mmtmijmiujrm Ofntnell Httin8r0itg ffiibrarg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 ..e ikoyr^ vhen this volume was taken. To renew this book copy the can No. and give to thelibwjaa. HOME USE RTTLES -.Mj^t=sifeii*3.:S!.. All Books inbject to Recall All borrowers must regis- ter in the litnanr to borrow books foe home nse. All books must be le- tumed at end of college year for inspection and lepain. Limited books most be re- turned within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. 0£Scers should arrange for the return of books wanted during their absence from town. - ' Vcdumes of periodicals ■■"" - and of pamphlets are held y Ay T n rin In the library as much as -WiH-f- — !~.^:r..0^J possible. For special pur- poses they are given oiit for a limited time, •■.••" Borrowers should not use their library privileges for - "• • the benefit of other persons. Books of special value ' and gift books, when the ._]_ _ _ giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to re- port all cases of books ' marked or mutilated. Do not deface books by marks and writing. Cornell University Library Z657 .H77 1876 The three trials of William Hone for pu olin 3 1924 031 035 581 I " \ j/ * • THE t THREE TRIALS WILLIAM HONE, FOR PUBLISHING THREE PARODIES: VIZ., THE LATE JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM, THE POLITICAL LITANY, AND THE SINECURISTS' CREED, AT GUILDHALL, LONDON, BEFORB , THREE SPECIAL JURIES, AND f' MR. JUSTICE ABBOTT ON THE FIRST DAY, December i8th, 1817, and LORD CHIEF JUSTICE ELLENBOROUGH On the Two Last Days, December igTH and 2oth. WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES By WILLIAM T'eGG, ,/ • • Editor of "Wills of their Own,'' "Laconics," ^'c, &=c. LONDON: WILLIAM TEGG & CO., ^ANCRAS LANE, CHEAPSIDE. 1876. cc I^EDS; PEIKTED BY MOCOKCJUODALE 4 CO. INTEODUCTION. "William Hone wa^ bom at Bath, in 1780. When very young he was placed in a solicitor's office, where he stayed but a short time. He began life as printseller and bookseller, in Lambeth, in July, 1800. He afterwards removed to St. Martin's Churchyard, but soon had the misfortune to be burnt out. He then joined with Mr. Bone, a bookseller in the Strand, but the partnership did not last long. He by himself recommenced business in May's Buildings, St. Martin's Lane, next to High Street, Bloomsbury. In 1815 he started The Traveller newspaper j in 1816, the Reformists Register ; and, shattly after, he prodttced the Parodies on the Liturgy, This was in 1817. They roused the indignation of all weU-thinking people, and the publication was almost im- mediately withdrawn, not soon enough, however, to prevent a Government prosecution. Hone was tried three times, and acquitted on each occasion; for party spirit ran high, and he was regarded as a kind of political martyr. Mr. Justice Abbott* was the judge on the first trial ; at the second and third trials, Lord Chief Justice EUenborough presided. The acquittal of Hone was thought by his partizans a great triumph. Hone defended himself, and in doing so evinced superiq^ abilities and a thorough knowledge of his position. In a pecuniary sense, the acqpitted parodist was benefited ; a subscription amounting to over £3,000 having been raised for him. This enabled him once more to commence business on Ludgate !^i ; and here he produced The Every Day Booh, in two volumes, and The Table Booh — ^really valuable works, which ha-^ been applauded for the kindly senti- * Afterwards ifiord Teuterden. IV INTRODUCTION. ments and ■wholesome doctrines which, pervade them throughout. Hone was afterwards engaged by the late Mr. Thomas Tegg to write a fourth volume, under the title of The Tear Booh (the •rigraal plan of Hone), as a continuation to the others. He did so, and received for it the large sum of £500 ; so that literary labour at that period was well thought of. Hone was careless about money matters. Many instances can be told of his thoughtlessness as regards himself and famUy. When The Year Book was being passed through the press the late Mr. Thomas Tegg, knowing the character of the man, and how imprudent it would be to advance him any large sum of money at one time, made a condition to advance £10 to £15 a week. One day, after receiving £10, he met a brother author in the street, who told him a long tale of sorrow and distress in his family. " Tell me no more," says Hone — " Here, take this . it will at least assist the family for a time," handing him the cheque which Mr. Tegg had just given him. Returning to the publisher with a cheerful face, he related what he had done. Mr. Tegg was angry at the moment, but said, "Remember the old saying, Mr. Ho»e, 'Be just before you're generous;'" at the same time giving him another cheque, on account, for £10.* The next anecdote, although different in character, again illustrates the character of the man. One sultry day in July, passing along Mansion House Street, the celebrated banker, L , was standing at his door with his hat in his hand, wiping his forehead. Hone, being rather near sighted, and thinking it was a person asking for relief, put a penny into his hat, saying, " There, there, don't let me see you begging here again ! " The good-natured banker took the coin and put it in his pocket, and for many yea*s related the anecdote with great glee to many of his friends.* His large family was a plea^or raising a second subscription in his aid; and the late Mr. Tegg, with a few friends, subscribed £400, and placed him in the Grasshopper Coffee House, in Grace- church Street. Here he was again unsuccessful. An Independent * The Editor had these anecdotes from Mr. Tegg himself. INTRODUCTION. V minister suggested a different vocation, and he became a preacher at the Weigh House Chapel. He was at the same time one of the ,r editors of the Patriot newspaper. In 1836-7 he suffered twice from paralysis ; and a third attack rendered him helpless. He continued gradually to sink, and expired at Grove Place, Tottenham, 6th November, 1842, aged 63 years. ■"■.„* The Publishers, having frequently been asked to print tliese trials of "William Hone, have now done so ; they must not, however, be in any way held responsible for t^e' doctrine or teaching encited in the course of the trials. The work is now produced in its original form, as a supplement to his popular works, — The Hvery Day Booh, Table Booh, and Yea/r Booh. The Parodies may be read, and taken as an exhibition of political feeling, at a time when party spirit ran high, rather than as a cool and imprudent attempt to bring certain portions of Teligion into ridicule. The trials? too, are curiOu^Jt another way, setting aside religious feeling, as showing the desire of the Government at that time to regulate the opinions of the Press. The work, therefore, is int'erestiag, showing the manner in which public prosecutions were conducted at that period. It has been truly said that the Parodies were the "Bane"' to "Hone's Life,'' but the splendid ideas enunciated in his Every Day Booh, &c., were " The Antidote." WILLIAM TEGG. Panckas Lane, 1876. \* The original titles of " The Trials* are placed at the end of the work, in case any gentleman feels desirous to hind them np with the volume. The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924031035581 ADDEESS I INTIMATED an intention of exhorting my fellow-citizens against parodyfiig Scripture or the forms of worship established by law. I am glad to find that the intimation had the effect I wished. Had the B|9,rodies been re-published in the way I anticipated, the Ministers of the Crown might perhaps have essayed another alarum to the weak-minded ; and — as there is no calculating upon the move- ments of folly — have asked Parliament for another suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. They are laughed out of Court ; but instead of arising and putting their house in order, and going forth — like sensible men — and doing as one of old did, they still seek unrefreshing slumbers upon the bed of office. The solemn bigotry of one of my Prosecutors, the nohle Secretary of State for the Home Department, reposes beneath the unblushing hypocrisy of another of my Prosecutors — my brother parodist — the Bight Honourable President of the Board of Control. Hence, if they 'ikeep their places during the year, we may expect four New Lot- teries, at least, with improved Schemes, and an increased number of Bible Societies and Executions. WILLIAM HONE. Januakt 23, 1818. FIEST TEIAL. THE KING AGAINST WILLIAM HONE, ON AN EX-OFFIOIO INFOBMATION FOE PUBLISHING THE LATE JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM. ^ Tkied in Guildhall, London, on Thursday, Decembee 18, 1817, at the London Siiiings attek Michaelmas Tebm. BEFORE ME. JUSTICE ABBOTT* AND A SPECIAL JUET. The Trial of this issue excited considerable interest. So early as eight o'clock the avenues leading to the Court became crowded ; the doors were thrown open shortly after, and the Court im- mediately filled. About twenty minutes after nine o'clock, Mr. Hone entered, attended by a youth, his brother, who placed on the table of the Court several parcels of books and papers, which nearly covered the table. About half-past nine o'clock Mr. Justice Abbott took his seat on the Bench, and the following Special Jury were ii^ediately sworn : John Godwin Bowkinq, LBadenhall Street. ■WiiiBlAM Syme, Fenohurch Buildings. John Woollett, Gould Square. John 0'BKtEN,Broad Street Buildings. William Noakes, Little Eastoheap, South Side, Tfiue merchant. John Gaedihee, Old Broad Street. Nicholas Hilton, Ironmonger Lane. Samuel Beooe, Old Jewry. James Huniee, Barge Yard. Wtt.t.tam Thompson, Queen Street. Thomas Lewis, Queen Street. Thomas Edwabds, Coleman Street. * Afterwards Lord Tenterden. B 2 % FIRST TRIAL. Mr. Shepherd (son to the Attorney-General) stated, that this was an information filed by his Majesty's Attorney-General against the defendant, for printing an(^ publishing a certain impious, profane, and scandalous libel on that part of our church service called the Catechism, with intent to excite impiety and irreligion in the minds of his Majesty's liege subjects, to ridicule and scandalise the Christian religion, and to bring into contempt the Catechism. The Attorney-Generai (Sir Samuel Shepherd) addressed the Court as follows : — My Lord, and Gentlemen of the Jury — You have understood from my young friend the nature of this cause. It is an informa- tion filed by me, as Attorney-General, against the defendant, William Hone, for printing and publishing an impious and profane libel, upon The Catechism, The Lord's Prayer, and Tlie Ten Gonvmamdments, and thereby bringing into contempt the Christian Religion. I won't occupy your time long, gentlemen, in showing this to be the effect of the publication, for it seems impossible for me to hear it read without feeling one's-self compelled to apply to it this language. It is charged, and, as I think, justly charged, with being a profane, blasphemous, and impious libel. It has nothing of a* political tendency about it, but it is avowedly set off against the religion and worship of the Church of England, as established by Act of Parliament. It has been over and over again said by the most eminent judges, and particularly by one who was the most learned man that ever adorned the bench — the most even man that ever blessed domestje life — the most eminent man that ever advanced the progress of science — and also one of the best and most purely religious men that ever lived. I speak of Six Matthew Hale.* It was by him in one sentence said, that "the Christian Religion is parcel of the Common Law of England." The service of the Church of England is also part of the statute law of England ; for in the reign of Charles the Second, for securing uniformity of publiS prayer in the Church of England, a book, commonly called "The • Chief-Justiceslup of the King's Bench. Bom, 1609. Died 1676. FIRST TRIAL. 6 Book of Common Prayer," -was not composed, but collected, and annexed to an Act of Parliament tten framed, as part of the enacted form of the liturgy of the Church of England. If to revile that — if to bring it into contempt, be not a libel, thea Christianity no longer is what Sir Matthew Hale described it — " parcel of the Common Law of England," nor this sacred book a part of the statute law of the land, because in such an event the law must declare its inability to support its own provisions. In that book there is a catechism, the object of which is most important, because it is that part which is peculiarly destined for forming in the minds of the younger classes of the community that proper foundation for religious belief which is to influence their future conduct. It is that part which the ministers of the Church of England are peculiarly bound to teach to those between the infant and adult state at certain periods of time ; it is that part which all who are initiated into Christianity through baptism must be confirmed before they come to their pastor in an adult state. To procure this important object, it consists of three parts : — 1st, The Service of the Church of England ; 2nd, The Apostles Creed (which is professed by every class of Christians, no matter what be their particular form of worship) ; and 3rd, The Ten Commandments, which were of divine origin, communicated originally from the mouth of God through Moses to the Jews. These form the foundation of all our religious and moral duties ; they are those which, if men would but obey, there would be an end to strife; nothing but peace and happiness could then be found in human society. This book ("The Book of Common Prayer ") has also the Lord's Prayer, as in his sacred and blessed Sermon on the Mount. If these works be not what ought to be held sacred from ridicule, what is there which can be called so in the mind of a Christian 1 I take this to be a proposition of law, that he who attempts to parody these three sacred parts of Christian belief, and present^them to the mind in a ridiculous shape, does that which is calculated to bring them into contemfit, and is therefore, by the law of the land, guilty of a libel. It cannot be necessary to Christian minds to reason on the baneful effect of 4 »* FIRST TRIAL. such a publication as the defendant's. If any of you, gentlemen, be fathers, and wish your children to hold in reverence the sacred subjects of Christian belief, read these publications of the defend- ant, and say if you would put them into the hands of those children you love. If you would not put them into their hands, would you into those of the lower