reliance upon tb «? hone « ty and di > crction o ! the Gem ! -rcen of Yorkshire to decline doiDg so . I knew that though there might be some amongst them who were opposed to me in political renrimem I might gafeh appeal to the justice of a York-hire Jury , Rct-Dg upon th-ir honour ar . d bound by their oaths . I felt as though I could wi ^ h you should ccme into that box decidedly in favour of the New Poor Law , acd feel as much prejudice against me as an mdivjiaal opponent of tbat law , as any of your class could desire , and depart from it into your if cot hsBcurable

    Jury-room , converts to mv side of the question , at leant with uew feelbps both ' coward « me as aa individual , sad towards all who oppose this innovation upon the constitutional rights of the poor If you find me guilty under thi-. information who wiL be safe from « ireilar proceeding" if such an article as this is to be the foundation for them ? I did not wrire it ; I did cot compose it ; I did not print it ; I did not publish it ; I EeTer saw it till this proceeding was instituted ; and when the Court above was applied to to make the rule absolute Lord Denmanasktd the Attorney-General whether ' after what had fallen from Mr . Thesiger he would press the case , but tbe Attornev-GeneraUer . sisted . " r

    Mr . Sergeant Atcherlet . —If Mr . O'Connor states this he must prove it , which will entitle me to reply . Air . O'Connor . —The truth of my statement is notorious ; it is well kt * wE to all ihe ' Gent ' emen of the Bar , and nted » no proof . The Attorney-General observed he must press for the rule being made absolute , becanse I tad made no apology . Why he had given me no opportunity for apology . If 1 had made a ^ nitably apology , it would have been to substitute the boy ' * tees for his finpm , and his back bone for his aim , and tben it would have been still more ridiculous . Gentlemen , tbe paragraph contain * no refereace to physical force , and I do

    not know why that sheuld have been hinted at by the Learned Sergeant . You are net there to trv me upon ph ) Eical ferce , nor upon the burning of Bristol and Nottingham during the Reform riott nor upon the riors of Birmingham at the present moment N o , Gentlemen of the Jury , tbe Whig * burned Bristol , Newcastle , and Nottingham , to gain for themselves the substance , and for tbe people the snadow , of Reform , and the people burned Birminghaa in despair , lacking what the Reform Bill had promised . But , Gentlemen , why mix physical force with the present prosecution ? The Lenroed Sergeant ha ? praised the New Poor Law , and , thereforehe should of

    , approve physical force , as that law ig supported by physical force , and by the moat unconstjrntional description of physical force ; and yet it is called a boon , and the people are so ignorant that this boos must be crammed down their throits at the point of the bayonet . The Learned Sergeant has rested his case upon the physical force of this pigmy libel , upon the word cell being mentioned in it , and because the werkhoose has been aptly termed a Baslile . But , Gentlemen , " arose by anv other name would smtll as sweet ; " and call the ceil a parlour , and the workhouse mansion , if yon please , yet while its rigour remains , popular hostility will continne undiminifhed . The Learned

    fcergeant has told you tbat you are only to deal with the legal question , but I tell you that you are to deal both with the law and the facto , and with the moral tendency of the article . Gentlemen of the Jury , you will observe how long the morality of the Attornej-General has slumbered , and his censure has slept ; not that the act by keeping was heightened , but he was in hopes to catch me upon a larger hook , and ha « merely had recourse to this nibble in despair . The paper was produced to you , tattered and tore , from being bandied from the Attorney-General to the Government inquisitors . It bear * incident marks of having been baDdied about to some purpose . The Attorney-General first sent it to "Warminster for the Guardians to see how thev had been

    nbelied ; ( they did Dot krow of it btfore ;) and the buaiaians sent it back again to the Attorney-General ; and there it iies before jon so tattered and torn , * o handled and be-thumbed , that the verv paragraph : t * eli complained of is so illegible , tfa&t tbe Learned sergeant kimself had great difficulty in making : t out for you . The mark of the Attorney-Sraera ] 8 thumb ? are upO » every «> rner of : P , P ? , ri aEQ Dow te seeks to put tbe brand of his own fouy upon me . The Learned Sergeant has old yon that it was o er to the people to petition against the Act . I deny it . The right to petition ; as been invaded ; and tho ! e who suffer from the ^ whije control over it , and bo power in it , TmiganoB , Gentlemen , I had the privilege of

