Hicky's Bengal gazette, or The original Calcutta general advertiser (24.1781)

to obtain judgment on.—Mr. Morefcn fpoke ' Mr. Moreton, of fufTcring the word enfy to, Mr. M NVs hiving pit J hr ftarnpf, and th
tj xt for the crown ; lie ;ifl' rtcd th.it |ui its'; rem; in, and which would ra--kc the whole j duiv on Advertifements occafionailv..

were no judges of laiv as well as of faB that
Bethout lit the letter, without 'he muendos
[nit into informations by the chik who diaw.s
them, wtis fufiicient to have laid before the
jury ; the fad of publication was all they had
a right to judge cf, the law fuplicd the relV ;
ti ; whether the pubiifher had or had not an

•lute nonlence : lie oftlervec! how defperate

The Publication being hereby fuSHoieivly
•hewn, Mr. Serjeant Glynn role as Counfel
for the defendant; be began with declaring
'hat as to what the learned Counfel had ft'ul,
that no Lawyer could feriaujly defend th. Pi-
per, he had been Counfel for the defendant*

the cafe appealed to the -counted lor the c rown
hrn:fv!v>, when 'hey could promote no
alteration but that offered by Mr. Mor«.tcn,
kuh as it was. and indeed it Certainly was
he cfbfrrved, v. moll I truant able bad one if the

court therefore were not of his fir ft opinion tin the former trials, wt.cn he had ferioufly,
tuiun in bis own mind, was nothing j that the Verdid amounted to sn aquittai he j and did now rati!! (j-rionfly and fplemnly de-
fend the Paper, which he rould not con-fidef
as a libel on the perlon of the King; that the
charge in the information was a general
charge, he had therefore gone generally upon
the fuhjed matter of it in his fpeeches ; that
particular pafiages had now been pointed our,
which in his opinion made moll ftrongly for

■defendant guilty of printing; and publishing j fo late in the cay and term, and ordered it to j his client, as they certainly reil d-d honour

to ;!.e purpofe. They had no power of confi
«!ei Djf the 'intention, the law judged it a libel,
?i d upon fufiicient proof of the ptrblication,
ju1.■ment fiv uId pafs, th.it the verdid was a
fufficimic .finding; that the charpe in the

fubmitted it to their lo'rcfhips, that it could
be no verdid at all and he hoped the court
would crant a new trial

It being now between four and five o'clock,
the ftrjcant having finifhed a fpeech replete

information was printing an ' poblifhing the j with learned and found law, lord chiefjudice
letter exprcfTed therein; that the finding the I Mansfield find, he was forty they had began

Jtf,Ct, A.% n * n-t.n*-*. n w nr.,! r. 11 Kl . ll, 1 11 '. fri l-if — in t V> ** IT) \, 9X1(1 f/TOl Q t, . i fy/lMro A i. I,.

was all they had ro dc, and tbev had done ; and

that he would not contend about the word c;:!y, of the counlel for the tier infant was mift.iken
it mightfbn-!, fo that the ufual addition was put ! in faying, that he inft nci-.d the jury to judge
to the verdid when entered on the record - - of the information both as to law and fad;

on the private character of the Kin-', whofe
perfona! virtues were uniformly acknowledged,
and particularly enforced throughout the Pa-
icr j that it was commonly accidental to all

dents to (hew that it had been ufual to alter the the epithets in the information were in fere i

vefdi&s of juries, as they feldom or never ex- ccs of law, and what rh« y had nothing to do
n properly ; he (poke ; lor ;

' 'p

of law, as weli as of fad, it was a point", that
had been ofteudifputed, but hever unanimoufly
determined ; that whether it was or was nor

Then Mr. Wallace began, and quoted piece- that he never did; but that he had told them, j Princes to be furreunded bv flctterers and bad