classes of society, which are not fit to cope with the sort of topics which are artfully raised for them ? I ask you, if it be possible, that after such publications are thus cheaply thrown among this class of people, they can, with the same degree of reverence that becomes the subject, look at the contents of the Sacred Book of our belief] Nay, even in better cultivated minds, the firmness of moral rectitude is shaken, and it often becomes necessary to make great mental exertion to shake ofi" the influence of these productions, and recall the mind to a true feeling towards sacred truths. They are inevitably calculated to weaken the reverence felt for the Christian faith. It may be said that the defendant's object was not to produce this effect — I believe that he meant it, in one sense, as a political squib, but his responsibility is not the less, for he has parodied " The Catechism " in terms which it is impossible to believe 'can have any other efiiect than that of bringing it into contempt. The publication is called "A Catechism ; that is to say, An Instruction to be learned of every person before he be brought to be confirmed a Placeman or Pensioner by the Minister." The jury will see these are the very words of the original in parody. Again, The Apostles Greed is also in complete parody. We say, "I believe in God," &c., FIKST TRIAL. understand tHe law of England, and the precepts of Christianity, ■which are part and parcel of that law, can read this production of the defendant's without being decidedly of opinion that it is impossible to read it without seeing that its necessary and obvious consequence must be to bring into contempt the Liturgy of the Church of England. I forbear, gentlemen, from reading any more of this production, as it wiU shortly be read by the clerk. I shall now go to prove the publication by the defendant ; it will be for you to take it fairly and fully under your investigation, and, according to the solemn obligation you have taken — that obliga- tion of an oath which is founded on religion, or it is no oath at all — decide upon it ; and so help you God. The Attoeney-Genebal then called witnesses to prove th^ publication of the parodies by the defendant. G|pi£n Swanson, examined by Mr. Topping. He held in his hand a pamphlet, called " Wilkes's Catechism," which he bought ifin the 17*^ of February last, at Mr. Hone's, shop, No. 55, Fleet Street. He bought it from a boy or a girl in this sh^ which then had Mr. Hone's name over the door. The girl, he believed, said she was Mr. Hone's daughter. Twopence- was the price of it. He bought pamphlets afterwards at th& same place, and marked themnj the time. He observed bills in the window, that a publication by the name of this Catechism was sold there, but he could not recollect whether there were postino- bills advertising it. Henry Hutchings, examined hy Mr. Eichardson. . On the 7th of February last, he was the landlord of a shop, No. 55, Fleet Street, and Mr. Hone, now in Court, was then Ms tenant, and up to Midsummer. He used to sell books and pamphlets. The parish was situate in St. Dunstan's in the West and he believed in the City of London. Thomas White, examined hy Mr. Shepherd. Was Clerk of the Inner Treasury at the King's Bench, and produced "The Book of Common P^yer" and the Seal. He- FIBST TRIAL. 7 pointed out in the book the Church Catechism, signed by the Com- missioners, and exemplified by the Great Seal. It corresponded to the publications by the King's Printers and the Universities. Mr. Justice Abbott — It would be a highly penal ofience to publish as from authority any other than the real authenticated form. Mr. Thomas "White — Certainly, my Lord. Here the printed Catechism, with the publication of which the Defendant stood charged, was put in and ifead by the Clerk. It was as follows : — " The late John Wilkes's Catechism of a Ministerial Member ; j_ taken from an Original Manuscript in Mr. W#kes's Hand- writing, never before printed, and adapted to the present Occasion. — ^With Permission. — London : Printed for one of the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the "♦King's Most Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, Thr«e* Doors^ftom Ludgate Hill. 1817. Price Twopence. "A Catechism, th^is to say, An Instruction, to be learned«i? every person before he be brought to be confirmed a Placeman or Pensioner by the Minister.'' Question. What is your name 1 Answer. Lick Spittle. Q. Who gave you this name J A. My Sureties to the Ministry, in my Political Change, wherein I was made a Member of the Majority, the Child of Cor- ruption, and a Locust to devour the good things of this kingdom. Q. What did your Sureties then for you ? A. They did promise and vow three things in my Name. Pirst, that I should renounce the Reformists and all their Works, the pomps and vanity of Popular Favour, and all the sinful lusts of Independence. Secondly, that I shoiild believe all the Articles of the Court Faith. And thirdly, that I should keep the Minis- ter's sole Will and Commandments, and fialk in the same aU the days of my life. •* 8 FIRST TRIAL. ^ . Q. Dost thou not think that thou art bound to believe and to do as they have promised for thee ? A. Yes, verily, and for my own sake, so I will; and I heartily thank our heaven-bom Ministry, that they have called me to this state of elevation, through my own flattery, cringing, and bribery ; and I shall pray to their successors to give me their assistance, that I may continue the same unto my life's end. Q. Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief. A. I believe in George, the Regent Almighty, Maker of New Streets, and Knights of the Bath. And in the present Ministry, his only choice, who were con- ceived of Tojyism, brought forth of William Pitt, sufiered loss of Place under Charles James Fox, were execrated, dead, and buried. In a few months they rose again from their miuority ; they reascen^ed to the Treasury benches, and sit at the right hand of a little man with a large wig ; from whence they laugh at the Petitions of the P^eople who may pray for Reform, and that the sweat of their brow may procure them bread. I J)elieve that King James the Second was a legitimate Sovereign, and that King William the Third tras not ; that the Pretender was of the right line ; and that Greorge the Third's grandfather was not ; that the dynasty of Bourbon is immortal ; and that the glass in the eye of Lord James Murray was not Betty Martin. I believe in the immaculate purity of the Committee of Finance, in the independence of the Committee of Secrecy, and that the Pitt System is everlasting. Amen. Q. What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy Belief 1 A. First, I learn to forswear all conscience, which was never meant to trouble me, nor the rest of the tribe of Courtiers. Secondly, to swear black is white, or white black, according to the good pleasure of the Ministers. Thirdly, to put on the helmet of Impudence, the only armour against the shafts of Patriotism. Q. You said that your Sureties did promise for you, that you should keep the Minister's Commandments : tell me how many there be ? • A. Ten. 9 FIRST TRIAL. 9 Q. Which be they ? A. The same to which the Minister for the time being always obliges all his creatures to swear, I the Minister am the Lord thy * liege, who brought thee out of "Want and Beggary, into the House of Commons. I. Thou shalt have no other Patron but me. II. Thou shalt not support any measure but mine, nor shalt thou frame clauses of any bill in its progress to the House above, or in the Committee beneath, or when the mace is under the table, except it be mine. Thou shalt not bow to Lord Cocheane, nor shake hands with him, nbr any other of my real opponents ; for I thy Lord am a jealous Minister, and forbid familiarity of the Majority, with the Friends of the People, unto the third and fourth cousins of them that divide against me ; and give places, and thousands and tens of thousands, to them that divide with me, and keep my Commandments. III. Thou shalt not take the Pension of thy Lord the Minister in vain ; for I the Minister will force him to accept the Chilterns that taketh my Pension in vain. IV. Remember that thou attend the Minister's Levee day ; on other days thou shalt speak for him in the House, and fetch and carry, and do all that he commandeth thee to do ; but the Levee day is for the glorification of the Minister thy Lord : In it thou shalt do no work in the House, but shalt wait upon him, thou and thy daughter, and thy wife, and the Members that are within his influence ; for on other days the Minister is inaccesible, but delighteth in tie Levee day ; wherefore the Minister appointed the Levee day, and chatteth thereon familiarly, and is amused with it. y. Honour the Regent and the helmets of the Life Guards, that thy stay may be long in the Place, which the Lord thy Minister giveth thee. YI. Thou shalt not call starving to death murder. VII. Thou shalt not call Royal gallivanting adultery. VIII. Thou shalt not say, that to rob the Public is to steal. IX. Thou shalt bear false witness against the peOTle. 10 FIRST TRIAL. X. Thou shalt not covet the People's applause, thou shalt not covet the People's praise, nor their good name, nor their esteem, ■ nor their reverence, nor any reward that is theirs. Q. What dost thou chiefly learn by these Commandments ? A. I learn two things — my duty towards the Minister, and my duty towards myself. ' Q. What is thy duty towards the Minister 1 A. My duty towards the Minister is, to trust him as much as I can ; to fear him ; to honour him with aU my words, with all my bows, with all my scrapes, and all my cringes ; to flatter him ; to give him thanks ; to give up my whole soul to him ; to idolise his name, and obey his word ; and serve him blindly aU the days of his political life. Q. ^Tiat is thy duty towards thyself? A. My duty towards myself is to love nobody but myself, and to do unto most men what I would not that they should do unto me ; to sacrifice unto my own interest even my father and mother ; to pay little reverence to the King, but to compensate that omission by my servility to all that are put in authority under him ; to lick the dust under the feet of my superiors, and to shake a rod of iron over the backs of my inferiors ; to spare the People by neither word nor deed ; to observe neither truth nor justice in my dealings with them ; to bear them malice and hatred in my heart ; and where their wives and properties are concerned, to keep my body neither in temperance, soberness, nor chastity, but to give my hands to picking and stealing, and my tongue to evil speaking a,nd lying, and slander of their efforts to defend their liberties and recover their rights ; never faUing to envy their privileges, and to learn to get the Pensions of myself and my colleagues out of the People's labour, and to do my duty in that department of public plunder unto which it shall please the Minister to call me. Q. My good Courtier, know this, that thou art not able of thyself to preserve the Minister's favour, nor to walk in his Com- mandments, nor to serve him, without his special protection ; which thou must at all times learn to obtain by dUigent applica- FIRST TRIAL. 11 tion. Let me hear, therefore, if thou canst rehearse the Minister's Memorial. Answer. Our Lord, who art in the Treasury, whatsoever be thy name, thy power be prolonged, thy wilt be done throughout the empire, as it is in each session. Give us our usual sops, and forgive us our occasional absences on divisions j as we promise not to forgive them that divide against thee. Turn us not out of our places ; but keep us in the House of Commons, the land of pensions and plenty ; and deliver us from the People. Amen. Q. What desirest thou of the Minister in this Memorial 1 A. I desire the Minister, our Patron, who is the disposer of the Nation's overstrained Taxation, to give his protection unto me and to all Pensioners and Placemen, that we may vote for him, serve him, and obey him, as far as we find it convenient ; and I beseech the Minister that he will give us all things that be need- ful, both for our reputation and appearance in the House and out of it ; that he will be favourable to us, and forgive us our negli- gences j that it will please him to save and defend us, in all dangers of life and limb, f»om the People, our natural enemies ; and that he will help us in fleecing and grinding them ; and this I trust he will do out of care for himself, and our support of him through our corruption and influence ; and therefore I say Amen. So be it. Q. How many Tests hath the Minister ordained 1 A. Two only, as generally necessary to elevation ; (that is to say) Passive Obedience and Bribery. Q. "What meanest thou by this word Test ? A. I mean an outward visible sign of an inward intellectual meanness, ordained by the Minister himself as a pledge to assure him thereof. Q. How many parts are there in this Test 1 A. Two; the outward visible sign, and the intellectual meanness. Q. What is the outward visible sign or form of Passive Obedience 1 12 FIRST TRIAL. A. Dangling at the Minister's heels, whereby the person is degraded beneath the baseness of a slave, in the character of a Pensioner, Placeman, Expectant Parasite, Toadeater, or Lord of the Bedchamber. Q. "What is the inward intellectual meanness 1 A. A Death unto Freedom, a subjection unto perpetual Thraldom : for being by nature born free, and the children of In- dependence, we are hereby made children of Slavery. Q. What is required of persons submittiag to the Test of Passive Obedience ? A. Apostasy, whereby they forsake Liberty ; and Faith, whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of the Minister, made to them upon submitting to that Test. Q. Why was the Test of Bribery ordained 1 A. For the continual support of the Minister's influence, and the feeding of us, his needy creatures and sycophants. Q. What is the outward part or sign in the Test of Bribery ? A. Bank notes, which the Minister hath commanded to be offered by his dependents. Q. Why then are beggars submitted to this Test, when by reason of their poverty they are not able to go through the neces- sary forms? A. Because they promise them by their Sureties ; which pro- mise, when they come to hicrative offices, they themselves are bound to perform. Q. What is the inward part, or thing signified ? A. The industry and wealth of the People, which are verily and indeed taken and had by Pensioners and Sinecurists, in their Corruption. Q. What are the benefits whereof you are partakers thereby 1 A. The weakening and impoverishing the People, through the loss of their Liberty and Property, while our wealth becomes enormous, and our pride intolerable. Q. What is required of them who submit to the Test of Bribery and Corruption ? A. To examine themselves, whether they repent them truly FIRST TRIAL. 