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    ttriK . uj ; tj -elv- ut ltlt j leit of j 0 Ioff ) but 1 uju not e ^ . * roll " e it . Although you have perhaps eveiy oce 8 f you often times expressed your hatred to mo in your detestation of my politics , yet I left to the Attorney-General and his minions the completion of his work to find a jury of Yorksbiremen , if he could , who would pander to bis . prejudices , and become tools at his bidding . Ybn many of you belong to that order who maka money o £ the poor , atid those hate me . So ( ' etestible is the Star in the eyes of your class , that many workmen have been driven from their employment , aad tenants rjected from their miserable hovels for their attaebmeLt '"*" * . ^^^ T T ^ M ofj WW f , b « 1 < u ., 01

    to it . It is possible some of you ^ bow in that box , may have so acted : yet still the \ Sftfr lives . Gentlemen , I stite , upon the high authority of Lord Stanhope , that the duty of reviewing the Star weekly , and of reporting upon it to the Cabinet , has devolved upon a . member of the Government ; anu , notwithstanding this close watching and despicable surveillance , this paltry paragraph is all upon which they can attack me . They might have found original metfer , and written bj myself , stronger than anythitg contained in the article which forms the ground-work of this pitiable prosecution . Gentlemen , you ha-re heard allusion made to the Poor Law Bill . I deny that it is law . I

    state upon the authority of Lord Eldon and Wynford , men of some legal authority as judges of the land—I assert upon the authority of Earl Stanhope , a senator of high character in the Dpper House of Parliament , and upon the authority of Mr . Fielden , a member of the other House of Parliament , that it is no law ; and I now assert upon my own authority , tbat it is an usurpation of the rights of the poor , by three Commissienere whoss office in foreign to the Constitution of this country , and who act independently of all law . Gentlemen , you this day saw put in evidence the high authority of those gentlemen who were , by Mr . Hindley designated the three Kings of Somerset House . Yes , it wan proved that

    their authority for the appointment of their officers was given under their Great Seal , which ha * now become the Seal of state . I regret ihat one of the special jurors , who is a magistrate of Huddernfield , is absent , because , when pleading befere him , he allowed the rales and regulations of the Commissioners to be established as law overruling the Act of Parli&meat . And yet , with all their atrocities , to render tbis law still more odious , the Attorney-General attempts to make yoo believe that thin article will tend to make the law unpopular ; and the Learned Sorgeant ha * told you that it will gain cfedence with mea who had Dot tbe power of reasoning or judging of its merits . No , it i « not I , but the law itself that has made the law unpopular

    it is the law which has made you rich , and the poor poor ; it Is the law in which you have joined to rob the people ; it ia the law in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer , on the production of his last Budget , proved tbat he had robbed the people of £ 5 , 000 , 000 annually for tbe benefit of tbe landlords ; I say robbed , and if I had a stronger term I would apply it ; it is this la * , itself , which has made itrelf unpopular , aad not tbe four-line paragraph complained of . It is as act in opposition to which , before it becomes the law of theland , many battles will be fought—in opposition to which many lives will be lost upon the scaffold , and many more upon the field of battle . It is a law which pronnees to level with the dust tbe lofty turrets of your lorJIy mansions ,

    Jr } tlie blackness of aahes » h » ll mark where they stood , y > hiie the wild mother screams » Vr her luaiUliing brood . " It is a law for which you ask peace , law , and order , while you are ooliged to preserve as uuconytiuuional meroecarr force , and an overgrown standing army for its support . This law has turned your fo .-tering Government into a military despotism . It is a law which dishonours humauity , and stares nature out of countenance . It is a iaw which makes poverty a crime , and render character valuele .-s . It is a law , by the acquiescence in which the landlords in tbis country have abandoned their position of national patrons to their national clients . It is an unchrittian law , an

    inndel law , an atheistical law—a law which robs the poor man of his right , and pensions the idle upon his labour . It is a law which I upposed in my place in tee House of Commons , clause by clause , and and which I have niece lont no opportunhy of denouncing . Aye , and should you find me guilty to day , I will seek the first and every opportunity of doing that to which the Learned Sergeant bas imited me—of denouncing the law and declaiming against , the law , aa long as it dishonours the statute book . The Learned Sergeant says it should be done constitutionally . That I have " not done otherwise this paltry prosecution furnishes ample proof . All men deplore the existing state of thiugs : and ask the

    people to obey the law so long as it is the law . From tBi « doctrine I moaj unequivocally dissent ; because ss long as a tame submission is rendered to a bad law , » r > long will it remain law . For my opposition to this law you call me destructive , while I merely seek to destroy that which if not destroyed will destroy you . You hear the cry of Universal Suffrage now recounting through this land , while you most be aware that this frightful measare ban been the greatest poop of tbe question . And how do you oppose it ? At this moment the walls of York are placarded with " No Chartism ; " tear them down , and , in their stead , put "' No Poor Law "— " No Bastile : " and theu you

    will go further to destroy my power than your verdict of guilty . I am not the agitator ; this law is the agitator ; for if the rights of the poor man had not been invaded , you would Bot have heard the loud and universal demand for wbat is calUd organic change . No ! had any administrative improvements taken place—had your bnasted "Whi g Administration r « aiained quiescent instead of being fruitful in mischief , a confiding people might have remained quiescent nnder their rule . By the introduction of machinery , which was intended as man ' s holiday , but which , by you , has been converted into man ' s cur-e , you have firnt rendered the people useless , and tben you weuld destroy them by j'arvationand

