THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS
 
 THE 
 
 THREE TRIALS 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 rOR rUBLISHING 
 
 THREE PARODIES: 
 
 VIZ., 
 
 THE LATE JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM, 
 THE POLITICAL LITANY, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SINECURISTS' CREED, 
 AT GUILDHALL, LONDON, 
 
 BEFORE 
 
 THREE SPECIAL JURIES, 
 
 AND 
 
 MR. JUSTICE ABBOTT ON THE FIRST DAY, 
 
 December i8th, 1817, and 
 
 LORD CHIEF JUSTICE ELLENBOROUGH 
 
 On the Two Last Days, December igxH and 2oth. 
 WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 
 By WILLIAM TEGG, 
 
 Editor of ^'' Wills of their Oivn" ^^ Laconics,''' ^c, &~r. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WILLIAM TEGG & CO., PANCRAS LANE, CHEAPSIDE. 
 
 1876.
 
 LEEDS: PRINTED BY MCCORQUODALE & CO.
 
 THE 
 
 THREE TEIALS 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 FOR PUBLISHING 
 
 THREE PARODIES; 
 
 VIZ. 
 
 THE LATE JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM, 
 
 THE POLITICAL LITANY, AND 
 
 THE SINECURISTS' CREED; 
 
 o\ 
 
 Cljtt^ (Bp^9im Infmmtms, 
 
 AT GUILDHALL, LOKDON, DURING 
 
 THREE SUCCESSIVE DAYS, 
 
 DECEMBER 18, 19, & 20, 1817; 
 
 BEFORE 
 
 THREE SPECIAL JURIES, 
 
 AND 
 
 ME. JUSTICE ABBOTT, ON THE FIEST DAY, 
 
 AND 
 
 LORD CHIEF JUSTICE ELLENBOROUGH, 
 
 ON THE LAST TWO DAYS. 
 
 Thrice the brindled cat hath mew'd ! 
 
 Shakspeaee. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY AND FOR WILLIAM HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY. 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1818. 
 
 PP.ICE — WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE PUBLIC MEETING- 
 
 FOUR SHILLINGS IN BOARDS.
 
 L- 
 
 HI St 
 
 INTEODUCTION. 
 
 William Hone was born at Bath, in 1780. Wlien very young 
 he was placed in a solicitor's office, where he stayed but a short 
 time. He began life as printseller and bookseller, in Lambeth, in 
 July, 1800. He afterwards removed to St. Martin's Churchyard, 
 but soon had the misfortune to be burnt out. He then joined 
 with Mr. Bone, a bookseller in the Strand, but the partnership 
 did not last long. He by himself recommenced business in May's 
 Buildings, St. Martin's Lane, next to High Street, Bloomsbury. 
 lu 1815 he started The Traveller newspaper; in 1816, the 
 Eeformist's Register ; and, shortly after, he produced the Parodies 
 on the Liturgy. This was in 1817. They roused the indignation 
 of all well-thinking people, and the publication was almost im- 
 mediately withdrawn, not soon enough, however, to prevent a 
 Government prosecution. Hone was tried three times, and 
 acquitted on each occasion; for party spii'it ran high, and he 
 was regarded as a kind of political martyr. Mr. Justice Abbott* 
 was the judge on the first trial ; at the second and third trials, 
 Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough presided. The acquittal of Hone 
 was thought by his partizans a gi-eat triumph. Hone defended 
 himself, and in doing so evinced superior abilities and a thorough 
 knowledge of his position. In a pecuniary sense, the acquitted 
 pai'odist was benefited ; a subscription amounting to over .£3,000 
 having been raised for him. This enabled him once more to 
 commence business on Ludgate Hill ; and here he produced The 
 Every Day Booh, in two volumes, and The Table Book — really 
 valuable works, which have been applauded for the kindly senti- 
 * Afterwards Lord Tenterden.
 
 IV INTRODUCTIOK. 
 
 ments and ■wholesome doctrines which, pervade them throughout. 
 Hone was afterwards engaged by the late Mr, Thomas Tegg to 
 write a fourth volume, under the title of The Year Booh (the 
 original plan of Hone), as a continuation to the others. He did 
 so, and received for it the large sum of £500 ; so that literary- 
 labour at that period was well thought of. 
 
 Hone was careless about moiicy matters. Many instances can 
 be told of his thoughtlessness as regards himself and family. 
 When The Year Book was being passed through the press the 
 late Mr. Thomas Tegg, knowing the character of the man, and 
 how imprudent it would be to advance him any large sum of 
 money at one time, made a condition to advance .£10 to £15 a 
 week. One day, after receiving £10, he met a brother author 
 in the street, who told him a long tale of sorrow and distress in 
 his family. " Tell me no more," says Hone — " Here, take this • 
 it will at least assist the family for a time," handing him the 
 cheque which Mr. Tegg had just given him. Returning to the 
 publisher with a cheerful face, he related what he had done. Mi". 
 Tegg was angry at the moment, but said, " Remember the old 
 saying, Mr. Hone, 'Be just before you're generous ;' " at the same 
 time giving him another cheque, on account, for £10.* 
 
 The next anecdote, although different in character, again 
 illustrates the character of the man. One sultry day in July, 
 passing along Mansion House Street, the celebrated banker, 
 
 L , was standing at his door with his hat in his hand, wiping 
 
 his forehead. Hone, being rather near sighted, and thinking it 
 was a person asking for relief, put a penny into his hat, saying, 
 *' There, there, don't let me see you begging here again ! " The 
 good-natured banker took the coin and put it in his pocket, and 
 for many years related the anecdote with great glee to many of 
 his friends.* 
 
 His large family was a plea for raising a second subscription in 
 his aid ; and the late Mi'. Tegg, with a few friends, subscribed 
 £400, and placed him in the Grasshopper Coffee House, in Grace- 
 church Street. Here he was again unsuccessful. An Independent 
 * Tlie Editor had tbeso anecdotes from Mr. Tegg himself.
 
 INTRODUCTIOX. V 
 
 minister suggested a different vocation, and lie became a preacher 
 at tlie "Weigh House Chapel. He was at the same time one of the 
 editors of the Patriot newspaper. 
 
 In 1836-7 he suffered twice from paralysis ; and a third attack 
 rendered him heliiless. He continued gradually to sink, and 
 expired at Grove Place, Tottenham, 6th November, 1842, aged 
 63 years. 
 
 ■■'■,,;•■ The Publishers, having frequently been asked to print tliese 
 trials of William Hone, have now done so ; they must not, 
 however, be in any way held responsible for the doctrine or 
 teaching elicited in the course of the trials. The work is now 
 produced in its original form, as a sjipplement to his popular 
 works, — The Every Day Booh, Table Booh, and Year Booh. 
 
 The Parodies may be read, and taken as an exhibition of 
 political feeling, at a time when party spirit ran high, rather than 
 as a cool and imprudent attempt to bring certain portions of 
 veligion into ridicule. The trials, too, are curious in another v/ay, 
 setting aside religious feeling, as showing the desire of the 
 Government at that time to regulate the opinions of the Press. 
 The work, therefore, is interesting, showing the manner in which 
 public prosecutions were conducted at that period. 
 
 It has been truly said that the Parodies were the "Baxe" to 
 "Hone's Life," but the splendid ideas enunciated in his Every 
 Day Booh, &c., were "The Antidote." 
 
 WILLIAM TEGG. 
 
 Paxcras Lane, 
 1876. 
 
 %* TLe original titles of "The Trials" are placed at tlie end of the -work, 
 in case auy gentleman feels desirous to bind tlicm up with the volume.
 
 ADDBESS. 
 
 I INTIMATED an intention of exliovting my fellow-citizens against 
 parodying Scripture or the forms of worship established by law. 
 I am glad to find that the intimation had the efiect I wished. 
 Had the Parodies been re-published in the way I anticipated, the 
 Ministers of the Crown might perhaps have essayed another alarum 
 to the weak-minded ; and — as there is no calculating upon the move- 
 ments of folly — have asked Parliament for another suspension of 
 the Habeas Corpus Act. They are laughed out of Court ; bub 
 instead of arising and putting their house in order, and going 
 forth — like sensible men — and doing as one of old did, they still 
 seek unrefreshing slumbers upon the bed of office. The solemn 
 bigotry of one of my Prosecutors, the 7iohle Secretary of State for 
 the Home Department, rej^oses beneath the unblushing hypocrisy 
 of another of my Prosecutors — my brother parodist — the Bight 
 Honourable President of the Board of Control. Hence, if they 
 keep their places during the year, we may expect four New Lot- 
 teries, at least, with imjiroved Schemes, and an increased number 
 of Bible Societies and Executions. 
 
 WILLIAM HONE. 
 January 23, 1818.
 
 THE 
 
 FIEST TRIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 ox AN 
 
 0):^©ffict0 Mormatiou. 
 
 AT GUILDHALL, LONDON, DECEMBER 18, 1817, 
 
 BEFOEE 
 
 Mr. justice ABBOTT AND A SPECIAL JURY, 
 
 FOR PUBLISHING A PAliODY OX THE lATE 
 
 JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM 
 
 OF A MINISTERIAL MEMBER. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRIMTED BY AND FOR WILLIAM HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY; 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLEKS. 
 
 1817. 
 
 PRICE ONE SHILLING.
 
 FIEST TEIAL. 
 
 THE KING AGAINST WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 ON AN EX-OFFIOIO INFOEMATION FOE PUBLISHING THE LATE 
 
 JOHN WILKES'S CATECHISM. 
 
 Teied in Guildhall, London, on Thuesday, December 18, 1S17, at the 
 London Sittings after Michaelmas Term. 
 
 BEFOEE ME. JUSTICE ABBOTT* AND A SPECIAL JUET. 
 
 The Trial of this issue excited considerable interest. So early 
 as eiglit o'clock the avenues leading to the Court became crowded ; 
 the doors were thrown open shortly after, and the Court im- 
 mediately filled. About twenty minutes after nine o'clock, Mr. 
 Hone entered, attended by a youth, his brother, who placed on 
 the table of the Court several parcels of books and papers, which 
 nearly covered the table. About half-past nine o'clock Mr. Justice 
 Abbott took his seat on the Bench, and the following Special 
 Jury were immediately sworn : 
 
 John Godwin Boweing, LeaJenhaU 
 
 Street. 
 W1U.IAM Syme, Fenchurcli Buildings. 
 John Woollett, Gotild Square. 
 John G'BRiEN.Broad Street Buildings. 
 WiLLiAii NoAKES, Little Eastcheap, 
 
 South Side, wine merchant. 
 
 John Gardiner, Old Broad Street. 
 Nicholas Hilton, Ironmonger Lane. 
 Samuel Beook, Old Jewry. 
 James Hunter, Barge Yard. 
 William Thompson, Queen Street. 
 Thomas Lewis, Queen Street. 
 Thomas Edwards, Cokman Street. 
 
 * Afterwards Lord Tenterden. 
 B
 
 2 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. Shepherd (son to the Attorney-General) stated, tliat tliis 
 was an information filed by his Majesty's Attorney-General 
 against the defendant, for printing and publishing a certain 
 impious, profane, and scandalous libel on that part of our chui*ch 
 service called the Catechism, with intent to excite impiety and 
 irreligion in the minds of his Majesty's liege subjects, to ridicule 
 and scandalise the Christian religion, and to bring into contempt 
 the Catechism. 
 
 The Attorney-General (Sir Samuel Shepherd) addressed the 
 Court as follows : — 
 
 My Lord, and Gentlemen of the Jury — You have understood 
 from my young friend the nature of this cause. It is an informa- 
 tion filed by me, as Attorney-General, against the defendant, 
 William Hone, for printing and publishing an impious and 
 profane libel, upon The Catechism, The Lord's Prayer, and The 
 Ten Commandments, and thereby bringing into contempt the 
 Christian Religion. I won't occujiy your time long, gentlemen, 
 in showing this to be the effect of the publication, for it seems 
 impossible for me to hear it read without feeling one's-self 
 compelled to apply to it this langaiage. It is charged, and, as I 
 think, justly charged, with being a profane, blasphemous, and 
 impious libel. It has nothing of a political tendency about it, 
 but it is avowedly set ofi" against the religion and worship of the 
 Church of England, as established by Act of Parliament. It has 
 been over and over again said by the most eminent judges, and 
 particularly by one who was the most learned man that ever 
 adorned the bench — the most even man that ever blessed domestic 
 life — the most eminent man that ever advanced the progress of 
 science — and also one of the best and most pvirely religious men 
 that ever lived. I speak of Sir Matthew Hale.* It was by him 
 in one sentence said, that "the Christian Eeligion is parcel of the 
 Common Law of England." The service of the Church of 
 England is also part of the statute law of England ; for in the 
 reign of Charles the Second, for securing uniformity of public 
 prayer in the Church of England, a book, commonly called "The 
 * Ciiief-Justicesliip of the King's Beucli. Born, ICO?. Died, 1676.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. <* 
 
 Book of Common Prayer," was not composed, hut collected, and 
 annexed to an Act of Parliament then framed, as part of the 
 enacted form of the Liturgy of the Church of England. If to 
 revile that — if to bring it into contempt, be not a libel, then 
 Christianity no longer is what Sir Matthew Hale descriljed it — 
 " parcel of the Common Law of England," nor this sacred book 
 a part of the statute law of the land, because in such an event 
 the law must declare its inability to support its own provisions. 
 In that book there is a catechism, the object of which is most 
 important, because it is that part which is peculiarly destined for 
 forming in the minds of the younger classes of the community 
 that proper foundation for religious belief which is to influence 
 their future conduct. It is that part which the ministers of the 
 Church of England are peculiarly bound to teach to those between 
 the infant and adult state at certain pei-iods of time ; it is that 
 part which all who are initiated into Christianity tlurough baptism 
 must be confirmed before they come to their pastor in an adult 
 state. To procure this important object, it consists of three parts : 
 — 1st, The Service of the Church of England; 2nd, The Apostles 
 Creed (which is professed by every class of Christians, no matter 
 what be their particular form of worship) ; and 3rd, The Ten 
 Commandments, which were of divine origin, communicated 
 originally from the mouth of God through Moses to the Jews. 
 These form the foundation of all our religious and moral duties ; 
 they are those which, if men would but obey, there would be an 
 end to strife ; nothing but peace and happiness could then be 
 found in human society. This book (" The Book of Common 
 Prayer") has also the Lord's Prayer, as in his sacred and blessed 
 Sermon on the Mouut. If these works be not what ought to be 
 held sacred from ridicule, what is there which can be called so in 
 the mind of a Christian 1 I take this to be a proposition of law, 
 that he who attempts to parody these three sacred parts of 
 Christian belief, and presents them to the mind in a ridiculous 
 shape, does that which is calculated to bring them into contemjit, 
 and is therefore, by the law of the land, guilty of a libel. It cannot 
 be necessarv to Christian minds to reason on the baneful cflect of
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 sucli a puLlication as tlie defendant's. If any of you, gentlemen, 
 be fathers, and wish your children to hold in reverence the sacred 
 subjects of Christian belief, read these publications of the defend- 
 ant, and say if you would put them into the hands of those childrea 
 you love. If you would not put them into their hands, would you 
 into those of the lower classes of society, which are not fit to cope 
 with the sort of topics which are artfully raised for them 1 I ask 
 you, if it be possible, that after such publications are thus cheaply- 
 thrown among this class of people, they can, with the same degree 
 of reverence that becomes the subject, look at the contents of the 
 Sacred Book of our belief? Nay, even in better cultivated minds, 
 the firmness of moral rectitude is shaken, and it often becomes 
 necessary to make great mental exertion to shake ofi" the influence 
 of these productions, and recall the mind to a time feeling towards 
 sacred truths. They are inevitably calculated to weaken the 
 reverence felt for the Christian faith. It may be said that the 
 defendant's object was not to produce this effect — I believe that 
 he meant it, in one sense, as a political squib, but his responsibility 
 is not the less, for he has parodied " The Catechism " in terms which 
 it is impossible to believe can have any other effect than that of 
 bringing it into contempt. The publication is called "A 
 Catechism ; that is to say. An Instruction to be learned of every 
 person before he be brought to be confirmed a Placeman or 
 Pensioner by the Minister." The jury will see these are the very 
 words of the original in parody. Again, The Aj^ostles Creed is 
 also in complete parody. "We say, "I believe in God," &c., &c.; 
 here he says, "I believe in George, the Eegent Almighty, Maker 
 of New Streets, and Knights of the Bath ; and in the present 
 Ministry, his only choice, who were conceived of Toryism, brought 
 foi'th of Wm. Pitt, suff"ered loss of place under Charles James 
 Pox ; were execrated, dead, and buried. In a few months they 
 I'ose again from their Minority ; they reascended the Treasury 
 Benches, and sit at the right hand of a little man in a large wig ; 
 from whence they laugh at the petitions of the people who pray 
 for Peform, and that the sweat of their brow may procure them 
 l)read." The Ten Commandments ai-e also parodied, and divided
 
 FIRST TRIAL. O' 
 
 precisely in tlie same nianuer as the rest of the publication, for 
 the purpose of keeping the whole resemblance more complete. 
 The child is supposed to be examined precisely as it is laid down 
 in the 2nd chapter of Exodus, of coui-se parodied. He answers, 
 as to the {ironiise of belief his sponsors made for him — 
 
 " The same to which the Minister for the time being always 
 obliges all his creatures to swear. I, the Minister, am the Lord 
 thy liege, who broiight thee out of want and beggary into the 
 House of Commons." 
 
 [Here an exjiression of feeling was manifested by some indi- 
 viduals of the crowd in the Hall of the Court.] 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — If there is anybody present of so light 
 a disposition as to think that a matter of this kind should be made 
 a subject of laughter, at least he shall learn that he shall not come 
 here to interrupt those who are of a gi'avcr disposition, and in the 
 discharge of an important duty. 
 
 The Attorney-General — My Lord, if there be any pei'sons 
 here who can raise a smile at the reading of the defendant's 
 j)ublication, it is the fullest proof of the baneful effect it has had, 
 and with which I charge it. It is for that very reason I charge it 
 as a libel on the Law of England. I am not sorry for the faint 
 smile just uttei'ed in court. It establishes the baneful tendency of 
 the work. If there be any here who are not Christians of some 
 sect or other, God forbid that I should have their applauding 
 sup])ort. Their approbation or disapprobation is alike indifferent 
 to me. When I allude thus to Christians, let me be supposed as 
 only alluding to those who have had the opportunity of having 
 the light of Christianity shed upon them — God forbid I should be 
 supposed to denounce those who had not had that opportunity. 
 T!ie next Commandment in this Parody is, " Thou shalt have no 
 other Patron but me." At last comes that part where a young 
 man is desired to recite the Lord's Prayer, and this is parodied in 
 the same manner. I know, gentlemen of the jury, that by the 
 laAv of England, it is your province to decide on the matter of 
 the libel, and to say if it be such or no. I am not sorry that this 
 is the case, for I think it impossible that any twelve men who
 
 6 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 iinderstancl tlie law of England, and tlie precepts of Christianity, 
 wliicli ara part and parcel of tliat law, can read this production 
 of the defendant's without being decidedly of opinion that it is 
 impossible to read it without seeing that its necessary and obvious 
 consequence must be to bring into contempt the Liturgy of the 
 Church of England. I forbear, gentlemen, from reading any 
 more of this production, as it will shortly be read by the clerk. 
 I shall now go to prove the publication by the defendant ; it will 
 be for yoii to take it fairly and fully under your investigation, and, 
 according to the solemn obligation you have taken — that obliga- 
 tion of an oath Avhich is founded on religion, or it is no oath at 
 all — decide upon it ; and so help you God. 
 
 The Attorney-General then called witnesses to prove the 
 publication of the parodies by the defendant. 
 
 Griffin Swanson, examined hy Mr. Topping. 
 
 He held in his hand a pamphlet, called " Wilkes's Catechism," 
 which he bought on the 17th of February last, at Mr. Hone's 
 shop, No. 55, Fleet Street. He bought it from a boy or a girl in 
 this shop, Avhich then had Mr. Hone's name over the door. The 
 girl, he believed, said she was Mr. Hone's daughter. Twopence 
 was the price of it. He bought pamphlets afterwards at the 
 same place, and marked them at the time. He observed bills in 
 the window, that a publication by the name of this Catechism was 
 sold there, but he could not recollect whether there were posting 
 bills advertising it. 
 
 Henry Hutchings, examined hy Mr. Richardson. 
 
 On the 7th of February last, he was the landlord of a shop, 
 No. 55, Fleet Street, and Mr. Hone, now in Coui't, was tlien his 
 tenant, and up to Midsummer. He used to sell books and 
 pamphlets. The parish was situate in St. Dunstan's in the West, 
 and he believed in the City of London. 
 
 Thomas White, examined hy Mr. Shepherd. 
 
 Was Clerk of the Inner Treasury at the King's Bench, and 
 produced "The Book of Common Prayer" and the Seal. He
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 7 
 
 pointed out in tlie book tlie Cliurcli Catechism, signed by the Com- 
 missioners, and exemplified by the Great Seal. It corresponded to 
 the publications by the King's Printers and the Universities. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — It would be a highly penal offence to 
 l)ublish as from authority any other than the real authenticated 
 form. 
 
 Ml'. Thomas White — Certainly, my Lord. 
 
 Here the printed Catechism, with the publication of which the 
 Defendant stood charged, was put in and read by the Clerk. It 
 was as follows ; — 
 
 " The late John Wilkes's Catechism of a Ministerial Member ; 
 taken from an Original Manuscript in Mr. Wilkes's Haud- 
 wi-iting, never before printed, and adapted to the present 
 Occasion. — With Permission. — London : Printed for one of 
 the Candidates for the Office of Printer to the King's Most 
 Excellent Majesty, and Sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet 
 Street, and 67, Old Bailey, Thi-ee Doors from Liidgate Hill. 
 1817. Price Twopence. 
 
 "A Catechism, that is to say, An Instruction, to be leai-ned of every 
 person before he be brought to be confirmed a Placeman or 
 Pensioner by the Minister." 
 
 Question. What is your name ? 
 
 Aiiswer. Lick Spittle. 
 
 Q. Who gave you this name ? 
 
 A. My Sureties to the Ministiy, in my Political Change, 
 wherein I was made a Member of the Majority, the Child of Cor- 
 ruption, and a Locust to devour the good things of this kingdom. 
 
 Q. What did your Sureties then for you ? 
 
 A. They did promise and vow three things in my Name. 
 Fii'st, that I shoidd renounce the Reformists and all their Works, 
 the pomps and vanity of Popular Favour, and all the sinful lusts 
 of Independence. Secondly, that I should believe all the Articles 
 of the Court Faith. And thirdly, that I should keep the Minis- 
 ter's sole Will and Commandments, and walk in the same all the 
 days of my life.
 
 8 FIRST TRIAL, 
 
 Q. Dost tliou not think that thou art bound to believe and 
 to do as they have promised for thee ] 
 
 A. Yes, verily, and for my own sake, so I will; and I 
 heartily thank our heaven-born Ministry, that they have called 
 me to this state of elevation, through my own flattery, cringing, 
 and bribery ; and I shall pray to their successors to give me their 
 assistance, that I may continiie the same unto my life's end. 
 
 Q. Rehearse the Articles of thy Belief. 
 
 A. I believe in George, the Regent Almighty, Maker of 
 New Streets, and Knights of the Bath. 
 
 And in the j)resent Ministry, his only choice, who wei'e con- 
 ceived of Toryism, brought forth of William Pitt, suffered loss 
 of Place under Charles James Fox, were execrated, dead, and 
 buried. In a few months they rose again fi-om their minority ; 
 they reascended to the Treasury benches, and sit at the right hand 
 of a little man with a large wig ; from whence they laugh at the 
 Petitions of the People who may pray for Reform, and that the 
 sweat of their brow may procure them bread. 
 
 I believe that King James the Second was a legitimate 
 Sovereign, and that King William the Third was not ; that the 
 Pretender was of the right line ; and that George the Third's 
 gi'andfather was not ; that the dynasty of Bourbon is immortal ; 
 and that the glass in the eye of Lord James Murray was not Betty 
 Martin. I believe in the immaculate purity of the Committee of 
 Finance, in the independence of the Committee of Secrecy, and 
 that the Pitt System is everlasting. Amen. 
 
 Q. What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy Belief? 
 
 A. First, I learn to forswear all conscience, which was never 
 meant to trouble me, nor the rest of the tribe of Courtiers. 
 Secondly, to swear black is white, or white black, according to the 
 good pleasure of the Ministers. Thii'dly, to put on the helmet of 
 Impudence, the only armour against the shafts of Patriotism. 
 
 Q. You said that your Sureties did promise for you, that you 
 should keep the Minister's Commandments : tell me how many 
 there be 1 
 
 A. Ten.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. » 
 
 Q. Which be they 1 
 
 A. The same to which the Minister for the time being always 
 obliges all his creatures to swear, I the Minister am the Lord thy 
 liege, who brought thee out of Want and Beggary, into the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 I. Thou shalt have no other Patron but me. 
 
 II. Thou shalt not support any measure but mine, nor shalt 
 thou frame clauses of any bill in its progress to the House above, 
 or in the Committee beneath, or when the mace is under the table, 
 except it be mine. Thou shalt not bow to Lord Cochrane, nor 
 shake hands with him, nor any other of my real opponents ; for 
 I thy Lord am a jealous Minister, and forbid familiarity of the 
 Majority, with the Friends of the People, unto the third and 
 fourth cousins of them that divide against me ; and give places, 
 and thousands and tens of thousands, to them that divide with me, 
 and keep my Commandments. 
 
 III. Thou shalt not take the Pension of thy Lord the Minister 
 in vain ; for I the Minister will force him to accept the Chilterns 
 that taketh my Pension in vain. 
 
 TV. Remember that thou attend the Minister's Levee day ; 
 on other days thou shalt speak for him in the House, and fetch 
 and carry, and do all that he commandeth thee to do ; but the 
 Levee day is for the glorification of the Minister thy Lord : In it 
 thou shalt do no work in the House, but shalt wait upon him, 
 thou and thy daughtei", and thy wife, and the Members that are 
 within his influence ; for on other days the Minister is inaccesible, 
 but delighteth in the Levee day ; Avherefore the Minister appointed 
 the Levee day, and chatteth thereon familiarly, and is amused 
 with it, 
 
 Y. Honour the Pegent and the helmets of the Life Guards, 
 that thy stay may be long in the Place, which the Lord thy 
 Minister giveth thee. 
 
 VI. Thou shalt not call starving to death murder, 
 
 "VII. Thou shalt not call Royal gallivanting adultery. 
 
 YIII. Thou shalt not say, that to rob the Public is to steal. 
 
 IX. Thou shalt bear false witness against the people.
 
 10 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 X. Thou shalt not covet the People's applause, thou shalt not 
 covet the People's praise, nor their good, name, nor their esteem, 
 nor their reverence, nor anj reward that is theirs. 
 
 Q. What dost thou chiefly learn by these Commandments ? 
 
 A. I learn two things — my duty towards the Minister, and 
 my duty tovrards myself. 
 
 Q, What is thy duty towards the Minister 1 
 
 A, My duty towards the Minister is, to trust him as much as 
 I can ; to fear hira ; to honour him with all my words, with all 
 my bows, with all my scrapes, and all my cringes ; to flatter him ; 
 to give him thanks ; to give i;p my whole soul to him ; to idolise 
 his name, and obey his word ; and serve him blindly all the days 
 of his political life. 
 
 Q. What is thy duty towards thyself? 
 
 A. My duty towards myself is to love nobody but myself, 
 and to do xxnto most men what I would not that they should do 
 unto me ; to sacrifice vxnto my own interest even my father and 
 mother ; to pay little reverence to the King, but to com2:)ensate 
 that omission by my servility to all that are put in authority 
 xxnder him ; to lick the dust under the feet of my superiors, and 
 to shake a rod of iron over the backs of my inferiors ; to spare 
 the People by neither word nor deed; to observe neither truth nor 
 justice in my dealings with them ; to bear them malice andhati-ed 
 in my heart ; and where their wives and properties are concerned, 
 to keep my body neither in temj)erance, soberness, nor chastity, 
 but to give my hands to picking and stealing, and my tongue to 
 evil speaking and lying, and slander of their efforts to defend their 
 liberties and recover their rights ; never failing to envy their 
 privileges, and to learn to get the Pensions of myself and my 
 colleagues out of the People's labour, and to do my duty in that 
 depai-tment of public plunder unto which it shall please the 
 Minister to call me. 
 
 Q. My good Coui-tier, know this, that thou, ai-t not able of 
 thyself to preserve the Minister's favour, nor to walk in his Com- 
 mandments, nor to serve him, without his special protection ; 
 which thou must at all times learn to obtain by diligent applica-
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 11 
 
 tion. Let mc heai", therefore, if tliou canst reliearse tlie Minister's 
 Memorial. 
 
 Answer. 
 
 Our Lord, who art in the Treasury, whatsoever be thy name, 
 thy power be prolonged, thy will be done throughout the empire, 
 as it is in each session. Give us our usual sops, and forgive us 
 our occasional absences on divisions ; as we promise not to forgive 
 them that divide against thee. Turn us not out of our places ; 
 but keep us in the Hoiise of Commons, the land of pensions and 
 plenty ; and deliver us from the People. Amen. 
 
 Q. What desirest thou of the Minister in this Memorial ? 
 
 A. I desire the Minister, our Patron, who is the disposer of 
 the Nation's overstrained Taxation, to give his protection unto me 
 and to all Pensioners and Placemen, that we may vote for him, 
 serve him, and obey him, as far as we find it convenient ; and I 
 beseech the Minister that he will give us all things that be need- 
 ful, both for our reputation and appearance in the House and out 
 of it ; that he will be favourable to xis, and forgive us our negli- 
 gences ; that it will please him to save and defend us, in all 
 dangers of life and limb, from the People, our natural enemies ; 
 and that he will help us in fleecing and grinding them ; and this 
 I trust he will do out of care for himself, and our support of him 
 through our corruption and influence ; and therefore I say Amen. 
 So be it. 
 
 Q. How many Tests hath the Minister ordained 1 
 
 A. Two only, as generally necessary to elevation : (that is to 
 say) Passive Obedience and Bribery. 
 
 Q. What meanest thou by this word Test 1 
 
 A. I mean an outward visible sign of an inward intellectual 
 meanness, ordained by the Minister himself as a pledge to assure 
 him thereof. 
 
 Q. How many parts are there in this Test 1 
 
 A. Two ; the outward visible sign, and the intellectual 
 meanness. 
 
 Q. What is the outward visible sign or form of Passive 
 Ol^edience ]
 
 12 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 A. Dangling at the Minister's lieels, whereby the person is 
 degraded beneath the baseness of a slave, in the character of a 
 Pensioner, Placeman, Expectant Parasite, Toadeater, or Lord of 
 the Bedchamber. 
 
 Q. What is the inward intellectual meanness ] 
 
 A. A Death unto Freedom, a subjection unto perpetual 
 Thraldom : for being by nature born free, and the children of In- 
 dependence, we are hereby made children of Slavery. 
 
 Q. What is required of persons submitting to the Test of 
 Passive Obedience 1 
 
 A. Apostasy, whereby they forsake Liberty ; and Paitb, 
 whereby they steadfastly believe the promises of the Minister, made 
 to them upon submitting to that Test. 
 
 Q. Why was the Test of Bribery ordained 1 
 
 A. For the continual support of the Minister's influence, and 
 the feeding of us, his needy creatures and sycophants. 
 
 Q. What is the outward part or sign in the Test of Bribery ? 
 
 A. Bank notes, which the Minister hath commanded to be 
 offered by his dependents. 
 
 Q. Why then are beggai's submitted to this Test, when by 
 reason of their poverty they are not able to go through the neces- 
 sary forms? 
 
 A. Because they promise them by their Sureties ; which pro- 
 mise, when they come to lucrative offices, they themselves are 
 bound to perform. 
 
 Q. What is the inward part, or thing signified 1 
 
 A. The industry and wealth of the People, which are verily 
 and indeed taken and had by Pensioners and Sinecurists, in their 
 Corruption. 
 
 Q. What are the benefits whereof you are partakers thereby 1 
 
 A. The weakening and impoverishing the People, through 
 the loss of their Liberty and Property, while our wealth becomes 
 enormous, and our pride intolerable. 
 