13 of any signs of former honour and patriotism, steadfastly purpos- ing henceforward to be faithful towards the Minister ; to draw on and oflf like his glove ; to crouch to him like a spaniel ; to purvey for him like a jackall ; to be as supple to him as Alderman Sir William Turtle ; to have the most lively faith in the Funds, especially in the Sinking Fund; to believe the words of Lord Castlereagh alone ; to have remembrance of nothing but what is in the Courier: to hate Matthew Wood, the present Lord Mayor, and his second Mayoralty; with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength ; to admire Sir John Sylvester, the Recorder, and Mr. John Langley; and to be in charity with those only who have something to give. [Here endeth the Catechisni.j This being the whole of the case on the part of the prosecutioUi Mr. Hone rose, and addressed the Court to the following pur- port : — He called upon the jury, as earnestly and as solemnly as the Attorney-General had done, to decide upon this case according to their oaths. If he felt any embarrassment on this occasion, and he felt a great deal, it was because he was not in the habit of ad- dressing an assembly like that : he had never, indeed, addressed any assembly whatever ; and, therefore, he hoped that they and the Court would show their indulgence to him, standing there as he did, unassisted by counsel, to make his own defence. If he were really guilty of this libel, as the Attorney-General had called it, he should not have stood there this day. So far back as May, he was arrested under a warrant by the Lord Chief Justice of that Court, Lord EUenborough, and brought suddenly to plead to in- formations filed against him. He did not plead, because he con- ceived the proceeding by information to be unconstitutional, and he thought so still. However ancient this mode of proceeding miffht be, he was satisfied that it was never intended to be exer- cised in the way that it had been of late years. By this process, every man in the kingdom, however innocent he might be, was entirely. at the mercy of the Attorney-General, and of the Govern- 14 FIRST TfilAI,. ment. There was no security for honour, integrity, and virtue ; no presentment to a jury, no previous inquiry; the victim was taken in a summary way by warrants, and brought to answer suddenly to informations of which he was wholly ignorant. Another objection which he had to plead on that occasion was, the enormous expense that must have been incurred. He had been given to understand, that making his defence in the usual way, by solicitor and counsel, would cost £100, which would have been utter ruin, to him. He applied to the Court for copies of the informations, but the Court did not grant him those copies. He was sorry for this, because if they had been granted, he should have known what he was specifically charged with. On Friday last, he applied for copies at the Crown Office, and upon paying the customary charges, he procured them. When he was placed on the floor of the Court of King's Bench, the late Attorney-General, Sir William Garrow, stated, that the informations charged him with blasphemous publications. Now he found, that this informa- tion did not charge him with blasphemous publications ; it charged that he, being an impious and wickedly disposed person, and intending to excite impiety and irreUgion, did publish that which was stated in the information. And here he must beg leave to call to their attention the great prejudice which had been raised against him throughout the country by this circumstance, and the injury which he had sustained by misrepresentations coming from the highest authorities in the country. The late Attorney-General had charged him with a second information, and he then observed, that whether he were charged with one information, or 300 infor- mations, he would not plead unless copies were given to him. The Attorney-General in reply, observed, that the number of informa- tions depended on the number of publications. He did not, how- ever, mean to charge Sir William Garrow with any intention to produce an unfavourable impression in the public mind against him. But he must say, and he would say it boldly, because he said it truly, that no man was ever treated with greater injustice than he was by Lord Ellenborough. Previous to his arrest, under a warrant issued by hia lordship, ho had not been out of the house FIRST TRIAL. 15 all the ■week : he had been engaged in writing, and no application had been made by any one to see him of which he did not hear. Two officers seized him near his own door upon the warrant of Lord Ellenborough and refused to let him go home, without stating any reason why they made that refusal. He was taken to Ser- geant's-Inn Coffee-House, and afterwards carried to a lock-up house in Shire Lane, where he remained till half-past five, anxiously ex- pecting Mr. Gibbon, the tipstaff (who, he was told, was coming), in order that he might learn from him the charge, and send for friends to bail him. Gibbon did not come, and he remained ignorant of the charge. On the Monday following, E3»a moment when he was retiring for the purposes of nature, he was put into a coach, and ordered to be taken to Westminster Hall to plead ; but even then the officer could not tell him to what he waS' to plead. While in the coach, he found it almost impossible to keep himself from fainting ; but he was told, that when he arrived at West- minster, sufficient time would be allowed him. He was. however, taken into Court, and whilst one of the informations was being read, a mist came before his eyes, he felt giddy, and applied for leave to sit. The answer of Lord Ellenborough was " No ;" and it was pronounced with an intonation that might have been heard at the further end of the hall. This refusal, instead of making him sink on the floor, as he had before expected to do, had the effect that a glass of water on being thrown into his face would have had, and he felt perfectly relieved. At the same time, how- ever, he could not help feeling contempt for the inhumanity of the judge. He was then taken to the King's Bench, and was after- wards found senseless in his room there, not having performed an office of nature for several days. That arose out of the inhumanity of Lord Ellenborough. Here Mr. Justice Abbott interrupted the defendant, stating, that he had better apply himself to the charge against him. He was unwilling to interrupt any person who was making his defence ; but where, as in this case, it became absolutely necessary, he could not refrain. It was the duty of Lord Ellenborough to pursue the course of the Court, and it was customary for defend- 16 FIRST TEIAL. ants to stand while the informations filed against them were being read. The defendant proceeded — He should be sorry to be out of order, but he believed instances had been known in- which defend- ants were permitted to sit. He thought that such cases might be found in the state trials. But whether so or not, sndh was the feeling of Sir William Garrow, that he leaned over and whispered to him, " If you wish to retire for any purpose of nature, you can." He thanked him, and replied, that the purpose had gone by. He stated this because he should never forget the humanity which Sir William had shown on that occasion, and which formed a strong contrast to the behaviour of the judge whom he had mentioned. Having stated these fac|s, he would not take up their timfipn detaJimg what he endured for two months in the King's Bench ; suffice it to say, that he, had suffered the utmost distress in a domestic way, and very considerable loss in a pecu- niary way. He had gained nothing there but a severe lesson. He learned that, however honourable a man's intention might be, they might be construed into guilt, and the whole nation might be raised against him, except, indeed, the few cool, dispassionate, and sober persons who would read such publications as the present calmly, and determine upon the motives of the writer. It was upon this intention that they (the jury) were to decide. The Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Shepherd, had stated, that this pub- lication was issued for a political squib. He quite agreed with the Attorney -General ; he joined issue with him upon this inter- pretation of the work ; it was published for a political squib, and if they found it a political squib, they would deliver a verdict of acquittal. If they found it an impious and blasphemous libel, they would consign him to that punishment from which he should ask no mercy. Tliis was the question which they were to try, and they had nothing to try but that. They had nothing to do with the tendency which his work might have out of doors, or the effect which it might produce in that Court, or, at least, they had so little to do with it, as not to suffer it to weigh a feather in their minds in returning their verdict to the Court. They would FIRST TRIAL. 17 remember, that lie -was not standing there as a defendant in an action brought by a private individual. In that case, they -would not have to look at the intention of the party ; they would have to assess the alnount of the damages ; but here they had every- thing to do with the intention of the party, and if they did not find that this political catechism was published with an impious and profane intention, they would give him a verdict of acquittal. The Attorney-General had stated, that the very smile of a person was an evidence of the tendency of this publication. He denied that. The smile might arise from something wholly different from the feeling of the person who wrote that publication. But he would now proceed to call their attention to a very important branch of this question. In 1771, it was the ^ention of certain intelligent persons. Members of the House of Commons, to explain the powers of juries relatiqjg to libels. Mr. Dowdeswell moved to bring in a bill for that purpose ; and Mr. Burke, than whom he could not quote a man whose authority would be greater in that Court, delivered a most eloquent and impressive speech on that occasion. He said, " It was the ancient privilege of Englishmen that they should be tried by a jury of their equals ; but that, by the proceeding by information, the whole virtue of juries was taken away. The spirit of the Star Chamber had transmigrated, and lived again ia the Courts of Westminster Hall, who borrowed from the Star Chamber what that Court had taken from the Roman law. A timid jury will give way to an awful judge, delivering oracularly the law, and charging them to beware of their oaths. They would do so ; they hacf done so ; nay, a respectable member of their own house had told them, that on the authority of a judge, he found a man guilty in whom he could find no guilt." Mr. Dowdeswell's bill was brought in, but it di(| not pass iato a law. Mr. Burke persevered in the same cause for a number of years, without success ; but ia 1790, the late Mr. Fox brought ia a bill, which was now called the Libel Bill, and it was under the authority of that solemn Act of Parliament that they now sat to tiy this information. This bUl had fixed the powers of juries ia cases of libel, and made it imperative on them to determine on the 18 FIRST TEIAL. whole of matters charged in the information. Now he was charged — with what? With intending to excite impiety and irreligion, not with having excited it ; so that, as the law stood before, if there had been but one copy printed, they would have been told to find him guilty, if it could be proved that the woEk was published by him ; but now, if he had sold 100,000 copies, it was the intention with which they had to do. As to blasphemy and profaneness, he spumed the charge ; and when he said he spumed it, he could assure them they should not hear him say one word to-day which he did not utter from his heart, and from the most perfect conviction. They were not to inquire whether he was a member of the Established Church or a Dissenter ; it was enough that he prqjJBSsed himself to be a Christian : and he would be bold to say, that he made that profession with a reverence for the doctrines of Christianity which could not be exceeded by any person in that Court. He had, however, been held up as a man unfit to live, as a blasphemer, a monster, a wretch ; he had been called a wretch who had kept body and soul together by the sale of blasphemous publications. If any man knew any one act of his life to which profaneness and impiety might be applied, he would ask and defy that man to stand forward and contradict him at that moment. He was innocent of that charge ; and it was the proudest day of his life to stand there, because he was not putting in a plea of n'ot guUty against a charge of infamous and blas- phemous libel ; for if he were guilty of blasphemy, he would go to the stake and burn as a blasphemer, at the same time avowing the blasphemy. He said this, because he considered nothing was dearer to man than sincerity. It had been the misfortune of his life to have his actions misinterpreted by the papers, by the lookers on — the, mere e very-day observers ; but there were a few individuals of the Established Church who knew everything alleged against him to be a foul and base calumny. It was im- possible for a man so humble in life as himself to wage war with opinions broached by a Secretary of State ; but when he heard Lord Sidmouth, in the House of Lords, rising every night and calling these little publications blasphemous, he had felt disposed FIRST TRIAL. 