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inadequate fum of two thoufand pounds; that Lord Sandwich, a nobleman not devoid of honour as a peer, nor deftitute of abilities as a man; that he fhould do this, implied a fpecies of weakness, as well as criminality, which even Lord Sandwich's moft inveterate enemies could never on any foundation impute to him. The Attorney-General therefore concluded, that the charge was totally groundlefs, and being fo, the propagator of the fcandal deferved exemplary punith

ment.

The Attorney-General then attacked with virulence the general abufe of the public prints; he called them public nuifances, difgraceful to this country; and that if a per fon wanted to abufe fyftematically, he had no more to do than make fuch publicatious his vocabulary. He then folemnly affured the jury, that, in his opinion, the damages, though laid at TEN THOUSAND POUNDS, bore no manner of proportion to the heinoufness of the offence."

The Attorney-General having finished, several witneffes were called by the plaintiff's counfel, in proof of Lord Sandwich's being a peer of the realm, a privy-counfellor, and first lord of the admiralty; and one witness proved the publication of the papers.

Serjeant Glynn next arofe, and, as counfel for the defendant, he entered into the whole of the cale with that fpirit, precifion, energy, and force of argumentation, which fo ftrikingly characterife this eminent pleader, when, roufed at the call of liberty, he chooses to exert himfelf in her defence. The Serjeant ftated at large the cafe before the court. He infifted, that it was

not the cafe of a private individual, of a particular printer; it was a direct attack upon the liberty of the prefs; and every printer in England was concerned in the event; that if the freedom of political difcuffion was denied to a free people, men in office might commit errors with impunity; they might trample upon the rights of humanity, yet go unpunished: that the charge alledged against the noble Lord in queftion, if untrue, could not materially injure his intereft, nor ought to affect his peace of mind: that it was never understood Lord Sandwich poffeffed that extreme delicacy, as to be fhocked at trifling occurrences, or alarmed at trivial imputations; that his Lordship to be fure had a nice sense of honour, but happy in a fpotlefs character, hitherto unimpeached; happy in an integrity unfullied, his Lordthip, wrapt in confcious inno cence, might defy the fhafts of malice to wound his pure, his immaculate breaft.

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With respect to the " proof of the publication," Serjeant Glynn obferved, that it refted on the teftimony of a man, whofe fole employment it was to act as a fpy upon the prefs." This difgraceful office, the Serjeant faid, had been erected towards the clofe of the infamous reign of Charles the Second; the office was founded to promote the purpofes of tyranny, and to deftroy the people's liberties: hence the perfons employed in this infamous trade, were generally to the laft degree infamous themselves. The man hired to prove this publication of the paper, wherein the fuppofed libel was contained; this man, the Serjeant contended, was of that ftamp, an obfcure indivi[N] 2

dual,

dual, avoiding the light, and feeking to hide from honeft men even the place of his refidence; for he was asked, "where he lived," but hung off from replying. How far the evidence of fuch a man fhould operate to the conviction of the defendant, this the Serjeant left to the optional difcretion of the jury.

The Serjeant then touched upon the hazardous fituation of printers in general, fhould they be liable to exceffive fines for every piece, which, through inadvertence, through hurry, or the careleffnefs of fervants, might appear in their feveral papers; and he pleaded for the extenuation of damages in the cafe before the court, as nothing fhort of the defendant's ruin was at ftake; he added, that in refpect to the enormous damages laid down by the . oppofite counfel, it was worthy obferving what different languages gentlemen held upon particular occafions; that in a late popular affair of the printers recovering but 2001. there was the greateft outcry against exceffive damages; but here, where a printer is innocently concerned as defendant, the damages are talked of in an unlimited manner.

With refpect to the action, the very bringing it against the printer partook of the nature of a malicious profecution; for the Serjeant contended, that it ought to have been brought against the agent Corte; it was he, if any perton, who had traduced the noble Lord's character; it was he who had caft a figma upon his reputation, by offering to treat for the difpofal of places in the noble Lord's department. "Yet this man," concluded the Serjeant," remains unmolested; he is fuffered to exercife his office, to carry on his traffic as

an agent and though clearly convicted of having treated in the bargain and fale way, for the purchase of places to which Lord Sandwich has a right to recommend; though clearly convicted of having done this, no notice is taken of his criminality, whilft the ruin of a printer is aimed at, for admitting an unguarded publication to appear in his paper."

Capt. Luttrell, and the Rev. Mr. Parrott, were then examined.

The Subftance of Capt. Luttrell's Evidence.

