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JOlrttMBfT tJPOW BiBfi^S (TC05K0B, ESQ.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Jolrttmbft Tjpow Bibfi^S (Tc05k0b, Esq.
JOlrttMBfT tJPOW BiBfi ^ S ( TC 05 K 0 B , ESQ .
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COURT OP QUEEN'S BENCH , Monday , Mag 11 . The Judges having taken - their seat , in & Tery crowded Court , the Lobd Chlep Justice intimated to Mr . O'Connor , who occupied a seat in front of the j ) &r , that the Court was about to pronounce judgment jjjhis case , "whereupon 3 Si- O'Cossob . rose and said , before he proceeded to iddress the Court in mitigation of punishment , he hsd to request permission to hand in & few additional affidavits , in order that they might be read bj the Cert The Attosxet-Ge * eral remarked that this was a novel coarse of proceeding , bat intimated that ue should , roder the cTrcomsteaeea , waive any objection he was ejtitjed to take
The LOUD CaippJcsTiCE aid it certainly waa a novel « otoef : a | ta one that might be attended -with inconvenieoce ; iassBiueh as some of the affidavit * now pat in might require an . assurer . His Lordship , however , did not object to the affidavits being read . The Clerk of the Court then read the affidavits h&ndsd to him by Mr . O'Connor , -which consisted of some from persons of the highest respectability in Edinburgh , Glasgow , Hull , >* ewcastle-upon-Tyne , Carlisle , and Pdsley ; and also from the Rev . W . Hill , the editor , and Mr . Joshua Hobeoa , the publisher , of the Northern Star . The affidavits generaiiy set forth that the deponents had long known Mr . Feareus
O'Connor , and had attended many meetings at which ^ ith&d - ^ dressed the people ; that in all cases in which r tfegjrliiS been present he had deprecated the idea of pli ^ iliorce , or a violent opposition to the lists and iBsBfa&ons of the country , as -well as all secret associations ; and thai be had uniformly declared bis belief t hat moral force ani constiuitioial agitation war * the ¦ fly means that could be employed on behalf of the Charter , "with any ^ anw of success , lir . Hill , as editor of the Star , and Mr . Hobsen , as publisher , both deposed that Mr . O'Connor had given particular directions that nothing injurious to private feelings or inlividnl character , and nothing of a libellous ^ saditi » M tendency tbould M inserted Uk , && £ l&P-& . tlti >
J « pon » eTe 9 ^ oaa ^ aaMra <^<^ i «™^< fe crTpr ; on iraeIa « ent tear ¦ $ 6 $ S&&iDn , had betnexdud&d , and thai always r wben informed orconsalted about snch cases , hchad given bis approval ; and farther , that he had ever evinced vhe utmost anxiety , in the conducting and publication of the paper , to avoid everythiEg of an illegal , character . Tkt affidavits having been read—Mr . 0 * Cox : von again roso , an < proceeded to address "the Court He said , that having p : aced rca ^ y hialavits before the Caurt , in mitigation of any punishment which . their Lordships mi ^ ht fc-1 it tiitir , duty to pronounce = upon him , before he said any thing more in mitigation Of that punishment , he must tbank their l ^ rcsfcijxs , not more for the favoar they had extended to bim . than for tb . & - - TcrycOTrteous mamiti in which that had been d-jne . The
grett difficulty h « should have to contend "with would - . be to keep the subject matter under the attention of their Lordships , -while he kept the person before them oat of view . It wss true that he had be ? n found guilty at York , of what was called a libel One portion ' of that libel he should bow speak upon . He Bhould separate that which belonged to himself , from that which belonged to others , but the publication of which was almost imposed upon him in his capacity of a journalist . The Jury , after & Tery full and abls summing ap by the Learned Judge , in ( which he told them that they might find him guilty on some of the coasts of the Information , and . acquit him on others , commenting strongly on his own ( Mr . O'C ' s ) speech , and accounting properly enough for the introduction of some martial
terms , which he took to be mere rhetorical phrases ; meaning nothing in themselves . Tet the Jury with must unbecoming rapidity and indecent haste , returned a verdict , without qualification or hesitation—without having had time to read ten lines of the alleged libel , andwithout waiting , moreover , to be asked in the usual way , •¦ Hew do yon find tha prisoner , guilty , or not guilty ?* "With that indecent haste and apparent eagerness , theyretumed a verdict of guilty , upon all the eoufiis of the information . And , what was his position bow ? -Why , if he had been defendant in an action involviig ten pound ' s worth of proptrry , he could La \ e upset the whole proceedings ; but as it was only his liberty , or perhaps his life tkat wa 3 involved , he tou'd not do SO . Such Was the differ * -T > re between r . ivil
and criminal proeeetii » gs ; and * o for was he prejudiced by that difference . But he would now submit this speech of his to their Lordships ; ho would lay it before them , and he would drfy the ablest and most subtle lawyer in the land , though God knows what they might do with such a law of libel , as he anould , in all probabilitr , get a taste of presently ; yet , in spite of all this , he would defy the most astute lawyer in the land to diacover and point out a sentence of Ebel in that speech . He stood there to-day to defend his honour and character as a TTnm _ and not *> much , his jnflgmrst or vigilance a * a journalist ; aad he entreated their Lordships to look t& the affidavit * thai had bean -J t * nA—iiffiAMrftM-wbi& he h » d jfterOj ^ J ^ t ^ ^ 1
ham and &oeh £ ale , and from the reporters of the Shis ' Jiaa and the Scottish Patriot . Sure he was that those affidavits would shew that his Bpeecb . es , and some of them hint the particular speech in question , was more 'entitled to cannnesdation than to punishment . The Eported speech made him talk absolute nonsense . It Bade him say what he never could have said . For tesiance , H represented him as saying tbat £ 10 worth of cotton weuld sell for only 5 s . in the market What he did s » y was , tfcat £ 18 worth of cotton sold in the asriei would now bring a profit of only 5 s . Leave onttfceword " profit , " and th » whole sentence bec-me nwOTse . So it was in other sentence of the reported speech . Be was made to say , after commenting on
the transactions at Birmingham , that the people were now so far organ i sed that they would give physical force a warm reception . Let their Lordstips take the affidavit from Birmingham , and see what that said . What be said was , that mischief was brewing . Upon [ whose part ? The affidavit said that 40 , » 00 persons I had collected in the Bull Ricg ; that he ( Mx . O'C . ) was at the public office , with the magistrates , when persons came in and stated that there was likely to be a collision between tiie people and the police and soldiers ; that he ( iir . O'C . ) therefore went down to the people , . andadviaed them to disperse ; that betook them a mile away , to Gosta Green , because he knew that nsany of the people were ready to give the dragoons a ¦ w arm reception , asd he would not stand by a = d see that take place . Then came the affidavit of his reporter . He said in that affidavit , that the speech in question
* w the first speech he had reported Tor the Northern Star ; and that in consequence of it being so badly rgwrted he had ceased to report for the p » per , and was * ow , ann j ^ er& g ^^ beea , engaged in the work of compiling and sub-editing . Then there was the affidavit from Bochdale—not from Chartists or political parti-• ana , but from th * se who were averse to his politics ; ram electors of Koehdale , Poor Law Guardians , con-Ksbles , and others , who stated that they attended the ° » eting there from cariosity ; ani all deposed that th » P » ° ceeaiBg 8 there had tbe effect of tranqufflising the town , and preventing , in all probability , a riot or ? of the peace . But let their Lordships take up the speech with all its faults and imperfections , and as ^ Ported by a reporter who had confessed his ownic"" npetency , and alleged that the printed speech was *« hmg like the speech that was spoken : let their