19 to interrupt him. The odds were terribly against him in a prosecution of this kind, for he had to contend -with the Secretary of State — a man -whose opinions were adopted by a great number of persons of the first rank and consideration, and whose private life was, he believed, unimpeachable. This eminent character was, however, like other men, liable to error, else he would not have denounced this publication as blasphemous in his place in the House of Lords. Even if it were so, was it justice to pronounce so decided an opinion, one which must necessarily carry so much weight and influence, before the proper course of inquiry and decision were had upon it t It was by these means that a war- whoop and yell were sent forth against him throughout the country. But, friendless and unprotected ass he was, he was obliged to submit, and hence his conduct had been held up to the amusement of the Hi-thinking throughout the country. He did not desire, for he did not know how, to obtain popularity ; he never went all lengths with any description of persons whatever. He was as independent in mind as any gentleman in that Court was iadependent in property: he had made to himself many enemies, because it is in human nature that the persons with whom we are intimate scarcely ever forgive one dereliction from what they consider duty. He always endeavoured to make up his mind as coolly as possible : sure he was, that if he ever did a man injury in his life, it was from mistake, and not from inten- tion. And he asked the jury, if they had ever seen any of his publications before, whether they had observed in them any- thing that would induce them to think that he was desirous of exciting impiety or profaneness ? No man in the country had a greater respect than himself for the constituted authorities ; if he differed from some public men in opinion, it was not at all times that he differed ; it was not because there was a common cry against a measure that he joined in it. He had told them it was the intention of which they were to judge ; and he would sit down immediately, if the Attorney-General could lay his hand on any publication in which, in any one passage or sentence, he could point out anything tending to degrade or villify the Christian 20 riKST TRIAL. religion. He stated this, not in bravado, but in the sincerity of his heart. If he were a man of a blasphemous turn of mind, it was scarcely possible, amongst the numerous works which he had published, and the greater part of them written by himself, that something of this kind .should not have appeared ; but what- ever opinions the Attorney-General might form respecting his notions of religion, he knew that he could not produce any blasphemous writings against him. He came now to another part of this subject. It was his fate, when he was taken to the King's Bench, although it might be an advantage to the country, to differ with the Master of the Crown Office, as to the way in which the special juries were returned. After the juries in his case were struck Here Mr. Justice Abbott again interrupted the defendant, observing, that he did not think this had any bearing on the question. He was sorry, he repeated, to interfere with his de- fence, but he had better confine himself to the point at issue. Mr. Hone said it had, he thought, a bearing on the question, and his lordship and the jury would see it in a short time. The juries to which he alluded were struck in what appeared to him a fair and an honourable way ; but Mr. Justice Abbott — I do not see the relevancy of what you are now stating. It is my duty to take care that the time of the Court should not be consumed improperly ; any other motive I cannot have. Mr. Hone said — That no person could be more anxious than himself to save the time of his lordship and of the jury. If the Attorney-General had asked him, he would have admitted the publication of the work in order to save time : but if he were prevented from going on with what he had begun to state, it would disarrange the whole of his defence. He brought forward his arguments in the best way he could, and he hoped for the indulgence of the Court. He would very briefly state what he saw of the mode of striking juries. The Master of the Crown Office took the book in his hand, and putting his pen between the leaves, selected the name that appeared against the pen. The FIRST TRIAL. 21 Master struck tkree juries for him in this way ; btit when he (the defendant) was leaving the office, he could not help observing, that out of 144 persons, there were only two whose names he had ever heard of before — he who had lived in London all his life, and had been actively engaged. One of them was Mr. Sharpe, and he only knew his name as a member of the House of Commons. When, therefore, he saw those names he began to reflect whether the Master had struck the juries from a proper list; and Mr. Pearson, his attorney, conceiving that it was not a proper book, he (the defendant) afterwards sent a solemn protest to the Master of the Crown Office, when he knew Mr. Litchfield, the Solicitor of the Treasury, would be present, against those juries, and the result was, that the Crown abandoned its special juries; Mr. Litchfield waved the three juries which had been struck in his case. The Crown consented to his discharge on his own recognis- ance. Three weeks ago these informations were revived, and notices given of fresh juries, and of this trial. He attended at the Crown Office, and he was glad to find that a new book of good jurymen was coming down to the office. He was told that a book ■containing the names of 8,000 persons in London would be sent down. The book came down, and the Master chose the juries as before, but he did not take the names against which his pen struck. Mr. Justice Abbott — I really cannot see how this bears upon the cause. I shall not discharge my own duty if I suffer you to proceed. I am unwilling to interfere, and prevent a defendant from stating anything that bears upon his case, but I cannot see the least bearing in what you are now stating. Mr. Hone could assure his lordship that he would not say ■anything disrespectful to the Court, but he thought the point most important, and he hoped he should be allowed to proceed. A Juryman said — He also thought it might be material, on account of the notice which the public prints had taken of this subject. The defendant, therefore, should have an opportunity of stating the facts truly. Mr. Justice Abbott regretted that the public prints should ti^itate these matters previous to trial. As one of the gentlemen 22 PinST TEIAL. of the jury, however, -wished to hear some explanation, th» defendant might proceed. Mr. Hone resumed — He had observed, that the Master did not take the name against -which the pen struck, and assigned na reason for taking the name of Webb in the place of Moxon. While the Master -was pricking the jury, defendant could not see the name he took. The Master stated that as there -was a ca-vil about the pen, he should nominate the jury as he thought proper He then opened the book, the Solicitor of the Treasury standing at the right hand, and Mr. Maule, assistant solicitor, standing on the left, and these two could see all the names. The Master went page after page selecting the jury, sometimes he gave four names in succession without turning over a leaf, at others he went over seven, eight, ten, or a dozen pages, regularly examining every page before he gave a name. In one instance he went over twenty-six pages, in another thirty-six pages with- out giving out a name. The defendant entered a protest against this mode of proceeding. He made an affidavit of the facts, and on a motion to the Court put it in. The Court decided (and tO' him it appeared the most extraordinary decision that ever was) that the Master was not bound to put the. pen in his book. Nay,. Lord Ellenborough, in the presence of Mr. Justice Abbott, said,, that if the Master gave the defendant names in that way, it would be giving a jury by lot, and that he was bound to select such persons as he thought proper. The defendant could oppos& nothing to that, except that it appeared to be an unfair mode. He did not think that it ever was in the contemplation of law that the Crown should select such persons as it choose. Under that impression he left the Court with what he conceived to be great injustice. The judges all said that to nominate meant ta select. Now he found that the Master of the Cro-wn Office was nominated to the Crown by the Court, that is to say, the Court nominated four or five persons to the Crown, who selected one of them to fill the office. Here, then, the Court nominated, and the crown selected, so that nomination was not in fact selection. He now came to his trial, and it was perfectly immaterial to him FIEST TRIAL. 23 of what opinion the jury were, satisfied as he was that they would return a true verdict. He had a very serious impression upon his, mind of what his situation would he if a verdict went against him. In that case he firmly believed that he should never return to his family from that Court. The Attorney- General was entitled to a reply ; and though the learned gentle- man had shown great courtesy, he could not expect him to wave that right. If he would, the defendant would engage to conclade in twenty minutes. He did not see any disposition of that kind, and he would therefore proceed. He should state nothing that was new, because he knew nothing that was new. He had his books about him, and it was from them that he must draw his defence. They had been the solace of his life ; and as to one of Mr. Jones's little rooms in the Bench, where he had enjoyed a delightful view of the Surrey hills, they would afford him great consolation there ; but his mind must be much distracted by the sufferings of his family. He knew no distinction between public and private life. Men should be consistent in their conduct; and he had endeavoured so to school his mind that he might give an explana- tion of every act of his life. If he had ever done an injury to any one, it was by accident, and not by design ; and, though some persons had lost money by him, there was not one who -would say that he did not entertain a respect for him (the defendant). From being a book-dealer he became a bookseller; and what was very unfortunate, he was too much attached to his books to part with them. He had a wife and seven children, and had latterly employed himself in writing for their support. As to parodies, they were as old at least as the invention of printing; aud he never heard of a prosecution for a parody, either religious or any other. There were two kinds of parodies ; one in which a man might convey ludicrous or ridiculous ideas relative to some other subject; the other, where it was meant to ridicule the thing parodied. The latter was not the case here, and therefore he had not brought religion into contempt. It was remarkable that in October last a most singular parody was inserted in the " Edinburgh Magazine," which was published by Mr. Blackwood. 24 FIRST TKIAL. The parody was written with a great deal of ability, and it was impossible but that the authors must have heard of this prosecu- tion. , The parody was made on a certaia chapter of Ezekiel, and was introduced by a pre&ce, stating that it was a translation of a Chaldee manuscript preserved ia a great library at Paris. There was a key to the parody which furnished the names of the persons described in it. The key was not published, but he had obtained a copy of it. Mr. Blackwood is telling his own story ; and the two cherubims were Mr. Cleghom, a farmer, and Mr. Pringle, a schoolmaster, who liad been engaged with him as editor of a former magazine ; the " crafty man" was Mr. Constable ; and the work that " ruled the nation " was the " Edinburgh Eeview." The defendant then read a long extract from the parody, of which the following is a specimen : — " Now, in those days, there lived also a man who was crafty in counsel, and cunning in all manner of working : and I beheld the man, and he was comely and well favoured, and he had a notable horn in his forehead wherewith he ruled the nations. And I saw the horn that it had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and it magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it grew and prospered. And when this man saw the book, and beheld the things that were in the book, he was troubled in spirit and much cast down. And he said unto himself, why stand I idle here, and why do I not bestir myself? Lo ! this book shall become a devouring sword in the hand of my adversary, and with it wUl he root up or loosen the horn that is in my forehead, and the hope of my gains shall perish from the face of the earth. And he hated the book, and the two beasts that had put words into the book, for he judged according to the reports of menj nevertheless, the man was crafty in counsel, and more cunning than his fellows. And he said unto the two beasts, come ye and put your trust under the shadow of my wings, and we will destroy the man whose name is as ebony, and his book." He observed, that Mr. Blackwood was much respected by a great number of persons. riEST TKIAL. 25 Mr. Justice Abbott said — He could not think their respect could be increased by such a publication. He muSt express his disapprobation of it ; and at the same time observed, that the defendant by citing it, vras only defending one offence by another. The Attorney-General said — He had been thinking for the last tew minutes where a person in his situation could interrupt a defendant. He now rose to make an objection in point of law. The defendant was stating certain facts of previous publications, and a question might arise as to the proof of them. The same objection applied to the legality of his statement. The defendant had no more right to state any previous libel by way of parody, than a person charged with obscenity had of bringing volumes on the table and exhibiting them in his defence. The defendant had no right to be stating, and so to be publishing, things which had better remain on tlie shelves in a bookseller's shop than be in the hands of the public. Mr. Hone said — That the Attorney-General called this parody a libel, but it was not a libel till a jury had found it to be so. His was not a libel, or why did he stand there to defend it 1 In taking this course of defence, he did not take it as a selection of modes ; it was his only mode. He had no intention to send forth any offensive publication to the world, but merely to defend him- self. Wlien he heard that his own parodies had given pain to some minds, he was sorry for it. This sort of writing was familiar to him from his course of reading. This parody, called "Wilkes's Catechism," was published by him on the 14:th of February, and on the 22nd he stopped the sale of the other pamphlets. He should adduce evidence to show that this sort of writing had never been prosecuted. He then held in his hand a little publication drawn up by the late Dr. Letfcsom, showing the effects of temperance and intemperance, by diverging lines, as a man gets from water to strong beer, and from strong beer to spirituous liquors and habits of brutal intoxication. He took this as a popular mode of conveying instruction with preservation of health, and had no intention to ridicule the thermometer on the plan on which it was framed. 