    , find me guilty of opposing your dominion . Gentlemen , bear with you to your jury . room , that you cannot take vengeanee to-day , you cannot lock me up—you cannot put manacles upon my wrists—or a gag upon my tongue . I claim no mercy at your hands— I ask for no sympathy , no compassion , or lenity , bat I demand justice . If my life hung upon toot lips , I would scorn to hold it at your mercy , or b y the abandonment of my opposition . \ ou must be the best judges whether the Attorney-General was justified in noticing this pop gun , when he has passed over tbe heavy cannonade of the metropolitan press , which has been so ably , so systematically , and continuously , aimed at the

    monster . The London Times , the Herald ^ the Post , and the Standard , have escaped the watchful eye of the prosecuting Atterney-General , while he has ferreted out this obscure article in aprovincial paper . But I defy his vengeance and his wrath , for I hope te live down prejudice as I have laughed scorn out of countenance , and learned to « mile at the jeer of the oppressor Why , 1 ask , has be not attacked that poriioa of the press daily furnishing ample scope for his prosecuting propensities ? The answer is because he dare not ; and I will teach him , ere long , that be shall not dare to attack my privilege with impunity . Gentlemen , there is no writer npon the rights of the poor , who does not admit the right

    even of the willing idler to support in the land of his birth . Puffendorf , Montesquie , Grotius , Locke , De Lolme , Paley , and your own great constitutional Judge Blackstone , all admit the fact ; and I have never yet read a great constitutional writer who has ventured u prescribe the exact limits by whieh a starriBg man sheuld be bound by the laws of the land . Blackstone , in his unequalled work , upon the rights of the poor , says , in treating © f the 43 rd of Elizabeth , that every attempted interference with this law has proved a failure . He is opposed to Bastiles , and exhibits the industrious poor taking the raw material to tbeir cottages as the small capitalists of the nation . They form tke rural communities of

    which society was composed . You have broken them np ; in youth you immure them within unhealthy walls , and in old age and idleness , not of their own procuring , you deny them the right of existence , except in a Bascile , governed by the tender mercy of three foreign Commissioners . And you would salve over this atrocity by a verdict of guilty against me . Ye « , here is tbe libel , by & conviction of which you expect to recommend your lawj but it is a small libel against so great a monster . By this law you have placed man in too artificial a position , and to combat it , he will fall back upon the laws of nature * . The ten-pound householders who made this iaw , had no right to

    make it ; they were not the representatives of these for whose benefit it is said to be enacted . They were not likely to be in a situation to come under its protisions ; therefore it is a boon for them , and a dagger for the poor ; and yet you complain that I have made it unpopular , while it has made you unpopular , and haa engendered hatred , deep and lasting , from the iighest authority down to the meanest officer who is employed in its administration . In your tender mercy you would provide agaicst poverty , while poverty is * mere consequence of your absorption of tbe . poer man ' s labour . Is it not a boast that while millionaxjoraplain of poverty , tbeK is sufficient wealth -within ten miles of Manchester in tbe hands of j » e « ter ? to pay off the

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    national Otb . ? JD the teid 8 t of thi ( J boa 8 ted prosperity , you Walk from your comfortable mansions through enualid Wretchedness , psHid faces , gaunt and emaciated frames of mo-ving ipectacle . syou look Mt » the paleface of youth and upon the trembling limb of the prematurely aged —and you tell them that they have liberty in this seabound dungeon : and it is because my heart yiektns , and because ray very blood revolts at tbis spectacle , that I am draggtd here by the minions of of a prosecuting Whig government , to be gazed at by the curious as a firebrand , a destructive , and a traitor . Gentlemen , if a never-ceasing and an anxious oYsiio to see ( bis law destroyedand a com-* b . » iD the ttid 8 t of thi 8 boa 8 ted

    , munity happy , be treason- !? k desire to we-jtriCC restored , through plenty &nu protection , be treasonif a deep-rooted hostility to despotic rule and unjust dominion , be treason , then do I glor y in being a traitor . Gentlemen , I am charged in the secund count of this indictment with tbe desire of Btirring up her Majesty ' s liege subjects to disorder . I have not done it . I do not oppose her power , or dislike hersvray , but I acknowled ge a deep-rooted and implacable enmity to the dastardly minions by whom she is surrounded , and by whose unjust authority , and by whose usurpation of her prerogative tbe people have been taught to look upon all law as a

    mockery . So much for the Poor Law Amendment Act , for opposition to which I have been indicted ; and new , Gentlemeo , let us consider the law of libel , and see whether or not this indictment , aa trained , is sustainable . This indictment ia supposed to be by the Poor Law Guardians of Warminsterthey are the tool * of the Commissioners , and are annually changed— the Guardians of the present year are not those wko are supposed to have suffered fromthMilvik their office is variable , changeable at the will of their wastera , and by their masters I should have been prosecuted . But the Attorney-General has become their champion , and I regret that he has not had the manliness to come home