£° rasnipg even take it as it wa 3 , and he would defy any : a ^ yei to tay that there was a single sentence of libel . to it . The Learsed Jcdgb at Tobk told the JCBY THAT AXTHOCGH THB LaXGCAGE WAS 8 TEO 5 G , IT did y T STEIKE HIM THAT THERE * as akt thi > -& ubellocs is it . The Learned lodge said , he regretted that Mr . O'Connor Bhould per-^ Tert his talents to make the poor hostile to the upper Casern , when speaking of a passage in his ( Hi . O'Cs ) peech , referring to an expression as reported in th 3 t ^ peech , relative to the possession of property . The Attorney-Geneial had ttied to make the Jury believe « at he wished to take from the aristoeracy ^ f the eoun-» by the property they possessedand divide it amongst
, « a people generally . Be had said no such thing . He bad no such sentiment On tbe contrary , in that very peeeh he had said thai he would not only give the ^^ ceof the soiL tut its bowels also , to those who now f * it , if they would bat permit the sons of industry » a PPly their labour fairly to it , and tins enjay a fair "nareofiia produce . la that speech * lso be was made to ^^ oeqieetfullyof fbebarand orUiejBdfea . He had «» teraonr to be a mea 3 » er of the bar h in »» » if , and fc ^ *»» i ^ to be supposed as speaking of any iirfividoal Z «** er rf th ^ b » . "" ^ en he spoke of the b « . He rswaawellbe supposed to speak against Alladminiarr * ° ** because be spoke against the present a 4-" ^ Mttrahon , So , also , with referent to fh « ™ rt «»
« < ud not mean—ft » from it—to speak in condemna-^« all the jodfes ; but still , he said , there had r *? wme recentappointmenta to the bench , both in J £ « m and in England , which were a disgrace to tho rT ™ 11 * 11 * that had m * de them , an inralt to the Bar "wajTinous to the osmtrr . Itto * remark called lorth a loud and somewhat ^™ expression of applause from the crowded Court , SaTm ^ , ' " / 18 *! nWit i ******* "oppressed by the ??* tt tairp Jcstice observing that they did not sit ^ to an forth applaue or censure , but to ad-^ ter the law ; that if the like interropttoa occurred W » y individnal detected wuld be given into rj *!? L i * hoBld U * ppe 5 r to ** seneal , the Court ^ f cleared . ] O * j 0 "poxso&contimwd—Let tiitir Lordships test "Ration , that he had spoken disrespectfully of the lT ? ° ^ Mly by eonanon wnse . Supposing that he had ^*« Mred to persaade tbe people that their Lord i * were a dii ^ Tarft tn tH « )» nA _ A ! it t > , o T ^ -mA
J ^» "Utaee , Mr . Baron Parke , Mr . Baron Alderson , i « £ Justiee Coteridge , were a disgjace to the bench , ^^^ w a angle man ia England haTe believed him ! Mifcej ? on ^ c 00 *™? . have been condemned tbe iB * * - !!? «« end of the country to the other ? pat ir ^ P ^ on ""bach his Lordship had just by aTT ?; » ninded him of a remark made <* J £ t ^^ Attorney-General during the trial *« etJ *?** tQr * Masphemoas KbeL TThen . npon ^ * » « h » Learned Gentleman read to the
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Court the opening of the alleged libel—the parody , for which Mr . Hone was prosecuted—there was a loud bnrst of laughter and applause in the court , and the Attorney-General , looking with , much more anxietyno douot to the morals of the country , thvi to the convicticm of Mr . Hone , appealed to the court , and observed that the laughter just heard proved how great aa effect til *^ writings of the defendant had pro--duced upon tSis country . But to proceed with his own speech . That speech was- referred to in the two first counts of the information . Then came the speech of O Bnen ; and he made this distinction between his own speech aad the speeches of others , in justice to himeelf . He recollected that the Attorney-General had once said , m the Hou 3 e of Commons when he ( Mr . X ^? , TS 2 ? t ^^^ i ^ - ^ P ™^ . F
, OC . ) brought before it theeasoof Messrs . Bell and Grant who had been convicted of a seditious libel , tbat he never would prosecute a- man for a sseecu spoken nnder excitement , or for a speech spoken after dinner . >> ow , the fact was , that this was a speech spoken after dinner , and probably uuder some excitement- but nevertheless , the Attorney-General had , in opposition to his own former declaration , singled it out for prosecution . Lpt himnot be misunderstood . Be did not claim exemption from the operation of tha law on any such ground ; nor did he say he agreed , with the Attorney General in refraining from prosecuting words besanse they -were , spoken after dinner , if they were Bbellous . For himself he was as cool after dinner as before dinner . Dining did not make such difference in
Mi language » to in « ke him ra ooaibing beto » ^ te-Mr , tsGmal ^ i&irmvt&aF ^ &ui M to Mr . O'Briwrt speech . The Northern'Star published three editions ; one for London and the north of England ; and in this edition only diil the speech of Mr . O'Brien appear . "While that edition was in course of publication , he ( Mr . O'Connor ) was upoa his tm ! at York , upon one of the most ridiculous and contemptible cha-rges that had ever be > .-n brouzht azaiiist any man—for a ridiculous px .-agraph taken from ? .-& jUu-r paptr . in which it was stated that a p&or boy in a Poor Law Bastile had eaten offhis thun . b . { Laughter . ) This speech of O'Brkn's , then , was published but in that one edition of the Northern Star . He had each of the editions ia Court , which proved the fact—a
fact -trUch must have been known to the Attorney-General , and he mentioned tbat fact as one in mitigation of punishment There was not a word of this speech in the second and third editions , of which 37 , 000 copies were published , it being contained only in the first edition , the circulation of whieh was verv small , and consequently the publication of the libel would have been small , if the' prosecution of the Attorney-General had not occasioned its re-publication . He had availed himself of the courtesy of the Learned Judge in allowing him to go at large , after his conviction , to procure affidavits from pers » n 3 of all parties , both in England aad Scotland , that they had never heard him at the meetings they attended advocate resort to physical force , or the
Beeking of a restitution of their rights by any but peaeesb-e means . He asktd whether these affidavits could-be stronger an . l whether they were not entitled to the serious attention of the Court ? The Attorney-General said he ( Mr . OCancerj if he did not approve of thealleged libel , should have commented on it , and said that it was wroi : g . Here , then , he was charged with an act of omission , and not of commission . Suppose the Attorney-General took np th « Times or the Chronide , and found in it an extravagant speech , did he look to see whether it was commented on and condemnc-d by the editor ?—aud , if not , why did he not seek from tta Timet and Chronide that which he required from the Northern S . ' jrt He came now t : > the fourth and fifth counts , which related to tie speech
of Taylor , and he had no objection to the castigation it bad received . He was always opposed to spiritual Chartism , as he hc-d ever been to spiritual Whiggism or to spiritual Toryism . He had a ! w » y 3 opposed tbe introduction of passages from the Holy Scriptures into political discussions ; yet tha Attorney-General sought to associate him with what he had called tbe pr » - faniiies of Taylor ' s speech . He defied him to find in the two volumes of the Northern Siar a single pro ^ fane ,- irreligious , or indecent phrase . The Attorney-General had said that the profanation of tbe Scriptures in the 2 forthem Star was enough to warrant a heavy measure of punishment . "Why did he apply one rule to him { Mr . O'C . ] and a different rule U others ? Did he apt find in the Times , day after day , quotations of