 Q. What is required of them who submit to the Test of 
 Bribery and Corruption 1 
 
 A. To examine themselves, whether they repent them truly
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 13 
 
 of any signs of former honour and patriotism, steadfastly purpos- 
 ing henceforward to be faithful towards the Minister; to draw 
 on and oft" like his glove ; to crouch to him like a spaniel ; to 
 purvey for him like a jackall ; to be as supple to him as Alderman 
 Sir William Turtle ; to have the most lively faith in the Funds, 
 especially in the Sinking Fund ; to believe the words of Lord 
 Castlereagh alone ; to have remembrance of nothing but what 
 is in the Courier : to hate Matthew Wood, the present Lord 
 Mayor, and his second Mayoralty; with all our heart, with all 
 our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength ; to admire 
 Sir John Sylvester, the Recordei-, and Mr. John Langley; 
 and to be in charity with those only who have something 
 to give. 
 
 l^Here endeth the Catechism. ] 
 
 This being the whole of the case on the part of the prosecution, 
 Mr. Hone rose, and addressed the Court to the following pur- 
 port : — He called upon the j ury, as earnestly and as solemnly as 
 the Attorney-General had done, to decide vipon this case according 
 to their oaths. If he felt any embarrassment on this occasion, and 
 he felt a great deal, it was because he was not in the habit of ad- 
 dressing an assembly like that : he had never, indeed, addressed 
 any assembly whatever ; and, therefore, he hoped that tliey and 
 the Court would show their indulgence to him, standing there as 
 he did, unassisted by counsel, to make his own defence. If he 
 were really guilty of this libel, as the Attorney-General had called 
 it, he should not have stood there this day. So far back as May, 
 he was arrested under a warrant by the Lord Chief Justice of that 
 Court, Lord Ellenborough, and brought suddenly to plead to in- 
 formations filed against him. He did not plead, because he con- 
 ceived the proceeding by information to be unconstitutional, and 
 he thought so still. However ancient this mode of proceeding- 
 might be, he was satisfied that it was never intended to be exer- 
 cised in the Avay that it had been of late years, By this process, 
 every man in the kingdom, however innocent he might be, was 
 entirely at the mercy of the Attorney-General, and of the Govern-
 
 14 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 nient. There v^as no security for honour, integrity, and virtue ; 
 no presentment to a jury, no previous inquiry; the victim was 
 taken in a summary way by warrants, and brouglit to answer 
 suddenly to informations of which he was wholly ignorant. 
 Another objection which he had to plead on that occasion was, 
 the enormous expense that must have been incurred. He had 
 been given to understand, that making his defence in the usual 
 way, by solicitor and counsel, would cost £100, which would have 
 been utter ruin to him. He applied to the Court for copies of the 
 informations, but the Court did not grant him those copies. He 
 was sorry for this, because if they had been granted, he should 
 have ki>f:>wn what he was specifically charged with. On Friday 
 last, he applied for copies at the Crown Office, and vipon j^aying the 
 customary charges, he procured them. When he was placed on 
 the floor of the Court of King's Bench, the late Attorney-General, 
 Sir William Garrow, stated, that the informations charged him 
 with blasphemous publications. Now he found, that this informa- 
 tion did not cluu-ge him with blasphemous publications ; it charged 
 that he, being an impious and wickedly disposed person, and 
 intending to excite impiety and irreligion, did publish that which 
 was stated in the information. And here he must beg leave to call 
 to their attention the great prejudice which had been raised against 
 him throughout the country by this circumstance, and the injury 
 which he had sustained by misrepresentations coming from the 
 highest authorities in the country. The late Attorney-General 
 had charged him with a second information, and he then observed, 
 that whether he were charged witli one information, or 300 infor- 
 mations, he would not plead unless copies were given to him. The 
 Attorney-General in reply, observed, that the number of informa- 
 tions depended on the number of publications. He did not, how- 
 ever, mean to charge Sir Vfilliam Garrow with any intention to 
 produce an unfavourable impression in the public mind against 
 him. But he must say, and he would say it boldly, because he 
 said it truly, that no man was ever treated with greater injustice 
 than he was by Lord Ellenborough. Previous to his arrest, under 
 a warrant issued by his lordship, he had not been ovit of the house
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 15 
 
 all the T\'eek : lie had been engaged in writing, and no application 
 had been made by any one to see him of whicli he did not hear. 
 Two officers seized him near his own door upon the warrant of 
 Lord Ellenborough and refused to let liim go home, without stating 
 any reason wliy they made that refusal. He was taken to Ser- 
 geant' s-Inn Coffee-House, and afterwards cai'ried to a lock-up house 
 in Shire Lane, where he remained till half-past five, anxiously ex- 
 pecting Mr. Gibbon, the tipstaff (who, he was told, was coming), 
 in order that he might learn from him the charge, and send for 
 friends to bail him. Gibbon did not come, and he remained 
 ignorant of the charge. On the Monday following, at a moment 
 when he was retiring for the purposes of nature, he w^as put into a 
 coach, and ordered to be taken to Westminster Hall to plead ; but 
 even then the officer could not tell him to what he was to plead. 
 While in the coach, he found it almost impossible to keep himself 
 from fainting ; but he was told, that when he arrived at West- 
 minster, sufficient time would be allowed him. He was, however, 
 taken into Court, and whilst one of the informations was being 
 read, a mist came before his eyes, he felt giddy, and applied for 
 leave to sit. The answer of Lord Ellenborough was " No ;" and 
 it Avas pronounced with an intonation that might have been heard 
 at the further end of the hall. This refusal, instead of making 
 him sink on the floor, as he had before expected to do, had the 
 effect that a glass of water on being thrown into his face woixld 
 have had, and he felt perfectly relieved. At the same time, how- 
 ever, he could not help feeling contempt for the inhumanity of the 
 judge. He was then taken to the King's Bench, and was after- 
 wards found senseless in his room there, not having performed 
 an office of nature for several days. That arose out of the 
 inhumanity of Lord Ellenborough. 
 
 Hei-e Mr. Justice Abbott interrupted the defendant, stating, 
 that he had better apply himself to the charge against him. He 
 was unw'illiug to interrupt auy person who was making his 
 defence ; but where, as in this case, it became absolutely necessary, 
 he could not refrain. It Avas the duty of Lord Ellenborough to 
 pursue the course of the Court, and it was customary for defend-
 
 16 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 ants to stand while the informations filed against tlieni were 
 being read. 
 
 The defendant proceeded — He should be sorry to be out of 
 order, but he believed instances had been known in which defend- 
 ants were permitted to sit. He thought that such cases might be 
 found in the state trials. But whether so or not, such was the 
 feeling of Sir William Garrow, that he leaned over and whispered 
 to him, "If you wish to retire for any purpose of nature, you 
 can." He thanked him, and replied, that the purpose had gone 
 by. He stated this because he should never forget the humanity 
 which Sir William had shown on that occasion, and which formed 
 a strong contrast to the behaviour of the judge whom he had 
 mentioned. Having stated these facts, he would not take up 
 their time in detailing Avhat he endured for two months in the 
 King's Bench ; suffice it to say, that he had suffered the utmost 
 distress in a domestic way, and veiy considerable loss in a pecu- 
 niary waj''. He had gained nothing there but a severe lesson. 
 He learned that, however honourable a man's intention might be, 
 they might be construed into guilt, and the whole nation might 
 be raised against him, except, indeed, the few cool, dispassionate, 
 and sober persons who would read such publications as the present 
 calmly, and determine upon the motives of the writer. It was 
 upon this intention that they (the jury) were to decide. The 
 Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Shej^herd, had stated, that this pub- 
 lication was issued for a political squib. He quite agreed with 
 the Attorney-General ; he joined issue with him iipon this iuter- 
 ])i"etation of the work ; it was published for a jjolitical squib, and 
 if they found it a political squib, they would deliver a verdict of 
 acquittal. If they found it an impious and blasphemous libel, 
 they would consign him to that punishment from which he should 
 ask no mercy. This was the question which they were to try, 
 and they had nothing to try but that. They had nothing to do 
 with the tendency which his work might have out of doors, or 
 the effect which it might produce in that Court, or, at least, they 
 had so little to do with it, as not to suffer it to weigh a feather in 
 their minds in returning their verdict to the Court. They would
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 17 
 
 remember, tliat lie was not standing there as a defendant in an 
 action brouglit by a private individual. In that case, they would 
 not have to look at the intention of the J^arty ; they would have 
 to assess the amount of the damages ; but here they had eveiy- 
 thing to do with the intention of the party, and if they did not 
 hud that this political catechism was published with an impious 
 and pi'ofane intention, they would give him a vei'dict of acquittal. 
 The Attorney- General had stated, that the very smile of a person 
 was an evidence of the tendency of this publication. He denied 
 that. The smile might arise from something wholly different from 
 the feeling of the person who wrote that publication. But he 
 would now proceed to call their attention to a veiy important 
 branch of this question. In 1771, it was the intention of certain 
 intelligent persons. Members of the House of Commons, to exjilain 
 the powers of juries relating to libels. Mr. Dowdeswell moved to 
 bring in a bill for that purpose ; and Mr. Burke, than whom he 
 could not quote a man whose authority would be greater in that 
 Court, delivered a most eloquent and impressive speech on that 
 occasion. He said, " It was the ancient priA'ilege of Englishmen 
 that they should be tried by a jury of their equals ; but that, by 
 the proceeding by information, the whole virtue of juries was 
 taken away. The spirit of the Star Chamber had transmigrated, 
 and lived again in the Courts of Westminster Hall, who borrowed 
 from the Star Chamber what that Court had taken from the Roman 
 law, A timid jury will give way to an awful judge, delivering 
 oracularly the law, and charging them to beware of their oaths. 
 They would do so ; they had done so ; nay, a respectable mem]:)er 
 of their own house had told them, that on the authority of a 
 judge, he found a man guilty in whom he could find no guilt." 
 Mr. Dowdeswell's bill was brought in, but it did not pass into a 
 law. Mr. Burke persevered in the same cause for a number of 
 yeai's, without success ; but in 1790, the late Mr. Fox brought in 
 a bill, which was now called the Libel Bill, and it was under the 
 authority of that solemn Act of Parliament that they now sat to 
 try this information. This bill had fixed the powers of juries in 
 cases of libel, and made it imperative on them to determine on the 
 
 c
 
 18 FIRST TRIAL, 
 
 wliole of matters charged in the information. Now he was 
 charged — with what 1 With intending to excite imjjiety and 
 irreligion, not with having excited it ; so that, as the law stood 
 before, if there had been but one copy printed, they would have 
 been told to find him guilty, if it could be proved that the work 
 was published by him ; but now, if he had sold 100,000 copies, it 
 was the intention with which they had to do. As to blasphemy 
 and profaneness, he spurned the charge ; and when he said he 
 spurned it, he could assure them they should not hear him say one 
 word to-day wjiich he did not utter from his heart, and from the 
 most perfect conviction. They were not to inquire whether he 
 Avas a member of the Established Church or a Dissenter ; it was 
 enough that he professed himself to be a Christian : and he would 
 be bold to say, that he made that profession with a reverence for 
 the doctrines of Christianity which could not be exceeded by any 
 person in that Court. He had, however, been held up as a man 
 unfit to live, as a blasphemer, a monster, a wretch ; he had been 
 called a wi-etch who had kept body and soul together by the sale 
 of blasphemous publications. If any man knew any one act of his 
 life to which profaneness and impiety might be applied, he would 
 ask and defy that man to stand forvvai"d and contradict him at that 
 moment. He was innocent of that charge ; and it was the 
 proudest day of his life to stand there, because he was not putting 
 in a plea of not guilty against a charge of infamous and blas- 
 phemous libel ; for if he were guilty of blasphemy, he would go to 
 the stake and burn as a blasphemer, at the same time avowing the 
 blasphemy. He said this, because he considered nothing was 
 dearer to man than sincerity. It had been the misfortune of his 
 life to have his actions misintei'preted by the paj^ers, by the 
 lookers on — the mere every-day observers ; but there were a few 
 individuals of the Established Chiu-ch who knew everything 
 alleged against him to be a foul and base calumny. It was im- 
 possible for a man so humble in life as himself to wage war with 
 opinions broached by a Secretary of State ; but when he heard 
 Loi'd Sidmouth, in the House of Lords, rising every night and 
 calling these little publications blasphemous, he had felt disposed
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 19 
 
 to interrupt him. The odds were terribly against him in a 
 prosecution of this kind, for he had to contend with the Secretary 
 of State — a man whose opinions were adopted by a great number 
 of persons of the first rank and consideration, and whose private 
 life was, he believed, unimpeachable. This eminent character 
 was, however, like other men, liable to error, else he would not 
 have denounced this publication as blasphemous in his place in the 
 House of Lords. Even if it were so, was it justice to pronounce 
 so decided an opinion, one which must necessarily carry so much 
 weight and influence, before the proper course of inquiry and 
 decision were had upon it 1 It was by these means that a war- 
 whoop and yell were sent forth against him throughout the 
 country. But, friendless and unprotected as he was, he was 
 obliged to submit, and hence his conduct had been held up to the 
 amusement of the ill-thinking throughout the country. He did 
 not desire, for he did not know how, to obtain popularity ; he 
 never went all lengths with any description of persons whatever. 
 He was as independent in mind as any gentleman in that Court 
 vras independent in property : he had made to himself many 
 enemies, because it is in human nature that the persons with 
 whom we are intimate scarcely ever forgive one dereliction from 
 what they consider duty. He always endeavoured to make up 
 his mind as coolly as possible : sure he was, that if he ever did a 
 man injury in his life, it was from mistake, and not from inten- 
 tion. And he asked the jury, if they had ever seen any of his 
 publications before, whether they had observed in them any- 
 thing that would induce them to think that he was desirous of 
 exciting impiety or profaneness 1 iSTo man in the country had a 
 greater respect than himself for the constituted authorities ; if he 
 diflered from some public men in opinion, it was not at all times 
 that he diffei'ed ; it was not because there was a common cry 
 against a measure that he joined in it. He had told them it was 
 the intention of which they were to judge ; and he would sit down 
 immediately, if the Attorney-General could lay his hand on any 
 publication in which, in any one passage or sentence, he could 
 point out anything tending to degrade or villify the Christian
 
 20 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 religion. He stated this, not in bravado, but in the sincerity of 
 his heart. If he were a man of a blasphemous turn of mind, 
 it was scarcely possible, amongst the numeroiis works which he 
 had published, and the greater part of them written by himself,^ 
 that something of this kind should not have appeared ; biit what- 
 ever opinions the Attorney-General might form respecting his 
 notions of religion, he knew that he could not produce any 
 blasphemous writings against him. He came now to another part 
 of this subject. It was his fate, when he was taken to the King's 
 Bench, although it might be an advantage to the country, to 
 differ with the Master of the Crown Of&ce, as to the way in which 
 the special juries were returned. After the juries in his case 
 were struck 
 
 Here Mr. Jvistice Abbott again interrupted the defendant, 
 observing, that he did not think this had any bearing on the- 
 question. He was sorry, he repeated, to interfere with his de- 
 fence, but he had better confine himself to the point at issue. 
 
 Mr. Hone said it had, he thought, a bearing on the question, 
 and his lordship and the jury would see it in a short time. The 
 juries to which he alluded were struck in what appeared to him 
 a fair and an honourable way ; but 
 
 Mr, Justice Abbott — I do not see the relevancy of what you 
 are now stating. It is my duty to take care that the time of the 
 Court should not be consumed improperly ; any other motive I 
 cannot have. 
 
 Mr. Hone said — That no person could be more anxious than 
 himself to save the time of his lordship and of the jviry. If the 
 Attorney-General had asked him, he would have admitted the 
 publication of the work in order to save time : but if he were 
 prevented from going on with what he had begun to state, it 
 would disarrange the whole of his defence. He brought forward 
 his arguments in the best way he could, and he hoped for the 
 indulgence of the Court. He would very briefly state what he 
 saw of the mode of striking juries. The Master of the Crown 
 Office took the book in his hand, and putting his pen between the 
 leaves, selected the name that appeared against the pen. The
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 21 
 
 Master struck tliree juries for liiiu in this way ; but when he (tlie 
 defendant) was leaving the office, he could not help observing, that 
 out of 144 persons, there were only two whose names he had ever 
 heard of before — he who had lived in London all liis life, and had 
 been actively engaged. One of them was Mr. Sharpe, and he 
 only knew his name as a member of the House of Commons. 
 When, therefore, he saw those names he began to reflect whether 
 the Master had sti'uck the juries from a proper list; and Mr. 
 Pearson, his attorney, conceiving that it was not a proper book, 
 lie (the defendant) afterwards sent a solemn protest to the Master 
 of the Ci'own Office, when he knew Mr. Litchfield, the Solicitor of 
 the Treasury, would be present, against those juries, and the 
 result was, that the Crown abandoned its special juries ; Mr. 
 Litchfield waved the three juries which had been struck in his 
 case. The Crown consented to his discharge on his own recojrnis- 
 ance. Three weeks ago these informations were revived, and 
 notices given of fresh jui'ies, and of this trial. He attended at 
 the Crown Office, and he was glad to find that a new book of good 
 jurymen was coming down to the office. He was told that a book 
 containing the names of 8,000 persons in London would be sent 
 down. The book came down, and the Master chose the juries as 
 before, but he did not take the names against which his pen struck. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — I I'eally cannot see how this bears upon 
 the cause. I shall not discharge my own duty if I suffer you to 
 proceed. I am unwilling to interfere, and prevent a defendant 
 from stating anything that bears upon his case, but I cannot see 
 the least bearing in what you are now stating. 
 
 Mr. Hone could assure his lordship that he would not say 
 anything disrespectful to the Court, but he thought the point most 
 important, and he hoped he should be allowed to proceed. 
 
 A Juryman said — He also thought it might be material, on 
 account of the notice which the public prints had taken of this 
 subject. The defendant, therefore, should have an opportunity of 
 stating the facts truly. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott regi-etted that the public prints should 
 agitate these matters previous to trial. As one of the gentlemen
 
 22 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 of the jury, however, wished to hear some explanation, the 
 defendant might proceed. 
 
 Mr. Hone resumed — He had observed, that the Master did 
 not take the name against which the pen struck, and assigned no- 
 reason for taking the name of Webb in the place of Moxon. 
 While the Master was pricking the jury, defendant could not 
 see the name he took. The Master stated that as there was a 
 cavil about the pen, he should nominate the jury as he thought 
 proper He then opened the book, the Solicitor of the Treasury 
 standing at the right hand, and Mr. Maule, assistant solicitor, 
 standing on the left, and these two could see all the names. TIio 
 Master went page after page selecting the jury, sometimes he 
 gave four names in succession without turning over a leaf, at 
 others he went over seven, eight, ten, or a dozen pages, regularly 
 examining every page before he gave a name. In one instance 
 he went over twenty-six pages, in another tliirty-six pages with- 
 out giving out a name. The defendant entered a protest against 
 this mode of proceeding. He made an affidavit of the facts, and 
 on a motion to the Court put it in. The Court decided (and to 
 him it appeared the most extraordinary decision that ever was) 
 that the Master was not bound to put the pen in his book. Nay, 
 Lord Ellenborough, in the presence of Mr. Justice Abbott, said, 
 that if the Master gave the defendant names in that way, it 
 would be giving a jury by lot, and that he was bound to select 
 such persons as he thought propei-. The defendant could oppose 
 nothing to that, except that it appeared to be an unfair mode. 
 He did not think that it ever was in the contemplation of law 
 that the Crown should select such persons as it choose. Under 
 that impression he left the Court with what he conceived to bo 
 great injustice. The judges all said that to nominate meant to 
 select. Now he found that the Master of the Crown Office was 
 nominated to the Crown by the Court, that is to say, the Court 
 nominated four or five pei'sons to the Crown, who selected one 
 of them to fill the office. Here, then, the Coui't nominated, and 
 the ci-own selected, so that nomination was not in fact selection. 
 He now came to his trial, and it was perfectly immaterial to him
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 23 
 
 of what opinion the jury were, satisfied as he was that they 
 would return a true verdict. He had a very serious impression 
 upon his mind of what his situation would be if a verdict went 
 against him. In that case he firmly believed that he should 
 never return to his family from that Court. The Attorney- 
 General was entitled to a reply ; and though the learned gentle- 
 man had shown great courtesy, he could not expect him to wave 
 that right. If he would, the defendant would engage to conclude 
 in twenty minutes. He did not see any disposition of that kind, 
 and he would therefore proceed. He should state nothing that was 
 new, because he knew nothing that was new. He had his books 
 about him, and it was from them that he must draw his defence. 
 They had been the solace of his life ; and as to one of Mr. Jones's 
 little rooms in the Bench, where he had enjoyed a delightful view 
 of the Surrey hills, they would afford him great consolation there ; 
 but his mind must be much distracted by the sufferings of his 
 family. He knew no distinction between public and private life. 
 Men should be consistent in their conduct ; and he had 
 endeavoured so to school his mind that he might give an explana- 
 tion of every act of his life. If he had ever done an injury to 
 any one, it was by accident, and not by design ; and, though 
 some persons had lost money by him, there was not one v/ho 
 would say that he did not entertain a respect for him (the 
 defendant). From being a book-dealer he became a bookseller; 
 and what was very unfortunate, he was too much attached to his 
 books to part with them. He had a wife and seven children, and 
 had latterly employed himself in writing for their support. As 
 to parodies, they were as old at least as the invention of printing; 
 and he never heard of a prosecution for a parody, either religious 
 or any other. There were two kinds of parodies ; one in which 
 a man might convey ludicrous or ridiculous ideas relative to some 
 other subject; the other, where it was meant to ridicule the 
 thing parodied. The latter was not the case here, and therefore 
 he had not brought religion into contempt. It was remarkable 
 that in October last a most singular parody was inserted in the 
 "Edinburgh Magazine," which was published by Mr. Blackwood.
 
 24 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 The parody was written with a great deal of ability, and it was 
 impossible but that the authors must have heard of this prosecu- 
 tion. The parody was made on a certain chapter of Ezekiel, and 
 was introduced by a preface, stating that it was a translation of a 
 Chaldee manuscript preserved in a great library at Paris. There 
 was a key to the parody which furnished the names of the persons 
 described in it. The key was not published, but he had obtained 
 a copy of it. Mr. Blackwood is telling his own story ; and the 
 two cherubims were Mr. Cleghorn, a farmer, and Mr. Pringle, a 
 schoolmaster, who liad been engaged with him as editor of a 
 former magazine; the "crafty man" was Mr. Constable; and 
 the work that " ruled the nation " was the " Edinburgh Review." 
 The defendant then read a long extract from the parody, of which 
 the following is a specimen : — 
 
 •'Now, in those days, there lived also a man who was crafty 
 in counsel, and cunning in all manner of working : and I beheld 
 the man, and he was comely and well favoured, and he had a 
 notable horn in his forehead wherewith he ruled the nations. 
 And I saw the horn that it had eyes, and a mouth speaking great 
 things, and it magnified itself even to the Prince of the Host, 
 and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it grew and 
 prospered. And when this man saw the book, and beheld the 
 things that were in the book, he was troubled in spirit and much 
 cast down. And he said unto himself, why stand I idle here, and 
 why do I not bestir myself ? Lo ! this book shall become a 
 devouring sword in the hand of my adversary, and with it will 
 he root ujj or loosen the horn that is in my forehead, and the hope 
 of my gains shall perish from the face of the earth. And he 
 hated the book, and the two beasts tliat had put words into the 
 book, for he judged according to the reports of men; nevertheless, 
 the man was crafty in counsel, and more cunning than his fellows. 
 And he said unto the two beasts, come ye and put your trust 
 under the shadow of my wings, and we will destroy the man 
 whose name is as ebony, and his book."' 
 
 He observed, that Mr. Blackwood was much respected by a 
 great number of persons.
 
 FIRST TKIAL. 25 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott said — He could not think tlieir resi^cct 
 could be increased by such a publication. He must express his 
 ilisapprobation of it ; and at the same time observed, that the 
 defendant by citing it, was only defending one oflence by another. 
 
 The Attorney-General said — He had been thinking for the 
 last few minutes where a person in his situation could interrupt a 
 defendant. He now rose to make an objection in point of law. 
 The defendant was stating certain facts of previous publications, 
 and a question might arise as to the pi'oof of them. The same 
 objection applied to the legality of his statement. The defendant 
 had no more right to state any previous libel by way of parody, 
 than a person charged with obscenity had of bringing volumes on 
 the table and exhibiting them in his defence. The defendant had 
 no right to be stating, and so to be publishing, things which had 
 better remain on the shelves in a bookseller's shop than be in the 
 hands of the public. 
 
 Mr. Hone said — That the Attorney-General called this parody 
 a libel, but it was not a libel till a jury had found it to be so. 
 His was not a libel, or why did he stand there to defend it 1 In 
 taking this course of defence, he did not take it as a selection of 
 modes ; it was his only mode. He had no intention to send forth 
 any offensive publication to the world, but merely to defend him- 
 self When he heard that his own parodies had given pain to 
 some minds, he was sorry for it. This sort of writing was 
 familiar to him from his course of reading. This parody, called 
 "Wilkes's Catechism," was published by him on the 14tli of 
 February, and on the 22nd he stopped the sale of the other 
 pamphlets. He should adduce evidence to show that this sort of 
 writing had never been prosecuted. He then held in his hand a 
 little publication drawn up by the late Dr. Lettsom, showing the 
 effects of temperance and intemperance, by diverging lines, as a 
 man gets from water to strong beer, and from strong beer to 
 spirituous liquors and habits of brutal intoxication. He took this 
 as a popular mode of conveying instruction with preservation of 
 health, and had no intention to ridicule the thermometer on the 
 plan on which it was framed.
 
 26 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 He (the defendant) knew there were some most excellent 
 persons who occasionally made applications of the Scripture in a 
 way which they would not do in the pulpit. In 1518, a parody of 
 the first verse of the first psalm was written by a man whom 
 every individual in this Court would esteem — a man to whom we 
 were indebted for liberty of conscience, and finally for all the 
 blessings of the Reformation itself — he meant Martin Luther. In 
 the first volume of " Jortin's Life of Erasmus," page 117, the 
 following parody, on the first verse of the first psalm, to which he 
 had alluded, appeared : " Blessed is the man that hath not walked 
 in the way of the Sacramentarians, nor sat in the seat of the 
 Zuinglians, or followed the counsel of the Zurichers." Would 
 any man say that Martin Luther was a blasphemer 1 and he was 
 a parodist as well as William Hone. But parodies had been 
 published even in the pulpit. He had then in his hand a parody 
 on the Lord's Prayer, delivered in the pulpit by Dr. John Boys, 
 Dean of Canterbury, in 1613, and which was afterwards insei-ted 
 in a folio volume of his works which he published. He stated, 
 that he gained great applause by preaching on that occasion, which 
 occurred on the 5tli of November, 1600. The parody ran in 
 these words : " Our Pope, which ai't in Borne, hellish be thy 
 name, give ns this day our cup in the Lord's supjDcr," and so on. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott thought it better that the defendant 
 should not read any more of this parody ; it could only shock the 
 ears of well-disposed and religious persons ; and he must again 
 I'epeat, that the law did not allow one offence to be vindicated 
 by another. He wished the defendant would not read such 
 things. 
 
 Mr. HoxE — My lord, your lordship's observation is in the 
 very spirit of what Pope Leo X. said to Martin Luther — " For 
 God's sake don't say a word about the indulgencies and the monas- 
 teries, and I'll give you a living," thus precluding him from 
 mentioning the very thing in dispute. I must go on with these 
 parodies, said Mr, Hone, or I cannot go on with my defence. 
 
 The next book he should refer to Avas a volume of sermons by 
 Bishop Latimei', in which there was one illusti'ated by a game of
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 27 
 
 cards. He recollected to have seen an old book of sermons w^th 
 a wooden cut, in wliicli the clei-gyinan was represented holding out 
 a cai'd in his hand from the puljjit. He had no doubt but that 
 wooden cut was a portrait of the Bishop preaching the very 
 sermon to which he was about to call the attention of the jury. 
 Let it be recollected that the author of this sermon was the gi'eat 
 Latimer, who suffered for the truth. "Would any one ventui-e to 
 say that he meant to ridicule religion ? Many of the sermons 
 were preached before the King and the Privy Council : that to 
 which he referred was the 64th, and entitled " The first of two 
 sermons of the Card, jireached at Cambridge, in Advent, 152G." 
 The Kev. Bishop says, "And because I cannot declare Christ's 
 rule unto you at one time as it ought to be done, I will apply 
 myself accordmg to your custom at this time of Christmas. I 
 will, as I said, declare unto yovi Christ's rule, but that shall be in 
 Christ's cards, wherein you shall perceive Christ's rule. The game 
 that we will play at shall be the triumph [this word triumph, said 
 Mr. Hone, is what we now call trump, which is a corruption of 
 the original term], which, if it be well played at, he that dealeth 
 shall win, and the standers and lookers upon shall do the same ; 
 insomuch that there is no man that is willing to play at this 
 triumph with these cards but they shall be all winners and no 
 losers ; let, therefore, every Christian man and woman play at 
 these cards, that they may have and obtain the triumph. You 
 must mark, also, that the triumi^h must apply to fetch home unto 
 him all the other cards, whatsoever suit they be of. Now, then, 
 take you this first card, which must appear and be showed unto 
 you as followeth : — ^You have heard what was spoken to men of 
 the old law — Thou shalt not kill; whosoever shall kill, shall be in 
 danger of judgment; and whosoever shall say unto his' neighbour 
 radra (that is to say brainless, or any other word of rebuking) 
 shall be in danger of a council ; and whosoever shall say unto his 
 neighbour fool, shall be in danger of Hell fire." This card was 
 made and spoken by Christ himself. He would not take up the 
 time of the Court by reading the whole of what the I'everend 
 prelate had said, but would confine himself to a passage where he
 
 28 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 described bad passions imder the name of Turks. " These evil 
 disposed affections and sensualities in us are always contrary to 
 our salvation. What shall we do now or imaguie to thrust down 
 these Turks, and to subdue them 1 It is a great ignominy and 
 shame for a Christian man to be bound and subject unto a Turk. 
 Naj', it shall not be so ; we will first cast a trump [here the word 
 trump is used] in their way, and play with them at cards who 
 shall have the better. Let us play, therefore, on this fashion with 
 this card. Whensoever it shall happen these foul passions and 
 Turks do rise in our stomachs against our brother or neighbour, 
 either for unkind words, injuries, or wrongs, which they have 
 done uoto us contrary unto our mind, straightway let us call unto 
 our remembrance and speak that question, unto ourselves, ' Who 
 art thou V The Bishop had taken his text from John i. 9. And 
 this is the record of John, when the Jews sent Priests and Levites 
 from Jerusalem to ask him ' Who art thou V In the course of the 
 sermon, therefore, this question, 'who art thou 1' is often intro- 
 duced. The answer (continues the Bishop) is, 'I am a Christian 
 man.' Then further we must say to ourselves — ' What requireth 
 Christ of a Christian man?' Now turn up your trump, your 
 heart (hearts is trump, as I said befoi'e), and cast your trump, 
 your heart, on this cai'd, and upon this card you shall leax'n what 
 Chrish requireth of a Christian man : not to be angry or moved 
 to ire against his neighbour in mind, countenance, or otherwise, 
 by woi"d or deed. Then take up this card with your heart, and 
 lay them together; that done, you have won the game of the 
 Turk, wherel)y you have defaced and overcome by ti'ue and lawful 
 play." As he said before, he was confident that the wooden cut 
 he had seen in the old book of sermons represented the bishop in 
 the act of holding uji the card referred to. He had introduced 
 this extract from Bishop Latimer to show that the most pious 
 men frequently resorted to means of illustrating even sacred 
 things in a way which others might consider very extraoi-dinary. 
 He was aware that many worthy men condemned parodies ; but 
 it was not his business to eulogise this or any other pai'ody ; it 
 was sufficient to show, that the practice of comiJosing them had
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 29 
 
 existed, and had been followed by tlio most venerable and 
 respected cliaracters this country ever produced. 
 
 He should now turn to that celebrated collection, the " Harleian 
 Miscellany," the second volume of which, being Mr. Button's 
 octavo edition, contained an article entitled " The plague of 
 Westminster, or an order for the visitation of a sick Parliament, 
 grievously troubled with a ncAv disease, called the consumption of 
 their Members." The persons visited are, the Eaii of Suffolk, the 
 Earl of Lincoln, Lord Rundson, the Earl of Middlesex, the Lord 
 Barkley, the Lord Willoughby, the Lord Maynard, Sir John 
 Maynard, Master Glyn, Recorder of London ; with a form of 
 prayer, and other rites and ceremonies, to be used for their 
 recovery; strictly commanded to be used in all churches, chapels, 
 and congregations, throughout his Majesty's three kingdoms of 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland. Printed for "V. Y. in the year 
 1647, quarto, containing six pages. Let all the long abused 
 people of this kingdom speedily repair for the remedy of all 
 their grievances to the high place at Westminster; and so 
 soon as entered into the Lord's House let them reverently kneel 
 down upon their bare knees, and say this new prayer and 
 exhortation following : " O Almighty and everlasting Lords, we 
 acknowledge and confess from the bottom of our hearts, that 
 you have most justly plagued us these full seven years for our 
 manifold sins and iniquities. Forasmuch as we have not rebelled 
 against you, but against the King, our most gracious Lord, to the 
 abundant sorrow of our relenting hearts, to whose empty cliair we 
 now bow in all reverence, in token of our duty and obedience. 
 For we now too well (O Lords) understand that we have 
 grievously sinned, which hath made your honours give us as a 
 spoil imto robbers — viz., your committees, sequestrators, exisemen, 
 and pursuivants," &c. The parties are then desired, if they find 
 no redress, to turn to the House of Commons ; after which, this 
 direction follows : — " Here, let all the people sing, Ps. xliii. Judge 
 and revenge, &c. ; and then facing about to Henry VII. 's Chapel, 
 let all the people rehearse the articles of their new reformed faith, 
 and after say as follows :" — The passage thus directed to be said.
 