    with his work , a-nd finish what he has so well commenced . But , Gentlemen of the Jury , this mild Minister of a mild Government i * othersi-i ^ e and perhaps more beneficially engaged in making a Quixotic tour for the punishment of the Chartists . This restles . i . spirit , after a profitable seswion , could not allow the rece * s to pass away without the indulgement of his favourite propensity . Gentlemen , you are to bear in mind that the law of libel is the most oaf ricious of all laws—that it is a pernicious " graft upon tbe ciril Roman laws , from which the common law of England has sprung . Its most approved precedence ha > i been established in the Star Chamber , or in those dark days of monarchical

    persecution , when tbe judges of the land were the minion ? of ihe Court , and held their offices durante henc placilo , and which being interpreted into common English meano , " so long an you remain of that pliancy of principle aud dispoM'ion , capable of being moulded into any shape best suiting the views of a despotic monarch , so long and no longer shall your office continue . " And , Gentlemen , from tbo- ; e day * to more modern times , the judges of the land have been in the habit of capriciously eonstnaing precedents according to tha whims of their predecessor- ' , when the dictum of the cabinet , the q ' iibhle . of the judge , on the prejudice of the jury , constituted the law of the land . They bare drawn no precedent

    from the institute * of Justinian , or from the Paudeete ; for , if they had , they would not in the many volumes have found a precedent for the insolent and contemptible farce , in the performance of which the Attorney-General selected for you so conspicuous a charaoter . Gentlemen of the Jury , as my Lord By ion told the Houve of Peers , in timei aimilar to ttm ^ e , tliat they mny till their sjaols with victims , and erect BcatVoUs , at the corner of every street , fur the dispatch of offenders against the law , but before they cnild ensure conviction , tbey should have twelve butchers for a jury and " a

    Jetlne * for a judge . Gentlemen , bo I say to you : it you fiud a . gentleman guilty of an act which he neither wrote , dictated , composed , printed , knew of , or knowingly published , after such verdict you may go home in peace , but awake to angry reflection : you may think that you have done your duty , but will public opinion justify or common senee ophold the act . And think you that a verdict of " guilty" against me will stay the opposition to this unconstitutional law , which the Attorney-General is anxious to uphold P If you do , you are greatly mistaken ! This law can never be carried into

    ellect until every jury-box ia filled with butchers , and every judgment-seat filled with a Jeffries ! I know yeu will try me not upon the law or upon the fact , but upon your hatred and prejudice ; but ho long as there is no dinhonaur in the charge , bo long will I have no fear of a jury , on a dread of their verdict . " oet hononr in one eje , and death i ' th other ; Aud 1 will look on death indifferently . " I have toldyou of the source fromwhenceancientprecectents have been drawn—and let us now consider the

    boast of modern vS big reformers , arr . Macaulay , the better half of my prosecutor , the Attorney General , when addressing the elector >» of Edinburgh , grounded his title to support upon his fixed determination to support the present Government . From his views , there ^ re , I . have a right to draw an inference of their principles and their practice . And what 9 ays tbis modern Lycurgus P Why he had the matchless effrontery to boast as the fairest spot in the character of Whiggery , that the law of hbal , which in the hands of the Tories miyht be > turned into an instrument of torture , was a dead letter under the mild dominion of bis party . ilEcce signum /" ^ here ' s the pr-iofof their miUuess and forbearance . " But , my

    Lord , independently of the falsehood , I ask you if ever more foal or unconstitutional admission escaped the lips of man . What ! tbe law to be held aa a muzzled dog ia the keeping of its respective managers , and to be lut looae by them , not at the invaders of the household , but , without notice or snarl , at * those whom tbey select for vengeance ? I say it is unconstitutional thus to hold the law in leash to be slipped at the will of the governor of the day . The law should be yielding to mercy , and stern against oppression , with an exfeutive exacting an implicit

    obedience to its mild authority . No boon should be sought under it , no vengeance should exist under it , no distinction should be made by it , ho capricious u * e should be made of it ; but I ask you , my Lord , was not this an invitation to the partisans of Whig-4 'ery to support the rule of their party by libelling without the dread of the law ' s vengeance ? So loBg as the instrument was only aimed at the Tory opponent , was it not direct inducement to , and proimstd protection for , all libellers who threw the shield of their slander and their falsehood over a weak and

    tottenog administration ? But it is whiggery , and iu that consists its protection ; but this poor article is anti-Whig , and , consequently , auti-despotic , and hence , through it , my persecution . But I will bear it and more , before . I will bear tbe law ' s oppression . Let us now consider another modern authority , powerful and unnoticed , because another necessary crutch for thi « limping government . Mr . O'Connell , judging of the inequality and caprice of the law of libel , and though the laws are said to be equal in England and Ireland , publishes ia the English newspapers that which he acknowledge * if published ia Ireland would subject Vim to prosecution for libel . Was ever more direct