ud MWwHiaWL iajfc Wwgihany feom the columns of the PGrcO * . i&SX&k tpppoistt or cpfidemajifefcr 3 f a . Kit toe Attorney-General sought to associate him { Mr . O'C . ) with all that was contained in this * peech of Taylor ' s . He disavowed it altogether . He had Beyer , in the whole course of his life , either written o » spoken an indecent , irreverent , blasphemtus , or immoral word . The Learned Gentleman would persuade their Lordships that he ( Mr . O'C . ) was an infideL Would to God the Attorney-General was as perfectly convinced as ha was , that a day would come when they should all stand in the awful presence of One who would judge them righteously ; One , in whose presence , neither tho quibblts of an Attorney-General , nor the mean subterfuges of a Cabinet , would for a moment stand . Aga ' ji ~ he protested that he altogether disowned participation in the sentiments of the speech in question , and he was sure thai their LordsLips would deal with this as n mere questior of crime cr m crime ; of guilt , or tow much guilt ? Tlit Attorney-General , too , sought to make him responsiblt for the peaca of the country . TThatever might hav <
been the excesses committed , he ( Mr . O'C . ) was in no way associated with them—he had never been guilty of any act which had the least ter . Jency to disturb the public peace , though now accused of it by that political party , which had avowedly done more than any other to produce agitation . Was there ever a time when public feelicg was allowed to run riot as it n » w did , altogether unchecked , save by himself and a few others ? Look to the former struggles or that party ; if they had not succeeded , the Attorney-General would probably have stood where he ( Mr . O'C . ) did . Why too was fce ( Mr . O'Oprosecuted , when such men as Mr . O'Connell , Mr . Braflahaw , and Mr . Iioby were permitted to go frea ? Let him be understood . He did nol complain that these men had not been prosecuted ; he would not have ona of them to be prosecuted . He did not ask the Attorney-General why he did not prosecute them , bnt he did ask him why , not having done so , why did he prosecute him ? Did not the Learned Gentleman
know that Mr . O'Connell had published letters in the English newspapers , giving as Ms reason fcr so doing this , that if he had published them in Ireland they would have been prosecuted as libels ? He did know it Wby then did he not prosecute him ? Why ? Because he dared not . He defied him to prosecute O'ConnelL The Attorney-General knew well that Mr . O'Connell was his master , and that if he attempted to prosecute him to-day , he would not be Attorney-General to-morrow . ( Laughter . ) But he would prosecute Mm ( Mr . O'Connors , because he belonged to a party who were neither the eulogisers nor the supporters of the' WLiga . If he bad published a libel in eulogy of the Whigs , the Attorney-General would not havo prosecuted Mm for that . But lie came to this again . How
was the law of libel managed ? By tbe present law , no one-knew when he hnd been guilty ef IibeL If a man were guilty of murder or robbery , te knew it ; but he never knew when he was guilty of libel , until tbe Attorney-General instituted a prosecution against Mm . Why did a member of the Cabinet go to Edinburgh , and indnce persons to libel , by stating that the law of-libel was a dangerous thing in the hands of the Tories ; but perfectly harmless in the hands of the present Government , for they were determined to hold it in abeyance . >* ow , although it was easy , wonderfully easy , to write a libel when endeavouring to support the . Whigs , it were abundantly sufficient , if that libel were in praise of the Whi ^ s and thtir doings , to free it from all
liability of danger from a prosecution at the instance of the Attorney-General . What was his protection , if the Attorney-General was thus allowed to keep the law in leash ? Three times had the Attorney-General called him into court for alleged offences ; the first time he had given up the charge , bnt now he sought for punishment His ( Mr . O'Connor's ) character had been well tested since the Reform Bin , wMch had been no reform for him ; he had stood three contested elections , one Commute * of the House of Common * , and five Government prosecutions . He agreed with Mr . Justice ' Coleridge , who said , at Ids trial , that character , when a negative act was charged , should go far , and that there ought to be strong grounds to convict a man of an offence
which was contrary to the tenonr of the life which he was proved to have led for a long series of years . Hehadnever . fwasinsie moment violated the public peace himself , and he asked , therefore , whether it was fair he should be watched , as the Attorney-General confessed the Northern Star was : yet , after all , they were ¦ unable to hang this prosecution upon any other than this slender peg , not finding any ground for it in the leading articles of the paper , or in bis own speeches . Where had the Learned Gentleman—after all his watching—where had he found a word sgainst individual character in the Northern Star ? Where had he found
" the one-handed miscreant ?"—where the stunted corporal . ? - "Where had he found such things as these in the columns of the paper that bad occupied so much cf his time and attention ? No ; but the Attorney-General knew well where such things were to be found , but he dare not thrust his hands into the hornet ' s nest to fish them out for fear of being stung . ( Laughter . ) Bat it was said he had published these libels . Why , how . eould the proprietor of a newspaper be at all times present , and watch , and superintend every thiDg inserted in it ? It might be said it was bis duty to do so ; but sartdy , in his ( Mr . O'Cs ) case , the affidavit * showed how anxious he had ever been to txclude « ve * y
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thing from his paper of a libellous character . It was said by some that the press had a duty to perform ; by some that it had usurped & privilege . He asked the Attorney-General whether he ( Mr . O'C . ) had ever exceeded that duty or privilege ? "What could not the press do ? A combination of the press of the country could destroy the bench itself . It could by combination destroy the Houses of Parliament , whilst the House of Commons could not destroy the press . A combination of tiie whole press against the institutions of the country would destroy those institutions . If the press were to combine against even an Attorney-Gsneral , it could destroy that functionary tomorrow . Laughter . ) He would not stop to dispute whether the press had an assigned duty or a prescriptive right : " >!*? froai W" P * Pe' ¦«* * Hbellou . character . It was
but he defied the Attorney-General to produce from the Northern Star a single passage which violated the sanctity of private life , or which could be justly considered libellous . Yet , Ms prosecution was considered so important as to require that the Attorney-General and four of the most eminent gentlemen of the brj should be sent down to prosecute him ; and the Attorney-General and bis prosecution , vrasjheld in such estimation by even tho organ of tbe Cabinet , that they dispatched the whole affair , speeches of the Attorney-General , and tbe Learned Sergeant , and the other two Learned Gentlemen in four lines—just a line for each f them . True thosa four lines were an excellent sample of the manner in which prejudice against him was got up ; for they stated that he was prosecuted , for
having ad ** w . A tbA-people of Birmingham to " possess themselves of guns , partridges , pikes , &c . ; while , as the information even fully showed , not a word was said about pikes or cartridges at alL Was that prejudice or not ? Tbe Attorney-General j said that he ( Mr . O'Connor ) boasted that Ms paper had given an impetus to Ms party ; and it w . is so . Was not that the very object of a puper ? If any one said to tho Editor of the Timet that bis wa 3 a profligate journal , he would laugh at it ; but very different would be his feelings if it were said ! Jhat tbe Times had no effect upon public opinion ; but the Attorney-Ganeral did not prosecute the Times . He ( Mr . o-Connor ) was the yeat offender . Ho was charged with attacking the Queen ' s prerogative , and