 30 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 and the wliole article concludes thus : — " We beseech ye by all 
 these, i>ra.j against the plaguy diseases your hypocrisy hath 
 brought upon the two Houses of Parliament and the whole 
 kingdom, by heresy, poverty, impeachments, banishments, and the 
 like, amen. Then let the people sing the 41st Psalm, and so 
 depart." He had already proved to the Court and jury that 
 eminent and pious divines have been in the habit of approving 
 and writing parodies. He should now show them that that 
 species of composition had also been sanctioned by the approbation 
 of eminent lawyers. In a collection of tracts, by the great Lord 
 Somers, thei*e is a parody commencing thus : — " Ecce ! — The New 
 Testament of our Lords and Saviours, the House of our Lords 
 and Saviours, the House of Commons, and the Supreme Council 
 at Windsor. Newly translated out of their own heathenish 
 Greek ordinances, with their former proceedings ; diligently 
 compared and revised, and appointed to be read in all conventicles. 
 Chap. I. The Genealogy of the Parliament from the year 1640 
 to this present 1648. The conception of their brain, by the 
 influence of the devil ; and born of Hell and Damnation, when 
 they were espoused to Virtue. 1, The Book of the Generation 
 of John Pirn, the son of Judas, the son of Beelzebub, 2. Pirn 
 begat a Parliament, a Parliament begat Showd» Showd begat 
 Hazelrig, and Hazelrig begat HoUis. 3. Hollis begat Hotham, 
 Hotham begat Martin, and Martin begat Corbet ; and so on the 
 article goes parodying the whole of the genealogy of Christ, as 
 given in the first chapter of Matthew. It is afterwards in the 
 13th verse stated, then King Charles being a just man, and not 
 willing to have his people ruinated, was minded to dissolve them. 
 14. But while he thought on these things, behold an angel of 
 darkness appeared to him, saying. King Charles, these men intend 
 nothing but thine and the kingdom's good, thei'efore, fear not to 
 give them this power, for what they now undertake is of the 
 Holy Ghost. 15. And they shall bring forth a son, and shall call 
 his name Reformation ; he shall save the people from tlieir sins. 
 16. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was 
 spoken long ago in the prophecy. — Owtwell Bais." Then follows
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 31 
 
 the second cliapter, which is also a close parody on the second 
 chapter of Matthew. The third chapter of Matthew is parodied 
 by an application to Saltmarsh and Dell, two noted preachers of 
 those times. It commences thus : — '' In those days came Salt- 
 marsh the Antinomian, and Dell the Independent, and preached 
 to the citizens of London. The fourth chapter is a pai'ody on the 
 temptations of Chi-ist. He would read only a few passages : — " 1. 
 Then was King Charles permitted by God to be tempted by his 
 Parliament with unreasonable propositions many days. 2. And 
 when Pembroke the Tempter came unto him, he said, if thou wilt 
 still be King of Great Britain thou must set thy hand to these 
 ])ro23ositious. 9. From that time there was a deadly war between 
 the King and his Parliament, with an equal concernment on botK 
 sides. 10. And his fame went through all the quarters of 
 England, the people bringing unto him all such as were diseased 
 with the e\'il, and he healed them. 11. And there followed him 
 great multitudes of his people from Kent, from Staffordshire, and 
 from beyond Tyne." 
 
 Mr. Hone then quoted some verses from a work, entitled 
 " Political Meniment ; or. Truth told to some Tune." He next 
 read from the Rev. Mark Noble's continuation of " Granger's 
 Biographical History of England," the following verses written 
 respecting Dr. Burnet, the author of the " Theory of the Earth :" — 
 
 A dean and prebendary 
 Had once a new vagary ; 
 And were at doleful strife, sir, 
 "Who led the better life, sir, 
 And was the better man, 
 And was the better man. 
 
 The dean he said, that truly. 
 Since Bluff was so unruly. 
 He'd prove it to his face, sir. 
 That he had the most grace, sir ; 
 And so the fight began, &c.
 
 32 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 When Preb. i-eplied like thunder, 
 And roars out, 'twas no wonder, 
 Since gods the dean had three, sir, 
 And more by two than he, sir, 
 For he had got but one, &c. 
 
 Now while these two were raging. 
 And in dispute engaging. 
 The Master of the Charter, 
 Said both had caught a Tartar ; 
 For gods, sir, there were none, &c. 
 
 That all the books of Moses 
 Were nothing but supposes ; 
 That he deserved rebuke, sir. 
 Who wrote the Pentateuch, sir ; 
 
 'Twas nothing but a sham, 
 
 'Twas nothing but a sham. 
 
 That as for father Adam, 
 With Mrs. Eve, his madam. 
 And what the serpent spoke, sir, 
 'Twas nothing but a joke, sir, 
 And well-invented flam, &c. 
 
 Thus, in this battle royal, 
 As none would take denial. 
 The dame for whom they strove, sir, 
 Could neither of them love, sir. 
 Since all had given ofifence, &c. 
 
 She therefore, slily waiting. 
 Left all three fools a-prating ; 
 And being in a fright, sir. 
 Religion took her flight, sir, 
 
 And ne'er was heard of since, &c. 
 
 The next work to which Mr. Hone called the attention of the 
 jury was a small tract purporting to be translated from the French 
 of Father La Chaise. It was a parody on the Catechism intended
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 33' 
 
 to satirize Louis XIV. He was asked, Whose child are you 1 
 And answered, That he was begotten by Cardinal Kichelieu on 
 the body of Ann of Austria. He was then made to lament his 
 breach of faith with the Huguenots. The whole was a gross libel 
 on the King of France, but no ridicule of the Holy Scriptures. 
 The next work to which he should allude was the Fair Cii'cassian, 
 stated to be written by a Gentleman Commoner of Oxford. The 
 author was known to be the Eev. Mr. Croxal, the translator of 
 -^sop. It was a very free parody on the Canticles ; he held it in 
 his hand, but he did not think it fit to be publicly read. 
 
 He should now refer to a work entitled the "Champion," pub- 
 li:ihed in 1741. It was a periodical publication, and in it he found 
 the following parody : — 
 
 " Verse 5. The triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the 
 hypocrite but for a momeut. 
 
 " This is evident in the case of the children of Israel, who were 
 formerly oppressed with the Egyptian task masters ; those miscreants, 
 with Pharoah at their head (like Colossus), afflicted the poor Israelites 
 with their burdens, and built for Pharoah Treasure Cities, Pithom and 
 Eaamses. But short was the triumph of the wicked. The Israelites 
 were delivered, and Pharoah with his host of existing task masters 
 thrown into the Red Sea. 
 
 " Eemember this, O Pharoah of N — f — Ik ! — thou, who as Benjamin 
 has raven'd like a wolf, in the morning hast devomred the prey, and at 
 night divided the spoil. Gen. xlix. 17. 
 
 " Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head 
 reach unto the clouds. 
 
 " This is to say, however set forth in a preamble, 
 
 " 7. Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung ; They which 
 have seen him shall say, where is he ? 
 
 " Ainsi soir il ! 
 
 " 8. He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found ; Yea, he 
 shall be chased away as a vision of the night. Amen. 
 
 "9. The eye also which saw hiui, shall see him no more ; neither 
 shall his place any more behold him." 
 
 In the Foundling Hospital for Wit, is a paper, entitled 
 " Lessons of the Day, 1st and 2nd Book of Preferment, etc." He 
 
 D
 
 34 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 sliould trouble the jui-y with a few extracts from it. The first 
 lesson here beginneth the 1st chapter of the Book of Preferment : 
 
 " 1. Now it came to pass in the 15th year of the reigu of George the 
 King, in the 2nd month, on the 10th of the month at even, that a deep 
 sleep came upon me, the visions of the night possessed my spirits : I 
 dreamed, and behold Robert, the minister, came in unto the King, and 
 besought him, saying : — 
 
 "2. O King, live for ever ! Let thy throne be established from 
 generation to generation ! But behold now, the power which thou 
 gavest unto thy servant is at an end, the Chij^penham election is lost, 
 and the enemies of thy servant triumi^h over him. 
 
 " 3. "Wherefore, now, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thy 
 sight, suffer thy servant to dej^art in peace, that my soul may bless thee. 
 
 " 4. And when he had spoken these words, he resigned unto the 
 King his place of Fii-st Lord of the Treasury, his Chancellorship of the 
 Exchequer, and all his other preferments. 
 
 " 5. And great fear came upon Robert, and his heart smote him, and 
 he fled from the assembly of the people, and went up into the sanctuary, 
 and was safe." 
 
 "Second Lesson. — 1. Now these are the generations of those that 
 sought preferment. 
 
 " 2. Twenty years they sought preferment, and found it not : yea, 
 twenty years they wandered in the wilderness. 
 
 " 3. Twenty years they sought them places ; but they found no 
 resting place for the sole of their foot. 
 
 "4. And lo ! it came to pass in the days of George the King, that 
 they said amongst themselves, Go to, let us get ourselves places that it 
 may be well -with us, our wives, and our little ones. 
 
 " 5. And these are the names of the men that have gotten themselves 
 places in this their day, &c." 
 
 And again, " Tlie evening was warm, and the river was smooth, 
 
 and the melody of instruments was heard upon the waters, and I 
 
 said, Lo ! I will go to Yauxhall.'" So I took a companion, and 
 
 * This place, afterwards known by the name of Vauxhall, was originally the 
 habitation of Sir Samuel Moreland, who built a fine room there in 1667. The 
 house was afterwards rebuilt; and, about the year 1728, Mr. Jonathan Tyers 
 became the occupier of it ; and, from a large garden belonging to it, planted with 
 stately trees, and laid out in shady walks, it obtained the name of Spring Garden. 
 The house being converted into a tavern, soon became a jjlace of entertainment 
 much frequented by the votaries of pleasure. Mr. Tyers opeued it in 1732, with
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 35 
 
 the voyage pleased me. And it came to pass, as I sailed by- 
 Lambeth, tlie Palace of the High Priest, I asked of the man that 
 was with me, saying, is this Prelate alive or dead 1 and he answered 
 and said, our friend sleepeth. So I came to Yauxhall. * '"' * 
 And I said unto mine eye, go to now, and examine every part, 
 <tc. Then I beheld a drawer, and he looked wistfully upon me, 
 and his countenance said, Sit down. So I sat down ; and I said, 
 Go now, fetch me savoury meats, such as my soul loveth ; and he 
 straightway went to fetch them. And I said unto him. Asked I not 
 for beef 1 wherefore then didst thou bring me parsley 1 Run now 
 (j^uickly and bi-ing me wine, that I may drink, and my heart may 
 cheer me ; for as to what beef thou broughtest me, I wot not what 
 is become of it. Now the wine was an abomination unto me ; 
 nevertheless I drank, for I said, * Lest, peradventure I should 
 faint by the way,' " <fec. 
 
 The next book to which he should call their attention was one, 
 the circulation of which had been very great. It was composed of 
 the papers published by the Association for preserving Liberty 
 and Property against Republicans and Levellers, which met at the 
 " Cro-wn and Anchor," in the Strand. It was entitled " The British 
 Freeholder's Political Creed." 
 
 " Q. Who are you ? 
 
 " A. I am a freeholder of Great Britain. 
 
 " Q. "What privilege enjoyest thou by beiug a freeholder of Great 
 Britain ? 
 
 " A. By being a freeholder of Great Britain, I am a greater man, 
 
 an advertisement of a Kidotto al Fresco, a term wliicli the people of this country 
 liad till that time been strangers to. The repetition and success of these summer 
 entertainments encouraged the proprietor to make his garden a place of musical 
 entertainment for every evening during the summer season. He decorated it ■with 
 paintings ; engaged a band of excellent musicians ; issued silver tickets for admis- 
 sion at a guinea each ; set up an organ in the orchestra ; and in a conspicuous 
 part of the garden erected a fine statue of Handel, the ■vvork of Eoubillac. Vaux- 
 hall Gardens were finally closed July 25, 1859 ; and in the following month the 
 theatre, orchestra, dauciug platforms, and other properties, were sold, realizing 
 very trifling sums. The old pleasure haunt is swept awaj^, but the recollection of 
 it is still preserved in the names of the streets which now occupj- the site; and 
 Leopold Street, Auckland Street, Gye Street, Vauxhall Walk, and Italian Walk, 
 must change their titles before the remembrance of Spring Gardens and Vauxhall 
 be entirely effaced.
 
 36 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 in my civil capacity, than the greatest subject of an ai'bitrary prince j 
 because I am governed by laws ; and my life, my liberty, and my 
 property cannot be taken from me but according to those laws ; I am 
 a free man. 
 
 " Q. Who gave thee this liberty ? 
 
 " A. No man gave it me ; it is inherent, and was preserved to me 
 when lost to the greatest part of mankind, by the wisdom of God, and 
 the valour of my ancestors, freeholders of this realm. 
 
 " Q. "Wilt thou stand fast in this liberty, whereuuto thou art born 
 and entitled by the laws of thy country ? 
 
 "A. Yes, verily, by God's grace, I will." 
 
 A well-known character, Mr. John Reeves, was the chairman 
 and founder of this society. In one of his publications he (the 
 defendant) had stated that Mr. E,. was the publisher of a parody 
 on the Catechism. Now Mr. R. was a very loyal man. He meant- 
 loyal in a different sense from his own loyalty, for in respect and 
 obedience to the laws he yielded to no man. But Mr. Reeves had 
 got something for his loyalty — something to make him sit easy. 
 He is the printer of the Prayer Book, to which he has written an. 
 introduction with an address to the Queen. There is an anecdote 
 connected with Mi*. Reeves which he should wish to state. Mr, 
 Reeves called at his (the defendant's) shop, in consequence of the 
 statement respecting his publication of a parody on the Catechism. 
 He then declared, that his Majesty's Ministers had nothing to do 
 with the establishment of the society at the " Crown and Anchor." 
 He therefore took this opportunity of publicly repeating what Mr. 
 Reeves had said ; but he himself knew something respecting the 
 institution of that society, which he should perhaps take the 
 opportunity of stating on another occasion. 
 
 Mr. Hone then referred to the papers relative to the West- 
 minster election of 1784, published in a quarto volume. There 
 are among them a great number of Scriptural parodies, from whicli 
 he should select only the following, entitled " Fox." 
 
 " Again the sons of Judas assemble themselves together at the hotel 
 in the market place, to present themselves before the Lord [Hood], and 
 Envy came also to present himself among them. And Truth said unta
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 37 
 
 Envy, from Avheuce comest thou ? xVud Envy answered and said, from 
 walking to and fro in the garden, and appearing npon the hustings. 
 Then Truth said unto Envy, hast thou considered my servant Fox, that 
 there is none like him upon the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one 
 that revereth me and escheweth evil ? and still he holdeth his integrity, 
 although thou raovest against him to destroy him without a cause. 
 Then Envy said, skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for 
 a majority. But put forth thy hand and touch him, and he will curse 
 thee to thy face. And Truth said unto Envy, behold, he is in thy hand, 
 but spare his election. So Envy went forth from the presence of Truth, 
 ivud raised up a majority against Fox of 318 men. Then Insinuation said 
 unto Fox, Dost thou still retain thy perseverance ? Curse the poll and 
 decline. But Fox answered and said, thou speakest as one of the 
 foolish sisters speaketh ; my cause is just, and I will persevere. And 
 in all these things, Fox sinned not." 
 
 In the " Humorous Magazine," there was a parody on the Te 
 Deum ; and in Grose's Olio, a parody, entitled " The Chronicles 
 of the Coxheath Camp." 
 
 He must now refer to that well-known book " The Chronicles of 
 the Kings of England, from the Norman Conquest to the Present 
 Time," written, as set forth in the preface, by Nathan Ben Sadi. 
 He should beg leave to read some passages from it as examples 
 of parody. 
 
 " Now it came to pass in the year one thousand sixty and six, in the 
 month of September, on the eighth day of the month, that William of 
 Normandy, surnamed the Bastard, landed in England, and pitched his 
 tent in a field near the town of Hastings. Then Harold, the King, 
 attended by all his nobles, came forth to meet him with a numerous 
 army, and gave him battle : and it was fought from the rising of the 
 sun even to the going down of the same. But Harold was slain by an 
 arrow shot into his brains, and his army was routed with exceeding 
 great slaughter." 
 
 "Elizabeth. — Now Elizabeth was twenty and five years old when 
 she began to reign, and she reigned over England forty and four years, 
 four months, and seven days, and her mother's name was Anne Boleyu. 
 And she choose unto herself wise and able ministers, and governed her 
 kingdom with power and great glory.
 
 38 FIRST TRIAL, 
 
 "The sea also was svxbject unto her, and she reigned on the ocean 
 with a mighty hand. 
 
 " Her admirals compassed the world about, and brought her home 
 treasures from the uttermost parts of the earth. 
 
 "The glory of England she advanced to its height, and all the 
 princes of the earth sought her love : her love was fixed on the happi- 
 ness of her people, and would not be divided. The era of learning was 
 also in her reign, and the genius of wit shone bright in the land. 
 Spencer and Shakespeare, Verulam and Sidney, Ealeigh and Drake 
 adorned the court, and made her reign immortal. And woe unto you 
 Spaniards, woe unto you, you haughty usurpers of the American seas ; 
 for she came uuto your armada as a whirlwind, and as a tempest of 
 thunder she overwhelmed you in the sea. 
 
 " Wisdom and strength were in her right hand, and in her left were 
 glory and wealth. 
 
 " She spake, and it was war ; she waved her hand, and the nations 
 dwelt in peace. 
 
 " Her Ministers were just, and her counsellors were sage : her cap- 
 tains were bold, and her maids of honour ate beefsteaks for their 
 breakfast. 
 
 "And Elizabeth slept with her fathers, and was buried in the chapel 
 of King Henry VII., and James of Scotland reigned in her stead. 
 
 "James I. And Jamie thought himself a bonny King, and a 
 mickle wise mou ? howbeit, he was a fool and a pedant. 
 
 "But the spirit of flattery went forth in the laud, and the gi-eat men 
 and the bishops offered incense unto him, saying, O most sacred King ! 
 thou art wiser than the children of men ; thou speakest by the spirit 
 of God ; there has been none equal to thee before thee ; neither will 
 any rise after thee like unto thee. 
 
 "Thus they abused him daily with lying and fulsome adulation; 
 and the ear of James was tickled therewith, and he was puffed up and 
 thought himself wise ; whereupon he began to dispute with the doctoi's, 
 and to decide controversies, and to write books, and the world was 
 undeceived." 
 
 The work has lately been continiied down to the present time, 
 with an allusion to the French revolution in the following man- 
 ner : — 
 
 "And after those days a great and wonderful madness broke out 
 about a people in France ; so wonderful was it, that from being wor-
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 39 
 
 shippers of kings they became in the twinkling of an eye king-killers 
 and queen-murderers. And all that had the blood of royalty in their 
 veins fhey did cruelly destroy. So great was the destruction through 
 the land, that many thousand guillotines could not clear the prisons of 
 their innocent victims; wherefore they drowned them in hundreds, 
 and butchered them in thousands ; and he who could invent the most 
 speedy method to destroy the human race, was accounted worthy of all 
 honour. And every good man, and every virtuous woman, were 
 obliged to fly out of the land, or to hide themselves in rocks and caves 
 from the fury of Robespierre, and the infernal masters with whom he 
 overspread the land. And they made the house of God a repository 
 for the engines of their destruction, and banished all the priests and 
 religion from the land, and set up a w — e in its stead, to whom they 
 gave the name of liberty and equality." 
 
 The next work he should quote from was one of great celebrity, 
 on account of the wit and genius displayed in its composition, and 
 which was in the library of' every gentleman who paid attention 
 to the pubKc affairs of the country — a work which was admii-ed 
 even by those who differed most from the politics it supported : 
 lie meant " The Roliad," published by Mr. Eidgway, a respectable 
 bookseller, and a most woi'thy man. In that collection of curious 
 pieces, the twenty-second edition of which, and that not the latest, 
 I hold in my hand, there is one entitled, Vive le Scrutiny/, to 
 which he begged leave to call the attention of the jury. It 
 related to the scrutiny on the celebrated Westminster election 
 carried on in the vestry of St. Ann's Church, Soho. It is as fol- 
 lows : — " Cross Gosjjel the First. — But what says my good Lord 
 Bishop of London to this same Westminster scrutiny — tliis daily 
 combination of lites sacred and profane — ceremonies religious and 
 2)olitlcal under his hallowed roof of St. Ann's Church, Soho ? 
 Should his Lordship be unacquainted with this curious process, 
 let him know it is briefly this : — At 10 o'clock the Iliffh Bailiff 
 opens his inqiiisition for the Perdition of Votes, where he never 
 fails to be honoured with a crowded audience. At 11 o'clock the 
 High Priest mounts the rostrum in the church for the Salvation 
 OP Souls, without a single body to attend him ; even his corpulent 
 worship the clerk, after the first introductory Amen, filing of to
 
 40 . FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 the vestry to lend a hand towards reaping a quicker harvest ! the 
 alternate vociferations from church to vestry, during the different 
 services were found to cross each other sometimes in responses so 
 opposite, that a gentleman who writes short-hand was induced to 
 take down jDart of the blunder-medley dialogue of one day, which 
 he here transcribes for general information, on a svibject of such 
 singular importance, viz. : — 
 
 "High Bailiff — [The High Bailiff of that day, you must know, 
 said Mr. Hone, is represented as having been a very ignorant stupid 
 man.] I cannot see that this here felloiv is a just vote. 
 
 " Curate — In thy sight shall no man living be justified. 
 
 " Mr. Fox — I despise the pitiful machinations of my opponents. 
 
 "Curate — And with thy favourable kindness shalt thou defend 
 him as with a shield. 
 
 " Witness — He swore, d — n him if he didn't give Fox a plumper. 
 
 " Clerk — Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 "Mr. Morgan — I stand here as counsel for Sir Cecil Wray. 
 
 " Curate — A general pestilence visited the land, and serpents and 
 frogs defiled the holy temple. 
 
 "Mr. Phillips— Mr. High Bailiff, the audacity of that fellow 
 opposite to me would almost justify my chastising him in his sacred 
 place, but I will content myself with rolling his heavy head in the 
 Thames. 
 
 " Curate — Give peace in our time, O Lord ! 
 
 " Sir Cecil Wray — I rise only to say thus much, that is concerning 
 myself ; though as for the matter of myself, I don't care, Mr. High 
 Bailiff, much about it. 
 
 " Mr. Fox — Hear ! hear ! hear ! 
 
 "Curate — If thou shalt see the ass of him that hateth thee lying 
 under his burden, thou shalt surely help him. 
 
 "Sir Cecil Wray — I trust, — I dare say, — at least I hope I may 
 venture to think — that my Eight Honourable friend, — I should say 
 enemy, — fully comprehends what I have to say in my own defence. 
 
 " Curate — As for me, I am a worm, and no man ; a very scorn of 
 men, and the outcast of the peojjle ; fearful and trembling are come 
 upon me, and a horrible dread overwhelmeth me ! ! ! 
 
 "High-Bailiff — As ila.a,i felloiu there says he did not vote for Fox, 
 whom did he poll for ? 
 
 " Curate — Barabbas ? Now Barabbas was a robber ! "
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 41 
 
 He (Mr. Hone) should now quote n, pai'ody of the Lord's 
 Prayei", which appeared in a public pajier in the year 1807 (the 
 Oracle). It ran thus : — *' Our stop-father, who art in Paris, 
 cursed be thy name ! thy kingdom be far from us, thy will be 
 done neither in heaven nor in earth. (Here the Attorney-General 
 interfered, and the defendant remarked, that the parody had 
 appeared in a Government paper, edited, he believed, by i\Ir. 
 Heriot.) 
 
 The Court — Wherever it may have appeared, the publication 
 was highly reprehensible — one instance of profaneness cannot 
 excuse another. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Certainly not ; but if this mode of writing has 
 been practised by dignitaries of the church, and by men high in 
 the State, he humbly conceived that that circumstance might be 
 some excuse for his having been the publisher of the trifle now 
 charged as libellous. He solemnly declared that he never had 
 any idea of ridiculing religion, and that as soon as he was aware 
 of the publication having given offence to some persons whose 
 opinion he respected, however much he might differ with them 
 on that point, he immediately stopped the sale. He even refused, 
 after he had suspended the publication, to give a copy to an old 
 friend ; and gave such offence by that refusal, that his friend had 
 scarcely spoken to him since. He persisted, however, in allo^ving 
 no copies to go out of his custody, except three, which he gave to 
 three different individuals, in order to obtain their opinions on 
 the parody. In short, finding the opinion that the publication 
 was offensive prevailing, he gave up all thoughts of proceeding 
 with it. Had he been one who wished to ridicule religion, he 
 should have taken a different course. He should have continued 
 the publication and made money by it, as there was a great 
 demand for it. In that case, he could have afforded to employ 
 a Counsel, and would not have been reduced to the necessity 
 of standing in his present situation before the Court and the 
 j"ry. 
 
 The Court — This observation has no relation to the point 
 in question. You cannot be allowed to proceed in reading a pi-o-
 
 42 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 fane parody on the Lord's prayer. You may state in general 
 terms, if you please, that there is such a parody existing. 
 
 Mr. Hone did not -wish to take up the time of the Court un- 
 necessarily, and if the general reference to the parody would be 
 sufficient for his case, he was satisfied. He should in the same 
 way refer to others on the 2nd Book of Exodus, the 3rd Book of 
 Chronicles, and the Book of Daniel. There was also one entitled 
 the Land of Nineveh, written by Sir John Sinclair. Mr. Hone 
 then produced a large sheet of paper divided into several columns 
 in different languages, Latin, Paissian, German, English. It was 
 dedicated to the Duke of Wellington, and to the Commanders of 
 the Russian and other allied armies, and began — " Te Deum : — 
 
 " Oh, Emperor of France ! we curse thee. 
 
 "We acknowledge thee to be a Tyrant. 
 
 " Thou murdering Infidel ! all the world detest thee. 
 
 " To thee all nations cry aloud, 
 
 " BONET, BONET, BoNET ! 
 
 " Thou art universally execrated ! " &c., &c. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — You have read enough of it. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It is a Ministerial parody. 
 
 Mr, Justice Abbott — I know nothing of Ministerial or Anti- 
 Ministerial parodies. You have stated enough of that publication 
 for your purpose. 
 
 Mr. Hone said he perfectly understood his lordship, and was 
 aware that the Court paid no regard to the quarter whence the 
 parody came ; it was essential to him that the jury should also 
 understand, that had he been a publisher of Ministerial parodies, 
 he should not now be defending himself on the floor of that Court. 
 — It was essential to the friends of justice, that all men should 
 stand equal, when they were brought before the tribunal of the 
 laws. But he denied that he was placed in that situation ol 
 equality, when he was singled out by the Attorney-General to be 
 tried for an offence, which, if it had been committed in favour of 
 the Ministerial Party, would not have been noticed. It appeared 
 that this parody on the Te Deum had been translated into 
 various languages — into French, Dutch, German, Russian, and
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 43 
 
 Italian — for the express purpose of being read by the troops on 
 the Continent — and it coiild not be doubted that it had a most 
 extensive circulation. — He held in his haud another parody, pub- 
 lished many years ago, called " Tlie Political Creed" and a second, 
 denominated "57ie Poor Mans Litany" neither of which had 
 been prosecuted. 
 
 He should now call the attention of the jiiry to a print which 
 was published at the commencement of the present year — and he 
 did so, not for the purpose of ridiculing the pi-int, or its object, 
 but to show the way in which many individuals wished to convey 
 certain notions to the minds of those whom they were anxious to 
 reform. In this instance, recourse had evidently been had to 
 jjarody. The print was called, " The Spiritual Barometer ; or, 
 The Scale and Progress of Sin and Death." It was, in fact, a 
 parody on Dr. Lettsom's " Parody of the Thermometer," before jiro- 
 duced, and v/as to be seen in every print shop in the Strand. It 
 l)ointed out all the gradations of vice, leading to infidelity, and 
 ending in perdition ; and the progress of religious influence ending 
 in eternal happiness. 
 
 Another parody, which he adduced as a proof that this style 
 of conveying information, even on sacred subjects, had long been 
 tolerated, he should now read. It was couched in the form of a 
 playbill, announcing the performance of a grand drama, entitled 
 the ^' Great Assize" and the performance was, ^^By command of the 
 King of kings" The publication stated, that "the entrance to 
 the gallery was very narrow, while that to the p)it was extremely 
 v.-ide^ — contrary to the custom observed at mundane theatres. 
 Between the acts, the awful air of The Trumpet shall sound, and 
 the dead shall he raised. To conclude with the grand procession 
 of saints and martyrs, shouting and exulting. No money to be 
 taken at the dooi- — and none to be admitted, but those sealed by 
 the Holy Ghost." This was printed and published by George 
 Cooke, Tower Street, a member of the Society of Friends. 
 
 He held in his hand another composition of the same species ; 
 this was a parody on a recruiting bill, beginning thus : — " Royal 
 "Volunteers, now is the time to obtain honour and glory.
 
 44 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 "Wanted, immediately, to serve Jeliovali, wlio will rewai'd tliem. 
 according to tlieir zeal and ability, a vast number of people of all 
 descriptions, who will, on joining the Commanding Officer, 
 receive new clothes, proper accoutrements, and everything 
 necessary for their appearance at the New Jerusalem." 
 
 He next came to "a copy of a letter written by our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, and found under a stone, eighteen miles 
 from. Judea, now transmitted from the Holy City. Translated 
 from the original copy, now in the possession of the family of the 
 Lady Cuba, in Mesopotamia. Blessed are those who find this 
 letter and make it known. Many persons attempted to remove 
 the stone under which it lay — but none could force it from its 
 place, till a young child appeai-ed and wrought the miracle." 
 
 The Attorney-General — The misguided or the mistaken 
 I feelings which can induce such publications by any man, do not 
 form a gi'ound of defence for others. I, therefore, submit, that 
 publications of this kind ought not to be read in Court. 
 
 Mr, Justice Abbott — It is no use to interrupt the defendant. 
 I have repeatedly stated, that it cannot avail him, as a matter of 
 defence, to quote a variety of profane publications. It is for him 
 to show that his publication is not profane — and this cannot be 
 done by quoting the example of others. 
 
 Mr. Hone — The publication which he had last noticed, was a 
 Christmas Carol. It had been before the public upwards of 
 thirty years — and he should be very sorry to read it, if it were 
 likely to bring the publisher of it into any danger. He was sure 
 it was far from that individual's intention to do anything wrong, 
 that person printed vai-ious publications of the same nature which 
 went through the country — and, in fact, they were of that 
 description, which the common people had been accustomed to 
 for centuries. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — I don't care what the common peopl.e 
 have had for centuries. If the publication be profane, it ought 
 not to be tolerated. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It was most evident that this practice worked its 
 own remedy. Publications of this kind could not ha"\-e any effect.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 45 
 
 except amongst persons of the most ignorant description. Mil- 
 lions of these Carols had been sold — and he had never heard that 
 religion was broiight into contempt by them. 
 
 The Christmas Carol attached to this publication began in the 
 
 nsual way — 
 
 God rest you merry gentlemen, 
 
 Let nothing you dismay ; 
 Remember Christ our Saviour 
 Was born on Christmas day. 
 
 It contained verses which, to a person of the least cultivated 
 intellect, were ridiculous ; but to the lowest class of the com- 
 munity, who purchased these, the lowest species of literary ware, 
 such compositions, and the ideas they conveyed, were familiar, 
 and were not of ludicrous construction. For instance, there was a 
 verse in this very carol which he remembered to have heard sung 
 in the streets eveiy Christmas since he was a child, which de- 
 scribed the pleasure of the Virgin Mary in tending on her infant 
 in these homely words : — 
 
 The first good joy our Mary had, 
 
 It was the joy of one ; 
 To see her own child, Jesus, 
 
 To suck at her breast bone. 
 
 And so it went on. — \The Attorney-General here 'manifested great 
 uneasiness.!^ — The Attorney-General need not be alarmed. It 
 could have no effect even upon the most ignorant, and millions of 
 copies had been circulated long befoi'e he came into office. 
 
 But he would now call the attention of the jury to a parody 
 differing very much from any of those he had hitherto noticed. 
 He alluded to the celebrated parody of iVIr. Canning — yes, of 
 Mr. Canning, who ought, at that moment, to be standing in his 
 place, but who had been raised to the rank of a Cabinet Minister, 
 and was one of those very men who were now persecuting him — 
 for he could not give any milder appellation to the treatment he 
 had received. He was dragged before the Court, from behind his 
 counter — and for what 1 For doing that which a Cabinet 
 Minister had been suffered to do with impunity. He would
 
 46 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 assert tliat the Attorney-General would act wrong — that he would 
 jjroceed partially and unfairly — if he did not bring ]\Ir. Canning 
 forward. "If I," said Mr. Hone, "am convicted, he ought to 
 follow me to my cell — if my family is ruined, his family ought to be 
 made to feel a little — if I am injured by this indecent, this unjust 
 prosecution, he ought not to be suffered to escape unpunished." — 
 This pai'ody, after being first printed in the Aoiti- Jacobin news- 
 paper, was re-published in a splendid woi'k, which he now held in 
 his hand, entitled The Poetry of the Anti- Jacobin ; the expense of 
 printing was defrayed by the late Mr. Pitt, by Mr. Canning, 
 nearly all the Cabinet Ministers, and many other persons con- 
 nected with that party. The parody was also ornamented by a 
 masterly engraving by Mr. Gillray. Was it not enough to have 
 written the parody to which he alluded, withoiit proceeding to 
 have it illustrated by the talents of an artist] Yet it was so 
 illustrated. — fA number of persons hi Court here applauded. ) 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott declared, if such indecent interruptions 
 were persisted in, he would oi'der the Court to be cleared — and 
 he directed the of&cer to bring before him any person he saw 
 misconducting himself. 
 