26 FIEST TRIAL. He (the defendant) knew there were some most excellent persons who occaaionally made applications of the Scripture in a way which they would not do in the pulpit. In 1518, a parody of the first verse of the first psalm was written by a man whom every individual in this Court would esteem — a man to whom we were indebted for liberty of conscience, and finally for all the blessings of the Eeformation itself — he meant Martin Luther. In the first volume of " Jortin's Life of Erasmus," page 117, the following parody, on the first verse of the first psalm, to which he had alluded, appeared : " Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the way of the Sacramentarians, nor sat in the seat of the Zuinglians, or followed the coimsel of the Zurichers." Would any man say that Martin Luther was a blasphemer ] and he was a parodist as well as William Hone. But parodies had been published even in the pulpit. He had then in his hand a parody on the Lord's Prayer, delivered in the pulpit by Dr. John Boys, Dean of Canterbury, in 1613, and which was afterwards inserted in a foUo volume of his works which he published. He stated, that he gained great applause by preaching on that occasion, which occurred on the 5th of November, 1600. The parody ran in these words : " Our Pope, which art in Home, heUish be thy name, give us this day our cup in the Lord's supper," and so on. Mr. Justice Abbott thought it better that the defendant should not read any more of this parody ; it could only shock the ears of well-disposed and religious persons ; and he must again repeat, that the law did not allow one ofience to be vindicated by another. He wished the defendant would not read such things. Mr. Hone — My lord, your ' lordship's observation is in the very spirit of what Pope Leo X. said to Martin Luther — " For God's sake don't say a word about the indulgencies and the monas- teries, and I'll give you a living," thus precluding him from mentioning the very thing in dispute. I must go on with these parodies, said Mr. Hone, or I cannot go on with my defence. The next book he should refer to was a volume of sermons by Bishop Latimer, in which there was one illustrated by a game of FIRST TRIAL. 27 cards. He recollected to have seen an old book of sermons with a wooden cut, in which the clergyman was represented holding out a card in his hand from the pulpit. He had no doubt but that wooden out was a portrait of the Bishop preaching the very- sermon to which he was about to call the attention of the jury. Let it be recollected that the author of this sermon was the great Latimer, who suffered for the truth. "Would any one venture to say that he meant to ridicule religion ? Many of the sermons were preached before the King and the Privy Council : that to which he referred was the 64th, and entitled " The first of two sermons of the Card, preached at Cambridge, in Advent, 1526." The E,ev. Bishop says, "And because I cannot declare Christ's rule unto you at one time as it ought to be done, I wUl apply myself according to your custom at this time of Christmas. I will, as I said, declare unto you Christ's rule, but that shall be in Christ's cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's rule. The game that we will play at shall be the triumph [this word triumph, said Mr. Hone, is what we now call trwmp, which is a corruption of the original term], which, if it be well played at, he that dealeth shall win, and the standers and lookers upon shall do the same ; insomuch that there is no man that is willing to play at this triumph with these cards but they shall be all winners and no losers ; let, therefore, every Christian man and woman play at these cards, that they may have and obtain the triumph. You must mark, also, that the triumph must apply to fetch home unto him all the other cards, whatsoever suit they be of. Now, then, take you this first card, which must appear and be showed unto you as foUoweth : — You have heard what was spoken to men of the old law — ^Thou shalt not kill ; whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of judgment; and whosoever shall say unto his neighbour Todra (that is to say brainless, or any other word of rebuking) shall be in danger of a council ; and whosoever shall say unto his neighbour fool, shall be in danger of Hell fire." This card was made and spoken by Christ himself. He would not take up the time of the Court by reading the whole of what the reverend prelate had said, but would confine himself to a passage where he 28 FIRST TRIAL. described bad passions under tlie name of Turks. " Ttese evil disposed affections and sensualities ia us are always contrary to our salvation. What shall we do now or imagine to thrust down these Turks, and to subdue them 1 It is a great ignominy and shame for a Christian man to be bound and subject unto a Turk. Nay, it shall not be so ; we will first cast a trump [here the, word trump is used] in their way, and play with them at cards who shall have the better. Let us play, therefore, on this fashion with this card. Whensoever it shall happen these foul passions and Turks do rise in our stomachs against our brother or neighbour, either for unkind words, injuries, or wrongs, which they have done unto us contrary unto our mind, straightway let us call unto our remembrance and speak that question, unto ourselves, ' Who art thou 1 ' The Bishop had taken his text from John i. 9. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him 'Who art thou V In the course of the sermon, therefore, this question, 'who art thou ?' is often intro- duced. The answer (continues the Bishop) is, 'I am a Christian man.' Then further we must say to ourselves — ' What requireth Christ of a Christian man?' Now turn up your trump, your heart (hearts is trump, as I said before), and cast your trump, your heart, on this card, and upon this card you shall learn what Chrish requireth of a Christian man : not to be angry or moved to ire against his neighbour in mind, countenance, or otherwise, by word or deed. Then take up this card with your heart, and lay them together; that done, you have won the game of the Turk, whereby you have defaced and overcome by true and lawful play." As he said before, he was confident that the wooden cut he had seen in the old book of sermons represented the bishop in the act of holding up the card referred to. He had introduced this extract from Bishop Latimer to show that the most pious men frequently resorted to means of illustrating even sacred things in a way which others might consider very extraordinary. He was aware that many worthy men condemned parodies ; but it was not his business to eulogise this or any other parody • it was sufficient to show, that the practice of composing them had FIRST TRIAL. 29 existed, and had been followed by tte most venerable and respected characters this country ever produced. He should now turn to that celebrated collection, the " Harleian Miscellany," the second volume of which, being Mr. Button's octavo edition, contained an article entitled "The plague of Westminster, or an order for the visitation of a sick Parliament, grievously troubled with a new disease, called the consumption of their Members." The persons visited are, the Earl of Suffolk, the Earl of Lincoln, Lord Eundson, the Earl of Middlesex, the Lord Barkley, the Lord Willoughby, the Lord Maynard, Sir John Maynard, Master Glyn, Eecorder of London; with a form of prayer, and other rites and ceremonies, to be used for their recovery; strictly commanded to be used in all churches, chapels, and congregations, throughout his Majesty's three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Printed for Y. V. in the year 1647, quarto, containing six pages. Let all the long abused people of this kingdom speedily repair for the remedy of all their grievances to the high place at "Westminster; and so soon as entered into the Lord's House let them reverently kneel down upon their bare knees, and say this new prayer and exhortation following : " Almighty and everlasting Lords, we acknowledge and confess from the bottom of our hearts, that you have most justly plagued us' these full seven years for our manifold sins and iniquities. Forasmuch as we have not rebelled against you, but against the King, our most gracious Lord, to the abundant sorrow of our relenting hearts, to whose empty chair we now bow in all reverence, in token of our duty and obedience. For we now too well (0 Lords) understand that we have grievously sinned, which hath made your honours give us as a spoil unto robbers — ^viz., your committees, sequestrators, exisemen, and pursuivants," &c. The parties are then desired, if they find no redress, to turn to the House of Commons ; after which, this direction follows : — " Here, let all the people sing, Ps. xliii. Judge and revenge, &c.; and then facing about to Henry VIL's Chapel, let all the people rehearse the articles of their new reformed faith, and after say as follows ;"^The passage thus directed to be said, 30 FIRST TRIAL. and the whole article concludes thus :— " We beseech ye by all these, pray against the plaguy diseases your hypocrisy hath brought upon the two Houses of Parliament and the whole kingdom, by heresy, poverty, impeachments, banishments, and the like, amen. Then let the people sing the 41st Psalm, and so depart." He had already proved to the Court and jury that eminent and pious divines have been in the habit of approving an.d writing parodies. He should now show them that that species of composition had also been sanctioned, by the approbation of eminent lawyers. In a collection of tracts, by the great Lord Somers, there is a parody commencing thus ; — " Ecce ! — The New Testament of our Lords and Saviours, the House of our Lords and Saviours, the House of Commons, and the Supreme Council at Windsor. Newly translated out of their own heathenish Greek ordinances, with their former proceedings ; dUigently compared and revised, and appointed to be read in all conventicles. Chap. I. The Genealogy of the Parliament from the year 1640 to this present 1648. The conception of their brain, by the influence of the devil ; and born of Hell and Damnation, when they were espoused to Virtue. 1. The Book of the Generation of John Pirn, the son of Judas, the son of Beelzebub. 2. Pirn begat a Parliament, a Parliament begat Showd, Showd begat Hazelrig, and Hazelrig begat HoUis. 3. Hollis begat Hotham, Hotham begat Martin, and Martin begat Corbet ; and so on the article goes parodying the whole of the genealogy of Christ, as given in the first chapter of Matthew. It is afterwards in the 13th verse stated, then King Charles being a just man, and not willing to have his people ruinated, was minded to dissolve them. 14. But while he thought on these things, behold an angel of darkness appeared to him, saying. King Charles, these men intend nothing but thine and the kingdom's good, therefore, fear. not to give them this power, for what they now undertake is of the Holy Ghost. 16. And they shall bring forth a son, and shall call his name Reformation ; he shall save the people from their sins. 16. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken long ago in the prophecy. — Owtwell Beds." Then follows FIRST TKIAI.. 31 the second chapter, which is also a close parody on the second chapter of Matthew. The third chapter of Matthew is parodied by an application to Saltmarsh and Dell, two noted preachers of those times. It commences thus : — " In those days came Salt- marsh the Antinomian, and Dell the Independent, and preached to the citizens of London. The fourth chapter is a parody on the temptations of Christ. He would read only a few passages : — " 1. Then was King Charles permitted by God to be tempted by his Parliament with unreasonable propositions many days. 2. Ami when Pembroke the Tempter came unto him, he said, if thou wilt still be King of Great Britain thou must set thy hand to these propositions. 9. From that time there was a deadly war between the King and his Parliament, with an equal concernment on both sides. 10. And his fame went through all the quarters of England, the people bringing unto him all such as were diseased with the evil, and he healed them. 11. And there followed him great multitudes of his people from Kent, from Staffordshire, and from beyond Tyne." Mr. Hone then quoted some verses from a work, entitled " Political Merriment ; or. Truth told to some Tune.'' He next read from the Eev. Mark Noble's continuation of "Granger's Biographical History of England," the following verses written respecting Dr. Burnet, the author of the " Theory of the Earth :"— A dean and prebendary Had once a new vagary ; And were at doleful strife, sir. Who led the better life, sir, And was the better man, And was the better man. The dean he said, that truly. Since Bluff was so unruly, He'd prove it to his face, sir, That he had the most grace, sir ; And so the fight began, &c. 32 FIRST TRIAL. When Preb. replied like thunder, And roars out, 'twas no wonder, Since gods the dean had three, sir, And more by two than he, sir, For he had got but one, &c. Now while these two were raging, And in dispute engaging, The Master of the Charter, * Said both had caught a Tartar ; For gods, sir, there were none, &c. f That all the books of Moses Were nothing but supposes ; That he deserved rebuke, sir, Who wrote the Pentateuch, sir ; 'Twas nothing but a sham, 'Twas nothing but a sham. That as for father Adam, With Mrs. Eve, his madam. And what the serpent spoke, sir, 'Twas nothing but a joke, sir. And well-invented flam, &c. Thus, in this battle royal. As none would take denial, The dame for whom they strove, sir. Could neither of them love, sir. Since aU had given offence, &c. She therefore, slily waiting, Left all three fools a-prating ; And being in a fright, sir, Eeligion took her flight, sir, And ne'er was heard of since, &c. The next work to which Mr. Hone called the attention of the jury was a small tract purporting to be translated from the French of Father La Chaise. It was a parody on the Catechism intended FIRST TRIAL. 33 to satirize Louis XIV. He was asked, Whose child are you ? And answered, That he was begotten by Cardinal Richelieu on the body of Ann of Austria. He was then made to lament his breach of faith with the Huguenots. The whole was a gross libel on the King of Prance, but no ridicule of the Holy Scriptures. The next work to which he should allude was the Fair Circassian, stated to be written by a Gentleman Commoner of Oxford. ♦ The author was known to be the Rev. Mr. Croxal, the translator of .