propagating opinions which would lead to revolution . Show Mm one sentence against the Queen ' s prerogative in the Northern Star ; they could uot , but ho could produce thousands in its favour . It did not advocate , as others who were not prosecuted did , a repeal of the Corn Laws , which , if it took place to-day , would occisien a revolution to-morrow . It did not advocate a reform , or a sweeping away of the House of Lords , for , God forbid , in the present state of the other House , that the House of Lords should be destroyed . They were the only barrier between the people and tbe most trafficking House of Commons tbe country had ever known . He was a Democrat—a Chartist He advocated th « five points , and would surrender them only with his life He had advocated
them at gnat expense , for , thank God , he was not a mendicant politician . It had formerly been said that a libel was anything tending to bring the Administration into contempt But that definition of libel ' bad been abandoned . Why ? Because it was impossible to speak of the present Admin ' stration without bringing them into contempt ! ( Laughter , in which the judges joined . ) He complained that the ptople were robbed of their just rights—that the line of demarcation ! between tbe poor and tbe rich , the patron and the client had been drawn more strongly , and that the object of the present Government was , per fas aui nefas , so ta model the Cabinet as to make it still more vulgar than it was , ( Langhter , in whish the Judges joined . ) Ta : k of bringing them into contempt , indeed ! Why ,
the thing was an impossibility ; they were beneath contempt ! They had been called all manner of names : they had be » u caUed a " shabby" Government ; but he would call them a buhglkdy pitch Government —( laughter)—for never yet dirt plaster adhere to the chest of an unfortunate patient more firmly than did this Government to the chest of ib . * patient cation ! ( Laughter . ) He waa not as he wasacccused , one of those who sought to bring public authorities into dlsreputo or contempt He did not quarrel with the aristocracy of the Cabinet ; no , but with ita vulgarity . He complained that the aristocracy were robbed of their natural rights ; that the connection between them and the poor , as patron , and client , was dissolved ; and that the line of demarcation , as he bad said , was drawn more strongly every day . Mr . O'Connor then proceeded
^ BSS 6 T ^ 3 §«^^^ rSrSS entering into Dudley , la 1838 , by-toTch-Bgbt ; to the fact of Nottingham , Newcastle , and Bristol being in flames ; and « o&pared the Government of the Whigs with that of the Tories , and asked , when did a Tory Government put 250 men into prison , for language , which Mr . Justice Coleridge said was sach&a would be naturally used by illiterate men detailing their wrongs ? He then contended that he had never advocated illegal doctrines , but that , on the contrary , whenever he had addressed the people , he had advised , them to rely on moral power alone—bad told them how far endurance should be patiently submitted to , and 'when endurance would become a crime . These were the doctrines he had advocated , and they were those "which tbe
Attorney-General would find in tbe Northern Stur . Ho had been accused of exciting discontent among her Majesty's subjects . >' ow , what vas the fact ? Why , instead of raising disturbance , he had done all iu his power to put it down . In every part of tho country he had visited , all was order and peace ; but where he had nut been , there disturbances had taken place , as at Newport , Sheffield , and Bradford . They had it in evidence that , instead of exciting , he had put down disturbance . What interest could he have in raising disturbances ? He had everything to lose , and as great a stake in the country as the Attorney-General He could gain nothing by a general scramble , not even the office of Attorney-General—( laughter )—were there a general scramble , and the office of the
Attorney-General was one of those thrown up , it would not be likely to fall upon him , ( Mr . O'C . ) , but be would remind the Attorney-General , that in a scramble of another sort , one between the other party in the state and the Attorney-General's own , he would be likely to lose that which he seemed to value so highly , and stick to so pertinaciously—Ma place . He defied any man to say that he had ever done anyttiing that need raise a blush upon his face ; and as long as be Lad the power of standing up to protect his character from slander ( for that was what was attacked now ) he would do so . Every causa had its martyrs , and he was picked out as the . martyr to a cause wMch he conscientiously believed to be just No revolution had been effected without many martyrs , and he supposed
he was destined to be one . Nothing had given him greater dslight than to hear the Lord Chief Justice , in defending tbe Courts « f Law against the usurpation of the House of Commons , say , that there was a difference between political and criminal offences . There had been nothing in former times like the political proseeutiens of the present day . The Tories , more gentlemanly than the Whigs , were always satisfied with prosecuting the leaders who were in the House of Commons . When did tbe Tories ever put two hundred and fifty men into prison ? And for what ? As Mr . Justice Coleridge had justly said at York , it was because plain and unlettered men had told their own stories in their own plain and unlettered way . Tbe gaols were now full , and he , the whipper-in , as tke (
Attorney-General would say , was now to go in after the pack be had sent in before him . But who had invited and encouraged the agitation for wMch so many noble-minded men were now suffering ? Why , no less a personage than Lord John Russell himself . He it was who had invited the people to meet—who had told them that this was a constitutional and- a satisfactory manner of exhibiting the state of the public mind . It was Lord John Eusell , then , that the Attorney-General was now prosecuting , although he was doing it in the persons of others . But see the mode resorted to to get convictions . Spies and informers of all descriptions ; reporters offered 150 guineas for a report of his ( Mr . O'Connor ' s ) Bpeech , as a reporter of the Horning Heraid had told him he had boen , but who also refused thus to degrade and disgrace his profession . What was the charge against Mm ; what was the offence for wMch he was called to account ? why this : —a report wMch the reporter himself had stated to be incorrect The
Attorney-General had boasted tbat h * had been longer in the office of Attorney-General than any other man for the last century . That might be true ; but it was equally so , that more prosecutions had been instituted in that period than at any former time . He ( Mr . O'C . ) bad advocated the Charter , and he gloried in having done so ; he should ptrsevere in the course he had hitherto adopted ; but he was the last man that would either resort to or advise the adoption of physical force . It could not be said of him that he had any selfish motives , in the course he had adopted , for he had done it at Ms own expense . He had never attempted to push that agitation by any other than peaceable moons , and he would be most happy to have the Attorney-General as a subscriber to the Northern Star , for in that publication he would find some of the best writing , by men in a humble sphere of life , he had ever read . The charge against him was , that he had invited the people to a violation of property , as well as to disaffection
towards tlie Throne and the prerogatives of the Throne . Why , could anything so wild ever unter into the mind of man ? He would not retract a single word he had ever spoken ; but he would now say , as ho had often said , that if they were to equalise property to-day , it would be unequal again to-morrow . What he asked fcr was , a"better equalisation of the fruits of labour , a removal of the present disparity between man and man . Such a th ' . ng as taking property from one and giving it to another sever entered tbe mind of evea tbe most