 Mr. Hone — The parody he alluded to was entitled " The 
 New Morality: or, The Installation of the High Priest.'^ He 
 understood it was levelled at a man named Lepaux, who was well 
 known at the commencement of the Revolution, and was, he 
 understood, an avowed Atheist. Mr. Hone said his attention was 
 directed to the parody by a speech of Earl Gi^ey's. His lordship 
 had noticed this parody in his place in Parliament, and had well 
 observed — " With respect to blasphemous parodies, he thought in 
 common with others, that such productions should be restrained, 
 but by the ordinary course of justice. But this disposition to 
 profane parodies had been iised for certain purposes on former 
 occasions ; and improper and profane as they were, they were 
 pretended by some to be made m support of religion. He would 
 recommend the noble lord, and the friends who surround him, 
 to consider well the case of sending persons before a magistrate on 
 charges of this nature. He held then in his hand a publication
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 47 
 
 called the Anti-Jacobin, whicli contained a parody of this descrip- 
 tion, and wliicli he would take the opportunity of reading to their 
 lordships." His lordship then repeated the verses. Thus the 
 jury would see that he was supported in his opinion by Earl Grey, 
 and the report from which he had read the extract might be safely 
 relied .on. It was from, the reports lately published by Mr. 
 Harding Evans, a most correct, and, in every respect, excellent 
 reporter. Indeed, the authority of his reports was unquestion- 
 able. Mr. Hone said, it appeared from Mr. Evan's volume, which 
 he used in Court, and quoted from, that Earl Grey said, if Lord 
 Sidmouth was determined to suppress the practice ef parodying, 
 he should not confine his efforts to the prosecution of Mr. Hone, 
 but should seek out the authors of the Anti-Jacobin, ichether in 
 the Cabinet or elsewhere. Mr. Hone said, his intention being thus 
 pointed to the subject, he soon after saw this same parody in the 
 Courier newspaper, with the blanks filled up, and he should read 
 it to the Jury. It was in ridicule of certain persons in this 
 country, who were said by the writer to be followers of Lepaux, 
 one of the men who had made themselves famous in the French 
 Revolution, and who was said to have publicly professed Atheism : 
 such at least, seemed to be the assertion of the parody. It began 
 thus — 
 
 Last of the anointed five behold, and least 
 The directorial Lama, sovereign priest — 
 
 Lejxaux — whom Atheists worship — at whose nod 
 Bow their meek heads — the men without a God. 
 
 Ere long, perhaps to this astonished isle, 
 Fi'esh from the shores of subjugated Nile, 
 Shall Buonaparte's victor fleet protect 
 The genuine Theo-philanthropic sect — 
 The sect of Marat, Mirabeau, Voltaire, 
 Led by their pontiff, good La Eeveillere, 
 Eejoic'd our clues shall greet him, and instal, 
 The holy hunch-back in thy dome, St. Paul, 
 While countless votaries thronging in his train 
 "Wave their i-ed caps, and hymn this jocund strain :
 
 48 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 " Couriers aud Stars, sedition's eveniug host, 
 " Thovi Morning Chronicle and Morning Post, 
 "Whether ye make the Eights of Man your theme, 
 " Your country libel, and your God blasjsheme, 
 " Or dirt on private worth and virtue throw, 
 "Still blasphemous or blackguard, praise Lepaux ! 
 
 "Aud ye five other wandering bards that move 
 *' In sweet accord of harmony and love, 
 " Coleridge and Southey, Lloyd and Lamb, and Co. 
 " Tune all your mystic harps to praise Lepaux ! 
 
 " Priestley and Wakefield, humble, holy men, 
 " Give praises to his name with tongue and pen. 
 
 "Thelwall, and ye that lecture as ye go, 
 " And for your pains get pelted, praise Lepaux. 
 
 " Praise him each Jacobin, or fool, or knave, 
 *' And your ci'opped heads in sign of woi'ship wave. 
 
 "All creeping creatures, venomous aud low, 
 '• Paine, Williams, Godwin, Holcroft, praise Lepaux ! 
 
 "And thou Leviathan ! * on ocean's brim, 
 " Hugest of living things that sleep and swim ; 
 "Thou in whose nose, by Burke's gigantic hand, 
 " The hook was fix'd to drag thee to the land ; 
 " With Coke, Colquhoun, and Anson, in thy train, 
 " And Whitbread wallowing in the yeasty main — 
 " Still as ye snort, and puff, and spout, and blow, 
 " In puffing, and in spouting, praise Lepaux ! " 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — Of what use is this to you, as a matter 
 of defence ? 
 
 Mr. Hone — The parody was written by Mr. Canning, who 
 has not been molested. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — How do yoii know that he is the author 
 of it 1 It does not appear to bo a parody on any part of the 
 sacred writings. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I will show that it was written by Mr. Canuino- 
 
 * Tlie Dtiko of Bedford.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 49 
 
 — but I know it is unpleasant that his name should be mentioned 
 liere. 
 
 Mr, Justice Abbott — It is unjust that any person's name 
 should be mentioned otherwise than properly. It is my duty to 
 take care that no man shall be improperly noticed here. Whether 
 a man be Ministerial or An ti- Ministerial has nothing to do 
 Avith it. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It is my duty, though your lordship says this is 
 not a parody on the sacred writings, to endeavour to show, with 
 due deference, that it is. 
 
 Ml'. Justice Abbott — As far as you have gone, it does not 
 appear to be a parody on anything sacred. It seems to be a 
 parody on passages in Milton and Pope. But, if you ask my 
 opinion, I distinctly state, I do not approve of it — nor of any 
 parody on serious works. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, he should pi-ove that it was a parody on 
 Scripture ; and there were two lines which that contemptible 
 newspaper The Courier — the proprietors of which had been abused 
 in that production, the authors of which it now eulogised — and 
 omitted. It was 
 
 " And and with join'd, 
 
 And every other beast after its kind." 
 
 This last line was a parody from the account of the Creation 
 in the book of Genesis ; this parody had alluded to Milton, who 
 himself was a parodist on the Scripture ; biit this by Mr. Canning 
 directly parodied certain parts of Scripture. The passage repre- 
 senting the Leviathan referred to the celebrated passage in the 
 Book of Job. The rest contained the turn of expiession and 
 some of the very words of the 1 48th Psalm, as well as the general 
 turn of the expression of other parts. 
 
 " Praise ye him all his angels ; praise ye him all his hosts. 
 " Praise ye him, sun and moon ; praise ye him all ye stars of light. 
 " Beasts and all cattle ; creeping things and flying fowl." — Psalm 
 cxlviii., verses 2, 3, and 10. 
 
 This publication was accompanied by a plate by Gillray, a most 
 
 E
 
 50 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 admirable caricaturist, since dead,* who, to tlie day of liis death, 
 enjoyed a pension from his Majesty. In that print, which he 
 held in his hand, the late Duke of Bedford was represented as the 
 Leviathan of Job, with a hook in his nose, and with Mr. Fox and 
 Mi\ Tierney on his back. The passage in Job was, " Canst thou 
 draw out Leviathan with an hook ; or his tongue with a cord 
 which thou lettest down?" — ChajD. 41, verse 1. He had been 
 advised to subpoena Mr. Canning as a witness, but he had really 
 abstained from a regard to Mr. Canning's feelings. He had re- 
 flected what an awkward figure Mr. Canning would cut if he 
 were placed in the witness box, to answer questions which he 
 should put to him. He did not wish unnecessarily to hurt any 
 man's feelings, and he had not thought such a course necessary to 
 his defence. The work which contained this was, as he said, pub- 
 lished by a general subscription of the Ministers of the Pitt and 
 Canning school, and the notoriety of the nature of that publication 
 was sufficient for his purpose. Now it was plain that the object 
 of Mr. Canning's parody was the same as that of his own — it was 
 political ; and it proved that the ridicule which the authors of the 
 parodies attempted to excite, was not always intended to fix on 
 the production parodied. 
 
 He had not exhausted the subject, but he was afraid of ex- 
 hausting the patience of the jury. He must, however, mention 
 one thing which, in addition to those he had already stated, prpved 
 that persons of the most strictly religious character did not regard 
 the mixing up of profane and sacred subjects with the same sort 
 of horror which the Attorney-General appeared to do. Mr. 
 Rowland Hilit had remarked in his chapel, that the devil had some 
 great beauties, and had followed up the remark by appropriating 
 secular tunes to hymns : one hymn was sung at Surrey chapel to 
 
 * Born, 1745. Died, 1815. 
 
 ■j- Minister of Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars Koad, was born at Hawkstone, near 
 Slcrewsburj', in 1744, and during a period of fifty years was the minister of this 
 chapel. He occasionally illustrated the most solemn truths by observatious whicli 
 savoured more of the ludicrous than the pathetic. His writings are numerous, 
 and one of them, entitled " Village Dialogues," had a great run of j)opularity. He 
 was not sparing of wit, humour, or sarcasm, whenever he could make them sub- 
 servient to his pui-pose. He died in 1833, aged eighty-eight.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 51 
 
 tlie ail" of God save, the King, having an appropriate burden — 
 another was adapted to the tune of Rule Britannia, the chorus to 
 wliich was — 
 
 " Hail Immauuel ! Immanuel we adore, 
 And sound his praise from shore to shore." 
 
 He could not recollect all the tunes he had heard there — but one 
 of them, that of " Lullaby," was a peculiar fiivourite. There was 
 also a selection of tunes adapted to the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. 
 Watts and others. These tunes were selected by a respectable 
 Baptist minister, now living, the Rev. John Eippon, Doctor of 
 Divinity. Amongst these was a hymn, commencing — 
 
 " There is a laud of pure delight. 
 Where saints immortal dwell ;" 
 
 which was set to the tune of 
 
 " Drink to me only with thine eyes, 
 And I will pledge with mine.'' 
 
 There was also one to the tune of " Tell me, babbling Echo, why^^ 
 — another, commencing 
 
 " How blest are they whose sins are covered o'er." 
 was to a tune in one of Mr. Corri's 02:)eras. There were, indeed, 
 several similar instances in this and other books of melodies for 
 Divine worship. This book of Hymn Tunes contained " When 
 war's alarms called m,y Willy from me" and one hymn was set to 
 " Buonaparte^ s March." These different instances proved that 
 those who had the most decided religious feelings might make use 
 of profane or secular means for the purpose, not of bringing re- 
 ligion into contempt, but of supporting it. It was the intention 
 that constituted the libel, and not the mere act of publication. 
 They all knew very well how guarded the Jewish Law was with 
 respect to liomicide. If a man committed homicide, he was put 
 on his trial for it — but whether it was justifiable, or unjustifi- 
 able, or accidental homicide, depended on the circumstances under 
 Avliich it was committed. If a man striking a blow with an axe 
 at a tree, caused the head of the axe to fly off, and a man was 
 thereby slain, though the circumstance was to be dej)lored, yet it
 
 52 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 was but accidental homicide, and the person who committed the 
 deed, not having intended it, would not be punished. But, if a 
 person stabbed another with a knife, designedly, it was murder. 
 The same distinction should be taken in this case — and he utterly- 
 denied that he had tlie slightest idea of offending or injuring any 
 jjerson when he published the parody. He had thus shown that 
 there was no pi'actice in the annals of literature more common 
 than that of parodies on sacred or devotional writings ; that they 
 had been written by the highest and most dignified Members of 
 the Church— by the Father of the Reformation — by the Martyrs 
 of the Church of England — by men to whose motives not a shadow 
 of suspicion could attach — in all times — in all manners — in defence 
 of the Government and the Church itself — that at no time had 
 it been condemned by Courts of Justice — and now for the first 
 time a friendless, and, as his persecutors hoped, a defenceless man, 
 was fixed on to be made a sacrifice for this sin, which had been 
 cherished and applauded for centuries. He was told that these 
 productions of Reformers, of Martyrs, of Dignitaries, of Clergy- 
 men, of Ministers, and Pensioners, had been illegal. The judge 
 told him so. He denied it. What proof did the judge produce 
 — in what instance had one of those productions which he had 
 read, or of coach loads of others which he might have read, been 
 condemned or even jjrosecuted. He should now attempt to prove 
 that he had not that intention which was charged in the indict- 
 ment, to create impiety and irreligion. Erom the beginning to the 
 end of the j^roduction in question, the subject and the object was 
 political. It was intended to ridicule a certain set of men, 
 whose only religion was blind servility, and who subjected their 
 wills and their understandings to persons who, they thought, would 
 best promote their sinister interest. The principles which he 
 ascribed to these persons were so enumerated as to contrast with 
 the duty which Christianity enjoined ; and the Christian principles 
 shone more bright as contrasted with infamous time-servingness. 
 Was it to be supposed that the Ten Commandments, which con- 
 tained all the great princii)les of morality, as well as religion, 
 could be debased by a comparison with another set of Command-
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 53 
 
 ments, framed in somewhat the same form, biit the principles of 
 wliich were as detestable and noxious as those of the first were 
 respectable and beneficial 1 Was the Lord's Prayer to be ridiculed 
 by placing in contrast with it the Prayer of a ]\Iinisterial Member ? 
 It was evidently impossible that such could have been his intention. 
 As an honest man, speaking before those whose esteem he valued, 
 he declared that it was not his intention. The Political Catechism 
 was charged as an impious and wicked publication, tending to ex- 
 cite irreligion in the minds of his Majesty's subjects. But he 
 would prove to the jury that it had not been disseminated with 
 any intent to bring religion into contempt, for it was a matter 
 pni-ely joolitical. If they could find a passage in it that, in any 
 way, tended to turn anything sacred into ridicule, he called on them 
 to find him guilty ; but, if they could not discover such a passage, 
 he demanded an acquittal at their hands. Let the jury look to 
 the Catechism. It commenced thus — 
 
 Q. What is your name 1 — A, Lick Spittle. 
 
 Q. Who gave you that name I — A. My Sureties to the Minis- 
 try, in my Political Change, wherein I was made a Member of the 
 Majority, the Child of Corruption, and a Locust to devour the 
 good things of this Kingdom. 
 
 The majority meant those who were always ready at the beck 
 of the Minister — the corruption was that which was known to 
 exist in the House of Commons, and was as notorious as the sun 
 at noon-day, 
 
 Q. What did your sureties then for you? — A. They did j^romise 
 and vow three things in my name. First, that I should renounce 
 the Reformists and all theu" Works, the pomps and vanity of 
 Popular Favour, and all the sinful lusts of Independence. 
 Secondly, that I should believe all the Articles of the Court 
 Faith. And, Thirdly, that I sliould keep the Minister's sole Will 
 and Commandments, and walk in the same all the days of my 
 life. 
 
 Surely it could not be denied that the friends of the Minister 
 did renounce the Reformists — they coiild not be his friends else. 
 If Mr. Canning were here he would admit this. Mr. Hone said if
 
 54 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 he went througli the whole of the Catechism, it would be found, 
 like the extracts he had quoted, entirely political, and not at all 
 intended to bring religion into contempt. But it was said that the 
 publication of similar parodies, during two centuries, did not 
 justify the act. It might be so — but it would be a most cruel 
 hardship if he, who, from the long continuance of the system had 
 been induced to adopt it, should be punished for that which his 
 predecessors and contemporaries did with impunity. In his opinion 
 the existence of such publications for so long a time proved that 
 they were not libellous — for, if they were, they would have been 
 prosecuted. But they had not been prosecuted — not even in times 
 when judges on the Bench told the jury that they had only to 
 find the fact of publication, but that they were not to decide the 
 questions of libel or no libel. His Majesty's Secretaries of State, 
 who ought to be the conservators of the public morals, had com- 
 mitted high treason against the peace and happiness of society, if, 
 believing such publications to be libellous, they had sufiered them 
 so long to exist unnoticed. They had now, however, selected him 
 for punishment — but, he was sure, the good sense and excellent 
 understanding of Mr. Attorney-General miist have led him to 
 think that the selection was not a just one. Whether he went 
 home to his distressed family, or retired in the custody of Mr. 
 Jones's gentlemen,'"' he should leave the Court conscious that 
 he was innocent of any intention to bring the religion of his 
 country into contempt. If suflfering the sentence he was sure 
 to receive, should he be found guilty, and he were placed 
 within the walls of a dungeon, with a certainty that he should 
 never see his family again, still he should, to his dying moment, 
 deny that he had ever published those tracts in order to ridicule 
 religion — \_Loud c1ieering\. The Attorney- General, and every 
 man with whom laws originated, would do well to render them 
 so clear that they could be easily understood by all — that no 
 person could be mistaken. Was it to be supposed that he, with a 
 wife and a family of seven children, would, if his mind were ever 
 
 * Marslial of the King's Bench Prison, who was i^resent in Com-t with his 
 tipstaves.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 55 
 
 SO depraved, have sat down and written a libel, if lie were aware 
 that it was one 1 None but a maniac would act so indiscreetly. 
 There were, however, very few men who understood the law of 
 libel. It was, in fact, a shadow — it was undefinable. His lord- 
 ship called this publication a libel — but he would say, with all due 
 deference, that his lordship was mistaken. That only could be 
 called a libel which twelve men, sworn well and truly to try the 
 cause, declared to be one. He would not occupy their time much 
 further. It was an important feature of his defence to show that 
 parodies might be wi-itten, in order to excite certain ideas, without 
 any desire to turn the original production into ridicule. He 
 thought he had already shown that this was not the case; he 
 thought it was pretty clear that Martin Luther did not mean to 
 ridicule the Psalms ; that Dr. Boys, the Dean of Canterbury, did 
 not mean to ridicule the Lord's Prayer ; that the Author of the 
 "Visitation Service for a sick Parliament," published by a zealous 
 partisan of Charles I., did not mean to ridicule the Service of the 
 Church of England ; that Mr. Canning did not mean to ridicule 
 the Scripture nor Milton. Why, then, should it be presumed 
 that he had such an intention 1 In The /Spirit of the Journals 
 was to be found the following parody on Mack-eyed Susan. It 
 was well-known to have been written by Mr. Jekyll, now a Master 
 in Chancery, and certainly no man could say that that gentleman 
 meant to turn Gay's beautiful poem into ridicule : — 
 
 " All iu the Downs the fleet was moor'd. 
 
 The streamers waving in the wind. 
 When Castlereagh appeared on board. 
 
 Ah, where shall I my Curtis find ! 
 Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true. 
 Does my fat William sail among your crew ? 
 
 William, who high upon the 1)ooid " 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " You need not go on with that parody. 
 It is no defence for you. How can a parody, ridiculing any 
 person, be material to your defence f 
 
 Mr. Hone — " I will prove that it is."
 
 56 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " Prove that it is, first, and then read it. 
 It is my duty to prevent the reading, in a Court of Justice, of 
 productions ridiculing public or private characters." 
 
 Mr. Hone — " May I ask your Lordship whether, in your 
 judicial character, you have a right to demand the nature of the 
 defence I mean to make?" 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " Certainly not ; but when you quote 
 that which is apparently irrelevant, you are bound, if called on, to 
 show its relevancy." 
 
 Mr. Hone — " This is a whimsical parody, and my object is to 
 show, that the humour of it does not tend to bring the original 
 into contempt. It is a case in point — and no person can suppose 
 Mi\ Jekyll intended to ridicule the original." 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " You have read enough of it for your 
 purpose, which is to show that the parody is not intended to turn 
 the original into ridicule." 
 
 Mr. Hone — Your lordship and I understand each other, and 
 we have gone on so good humouredly hitherto, that I will not 
 break in upon our harmony by insisting on the reading the 
 remainder of this humourous parody. He was sorry he had 
 occasion to detain them so long, though for his own part he was 
 not half exhausted. He was, however, obliged to mention some 
 publications which he had before omitted, and which would 
 strongly show the impunity which publishers of works of a 
 description similar to liis own had enjoyed. These were graphic 
 parodies by way of parody on Mr. Euseli's* celebrated pictui'e of 
 The Night Mare. The parody was intended, not to ridicule the 
 work of that celebrated artist, but to create a laugh at the 
 expense of a late very respectable Chief Magistrate of London, 
 whom he would not name, remarkable for his exertions to clear 
 the streets of women of the town. He now called their attention 
 to another caricature, entitled '■'■ Boney's Meditations in the Island 
 
 * Or Fuessli, the more correct way of spelling the family name, was born at 
 Zurich, in 1741 ; became a Eoyal Academician in 1790. The works of Fuessli 
 were popular in his time, but are now almost forgotten. His death took place at 
 the house of Lady Guildford, Putney Hill, where he was on a visit to her ladyshijo 
 16th of April, 1825, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 57 
 
 of St. Helena ; or, The Devil addressing the Sun." This was a 
 parody on Milton, not turning the passage from that part into 
 ridicule, but meant to ridicule Buonaparte. The Prince Regent 
 was the Su7i, whom Buonaparte was supposed to address : — 
 
 " To thee I call, but with no friendly mind, 
 To tell thee, George, Prince Eegent, how I hate, 
 Whene'er I think from what a height I fell." 
 
 He next produced a parody, by Mr. Gillray, entitled, " Would 
 you know Men's Hearts, look in their Faces." In this Mr. Fox 
 was depicted as the arch-fiend — Mr. Sheridan, as Judas Iscariot — 
 Sir Francis Burdett, as Sixteen-string Jack, &c. ifcc. In another 
 of those graphic parodies. Lord Moira was represented endeavour- 
 ing to blow out a candle, in allusion to a story which he related in 
 the course of his speech on the Watch and Ward Bill^ relative to 
 a poor woman who was ill-treated, because, after a certain hour, she 
 continued to keep a candle lighted in order to attend on her sick 
 child. Another of those parodies was called The Reconciliation, 
 the inscription to which was taken from The New Testament ; and 
 the print itself was a parody on the parable of the Prodigal Son : 
 " And he rose, and came to his father's servants, and he fell on his 
 father's neck, and kissed him (who was represented falling on his 
 father's neck), saying, ' I have sinned against Heaven, and am no 
 longer worthy to be called thy son.' " Who was meant by either 
 father or son, he would not say, but the gentlemen of the jury 
 might satisfy themselves on that point. It was engraved by Mr. 
 Gillray. He would now advert to another parody. It was 
 denominated, " The Impious Feast of Belshazzar."" It was a 
 complete parody — but no man could suppose that Mr. Gillray, who 
 engraved it, meant to ridicule the Scriptures : it was designed to 
 ridicule Napoleon. At the time he published it, Mr. Gillray was 
 pensioned by his Majesty's Ministers. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " You must not make these assertions." 
 
 Mr. Hone — " I can prove it." 
 
 * Published under the title, " The Uandwritinrj vpon the Wall,'' 24th August, 
 1803.
 
 58 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " But, if you can prove that lie, being 
 pensioned, published those things, will that form a defence for 
 you?" 
 
 Mr. Hone — " My Lord, I have no pension." 
 
 Another of these prints, one of Mr. Gillray's master-pieces, 
 was produced by Mr. Hone, entitled the ^' A2}oiheosis of ffoche,^' 
 the French General of Division, to whom the expedition against 
 Ireland, planned by the Directory, was entrusted. It represented 
 Hoche in tri-coloured robes, with his jack-boots falling from his 
 legs, and with a halter round his head in the form of a wreath, a 
 guillotine in his hand as a harp, on which he seemed to be playing. 
 In this shape he was represented as ascending to heaven ; but to 
 what heaven ? There was the rainbow, indeed, sjjoken of in the 
 Revelations ; but above, instead of seraphim and cherubim, which 
 are represented as surrounding the throne of justice and mercy, 
 were grotesque figures with red night-caps, and tri-colour cockades, 
 having books before them, on which were inscribed Ca ira and the 
 Marseillaise Hymn. Instead of angels were Roland and Con- 
 dorcet, and Marat, and Petion, and many nameless figures with 
 poison, and daggers, and pistols, and the different implements of 
 death. The holy army of martyrs were parodied by headless 
 figm-es holding palm-branches. But this was not all — the symbol 
 of the mystery of the Trinity — of the Triune Essence of the 
 Divinity was represented by a triangle, with a plummet, in the 
 midst of which was inscribed Equality ; and from it, instead of 
 rays of glory, daggers and bayonets were represented diverging. 
 Under this triangle, were the Ten Commandments, beginning 
 " Thou shalt have no other God but me," meaning " Equality," 
 which v/as inscribed above " Upon the thirtieth and fortieth 
 generation shalt thou have no mercy at all." 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " This is a profane parody on the Ten 
 Commandments, and I cannot sufier it to be read in this Court. 
 You may state, generally, that a parody was published, where the 
 Deity alluded to was Equality. It is a wicked publication." 
 
 Mr. Hone — "It was on the right side — that made all the 
 diflference."
 
 FIKST TRIAL. 59 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott — " I know notliing of a riglit or "wrong 
 side, in those cases." 
 
 Mr. HoxE — " It was very well, as it was written for Adminis- 
 tration. Mr. Gillray, who published these things to serve the 
 jDurposes of the Administi'ation, had a pension for his parodies."' 
 
 The Attorney-General said that it was not before the Court 
 that Ml'. Gillray had a pension. They knew nothing of Mr. 
 Gillray. He had no pension. 
 
 Mr. Hone said he had his information on this subject from 
 the relations of that gentlemen. He then produced another 
 print by Mr. Gillray, which was a parody on the taking up of 
 Elijah, and the leaving his mantle to Elisha. And who was in 
 the place of Elijah and Elisha in Mr. Gillray's print] — Why, Mr. 
 Pitt was taken up to Heaven, and his mantle was left to his 
 political associates, among whom were the present Ministry — those 
 who instituted this prosecution. Wliile they encouraged these 
 applications of Scripture by their partisans, for it was absurd to 
 suppose that such things would have been done if they were 
 disagi-eeable to them, by such a man as Mr. Gillray ; while they 
 pensioned this gentleman was it decent to single out one of their 
 political opponents and to persecute him under the guise of a 
 regard for religion] "Was it decent to do so in the case of a 
 parody, the whole object and intent of which was jiolitical, and 
 that too Avhen they could not produce a single instance in sujoport 
 of their practice 1 Was it possible to mistake the object of this ] 
 Mr. Hone hoped that the Attorney-General would bring Mr. 
 Canning to justice — (Cheering). He knew not what power the 
 learned judge might have to effect that object — but he knew the 
 Attorney-General had much — and he trusted he would use it to 
 bring his masters to justice. 
 
 The Attorney-General — I have no master but my sovereign. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I beg pardon, it was an awkward expression, and 
 I assure Mr. Attorney-General, I meant it in no oflensive sense. 
 Mr. Hone said he had already suffered much — he had been long 
 imprisoned — he was then liberated on his recognisances, and 
 he was led to imagine that the prosecution was dropped. It was
 
 60 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 renewed after a long interval — he had passed nights of anxiety 
 and agony pending these prosecutions, and he was brought to 
 defend himself under all the disadvantages which a poor and 
 unfriended man could labour under. The public had been pre- 
 judiced against him. The newspapers throughout the country 
 were filled with false and ignorant charges against him ; his 
 character was blasted. Yet, be the result of this ti-ial what it 
 might, he was glad he had had an opportunity of defending 
 himself, and he felt that he had done so to the satisfaction of every 
 honest man — and next to the consciousness of innocence, that 
 was what he valued most. He now stood clear with those, who, 
 if they had supposed him guilty of blasphemy, would have grinned 
 at him as a monster, and he should rest in peace as to the result. 
 He should bring witnesses to show that as soon as he had found 
 that the jDarodies were deemed offensive he had suppressed them ; 
 and that one person, previously intimate with him, had renounced 
 his acquaintance, because he would not furnish him with coj^ies. 
 This was long before they were prosecuted, and having done this 
 to satisfy the objections of respectable persons to publications 
 which he considered to be perfectly lawful, he would leave it to 
 the jury to say whether it was clear from the work itself, and 
 from his actions — having those great examples which he had 
 adduced — whether it was clear that his intention was not to 
 ridicule the Ministerial Members, but to produce impiety, and to 
 bring religion into contempt. 
 
 Mr, Hone, towards the end of his speech, was much affected. 
 In the course of it there were some tokens of applause in the 
 Co\xrt, but they were soon silenced by those who felt the impro- 
 priety of such demonstrations. He was also interrupted by Mr. 
 Justice Abbott in some other instances not noticed, but the 
 substance of the learned judge's objections to the course adopted 
 by Mr. Hone in his defence has been stated.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 61 
 
 EVIDENCE FOR THE DEFENCE. 
 
 George Butler, of Castle Street, Southwark, deposed, that lie 
 called at tlie defendant's hoiise aboiit April last, -witli a view to 
 purchase, for sale again, some copies of "Wilkes's Political Cate- 
 chism," but that the shopman, as well as the defendant himself, 
 refused to let him have any ; that this refusal served to interrupt 
 a friendship of twenty years' standing which he had had with the 
 defendant ; that his discontent at the i-efusal was aggravated by 
 the circumstance of his being able to purchase copies of the 
 Catechism elsewhere, after that refusal took place. To a question 
 from the judge, witness replied, that he could not say whether 
 the refusal he had mentioned took place before the present 
 prosecution was commenced. 
 
 "Wm. M'Donnell deposed, that he was the shopman of Mr. 
 Hone, and had immediately succeeded Benjamin Grimsen ; that he 
 was never allowed to sell "Wilkes's Catechism," although several 
 persons applied to him for it ; some of those applicants having 
 tendered half-a-crown and more for a copy of it, while one offered 
 a pound note. To a question from the judge, witness answered, 
 that he entered into the defendant's service about the beginning of 
 April last. 
 
 Benjamin Grimsen deposed, that he was the defendant's 
 shopman at the time the sale of the parodies was stopped by order 
 of defendant. Witness entered into defendant's ser-sdce at the 
 beginning of January last, at which time the sale of the parodies 
 was very considerable. They were, indeed, in the highest sale at 
 the time they were stopped. There was a great deal of ajiplication 
 for them both by private individuals and by booksellers, after the 
 sale was stopped. To questions from the judge, witness rej^lied, 
 that the sale of " Wilkes's Catechism" continued for about five days, 
 and that he could not tell how many copies of it had been 
 disposed of. 
 
 Mr. Hitchins deposed, that he had applied in vain at the 
 defendant's shop, about the beginning of March last, for copies of the 
 parodies, including " Wilkes's Catechism" — that he did not know
 
 |62 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 anything about tliose parodies, until lie heard of their having 
 been prosecuted, and then from curiosity he became anxious to 
 see them. 
 
 The Attorney-General then rose to reply — Had the defend- 
 ant called no witnesses after the speech he had made, it would 
 have been his (the Attorney-General's) duty to have made a few 
 observations to the jury. Many parts of the address of the 
 defendant were wholly irrelevant and required no comment ; but 
 there were others which, though scarcely more pertinent, demanded 
 some notice on the part of the Crown. The defendant had 
 expressed his personal obligations to him for what were termed 
 favours. He (the Attorney-General) had done no more than his 
 duty in this respect. The defendant transmitted to him certain 
 questions, framed in a style of great propriety, and the information 
 given in reply was such as every individual in the situation of the 
 defendant might fairly require. He (the Attorney-General) always 
 felt disposed to give assistance to defendants when it was con- 
 sistent with the observation of the strict line of his duty ; he felt 
 no animosity to persons he prosecuted ; and when they conducted 
 themselves towards him as Mr. Hone had done, he should always 
 be ready to afford them all reasonable facilities. Observations had 
 been made upon the supposed renewal of this prosecution after the 
 defendant had been permitted to go at large. It had not been 
 I'enewed ; it had been continued in all the regular forms. In 
 striking juries the Master of the Crown Office had nothing to do 
 with making up the book from which he was to select the names ; 
 that duty belonged to others ; and it had been found that a small 
 book previously used had not been composed in a proper manner. 
 Other lists were accordingly returned to the Crown Office. Under 
 such circumstances as the first, juries appointed for the trial of the 
 defendant had been nominated fi'om the smaller book ; it was 
 thought right on the part of the prosecution to abandon them, and 
 procure others to be selected. If there were any error, it was not 
 on the part of Mr. Hone ; and although he had been arrested and 
 imprisoned, as the trial could not come on until the present term, 
 he (the Attorney-General) thought it right that he should be
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 63 
 
 discharged on liis own recognisance, to appear on a future day. 
 That day had now arrived; and the jury were called upon to 
 decide, not on any new proceeding, but upon that originally com- 
 menced and regularly continued ; the delay had not arisen from 
 any intention to abandon the prosecution, but that the whole 
 might be conducted in a manner completely unexceptionable. 
 The defendant had stated that he had suppressed this libel soon 
 after its first appearance : it might be so, but that fact could have 
 no effect upon tlie verdict : the insertion of it in the affidavits on 
 a future occasion would no doubt have its due weight with the 
 Court, should the defendant appear to receive sentence ; the jury 
 had now uuly to decide whether the paper had been published, 
 and whether it was a libel. Of all men Mr. Hone seemed the 
 fittest object for prosecution : he was at least the original publisher, 
 if not the author : the title stated, that it was from an original 
 MS. of the late Jolm Wilkes, never before given to the world ; 
 and if Mr. Hone had not actually written it with his own hand, 
 he had been the means of its first and most extensive circulation ; 
 if not the author of the tract, he was the author of its publication ; 
 the form and price at which it was given out, further pointed out 
 the defendant as the most proper object of a proceeding like the 
 present ; he might have stopped the publication as far as concerned 
 himself, but how was it possible for him to prevent its wide 
 dissemination by others 1 In the course of his defence he had 
 produced a great number of books and prints, some were of high 
 authority ; but all men must regret that names so eminent were 
 afl[ixed to publications so unquestionably injurious ; and it was 
 certainly the first time any attempt had been made by a person to 
 vindicate himself by showing that others had offended. Was it to 
 be endured that a man should thus vindicate his misconduct — that 
 he should be allowed to show that he had been guilty of no offence, 
 becavise he had, as it were, a prescription in crime 1 He (the 
 Attorney-General) would assert most boldly, that all the parodies 
 upon the Holy Sciiptures that had been read were in fact libels, and 
 in this class were included the productions of some of the most 
 venerable names ; men to whom, mankind were indebted, not only
 
 64 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 for the preceiDts, but the examples of piety and virtue. If they 
 had profaned the sacred writings, as the defendant had asserted, 
 and by some of his quotations proved, they were so far libellers. 
 One of these was Martin Luther, a name as much known as 
 reverenced — a strenuous, able, and pious reformer, to whose exer- 
 tions we were indebted for many important blessings ; if he had 
 parodied a text of Scripture he was a libeller, and in his character, 
 as in that of many others of his times and temper, zealous advocates 
 and heated partisans were marks of intemperate haste which led to 
 the employment of expedients not in themselves to be vindicated : 
 they had fought a glorious battle, and achieved a brilliant victory ; 
 but in doing so, their conduct had not been unexceptionable, which, 
 no doubt, in their latter lives they often repented, more especially 
 when the time arrived that they were to settle the account between 
 their consciences and their God. 
 