Capt. Luttrell depofed, "That when the death of Mr. Hanway, Commisioner of the Navy, was hourly expected, he received a mesfage from Mr. Corte to the following purport, that if he, Capt. Luttrell, had any friend who could advance the fum of 2000l. he might be appointed to the place in cafe of Mr. Hanway's death." Capt. Luttrell replied, he had a friend who would advance the fum required, but he fpurned at the propofal, as there were fo many gentlemen, his feniors, better entitled, from their long fervices, to the appointment."

The Captain was afked, "Whether the name of Lord Sandwich was mentioned? Or whether Corte gave any intimation that he had his Lordship's authority to treat for the difpofal of the place?" To both which questions Capt. Luttrell replied in the negative.

He was then afked, "Whether after the charge appeared against Lord Sandwich in the paper, he had not attended his Lord fhip's levee?" and "Whether he had not attended it purpofely to give his Lordship an opportunity of converfing with him upon the fubject "

ject?" He answered both those queftions in the affirmative, but added, "that Lord Sandwich never had faid a fyllable to him about the affair." Captain Luttrell was then afked, "if Mr. Corte was agent to Lord Sandwich ?" he replied," that to the best of his knowledge he was not his Lordship's agent."

The Subftance of the Rev. Mr.

Parrott's Evidence.

This gentleman depofed, that "Mrs. Brooke, wife to a Clergyman at Norwich, first told him in general, that he had an intereft to procure places ;" and added, “ that if he knew any perfon capable of prefenting her with a handfome douceur, he would use her intereft in his favour."

Mr. Hanway's death being at that time likely, Parrott applied to Mr. Corte, and afked him what he thought would be deemed a proper compliment for the place of a Commiffioner of the Navy?" Corte replied, it was not worth more than 2000 1."

Mr. Parrott having finished his detail, was asked the following pertinent questions by Mr. Morgan, counfel for the defendant, "Who the perfon was through whofe intereft Mrs. Brooke could procure the places ?"

Mr. Parrott replied. "Not Lord Sandwich."

Mr. Dunning facetioufly faid, "It must be Mr. Breflaw the jug gler."

The question was again put, and the counfel infifted on a fair explicit anfwer. Parrott faid, "that the gentleman through whofe intereft Mrs. Brooke procured the places, was a Mr. Friedenburg, one of the -'s German attendants."

Mr. Parrott was then afked, "If he had received or expected any preferment from Lord Sandwich ?" answered in the negative. "Did he know him?" the reply was, I should not know his Lordship, if he was ftanding here."

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The evidence on both fides being thus gone through, the AttorneyGeneral arofe, and replied to every part of Mr. Serjeant Glynn's fpeech: he declared himself a "friend to the liberty of the prefs, and the freedom of political difcuflion; but he hoped no man would pretend to call a bafe attack upon public characters, political dilcution."

With respect to the greatness of the damages, he urged thus: " An attempt has been made to ruin Lord Sandwich; the perfon base enough to make it, dares not ftand forth: the printer therefore is the refponfible party; and if he is ruined for having aimed at the ruin of another man, he falls only by the hands of distributive juttice."

Mr. Thurlow faid, that "the offence was aggravated by the defendant's having in his plea avowed the fact, and pledged himself to prove the truth of the charge. This was fligmatizing Lord Sandwich upon record: and as it was done with a defign to intimidate his Lordship from proceeding, fo flamelefs an audacity deserved the feverest reprehenfion."

Mr. Thurlow then concluded, by addreffing the jury as men who had "characters to maintain; and he doubted not, as the law was in their hands, they would give every fupport to the noble Lord, who had appealed to that law in juftification of his innocence, labouring under afperfions of the vilest kind."

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Lord Mansfield then proceeded to give his charge.

The Subftance of Lord Mansfield's

Charge to the Jury.

He faid,There were two forts of profecutions in matter of libel, criminal and civil.

"In cafes of criminal profecution, the truth or falfhood of the charge was totally immaterial, the charge itself being the libel. If a perfon charges another with felony, forgery, or theft, fuppofing the charge true in every part, the perfon is still guilty of a libel; and why? because the law has provided a punishment for fuch offences: if, therefore, the man is guilty, profecute him; but to charge him with crimes is an extra judicial proceeding, and as fuch may be punished.