Minifters, who prevented the truth from coin-
ing to the throne; the Paper, he faid, was

p-effed them properly ; he (poke; for about | with ;• that Mr. Dimning's opinidn feemed to written with a glow of warmth, ana what ap-

be jull, " that the ju y h dJ i; thei dctertnina- i-taicd as ni'oft violent was but the eft" £l of
fourth couf 1 f or the crown, and enf red ..with tion of the p..per, wh.ihei a libel or not, to | the writer's fears of v.hat might happen from a
accuracy and judgment on the matte.- in difpun: j the court. " j continuation of the than Meafures of Govern-

lie ohferved, that as to ju ies being judges of Jn the courfe of'the trial Mr. JufticeAnvn ment; both the writer and rubKfhers rhere-

oWcrvrd (as mr .oned in tit forgoing page) . fare had but obeyed their duty, as good Citi-
that there was not a^avy-ttltr more ambigu- '/.ens and Su j cV, to warn their Neighbours
ous than ** crimipulity, " nor did he tie how of their danger, by an open and free piiblicati-
cifpdtable, was a matter he would not enter any affidavit from ju wn«n would now avail on of the Author's opinion—'he did not cam-
on ; that one of the counfel for the defenUoit one way or other. " Vv 1 continued he, any . plain htmfelf of the n >ii-attendancc of the foe-
had dropped., that juries exercifed their right jury-nun take tip n him to (wear, tha K--g cial Jury, it was fufiicient fir him that the

fcf judging on .law at-theirperil, that it-appear- does not denote K'li^, M-----y, M jefty, Jury was cempofed of Citizens of London,

cp plain to him by th» verdict giver, they did I H—fe of C-----s, "ffoui'e of Commons fi who wr.nld, he d<-ubtr.d not, properly confid<-r

not chufe to bring themfelves into fuch a peri- S indeed, added lord M a nsfiefd, any member of '.their man power and authority.; who would
lousftarc, but had purpofely left it unditer- jj the jury was tbirhake.fuch an affic vii, ii would, Join with him, thai in this as well as in all
mined, without txcrcifing the right in this [ tft a particular fliarihe'r, meiit the COnfideiation criminal caules, it was neet flim that fome
cafe: Mr. Dunning did not"fay a great deal, j ofthc cou.t," i proof of a malignant mind, and wicked in(,,-

but much to the puipole. — Mr. Walker was I And on the iS irfim', abort nine o'Clock, ' tion fhou'd. be given ; it did not matter what
th- Lid who fpoke on the fame fide, and faid came on before Lord M n< fi-. Id ami a fpveial : others had iiflTtirted, Juries were, In his m;n."

Jury, in the coui t of King's-bench at mid- | Jmiges of Law as weal as I(.£t; they were in
hall, the trial of Mr. Miller, for re-publifli- tinxs of danger the afylum of ihc People, the
ing JunluS's Letter tc the K— in December : acctiflnmed re/ugefor them to fly tc ; they had
laft, in the f.ond. n E.'emnj I^oft. Only fe- been fo foimeilv ami might be fo agajn: he
fiJe had reduced the qu<»ffion to a much narrow- j ven of the fpecial jury attending, five Talcf-\ urged the importance of ihe prefent cafe, and
er compafs than they at fir ft let eut on , that { men, or common Jurors, were immediately ! hopi d ibey wbu'd fuiiy cxercife their power as
he could not help t-king notice, that in the j taken out ol the Bo.X; v.hen the Jury were
mi nberlefs cafes cited from the bo ks by the i fvvorn as follows:

Very iittlt

Serjeant Glynn begged leave to fay a few
Words, by way of reply, he began w th obi" r-
vi.iff that the learned gentlemen on th other

fo'.icitor general and his affiftants, no fort of
d.ft ndion had been paid to the different kinds
of verdid* which had been altered by the
court, mod ofthofe they had quoted beiii"
fpecial verdids and confequeiuly they had n >t
the leaft reference to the prefeut argument ; the
. er.hd now in dispute was a general verdid in
« criminal caufe, and h.e would be bould to
fay. they neither had, or could produce, a
precedent of any fuch having ever been altered
by a court ; that es to what the fo.lioitor gene-
ral had faid with regard to the verdid of the
jury, as given verbatim, hy them, warning a
i'uhf quent fuhjed, that S'ubjed Was junins's

Samuel Athawes, of St. Mr
Henry Vofey, Cltment's-la
Jofeph Lan after, Green L;
William Gl

ice-lane.

iai

John \\ 1111more, Lawrence Poultnev lane.
Jofhua Ri-dfh/w, St. Peter le- poor.
William Deviflie, I* ••:!•• lomew l.nc.
Tslejbiett,

William Cave, o; j ai lijigdon-without.
Wiiliam Wafher, Bifhopfgate-within.
George Moore, Fan n don-without.
Jofhua Woodward, Bifhopfgate.