    censure upon law than this P Now I assert , without fear of contradiction that no Irish jury could be packed to find me guilty upon so mean and despicable a charge . In what then consists the difference ? His libels serrs the Whigs , while mine aimed at the destruction of their power . Gentlemen , what constitutes libel P Can that be libel which means no injury , and from which no damage U suffered P The law says that where there is no injury there shall be no punishment ; and I ask have their mightinesses , the Guardians of Warminster , suffered injury by this paltry article ? Aad if so , upon what a slender thread their honest reputation must havehung . Hear wbatthe law designates as libel . The

    offence of libelling consists ia the making or publishing of a written document with intent to defame . Now Gentlemen mark the word intent , aad herein I differ from the doctrine of the Learned Sergeant who has told you that you are merely to judge of the law , while I tell you that , by the 32 nd ef Geo . III . c . 60 , a more extensive privilege is given to juries , by which independently of the Court you are made judged of the law and the fact , and by which independently ef the Court you are at liberty to pronounce your verdict accordingly . Again the best commentators upon the law declare that the fact itself is not the offence , but the fact coupled with the injurious consequences . Here then is a total absence of the two principal charges wbich tbe law holds to be indispensable for sustaining an indictment

    for libel . A malicious intent has not , nor cannot be proved ; injurious consequences have not been attempted to be proved ; the law simply requires the proof of application , while the effects if injurious to those who complain of the injury have never seen tbe article , and never would have heard of the article if it had not been for my hostility to tyranny , and the tyrants' hostility to me . The Attorney-General is the libeller , the Attorney-General ha « been the ferretter , and the Attorney-General will be the most extensive publisher of this libel . Genflemeu of the Jury , I have given you the law with regard to libel—I have given you the opinion of two legislators with regard to the law of libel , and nowlet us consider what custom sanctions , and public opinion dictates in all cases where thp f trjnjjency of

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    existing lawn is complained of . The law if oppressive andstrcfigly complained of , though not altered , is greatly mitigated in ita operation while the excitement ef public opinion is fevtri ? h against it . Hence the mitigation of law in capital eases , not yet redueed totheslandasd of opinion by Act of Parliament . Hence also the more modified censtruction put by the Irish Judges upon the laws with respect to the opposition to Tithes in Ireland , pending the inquietude of public opinion , and the Parliamentary discussions upon the subject . And Gentlemen- , I have heard my Lcrd Spencer , when Chaccellor ' of the Exchequer declare that the unpopularity of a law furnished justification for its reptat . if tDat oetrine be true then , bas tbe Po < y- ^ aw Amen 4 ^ Z ^^ J . L ™ .-

    metal k' 6 t ^ fioi become sufficientl y unpopular to call fof its destruction ? Gentlemen , without your knowledge public opinion of itself makes law Or destroys law , or render * it-obsolete . The law of libel , the law of treason , and the Jaw of " sedition are pretty nearly the same how ae they were thirty years ago ; and yet would not you , as Jurors , dare to conviet upon the same evidence , or the Coqrt- to award the same punishment , as would be adjudged in similar cases at the present day . Gentlemen , nothing can be more capricious than the law of libel . I will give you one instance . Knell , a compositor upon Mist ' s Weekly Journal , was tried before Lord Chief Justice Raymond , for printing an ^ iublishing a seditious libel . It was proved in evidence that he

    waa a mere cempssitor—that is , that he set the type , and merely composed part of the article $ and which , until connected with matter composed by others , waa unintelligible . Yet did this Judge direct the Jury to acquit the defendant publishing , and to find him guilty of printing . He mi ght as well , upon an indictment ior administering poison , have directed the Jury to find the man guilty who had blown the bottle in which it was contained . However , bo pliant were Jurie . 9 in . those d&yathat they

    , did fiud him guilty , and he was sentenced to stand twice in tiie pillory , and to be fc « pt at hard labour for a period of six months . Gentlemen , I cannot give you a stronger burlesque epon the law of Lord Chief Justice Raymond than the following case . In the year 1798 , in Ireland , the following verse'was composed , and by an Orangeman , who did it with all his heart , highly approving of the sentiments , but who narrowly escaped persecution for his devotion to monarchy . The lined rau thus : —

    " 1 love my country , but the King Above all men his praise I'll t > ing ; Conlusien suize his ediotui reign That foe to prinees—Thomas Paine . " Now , GentlemeB , you wouid not suppose this fo be a libel , but , on tbe contrary , laudatory of moaarchy ; but mark bow the printer made the composer a libeller , by thus transposing tbe second and third lines : — " I love my country , but the Kin ? Confusion Hois ; hia odious re fjn ; Above all men bis praiso I'll sintf . That foe to yriucea—Thomas Paiao . "