^sop. It was a very free parody on the Canticles ; he held it in his hand, but he did not think it fit to be publicly read. He should now refer to a work entitled the "Champion," pub- lished in 1741. It was a periodical publication, and in it he found the following parody : — " Verse 5. The triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. " This is evident in the case of the children of Israel, who were formerly oppressed with the Egyptian task masters ; those miscreants, with Pharoah at their head (like Colossm), afflicted the poor Israelites with their burdens, and built for Pharoah Treasure Cities, Pithom and Eaamses. But short was the triumph of the wicked. The Israelites were delivered, and Pharoah with his host of existing task masters thrown into the Red Sea. "Eemember this, O Pharoah of N— f— Ik !— thou, who as Benjamin has raven'd like a wolf, in the morning hast devoured the prey, and at night divided the spoil. Oen. xlix. 17. " Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds. " This is to say, however set forth in a preamble. " 7. Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung ; They which have seen him shall say, where is he 1 " Ainsi soir il ! " 8. He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found ; Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. Amen. " 9. The eye also which saw him, shall see him no more ; neither shall his place any more behold him." In the Foundling Hospital for Wit, is a paper, entitled " Lessons of the Day, 1st and 2nd Book of Preferment, TRIAU 87 Lord Ellenbokough — ^I can't help it. Mr. Hone — I really don't clearly understand ■what your lord- ship means by the word evidence. I am ignorant of the technical rules of evidence, and therefore I apply to your lordship for a more explicit statement of your meaning. There are certain allegations in this information, which it is necessary for me to explain away, by showing that they can have no possible reference to the sup- posed libel. This I propose to do b^ calling the attention of the jury to passages in other publications, to show that this parody has no application whatever to religious matters. I don't know, as a man of plain understanding, what may and what may not be given in evidence. But my intention is to read to the jury certain other publications that I consider absolutely essential to my defence, and so essential to my defence that I cannot defend myself Tinless I do read portions of these publications. I state this with all due deference to your lordship. Lord ELLENBORotroH — ^You may go on, and exercise your own discretion. I tell you what rule I shall adopt in my direction to the jury. I don't wish to interrupt you ; but I thought it my duty to inform you of the course I meant to adopt. You may exercise your discretion, how far you will conform to that rule or not. Mr. Hone — If your lordship had condescended to explain to me your meaning, by saying that these works are not admissible in evidence at all, I should know at once what I am to expect. If your lordship says, that I am not to read these publications to the jury — if that is your lordship's decision against me, then I have no defence to this information, and I am ready to go with your lordship's tipstaff wherever your lordship may think proper to send me. Mr. Hone paused for a few moments as if waiting for an answer, and then continued his address to the jury : — He insisted, that many of the books from which he had read extracts were modem : it could not surely have escaped the recol- lection of the Attorney-General, that the first authority to which he had referred yesterday was "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine," 88 SECOND TRIAL. published in October last, long subsequent to the date of the alleged libel ; yet that contained a parody upon a large portion of the Scriptures, against which no complaint had been ever made. He (the defendant) did not require the Attorney-General to prosecute Mr. Blackwood, a most respectable bookseller; he should be a scoundrel if he did ; he only brought it forward as in point, for the writer, bookseller, and printer, must all have been well aware of its nature. Mr. Blackwood's politics were totally different from his (the defendant's) ; but whatever others might do, he would be the last to suggest a prosecution on account of an honest dissent upon such points. Mr. Hone then read to the jury the extract from the " Edinburgh Magazine" he produced yesterday. The Attorney-General had said that the jury were impannelled to try the intention of the party publishing the parody : that was a fair statement of the question ; the intention constituted the offence, or established the innocence of the accused. If the jury found that the parody was put forth with a criminal purpose, they would return a verdict of guilty ; if, on the other hand, they thought that no such design existed, they would be bound to give him an acquittal. In the year 1771 Mr. Burke clearly explained the principle of a bill which he assisted in bringing into the House of Commons (commonly called Mr. Dowdeswell's BUI), " to explain and declare the office and duties of jurymen in cases of libel." It had long been held by many eminent judges, that, in such cases, the jury had only to find the fact of publication, leaving it to the Court to decide on the question of libel or not libel. As the law then stood, the intervention of a jury was unnecessary — for the Court might as well procure, by a simple affidavit, the fact of the alleged publication of libel, and then a summary proceeding could be adopted. The old system did, in fact, do away the power of a jury, by denying their right to decide on the question of libel or not libel. Mr. Burke's great mind was alive to the folly and injustice of this system, and he assisted Mr. Dowdeswell in bringing in his bill ; which did not then pass; but in 1790 or 1791 Mr. Fox introduced a bill, nearly similar, " to enlarge and define the SECOND TRIAL. 89 power of juries in cases of libel." The authority formerly vested in. the judge to declare what was libel, was, as Mr. Justice Black- stone observed, greatly controverted ; and Mr. Professor Christian, in one of his notes on Blackstone, stated, that, in consequence of the opposition manifested against the exercise of this authority, the 32nd of George III., c. 6, was enacted, by which the jury were empowered to return a verdict on the whole matter at issue, and not on the fact alone of publishing that which was alleged to be a libel. The jury were now to decide on all the allegations contained in this information. If they were of opinion that he intended to excite impiety and irreligion in the minds of his Majesty's subjects, they would find him guilty, and his lordship would, at some future day, pass sentence on him ; but if no such intention appeared — and his lordship would correct him if he were wrong — ^then they would return a verdict in his favour. Lord Bllenboeough — ^As you call upon me to give my opinion, I say, that if the publication has a tendency to produce that effect upon the minds of persons who read it, it is in law and in fact a libel. I should not have interrupted you, but you called for my direction. Mr. Hone — Then all I can say, gentlemen, is, that that is his lordship's opinion. Lord Ellenboeough — It is not merely my opinion ; it is the opinion of all lawyers in all ages : publishers must be answerable for the tendency of works they put forth, and they are not to put perverse constructions on their own acts, and thus excuse them- selves. If the paper have a tendency to inflame, the law says, the party had an intention to inflame ; if to corrupt, that he meant to corrupt. This is no new doctrine; no judge ever held differently. Mr. Hone — Of course, gentlemen, it is not for me to reply upon his lordship ; but I may observe upon what fell from the Attorney-General : he said, that by Mr. Fox's bill his lordship, if he think fit, may give his opinion to the jury upon the question of libel or not libel. Lord Ellenborough— The judge wanted no such power to be 90 SECOND TKIAI,. given him by Mr. Fox's bill ; it is incidental to his office ;■ it is his sworn duty, and was so before Mr. Fox's bill, or before even Mr. Fox himself existed. Mr. Hone — If the Court had that power before, it should seem that it was wholly unnecessary to introduce it into Mr. Fox's bill : it would be absurd in the legislature to pretend to communi- cate a power which was possessed without it. Recollect, too, that that bill was drawn by a most enlightened and acute man, and it was not adopted until it had been frequently and patiently debated ; and let me ask yoxi, if it is likely that a large body of intelligent men, many of them lawyers, would have suffered such unmeaning surplusage to remain on the statute-book, if iu truth it had been unnecessary ? His lordship, however, has declared his opinion ; but let me say, said Mr. Hone in a triumphant tone of voice, " that, after all, it is but the opinion of one man, it is but his lordship's opinion." Of course I speak this in no offensive sense. (Loud huzzaing.) Lord Ellenborough — So I understand ; but it might be as well if a little decency were preserved at the bottom of the Court. If the officers take any person into custody who makes a dis- turbance, let him be brought up to me, and I will reward such conduct. Mr. Sheriff Desanges — The first man I see laugh, after such a severe notice, shall be brought up. Mr. Hone — In the course of the charge, gentlemen, you will no doubt listen with due attention to his lordship's opinion upon the intention ; but that, give me leave to say, is not to be final. His lordship presides in this Court, but not to try me. You are my judges ; you are to try me; and to you I willingly submit my case ; you are sworn to decide honestly the issue between me and the Crown ; you are to determine upon my intention ; you are to settle the difference between intention and tendency; the tendency may be bad, but was the intention so 1 that is the very gist of the case — the pinch of the argument. Many acts in themselves criminal may be done with no criminal intention , a person may fire a gun at another by accident, thinking it unloaded, and if the SECOND TRIAL. 91 person is unhappily killed, the individual firing the gun, having no intention to kill, is not guilty. Lord Ellenborough — You had better, for your own sake, be correct ; it is felony — it is manslaughter, -which is felony. I throw this out, that you may attend a little to what may be really your defence. Mr. Hone said, he remembered that it had lately been made felony. Lord Ellenborotjgh — It was never made felony ; there is no Act of Parliament for it ; but it is the common law of the land. I will not interrupt you again : but I advise you, before you come to talk of law, you should have thought a little about it. I do not mean it uncivilly. Mr. Hone — I thank your lordship. I must be well aware of that. He went on to further illustrate his argument regarding intention, by referring to the case of a man accidentally killed by the falling off of the head of an axe ; the person using the axe was not guilty of murder. He complained that he had not been indicted, but that three ex-offiido informations had been filed against him instead. Mr. Justice Blaokstone (4 Comm. 308) said, that they were intended in their origin to apply to " ofiences so high and dangerous, in the prevention and punishment of which a moment's delay would be fatal;" and that on this account the power of immediate prosecution was given to the Crown. The learned judge who yesterday presided had stated, that ex-offi,cio informations were as ancient as the common law, and of this opinion was Blackstone. The oppressive use of them, however, previous to the reign of "William III. was so deeply felt, that, before the revolution of 1688, the House of Commons, having drawn up by committee certain coriditions on which the Crown was to be intrusted to the Prince of Orange; the 22nd article was "that informations in the Court of King's Bench shall be taken away." Yet what had been done ? Not long afterwards, in the Court of King's Bench, the question was agitated, when Sir John Holt and the other judges were of opinion that they were grounded upon the common law, and could not be shaken. 92 SECOND TRIAL. Lord Ellenboeough — If they are not taken away, what is the iise of this discussion? It perhaps was discussed in Parliament, whether they ought not to be abolished ; but have they been abolished ? You might as well detail points agitated in some Utopian system as this. Whether informations are right or not, do you not see that the law so stands 1 Mr. Hone — My lord, I am making my defence as well as I can under a thousand disadvantages—^ Lord Bllenborough — I only warn you of what are not important points for you ; but if you think I ought to attend to them, I will do so. Mr. Hone — My lord, I appeal to the jury upon it. Lord Ellenboeough — ^But you cannot appeal to the jury upon matters that are not law. If you object to an information, you ought to have demurred before, and the Court then could have come to some decision ; therefore you are now wasting time. I only suggest this to you for consideration ; for I wUl hear you, however immaterial, and however little good what you have to say can do you. Mr. Hone — Gentlemen, his lordship may desire you to dismiss from your minds what is immaterial in his charge to the jury Lord Ellenborough — My charge cannot follow you through the devious ways you like to take. I dare say I shall not mention anything you offer; at least I shall not notice a great many things, for indeed they are self-answered. Mr. Hone continued his address, insisting (on the authority of Ealph's "History of England," so frequently quoted by Mr. Fox in his work), that treason had been committed against the people of England, in not abolishing ex-officio informations when King William was seated on the throne, and after the 22nd article of the Declaration drawn up by the Commons. The chief argument stated by Blackstone was the necessity of a summary and rapid expedient in high amd domgerous offences; but how could that necessity be shown in this case? Had the Attorney-General proceeded with such rapidity ? On the contrary, the publication of the alleged Ubel ended on the 22nd of February, and the SECOND TRIAL. 