 [Violent coughing, and other marks of disapprobation, on the 
 part of the spectators, here interrupted the Attorney-General. Mr. 
 Justice Abbott declared his determination to order the Court to 
 be cleared if decorum were not observed.] 
 
 The Attorney-General proceeded to observe, that in pub- 
 lishing his work against Zuinglius, and in parodying the Holy 
 Scriptures, Luther had brought odium and contempt upon his 
 cause ; the same remark would apply to Dr. Boys, who, in employing 
 the Lord's Prayer as he had done, had been guilty of a libel upon 
 that divine ejaculation. The aiithority of Lord Somers had also 
 been quoted — a digni6ed and a pious man ; but it not unfreqiiently 
 happened that individuals of most exemplaiy lives, at some period 
 or other, wrote what they afterwards most devoutly wished had 
 never proceeded from their pen : officious friends now and then 
 thrust into the world what the author intended for oblivion, but 
 what he had not had the caution to destroy after he had had the 
 imprudence to write. It might be so with Lord Somers ; but 
 whether it were or were not, if he had parodied any part of Holy 
 Writ, he had so far injured his own reputation, and brought 
 ridicule upon the most sacred and valuable production. All 
 parodies upon portions of the Bible were not offensive in the eye
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 65 
 
 of the law : some might be intended to answer the most pious and 
 laudable purposes. They were not impious libels any more than 
 the Hjnnns of Dr. Watts were, stripped of their beauty or piety, 
 because they were adapted to profane tunes. The defendant had 
 alluded to some of these, but it was astonishing that he did not 
 perceive that they had no application to the question. The 
 translation of the Psalms sung on every Sabbath, might, in some 
 sense, be considered a parody ; but who would say that it was 
 impious and profane, and calculated to excite irreligion ? The 
 distinction was this : — A parody became a libel when its tendency 
 was to excite in the mind ludicrous ideas regarding the thing 
 pai'odied — when, as in this case, its object is to bring into contempt 
 and ridicule the Sacred Book from which the offices of religion 
 were performed. Mr. Hone had asserted that, if the party had it 
 not in his contemplation to excite irreligion, it was not a profane 
 parody ; but was every man to be regardless of the effect of such 
 productions 1 — was he to issue to the world his impious works, 
 and to excuse himself from guilt, after all religion and morality 
 had been destroyed, by stating that he had some other design ? If 
 that were allowed, what would soon become of that sacred fear, that 
 reverential awe, with which the inspired writings ought to be 
 perused 1 The pamphlet before the juiy was so injurious in its ten- 
 dency, and so disgusting in its form, that any man, on the first reading, 
 would start (he had almost said) with horror from it ; it was like an 
 infecting pestilence, which every man shunned that valued his 
 safety. Mr. Hone had talked much about his family, and he (the 
 Attorney-General) had heard him with astonishment. He might 
 be a Christian ; no doubt he was as he had professed ; and all 
 men, of whatever persuasion, who worshipped God with purity of 
 heart, were entitled to admiration, to the love of their fellow- 
 creatures ; but if the defendant were really a Christian, if he were 
 a man who felt an affection for his family and for their future 
 welfare, for their religion and their morals, how was it possible for 
 him to publish this parody 1 Could he seal hermetically the eyes 
 and ears of his children, that the poison should not enter their 
 minds ; or if not, how could he hope for a moment that they would 
 
 K
 
 66 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 not be infected with that impiety which such writings must 
 inevitably excite 1 Would children be able to resist that which 
 people of mature years and judgment could not avoid 1 If men, 
 when repeating the prayer dictated from the mouth of their 
 Saviour, could not expel some tincture of the ludicrous raised by 
 this libel, could it be hoped that infants would escape ? Religious 
 awe was the best and strongest impulse to obedience ; and what 
 obedience could be expected to the Commandments of God from 
 those who were taught to ridicule and contemn them ? It had 
 been asserted by the defendant, that that only was libel which a 
 jury had pronounced to be so. True it was, that the law of 
 England had settled, that the jury should determine upon the 
 question of libel or not libel ; but in the very same Act of the 
 Legislature was a clause which enabled, indeed called upon the 
 judge, to declare his opinion upon the subject ; it was not to 
 depend merely upon caprice, or the hasty impression upon the 
 mind of any man. The question was, however, at last with the 
 jury ; and if some consistency were not observed, if some standard 
 were not laid down, no man could be able to decide before publi- 
 cation what was or was not libellous. He entreated the jury to 
 take the libel into their hands, to consider it calmly and dispas- 
 sionately ; and, comparing it with what it was designed to 
 ridicule, to determine whether it were not a wicked, impious, and 
 profane libel ; it required no comment, it spoke but too plainly for 
 itself. In thus calling upon the jury, he did not by any means 
 intend to infringe upon the fair and legitimate discussion of 
 doctrinal or mysterious points of religion, but he did intend to 
 call in their aid to suppress what (to borrow a word from the 
 prints exhibited by the defendant) might be fitly termed a 
 caricature of the holy oifices of the church. The intention of the 
 party was to be gathered only from his acts ; and even though the 
 jury should be of opinion that the primary object of the defendant 
 was not to ridicule and bring into contempt any part of the 
 established forms of Divine worship, if that had been done inci- 
 dentally, if it had been a secondary purpose and consequence, it 
 would still be their duty to find him guilty.
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 67 
 
 Mr. Justice Abbott commenced liis cliarge, by stating more 
 particularly the form of the information. The offence charged, 
 was the publication of a libel, with design and intent to promote 
 impiety and irreligion : the chief part of the defence had been 
 occupied in an attempt to show that no such design or intent 
 existed ; but if they were apparent on the face of the 2:)roduction, 
 if it were obvious on inspection that such was a necessary con- 
 sequence, the law presumed that the party publishing had it in 
 contemplation at the time of publication. Provided the jury 
 were satisfied that the libel had the tendency charged, its form 
 and cheapness were calculated to accelerate its circulation, and 
 more widely to disseminate its baneful effects. The discon- 
 tinuance spoken of by the defendant could not alter the fact of 
 publication ; and though he might feel an eai'ly repentance, and 
 suppress the work a few days after its appearance, the cidme was 
 already completed, and the verdict could not be altered, though 
 the sentence of the Court might be affected by any indication of 
 contrition. The proceeding by information was known to the 
 ancient law of the land ; it derived its authority as far back as 
 the proceeding by indictment ; and whether the one or the other 
 were pursued, could be a matter of no importance to the jury; 
 in the one and the other the Attorney-Greneral would equally have 
 his right to reply, even though no evidence were called for the 
 defendant. It had been suggested that the Master of the Crown 
 Office ought not to have the nomination of special juries ; that he 
 was to possess that power had been settled by an act of the reign 
 of George II. He was furnished by the sheriff with a book or 
 list, and from that he selected, as he was bound, the names of 48 
 persons, fit to serve on special juries ; each side had a right to 
 strike out 12, and the remaining 21: jurors were returned for the 
 trial of the question. In ordinary cases the sheriff, an officer also 
 named by the Crown, had the duty of returning juries, and the 
 proceedings in the Crown Office was as nearly as possible analogous. 
 His lordship made these observations in consequence of what had 
 fallen from one of the jury regarding what had appeared in the pub- 
 lic prints j what the nature of those productions were, he did not
 
 68 FIRST TRIAL. 
 
 know; but liis lordship was well assured of this — ^that one of the 
 greatest evils known in the present day was, that matters to be 
 brought imder the view of a jury were previously made the subjects 
 of discussion in the newspapers, so as to produce unfair impressions 
 on the one side or on the other, and to interfere with the impartial 
 discharge of a most important duty. At the same time, his lord- 
 ship was persuaded that none of the gentlemen he now addressed 
 had entered the box with any improper bias or predisposition : if 
 the defendant, as he stated, had been vilified and defamed, it was 
 the duty of the jury not to allow what they had heard out of Court 
 to have the slightest influence upon them : the verdict was to 
 depend upon a conscientious conviction as to the nature and 
 tendency of the libel. The Attorney-General had said, and truly, 
 that the Christian religion was part of the law of the land, and 
 any offence against it was therefore an offence against the law ; 
 the defendant maintained that the application of the libel was- 
 purely political, although a religious form had been adopted ; but 
 admitting the fact, it did not follow that the tendency of it was 
 not to promote profaneness and irreligion. As an authority 
 against it, and a higher could not be stated, his lordship should 
 quote one of the very commandments parodied. " Thou shalt not 
 take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not 
 hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Did not this 
 libel take the name of the Almighty in vain 1 Did it not, allowing 
 it to be political in some degree, apply the sacred appellation of 
 the Creator to light and trivial matters? Was it not an appli- 
 cation of the offices of religion and piiblic worship to matters 
 comparatively insignificant? His lordship then proceeded to 
 read and comment upon the early part of the libel, observing, when 
 he aiTived at the parody of the Lord's Prayer, that it was un- 
 necessary further to shock the ears of the jury ; the publication 
 would be handed to them, and they might jvidge for themselves. 
 It was contended that this was not an offence, because parodies 
 existed on different parts of the sacred writings, and the service 
 of the church ; that Luther, Dr. Boys, and others, had written 
 them : if they had, it was a matter of deep regret : their zeal and
 
 FIRST TRIAL. 69 
 
 warmtli might have misled their judgment, and induce them to 
 utter or publish what, in calmer moments, they would have 
 repented and condemned. The employment of the style of Scrip- 
 tui'e narrative was in itself a high offence, but not if a complexion 
 so serious as that with which the defendant was charged : even 
 the parody of Psalms made by Milton, could not be approved 
 more than that which the defendant had read, and which, in truth, 
 seemed to be a parody of Milton. None of these instances could, 
 however, furnish the slightest excuse to the defendant. Caricature 
 prints had indeed no relation to the question before the Court : 
 but in as far as they tended to bring religion and its duties into 
 contemj)t or ridicule, so far as they were offences. The question 
 here was not, what had been done in former times, but what the 
 defendant had done in the present : it was no question whether 
 he were or were not in himself a religiously disposed man ; it was 
 to be hoped that he was so ; but it could neither increase nor 
 diminish the measure of his criminality. Although it was the 
 business of the jury to determine the questions of libel or no 
 libel, it was expected of the judge that he should deliver his 
 opinion upon the nature of the publication : the verdict was, how- 
 ever, to be the vet'dict of the jury according to their consciences, 
 and the opinion of the judge was to assist and not to direct them. 
 His lordship was fully convinced that the production was highly 
 scandalous and irreligioiis, and therefore libellous ; but if the jury 
 were of a different sentiment, their verdict would of course be an 
 acquittal. It, however, seemed to admit of no doubt or difficulty; 
 the design and effect were plain upon the face of the libel ; and 
 to young and unexperienced minds the consequences of a perusal 
 might be most injurious. What but a feeling of impiety, if not 
 of ridicule, could exist on the mind of a child during divine sei*- 
 vice, if on the Saturday night or Sunday morning this publication 
 had fallen in its way 1 His lordship then handed the publication 
 to the jury, desiring them to read it attentively, and to make up 
 their minds upon its object and effect. 
 
 Mr. Hone requested that the jury should be furnished, before 
 they retired, with a copy of the information.
 
 70 FIRST TRIAL, 
 
 His lordsMp accordingly handed to the jury an official copy 
 of the information, and a Prayer-book. 
 
 The jury then -withdrew, and returned to the box in less than 
 a quarter of an hour. Their names were called over, and ]\lr. 
 Law, in the usual manner, inquired whom they had appointed to 
 speak for them as foreman ? 
 
 It being signified that Mr. Bowring had been directed by his 
 fellows to deliver the verdict, Mr. Law asked him whether the 
 jury found the defendant, William Hone, guilty or not guilty. 
 
 Mr. Bowring replied in a firm voice, — NOT GUILTY. 
 
 The loudest acclamations were instantly heard in all parts of 
 the Court; Long live the Jionest jury, and an honest jury for ever, 
 were exclaimed by many voices : the waving of hats, handker- 
 chiefs, and applauses continued for several minutes. AVhen 
 order had been somewhat restored, Mr. Justice Abbott interposed, 
 and desired that those who felt inclined to rejoice at tlie decision, 
 would reserve the expressions of their satisfaction for a fitter place 
 and opportunity. The people accordingly left the Court, and as 
 they proceeded along the streets, the language of joy was most 
 loudly and unequivocally expressed ; every one with whom they 
 met, and -to whom they communicated the event, being forward to 
 swell the peal: 
 
 The trial of the Information against Mr. Hone, for a parody 
 on the Litany, was ordered by the Court to come on the next 
 morning at half-past nine o'clock.
 
 -1( 
 
 THE 
 
 SECOND TRIAL 
 
 WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 0):^€)ffitt0 Knformatinu. 
 
 AT GUILDHALL, LONDON, DECEMBER 19, 1817, 
 
 BEFORE 
 
 LOED ELLENBOROUGH AND A SPECIAL JURY, 
 
 POE PUBLISHI^'G 
 
 A PARODY. 
 
 With an alleged Intent to ridicule 
 
 THE LITANY, 
 
 AXD LIBEL 
 
 THE PEINCE REGENT, THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 FEINTED BY AND FOR WILLIAM HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY; 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1818. 
 
 PRICE ONE SHILLING:
 
 1
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 THE KING AGAINST AVILLIAM HONE, 
 
 ON AN EX-OFFICIO INFORMATION FOE PUBLISHING A PAEODY 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 "THE POLITICAL LITANY." 
 
 Tried m Guildhall, London, on Feeday, December 19, 1817, at the 
 London Sittings after Michaelmas Term. 
 
 BEFOEE LOED ELLENBOKOUGH AND A SPECIAL JUEY. 
 
 It having been announced by the Attorney-General, at the close 
 of the first day's proceedings, that he intended to persevere in the 
 trial of the second information against Mr. Hone, the curiosity of 
 the public became so intense this morning, as well on account of 
 the importance of the case, as of the tiiumphant defence of Mr. 
 Hone the former day, that at a very early hour all the avenues of 
 the Court were literally blocked up by a multitude of spectators, 
 anxious to become auditors of the proceedings ; and when the 
 doors of the Court were opened not one-twentieth part of the 
 multitude could fiQ.d standing accommodation. 
 
 It was generally supposed, as indeed might naturally have been 
 expected, that Mr. Hone having been acquitted on one of the 
 infoi'mations, the Attorney-General would not proceed against him 
 on any of the others. It appeared, however, that this was a sup- 
 position unfounded in fact ; and at a quarter after nine Mr. Hone 
 entered the Court, followed by several large bundles of books, 
 regularly tied up. He took liis station at the end of the court
 
 72 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 table, and having untied them, lie ranged them before him, cover- 
 ing nearly a fourth of the table. 
 
 At twenty minutes before ten Lord EUenborough entered the 
 Court, and took his seat on the bench. His lordship's appearance 
 was unexpected, Mr. Justice Abbott having presided on Mr. 
 Hone's trial the day before. Tlie Attorney-General, and other 
 Counsel for the prosecution, next entered, and took their places. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Are the Sheriffs in Court 1 
 
 The Under Sheriff — They are not, my Lord. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Then let them be immediately sent for. 
 
 The Sheriffs were then sent for. 
 
 The Hon. Mr. Law, Clerk at Nisi Prius, then called on the 
 case of the King v. William Hone, and desired the gentlemen on 
 the Special Jury pannel to answer to their names. Six of these 
 gentlemen only appeared; when the ofl&cers of the Crown were 
 asked if they would pray a tales ? 
 
 The Attorney-General remained for some minutes in doubt; 
 and, after consulting with the other Counsel for the Crown, nodded 
 assent to the question ; and, accordingly, six common Jurymen 
 were put into the box. John Austen, shoemaker, of Aldgate, 
 answered to his name, and was challenged by the Crown. The 
 Jury, which was composed of twelve of the most I'espectable and 
 independent men in the city of London, were then sworn. 
 
 RiCHAED Wilson, Great Eastcheap. 
 
 John Lindsay, Lawrence-Pountney 
 Lane. 
 
 EicHARD Thoenton, Old Swan Pas- 
 sage. 
 
 William Gillman, 54, Bread Street. 
 
 John Mackie, 12, Watling Street. 
 
 Neil Black, 11, Bread Street. 
 
 THE JURY. 
 
 Talesmen. 
 
 James Jones. 
 James Smith. 
 Joshua Thorne. 
 James Donaldson. 
 William Hale, 
 William Gbeen. 
 
 Mr. Shepherd opened the pleadings, and stated, that this was 
 an information filed by his Majesty's Attorney-General against 
 William Hone, for printing and publishing a certain impious and 
 profane libel upon a part of the Church Service in the Common
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 73" 
 
 Prayer Book, called " The Litany, or General Supplication." 
 There "was a second count, cliai-ging the said publication to be a 
 wicked and seditious libel of and concerning the Prince Regent, 
 and the Houses of Lords and Commons. To this information the 
 defendant had pleaded Not Guilty. 
 
 The Attorney-General then addressed the Jury — The ques- 
 tion they were assembled to try was one of the utmost importance 
 to the constitution of society. The information charged the offence 
 committed by the defendant in two ways : — In the first count it 
 was alleged to be a profane and impious libel, and in the second a 
 seditious libel. He should call the attention of the jury particu- 
 larly to the first. The libel was a parody upon that part of the 
 Divine Service, established by law, called " The Litany, or General 
 Supplication" After the authority of Sir Matthew Hale, and of 
 other great lawyers, no man could dispute that Christianity was 
 part or parcel of the law of the land : it had been held to be so in 
 all times, and all the rights we enjoyed more or less depended upon 
 that principle; the very oaths which, the Jury had so solemnly 
 taken were founded upon it. In all Christian countries it was 
 necessary that some form of public worship to the Creator should 
 exist : in England it had been established by statute in the reign 
 of Charles II. ; and if any man in writing should revile, scoff at, 
 or ridicule it, by the law of the land he was guilty of a libel : no 
 man could ventui-e to contradict that position. The information 
 charged that the defendant, devising and intending to excite impiety 
 and irreligion, and to scandalise and defame, and bring into con- 
 tempt, in the minds of the King's subjects, that part of the public 
 and Divine Service, called " The Litany, or General Supplication^^ 
 and to apply the style and form of expression there used to scan- 
 dalous purposes, published the libel in question. It was not neces- 
 sary to remind the jury that the Litany was a most solemn prayer 
 to the Almighty, to the Redeemer of the World, and to the Holy 
 Ghost, and had justly been considered the most sublime part of the 
 public service of the Church ; and it was impossible to make the 
 most distant approach to its style and form in a parody, without 
 exciting in the most pious mind ideas that would never have other-
 
 74 SECOND TKIAL. 
 
 wise entered it ; and the taint of profaneness and ridicule, even of 
 tlie most sacred subjects, was rapidly disseminated. Tlie Litany, 
 after the supplication to God, the Redeemer, the Holy Ghost, and 
 the Trinity, went on to pray deliverance in the hour of death and 
 in the day of judgment. It was succeeded by a most devout and 
 impressive reiteration : " Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us ! 
 O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have 
 mercy upon us ! " He would not proceed; it seemed too solemn 
 even for the solemnity of a court of justice; yet (would the jury 
 believe it 1) the defendant had turned it to ridicule, by making an 
 impious parody of it. It began, " O Pi'ince, Ruler of the people, 
 have mercy upon us, miserable subjects. O House of Lords, here- 
 ditary Legislators, have mercy upon us, pension-paying subjects. 
 O House of Commons, proceeding from corrupt borough-mongers, 
 have mercy upon us, miserable subjects." It was too disgusting 
 to read the whole, but he would turn to that part which was sub- 
 stituted for the devout reiteration at the end of the Litany of the 
 Church ; instead of " Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us," 
 &c., the defendant had said, "Son of George, we beseech thee to 
 hear us. O House of Lords, that takest away so many thousands 
 of pounds in pensions, have mercy upon us," 
 
 [These parts of the parody produced an involuntary burst of 
 laughter from the auditory, which evidently proceeded, not from 
 a wish to disturb the Court, but was really the irresistible impulse 
 arising from the matter of the parody.] 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — "Where are the Sheriffs 1 I desired 
 their attendance, and they shall attend. 
 
 The TJnder-Sheriff — My lord, I have sent for them ; but 
 they live a great distance from this and they have not yet arrived. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Yery well. 
 
 Mr. Hone joined the Court in reprehending in strong terms 
 this interruption of the order of the proceedings. 
 
 The Attorney-General resumed as follows : — Will any one 
 now say that the dangerous, the impious and profane publication 
 before you, has not been the means of raising scofl&ng among the 
 tjcoflfers ? I will ask, if there can possibly be a stronger proof of
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 75 
 
 its dangerous effects ? — If tlie social bonds of society are to be 
 burst asunder by the indecent conduct of a rabble, the Court may 
 as well discontinue its proceedings. But, gentlemen, if any man 
 supposes that an interruption of this description can have the 
 effect of intimidating me, or of making me swerve for a moment 
 in the execution of my duty — my sacred duty to the public and to 
 the cause of God, he is pei'fectly mistaken. That shall never be 
 the case with me, while I stand in an English court of justice, 
 whether as the law officer of the Ci'own, or as a private advocate; 
 and while God gives me strength and understanding to perform 
 that duty, I will never be deterred by anything of this descrip- 
 tion which can possibly pass. Gentlemen, in calling your 
 attention to the parody upon this most sacred prayer, I shall have 
 little occasion to guide you in your verdict. You will, I doubt 
 not, read every word of it before you give in that verdict, and 
 you will compare it with the sacred book (the Prayer-Book) 
 which I now hold in my hand, and which is an exact duplicate of 
 the legal Book of the Common Prayer which will be produced to 
 you in evidence. If there be any among you, which is doubtless 
 the case, who is the father of children, and the master of a 
 household, I will ask him, if he would suffer that publication to 
 be perused by his servants, who are not so well educated as him- 
 self? or if he would suffer his children for one moment to read it? 
 I will ask him, if he does not believe that it would have the 
 effect I have described ? What man is there, even though he is 
 not a Christian himself but as a father, must wish his child to be 
 a Christian ? Gentlemen, the express purpose of the book is 
 clear, from its being circulated at a cheap rate, so as to be within 
 the reach of the common and ordinary people. This is the object 
 of the publication ; and it is because this is the object that I 
 have thought it to be my duty to bring it before you. There may 
 be many writings which sensible men may read in their closets ; 
 some of them may be highly improper for general circulation, 
 although some may be properly open to a free discussion : but the 
 subject of the present question is not to be looked at in this point 
 of view, for the mode of publication plainly shows what the real
 
 76 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 object is, and fully proves that it was intended that it should find 
 its way among the ignorant and uninformed, where it was 
 calculated to have a gross effect. It may be, that the defendant 
 will produce, as heretofore, books which have been at different 
 times published, and which, if they had not now been taken down 
 from their shelves, would have been forgotten ; they were written 
 at different periods of time, and principally if not entirely, when 
 the person so wi-iting were engaged in all the vehemence and 
 rancour of political disputes. But it never can be offered as a 
 justification or excuse by an individual offending at the present 
 period, that he had followed a bad example. If that observation 
 could be made as an answer to offences, it might be pleaded as an 
 excuse in other cases, of a nature wliolly different from the case 
 which you are at this time trying. The law, gentlemen, is called 
 upon, most imperiously called upon, to put a stop to proceedings 
 like those of the defendant, or the time will come, when a stop will 
 be put to all that remains of the Christian establishment of the 
 Church of England — of everything entitled to reverence. Whatever 
 may be the opinion of others, I feel that I should not discharge my 
 duty to the public — that I should not do my duty to society, as a 
 member of it, gentlemen of the jury, if I had not brought this 
 case of libel before you. I am ready to agree, gentlemen, that, 
 constitutionally, you are not called upon to find a verdict upon 
 the simple fact of the printing and publishing ; but, whatever 
 be the intention of a publication attended with a mischievous 
 tendency, it is no less a libel. This, however, you know, that 
 in a case of libel, as well as in all other cases, it is the duty of a 
 jury to give in their verdict according to the law, and according 
 to evidence. It was never the meaning of the statute, that the 
 verdict of a juiy should be founded in caprice ; it is to be given 
 upon evidence, and that is held to be the law of the land. No man 
 among you can now say that he is mistaken ; and it is to prevent 
 such a mistake that I have made any observations of this sort : for 
 lie who does not apply his mind to find a verdict upon the evidence, 
 according to the law of the land, is guilty of a misapprehension of 
 duty. It is not necessary for me at the outset to make any further
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 77 
 
 remarks upon this point ; I will not therefore proceed. You will 
 hear from my lord, if I am mistaken in any principle which I have 
 laid down : if I am wrong, I shall be most happy and most desirous 
 to receive correction in what you will hear stated by the noble 
 and learned judge as to the law ; it will be your province to apply 
 your minds to the facts of the case, as to the nature of the paper, 
 and to judge of it according to the law which you will hear laid 
 down. Gentlemen, if such things as this are permitted, no parody, 
 in any terms or in any shape, upon any part of the public worship 
 of the Church of England, or of any part of the Seripture, will be 
 punishable, nor will there be any attack upon Christianity which 
 may not be published with impunity. It is not enough for a man 
 to say, that he did it for another purpose : that cannot be a point 
 for consideration, when the effect of what he has so published is 
 to scoff at the public service of the Church of England. The ques- 
 tion is, Did this parody produce this certain effect 1 If it is 
 answered in the affirmative, by the law of England it is a libel, 
 though at that moment the defendant did not consider what the 
 ultimate effect might be. If a man publish anything that is 
 obscene and immoral, and say that his object was to ridicule, and 
 that he did not mean to be obscene — that he only meant to 
 ridicule such and such a person ; if he did not mean it to be obscene, 
 what does it signify if it is so '? He is guilty of producing an effect 
 which is reprehensible. Having stated the case to you, gentlemen, 
 I shall now proceed to prove it ; and if there is anything like 
 religious principles in your minds — if you are in the practice of 
 looking with veneration upon the service of the Church, you cannot 
 look over this [liolding up the publication] without saying that it 
 is a profane and impious parody — that it is calculated to, and 
 actually does bring into contempt, and that it does ridicule, that 
 part of it called the Litany. 
 
 The alleged libel was then put in by the Attorney-General, 
 and read by the Clerk of the Court. 
 
 The political LITANY ; diligently revised ; to be said or sung, 
 until the appointed Change come, throughout the Dominion of 
 England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed. —
 
 78 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 By Special Command. — London : Printed for one of the Candidates 
 for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and 
 sold by William Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and 67, Old Bailey, three 
 doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. Price Twopence. 
 
 THE LITANY. 
 
 ^ Here followeth the Litany, or General Supplication, to he said or sung 
 at all times lohen thereunto especially moved. 
 
 Prince, ruler of the people, have mercy upon us, thy miserable 
 
 subjects. 
 
 Prince, rider, <&c. 
 
 O House of Lords, hereditary legislators, have mercy upon us, pen- 
 sion-paying subjects. 
 
 House of Lords, (&c. 
 
 O House of Commons, proceeding from corrupt borough-mongers, 
 have mercy upon us, your should-be constituents. 
 House of Commons, &c. 
 
 O gracious, noble, right honourable, and learned rulers of our land, 
 
 three estates in one state, have mercy ujDon us, a poverty-stricken 
 
 people. 
 
 gracious, noble, dc. 
 
 Eemember not, most gi-acious, most noble, right honourable, and 
 
 honourable gentlemen, our past riches, nor the riches of our forefathers ; 
 
 neither continue to tax us according to our long-lost ability — spare us, 
 
 good rulei's ; spare the people who have supjiorted ye with their labour, 
 
 and spilt their most precious blood in your quarrels ; O consume us not 
 
 utterly. 
 
 Spare lis, good Prince. 
 
 From an unnational debt ; from unmerited pensions and sinecure 
 places ; from an extravagant civil list ; and from utter starvation, 
 Good Prince, deliver us. 
 
 From the blind imbecility of ministers ; from the pride and vain- 
 glory of warlike establishments in time of peace, 
 Good Prince, deliver us. 
 
 From all the deadly sins attendant on a corrupt method of election ; 
 from all the deceits of the pensioned hirelings of the press, 
 Good Prince, deliver lis.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 79 
 
 From taxes levied by distress ; from, jails crowded witli debtors ; 
 from poor-houses overflowing with paupers, 
 
 Good Prince, deliver us. 
 
 From a Parliament chosen only by one-tenth of the tax-payers ; 
 from taxes raised to pay wholesale human butchers their subsidies ; 
 from the false doctrines, heresy, and schism, which have obscured our 
 once-glorious constitution ; from conspiracies against the liberty of the 
 people ; and from obstacles thrown in the way of the exertion of our 
 natural and constitutional rights, 
 
 Good Prince, deliver us. 
 
 By your feelings as men ; by your interests as members of civil 
 society ; by your duty as Christians, 
 
 Rulers, deliver us. 
 
 By the deprivation of millions ; by the sighs of the widow ; by the 
 
 tears of the orphan ; by the groans of the aged in distress ; by the 
 
 wants of all classes in the community, except your own and your 
 
 dependents, 
 
 Rulers, deliver us. 
 
 In this time of tribulation ; in this time of want of labour to thou- 
 sands, and of unrequited labour to tens of thousands ; in this time of 
 sudden death from want of food, 
 
 Rulers, deliver us. 
 
 We people do beseech ye to hear us, O Eulers ; and that it may 
 please ye to rule and govern us constitutionally in the right way ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to keep yourselves in all sobriety, temperance, 
 
 and honesty of life ; that ye spend not extravagantly the money raised 
 
 from the production of our labours, nor take for yourselves that which 
 
 ye need not ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear iis, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to keep your hearts in fear of oppression, and 
 in love of justice ; and that ye may evermore have affiance in our affec- 
 tion, farther than in the bayonets of a hired soldiery ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to be our defenders and keepers, giving us the 
 
 victory over all our enemies, and redressing the grievances under which 
 
 we labom' ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear its, Riders.
 
 80 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 That it may please ye to lessen the cares of tlie world unto all 
 Bishops and Church Dignitaries ; giving their superabundance to the 
 poor clergy, and no longer taxing us for their support ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to place within the bounds of economy the 
 expenditure of all the Royal Family ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to deprive the Lords of the Council, and all 
 
 the nobility, of all money paid out of the taxes which they have not 
 
 earned ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to direct all Magistrates to give up their 
 advanced salaries, which the times no longer render necessary, and to 
 content themselves with their former stipends ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to bless all the people with equal representa- 
 tion, and to keep them safe from borough-raongering factions ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye so to govern us, that unity, peace, and con- 
 cord, may prevail throughout the nation, and the voice of tumult and 
 dissatisfaction be no more heard in oiir streets ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, O Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to give unto all people all their rights as 
 citizens, whatever may be the mode in Avhich their consciences may 
 impel them to worship their Creator, and whatever the creed to which 
 their judgments assent ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to bring into the way of truth those apostates 
 who have erred therefrom, and have deceived us ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to strengthen all such as do stand up for the 
 legal and constitutional rights of the people ; to comfort and help the 
 weak-hearted, who want courage in our behalf ; to raise tip such as do 
 fall ; and, finally to beat down corruption under our feet ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye not to tax " until the brow of labour sweats
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 81 
 
 in vain ;" but to succour cand comfort all that are in necessity and 
 tribulation ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear iis, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to show pity to all who are prisoners and cap- 
 tives for the people's sake, or through the oppressive expenses of the laws ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to appropi^iate the £200,000 annually paid to 
 Members of Parliament, contrary to an ancient law, as a provision for 
 fatherless children and widows, and all that are desolate and oppressed ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to have mercy upon us all ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to turn the hearts of our enemies, persecutors, 
 and slanderers, by withdrawing their pensions and emoluments, that 
 they may no longer call us a " rabble," the " swinish multitude," or 
 "ragamuffins," but may once more style us "the real strength of the 
 nation," — " the body, without which a head is useless ;" 
 Tie beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to give and preserve to our use the kindly 
 fruits of the earth, untaxed by men in black, whom those who wish for 
 their instruction ought alone to support ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to abolish and destroy all sinecure places, and 
 worthless pensions; to utterly purge and root out all wrong-doers ; to 
 thoroughly correct the present misrej)reseutation of the people, by an 
 effectual lieform in Parliament ; and otherwise to do, or cause to be 
 done, such farther and other acts and deeds, as shall or may conduce to 
 the true interest and benefit of the whole commonwealth ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to lead and strengthen GEOEGE, Prince of 
 Wales, our present EEGENT, in the true fear and knowledge of the 
 principles whereon the people of this commonwealth placed their crown 
 on the head of his ancestors, and coutiiiue it towards him ; and that it 
 may please ye, as much as in ye lie, to keep and defend him from 
 battle and murder, and sudden death, and from fornication, and all 
 other deadly sin ; 
 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 u
 
 82 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 That it may please ye to put on short allowance, all Bishops, Priests, 
 and Deacons, that their fleshly appetites being reduced, their spiritual- 
 mindeduess may be thereby increased, and so that both by their 
 preaching and living they may set it forth, and show it accordingly ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 That it may please ye to take to yourselves true repentance, inas- 
 much as ye have erred from the way of your forefathers ; and amend 
 your method of governing according to our free constitution ; 
 We beseech ye to hear us, Rulers. 
 