    Now , Gentlemen , can anything be more ludicrous or can anything more strongly brand the judgment of the Lord Chief Justice with folly thac the circumstance to whieh I have referred ; and yet , the printer having absconded , nothing but the possession of the original MSS . from wtiich , th «> article was composed , nnd the high character for what vva * called loyalty , which the composer received from his bro'her Orangemen , saved him from the vengeance of libel law , or indeed from wl-. ich , in another would have been considered high treason , iu those days of the law ' s equality . Gentleman , had a civil action been brought against me , I should have been at liberty to prove any feeu . which might have been serviceable to

    my defence ;; but the game was too high for the Attorney-General to lose upon a common civil action . Was ever t-uch pitiful malice-. Lawson , the publisher of the Times , is at this moment incarcerated for a libel published in that paper atle-cting the character of Sir John Conroy , while AJr . Walter , the proprietor , is at large . I / not this one law for Mr . Walter , and another law for me ? Again as the Learned Sergeanthasiuformed you . eertain rules are laid down for the re gistration of names and liabilities of proprietors and publishers of tsewepapers , but as he omitted to state the material fact * , I must supply them . Now , the fact is , that in giving security upon the establishment of a newspaperche proprietor

    , merely guarantees the payment of advertisement duty by securities , while the publisher ia obliged to give two securities a . ^ ain . -t the publication of libels upon the Government ; by a parity of reason , therefore , in all other criminal prosecution , the first proceeding should be instituted against the publisher and specially when the complaint is not original matter . 1 he proprietor or editor cannot be morally re < pan * ible for what they never see ; and as to the a-wrtion that it is their duty , that ' s a farce ; they xhould read every word , advertisements and all for even an advertisement may contain a libel . It has been for some time in contemplation to make alterations in this law to mitigate its penalties and to wider

    open a field for slander . Gentlemen , I ask for no licence to libel ; no alteration ia the law would induce me to become a protected defamer . 1 despise the man who would build his character upon the wreck of another ' s reputation , and while I seek for no protection by change , neither shall the law though it were harsher and les * defined , deter me from doing my duty to the people , even at tbe expence of the law ' s malice . Gentltmen , if the Attorney-General wished for some new precedent * or for some libel victim * to Whig necessiiy , he might upon tbe recent discussion , and in the recent publication upon the repeal of the Corn Laws , and upon the murder of the lamented Lady Flora Hasting ?

    have found daily refreshment in the Lecdon journals ! His not the name of the Queen beenmostindecentl y mixed up with that mysteiioui and tragical event and have the slanderers of royaltj been brought to ju 8 tiee ? No , because th ? ir ' columns are proof against the malice of the Whig prosecuting Attorney-General . Gentlemen , you have heard much stress laid by the Learned Sergeant upon the word starved ; Viave you never , any of you , read , or have you never , any of you , said , that the Corn Laws were starvation laws ,, and that the landlords-starved

    the p » op ! e—that they were unchris'iaa laws , and that a house of landlords bad no right to make them -that they should be destroyed even by revolution P Yes , this ha ^ been your doctrine , and I am a revolutionist , althougk I have never joiaed in your wild and revolutionary « ehem « . Repeal the Corn Laws with the Suflrage , and stop revolution if you can > o ; you will not receive wisdom construction from me . You would banish my paper frem your mills which w m a watchman , a centinel to you , while you will read and cherish those deceitful iournaN which

    pander to your ba ? e prejudices , but whose columns will prove no shield against your weakness You won t prosecute them , and yet believ ^ me that the ideal strength and security which the * * falsehoods give you will prove your ruin . WhAjt do I care whether you find me guilty or notAwhea my whole conscience approves of my every aoi and if jeu do find me guilty , or call me iBnocent \ the infernal law shall , upon the first opportunity , &Te my most stern opposition , pot libel opposition , sj , that constitutional opposition which the Learutd Sergeant says every maa ia entitled to use fS ito repeal ; that I will use , so long as a vestige or a fragment of it ia to be found in the Statute Book . I am no speculative declaimer against this law I

    nave not cried for justice and filled ray coffers by the perpetuation of injustice , as favoured libellers have done and are doing . I have not made a stepping-stone of my country ' s wrongs to pass to com- fort myself ; no , I have not agitated this as a party question , to give strength to one party at the expense of another . I am no trafficking politician . I have spent my own , and not my country ' s money m oppositioH to tbis law , and thank Goi you c&n neither accuse me or find me guilty of havim ? fat- tened upon the misfortunes of the poor . No 1 never in the whole course of my existence received one penny from Whig , Tory , « r Radical , for any political service which I have rendered , nor I never will . There may be some magic in this ; but you cannot suppose me to be bo powerful a magician as to be capable of persuading a well-fea people , that they illfed wellclad ¦

    are an - people ; a - people' that they are an , 11-clad people ; or a well-homed people that they are without Bhelter . I could not convin those who are sheltered under the law , that they are beyond the pale of the law's protection-and yet the Learned Sergeant would coaviuce you . that thi * mag , c article has had that magic tendency . No Gentlemen , the deep-rooted enmity of this law i « sows in every heart ; and 80 long as it- exists will stir up eyery man to opposeit What , again I ask do good laws require the tender mercies of despotism and brute force to make them palatable . If L our Government is the fit one , and the Jaw is fittin * for the times we live ia . Gentlemen of the Jury hough character for sobriety is no proof of honesty though character for chastity i 8 no proof of tender ' faeartedaem ; yet having lived an unexampled Hfe ot busy turmoil and afltotion , without having oflended personall y or again . t the lawi , a proof that I