93 information -was not filed until just before the 3rd of May, -when the defendant was dragged into Court to plead. His lordship had not told him then that he might demur, instead of pleading Lord Ellen BOROUGH — Demurring is a plea; you might have demurred to the right of the Attorney-General to bring you into Court under an eoo-officio information, and then the question might have been settled. I was not to advise you what to do. Mr. Hone — My lord, I was dragged into Court by force and arms to plead. Lord Ellenborough — And they did rightly: they were warranted by law to bring you into Court. I was clear that ex-officio informations are part of the law of the land ; and it would have entrapped you, if I had told you to demur. You would have been injured by such advice. Mr. Hone — However, be that as it may, I was committed, and afterwards discharged. The defendant next observed, that he had hoped that his discharge would have been final ; that the Attorney-General had dropped the proceedings entirely, and that, in consequence of the death of her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte, a general amnesty would have been passed upon all ofiiences of the kind. He had hoped, that the many unhappy wretches, dragged from remote districts to plead to informations regarding these parodies, would have been forgotten ; that an act of oblivion would have passed ; that the recollection of a present grief would have obliterated the remembrance of past grievances ; but he found, to his bitter disappointment, not more on his own account than that of others, that no visitation of Providence, no national calamity, could chasten the resentments, or soften the hearts of ministers. "Why had not a prosecution, an ex-officio information, been filed agaiust one individual now high in the state — a Cabinet Minister, who some years ago had been g^iilty of the offence charged against himi Mr. Hone said, he was con- vinced, that had that individual been in the humble situation of him (the defendant) in society, he would this day, instead of sitting in the Cabinet, have been standing before his lordship and the jury. Informations were oppressions — they were a relic of the 94 SECOND TRIAL. infamous Court of Star Chamber, where a person accused, if he uttered a word offensive to the judges, was not only subjected to fine and corporal pu^shment, but even endured the torture of having wedges driven with a mallet into his mouth to stop his utterance. The gag would be quite as effectual, if his lordship upon this occasion had laid his solemn injunction upon him (the defendant) not to proceed in the line of defence he had adopted. He thanked Heaven, he was now before an English jury 130 or 140 years after the abolition of that tyrannical and execrated Court ; he stood face to face before his judges as before his friends ; he talked to them as friends, for he could not make speeches ; and he relied, not on his talents, but on his innocence. Another objection to the proceeding by information was, that it was much more expensive ; he could not procure copies of the charge, but for a considerable sum ; and when he was brought up to plead, he was the more anxious to obtaui them, because he had heard that in Wilkes's case the information had been altered by order of Lord Mansfield, though, he admitted, after notice to the attorney for the defendant, who was unable to leave his bed. At the time he (the defendant) was brought up, on the 3rd of May, he really had not the money to pay for copies ; and he ought to have been furnished with them by order of the Court. Lord Ellenboeough said, that no subject of the realm was furnished with a copy of any indictment ; he gathered the contents from the perusal of it by the officer. This was the common everyday practice. Mr. Hone — I admit that it is common ; and I say, on behalf of the whole people of England, that to those who may be placed in my situation, it is a great grievance. I assert, that every man accused ought to be furnished with a copy of the ex-officio information. Lord Ellenboeough — In a common indictment for larceny it is not furnished ; if it be a grievance, it applies to every case. Mr. Hone — And so it does ; but give me leave to say, that there is a great difference between an indictment for a larceny, and an information for a libel. If I pick a man's pocket, the offence SECOND TRIAL. 95 is clearly and specifically stated ; the day, the circumstances, are mentioned : but libel is an undefined crime ; and who shall say that he can be master of the matter of a complicated information, because it is once read over to him. Lord Ellenborough — The information contained nothing but the libel, which you have admitted that you published. Mr. Hone — protested against this unfair use of his admission ; he had not sold one after the 22nd of February. If copies had been given him, he should have been ready to plead in six hours. His case, in this respect, and many others, was not solitary. Some unhappy beings had been compelled to travel 200 nules to plead to some of these informations. Was there no law in the country to punish this ofience? Could no indictment at the sessions have been preferred, where the poor wretch might have taken his trial without an information 1 But, forsooth, it was necessary to proceed in a summary way, without any of the ordinary formalities ; and some of the victims of this tyrannical proceeding had actually been in solitary confinement for nine weeks, like felons, in Chester Gaol, with 641bs. weight of fetters upon their emaciated limbs. Was this proceeding in a summary way ? was this that speedy justice for which eoo-ojicio informations were designed t * * The persons alluded to were Mellor and Pilians: they were imprisoned in Lancaster, not Chester Castle, and suffered severely in their persons from the cruelty of solitary confinement, and by anxiety of mind for their poor helpless families. But there was a person in Chester Castle, named Robert Swindells, whoso case is marked with almost the extremity of distress. This unfortunate man was charged with publishing the parodies on the 10th of March last ; on which day, at midnight, his humble home was forcibly beset and ransacked ; and the publishing consisted in his then having the alleged articles in his possession, of which, amongst other things, he was robbed by the persons wlio entered and deliberately packed up liis books and cai-ried them off. This poor man, disabled in the service of his country, retired to taste the sweets of domestic life ; and in a season of general calamity, almost, if not entirely, destitute of other employ, he endeavoured to obtain, bread for his wife and child by selling a few cheap pam- phlets. On a sudden, and at night, the sg-nctity of his little home was outraged with such brutal violence, that his wife and infant were driven, in tears, and distress, and naked, from their bed ; aud every corner of the cottage, and every (lescription of property, ransacked and ravaged. Even the unfinished garments which the fond mother bad been providing for her unborn offspring were ex- amined, and scattered amongst the wreck of the household stuff of her unprotected family. The poor woman, shivering in the bitter cold of a winter night, without 96 SECOND TRIAL. Lord Ellknboeough — I take it for granted that you -will prove all this. Mr. Hone — I will prove it. Lord Ellenboeotjgh — Your being able to prove it will be no warrant for me to receive the evidence ; but I will allow you to prove what you assert, if your witnesses are here. Mr. Hone — They are not here, my lord. I did not expect to' be called upon; but I can prove it. Lord Ellenboeough — This is only wasting time : proceed to the business of your defence. I will hear very anxiously what rela,tes to your defence, but I will not let you be wasting time. Mr. Hone — ^Wasting time, my lord ■ I feel the grievance of which I complain ; I am to be tried, not you ! When I shall have been consigned to a dungeon, your lordship will sit as coolly on that seat as ever ; you will not feel the punishment : I feel the grievance, and I remonstrate against it. I am the injured man. I am upon my trial by those gentlemen, my jury. Mr. Hone, after a pause of a few moments, objected to the mode in which the Attorney-General could suspend ex-qfficio informations over the heads of the King's subjects. True it was, the accused could demand a trial ; but then it must be at bar, before a special jury — a situation a hundred times worse than that in which he (the defendant) was now placed. Another evil was, that a man was not tried by his peers, and sometimes not by those among whom he lived. He complained of the odium and pre- judice under which he had long laboured because the 'late covering, tending the sleeping cliild she escaped -with from her bed, and tenified to agony by fears for her husband's safety, and by the sudden and causeless devas- tation committed on her comforts — this hapless wife, on the departure of the marauders, declared to her husband, and repeatedly afterwards to others, that the affrighting scene of that night would work her death : her health declined — she sustained a preternatural delivery — and she died, leaving her new-born infant, and that which she fondled on the fatal night, without a mother ! The unfortunate Swindells, in the midst of this distress, was visited by a government prosecution, and served mth process upon process ; his last-born babe perished for want of maternal care ; and he himself was can-ied to Chester Castle, as a Grown prisoner; whilst all that remained to him of all that is dear in this life, his little lone child, was deposited in that grave of hope, a parish poor-house! Having sustained an unconstitutional imprisonment, and not merely the separation of his family, but the destruction of it, he was liberated, without trial,— and without redress! SECOND TEIAL. 97 Attorney-General had chosen, in a speech, to term these parodies blasphemous publications. He was about to detail some of the facts relating to the putting of his plea, when Lord EUenborough interposed, and observed, that every indulgence had been shown him on that occasion. Do you remember, said his lordship, that you were committed until a future day, that you might have time to plead ? Mr. Hone — Oh, yes, my lord, I well remember that; you committed me to the King's Bench Prison.* I well remember the many bitter nights and days I there passed. Mr. Topping (for the Crown) observed, that the defendant had been committed until the next term, that he might have time to plead. Lord Ellenbokough — Then, you see, you state false grcma- mina. The Court was extremely studious to give you every indulgence, and means of understanding the information. Me. Hone — I could not plead guilty, when I knew I was not guilty. Lord Ellenborough — Why, you have just admitted the publication. Mr. Hone — But have I admitted that it is a libel ? Lord Ellenborough — But you yourself had the libel in your possession ; you published it, and you might have read it tUl you were tired of it, as I am. Mr. Hone further entreated the jury to dismiss the unfair prejudice which might have been excited against him from the highest authority ; for by one of the secretaries of state — ^by Lord Sidmouth, night after night, he had been denounced as a blas- phemer and a wretch. Many of the newspapers had re-echoed the false and scandalous charge ; even after the verdict of acquittal from the charge of a profane libel yesterday, some of them had ventured to repeat it. He held in his hand the Day newspaper,t * By the Act 5 Yiotoria, o. 22, the Queen's Bench, Fleet, and Marshalsea were consolidated as the Queen's Prison for debtors, prisoners committed for libel, assaults court-martial, &o., under the control of the Home Secretary of State. + An obscure newspaper, called The Day, was set up as a trading specula- tion by some pufSng auctioneers, and became a little notorious by a prosecution against it for libel. The editors of this paper are now " Two single gentlemen rolled into one." The unhappy Doctor Slop's imagination is so exjtravagantly at variance with H 98 SECOND TBIAL. published a few hours ago, in wMch lie was designated a blasphemer Lord Ellenboeough — Keally, you are getting so far out of the case : what have I to do with the libels published against you 1 we are not trying that newspaper. Mr. Hone — I hope, and firmly believe, that I have an impar- tial jury, who will be unprejudiced by every thing they may have heard or seen in or out of court. LoED Ellenboeough — Why, nobody can have read that news- paper you speak of; what have I or the jury to do with Mr. Hone — My lord ! My lord ! it is I who am upon my trial, not your lordship. I have to defend myself, not your lordship. Long-continued acclamations here interrupted the proceedings of the Court. Lord EUenborough directed one of the sherifis to leave the bench, and to go to the bottom of the court to quell the disturbance. When order was in some degree restored, his lordship said, "It is impossible that the officers can be doing their duty; let them bring any man before me, and I will soon put an end to this." The Shebiff, remaining on the bench, asked Mr. Under-Sherifi' Smith if he had succeeded in taking any of the offenders, and was answered in the negative. truth and memory, that he can neither remedy unto himself, nor be controlled by moral management. He runs a-muck at aU he meets, with a soft goose quill, cursing and swearing in the same fashion as Peter in the Tale of a Tub ; and, unless brought to his senses for a moment by an antagonist who knocks him down, he outstrips pm'suit, and bays the moon till he is exhausted. In two respects, however, he is honest to himself : — a renegade in politics, he secretly admires the Beformists, whose ranks ho left for the Treasury clerks that crowd his office, and toss him sops ;— » high-flier in religion, he really despises the bigotry and fanati- cism which be puts forth in his tawdry journal. Hence it is not surprising that the poor man is almost constantly furious or cataleptic ; or that, in his lucid inter- vals, he wears a red night-cap with a lily in it, as emblems of his loyalty to the houses of Bourbon and Brunswick, and struts in his turned coat as unblush- ingly as a flfty-times-lashed incorrigible deserter, when he is drummed to a con- demned regiment to the tune of the Bogue's March. Mr. Hone, on his third trial gave the lie direct to Dr. Slop's aspersions. The crazy charlatan took advantage of Mr. Hone's declaration in court, that he would only rebut the press by tho press; and the hypocrite, finding the trials ended, and that Mr. Hone had no means of reply to him, like a bully and a coward, fell to his dirty work again. SECOND TRIAL. 