the verdid was literally, Guilty of an innocent
nil ; nor was this uncommon as it hsnpened
M the fame manner, in the cafe of Elizabeth

conftitutional Judges, and give a fimple, in-
telligible, and explibit verdid; by doing o-
therwrle, he.dt-clared they would defert their
outy, and betray the truft repof d in thmi;
ins learnedopponei.it had laboured haid to con-
vince the Jury rhe letter was libellous; but as
the inuendos in the information had not been
proved, they being taken away, the informati-
on amounted to nothing criminal; he there-
fore fat t'cwh afTurtd that thi Jurj upon read-
ing the letter carefully, upon j utiging delibe-
rately, and Candidly ecrdidci ing the wliole ftate
the erf , world acquit the defendant.

Mr. Devor.port, the other Counfel for Mr.
Miller, fpoke next; he faid he totally coincid-
ed w ith the fi ntiments of the learned ferjeanr
but he had hoped -the counfel on the othei fide
would in their arguments, have defined the na-
ture of a libel; that he f hi u Id have been in-
ft 'tided what in thiir opinion was and was not

Mr. Walker read ihe Jnfciimiition, which
being finifhed, Mr, Soilicitor-Gcneial got up
and declared that the whole was me, nt a per-
fi nal libel on the King; that bis pet-fin
Canning ; and more particularly in that or Penn ought to he facred, and t verv attempt to vil- liheflour; he decl. r-d tf.e giving th* attorney
and Mead, who were found by their jury, guilty ! lifv and traduce Ins charader fhould be pu- J genera! power'd fcrefionally to Sic informations
ef preaching : which was though; a fufiicient j nt filed : he pointed out leveral psflage?, who h I againfl: the fubj< d, an tnoi metis encroachment
verdict and they were acquitted on ir, preach- he faid, were fingulatiy obnoxious, particu- oil the liberty Cl the people, ai d ought to have
Jng being mo crime; be therefore argued that j larly that which mentioned Inland, and the died with the Star chamber j that at pttfen ,

when the* a:torney-'.:rn r.«l, i ui oi the luxuri-

commou and ufual cuftom of fitting ri -tit a
clerical error, or mi (take of the officer of the
c.'.i-t, was by no means a parallel cafe • that

his client had a right to an acquittal, or any j Colonics; he endeavouisd to vindicate Lord
rate a venire facias de now ; the quoting as a ! Townfiiend, as well as the condud of admi-
precedent for am-nding a verdid of a jury, the | niftration wih regard to Ameiica; allertirg

that he wondered, in the proferutiens already
tried on the fame lubj d, the Counfel for tin
defendants had never attempted to enter upon
trim was necceflary and culfomary, but he I any particular pafTages, and juftify the Paper;
never hear.I of sny court ventUiing to alter j which film e he Looked upon as a fufiicient
the verdid of a jury, as it was impoffible for acknowledgment of it's ciiminality on their
aiiy perfons, after the trial, to know what ar- j fide; that he could not pofiibly fuppofe that a-
g.clients the jury tiled among themfelves, or j ny Lawyer either had, or could feriaujly mean
what grounds the founded thct verdid upon • j to defend the Paper, and declare the publica
that their powrr. as judges, would be totally tion of it was innocent,
ukiefs, if a court could after they had formed | Mr. Wallace next rxatn'ried the witnefils,
and given a verdid, alter it to there own [V'z Nathaniel Crowder, who prcv.-d the hi y-
fentiments, and the only alteration heemild I iig the Paper at Mr. Miller's, and Robcri

jhink of would be tilts -a.tiazin*'qac cff.*rsd b\ I dun is} of the Sump-Office, who provrd

ancv of his fancy, or the intcmporanceol his
zeal, thought proper, he might file ilief infor-
mations, for the mo.ft trifling csufes; thai in
the inilaiue before them, had there been a ne-
cefiity for ptoleciition, the mode fhouid have
been the cuflomary one, by i d cfr e it, which
would have come under the co; n z ;nce of the
grand jury, and they would have proceeded by
affidavit &c. but that the prohcutions now
carying on, feimed totally unvihit; ntable, and
without anv juft authority; he laid, i*. was cu'f-
tomary for a l ad minifter to fere n himftlf un-
der ihewing cfMajcIf'., from whence Junins's
letter had juftly drawn iiini; he n<xt cited ths
cafe of the feven Bifllops, and concluded Ins
fpeech Wttlt declaring his expect ticiu, that the