    , ^ no common slanderer . Gentlemen , I live in a country where the law is very watchful , and where he law is very litigious ; and yet this ' is ft , Tfirst court h f . T PP ared ' rae * Pt as counsel > in a court of justice . I hare never summoned a man-I have never beeH summed by a n . an ; I have Bever prosecuted a man-I have never betn p-o " ecutedbv a » an ; n . thar have , eyef gtood gj ^

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    fendant in suit or action during the whole areer « r my exigence . Bat , perhaps , good character in tv * times we live m may be rather an aggravate , £ * a pilhati- n of an offenee . The Auorney-OeS is rot even grateful for the pecuniary aid whfch tlh . Star newspaper renders to his totterire excb- « Gentler , wiHyou ^ ve tfeat tbfc Sfe taxes and duty , directly and indirectly * the l&Kuk part of the intent of the National Debt Vl / y pay £ 20 , 000 a-year-and yet you , Gentlemen i-J rbe ragged editors of your chosen papers , would hA the public to believe that you , and you alone Ua i stake in the country-and , therefore , to » uch H is peace , law , and order congenial and n . ee « JIJ Genclemen , I have as great a * t » ke in the ciinS r ™ ? J ° V } A th ™ S \ a J that amount ! > , ___ , . . ....

    -. »> P taxe , ia ot the ^ ia U ;^™^ and it is because I am not in love With their mt «> have applied its proceeds to the interest of the Na . AtS r' tbat , * y bot the more reconcile the Attorne y-General to the principle * of the paper , » 1 oS \ the exi 3 " ente ° f the debt - * y 2 vou Zl ' ¦ Incom Patible . Gentleman , howi * , Se vSlofH ' - thC AttorHey-General it drawing the lit ? * , r ° n ° ver this P itiful P «» ecution , jet knoHSTv V thro ^ the guij , and fheywiU Know that the objeet is either te break me dowr , by fi £ > B ? t r' Zl Veigh me d * wn fey excefwiv « Z ^ ri , ¦ ha * been g'aciously pleased to rift Z ™? * T < £ tUtion which will War me up against the one-and the people the immumUte EJL "

    , . rare to die will rally to my . defence against the other . Gentlemen , befeold the leaven whieh has nsen public indi gnation against so unholy a law Take it with you to your Jury-room , and do that which the Learned Sergeant has omitted to do , and which I shall now do for him , read the who \ e wtide , the greater part of which is a statistical account of the poor of Wiltshire , and upon -which , if true , no four lines could constitute a libel upon the system which produced it . The paragraph cons mences as follows :- ^ « Conditton op THB *© ofc . — lhe peasantry of" Wilton re are undeTfforo * greater privation * and hardshi now than they

    ps have expenenced for the laat thirty , vears . Bread » 8 now 10 d . and lOJd . per 4 lb . loaf , out-door labour era s wages only 88 . per week , with some fe * exe « p . tions ; now and then a man get * 9 ^ ., but many a hardy lad of 15 or 16 years of age obtains no more than 4 d . or od . a day , or 2 s . 6 d . per week . Now I leave you to judge how tbey are to obtain a rofficiency of food and clothing out of this small pittance I have made some slight calculation as to the namner of individuals in each family of agriculturallaboosers which will average through Wiltshire , man ^" J ? , ? . . cbiM " » and ali * ™ »™> ° R « P * together will scarcel

    y amount to thirteen shillinaji per week ; and allowing each individual but three meals a day , and one penny per meal , it will cost them ten ahillmgs and sixpence per week ; add to this a shilling per week for rent , and eighteea-pence per week for soap , fire , asa candle it will form a totaI ef th rteen ghiubg 9 taat there will be nothing left for clothing , beddira , household furniture , or implements for labouringr thi * being the case , they are obliged to feed oa barley , bread , and potatoes , and some of them can . not procure even a sufficiency of that . " This- im-i mediately precedes what ia called the libel , which w as follow * — '

    Warminsteb Bastilb . —A little boy , lwt I !!? * 5 'TK" ** *****' C 0 Hfin <* & one of the cells belonging to the above workhouse and wag literall y starved to death . The poor little idlow during his confinement , actually eat . in consequence ^ of hunger , two of bi » ringers and the flesh from his arm . " Take thut with you , I say , to your Jury-room ; and , if upon wr short acquaintance , I have not been enabled to

    dispel your latent prejudices and your long-eherished natred ; if you should pronounce your verdict of guilty , let the country know that yon eon-rieted a Gentleman for four lines ia a newgpapei whieh be did not write dictate , compose , print , hear of . or knowingly publish ; and if the conntr ^ ia ea-ti / iied T n u " . Verdicf ' J 6 ha 11 not complain : but I shall thank God , that I have an appeal from you to another tribunal ; and before I can surfer for what