"As to civil actions in cafes of libel, the matter is otherwife; there the falfhood conftitutes the crime. In the cafe of the libel before us, the defendant hath put himfelf upon proving the truth of the libel: Well! what have the evidences proved? Nothing which affects the plaintiff. Had Corte been Lord Sandwich's agent or fecretary, the plaintiff might have been affected by a kind of implication; but that not being the cafe, and the evidences both concurring to cicar Lord Sandwich from having any hand in the business, not the flightest ground appears whereon to accufe the plaintiff. Parrot was very properly asked the name of the perfon who procured thefe places; he at first boggled a little, but afterwards mentioned the perfon.

"With respect to the whole of the evidence, had the plaintiff's counfl objected to it, fuch objection would have been well founded,

for undoubtedly it is not evidence de bene effe; it goes no farther than to prove a conversation which paffed between the parties who delivered it, and a third perfon; however, the counfel did not at first object to it, though they did afterwards.

"With respect to the publication, that is proved by the witness who bought the paper; and from the returns made by the StampOffice, it appears that the defendant was the publisher at the time the libel appeared.

"You will, therefore, Gentlemen, find for the plaintiff; but I fhall not fay one word about the damages, as you are perfect mafters of the cafe, and will, no doubt, maturely weigh every circumftance of private and public character."

The jury withdrew about a quarter after one: about three they returned, and brought in a verdict for the plaintiff, with Two THOUSAND

POUNDS DAMAGES.

From the evidence delivered on this important trial, it inconteftibly appears, that there is a corrupt tampering for the fale of places fomewhere; but that Lord Sandwich is entirely innocent of the fact laid to his charge is manifeft, as the proof was not in the smallest degree brought home to him.

On the day of Mr. Hanway's death, which happened foon after the publication of the above letter, the place was given to Mr. March, of the Victualling-Office, who was fucceeded at that board by Mr. Gordon, of Rochester.

Some Account of the Trial on the 12th of July, at Guildhall, before Mr. Juftice Gould, and a Special Jury, between Antonio Fabrigas, a Na

tive of Minorca, and General to be kept; all admittance reMoftyn, Governor of that Island.

T

HE action

was brought against General M- for falfe imprisonment and banishment of the plaintiff in the year 1771, from Minorca to Carthagena, in the dominions of the King of Spain, without any reasonable or probable caufe, and againft the plaintiff's will; and the damages were laid at 10,000l. The defendant pleaded, ift, not guilty; 2dly, a special plea of juftification, viz. that at the time when the caufe of action arofe he was governor of Minorca, and did hold and exercife all the powers, privileges and authorities, civil and military, belonging and relating to the government of the faid ifland; and that the plaintiff was guilty of a riot and disturbance of the peace, and was endeavouring to raise a mutiny and fedition among the inhabitants. To this the plaintiff replied, that the defendant committed the faid trefpafs and affault of his own wrong, and without fuch caufes as he alledged in his plea; and thereupon, iffue being joined, the caufe was tried.

The plaintiff's cafe was briefly opened by Mr. Peckham, and enlarged upon by Mr. Serjeant Glynn, who forbore however mentioning any thing but the circumstances of the plaintiff's imprisonment, which he reprefented as aggravated, by every poffible hardship, cruelty, and rigour: He then called five witneffes on behalf of the plain tiff, four of whom were the guard placed over the plaintiff at Minorca. They proved his having been confined in a dungeon, wherein only capital offenders were used

fufed to his wife and family, who came to bring him food and bedding, which were alfo denied him : That he lived upon bread and water during the fix days he was in prifon, and lay on the bare floor of the prifon with no covering over him. The witneffes never remembered any, even the most capital offender, treated with fuch severity, as they were allowed bedding, and meat and drink. They laid the plaintiff lived like a gentleman on the ifland, and they never heard to the contrary of his being a peaceable, quiet subject. Other witnefes were ready to prove the imprifonment, and likewife his being fent to Carthagena; upon which Mr. Serjeant Davy, one of the counfel for the defendant, got up, and faid, it was unneceffary to trouble the court with their evidence, as he readily admitted on the fide of the defendant the imprisonment as above ftated, and likewife the banishment of the plaintiff. other evidence being therefore called, Mr. Serjeant Davy addreffed the jury in a very long fpeech, wherein, among other things, he endeavoured to establish the following cafe for the defendant:

No

That the island of Minorca, being formerly part of the dom nions of the crown of Spain, by the treaty of Utrecht, in the year 1713, was ceded to the crown of Great Britain, and has continued part of the dominions of the Crown of Great Britain ever fince, except while it was in the poffeffion of the French laft war: That, foon after the island was ceded, the inhabitants petitioned to have a confirmation of their privileges, practices and cuftoms, by which the island [N] 4

had

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