Gentlemen, Notwithstanding the event of the late poll, I fhould be unworthy of that good opinion with which my friends have honoured me, if I did nct in the most cordial manner exprefs to them my fincere acknowledgments. It was not in their power to prevent the effect of those combined circumftances which the popular fury of the times, and the various influences operating in favour of my opponents, rendered irrefiftible. By fome new and courtly conception of things, there are thofe who have perfuaded themfelves to declare, that length of fervice in parliament is an acquittal of every obligation to profefs the public principles on which they act.Length of fervice and independance of mind are not always fyno nymous. And I have never thought it inconfiftent with my duty, or degrading to my honour, to avow mine. In doing this I refer to my uniform public conduct for fixteen years paft. I have nothing to conceal, nor any bias on my mind by which I can be tempted in any inftance to facrifice objects of serious national importance to views of temporary emolument, either in poffeflion or expectation. The part which has been taken against me I refent not. The fupport I have experienced from my old and new friends I receive with gratitude. In the choice of your prefent members you have acted in a manner moft agreeable to your withes, and they will have perform ed no more than their bounden du ty, by ferving you with the fame difinterestednels and fidelity with which I have endeavoured to atone for many other defects. On this and every fimilar occafion, you will do well to confider that you are called upon to the exercife of this valuable franchise, to preferve that balance in our conftitution on which all our liberties depend; and bearing in your minds a late moft extraordinary tranfacti on, you will dread, as the worst of evils that can befal you, every spe. cies of ariftocratic influence; fince a moment's reflection will convince you, that nothing lefs is meant by the moft flattering condefcenfions, than to establish an intereft among you for the purpotes of private ambition; and you will hardly be per. fuaded, that thofe will prove the molt zealous affertors of your rights and independenc who have thamefully betrayed their own. In my private fituation, I shall be happy to promote the profperity of your town; and am, with the most unfeigned regard, Your obliged and obedient Bayford-Bury, April 2. Addrefs of T. W. Coke, Efq. to the County of Norfolk. To the Gen lemen, Clergy, and Freeholders, of the County of Norfolk. Gentlemen, In compliance with the opinion of many refpectable friends, I retire from a conteft, which is likely to disturb the peace of the county, without producing any advantage to that caufe in which I am engaged. The thortnefs of the interval between the nomination and the day of election was thought infufficient to recover the effects of a canvas, [7] 3 which, which (it now appears) had begun during my abfence in town, was carried on without my knowledge, and owed much of its fuccefs to an artifice not the moft juftifiable, the pretence of a junction between my late worthy colleague and my opponent. With gratitude I fhall ever acknowledge the paft favours of my conftituents; nor can I reflect, with out triumph, on the endeavours I have faithfully and steadily exerted to deferve the continuance of them. From whatever caufes my prefent disappointment may have arifen on your part, it cannot, I am fure, be imputed to any want of fincerity or conftancy on mine. I was called forth as your reprefentative, in fupport of revolutional principles; and where is the in ance in which my moft prejudiced foe can fhew that I have deferted them? Upon these principles, gentlemen, I took a decided, and, after your choice of my competitor, Inuft add, a diftinguithed part in oppofing the Ame. rican war; I gave my vote moft heartily, and moft fuccefsfully, for controuling the enormous influence of the crown; and affified in that truly conftitutional measure, by which the much-abufed power of voting was taken away from the immediate dependents of the crown. On the fame principle, and with the fame fteady view to the common good, I will never give up my claim to confiftency in having fupported the duke of Portland in his coalition with lord North, being perfuaded that fuch a measure, however liable to mifre prefentation, was, by a change of circumftances, become indifp nfably neceffary. felt it my duty to follow the example of many honeft men, who, after I the conclufion of the American war, having no juft ground of differ ence, were willing to lay afide perfonal animofities, for the fake of purfuingmeafures falutary in themfelves, and which nothing but their union could render practicable.But, whatever opinion you may form of my conduct, the purity of my motives ftands, I truft, unimpeached. Had a regard for your intereft, and for the honour of becoming your reprefentative, held a fecondary place in my withes, there is a path in which I poffibly, as well as others, might have gratified a lefs generous ambition, and have faved myfelf the difappointment which I now experience. In ftating thefe facts, I mean not to make an oftentatious display of fervices, which have no other merit than the motives that dictated them; but I do mean to convince you that I have not betrayed the truft of which you have deprived me; and that whatever reasons you may have for giving a preference to other men, you have no juft ground of accufation against me. While I lament the lofs of your confidence, as it affects myself, I feel a more ferious concern for the confequence of that lofs to the Whig intereft, which my family was in this county brought forward to fupport in the year 1768, and which now feems threatened with a total overthrow by the machinations of its enemies, and by the temporary prejudices of many of those who thould be its fupporters. Let me, however, do juftice to thofe numerous and refpe&table friends, to whofe generous exertions, in the prefent inftance, I am fo highly indebted, and whose firmness, in de. fence of conftitutional liberty, will, I trust, The faid bailiff further fets forth, Thomas Corbett, bailiff of the that on the faid final close of the liberty of the dean and chapter of the collegiate church of St. Peter, poll, a fcrutiny was duly demanded the collegiate church of St. Peter, in behalf of fir Cecil Wray, which at Westminster, in the county of Middlefex, doth hereby certify unfcrutiny the faid bailiff has grantto the sheriff of the faid county of ed, for the purpose of investigating Middlefex, that by virtue of a certhe legality