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vulgar Chartist They had always « i ! d that the free application of labour to the land would not only greatly iJwreate the comforts of the labourers , but the property of tho landlords also . * . But , see what was the effest of these representations on the public mind . They get the whole of the mkldlo classes against the Chartists . He repeated that - fee had never advocated tho despoiling of the landlord ; on the contrary , he had Btsxxl up for the landed interest against the mannfacSBring interest He liad said , if the landlord ¦ vvas a tycttt , he could be so but twice a-year ; whereas the cotton lord , or the loom lord , was a tyrant throughout the year . ' Why was he charged with sucfc an offence ? Because he stood upfor the people . Because he had preac&ed tho doctrino laid down by Lockewho TuWciarttat < IW ^ ,, * , « « M * w . A- « w ~
, stated that hi the tima of Hsnry IV ., when we bad Universal Suffrage , an Act of Parliament was passed to- prevent so . much laud being laiA £ f lu P ^ ^* ' to tn « injury of tile people .-Talk about an interference with- the property of the land ! Why , w «; r » not tithes , taxes , nnS poor ratea , and police rates , a * sd a hundred other thing * , an iutorftrene&iritti the property in the land ? Yes , bnt they were not looked ^ t ; it wa > i only when ihe people proposed any just measure for thoir own benefit that tbo cry of an Interference with landed property vraa raised . The trutl * was , however , that the people only wanted t 0 ^^^ e -wita it in such a manner as to make it n ?« pr « lnctlYe . But . to return to the prosecution of ¦ 9- % 0 ' W ?** ' :: K > w'ib « ft 8 hion . to commit a Chartist
rar-vroigtig-, - MmJ to punish him for another . Thus VusMent , " 9 fhose crime \ raa the utterance of a seditious speech , was / now boing punished for something that had appeared in tho Western Vindicator— * n offence for which he had not been tried . Was that justice ? He remembered how , at York , the Attomey-Genaral had opened Ms artillery upon him ( Mr . O'C . ) about physical force , and steret associations . Yes , the Learned Gentleman had appealed to his jury to creata a prejudice against him ( Mr . O'C . ) " Gentlemen , " said he , " your property is an usurpation ; " and he thus attempted to damage him ¦ . Mr . O'C ) , while he himself was contemplating the robbery of tbat same cla 9 S by a repeal of tbo Corn L-tws . And then Mr . Attorney-General talked of pikes and daggers for
the same purpose . Now , he ( Mr . OC ) declared thathe never saw such a thing as a pike in the possession of a Chartist ; he had never attended a meeting where they were not as orderly and as properly conducted as could be desired , and more so , perhaps , than the Attorney-General had wished . Then , as to training and : drilling , why he ( Mr . O'C . ) had last summer prosecuted six men himself for drilling and training . The Attorney-Geueral should have done it , but he left it to him ( Mr . O'C . ) The Attorney-General , when attempting to create an impression as to his ( Mr . O'C . ' s ) conduct , should have told their Lordships this . WhenbefMr . O'C . ) appeared to defend some of the Chartists at Birmingham * he asked some of the policemen whether they had ever been or heard him in any of the riots ; to which
they replied , that the answer to that would be found in the fact , that his name was not to be found in any of the police reports ; and one of them added , " Would to God , sir , that all of thoia had acted as you have done , there would havo been no rioting . " Then let their Lordships look to the affidavits from Scotlandaffidavits from men of undoubted respectability . They did not deem Ma speeches calculated to endanger the public peaco , or to injure thg efforts of legitimate agitation . On the contrary , they stated that they had alwaya heard him decry and condemn physical force . Ho had done so . He bad alwaya told the people that moral forca waa tho deliberative quality within each man ' s wind ; which told him how to reason , how to endure , and whin endurance Would become a crime :
that -when that failed—which God forbid—then , that physical force would j teomo like an electric shock ; and tbat any man who ; attempted to marshal it was a knave or a fool . Why , lie could answer the Attorney-General ' s charge against him , ao far as it related to stirring up the people , to disturbances by an authority wMth he knew the Learned Gentleman would uot object to—he meant iir . Daniel O'Connell , who had said , " There is no snch thing as prsedial disturbance where there is political agitation . " Apply that to his { My . O'Connor ' s ) cajte . See what tbe affidavits which were from Huddorsaeld said , where he had saved the persons of Poor Law Guardians from the danger to which they were exposed . And he had done a similar tMng at Newcastle . In a word , he
would again atk , what interest could he have in pro * moti fg disorder ? He-lad femghtttiwt tundrM y ^ MM |» to , sp ** le * k ( ftattteter ; w * aj 4 e- «« uliL « ppeal alsoi 4 * b 4-whole te 3 &rof bis past life . He had neve been chaqpsd / Wth to oflenceMw had never appeared in court , eithfcr as plaintiff or defendant—he had never given offence to an individual , throughout tho whole of his life . Why did not the Attorney-General answer the affidavits he had put in ? The Learned Gentleman had been most eloquently silent Ho had said nothing —he had gljen him ( Mr . O'Connor ) nothing to reply to . He recollected that Lord Chesterfield Lad said " one m-in would refuse a favour with a better grace than another would ask for one . " He could not say so much for tho Attornoy-General . Napper Tandy , when a state
prisoner at Dublin , -was asked if he got no victuals . " Yes , " said lie , " but it is thrown to me in shapeless lumps . " Sc-itrw&s with the AUorney-Gezeral . Ho had thrown to btm ( Mr . O'Connor ) bis favours in b 1 :: i | k-Uss lumps . It waa a clumsy courtrsy which hul Leon extended to him . He was there for punishment ! Why , he had recelyed ^ punishment enough . Thi 3 was tbe fifth prosecution , and the expense of these bad fallen pretty heavy' < m an individual . But he supposed he must bear nine ; and it mattered not A iwst mortem opinion might do him justice . The Attorney-General might one tiaylstand where he ( Mr . O'Connor ) now did , and then he might say , perhaps , that what he had said and done to bring him into that position , was absolutely necessary for the party whose ascendancy was
indispensable to the safety of the stat * But , at all events , let the ^ law belaid down , for tho day might come when th $ country would not ba blessed with au Attorney-General possessed of all those attributes constituting this , geatleman and the lawyer , of which the Learned Gentjenun could boast We might have one deticiont in courtesy , wanting tho milk of human kindness , and the rinbought graco of life , which so prominently mark the character of the present gentleman . We might have one who -would substitute ingenuity for science , art fot philosophy , and sophistry for learning . We might have a mau of that pliancy of principle and disposition capable of being moulded into any shape best suiting tho viowa of the political mechanic ; and because that time might come , he
xequired the Court to establish the mind ' s range and the law ' s limits , beyond which neither publication or prosecution should go . It was , therefore , necessary that the caprice and whini of an Attorney-General should not direct and controul the law of libel . Extraordinary changes were taking place . Tho monuments of the Tory martyrs—Muir , Palmer , and Margorot , bad been raised by the Whigs of 1836 ; and te ( Mr . O'Connor ) had heard the Lord Chief Justice say ha wa 3 not ashamed to call Sir Francis Burdett , a man prosecuted tor libel , Ms friend ; and that excellent as well as able man , Mr . Sergeant Talfourd , said that he considered it an honour to associate in their prisons with the victims of political persecution . There were 250 men now in prison ,
many of them tried for transactions of years gone by , and others because they had not been schooled in the Whig school of declamation—because they called a spade a spade , and pourtiayud their own grievances in their own homely language , if the people had not been interfered * Sth , their proceedings would have terminated id a % niet , peaceful agitation . He always would agitate for tho Charter , but he would not tamper with public opinion ; nor would ho countenance , much less excite , -violence . He was not a trafficking politician . He never had received a farthing , directly or indirectly , from any individual or from any association . He had borne all the expenses of bis agitation himself ; and he had , in addition , paid for thedefence of numerous Cliartist prisoners also out of his own pocket