99 Lord Ellenboeough — Open, your eyes, and see ; and stretch out your hands, and seize. You must have observed somebody. Mark where the noise comes from, and note the man. Mr. Hone continued — The interruption could be occasioned by no friend of his : whoever disturbed the Court was his bitter enemy : his friends could not so conduct themselves ; and the noise could only proceed from some designing emissaries, who were anxious that he should be taken from the Court to a prison. He held in his hand two newspapers that were published this morning Lord Ellenboeough — I must not have the trash of the news- papers produced here, unless you can apply it in some way. If you thought there was anything in them that would prejudice the jury on your trial, you ought to have applied at the sitting of the Court upon affidavit, and it might probably have been postponed. Mr. Hone — But this attack was much better timed : it was introduced after I had been acquitted by one jury last night, and before the time of my being tried now — to be acquitted, as I hope, by another. Lord ELLENBOEOtTGH — StUl, if you thought that the minds of the jury had been in any way poisoned, the Court would have given you an opportunity of being tried at a more impartial moment. Mr. Hone — It did not occur to me that that mode of pro- ceeding was fiecessary. In fact, both the newspapers who have thus accused me of blasphemy well knew the contrary, for they contain reports of the trial of yesterday, when I was acquitted even of profaneness. One of them begins thus : "It will be seen by our Law Report " Lord Ellenboeough — We cannot enter upon that, after I have said that you might have stated the fact in a way to deserve attention. Mr. Hone — I trust that I, being a publisher, shall never apply to a court of justice to restrict a publication. Lord Ellenboeough — But you will do well to complain if the publication be intended to corrupt the sovirces of justice. At 100 SECOND TRIAL. a proper time I shall be glad to hear you ; but do not introduce it as a hash into your speech. Mr. Hone replied, that he had only heard of it five minutes before he came into court. The'ATTOENEY-GENERAL formally objected. Lord Ellenborotjgh — If the defendant has been libelled, he may either bring an action for damages, or put the criminal law in motion ; that is the proper mode : but he cannot do it now here. Mr. HoNE^God forbid that I should force the bitterest enemy I have into the Crown OflSce ! I have suffered too much there already myself. No, my lord, I would suffer the foulest impu- tations before I would take that step even against the man who had most deeply injured me. The defendant then said, he shoiild now proceed to show, that for years paxodies had existed unques- tioned, and even the particular species of parody of which he stood accused. He should also, from this universal practice, and from examples which he should give, establish beyond a doubt, that it was possible to parody without ridiculing the thing parodied. He asserted that the parody on the Litany was written to excite a laugh — not at the production which was parodied, but entirely independent of it. The first parody he should produce was on that useful instrument the thennometer, by the late Dr. Lettsom ; who, by a scale, graduated after the manner of the ^thermometer, attempted to show that temperance was conducive to health and morals, and that intemperance was destructive to both. There was an ascending and a descending scale, from strong beer to spirits, and punch occasionally, up to dram drinking at morning, noon, and night, against which the effects on the morals were placed; these different degrees of intemperance, ending with Botany Bay, the hulks, and the gallows. The advantages of tem- perance were illustrated in the same manner. Who would say, that in this publication, Dr. Lettsom intended to bring into con- tempt the thermometer 1 yet it was a parody on that instrument in every sense of the word. There was another, which he held in his hand, which was a parody on the barometer ; a parody for SECOND TRIAL. 101 religious purposes. It described the progress of a mind from religious indifference, through different stages of religious observ- ance, up to happiness on earth, and salvation hereafter ; and, on ^ the other hand, down to death and perdition. Here the ftiing parodied was secular, and the parody was for religious purposes ; in his case the parody was of a religious work for secular purposes. The intent of this parody was not to bring into contempt the barometer, nor did he mean to ridicule the Litany. The practice of parodying religious works, even parts of the Holy Scriptures, on different occasions, was adopted by men whose sentiments with regard to those writings were above suspicion. The first parodist he should cite was the first restorer of the purity of the Christian religion. Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, in 1518, had a controversy with certain other persons of the reformed religion, in the couree of which he parodied the first verse of the first Psalm : — " Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the way of the Sacramentarians, nor sat in the seat of the Zuinglians, nor followed the counsel of the Zuricher." The next parody he should allude to was by Dr. John Boys, who was Dean of Canter- bury in the reign of James 1. It would have been inconvenient to bring a folio volume into court, and therefore he quoted from " Buck's Anecdotes." It was there said that Dr. Boys had gained great applause by a parody of the Lord's Prayer, in a sermon which he preached at Paul's Cross. The parody was to this effect : — " Our Pope, which art in Eome, cursed be thy name ; perish may thy kingdom ; hindered may thy will be, as it is in heaven, so in earth. Give us this day our cup in the Lord's Supper ; and remit our moneys which we have given for thy indulgencies, as we send them back unto thee ; and lead us not into heresy ; but free us from misery ; for thine is the infernal pitch and sulphur, for ever and ever. Amen." Lord Ellenbokough asked, do you contend that the parody by Dr. Boys is an innocent publication ; or that, if he now stood where you do, he might not have been prosecuted for it, though it is against the Pope 1 Mr. Hone — My lord, he was a dignified clergyman. 102 SECOXD TRIAL. Lord ELLENBOEOUGH^Bufc that ■would not •warrant the impiety of others. A dignified clergyman has committed forgery, but does that feet render it less a crime ? Mr. Hone added, that Martia Luther and the Dean of Canter- bury were grave and high authorities in his favour. Lord Ellenboeough — I wiU teU you now the observation I shall make regarding the existence of parodies at other times, how- ever numerous; unless there be something advanced to prove them to be perfectly innocent — unless something be shown, as a standard of their umocence, I shall not attend to them, for they do not at all mitigate your offence. Mr. Hone — I perfectly understand your lordship's intention. Lord Ellenboeough — I do not know whether these were or were not produced yesterday, but they ought not to be our &re every day. Mr. Hone — They were produced yesterday. Lord Ellenboeough — I am sorry for it ; that is all. Mr. Hone said, that his defence rendered their production indispensable. Lord Ellenboeough — I told you early, to save trouble, that if you tendered it in evidence, I should refuse it ; but in an address to the jury a wider latitude of observation is allowed ; therefore I shall not check you. Mr. Hone said he did not want to put it in as evidence. He merely wished to show that parodies had at all times been per- mitted, and that they had been published without any improper intention. If there had been anything criminal in Dr. Boys' parody, would it not have been noticed? At that time the Ecclesiastical Courts were most severe in censures on those who they conceived deserved them ; and no man, however high, who oflFended those tribunals could hope to escape with impunity. There were also grave and learned judges and law officers — there was Lord Coke among others ; and was it supposed, if this was an offence against the law, notorious as the act was, that it would not have been taken notice of, or that these great lawyers were ignorant of their duty? It was impossible that the sermon should SECOND TRIAL. 103 not have been well known, as it was preached at Paul's Cross, the place where the commonalty of the city of London were usually addressed by popular preachers of that day. The audiences on such occasions were most numerous. The next parody he should mention was in the Harleian Miscellany, or the tracts of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford. This was peculiarly opposite, because it parodied a part of the " Book of Common Prayer," for parodying another part of which he was now tried. The part parodied in the tract printed in that collec- tion was the Service for the Yisitation of the Sick. It was originally piinted in 1647, and entitled "The Plague at "West- minster ; or an Order for the Yisitation of a Sick Parliament, grievously troubled with a new disease, called a consumption of their members ; with a form of prayer, and other rites and cere- monies, to be used for their recovery : strictly commanded to be used in all churches, chapels, and congregations, throughout his Majesty's three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, &c., &c." Mr. Hone read this parody, as he did on the first trial (p. 21) ; and said that this was precisely a similar case to his own: it was a parody on a part of the Common Prayer ; it was directed also acaiost supposed abuses in the Commons' House of Parliament and other branches of the state ; and it was also calculated to circulate among the common people, and to excite laughter, not at the thing parodied, but at the Parliament at "Westminster. It was to be remembered that this was written by one of a high- church party, a party which made sacrifice of wealth and life to maintain the rites and ceremonies of the Church, which were attacked by the Republicans and Puritans of that day. So far were these men from supposing that this sort of parody would bring the productions parodied into contempt, that to ridicule their enemies they parodied one of the forms of the Church which they were in the act of maintaining with all their strength. The next parody which he should mention was from the col- lection of the tracts of Lord Somers, a great lawyer and statesman, who contributed more perhaps than any other individual to the expulsion of James the Second, and the settlement imder which 104 S]^COND TRIAL. the present dynasty was seated on the throne. In his collection there was a parody, not on the Common Prayer, but on the New Testament. (It closely followed the first Chapter of Matthew, and was the same that he read yesterday; see First Trial, p. 30.) This parody, it was also very evident, was written by a zealous partisan of the high-church party, as it was composed in 1648, in behalf of King Charles. Mr. Hone said, the next article he should mention was con- tained in the Rev. Mark Noble's Continuation of the Eev. Mr. Granger's " Biographical History of England, which, though it was not a parody on Scripture, showed that it was never appre- hended by the most pious men, that a casual association of ludicrous images with ma^frs of the Christian religion tended to weaken the respect due to that faith. Mr. Noble, in his work, said, that there was a song respecting Dr. Burnett, the author of " The Theory of the Earth," and Master of the Charter-House, beginning : — , , , A dean and prebendary Had once a new vagary ; And were at doleful strife, Sir, Who led the better life. Sir, And was the better man. And was the better man. When Mr. Hone had quoted to the end of the last verse but two, (see First Trial, p. 31.) Lord Ellenborotigh interrupted him. That is such mis- chievous matter that I shall prohibit its being read. No person, under pretence of explaining one Hbel, shall oflfend the ears of public decency by the recital of such profanations. I took down That all the books of Moses Were nothing but supposes. And I prohibit the remainder. Mr. Honk — I pledge myself that the few lines of the song I have not read have a perfectly moral tendency. Lord Ellenboeough — I will not hear them. It would deserve severe punishment if it were a modern publication. SECOND TRIAL. 105 * Mr. Hone — My lord, it has been published over and over again of late years, and no notice taken of it. Lord Ellenborough — I am sorry for it : mischievous people are to be found at aU times. Mr. Hone — The Rev. Mark Noble, the author, is a beneficed clergyman of the Church of England, and, I venture to say, has no sense of the impropriety ; and if a man so well instructed could forget himself, and publish what was of a mischievous tend- ency, no man will charge that he did it with a view to bring religion into contempt. Lord Ellenborough — Under pretence of defending yourself from one crime, you are not to commit another. Mr. Hone — If your lordship will ]|iit allow me to finish the song, I will consent to be called a liar, I had almost said a blas- phemer, or any other epithet however approbrious, if your lordship do not pronounce it perfectly innocent. Lord Ellenborough — You seem to attach an extraordinary value to the remainder : let it be read, in deference to your opinion. Mr. Hone — 1 am sure I shall have your lordships assent to my assertions, when I have finished. Lord Ellenborough — No : let it be read. Mr. Hone read as follows — Thus, in this battle royal. As none would take denial, The dame for whom they strove. Sir, Could neither of them love, Sir, Since all had given offence, Since all had given offence. She therefore slily waiting, Left all three fools a-prating, And being in a fright, Sir, Religion took her flight, Sir, And ne'er was heard of since, And ne'er was heard of since. 106 SECOND TRIAL. Mr. Hone then continued, in nearly the same order as on his first trial yesterday, to refer to various parodies. There was one, also, called Old England's Te Beum in the " Humourists' Maga- zine '' ; and there was a parody of the Te Deum published against Buonaparte in six languages. (Mr. Hone here read again Mr. Richardson's Te Deum against Buonaparte ; for which see the first trial, p. 42.) There was also in a work of the well-known Captain Grose, the author of the " Antiquities of England,"