 Son of George, we beseech thee to hear us. 
 
 Son of George, we beseech thee, &c. 
 
 O House of Lords, that takest away so many tens of thousands of 
 
 pounds in pensions, 
 
 Have mercy upon us. 
 
 O House of Commons, that votest away the money of the whole 
 nation, instead of that of those only who elect you ; 
 Have mercy upon us. 
 
 O Prince, hear us. 
 
 Prince, hear us. 
 
 George, have mercy upon us. 
 
 George, have mercy upon us. 
 
 O House of Lords, have mercy upon us. 
 
 House of Lords, have mercy upon us. 
 
 O House of Commons, have mercy upon us. 
 
 House of Commons, have mercy upon us. 
 
 [Here endcth the Litany."] 
 
 ^ THE COLLECT TO BE USED BY HIS MAJESTY'S MINISTERS 
 Beginneth thus : 
 
 Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, &c. 
 
 ^ By wliom the following may be used in ordinary. 
 
 The Grace of our Lord GEORGE the Prince Eegent, and the ■ 
 Love of Louis the XVIII. and the fellowship of the Pope, be with us' 
 all evermore. ^^ — Amen.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 83 
 
 Mr. Topping I'ose to call witnesses to prove the fact of the 
 alleged libel being published and sold by the defendant. 
 
 Mr. Hone interrupted the learned counsel, by saying that it 
 Avas not his wish to take up the time of the Court by anything 
 unnecessary; he would admit the fact of the publication. 
 
 The Attorney-General (producing the Common Prayer Book 
 under seal) — Do you admit that this is the Common Prayer 
 Book? 
 
 Mr. Hone — I admit that this is the Common Prayer. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You admit that it is the Common 
 Prayer of the Church of England? 
 
 Mr. Hone — Certainly, my lord. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough accordingly recorded Mr. Hone's admis- 
 sion, that he was the printer and publisher of the parody in 
 qiiestion, at No. 55, Fleet Street, in the parish of St. Dunstan's 
 in the "West. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I trust your lordship will excuse the interruption ; 
 but with respect to the disturbance which has occurred in the 
 Court, I beg to observe, that I consider that man to be my enemy 
 who in any way 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — There is not anything of that kind 
 before the Court at present ; the time for making your observa- 
 tions is not arrived. 
 
 ]\Ir. Hone — I was only desirous, my lord, to add my feeble 
 assistance in keeping order in the Court. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — A very proper disposition. 
 
 Here Mr. Sheriflf Desanges entered the Court, and Lord 
 Ellenborough addressed him thus : — " I have sent for you and 
 your colleague, sir, as there is an absolute necessity for your pre- 
 sence. There was a most unseemly disturbance in the Court 
 yesterday, I understand, and there has been another to-day. You 
 are the persons who are responsible, and shall be responsible ; 
 and therefore you will be good enough to use your utmost acti\-ity 
 in apprehending any persons who dare to interrupt the course of 
 the proceedings." 
 
 Here Mr. Sheriff Desanges assured the Court, that no endea-
 
 84 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 vour should be wanting on liis part to put a stop to conduct so 
 disgraceful and so indecent. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You "will understand me ; my only- 
 motive in admonishing you as to your duty is, that you may 
 attend to it. 
 
 The case for the Crown being closed, 
 
 Mr. Hone rose — Before he remarked on the opening speech of 
 Mr. Attorney-General, he would address himself to the persons 
 present; and he must say, he knew of no species of indecency — 
 he knew of no breach of propriety, that more deserved severe 
 reprehension and reprobation, than an act which tended to impede 
 the proceedings of a Court of Justice. Taking his trial there, on 
 a charge which perhaps might consign him to a prison, he felt 
 most solicitous that good order and tranquillity should prevail. 
 Perhaps those indiscreet expressions of feeling might increase his 
 danger — they certainly could not serve any good purpose. The 
 persons who had so loudly expressed themselves ought not, what- 
 ever they might think or feel, to have given loose to their feelings 
 in that place. He begged to state, that he was opposed to eveiy 
 such expression in that Court ; and he declared that man to be his 
 decided enemy — he cared not where he came from, or who he was — 
 who should attempt to interrupt such solemn proceedings. He 
 did not expect to be so much embarrassed to-day as he was yester- 
 day, but, he confessed, his embarrassment was not abated. This 
 was not sui-prising, since yesterday was almost the first time that 
 he ever in his life addressed half-a-dozen sentences to ten persons 
 assembled together. The first time he had ever made such an 
 attempt was when he applied to his lordship and the other judges 
 on the subject of the informations filed against him ; and when he 
 stood on the floor of the Court, he doubted, so novel v/as his 
 situation, whether he should be able to utter a single word in 
 objection to the course adopted against him. He was now, from , 
 the urgency of the case, thrown into the gap, and he was obliged 
 to tight out as well as he could. The Attorney-General said the 
 alhged libel (for he denied that it was one, and if it were, he would
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 85 
 
 not be standing there to defeud it) was printed at a cheap rate, in 
 order to be disseminated amongst the common people. The fact 
 was, that the price of the publication was fully commensurate 
 with its size. 'Where publications were likely to have an exten- 
 sive circulation, they were sold by the booksellers at fourpence per 
 sheet. The publication for which he was now prosecuted con- 
 sisted of half-a-sheet, and it was .sold for twopence, which was the 
 regular price. He would not say that it did not get into the hands 
 of the ignorant and uninformed, for he knew it necessarily must, 
 since a great proportion of the people, even in this enlightened 
 country, were ignorant : but he knew this also, that great numbers 
 of those parodies were sold to persons of a very different descrip- 
 tion. They were sold to persons of high standing in that Court — 
 to Magistrates of the City of London — to Members of Parliament, 
 and even to his Majesty's Ministers. This publication had a 
 particular object, which every man, who read it with an un2:)rejudiced 
 mind, must at once perceive. That object was a poKtical one ; no 
 intention existed to bring religion into contempt. Of course, it 
 did not well become him to praise his own publication ; but thus 
 much he felt called upon to assert, that the style of it was not the 
 worst he had ever seen, nor did it seem best calculated to make an 
 impression upon the merely vulgar and unlettered. Many men 
 of talent and information were satisfied that the purpose with which 
 it had been published was innocent ; and he was persuaded, that 
 every man capable of judging, and who read it without prejudice, 
 would arrive at the same conclusion. The Attorney-General had 
 regretted that certain parodies had been taken from the shelves on 
 which they were placed, and where they might have rotted and 
 been forgotten, had they not been produced in Court on yesterday's 
 trial. He meant nothing disrespectful to the learned Attorney- 
 General in venturing to differ from him on the present occasion ; 
 but he must deny the learned gentleman's position, that these 
 parodies were brought forward for any improper or irreverent pur- 
 pose. The production of these books was essentially necessary to 
 his defence before a jury of his country, who were impannelled to 
 try this important issue between the crown and himself, the
 
 86 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 defendant. Without these works it was impossible for the jury 
 to come to a sound decision upon the allegations of the informa- 
 tion — to which he should afterwards allude more at length than 
 the Attorney-General had thought it necessary to do. Many of 
 the works before him had been placed upon the shelf only within 
 the last ten years ; and certainly he should feel it to be his duty 
 to bring those, at least, under the notice of the jury. Amongst 
 them was a well-known publication, called "The Book of Chronicles 
 of "Westminster," containing Scriptural parodies, applicable to the 
 Westminster Election. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I think it necessary thus early to apprise 
 you, that if you wish to show that as a sample of publications of 
 the like tendency which have been written, or for the purpose of 
 proving that the sacred Scriptures have been ridiculed and brought 
 into contempt by other subjects of the realm as well as yourself, I 
 shall not receive it. The commission of crimes, by how many 
 soever persons they may have been committed, does not qualify 
 the guilt of the individual committer. It is my decided purpose 
 not to receive this in evidence ; and therefore you may use your 
 discretion, whether you shall dwell further upon a matter of 
 evidence which I declare, judicially, to be inadmissible. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I would ask your lordship, if you really mean to 
 send me to prison without a fair trial 1 If your lordship does not 
 mean to do that, you will let me make my defence to the jury. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You may state what you know to be 
 of service to you in your defence upon this particular issue. You 
 may state what you please ; but I tell you, that that shall not be 
 given in evidence which falls v/ithin the description of evidence I 
 have mentioned. 
 
 Ml*. Hone (after a pause) — I really do not iinderstand your 
 lordship ; I state it seriously, that I am not awai-e of the exact 
 meaning of your lordship's intimation. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I think what I have stated is intelligible 
 enough to every other j)erson in Court. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It certainly is not intelligible to my humble 
 apprehension.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 87 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I can't help it. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I really don't clearly imderstand what your lord- 
 ship means by the word evidence. I am ignorant of the technical 
 rules of evidence, and therefore I apply to your lordship for a more 
 explicit statement of your meaning. There ai-e certain allegations 
 in this information, which it is necessary for me to explain away, 
 by showing that they can have no possible reference to the sup- 
 posed libel. This I propose to do by calling the attention of the 
 jury to passages in other publications, to show that this parody 
 has no application whatever to religious matters. I don't know, 
 as a man of plain understanding, what may and what may not be 
 given in evidence. But my intention is to read to the jury certain 
 other publications that I consider absolutely essential to my 
 defence, and so essential to my defence that I cannot defend myself 
 unless I do read portions of these publications. I state this with 
 all due deference to your lordship. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You may go on, and exercise your own 
 discretion. I tell you what rule I shall adopt in my direction to 
 the jury. I don't wish to interrupt you; but I thought it my 
 duty to inform you of the course I meant to adopt. You may 
 exercise your discretion, how far you will conform to that rule 
 or not. 
 
 Mr. Hone — If your lordship had condescended to explain to 
 me your meaning, by saying that these works are not admissible 
 in evidence at all, I should know at once what I am to expect. 
 If your lordship says, that I am not to read these publications to 
 the jury — if that is your lordship's decision against me, then I have 
 no defence to this information, and I am ready to go with your 
 lordship's tipstaff wherever your lordship may think proper to 
 send me. 
 
 Mi\ Hone paused for a few moments as if waiting for an 
 answer, and then continued his address to the jury : — 
 
 He insisted, that many of the books from which he had read 
 extracts were modern : it could not surely have escaped the recol- 
 lection of the Attorney-General, that the first authority to which 
 he had referred yesterday was "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine,"
 
 88 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 published in October last, long subsequent to the date of the alleged 
 libel ; yet that contained a pai-ody upon a large portion of the 
 Scriptures, against which no complaint had been ever made. He 
 (the defendant) did not require the Attorney-General to prosecute 
 Mr. Blackwood, a most respectable bookseller ; he should be a 
 scoundrel if he did ; he only brought it forward as in point, for 
 the writer, bookseller, and printer, must all have been well aware 
 of its nature. Mr. Blackwood's politics were totally different 
 from his (the defendant's) ; but whatever others might do, he 
 would be the last to suggest a prosecution on account of an 
 honest dissent upon such points, Mr. Hone then read to the 
 jury the extract from the ''Edinburgh Magazine" he produced 
 yesterday. 
 
 The Attorney-General had said that the jury were impannelled 
 to try the intention of the party publishing the parody : that was 
 a fair statement of the question ; the intention constituted the 
 offence, or established the innocence of the accused. If the jury 
 found that the parody was put forth with a criminal purpose, they 
 would return a verdict of guilty ; if, on the other hand, they 
 thought that no such design existed, they would be bound to give 
 him an acquittal. In the year 1771 Mr. Burke clearly explained 
 the ])rinciple of a bill which he assisted in bringing into the House 
 of Cominons (commonly called Mr. Dowdeswell's Bill), " to explain 
 and declare the office and duties of jurymen in cases of libel." It 
 had long been held by many eminent judges, that, in such cases, 
 the jiiry had only to find the fact of publication, leaving it to the 
 Court to decide on the question of libel or not libel. As the law 
 then stood, the intervention of a jury was unnecessary — for the 
 Court might as well procure, by a simple affidavit, the fact of the 
 alleged publication of libel, and then a summary proceeding could 
 be adopted. The old system did, in fact, do away the power of a 
 jury, by denying their right to decide on the question of libel or 
 not libel. Mr. Bui-ke's great mind was alive to the folly and 
 injustice of this system, and he assisted Mr. Dowdeswell in bringing 
 in his bill ; which did not then pass; but in 1790 or 1791 Mr. 
 Fox introduced a bill, nearly similar, " to enlarge and define the
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 89 
 
 power of juries in cases of libel." The autliority formerly vested 
 ill the judge to declare wliat was libel, was, as Mr. Justice Black- 
 stone observed, greatly controverted ; and Mr. Professor Christian, 
 in one of his notes on Blackstone, stated, that, in consequence of 
 the opjjosition manifested against the exercise of this autliority, 
 the 32nd of George III., c. 6, was enacted, by wliich tbe jury were 
 empowered to return a verdict on the whole matter at issue, and 
 not on tbe fact alone of publishing that which was alleged to be a 
 libel. The jury were now to decide on all the allegations contained 
 in this information. If they were of opinion that he intended to 
 excite impiety and irreligion in the minds of his Majesty's subjects, 
 they would find him guilty, and his lordship would, at some future 
 day, pass sentence on him ; but if no such intention appeared — 
 
 I and his lordship would correct him if he were wrong — then they 
 
 r would return a verdict in his favour. 
 
 I Lord Ellenborough — As you call upon me to give my 
 
 opinion, I say, that if the publication has a tendency to produce 
 that effect upon the minds of persons who read it, it is in law and 
 in fact a libel. I should not have interrupted you, but you called 
 for my direction. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Then all I can say, gentlemen, is, that that is his 
 lordship's opinion. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — It is not merely my opinion ; it is the 
 opinion of all lawyers in all ages : publishers must be answerable 
 for the tendency of works they put forth, and they are not to put 
 perverse constructions on their own acts, and thus excuse them- 
 selves. If the paper have a tendency to inflame, the law says, 
 the party had an intention to inflame ; if to corrupt, that he 
 meant to corrupt. This is no new doctrine; no judge ever held 
 differently. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Of course, gentlemen, it is not for me to reply 
 upon his lordship ; but I may observe upon what fell from the 
 Attorney-General : he said, that by Mr. Fox's bill his lordship, if 
 he think fit, may give his opinion to the jury upon the question of 
 libel or not libel. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — The judge wanted no such power to be
 
 90 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 given him by Mr. Fox's bill ; it is incidental to his office ; it is his 
 sworn duty, and was so befoi'e Mr. Pox's bill, or before even Mr. 
 Fox himself existed. 
 
 Mr. Hone — If the Court had that power before, it should 
 seem that it was wholly unnecessary to introduce it into Mr. Fox's 
 bill : it would be absurd in the legislature to pretend to communi- 
 cate a power which was possessed without it. Recollect, too, that 
 that bill was di-awn by a most enlightened and acute man, and it 
 was not adopted until it had been frequently and jjatiently 
 debated ; and let me ask you, if it is likely that a large body of 
 intelligent men, many of them lawyers, would have suffered such 
 unmeaning surplusage to remain on the statute-book, if in truth 
 it had been unnecessary 1 His lordship, however, has declared his 
 opinion ; but let me say, said Mr. Hone in a triumphant tone of 
 voice, " that, after all, it is but the opinion of one man, it is but 
 his lordship's opinion." Of course I speak this in no offensive 
 sense. (Loud huzzaing.) 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — So I understand ; but it might be as 
 well if a little decency were preserved at the bottom of the Court. 
 If the officers take any person into custody who makes a dis- 
 turbance, let him be brought up to me, and I will reward such 
 conduct. 
 
 Mr. Sheriff Desanges — The first man I see laugh, after such a 
 severe notice, shall be broiight up. 
 
 Mr. Hone — In the course of the charge, gentlemen, you will 
 no doubt listen with due attention to his lordship's opinion upon 
 the intention ; but that, give me leave to say, is not to be final. 
 His lordship presides in this Court, but not to try me. You are 
 my judges ; you are to try me ; and to you I willingly submit my 
 case ; you are sworn to decide honestly the issue between me and 
 the Crown ; you are to determine iipon my intention ; you are to 
 settle the difference between intention and tendency; the tendency 
 may be bad, but was the intention so ? that is the very gist of the 
 case — the pinch of the argument. Many acts in themselves 
 criminal may be done with no criminal intention , a person may 
 fire a gun at another by accident, thinking it unloaded, and if the
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 91 
 
 person is imhappily killed, the individual fii-ing the gun, having 
 
 no intention to kill, is not guilty. 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii — You had better, for your own sake, Le 
 
 correct ; it is felony — it is manslaughter, which is felony. I throw 
 
 this out, that you may attend a little to what may be really your 
 
 defence. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, he remembered that it had lately been made 
 
 felony. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — It was never made felony ; there is no 
 
 Act of Parliament for it ; but it is the common law of the land. 
 
 I will not interrupt you again : but I advise you, before you come 
 to talk of law, you should have thought a little about it. I do 
 not mean it uncivilly. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I thank your lordship. I must be well aware of 
 that. He went on to further illusti-ate his argument regarding 
 intention, by referring to the case of a man accidental!}'' killed by 
 the falling off of the head of an axe ; the person using the axe 
 was not guilty of murder. He complained that he had not been 
 indicted, but that three ex-officio informations had been filed 
 against him instead. Mi'. Justice Blackstone (4 Comm. 308) said, 
 that they were intended in their origin to apply to " offences so 
 high and dangerous, in the prevention and punishment of which a 
 moment's delay Avould be fatal;" and that on this account the 
 power of immediate prosecution was given to the Crown. The 
 leai-ned judge who yesterday presided had stated, that ex-officio 
 infoi-mations were as ancient as the common law, and of this 
 opinion was Blackstone. The oppressive use of them, however, 
 pi'evious to the reign of William IIL was so deeply felt, that, 
 before the revolution of 1688, the House of Commons, having 
 drawn up by committee certain conditions on which the Crown 
 was to be intrusted to the Prince of Orange ; the 22nd article 
 was, "that informations in the Court of King's Bench shall be 
 taken away." Yet what had been done ? Not long afterwai'ds, 
 in the Court of King's Bench, the question was agitated, when 
 Sir John Holt and the other judges were of opinion that they 
 were grounded upon the common law, and could not be shaken.
 
 92 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — If they are not taken away, what is 
 the use of tliis discussion'? It perhaps was discussed in Parliament, 
 whether they ought not to be abolished ; but have they been 
 abolished ? You might as well detail points agitated in some 
 Utopian system as this. Whether informations are right or not, 
 do you not see that the law so stands 1 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, I am making my defence as well as I 
 can under a thousand disadvantages 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I only warn you of what are not 
 important points for you ; but if you think I ought to attend to 
 them, I will do so. 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, I appeal to the jury upon it. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — But you cannot appeal to the jury 
 upon matters that are not law. If you object to an information, 
 you ouglit to have demurred before, and the Court then could 
 have come to some decision; therefore you are now wasting time. 
 I only suggest this to you for consideration ; for I will hear you, 
 however immaterial, and however little good what you have to say 
 can do you. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Gentlemen, his loi-dship may desire you to dismiss 
 from your minds what is immaterial in his charge to the jury 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — My charge cannot follow you through 
 the devious ways you like to take. I dare say I shall not mention 
 anything you offer ; at least I shall not notice a great many 
 things, for indeed they are self-answered. 
 
 Mr. Hone continued his address, insisting (on the authority of 
 Ralph's "History of England," so frequently quoted by Mr. Eox in 
 his work), that treason had been committed against the people of 
 England, in not abolishing ex-officio informations when King 
 William was seated on the throne, and after the 22nd article of 
 the Declaration di'awn up by the Commons. The chief argument 
 stated by Blackstone was the necessity of a summary and rapid 
 expedient in high and dangerous offences; but how could that 
 necessity be shown in this case 1 Had the Attorney-General 
 proceeded with such rapidity 1 On the contrary, the publication 
 of the alleged libel ended on the 22nd of February, and the
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 93 
 
 information was not filed until just before the 3rd of May, wheu 
 the defendant was dragged into Court to plead. His lordship had 
 not told him then that he might demur, instead of pleading 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Demurring is a plea ; you might have 
 demurred to the right of the Attorney-General to bring you into 
 Court under an ex-officio information, and then the question might 
 have been settled. I was not to advise you Avliat to do. 
 
 Mr. HoxE — My lord, I was dragged into Court by force and 
 arms to plead. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — And they did rightly : they were 
 warranted by law to bring you into Court. I was clear that 
 ex-officio informations are part of the law of the land ; and it 
 would have enti-apped you, if I had told you to demur. You 
 would have been injured by such advice. 
 
 Mr. Hone — However, be that as it may, I was committed, 
 and afterwards discharged. The defendant next observed, that he 
 had hoped that his discharge would have been final ; that the 
 Attorney-General had dropped the proceedings entirely, and that, 
 in consequence of the death of her Royal Highness the Princess 
 Charlotte, a general amnesty would have been passed upon all 
 offences of the kind. He had hoped, that the many unhappy 
 wretches, dragged from remote districts to plead to informations 
 regarding these parodies, would have been forgotten ; that an act 
 of oblivion would have passed ; that the recollection of a present 
 grief would have obliterated the remembrance of past grievances ; 
 but he found, to his bitter disappointment, not more on his own 
 account than that of others, that no visitation of Providence, no 
 national calamity, could chasten the resentments, or soften the 
 hearts of ministers. Why had not a prosecution, an ex-offlcio 
 information, been filed against one individual now high in the 
 state — a Cabinet Minister, who some years ago had been guilty of 
 the ofience charged against him? Mr. Hone said, he was con- 
 vinced, that had that individual been in the humble situation of 
 him (the defendant) in society, he would this day, instead of 
 sitting in the Cabinet, have been standing before his lordship and 
 the jury. Informations were oppressions — they were a relic of the
 
 94 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 infamous Court of Star Chamber, whei-e a person accused, if lie 
 littered a word offensive to the judges, was not only subjected to 
 fine and corporal punishment, but even endured the torture of 
 having wedges driven with a mallet into his mouth to stop his 
 utterance. The gag would be quite as efiectual, if his lordship 
 upon this occasion had laid his solemn injunction upon him (the 
 defendant) not to proceed in the line of defence he had adopted. 
 He thanked Heaven, he was now before an English jury 130 or 
 140 years after the abolition of that tyrannical and execrated Court ; 
 he stood face to face before his judges as before his friends ; he 
 talked to them as friends, for he could not make speeches ; and he 
 relied, not on his talents, but on his innocence. Another objection 
 to the proceeding by information was, that it was much more 
 expensive ; he could not procure copies of the chra-ge, but for a 
 considerable sum ; and when he was brought up to plead, he was 
 the more anxious to obtain them, because he had heard that in 
 Wilkes's case the information had been altered by oi'der of Lord 
 Mansfield, though, he admitted, after notice to the attorney for the 
 defendant, who was unable to leave his bed. At the time he (the 
 defendant) was brought up, on the 3rd of May, he really had not 
 the money to pay for copies ; and he ought to have been furnished 
 with them by order of the Court. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough said, that no subject of the realm was 
 furnished with a copy of any indictment ; he gathered the 
 contents from the perusal of it by the ofiicer. This was the 
 common everyday practice. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I admit that it is common ; and I say, on behalf 
 of the whole people of England, that to those who may be placed 
 in my situation, it is a great grievance. I assert, that every man 
 accvised ought to be furnished with a copy of the ex-qfficio 
 information. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — In a common indictment for larceny it 
 not furnished ; if it be a grievance, it applies to every case. 
 
 Mr. Hone — And so it does; but give me leave to say, that 
 there is a great difference between an indictment for a larceny, and 
 nn information for a libel. If I pick a man's pocket, the offence!
 
 SECOND TRIAL, 95 
 
 is clearly and specifically stated ; the day, the circumstances, are 
 mentioned : but libel is an undefined crime ; and who shall say 
 that he can be master of the matter of a complicated information, 
 because it is once read over to him. 
 
 Lord Ellenbgrough — The information contained nothing but 
 the libel, which you have admitted that you published. 
 
 Mr. Hone — protested against this unfair use of his admission ; 
 he had not sold one after the 22nd of February. If copies had 
 been given him, he should have been ready to plead in six hours. 
 His case, in this respect, and many others, was not solitary. 
 Some unhappy beings had been compelled to travel 200 miles 
 to plead to some of these informations. Was there no law in 
 the country to punish this offence ? Could no indictment at 
 the sessions have been preferred, where the poor wretch might 
 have taken his trial without an infoi'mation 1 But, forsooth, it 
 was necessary to proceed in a summary way, without any of the 
 ordinary formalities ; and some of the victims of this tyrannical 
 proceeding had actually been in solitary confinement for nine 
 weeks, like felons, in Chester Gaol, with G41bs. weight of fetters 
 upon their emaciated limbs. Was this proceeding in a summary 
 way? was this that speedy justice for which ex-officio informations 
 were designed % * 
 
 * Tlio persons alluded to wei-e Mellor and Pillans: they were imprisoned 
 in Lancaster, not Chester Castle, and suffered severely iu their persons from the 
 cruelty of solitary confinement, and by anxiety of mind for their poor helpless 
 families. But there was a person in Chester Castle, named Robeiit Swindells, 
 whose case is marked with almost the extremity of distress. This unfortunate 
 man was charged with publishing the parodies on the 10th of March last ; on which 
 daj', at midniglit, his humble home was forcibly beset and ransacked ; and the 
 publishing consisted in his then having the alleged articles in his possession, of 
 which, amongst other things, he was robbed by the jiersons who entered and 
 deliberately packed up his books and carried them off. This poor man, disabled 
 in the service of his country, retired to taste the sweets of domestic life ; and in 
 a season of general calamity, almost, if not entii'ely, destitute of otlier employ, he 
 endeavouied to obtain bread for his wife and child by selling a few cheap pam- 
 pldets. On a sudden, and at night, the sanctity of his little home was outraged 
 with such brutal violence, that his Avife and infant were driven, iu tears, and 
 distress, and naked, from their bed ; and every corner of the cottage, and evcrj- 
 description of property, ransacked and ravaged, Even the imfinished garments 
 which the fond mother had been providing for her unborn offspring were ex- 
 amined, and scattered amongst the wreck of the household stuff of her uni:)rotected 
 family. The poor woman, shivering in the bitter cold of a winter niglit, without
 
 96 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I take it for granted that you will 
 prove all this. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I will prove it. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Your being able to prove it will be no 
 warrant for me to receive the evidence ; but I will allow you to 
 prove what you assert, if your witnesses are here. 
 
 Mr. Hone — They are not here, my lord. I did not expect 
 to be called upon ; but I can prove it. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — This is only wasting time : proceed to 
 the business of your defence. I will hear very anxiously what 
 relates to your defence, but I will not let you be wasting time. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Wasting time, my lord ! I feel the grievance of 
 which I compjlain ; I am to be tried, not you ! When I shall have 
 been consigned to a dungeon, your lordship:) will sit as coolly on 
 that seat as ever ; you will not feel the punishment : I feel the 
 grievance, and I remonstrate against it. I am the injured man. 
 I am upon my trial by those gentlemen, my jury. 
 
 Mr. Hone, after a pause of a few moments, objected to the 
 mode in which the Attorney- General could suspend ex-offieio 
 informations over the heads of the King's subjects. True it was, 
 the accused could demand a trial ; but then it must be at bar, 
 before a special jury — a situation a hundred times worse than that 
 in which he (the defendant) was now placed. Another evil was, 
 that a man was not ti-ied by his peers, and sometimes not by those 
 among whom he lived. He complained of the odium and pre- 
 judice under which he had long laboured because the late 
 
 covering, tending the sleeping child she escaped with from her bed, and terrified to 
 ;igouy by fears for her husband's safety, and by the sudden and causeless devas- 
 tation committed on her comforts — this hapless wife, on the departure of tho 
 marauders, declared to her husband, and repeatedly afterwards to others, that 
 the affrigliting scene of that night would work her death: her health declined — 
 she sustained a preternatural delivery — and she died, leaving her new-born infant, 
 and that which she fondled on the fatal night, without a mother! The unfortunate 
 Swindells, in the midst of this di.stress, was visited by a government pi'osecution, 
 and served with process upon process; his last-born babe perished for want of 
 maternal care; and he himself was carried to Chester Castle, as a Crown prisoner; 
 whilst all that remained to him of all that is dear in this life, his little lone child, 
 was deposited in that grave of hope, a parish poor-house ! Having sustained an 
 unconstitutional imprisonment, and not merely the separation of his family, but 
 the destruction of it, he was liberated, without trial, — and without rediess!
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 97 
 
 Attorney-General had chosen, in a speech, to term these parodies 
 blasphemous publications. He was about to detail some of the 
 facts relating to the putting of his plea, when Lord Ellenborough 
 interposed, and observed, that every indulgence had been shown him 
 on that occasion. Do you remember, said his lordship, that you were 
 committed until a future day, that you might have time to plead ? 
 
 Mr. Hone — Oh, yes, my lord, I well remember that ; you 
 committed me to the King's Bench Prison." I well remember the 
 many bitter nights and days I there passed. 
 
 Mr. Topping (for the Crown) observed, that the defendant had 
 been committed until the next term, that he might have time to plead. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Then, you see, yon state false grava- 
 mina. The Coui-t was extremely studious to give you eveiy 
 indulgence, and means of understanding the information. 
 
 Mr, Hone — I could not plead guilty, when I knew I was not 
 guilty. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Why, you have just admitted the 
 publication. 
 
 Mr. Hone — But have I admitted that it is a libel ? 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — But you yourself had the libel in your 
 possession ; you published it, and you might have read it till you 
 were tired of it, as I am. 
 
 Mr. Hone further entreated the jury to dismiss the unfair 
 prejudice which might have been excited against him from the 
 highest authority ; for by one of the secretaries of state — by Lord 
 Sidmouth, night after night, he had been denounced as a blas- 
 phemer and a wretch. Many of the newspapers had re-echoed 
 the false and scandalous charge ; even after the verdict of acquittal 
 from the chai'ge of a profane libel yesterday, some of them had 
 ventured to repeat it. He held in his hand the Day newspaper,t 
 
 * By the Act 5 Victoria, c. 22, the Queen's Bench, Fleet, and Marshalsea were 
 consolidated as the Queen's Prison for debtors, prisoners committed for libel, 
 assaults, court-martial, &c., under the control of the Home Secretary of State. 
 
 ■j- An obscure newspaper, called The Day, was set up as a trading specula- 
 tion by some puffing auctioneers, and became a little notorious by a prosecution 
 against it for libel. The editors of this paper are now 
 
 " Two single gentlemen rolled into one." 
 The unhappy Doctor Slop's imagination is so extravagantly at vai-iancc with 
 
 U
 
 98 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 published a few hours ago, in which he was designated a 
 blasphemer 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Really, you are getting so far out of 
 the case : what have I to do with the libels published against 
 you 1 we are not trying that newspaper. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I hope, and firmly believe, that I have an impar- 
 tial jury, who will be unprejudiced by every thing they may have 
 heard or seen in or out of court. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Why, nobody can have read that news- 
 paper you speak of; what have I or the jury to do with 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord ! My lord ! it is I who am vipon my trial, 
 not your lordship. I have to defend myself, not your lordship. 
 
 Long-continued acclamations here interrupted the proceedings 
 of the Court. Lord Ellenborough directed one of the sheriffs to 
 leave the bench, and to go to the bottom of the court to quell 
 the disturbance. When order was in some degree restored, his 
 lordship said, "It is impossible that the oflicers can be doing 
 their duty; let them bring any man before me, and I will soon 
 put an end to this." 
 