He had stood by them in tho dock , without feeling a blush upon his cheek . He bada right to indulge in . thoso feelings ; and he might , under the circumstances , be pardoned for giving expressions to them . The question for their Lordships to consider waa , whether he had ever attempted to brook public opinion by other than moral means . Tbe Attorney . General had extracted a little poison out ot tho Northern Star ; but let him read it every week . He ( Mr . O'C . ) should like to have such a subscriber—( laughter )—unfortunately he now got it for nothing , as he obtained it from the stampoffice . If he read the paper week by week , he would know , as he had already stated , that the communications from plain working men , therein contained , were an honour and a credit to their class . But how wa 3 it that he bad been prosecuted by the Attorney-General ? Why , he had be « n poiutcd to by
Mr . O'Connell ; and it was very extraordinary that not a single leader had been prosecuted who had not shared a similar honour . Mr . O'Connor then proceeded to say that he had written to Lord John Russell , and pointed out to Mm the consequences which the agitation then going on was likely to lead to . Mr . O'Connor then read the letter addressed to Lord John Russell , in the Northern Star of July 13 th . That did not make it appear that he was a person who wished to create disorder , bat ta prevtnt it ; whereas , Lor 4 John Russell had been pursuing a coarse which was sure , soenor or latec , 1 » bring calamities of no ordinary character upon taa eauntiy . In thai tetter he had pointed out the cause of the agitation * aa- well as what it was likely to lead to . He had anticipated it alL And he wished it ta be borne in sind , thai whereas this country had not been subject to a revolution f « r neatly two o&atmiaa , in thqw tantAriea " ^ iere pt&&
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opinion was suppressed , they were constantly occurring . Public meetings operated as a safety valve , and at the same time made known the state of the public mind See what had followed here upon the putting down of public meetings . What the Attorney-General attributed to him , he attributed to the Attorney-General , in the suppression of the people's public meetings . Where these were put down , how could tho Government ascertain the state of public feeling ? Would tho Attorney-General inform them ? Could they rely upon the representations of members of Parliament , who never visited their constituents ? No ; heagain said , that in the free expression of public feeling was to be found the saftty-valve of the state m a country like this . Tho Attorney-General had ^ :.: »— .. , .,
said , at a Shne when her knew he (> fr . O'C . ) cooltl not reply to htra , that the watf who 1 * 1 others on to mischief , inijjht skulk out of it when the danger was nigh . That might-bo tho way with tie party with which the Attorney-Genera * waa allied ; but it was aofc so with bin * , ( Mr . O'C . ) He never left Lis printer o * pubUsW to answer for fe "» offences against Che law ; and hs defied him to s& ? that he had over received information ! that he ( Jftv O'C . ) was over connected with a man-, or a body at men , whepreposet ! to as * illegally . If ae bad been in »» conspiracy , , let it bo ever bo deeply laidv fcbe fucts mest , before this , have come-out . He chalieaged tho Attorney-. ' General to-state lh * t b * ( Mr . O'C . ) wa » ever concer&tfl Jitaay auelip ceedta » = -He know act what the learned TJenOfeman
would say . Would b * say that the ? indulgence which the Le&aned Judge who > tried him tad granted had not been duly exorcised ? Would ho any that stronger affidavits could lsavo bean put iu ? e « would he say , thatiie ( Mr . O'C . ) should have moved in arrest of judgment ? Hehadcomo here to rtceive She judgment ot the Court , although he was under no recognizances to do so . Wholesale charges had been mode against him of publishing libels . Now , wbat was the case ? Why one of tho very libels with which he was- charged was taken from the Tyne Mercury . Was tho proprietor of that paper brought upon tivo floor of xho Court of Queen / a Bench , ns lie \ ins ? No ; Li 3 reporter m-. is wanted by tbe Attorney-General to assist in theprosecntion of some Chartist , and , therefore , ho was let go free
But , as he had said , he appeared there to receive ths judgment of the Court , and whatever tbat judgment might be , he would meet it as a man ; he considered his life aa nothing compared with the cause ha advocated . Had he accepted tho offlrs that had been made him , on condition of supporting the WMga , and pandering to their vices , he , perhaps , might have been aa others now were , the master of the Attorney-General , instead of being , as be was now , Ms-humbie servant Aud , perhaps , an observation of Napoleon to the physician who attended the Empress during her accouchement , mayfnot bo thrown away upon yonr Lordships . Seeing the physician a little nervous , the Emperor said , " remember it is not an Empress yeu are attending , but a woman : " so he ( Mr . O'C ., ) bid their
Lordships were tryiDg a cause and not a man . He was not charged with any original libel ; aud with respect to the Northern SUir , he challenged the Attornoy-Goneral to find in that publication one single immoral sentence . He bad suffered a grtat deal , not because lie haS violated the law , but on account of supporting jt . He had suffered , because he was determined not to allow Mr . O'Connell to have an English tail , as well as an Irish ono , in the House of Commona . If the Attorney-General had not punished others , who were far mow guilty than himself , why , he would again ask , utould ho bo puuished . ' 1 ho cause wa 3 plain ; because Le had not become the tool of others , he had been a marked man . He was not ashamed of what ho had done , but he was sorry
that tho speech of Taylor h . id found its way into the Northern Siar , for he had generally found tbat those who professed to bo Bible politicians wore tho greatest political scamps in the work ! . He had generally found that-when a man wanted to delude others , ho quoted the Bible . He pretended to quote for popular purposes , what waa generally for his own purpose . Ho ( Mr . O'C . ) was no destructive . Ho had never attacked the institutions or the country . He was for the altar , the Throne , and the cottago ; bnt then he wished to see the altar the footstool of God , and not the couch of Mammon ; he wished to seethe Throne the eeat of justice and honour , and not of oppression ; he -wished to see the cottage the home of the freeman , and not the den of the slave . Ho knew that when he could not be bribed
in Jisa "House otk-Commons , he should become a ^ aJehMTUitl frSiaxkelJgSSiu bat , thank God ' ! this was tSo -only" brand that' could be found upon his forehead . He had been called a traitor . If it was treason to wish to see the cottage happy , the altar the footstool of God , aud th ^ Throue supported by the affections of the people , instead of resting upon the caprica of a vulgar administration , then was he a traitor . He asked if , iu these days of imprisonment— - these days of the march of public opinion—he asked if the Attorney-General could think of saying to kno-. vledgu , "Thus far shalt thou go , and no further V The press was tho organ which warned the Government of ita dangers . They might deny that the press had any duty imposed upon it ; but call it what they ^ 7
ouldduty , usurpation , or privilege—the press discharged that function , and ho asked , was it not strange that he should be brought on to the floor of that Ct-urt fwr what he had done ? The . circulation of tho Star wjw great — j , To ; itor t . ' ian that , he bt-licvoa , \ vithoneor two exceptions , of any other paper inKnglaud , and greater , thanthe circulation of any other provincial paper had ever been . For much of that circulation he had to thank the Attorney-General , who had so well advertised him . The Learned Gentleman had saved him many pounds expenditure in posting bills rind other ad vertisementa . But , he askod , if , with such a circulation , it was not wonderful that no graver charge had been brought against him ? Or , was it right that ho should be called upon to answer for everything that appeared in the Star , even that