of the votes more actain precept, dated the 26th day of curately than could be done on the March laft, and on the fame day granted is now pending and undefaid poll; and the faid fcrutiny fo delivered to him the said bailiff, by the faid theriff, for the election of termined; and by reafon of the pretwo citizens to ferve in the enfuing ceives he cannot make any other remifes, the faid bailiff humbly conparliament for the city of Weftminfter, and by virtue of the writ there-in-before is contained, until the faid turn to the faid precept than as herein recited, (proclamation of the ferutiny thall be determined, which premifes in the faid precept firft he fully intends to proceed upon mentioned, the day and place, as in with all practicable dispatch. In the faid precept is directed, first being made) he the faid bailiff did witnefs whereof, he the faid Thoproceed to the election of two citi-berty, hath hereunto fet his hand mas Corbett, bailiff of the faid lizens to ferve in the cnfuing parlia- and feal, the 17th day of May, in ment for the faid city of Weftminfter, on the first day of April now year of our Lord 784. laft paft, on which day appeared and were put in nomination the three candidates hereinafter mentioned; and a poll being demanded, he the faid bailiff did forthwith proceed to take the faid poll, and continued to take the fame, day by day, during fix hours each day, viz. from nine in the forenoon to three in the afternoon, until the day the I THOMAS CORBETT, Bailiff. Copy of the Protefts against granting a Scrutiny, deavered to the brigh Bailiff at St. Anne's Vestry Room, on June 11, 1784... "To Thomas Corbett, Efq; High Bail.ff. Before I go upon the business of this fcrutiny, I do hereby folemnly protest against its legality, and referve to myfelf the right of impeaching it hereafter, either in any court of judicature, or before a committee of the houfe of commons under Mr Grenville's act; and I hereby alfo declare, that I referve to myself the right of fuing the high bailiff for all the expences, or the double of them, which are drawn upon me by this illegal act, in the appointment of this fcrutiny. C. J. Fox. Veftry room, St. Anne's, June 11, 1784. on the Profecution of William Jones," Gentleman, against the Reverend William Davies Shipley, Dean of Si. Afaph, for a Libe, at the Af fizes af Shrewsbury, Aug. 6, 178. before the Honourable Mr. Justice Buller. ON N Friday, the 6th of Auguft, 1784, the trial came on, at the affize at Shrewsbury, before the hon. Mr. Juftice Buller. The indictment was laid for the publishing a libel, entitled, the Principles of Government, in a Dialogue between a Gentleman and a Farmer. This dialogue was written by Wil To Thomas Corbett, efq. high bai. liam Jones, efq. now fir William liff of Westminster. We whofe names are fubfcribed, electors of Westminster, do proteft against your commencing or proceeding on any fcrutiny of the poll on the late election for reprefentatives in parliament for this city; and do referve to ourselves the right and power to object to, and impeach all your proceedings therein, as we thall be advised. Given under our hands, on be- JONATHAN PAGE, CHARLES PROBART, THOMAS BROOKS, Jones, knight, and one of the judges of the fupreme court of judicature at Fort William in Bengal. The Jury. John Nicholls, of Chelmarth, efq. William Pemberton, of Walford, efq. Charles Walcott, of Bitterley, efq. Richard Jones, of Riston, esq. Counsel for the Crown. Mr. Manley, Solicitor. Mr. William Jones, of Ruthin. Counfel Mr. Lewis Hughes, of St. Afaph. After hearing Counsel on both fides, and after having ftated the evidence, Mr. Juftice Buller addreffed the jury nearly as follows. "Now, gentlemen, this is the whole of the evidence that has been given on the one fide and the other. Asfor the feveral witneffes who have been called to give Mr. Shipley the character of a quiet and peaceable man, not disposed to ftir up fedition, that cannot govern the present queffor the queftion for you to decide is, whether he is or is not guilty of publishing this pamphlet ? tion; "You have heard a great deal faid, which really does not belong to the cafe, and a part of it has embarraffed me a good deal in what manner to treat it. I cannot fub fcribe to a great deal that I have beard from the defendant's counfel; but I do readily admit the truth of that propofition which he ftated, from Mr. Locke, that "wherever the law ends, tyranny begins." The queftion then is, what is the law, as applicable to this bufinefs? and to parrow it still more, what is the law in thi ftage of the business ?—You have been preffed very much by the counfel, and fo have I alfo, to give an opinion upon the queftion, whether this pamphlet is or is not a libel? Gentlemen, it is my happinefs that I find the law fo well and fo fully fettled, that it is impoffible for any man who means well to doubt about it; and the counsel for the defendant was so conscious what the law was, that he himself flated what he knew mufi be the answer which he would receive from me, that is, that the matter appears upon the record and as fuch, it is not for me, a fingle judge, fitting here at Nifi Prius, to fay whether it is or is not a libel. Those who adopt the contrary doctrine, forget a little to what lengths it would go; for, if that were to be allowed, the obvious confequence would be what was ftated by the counfel in reply, namely, that you deprive the fubject of that which is one of his dearest birthrights: you deprive him of his appeal-you deprive him of his writ of error; for if I was to give an opinion here that it was not a libel, and you adopted that, the matter is closed for ever. The law as equally and juftly, as the pamphlet ftates-it is equal between the profecutor and the defendant; and whatever appears upon the record is not for our decifion here, but may be the fabject of future confideration in the court out of which the record comes; and afterwards, if either party thinks fit, they have a right to carry it to the dernier refort, the houfe of lords. The law is the fame in both criminal and civil cafes, and there is not a gentleman round this table who does not know that is the conftant and uniform answer which is given in fuch cases. "You have been addreffed by the quotation of a great many cafes upon libels. It feems to me, that the queftion is fo well fettled, that gentlemen fhould not agitate it again; or at least, when they do agi-. tate it, it fhould be done by ftating fairly and fully what has paffed on all fides, not by ftating a paffage or two from a particular cafe, that may be twisted to the purpose that they want |