 The Sheriff, remaining on the bench, asked Mr. Under-Sherifi" 
 Smith if he had succeeded in taking any of the offenders, and was 
 answered in the nesrative. 
 
 truth and memory, that lie can neither remedy unto himself, nor be controlled by 
 moral management. He runs a-muck at all he meets, with a soft goose quill, 
 cursing and swearing in the same fashion as Peter in the Tale of a Tub ; and, 
 unless brought to his senses for a moment by an antagonist who knocks him down, 
 he outstrips pursuit, and bays the moon till he is exhausted. In two respects, 
 however, he is honest to himself : — a renegade in politics, he secretly admires the 
 Eeformists, whose ranks ho left for the Treasury clerks that crowd his office, and 
 toss him sops ; — a high-flier in religion, he really despises the bigotry and fanati- 
 cism which he puts forth in his tawdry journal. Hence it is not surprising that 
 the poor man is almost constantly furious or catalejJtic ; or that, in his lucid inter- 
 vals, he wears a red night-cap with a Uly in it, as emblems of his loyalty to the 
 houses of Bourbon and Brunswick, and struts in his turned coat as uublush- 
 ingly as a fifty-timcs-lashed incorrigible deserter, when he is drummed to a con- 
 demned regiment to the tune of the Eogue's March. Mr. Hone, on his third trial, 
 gave the lie direct to Dr. Slop's aspersions. The crazy charlatan took advantage 
 of Mr. Hone's declaration in court, that he would only rebut the press by the 
 press ; and the hypocrite, finding the trials ended, and that Mr. Hone had no 
 means of reply to him, like a bully and a coward, fell to his dirty work again.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 99 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Open your eyes, and see ; and stretch 
 out your hands, and seize. You must have observed somebody. 
 Mai'k where the noise comes from, and note the man. 
 
 Mr. Hone continued — The interruption could be occasioned 
 by no friend of his : whoever disturbed the Court was his bitter 
 enemy : his friends could not so conduct themselves ; and the noise 
 could only proceed from some designing emissaries, who were 
 anxious that he should be taken from the Court to a prison. He 
 held in his hand two newspapers that were published this 
 morning 
 
 Lord Ellenborougu — I must not have the trash of the news- 
 papers produced here, unless you can apply it in some way. If 
 you thought there was anything in them that would prejudice 
 the jury on your trial, you ought to have applied at the sitting 
 of the Court upon aflS^davit, and it might probably have been 
 postponed. 
 
 Mr. Hone — But this attack was much better timed : it was 
 introduced after I had been acquitted by one jury last night, and 
 before the time of my being tiied now — to be acquitted, as I hope, 
 by another. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Still, if you thought that the minds of 
 the jury had been in any way poisoned, the Court would have given 
 jon an opportunity of being tried at a more impartial moment. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It did not occur to me that that mode of pro- 
 ceeding was necessary. In fact, both the newspapers who have 
 thus accused me of blasphemy well knew the conti'ary, for they . 
 contain reports of the trial of yesterday, when I was acquitted 
 even of profaneness. One of them begins thus : "It will be seen 
 
 by our Law Report " 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — "We cannot enter upon that, after I 
 have said that you might have stated the fact in a way to deserve 
 attention. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I trust that I, being a publisher", shall never 
 apj)ly to a court of jvistice to restrict a publication. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — But you will do well to complain if 
 the publication be intended to corrupt the sources of justice. At
 
 \ 
 
 100 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 a proper time I shall be glad to hear you ; but do not introduce 
 it as a hash into your speech. 
 
 Mr. Hone replied, that he had only heard of it five minutes 
 before he came into coui't. 
 
 The Attorney-General formally objected. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — If the defendant has been libelled, he 
 may either bring an action for damages, or put the criminal law 
 in motion ; that is the proper mode : but he cannot do it now- 
 here. 
 
 Mr, Hone — God forbid that I should force the bitterest enemy 
 I have into the Crown Ofiice ! I have suffered too much there 
 already myself No, my lord, I would suffer the foulest impu- 
 tations before I would take that step even against the mau who 
 had most deeply injiu-ed me. The defendant then said, he should 
 now proceed to show, that for years parodies had existed unques- 
 tioned, and even the particular species of parody of which he stood 
 accused. He should also, from this universal practice, and from 
 examples which he should give, establish beyond a doubt, that it 
 was possible to parody without ridiculing the thing parodied. He 
 asserted that the parody on the Litany was written to excite a 
 laugh — not at the production which was parodied, but entirely 
 independent of it. The first parody he should produce was on 
 that useful instrument the thermometer, by the late Dr. Lettsom ; 
 who, by a scale, graduated after the manner of the thermometer, 
 attempted to show that temperance was conducive to health and 
 morals, and that intemperance was destructive to both. There 
 Avas an ascending and a descending scale, from strong beer to 
 S})irits, and punch occasionally, up to di-am drinking at morning, 
 noon, and night, against which the efi'ects on the morals were 
 placed ; these different degrees of intemperance, ending with 
 Botany Bay, the hulks, and the gallows. The advantages of tem- 
 perance were illustrated in the same manner. Who would say, 
 that in this publication, Dr. Lettsom intended to bring into con- 
 tempt the thermometer? yet it was a parody on that instrument 
 in every sense of the word. There was another, which he held in 
 his hand, which was a parody on the barometer ; a parody for
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 101 
 
 religious purposes. It described the progress of a mind from 
 religious iudifference, through different stages of religious observ- 
 ance, up to happiness on earth, and salvation hereafter ; and, on 
 the other hand, down to death and perdition. Here the thing y 
 jiarodied was secular, and the j)ai"ody was for religious purposes ; 
 in his case the parody was of a religious work for secular purposes. 
 The intent of this parody was not to bring into contempt the 
 barometei", nor did he mean to ridicule the Litany. The practice 
 of parodying religious works, even parts of the Holy Scriptures, 
 on different occasions, was adoj^ted by men whose sentiments with 
 regard to those writings were above suspicion. The fii'st parodist 
 he should cite was the first restorer of the purity of the Christian 
 religion. Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, in 1518, 
 had a controversy with certain other persons of the reformed 
 religion, in the course of which he parodied the first verse of the 
 first Psalm : — " Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the 
 way of the Sacramentarians, nor sat in the seat of the Zuinglians, 
 nor followed the counsel of the Zuricher." The next parody he 
 should allude to was by Dr. John Boys, who was Dean of Canter- 
 bury in. the reign of James L It would have been inconvenient 
 to bring a folio volume into court, and therefore he quoted from 
 " Buck's Anecdotes." It was there said that Dr. Boys had gained 
 great applause by a parody of the Lord's Prayer, in a sermon 
 Tv-liich he preached at Paul's Cross. The parody was to this 
 effect : — 
 
 " Our Pope, which art in Pome, cursed be thy name ; perish may 
 thy kingdom ; hindered may thy will be, as it is in heaven, so in 
 earth. Give us this day our ci;p in the Lord's Supper ; and remit our 
 moneys which we have given for thy indulgencies, as we send them 
 b;ick unto thee ; and lead us not into heresy ; but free us from misery ; 
 for thine is the infernal pitch and sulphur, for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 Lord Ellenborough asked, do you contend that the parody 
 by Dr. Boys is an innocent publication : or that, if he now stood 
 where you do, he might not have been prosecuted for it, though it 
 is against the Pope? 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, he was a dignified clergyman.
 
 102 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Lord Ellenboeough — But that would not warrant the impiety 
 of others. A dignified clergyman has committed forgery, but does 
 that fact render it less a crime 1 
 
 Mr. Hone added, that Martin Luther and the Dean of Canter- 
 bury were grave and high authorities in his favour. 
 
 Lord Ellenboeough — I will tell you now the observation 1 
 shall make regarding the existence of parodies at other times, how- 
 ever numerous ; unless there be something advanced to prove 
 them to be perfectly innocent — unless something be shown as a 
 standard of their innocence, I shall not attend to them, for they 
 do not at all mitigate your offence. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I pei'fectly understand your lordship's intention. 
 
 Loi"d Ellenboeough — I do not know whether these were or 
 were not produced yestei'day, but they ought not to be our fare 
 every day. 
 
 Mr. Hone — They were produced yesterday. 
 
 Lord Ellenboeough — I am sorry for it ; that is all. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, that his defence rendered their production 
 indispensable. 
 
 Lord Ellenboeough — I told you early, to save trouble, that 
 if you tendered it in evidence, I should refuse it ; but in an address 
 to the jury a wider latitude of observation is allowed ; therefore 
 I shall not check you. 
 
 Mr. Hone said he did not want to put it in as evidence. He 
 merely wished to show that parodies had at all times been per- 
 mitted, and that they had been published without any improper 
 intention. If there had been anything criminal in Dr. Boys' 
 parody, would it not have been noticed? At that time the 
 Ecclesiastical Courts were most severe in censures on those who 
 they conceived deserved them ; and no man, however high, who 
 offended those tribunals could hope to escape with imjDunity. 
 There were also grave and learned judges and law officers — there 
 was Lord Coke among others ; and was it supposed, if this was an 
 offence against the law, notorious as the act was, that it would 
 not have been taken notice of, or that these gi'eat lawyers were 
 ignorant of their duty 1 It was impossible that the sermon should
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 103 
 
 not have been well known, as it was preached at Paul's Cross, 
 the place where the commonalty of tlie city of London were 
 usually addressed by popular preachers of that day. The audiences 
 on such occasions were most numei'ous. 
 
 The next parody he should mention was in the Harleian 
 Miscellany, or the tracts of Eobert Harley, Earl of Oxford, This 
 was peculiarly opposite, because it parodied a part of the " Book 
 of Common Prayer," for parodying another part of which he was 
 now tried. The part parodied in the tract printed in that collec- 
 tion was the Service for the Visitation of the Sick. It was 
 originally printed in 1G47, and entitled "The Plague at West- 
 minster; or an Order for the Visitation of a Sick Parliament, 
 grievously troubled with a new disease, called a consumption of 
 their members ; with a form of prayer, and other rites and cere- 
 monies, to be used for their recovery : strictly commanded to be 
 used in all churches, chapels, and congregations, throiTghout his 
 Majesty's three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, &c., 
 «kc." Mr. Hone read this parody, as he did on the first trial 
 (p. 21) ; and said that this was precisely a similar case to his own: 
 it was a parody on a part of the Common Prayer ; it was directed 
 also against supposed abuses in the Commons' House of Parliament 
 and other branches of the state ; and it was also calculated to 
 cii'culate among the common people, and to excite laughter, not 
 at the thing parodied, but at the Parliament at Westminster. It 
 was to be remembered that this was written by one of a high- 
 church pai'ty, a party which made sacrifice of wealth and life to 
 maintain the rites and ceremonies of the Church, which were 
 attacked by the Republicans and Puritans of that day. So far 
 were these men from supposing that this sort of parody would 
 bring . the productions parodied into contempt, that to ridicule 
 their enemies they jmrodied one of the forms of the Church which 
 they were in the act of maintaining with all their strength. 
 
 The next parody which he should mention was from the col- 
 lection of the tracts of Lord Somers, a great lawyer and statesman, 
 who contributed more perhaps than any other individual to the 
 expulsion of James the Second, and the settlement under which
 
 104 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 tlie present dynasty was seated on the throne. In his collection 
 there was a parody, not on the Common Prayer, but on the New 
 Testament. (It closely followed the first Chapter of Matthew, and 
 Y/as the same that he read yesterday; see First Trial, p. 30.) 
 This parody, it was also very evident, was written by a zealous 
 partisan of the high-church party, as it was composed in 1648, in 
 behalf of King Charles. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, the next article he should mention was con- 
 tained in the E,ev. Mark Noble's Continuation of the Rev. Mr. 
 Granger's " Biographical History of England, which, though it 
 was not a parody on Scripture, showed that it was never appre- 
 hended by the most pious men, that a casual association of 
 ludicrous images with matters of the Christian religion tended to 
 weaken the respect due to that faith. Mr. Noble, in his work, 
 said, that there was a song respecting Dr. Burnett, the author of 
 " The Theory of the Earth," and Master of the Charter-House, 
 
 beginning :• — 
 
 A dean and jirebendary 
 
 Had once a new vagary ; 
 
 And were at doleful strife, Sir, 
 
 Who led the better life. Sir, 
 
 And was the better man, 
 
 And was the better man. 
 
 When Mr. Hone had quoted to the end of the last verse but two, 
 (see First Trial, p. 31.) 
 
 Lord Ellenborough interrupted him. That is su^ch mis- 
 chievous matter that I shall prohibit its being read. No person, 
 under pretence of explaining one libel, shall offend the ears of 
 public decency by the recital of such profanations. I took down 
 
 two lines — ^, ,, , , , ^,r 
 
 That all the books of Moses 
 
 Were nothing but supposes. 
 And I prohibit the remainder. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I pledge myself that the few lines of tlie song I 
 have not read have a pei'fectly moral tendency. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I will not hear them. It would deserve 
 severe punishment if it were a modern publication.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 105 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, it lias been piiblislied ovei' and over 
 again of late years, and no notice taken of it. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I am sorry for it : miscMevous people 
 are to be found at all times. 
 
 Mr. HoxE — The Eev. Mark Noble, tbe autbor, is a beneficed 
 clergyman of tbe Church of England, and, I venture to say, has 
 no sense of the impropi'iety ; and if a man so well instructed 
 could forget himself, and publish what was of a mischievous tend- 
 ency, no man will charge that he did it with a view to bring 
 religion into contempt. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Under pretence of defending yourself 
 from one crime, you are not to commit another. 
 
 Mr. Hone — If your lordship will but allow me to finish the 
 song, I will consent to be called a liar, I had almost said a blas- 
 phemer, or any other epithet however approbrious, if your lordship 
 do not pronounce it perfectly innocent. 
 
 Loi-d Ellenborough — You seem to attach an extraordinary 
 value to the remainder : let it be read, in deference to your 
 opinion. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I am sure I shall have your lordships assent to 
 my assertions, when I have finished. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — No : let it be read. 
 
 Mr. Hone read as follows — 
 
 Thus, in this battle royal. 
 
 As none would take denial, 
 
 The dame for whom they strove. Sir, 
 
 Could neither of them love, Sir, 
 
 Sinci all had given oflFence, 
 
 Since all had given offence. 
 
 She therefore slily waiting, 
 Left all three fools a-prating, 
 And being iu a fright, Sir, 
 Eeligiou took her flight, Sir, 
 
 And ne'er was heard of since. 
 
 And ne'er was heard of since.
 
 106 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. Hone then continued, in nearly tlie same order as on his 
 first trial yesterday, to refer to various parodies. There was one, 
 also, called Old England's Te Deum in the '^ Humourists' Maga- 
 zine " ; and there was a parody of the Te Deum published against 
 Buonaparte in six languages. (Mi\ Hone here read again Mr. 
 Richardson's Te Deum against Buonaparte ; for whicli see the 
 first trial, p. 42.) There was also in a work of the well-known 
 Captain Grose, the author of the " Antiquities of England," &c. 
 called "Grose's Olio," a parody on the Chronicles, called The 
 Chronicles of Coxheath camp. He now came to a book which 
 abounded in parodies ; it was " The History of the Westminster 
 Election," whicli contained, among many others, a parody on the 
 Chronicles, called The Chronicles of "Westminster. This was pub- 
 lished in a qiiarto volume by Debrett, by Beckett, bookseller to 
 the Queen, by Faulder, the publisher of Paley's works, and other 
 booksellers. Even Edmund Burke was a parodist. In a speech 
 of bis in the House of Commons, on the dissolution of the Bock- 
 ingliam administration, at a time when it was expected that the 
 House of Commons also was to be dissolved, he thus parodied that 
 most solemn part of the Common prayer, the Burial Service : — 
 Speaking of the House of Commons, he said, " And now I hereby 
 commit their body to the grave, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in 
 certain hope and expectation of the glorious resurrection, which 
 by its good deeds it shall surely see." &c. The enlightened mind 
 of Mr. Burke saw in this no tendency to irreligion, and he 
 delivered it in the House of Commons itself; and yet Mr. Burke 
 would now be told, perhaps, were he living, that he had been 
 guilty of an impious libel. 
 
 He would now call their attention to a parody which was pub- 
 lished by Mr. Reeves, some years ago, when he was at the head of 
 a society for supporting loyalty and property against Jacobins and 
 levellers. (See the parody. First Trial, p. 35.) The Attorney- 
 General had spoken of the small sum for which his (the defendant's) 
 publications were sold : but Mr. Reeves's parody was published for 
 a penny. Mi". Reeves, however — he knew not how — had greatly 
 improved his condition since that time, and his name stood in the
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 107 
 
 title-page of the book of Common Prayer in most general use, as 
 patentee. In that Prayer Book he had inserted a preface, dedi- 
 cated to her Majesty, in which he paid her many compliments. 
 The gentlemen would observe also, that Mr. Reeves was a lawyer — 
 he was a barrister, and had been a commissioner of bankrupts ; 
 but he (the defendant) did not believe that when Mr. Reeves pub- 
 lished his parody, he had any conception that he was reviling 
 religion. His intention merely was to convey an instruction by 
 parodying the Catechism ; and if he were now standing wliere the 
 defendant did, he, as a lawyer, would tell them they could not 
 convict him : but he had never been prosecuted ; and those two 
 books, Mr. Reeves's Common Prayer, and the parody Mr. Reeves 
 published on the Catechism, would now go together. His lordship 
 would doubtless recollect, that one of his sons was a member of 
 that Association at the "Crown and Anchor;" but so ardent was 
 the zeal of Mr. Reeves to put down levellers and reformers, that 
 Mr. Law withdrew himself from the society. Mr. Reeves was now 
 in a very different situation from the defendant : Mr. Reeves was a 
 rich man, and held a situation under Government ; the defendant 
 was a poor humble shopkeeper. Would his Majesty's Attorney- 
 General bring Mr. Reeves before the Court 1 No : and he ought 
 not to bring him there ; for his lordship would tell them, that Mr. 
 Reeves had no intention to ridicule the Catechism. Neither had 
 the defendant any such intention when he published his parody. 
 Mr. Reeves thought that the publication of his little Tract would 
 serve his side in politics ; and the defendant had merely done the 
 same thing with the same view. Both had made use of the press ; 
 and it was not proper that the press should be shackled, or those 
 who availed themselves of its power oppressed and pei'secuted under 
 false pretences. The press was common property ; it was a great 
 security which every man in England felt he had against injustice. 
 Even he, as he stood there, felt that there was no one in that 
 Court, even if disposed (which he hoped there was not) to do him 
 an injustice, who would dare do so : and why '] Because the act 
 could not be hidden in a corner ; it would be made known by 
 means of a free press, and excite a public opinion which would be
 
 108 SECOXD TRIAL. 
 
 terrible to the most powerful of evil-doers. Let tlien this prosecu- 
 tion, which aimed at so valuable a privilege as the liberty of the 
 press, be put on its true ground, and be stripped of its hypocritical 
 pretext. 
 
 Mr. Hone then quoted the sermon of Bishop Latimer, as in his 
 First Trial, p 26. In that sermon the learned prelate had spoken 
 of the affections and passions of men ; and the defendant might 
 turn to the Attorney- General, and ask him, when those passions 
 arose in the breast, whether he might not have considered to what 
 end his little productions tended. Did none of us sin without 
 forgiveness 1 As men standing together in society, as Chx'istians, 
 there should be a feeling of mercy. This prosecution was insti- 
 tuted against him by the administration, and those men should 
 have the feelings of Christians. The Attorney- General, he 
 thought, had done him an injustice, and yet he did not think him 
 an unjust man. The poor unhappy men who were to come up 
 to plead here after him, what had they done 1 . The publication of 
 his work might have done an injury, but he was not sui-e that it 
 had done so. The secret committees of both Houses, in their 
 reports, had spoken of blasphemous publications : but when he read 
 those passages, it never entered into his mind that they alluded to 
 his publications ; he thought they referred to some productions 
 which had really reviled the Scriptures, and brought religion into 
 contempt. As soon as he found that his parodies were meant, 
 when he heard that they produced impressions on the minds of some 
 which they conceived injurious to religion, and they thought it 
 was wrong, he immediately, though he had not published them 
 with a wrong intention, withdrew them from circulation. He did 
 this without any intimation whatever, either from the Attorney- 
 General or any person connected with the government. 
 
 His lordship had, perhaps, heard that Divines of the Established 
 Church made, as he before said, occasional allusions to Scripture, 
 which were not of the most reverential kind. It might, perhaps, 
 be within his lordship's memory, that Arclideacon Paley, wlio, he 
 believed, was his lordship's tutor, preached a sermon at Cambridge, 
 at a time when Mr. Pitt, then a young man and a minister, hap-
 
 SECOND TUIAL. 109 
 
 pened to be on a visit at the University. The text of this sermon 
 Wiis — and, no doubt, with a view to the minister, whom he knew 
 to be present — '• Lo ! here is a lad that hath five loaves and two 
 small fishes to divide ; but what are they among so many of us 1 " 
 Dr. Paley was not a man of impiety — but one actively employed 
 in inculcating sound morals into the minds of the first youth in 
 the country. He was the author of " The Elements of Moral 
 Philosophy," and yet he preached this sermon 
 
 Lord Elleneorough — Xo, he did not. I'll correct your fact— 
 ■^here was never any such sermon preached. 
 ■ Mr. Hone — My lord, was there no such text mentioned ? 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I can't enter into controversy. It was 
 hardly worth interrupting you to give this denial of your fact. 
 
 Mr. Hone — It really is generally understood that such a 
 sermon was preached. I am glad to hear it was not. I had 
 it only from the current anecdote, which hitherto hath passed 
 with belief. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You are confounding two things ; there 
 ■was no such sermon preached. You have heard some story, and 
 that has misled you. 
 
 Mr. Hone — The anecdote misled me. Your lordship must 
 have heard it talked of. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — There was some such anecdote, and I 
 am very sorry for it ; but there was no sermon preached. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I will not persist, my lord, because 1 feel much 
 obliged to your loixlship for stating that there had been a story of 
 the kind. — Gentlemen of the jury, with a view still further to 
 show that an article may be humourously parodied, in order to 
 excite ridicule, without either the humour or the ridicule being 
 directed towards the article parodied, I shall read a pai'ody on 
 Hamlet's Soliloquy, which appeared in the Morning Herald, in 
 1808. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Now, ^Yhat has that to do with your 
 case ? It is a parody, as you say, on some part of the play of 
 Hainlet, and not on the Scriptures. It is obvious enougli that it 
 can have no reference to your case ; and the jury, as sensible men.
 
 110 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 must see that it has not. They should not have their time taken 
 up in this manner. 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, I vmderstand your lordship's notion of 
 sensible men in a jury box very well. What your lordship means 
 by calling the jury sensible men, is, that they will find me guilty ; ; 
 but my notion of their being sensible men, is, that they will acqiiit ' 
 me. He (Mr. Hone) wished, by anything he said or read, to show 
 the jury that in his publication he had no intention to ridicule the 
 Scripture or the Common Prayer. If he had not, then there was 
 no crime. The parody on Hamlet's Soliloquy commenced this way : 
 
 To stand, or not to stand — that is the question. 
 
 Whether 'tis nobler for us to lose th' Election, 
 
 And all the honours that attend upon it, 
 
 Or to demand a poll, and risk th' expense, &c. &c. '). 
 
 Mr. Hone, proceeding with the parodies, said, there was a j 
 parody from the True Briton, in the Spirit of the Public Journals, ^ 
 of 1807, on the Lord's Prayer. The proprietor of the paper at ■ 
 that time was Mr. John Heriott, who had a place or pension from 
 his Majesty's Government. Was it honourable, or manly, to make 
 such a distinction between parodists 1 He was quite sure that, if 
 he had the files in Court of the Aforning Chronicle, Morning Herald, 
 the Morning Post, and of The Times some years ago, he could have 
 produced hundreds of parodies on the Scriptures. After a lapse, 
 however, of more than three hundred years, during which such 
 parodies had been published, he was now first selected as the sub- 
 ject of prosecution ; and he was persuaded that he was so selected 
 merely because he entertained certain political opinions. He would 
 now produce to them a parody, written by a gentleman who was 
 virtually, though not ostensibly, one of his prosecutors, inasmuch 
 as he was a Minister and a Member of the Cabinet Council — he 
 meant the Right Hon. George Canning. Why was he to be pro- 
 secuted by that gentleman for doing that which he had done 
 himself, and for the doing of which he had not been prosecuted 1 
 Nine days after he was sent to the King's Bench Prison on the 
 present charge, he had read this celebrated parody by the Right 
 Hon. George Canning, one of the Members of the Cabinet, under
 
 SECOND TRIAL. Ill 
 
 wliose authority this prosecution proceeded. Was it fair that 
 Ministers, to excite a prejudice against a man wlio had only been 
 in the habit of doing what they themselves had done, should charge 
 him with blasphemy — a crime which they knew he had never com- 
 mitted. He would advise the noble lord (Sidmouth), and his 
 friends around him, to consider well before they marked out any 
 individual for punishment on account of such publications. He 
 should read that parody from the Parliamentary Reports lately 
 published by Mr. Robert Harding Evans. There were other 
 reports of the proceedings in Parliament, but he gave the preference 
 to this, because it appeared to be got up with a great deal of care, 
 and bore the character of an authentic book. (The parody was 
 cited by Earl Grey, from the Anti-Jacobin, and is the same as in 
 the First Trial, p. 31.) The Courier newspaper, mentioned in the 
 first line of the parody, was then an opposition papei", but it was 
 not so now ; that is, it was not now in opposition to anything 
 except the rights and liberties of the people of England. Mr. 
 Southey, who was mentioned in the parody, was now Poet- 
 Laureate ;* but some years ago he published a poem, called "Joan 
 of Ai'c," to which were affixed " The Visions of the Maid of Arc ;" 
 and among the persons who, in the early editions, were there con- 
 signed to the place of perdition, was that only person in this 
 kingdom who, by a maxim of law, " can do no wrong." What 
 would the jury think of this, and yet the poet was now the Court 
 Laureate. On the 14th of May last, when Earl Grey introduced 
 Mr. Canning's pai'ody into his speech, he recommended that its 
 author should be prosecuted for such a blasphemous production, 
 if it really were such. But he (the defendant) did not find that 
 the Attorney-General had prosecuted Mr. Canning. If. therefore, 
 they were to punish him, and did not punish Mr. Canning, great 
 injustice would be done. Justice to him must be justice to Mr. 
 Canning, and so the people of England would determine. The 
 English government was founded on public opinion ; without that 
 it could not exist — that is, it could not exist as a free government — 
 it would be an arbitrary despotism. 
 
 * Southey died, 18i3. The present Poet Laureate is Alfred Tennyson.
 
 112 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. HoxE then exhibited Gillray's print, illustrative of Mr. 
 Canning's parody. The poem itself, he said, appeared originally 
 in the Ant i- Jacob in newspaper, which was supported by Mr. 
 Ciinning, Mr. Hookham Frere, and other gentlemen of Pitt prin- 
 ciples, and paid for by a subscription raised among the Pitt school. 
 And now, forsooth, these very men, affecting peculiar regard for 
 religion, attacked him on that ground on which they themselves 
 had in the same way formerly taken a stand. This zeal for religion 
 was false. They were enraged against him for his political 
 opinions ; and in their madness they cared not what they did. 
 He smiled at their malice ; he despised them for thus abusing 
 their power ; and he would say, as it is fabled one of old said 
 to Jupitei-, who thundered instead of answering the man who 
 was arguing with him, " Ah, Jupiter, I know thou canst kill 
 me; but if thou wilt ai'gue, why dost thou not answer me : 
 instead of using thy reason, thou art flashing thy thunder. 
 Ah, Jupiter, thou dost it in a passion, because thou art in the 
 wrong !" 
 
 Mr. HoxE then requested the jury to examine the print to Mr. 
 Canning's parody. One Lepaux, a Frenchman, was represented as 
 the apostle or priest of Atheism, surrounded by a group at the 
 altar, amongst whom were The Morning Post and The Courier. 
 In the pocket of the latter was a French paper. The jury, 
 perhaps, might not have heard of the matter to which this alluded. 
 There was, at the time alluded to, an evening paper called The 
 Telegraph, the circulation of which pressed close upon The Courier. 
 The present proprietor of The Courier wanted to sink the 
 reputation of The Telegraph ; and^ to eifect his purpose, he forged 
 a French papei', called L! Eclair, and had it sent as from France to 
 The Telegraph, where it was eagerh'- inserted. The news it 
 contained immediately affected the funds. The reputation of the 
 latter paper of coiirse became injured on account of the fabrication; 
 but at length the present i)ropvietor of The Courier was discovered 
 to have been che autlior, and paid damages to Th"^ Telegraph for 
 the abominable fabrication. It was no libel upon Scriptui'e for 
 the Pitt school to have published the print with the Leviathan
 
 SECOND TKIAL. 113 
 
 (an animal only known in Scripture), representing the Duke of 
 Bedford with a hook in his nose, and Mr. Fox, Mr. Tierney, Mr. 
 NichoUs, and JMr. Thelwall, on his back ; Mr. Whitbread floating 
 on a barrel of porter in the yeasty main behind them ; the present 
 Lord Erskine, then at the bar, and in his gown and wig, was also 
 in the group. All this was a libel on the right side, and therefore 
 passed with impunity, Mr. Godwin and the late excellent Gilbert 
 Wakeheld were in the print, preceded by Messrs. Coleridge and 
 Southey as asses supporting a cornucopia of Ignorance, without 
 any other difference between them that he could perceive than 
 that the ears of the latter were longer than those of the former. 
 All this was in illustration and furtherance of Mr. Canning's 
 parody. 
 
 Mr. Hone then produced the Religious Play-Bill, entitled 
 TJte Great Assize; and the Religious Recruiting Bill, for 
 volunteers to serve in the regiment raising by the Lord Jehovah. 
 He likewise alluded to the letter of Jesus Christ, in posses- 
 sion of the Lady Cuba at Mesopotamia, all of which are 
 d(;tailed in the report of the first trial. He also alluded to 
 the manner in which the different sacred hymns had been 
 applied by the Dissenters to lay tunes, with the most laudable 
 intent ; a practice, however, which would be reprehensible on 
 the same grounds on which parodies were reprehended ; he 
 repeated the instances of this practice, which he had adduced 
 on his former trial. But these jiroved that persons who had the 
 most decided religious feelings might make use of secular means 
 for the purpose, not of bringing religion into contempt, but of 
 supporting it. 
 I Mr. Hone then pi-oceeded to produce instances of parodies on 
 
 * that i)art of the Common Prayer which he was charged, by the 
 I present information, with having parodied. The first he mentioned 
 was from " The Rump ; or, An exact Collection of the choicest 
 Poems and Songs relating to the late times ; by the most eminent 
 Wits: from Anno 1G39 to Anno 1661: London, 1662, octavo." 
 These were all written by the Cavaliers in support of prerogative 
 and arbitrary power in Church and State against the Common- 
 
 I
 
 114 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 wealth men and the Puritans and Dissenters. He cited the 
 following, entitled, 
 
 A LITANY FOR THE NEW YEAE. 
 
 From all and more than I have -written here, 
 
 I wish j-Qu well protected this New year ; 
 
 From Civil Wai-, and such uncivil things, 
 
 As ruine Law and Gospel, Priests and Kings ; 
 
 From those who for self-ends would all betray, 
 
 From such new Saints that pistol when they pray, 
 
 From flattering Faces with infernal Souls, 
 
 From new Reformers, such as pull down Paul's, 
 
 From linsey-wolsey Lords, from Town-betrayers, 
 
 From Apron-preachers and Extempore prayers, 
 
 From Pulpit Blasphemy, and bold Kebellion, 
 
 From Bloud and — somethings else that I could tell ye on, 
 
 From new False Teachers which destroy the old. 
 
 From those that turn the Gospel into Gold, 
 
 From that black Pack where Clubs are always Trump, 
 
 From Bodies Politique and from the Pump, 
 
 From those that ruine when they should rejiair, 
 
 From such as cut off Heads instead of Hair, • 
 
 From twelve-months' Taxes and Abortive Votes, 
 
 From chargeable Nurse-Children in red Coats, 
 
 From such as sell their Souls to save their Sums, 
 
 From City Charters that make heads for Drums, 
 
 From Magistrates which have no truth or knowledge, 
 
 From the Red Students now in Gresham College, 
 
 From Governments erected by the Rabble, 
 
 From sweet Sir Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us. 
 
 Then followed another from the same Book, called "The City 
 of London's Litany," of which he read a short extract : — 
 
 From Rumps that do Rule against Customes and Laws, 
 
 From a fardle of Fancies stil'd a Good Old Cause, 
 
 From Wives that have nails which are sharjDer than claws, 
 
 Good Jove, deliver us.
 
 SECOXD TRIAL. 115 
 
 From Men wlio seek right where it's not to be haJ, 
 From such who seek good where all things are bad, 
 From "Wise Men far worse than fools or men mad, 
 
 Good Jove, &e. 
 
 From soldiers that wrack the poor out of doors, 
 
 From Rumps that stuff Coffers to pleasure their Whores, 
 
 Which they secretly squeeze from Commonwealth scores. 
 
 Good Jove, &c. 
 
 The uext was from the "Collection of the newest and most 
 ingenious Poems, «tc., against Popery," in quarto, published soon 
 after the Revolution : — 
 
 A NEW PEOTESTANT LITANY. 
 
 From Cobweb-Lawn Charters, from sham-freedom banters, 
 
 Our Liberty-keepers and new Gospel-planters, 
 
 And the trusty kind hands of our great Quo Warrantos, 
 
 Libera Nos, S)C. 
 
 Fi'om High-Court Commissions, to Eome to rejoin us, 
 From a Rhadamauth Chancellor, the Western Judge Minos, 
 Made Head of our Church by new Jure Divino's, 
 
 Libera Kos, S)-c. 
 
 From our great Test Records, cut out into thrums, 
 Fi'om waste-paper Laws, us'd with pasties and plums, 
 ^lagna Charta, Magna Farta, made fodder for bums. 
 
 Libera A^os, Sfc. 
 