had been taken out of the columns of another nowspaper ? Ho hoped ho should suffer any punishment their Lordships might think proper to award , as a man ; aud this he was determined , tbat whatever it might be , he would star-d by the principles he had professed . He waa truly astonished , when { the people had such examples before them as ho could refer to—when they saw such men at head quarters—when they had seen power scrambled for—that they had been so quiet as they had been . To what was that attributable ? To the doctrines he had taught—to the advice ho had given . It had been said , God forbid that the time should come when the people wero not allowed to meet Ho aaid tbat that time had come . The people were not now allowed to meet Ho had preached against
republicanism ; he had counselled the people against seeking a repeal of the Corn Laws , and kins ilia lacrymoe ; tbat was the cause why he stood there now . He had opposed a reform of the lords ; and it waa because he had objected to tuis , which would inevitably cause a revolution , that he was now called upon to receive the judgment of their LordsMps . He had never , in his whole life , been guilty of an net of cruelty ; he could uot commit it ; he was not , therefore , that bloodthirsty man which , the Attornoy-General would make it appear he was . Ho had been charged ¦ with making the people disaffected . Were his words so eloquent as to persuade those who were well clothed , that they were ill clothed ? The charge was ridiculous ,
and the Attorney-Gtneral knew it to be so ; but it suited hi 3 pnrposu to make it In conclusion , the Learned Gentleman said , he thanked their Lordships fur permitting him to address himself to matters that might parhap * be irrelevant—although he could scarcely think anything so whieh tended to the vindication of his honour and Ms gener . il character . He thanked them for the courtesy be had received . Notwithstanding that he had so far sustained himself he waa far from being so well as to make such a defence as he could have wished . He waa now prepared to receive the judgment of the Court , and to bow to it with Teapect , as an act « f martyrdom in the cause he bad espoused , and which , with the blosaing of Go * l , he would maintain to the lattat hour of h > s existencj .
As Mr . O'Connor resumed his seat , there was a general buz throughout the crowded Court , aa the precursor of an outbreak of applause , but it was immediately suppressed by the officers in attendance . The Attouwet-Geneiul then rose to address the Court . He stated that it was not his intention to occupy the time of their Lordships at any length . He had little more to do than to remind the Court , that the defendant stood there to receive judgment , having been convicted of publishing several libels , the object of which was to excite- the people to the commission of crime . It was not Ida intention to enter into any defence of bia own conduct He thought that Mr . O'Connor had no right to complain that any harshness had been shown to Mm , and aa a proof of that , he might refer t » the statement of Mr . O'Coanor himself , that he was not under any recognizances to appear in that Court . Mr . O'Connor bad referred to other
prosecutions wMch had been instituted against him . Now , with respect to that , he ( the Attorney-General ) must state that he waa not aware of any . Mr . O'Connor had stated very truly , that after tke verdict was pronounced , he ( the Attorney-General ) had called upon tbe Learned Judge to pronounce sentence . He had done ao , because he thought that , unless there was some good reason against it , it was far bettor that judgment should be pronounced immediately , and where the case waa tried , than that the ease should be delayed . He ( the Attorney-General ) would have been guilty of a gross dereliction of hia duty , if he had not brought this ease before a jury of tho ^ country , because the publication seemed to him , aa it had done to the jury , calculated to lead to plunder and insurrection . The jury believed that to be the intestioa of tiia defendant , and for that reas * a tfaey gave a verdict against him . Mr . O'Connor had complained tha * ofem bad not been prosecuted .
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t < f ¥ ^ -t ^ - ^ z ^ pf ' . ¦ ; ' / - C r 7-Ti ,. TZ : :: ' ::::: y& % Now ( the lAttomey-Geaeral ) eoaU eonsikaBousIf say , toat during the time he filled the office lie then ue . a , behad seennoooasionfoTsnch prosecutions ; if « n- * Ti ' - ? f » Should withollt «» least hesitation have w of MiSem ; , ^ 0 > Conno ' had also talked of the inTJ ? ^ - ^ law ¦ mW * perhaps receive somo amendmentr-indeed it would receive it from a Bill now before Parliament ; but what law of libel he aaked , could be framed which shonldSw of S ' pu ^ I-. eation . of such tMr . g * as those now before the Court —things whoso evident object was to excito to
insurrection , and which must be tfco destruction of the verv foundation of aocioty itself ? He agreed with Mr O'Connor , that public meetings tended to the rtabHity of a Government ; but thoso mceti « g 3 ought never to be signalised by speeches exhorting those present to SBlveiV . he laws—to rifle against the constituted authorities of tLe country , and to lay hands upon tie property of ctlifra . Mr . O'Connor had talked of the liberty of the press . God forbid that it shauUUver be encroached upon ; but he thonght that some limita should be made with respect to such speeches as had been made by Mr . OConner , Mr . O'Connor had also talked of the character of journalists . He agreed with him that they were worthy of being held in jiigb estimation ; 'bnt in the speeches of Mr . O'ttatraflr all order waa discouraged . Mr . O'Connor had Btatcd tcit he tad pnbliahed nothing but tfcat which was laudable and justifiable . Now ,- in order to show haw far it was
so , he would draw their Lordships' attention to some of the passages wMcb Mr . Q'Cunnor had considered aa prabeworthy . He had been going though the country in every direction ,- for the purpose &f promoting what he considered to % e a just cause . Sir . O'Connor , at the trial , had no * said that there vfag anything inacearate in the ropost of Ms speech ; aad Mr . Cliilton , r ! io reported it , did sot say that it ma so , but tha * is was not a Terlattni * report Estf Mr . O'Connor was not now ^ r < w *«!« teil for deUrwiag s > speed ) , but for publishing it stt tbe Northern Star . It waa difficiale to say what Mrv O'Connor means byphysical fores ; - £ ») mx > ko of a strong , pourtrayiil of moral foice , which ho ( tfce Attorney-G « : iaral ) waa obli ged ^ suppose meant nobbing less than physical force . In the Star of the . ma * , cf July , they iad the speech dett-TOred by Mr . Q < Jtenor' at Boeh 4 ata » « A ititea * * fe
i « 6 « tt&tioii--WB « nerTk was not published with- av view to excito " iftEurrection'again * tha Cwwiu . . Mr . O'Connor . liad brought forward ro « uy affidavits , ii * order to show that he had , on nia » y occasions , expressed laudable sentiments ; ao-dwjbt there wre auiuy laudable s *» it ; ic * nts uttered , . but they were ntteved in conjunctaca with thoso of a very opposite character . Let tUtir Lordships look to the mannor in which the AVrfrterw Star vrss conducted . Mr . O'Connor : wakes ji violentlyteiiitious E ^ cich " , tSaftUgiven-to . tlie w » ld by lr . a newspaps ' r , "which is alsoa-islo tho vehicle fc ^ sonviying thttBpeeeitesof othcra , that are also seditious . 'Ui&sylum appeared-1 » bo to collect all the seditious speadios tLat were to b » found , unii to pnbiish tl-eui in tiit .- AW / Tiem