    you may call crime , I shall receive judgment from my Lord Denman , that brightest gem in the coronet of juuiee-and the man who has had the virtue and Hianlinew to defend a nation ' s rights againgt Che usurpation of its rulers , wili defend me against the slave of faction . Gentlemen , the most pleasing part of my duty I have now to perform , it is to thank the Court for the indulgence it bas extended tome ; to thank the Jury fer the patience with which they have listened to rae ; and though lag * , notleasr , to thank the Learned Sergeant for the temperate , the courteous , the professienal / and gentleman-like manner iu which'be has conductedthis probation ; like a good soldier he has d . Se I v * 7 'f Dothitig more ; and now , Gentlemea or Y orkshire , into your hands with confidence I commit

    my case , relying upon the only verdict which upon your oathsyou can return , and beioa follow that Wbefe Viftue leada justice wi " Mr . O'Connor having concluded bis case , the Learned Judge briefly samnsed up as follows : — Gentlemen of the Jury , in this ease the defendant is charged with the publication ef a libel , ia which it is set forth that a boy died in the Warmmster workhouse of starvation—and , Gentlemen , a * the facts charged , if proved , would have auhjeefcid Uie officer whose duty it was to take care of the inmate

    s , either to the punishment of death or transportation , it will be for you to say whether * yon , consider it of that nature which was likely to ifflpress upon the . public mind a belief in the guilt of of the officer charged . Geatlemen , when starvation in such cases has occurred , punishment of death has been suffered—and , therefore , wh . re the punishment is great , the protection should be co-exteaHve . trentlemen , the defendant hag read for you the article of which the alleged libel seems to form the conclusion . I shall read it for you again . ( Here the Learned Jud ge read tbe whole of the paragraphs and then proceeded . ) Now , Gentlemen , the accounts contained of the sufferings of the poor fa «« must be

    a deep aBd melancholy subject for consideration to ever y thinking mind ; but , Gentlemen , constituted as society is , it can scarcely be expected that a system of perfect equality should exist , or that partial distress could be prevented . Gentlemen , the defendant has been proved to be the proprietor of the paper in which the alleged libel appeared-and no doubt the charge of starvation by the Guardians is oHe which should not be lightly made ; and one for which responsibility must rest somewhere ; of which , however ! you are to beX judges . Gentlemen , it is my duty , however , to tel you , that whether it was er was not published with the knowled ge of the defendant , that the law hold him responsible ; it is al « o my duty to tell vou that I consider

    3 ! j the paragraph libellous . Therefore , it will be your duty if you coincide in opinion with me , ^ o . find the defendan t guilty but if on the other hand , you consider the article harmless , you will KTk ^ W ?* Gentle «»«' . itiaaliomyduty to say that the defendant has endeavoured to inlimifete you into a verdict of not guilty . Gentlemen , Srtict D 0 W V ° retire » and agree npon your W"he Jury retired , and after an absence of 25 man tes , and ia answer to tbe usual question— "Ate you ^ greed on your verdict—do you find the defeai or not

    < i i t « j * » * « , wm ^ gumy guilty ?" Th « FoREMAN answered Guilty . Aft % Mr . Searjeant Atcherley had conferred for a m < vme » t ot two with Mr . O Connor , he applied to his Lordship , wishing him to fix tke amount of Bail that wotftjbe required for Mr . O'Connor ' s attendance mth « j Court of Queen's Bench , next term , for judgment ; , stating that he would be perfectly satisfied to receive Mr . O'Conaor ' s ownrecogniMnci now , giving him time to perfect any surety vt sureties that might he deemed necessary iB Londoa afterwards . . ¦ " .. The Judo * after expressing himself satisfied With this arra « ement , instantly fixed the amount of bail at-wbMdoes the reader think?—him « elf in

    : i , S ' ' . , 000 , and dfc sureties of £ 500 each ? Kor But "himself i » £ l 00 , and two sureties in W tJ ° K ! 1 ™ « V reproof i 8 ^ w to those Magistrates wh « have demanded such excessive bail from St » ea > , . from . Brown « BdTouell , from Vincent anBfrom Lovett and Collins !!! This was felt throogW the Court at the roomentand many members of the Bar expressed their opinions upon it . Never let it be forgotten , that while ^ 8 ° ° ^ land holds Bai l to the amount of 200 sufficient

    ^• ma case , after Conviction , which wm held to h * of such importance as to call for the special interference of the Goverament , M » ° Ug i ? A " ° ™ ey . General , the Magistrates of Manchester of Stopkporr , of Newport , and of Biimingham , held that £ 2 , 000 bail should be required tiom parties before trial , in cases where then , themselves , were the only parties who inrerferedaye , and when some of them were working men nil , at a raP en the knuckles Mr . JhsdW Coltman has given tbem !!

    ™ A . ^ enteriH& into his ° wn recognizance of £ 100 , Mr . O Connor left the Court , and started for Londim to resume bis duties in the Convention .

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• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 27, 1839, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1067/page/6/