Star , whuih , -according to th « boaBt of Mr . SVConnor , circulated , to tho number of-CV 7 , 0 C 0 . In the sai ' . ic paper also was- tho report of a uiiatiug held nt Newcastle , in which appeared a resolution to the ettect , that , in case the Government should proceed to disperse the wieetings of the people by physical foTee , tho men of Newcastle , putting their trust in God , and resting upon their , rights aud tha Constitution , had determined to iuvet an unconstitutional force by constitutional resistance - and' it weut on to give a speech of a- Mr . Ayro , who recommended all th » people to arm tbemsdves with , pikes , with firebrands , and with torches , ihoso were ' cue things put forth by Mr . O'Connor , yet he said that Jie bad never on any occasion counselled the nso of physical force , or other tlun mor ^ l means for
obtaining the Charter . These were the sort of seeches given to the public in Mr . O'Connor ' s publication — speeches which were intended to lead to the universal destruction of property , and which : £ pat in force wouJd introduce misery throughout tli 9 land . In the speech nwdo by Taylor and reported in tha sainu pp . per , it w ^ s sai d tiiat- all society , all tho institutions of the country , weto ¦ to fall—te be levelled at a blow , and that tho people would be free , though they should ¦ v vade V . irougli' streama of blood . Yet Mr . O'Connor boated that all he did was for the preservation and suppart of the Throne . All thoao speechta had " only one object in view—the worst possible obj-oct—the ra ' singof a eivil war , and a civil war of thu very worst kind ; it waa setting class against class—stttini ; the rich
against the poor—tho workman against las employer ; it tended directly to the destruction of capita ! , without which labour was valueless . Those speeshea having been marie , and having been given to the we / Id in the newgpaptr cf Mr . O'Connor , was it not tho duty of the public prosecutor to bring the author ef such publications b = fore \ tbe Court ? They led directly to the subversion of society , and the destruction of tho best institutions of the country . The number of affidavits sent in by Mr . O'Connor only showed the necessity of putting down such publications , wMch had . so poisoned and debauched-the public mind . Mr . O'Connor had boasted that his name had not been mixed up with the proceedings in Monmouth , Sheffield , or Bradford . Most certainly he had not led the insurrection ; at Newport ,
but he . was tb « person who : had excited to tho commission of that most criminal attempt , and he was actually more guilty ,: morally , . speaking , Hhan ^ tbe parties . engaged ra that traitorous proceeding . Tho Jury had , without hesitation , found that the publications in question bore the character given of theui iu the information . Mr . O'Connor complained of Juries . Ho did not know -whether in tUat he had shown bis respect for the Constitution . On trial by Juiy he ( the Attorney-General ; had still the utmost reliance , and wMle they did their duty as the Jury who tried this case , and th » Juiies elsewhere , Mr ! O'Connor , and those like Mm , would find that the law waa too strong for them , that justice would be done , and that they would receive adequate punishment for thtir crimes .
'f be Judges conferred together for a short time , after which Mr . Justice Littledale pronounced the judgment of the Court . After recapitulating the libels charged iu the information , his LordsMp said—On that information the defendant had been found guilty , and they ( tho Judges ) were perfectly' satislied that the Jury had coir . e to a right conclusion , because it waa impossible after what he ( Mr . Justice Llttledalo ) had read , that they ahould'nof have found him guilty of the intention charged against him in the information , and on all the counts . If such a atate of things had been brought about as was pointed out in tho libel , tho most enormous mischief migkt have enbueO . He had been brought up to receive tho judgment of the Court , and
m mitigation of punishment he had himself made an affidavit . [ The Learned Judge then went through the affidavit . ] He could not help thinking that in the very account given of moral force in the affidavit , it was next to physical force . " There could be no doubt whatever that every subject of the realm had a perfect right freely to discuss every political subject ; and a right to discuss Universal Suffrage , amongst others . Every person had a right to have his own opinions , to discuss those opinions , and to send them forth to the public , or to address them to persona assembled in a constitutional manner , provided that in these speeches he did not promote a breach of the public peace , or usa language that had a tendency to subvert the law , and Constitution , and Government of the country .
Besides his own affidavits , there were the affidavits of a great number of persons , who all stated that in the speeches' they had heard him make , ho had always advocated those opinions mentioned in Ma own affidavit ; but whatever might have been his opinions and speeches prior to the lath of July , as sst forth in the Northern Stur , tho Court was sorry to observe that , uufortunately , that path had boon deviated from in the speech which he himself made , aa reported ,. on tho 13 th of July . There waa no doubt that the speech reported in that paper was the defcudant ' a own speech , for he had adopted it He had also deviated from the path which , he bad stated he had confined himself to , in having published the speech , of Mr . O'Brien , and the ttatemeat
made in the two libols on the 10 th of July . Tho defendant had stated that he never meant to advise an equal distribution of property among tho people , or t » resort to physical force ; but whatever he meant , it was difficult to Bay that the great mass of the people who heard Mm , might not have cume to a different conclusion . It now , therefore , remains ( said the Learned Judge ) to pronounce the judgment of the Court , and the sentence of the Court upon you ia , that for this offence you ba imprisoned ill her Majeatys Castle of York for the spsco of eighteen calendar mouths , and that you give security for your good behaviour , yourself in £ 300 , and two sureties in £ 150 each , for the space of two years .
Mr . O'Connor wished to observe , as their LoruaMpa sentenced him to be confined in the Castle of York , that Martin , after bia conviction , appied to Mr . Justice Krkine to be imprisoned at York , but that upon application to the gaoler , the Castle was found to bo ao full that ho could not be confined there-Lord Denmak—We will make inquiry aa to that Mr . O Coknob then said that be had been under the care of bis physician for some time past , and had not yet recovered his health . Be hoped , therefore , if the Attorney-General did not object , that their LordsMps would allow him to remain in the custody of the Marshal of the Court of Queen ' s Bench . Lord Den mau —We shall take time to consider whether the custody we have mentioned ia that which you shall be confined to .
Mr . Justice Littledale . —And in the mean time the following addition should be made to the judgment — "that the defendant be committed to the custody of the Marshal of the Harshalsea , in execution of such judgment . " The defendant then bowed , and left the court in costorty . . ^ 1
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The Isukgtoh Mwrdeb . —Gould , who waa acquitted of tho murder of Mr . Templeman , has been again arrested on the minor charge of robbing the old gentleman . He shortly afterwards mada » confession , in the hope , it 19 supposed , of obtaining the reward , in which he stated that Jarvia was th& murderer , and that he and Mrs . Jarvia were accessa ries . Very little credit was , however , given tools statement by tbe magistrates ; and be has himself sinco Bolomniv declared that there was not a syllable of truth in it . He still remains in custody , but no new light has been tb / ovm upon this mysterious afiair .
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TOL . III . Ho , 131 . SATUEDAT , MA 1 T 16 1840 pmce fourpence hmwbw ,, « r y ¦ ¦ * J V ___ rive ShUUnga per quarter . '
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), May 16, 1840, page unpage, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/king-y1kbzq92ze2684/page/1/
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