 From a new-found Stone Doublet, to th' old Sleeve of Lawn, 
 And all to make room for the Pope-Lander-Spawn ; 
 To see a Babe born, through bed-curtains close drawn, 
 
 Libera Nos, iyc. 
 From resolving o'er night, where to 13'e-iu to-morrow. 
 And from cunning back-door to let Midwife thorow, 
 Eight months' full-grown man-child, born without pang or sorrow. 
 
 Libera Nos, ^-c. 
 From a God-father Pope, to the Heir of a Throne ; 
 From three Christian names to one Sir-name unknown. 
 With a Tyler milch-nurse, now the Mother's milk's gone. 
 
 Libera Nos, ^-c.
 
 116 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 There was one from the 2ncl part of the same Collection, 
 beginning — 
 
 From immoderate fines and defamation, 
 
 From Braddon's merciless subornation, 
 
 And from a bar of assassination, 
 
 Libera nos, Doinine. 
 
 From a body that's English, a mind that is French, 
 From a Lawyer that scolds like an oyster wench ; 
 And from the new Bonner npon the Bench, 
 
 Libera nos, Dominc, 8fc. 
 
 Mr. Hone read many others in the same spirit. There was 
 one which he had omitted to mention in regular order, which he 
 sliould now mention. It was a parody on our Litany, by Ben 
 Jonson, in his play called Cynthias Eevels. 
 
 Amo. From Spanish shrugs, French faces, smirks, irps, and all 
 
 affected humours. 
 
 Chorus — Good Mercury, defend us. 
 
 Pha. From secret friends, sweet servants, loves, doves, and such 
 
 phantastique humoui^s. 
 
 Chorus — Good Mercury, defend us. 
 
 Amo. From stabbing of armes, flap-dragons, healths, whiffes, and 
 
 all such swaggering humours, 
 
 Chorus — Good Mercury, defend us. 
 
 Pha. From waving fannes, coy glances, glickes, cringes, and all 
 
 snch simp'ring humours, ™ 
 
 Chorus — Good Mercury, defend us. fl 
 
 Avio. From making love by attorney, courting of puppets, and 
 
 paying for new acquaintance. 
 
 Chorus — Good Mercury, deliver us, &c. 
 
 This, the play said, was "acted first in 1600, by the then 
 children of Queen Elizabeth's chapel, and allowed by the master 
 of the revels;" so that in those days, Ben Jonson, who, from his 
 works, was evidently a man of rectitude as well as genius, did not 
 think it unbecoming to write a j^arody ; nor did a Queen, who 
 was scrupulous in requii"ing respect to things established, think it 
 vinfib to be recited, even before herself, by the children of her 
 chapel.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 117 
 
 Mr, HoxE read other parodies on the Litany : one of AvLicIi he 
 jiroduced illustrated by a coloured print of a nobleman, who was 
 represented to have composed it, as follows : — 
 
 LITANY. 
 
 O Aristocracy ! Goverument divine I I — have mercy upon us 
 miserable place-men. 
 
 O Aristocracy, Government divine, &c. 
 
 Stars, Garters, and Promotions, proceeding from aristocracy, and 
 power, have mercy upon us miserable jjlacemen. 
 
 Stars, Garters, and Promotions, &.c. 
 
 Remember not our offences, nor the offences of our fore-fathers 
 
 when in office, — neither take from us our places or pensions. Spare us, 
 
 aristocracy — spare the creatures thou hast raised, and be not au,£,'ry 
 
 with thy servants. 
 
 Aristocracy, spare us. 
 
 From all democracy, and new-fangled doctrines, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From fish-women, mobs, and lamp-posts, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From national assemblies, national guards, and national cockades. 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From i^eople who judge for themselves, and pretend to the rights of 
 
 man, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From To5i Paixe's rabble and inflammatory pamphlets, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From the insertion of pai'agraphs foreign to thy laws, and the 
 
 liberty of the press in general, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From all revolution meetings, and Ca Ira clubs, 
 
 Ai-istocracy, deliver us. 
 
 From all investigations and reforms, 
 
 Aristocracy, deliver us. 
 
 "We place-men do beseech thee to hear us — O aristocracy — and that 
 it may please thee to govern the Church in thi?ie oivn way, 
 
 Aristocracy, we beseech thee to hear us.
 
 118 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 That it may please tliee to ilhtminate the head of our governor, and 
 make it rich in understanding, 
 
 Aristocracy, we beseech thee to hear us. 
 
 That it may please thee to bless and preserve the governor's wife, 
 and keep from her all uncharitableness, 
 
 Aristocracy, we beseech thee to hear i;s. 
 
 That it may please thee to shower down fat livings on all righteous 
 pastors of the church, so that they may enjoy every luxury, and by 
 their preaching and living show it accordingly. 
 
 Aristocracy, we beseech thee to hear us. 
 
 That it may please thee to preserve for our i;se, the kindly fruits of 
 the earth, and all the game thereof, so that no other may enjoy them, 
 
 Aristocracy, we beseech thee to hear us. 
 
 That it may please thee to protect such as ai-e in power, both in 
 church and state ; to raise up them that fall ; and finally, to beat down 
 farmers, citrates, and shoplecpers, beneath our feet, 
 
 Aristoci'acy, we beseech thee to hear us. 
 
 He produced another, of still later date, printed on a half- 
 sheet, and sold at three-half-pence, entitled, 
 
 THE POOR MAN'S LITANY. 
 
 From four pounds of Bread, at Sixteen-j^ence price, 
 And Butter at Eighteen, though not very nice. 
 And Cheese at a shilling, though guaw'd by the mice. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 From stale Clods of Beef, at a Shilling a pound, 
 "Which, in summer, with fly-blows and maggots abound. 
 Or dried by the wind, and scarce fit for a hound, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 From the Tax upon Income, invented by Pitt, 
 Though the Great Ones contrive to lose nothing by it, 
 Yet we who have little are sure to be bit. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 From Taxes Assess'd, now rais'd at a nod, 
 While Inspectors rule o'er us with their iron rod. 
 And expect homage paid them like some demi-god, i 
 
 Goad Lord, deliver us !
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 119 
 
 From Forestallers, Regraters, and all that curs'd traiu, 
 Who, to swell out their bags, will hoard up the grain, 
 Against which we cry out with our might and main, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 From a "Workhouse where hunger and poverty rage. 
 And distinction's a stranger to birth, sex, or age ; 
 Lame and Blind, all must work, or be coop'd in a cage, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 From six in a bed in those mansions of woe, 
 "Where nothing but beards, nails, and vermin do grow, 
 And from picking of Oakum in cellars below. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 
 From Stickings of Beef, old, wither'd, and tough. 
 Bread, like Saw-dust and Bran, and of that not enough, 
 And scarcely a rag to cover our BufF, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 
 From the tantalised sight of viewing the Great 
 
 Luxuriously rolling in coaches of state, ^ 
 
 "While thousands are starving — for something to eat. 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 
 From feasts and rejoicings, ye Gluttons, abstain. 
 
 Since the blessings you boast of but give the Poor pain, 
 
 And of which one and all so loudly complain, 
 
 Good Lord, deliver us ! 
 
 But these Burtheus remov'd, then united we'll pray. 
 Both the young and the old, the grave and the gay — 
 "May the rulers be hap2">y, and live to be grey ;" 
 Rejoice then, ye Britons, that's our Jubilee day, 
 
 "We beseech thee to hear us, Good Lord. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, that having shown that parodies were not 
 necessarily disrespectful to the work parodied, and that they had 
 been uniformly allowed, he should now show that his did not 
 deserve to be made an exception to the general rule. In doing 
 this, he said, it became necessaiy for him to rebut a charge in thLs 
 information, of seditiously libelling the Prince Regent, the House 
 of Lords, and the House of Commons ; and here he felt a little, 
 and only a little, embarrassed. His difficulty proceeded from his
 
 120 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 conceiving the political opinions of the gentlemen of the jury 
 might be opposed to his own. But here the difficulty was trifling, 
 because he was sure that prejudices were fast wearing away ; that 
 men, as they intermixed moi'e kindly, respected the conscientious 
 ojiinions of each other; and believing, as he did most sincerely, 
 that opinions wholly opposed to his views were honestly entertained 
 by most respectable and worthy men, he also believed that such 
 men would give him credit for as much honesty in his persuasions, 
 and thus each would tolerate the other. He therefore, from a jury 
 of enlightened merchants of the City of London, claimed their 
 protection of his right to express his opinions, opposed, as he 
 imagined they might be, to their own ; and he was persuaded, that 
 just and liberal feelings would rally in the hearts of his jurymeai, 
 and that they would do unto him as they would that men should 
 do unto them. 
 
 Mr. Hone then proceeded to remai-k upon the sevei-al passages 
 of the Litany which was the subject of prosecution, selecting such 
 as appeared to give most offence to the political gentlemen who 
 sought, under the guise of religion, to effect a political object in 
 his ruin. His parody prayed our delivery, 1st, from ''an un- 
 national debt ;" 2nd, from " unmerited pensions ;" 3rd, from " sine- 
 cure places;" 4th, from "an extravagant Civil List;" and 5th, 
 from " utter starvation." Now, as to the first, how few were they 
 who doubted that many debts had been contracted by our rulers 
 for purposes by no means national. But good Ministers could 
 have nothing to fear from the promulgation of such things. No 
 government could, indeed, have so much reason to fear anything 
 as the effects of such a prosecution as he had been subjected to in 
 this instance, in consequence of the frank expression of his mind. 
 Then as to unmerited pensions, that was not to be understood as 
 applying to the reward of public servants ; such, for instance, as 
 really performed their duty, upon the Bench or elsewhere, but to 
 those who derived fortunes from the public purse, without any 
 public sei'vice whatever ; and how many such men were to be 
 found in England ! Of the " extravagant Civil List," he did not 
 think it necessary to say anything ; nor of " utter starvation "
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 121 
 
 either ; for no one acquainted witli London, or any of the great 
 towns in the country, for the last twelve months, could require 
 any information upon that point. He had himself, indeed, seen 
 two human beings who had actually expired in the streets from 
 absolute want. But similar scenes must have been witnessed by 
 numbers of those who heard him, as well as by the members of 
 the jury. In every direction the ravages of distress were visible, 
 and most sensibly felt. Next, our delivery was prayed from the 
 blind imbecility of ministers, as well as from the pride and vain- 
 glory of warlike establishments in time of peace. This pi'ayer 
 might be found fault with by his political prosecutors ; but yet, 
 who could doubt the imbecility of Ministers 1 He, for one, 
 confessed that he could not. There Avere, he believed, some men 
 of honest purpose among the Ministers, while they evinced the 
 want of wisdom ; but thei'e were others connected with that body, 
 who, while they had reputation for talent, had equal reputation 
 for the want of pi'inciple. What then was to be expected from 
 such a combination of integrity without talent, and talent without 
 integrity? Nothing, surely, but imbecility. In asserting that 
 implicitly, liowever, he did not mean to reflect uj^on the private 
 life of any man ; for, correctly speaking, the private life of a man 
 had no connection with his fitness or capability for the performance 
 of the great duties of a statesman. A man might be very amiable 
 towards his family and friends, and exemj^lary in the performance 
 of all the moral duties, while his mind was not large enough to 
 conceive the obligations which attach to the character of a states- 
 man. The mind of a good private man might indeed be quite 
 incompetent to embrace a statesman's views, or to understand his 
 duties, A veiy good man might, therefore, from such incapacity, 
 grope as the present Ministers do, like a mole in the dark. Such 
 a man might, notwithstanding the honesty of his intentions, or 
 the purity of his principles, be wholly incapable of devising means 
 to maintain the lustre, the dignity, and the honour of the country. 
 Every little thing would be to them of a distorted importance, as 
 to an animalcule a grain of granite was a universe. He could 
 mean no reflection, therefore, upon the personal character of the
 
 122 SECOND TMAL. 
 
 Members of the Administration, when he charged them with 
 imbecility. Now, as to the warlike establishments in time of 
 peace, he put it to the juiy, whether such establishments did not 
 at this moment notoriously exist. There was an Act of Parliament, 
 no doubt, to sanction their establishments ; but this country had 
 often witnessed Acts of Parliament which were not entitled to 
 public respect — which were, indeed, in direct contradiction to the 
 principles of the British constitution. This he said, because he 
 thought so ; and was it not better that he and others should be 
 encouraged to express their mind, than to conceal it, and reserve 
 the expression for secret conspiracies 1 Every rational man would 
 answer in the affirmative. It was always more desirable to any 
 considerate man to be told when and where he was v/rong, than to 
 have the advantage of such information withheld from him. Such 
 mxist be the case with every man who was not deaf to his own 
 interest. Por himself, he could have no hesitation in saying, that 
 he should esteem the friend who frankly told him that he was 
 wrong, because he should thus learn how to correct liimself; and 
 the Ministers who did not so feel towards any man who informed 
 them of their errors, must be insensible to their interest, as well 
 as indifferent to their character. A government which would not 
 hear the truth must be a despotism. He did not mean that 
 calumny should be tolerated, but that the expression of truth 
 should be encouraged. No honest men could have anything to 
 fear even from misrepresentation ; for honesty was always sure to 
 defeat that, whether it applied to government or to individuals. 
 Why should government be afraid of truth or falsehood in any 
 case 1 Nothing but weakness could pi'oduce such fear, and that 
 weakness must be pitiable. Another prayer appeared in tlie 
 Litany, that the country should be delivered from all the deadly 
 sins attendant upon a corrupt method of election — from all the 
 deceits of the pensioned hirelings of the press. But who could 
 deny that the most flagitious corruption prevailed in the prevalent 
 system of election for Members of Parliament. Such corruption 
 Avas indeed as notorious as tlie sun at noon-day ; and therefore this 
 prayer could not be condemned, unless upon the ground that truth
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 123 
 
 was a libel; and this was a doctrine never recognised by any jury 
 (who were entitled to judge of the law), although generally 
 asserted by the judges. But for himself, he could not conceive how 
 tinith, with respect to any public act or public officer, could be 
 deemed a libel ; and he hoped the jury whom he had the honour 
 to address woiild not give up their right of decision upon this 
 material point to the dictum of any individual. Another prayer 
 appeared in this Litany, for our deliverance from taxes le-vded by 
 distress — from gaols crowded with debtors — from poor-houses 
 overflowing with paupers. As to the first, it was univei'sally 
 known that the greater part of the taxes were levied by distress 
 at the time this Litany was published. One tax-gatherer, indeed, 
 employed in the vicinity of Fleet Street, had told him, that he had 
 levied more distress for the payment of taxes within the preceding 
 nine months than he had done within the sixteen preceding years. 
 When, then, such calamity existed — when all things were going 
 ■wi'ong, where was the harm of saying so 1 or was it not rather 
 desirable to make it known ? Were an individual told that his 
 afiairs were going wrong, his first object would be to cast up liis 
 accounts, in order to see the magnitude of his danger, and to provide 
 some remedy, while he would thank the person who roused him to 
 a sense of his danger. And why should not the government be 
 equally grateful for similar information and excitement to inquiry ? 
 It would be so, if its members were not imbecile, self-conceited, 
 and supine. Then as to prisons crowded with debtors, was there 
 a quarter of England, oi' a man in the country, that could not 
 testify to this fact 1 He himself had seen the condition of the 
 King's Bench Prison. The day upon which he was committed to 
 the King's Bench Prison in consequence of this prosecution, he 
 was put inside the gate, and found himself within the walls — 
 at liberty to go where he liked for an abiding place. At lengtli 
 he applied at the door for the tipstaff by whom he was taken into 
 custody, and brought in, requesting to know Avhere he was to get 
 a lodging 1 In consequence of this application he was conducted 
 to the coffee-room, where alone he could, from the crowded state 
 of the prison, find any sort of decent accommodation. Such was
 
 124 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 the statement to him at the time, and sucli he afterwards found to 
 be the fact. At the coffee-room he took up his abode as a boarder; 
 for he was under the necessity of paying three shillings a night for 
 sleeping in a room, in another part of the prison, with three other 
 persons. This inconvenience, which he most sensibly felt, both in 
 person and in pocket, was inevitable, from the extremely crowded 
 state of the prison. Another proof of the crowded state of our 
 prisons he had lately seen at Maidstone, where a prison to occupy 
 fourteen acres of ground, was nearly completed, avowedly with a 
 view to provide accommodation for the miserable prisoners of the 
 county of Kent, in addition to that afforded by the county gaol. 
 With respect to the overflow of poor-houses, he did not think it 
 necessary to say anything upon that point, as every gentleman of 
 the jury must, no doubt, be competent, from his own experience 
 and information, fully to decide the truth of that allegation. The 
 next prayer of this publication was as to "a Parliament chosen 
 only by one-tenth of the people — taxes raised to pay wholesale 
 butchers their subsidies — false doctrines, heresy, and schism — 
 conspiracies against the liberty of the people, and obstacles thrown 
 in the way of our natural and constitutional rights." That 
 Parliaments were not chosen by more than one-tenth of the people 
 was, he apprehended, an indisputable fact. He himself had been 
 for the most part of his life a housekeeper, and yet he had never 
 enjoyed the right of voting for a member of the House of 
 Commons. This he must and ever should consider a great 
 grievance. He, and others similarly circumstanced, were no doubt 
 told that they were represented virtually as some class. But this 
 was a mere delusion, only aggravating the unjust privation of his 
 right by an insult to his understanding. Then, as to human 
 butchers, in what other light were those to be regarded who let 
 out their subjects to be shot at, or to shoot at others for hire I 
 False doctrines were surely chargeable upon those who sanctioned 
 those notions of " legitimate right," which were inconsistent with 
 the constitution and conduct of this country. But siich doctrines 
 were to be expected from those ministers who were inattentive to 
 the wants of the people, who disregarded the example of the noble 
 
 1
 
 SECOXD TRIAL. 125 
 
 Sully, tlie great minister of that truly great sovereign, Henry lY., 
 who said, in the spirit of real benevolence and princely duty, that 
 his utmost ambition was that every peasant in his dominions 
 should have each day a pullet in his pot. The existence of con- 
 spiracies against the liberties of the people was, he observed, 
 sufficiently obvious from the suspension and re-suspension of the 
 Habeas Corpus Act. The next prayer to the government was, 
 "that ye spend not extravagantly the money raised from the 
 production of our labours, nor take for yourselves that which ye 
 need not." This was surely not to be condemned, especially after 
 government had sanctioned the scandalous Lisbon job, in which 
 Mr. Canning took from the public purse no less than £14,000 for 
 doing nothing, in a situation in which his predecessor, who had. 
 something to do, received only £6,000. Yet this deduction from 
 the public purse, at a period of dire distress, Ministers made for 
 this most improper purpose, and Mr. Canning accepted the bribe 
 without the excuse of necessity, for his means were ample. Did. 
 not such a transaction, amidst a thousand others, justify an allusion 
 to j)ublic money spent extravagantly, and given to those who 
 needed it not 1 
 
 Mr. Hone then adverted to the mode of prosecution by informa- 
 tion, which was adopted against him, and said, that the statesmen 
 who efiected the Revolution had expressly stipulated for the 
 abolition of this practice, though the stipulation appeared not to 
 have been subsequently fulfilled. The whole of the recent pro- 
 ceedings of the Administration had his total disapprobation, and 
 therefore he commented upon them through the medium of paro- 
 dies. Their measures were those of little men of little minds ; 
 tlicir measures were the objects of his contempt, and the men 
 themselves, as Ministers, were the objects of his pity. It was 
 with pleasure, therefore, that he ever from that quarter heard any- 
 thing accidentally advantageous to the country, and thence he 
 was gratified by the declaration of the Attorney- General on the 
 preceding day, that he held in equal estimation all classes 
 of Christians, no matter what were their particular forms of 
 worship.
 
 12G SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, he was by no means exhausted, but he was 
 afraid of tiring the jury, whom he most respectfully and sincerely 
 thanked for their patience. If they required it, he would go 
 tlirougli every supplication to our rulers in the parody, to show 
 that what he said he was justified in saying — that it was true, and 
 not libellous — that if there was ridicule, those who rendered them- 
 selves ridiculous, however high their station, had no right to ciy 
 out because they were ridiculed. He intended to laugh at them. 
 They were his vindictive prosecutors, and his hypocritical perse- 
 cutors ; and. laugh at them he would, till they ceased to be the 
 objects of his laughter by ceasing to be Ministers. He expressed 
 a willingness to expound the whole of the parody, in order to 
 remove the imputation of libel, if the jury thought it necessary; 
 but perhaps the specimen of lus remarks on the jiarts he had read 
 would be sufficient. The gentlemen of tlie jury would take the 
 parody with them, and consider it coolly at their leisure, and draw 
 their ov/n conclusions, whether he pi'oceeded through the vrliole or 
 not. Mr. Hone was resuming when he was stayed by 
 
 A Juryman — It is not necessary for you to read any further ; 
 Ave are satisfied. 
 
 Mr. Hone said. Gentlemen, I thank ye — He was glad on many 
 accounts to hear the jury were satisfied, and would trouble the 
 jury but a sliort time longer. He never intended Ijy these parodies 
 to excite ridicule against the Christian religion, and none but the 
 weakest men could honestly suppose so, and even they did it 
 V without consideration. His intention was merely political. It 
 ^ Avas done to excite a laiigh. Was a laugh treason 1 Surely not. 
 " The lean-faced Gassius never laughs." The learned judge who 
 tried the cause yesterday (Mr. Justice Abbott) had said, that to 
 take the name of the Lord in vain was profanation. Let Mi*. 
 Attorney-General look to this ; for he found that he had made a 
 free use of this hallowed name at the late trial of Mr. Woolei'. 
 When he made this allusion, he begged to assure the learned gen- 
 tleman that nothing was further from his mind than any notion 
 that in the extracts from the Attorney-General's speech, which he 
 was about to read, the name of God was introduced in any other
 
 SECOND TRIAT., 
 
 12 
 
 way than that which might be done in an earnest and rapid 
 delivery. But the Attorney-General had made iu his speecli on 
 Mr. "Wooler's trial, the following expressions : — 
 
 " There are some persons who suppose, or choose to state they sup- 
 pose, that persons filling the situation which I fill {God knows un- 
 worthily) are servants of the Crown." 
 
 "The prosecution is not instituted on my own judgment (for God 
 knows that is weak), but iu concurrence with that of my learned 
 friends." 
 
 " If any man can doubt that the defendant meant this as a libel 
 upon Ministers, God defend my imderstanding." 
 
 " If he did not mean to violate the law of the country, in God's 
 name let him show it." 
 
 " If he can show, by a preceding or following sentence, that this is 
 not the meaning intended to be expressed, in the name of Jleavcn let 
 him do it." 
 
 " God knows a great deal of my life has been spent in public." 
 
 " God forbid, that it should be said the highest and lowest man are 
 not equal in the eye of the law." 
 
 " Thank God, the richest and the poorest man are equally protected." 
 
 Mr. Hone begged to remind the Attorney-General of what he 
 Lad stated yestei-day respecting the Ten Commandments, and the 
 reverential awe which ought to be entertained for them. One of 
 these commands was, " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
 thy God in vain;" but it appeared that the learned gentleman 
 himself liad broken this commandment. He was sure that the 
 learned gentleman had no intention of breaking the commandments, 
 or degrading sacred subjects, and therefore he was morally absolved 
 from the consequences of the impression which such irreverent 
 appeals to the Deity might produce. The defendant absolved liini 
 fi'om any intention of taking God's name in vain, and he wished 
 the same construction to bo put on the parodies which he had 
 written. 
 
 He concluded by imploring the jury, if they thought him 
 capable of sending forth the publication with the intent attributed 
 to him, to find him guilty ; but if, as he anticipated, tliey dis-
 
 128 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 believed that he had published with such an intention, then he 
 relied on a verdict of Not Guilty. His politics was his crime ; 
 and if he were guilty, the real libellers were those who instituted 
 the prosecution against him, for their punishment should precede 
 his. Why did Mr. Canning escape, if he, Wm. Hone, were guilty 1 
 The Ministers knew they had among them those who had gone 
 "unwhipped of justice." The Eight Hon. George Canning was 
 the man rei:>resented in Gillray's graphic parody on the ascent of 
 Elijah, which he had in his hand, as holding forth his arms to 
 catch the mantle falling from Mr. Pitt, who was, like Elijah, 
 mounting in his chaiiot to the skies. He thanked the jury for 
 their patience ; eveiything he valued in life was in their hands — 
 his character, his reputation, his subsistence. He asked from 
 them no mercy, he wanted only justice. If they thought he pub- 
 lished the parody with the intent attributed to him, then let him be 
 
 " Lash'd for a rascal naked through the world." 
 
 If, as his conscience told him, they thought otherwise, then they 
 would send him home to his family instead of the King's Bench 
 Prison. 
 
 \ Mr. Hone's addi'ess lasted from a quarter to eleven o'clock to a 
 
 quarter past five o'clock. He was about to call evidence to prove 
 that he stopped the circulation of the parodies when he found they 
 were considered offensive ; when 
 
 The Attorney-General rose, and submitted that evidence of 
 stopping the publication could not be received in a case where the 
 mere fact and intent of that publication were to be considered. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You are right as to the rule of evidence. 
 It has nothing to do with the issue on the verdict of Guilty or Not 
 Guilty. At the same time I shall take this evidence as a circum- 
 stance to be considered in onitigation of 2nmisJiment, if the 
 defendant should be convicted. This may be a convenient way 
 of taking the evidence for him, as he might be put to the expense 
 of affidavits on a future occasion, if it were now rejected. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I merely adduce it to show how soon I stojiped 
 the publication.
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 129 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii — That will not do away tlie offence, 
 tliougb it may be a very considerable mitigation of the punishment. 
 The Attorney-General — In that light I can have no possible 
 objection to its being received. 
 
 Benjamin Grimsen deposed, that he was the defendant's shop- 
 man at the time the sale of the parodies was stopped by order of 
 defendant. Witness entered into defendant's service at the 
 beginning of January last, at which time the sale of the pai'odies 
 was very considerable. They were indeed in the highest sale at 
 the time they were stopped. There was a great deal of application 
 for them both by private individuals and by booksellers, after the 
 sale was stopped. It was stojiped on the 22nd of February. There 
 v.-ere about 3,000 sold altogether. 
 
 The Attorney-General — We admit the defendant stopped 
 lii;j own sale on the 22nd of Februaiy. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I am obliged to the Attorney-General, but I would 
 rather the jury should take it from the mouth of the witness. 
 
 Wat. M'Donnell dei)osed, that he was the shopman of Mi*. 
 Hone, and had immediately succeeded Benjamin Grimsen ; that 
 he was never allowed to sell " Wilkes's Catechism," although 
 several persons applied to him for it ; some of those applicants 
 having tendered half-a-crown and more for a copy of it, while one 
 offered a pound note. To a question from the Judge, witness 
 answered that he entered into the defendant's service about the 
 beginning of April last. He was cavitioned against selling any of 
 these parodies. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Then you had them in the shop 1 
 
 Witness — No, my lord. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — What do you mean by being cautioned 1 
 — a caution would be superfluous, if the parodies were not there. 
 
 The Witness — Large sums were offered. I could Lave got £1 
 for one ; and the caution was, lest a stray one should be picked 
 up in rummaging the shelves. 
 
 George Butler, of Castle Street, in the Borough, deposed, 
 that he called at the defendant's house about April last, with a 
 view to purchase some copies of "Wilkes's Political Catechism," 
 
 K
 
 130 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 but that tlie shopman, as well as the defendant himself, refused to 
 let him have any; that this refusal served to interrupt a friendship 
 of twenty years' standing, which he had had with the defendant. 
 
 Mr. HiTCHiNGS deposed, that he applied in vain at the defend- 
 ant's shop, about the beginning of March last, for copies of the 
 parodies, including " Wilkes's Catechism :" that he did not know 
 anything about those parodies, until he heard of their having been 
 prosecuted, and then, from curiosity, he became anxious to see 
 them. 
 
 The Attorney-Genekal rose to reply — He said, that the 
 consideration of this case Had occupied so much time, that h(i 
 would endeavour to compress what he had to say into as little 
 compass as possible^ The defendant had alluded to some expres- 
 sions which he supposed had fallen from him on a former occasion. 
 In speaking of toleration, the defendant had supposed that lie 
 held in equal esteem and veneration men of all professions of 
 religion. This was a mistake : what he had said was, that if a 
 man was a Christian, though his mode and form of worship might 
 differ from the forms of the Established Church, to Avhich lie him- 
 self belonged, yet if he performed his duty towards his God, atid 
 believed in the essential articles of the Christian faith, he held 
 that man in estimation and regard — not in etpal estimation. As 
 to the allusion to his having taken the name of God in vain on a 
 former trial ; all he had to say was, that he knew nothing of the 
 accuracy of the report ; but if Mr. Hone could derive any advan- 
 tage from his admission, he was free to say, that he had much 
 blame to take to himself for making too free a use of the name 
 of his Maker in attesting the sincerity of the opinions he was then 
 delivering. This he confessed Avas wi-ong ; for he hoped that all 
 persons would remember that the great Mr. Boyle never uttered 
 the name of God without a pause, at the same time showing his 
 reverence by the obeisance of his body. But this really hatl 
 nothing to do with the question. The impropriety of one man 
 could not be an excuse for that of another. As to the filing of a!i 
 information ex officio, it was part of the law of the land : it had 
 been part of the common law from the earliest times, and was
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 131 
 
 recognised by the statute law. The subject did not pass over 
 without great consideration at the time of the revolution. The 
 great men of that day redressed such abuses as they thought 
 required redress. There having been a right to file informations 
 by the Master of the King's Bench, and pi-ivate pei'sons having 
 made use of him to create vexatious proceedings, a law was passed 
 in the 4th of William III., reciting those facts, and transferring 
 and confining the power to the Attorney-General. He denied 
 that the defendant had any ground of complaint on account of the 
 delay, which had, in fact, arisen from a desire to show all reason- 
 able indulgence. It was for them to consider whether this were a 
 libel, and whether the intention of the publisher was to produce 
 those consequences which must result from it. The defendant 
 had occupied a considerable portion of their time in stating; that, 
 at different periods of our history, parodies had been published on 
 the Scriptui'es. This fact, however to be lamented, aflbrded no 
 justification; many of those parodies which he had read to-da}- 
 v>-ere profane, were impious, were libellous. Without meaning to 
 detract from the debt of gratitude owing to jMartiii Luther, he 
 must say, that he had profaned the Holy Writ. The same might 
 be said of Dr. Boys. And as to the other parodies of later times, 
 by whomsoever written, they were profane, and, being profiine, 
 Avere the subject of prosecution. The Scriptures should be looked 
 \ipon with a sacred eye, and never be used for secular purposes. 
 Equally objectionable would it be to apply obscene tunes to the 
 Psalms of David, or even the hymns of Di\ Watts. But these 
 l)oints had as little to do with the case, as the prints which the 
 defendant had exhibited. He (the Attorney-General) had selected 
 the defendant for prosecution because he had taken the lead in 
 these recent parodies. The defendant asserted, that he did not 
 mean to do wrong ; but we must judge by the actions of men ; 
 and what he charged was, that no man could read this work 
 without seeing that it must lessen that sacred regard and reverence 
 Vy'hicli every Christian owed to the public service of the Church. 
 If any man were to parody the prayers of any of the sectaries of 
 til ■ ('liurch, supposing them to be consistent ^lith Christian wor-
 
 132 SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 sliip, lie would commit an ofience against religion. If the 
 doctrines nrged by tlie defendant to-day were to be established in 
 a court of justice, it would produce such an inundation of blas- 
 2)hemous publications as nothing perhaps could check. He saw 
 from the title-page that the defendant had published several tracts 
 of a similar nature, which were to be had at his shop, in order, no 
 doubt, that there might be a collection of parodies like those which 
 he had read to-day. He should, to the last hour of his life, declare, 
 that he should not have been fit, nor ought he to have been 
 suffered to have retained his situation a moment longer, as the law- 
 ofiicer of the public, if he had not followed up these prosecutions. 
 He called himself the law-officer of the public, because he stood 
 there as counsel and pi-osecutor for the sake of preserving reverence 
 and awe for religion and the sacred service of the Church of 
 England. Take, said the Attorney-General to the jury, this. 
 Prayer Book and this pamphlet, compare them together, and I 
 have no doubt you will say that the latter was intended to bring 
 the former into contempt. I have done my duty ; I leave you 
 to do yours. 
 
 Lord Ellenbokough then proceeded to charge the jury. They 
 would recollect the evidence they had heard on the part of the 
 defendant, that he had stopped the circulation of this work on tlie 
 27th of February ; but when he told them this, jt was no matter 
 of consideration on the question of Gu.ilty, or Not Guilty. Every 
 man might endeavour to do away his offence by a sort of repara- 
 tion : he had, liowever, had the painful duty of sitting, when the 
 crime of forgery was brought before him, in cases whei'e the money 
 had been sent back ; but so little had this been attended to, tliat 
 the severest penalties of the law had been enforced. The fact 
 which the defendant had proved could only have effect in mitiga- 
 tion of punishment. The information charged that this was an 
 impious and profane libel : it was a libel on one of the most 
 beautiful compositions that ever came from the hands of men : it 
 was a part of the ritual even before the Protestant form of worship 
 was established ; and to bring this into ridicule, to endeavour to 
 write down the Litany, was impious and profane. It was said
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 133 
 
 that there was no such intention ; but tlie hiw considered that 
 every man intends that which he has done. The smallness of the 
 jn-ice for which these works were sold only accelerated the sale, 
 and increased the danger. One offence could not be justified by 
 aiiother : on the contrary, it was an aggravation to say, that 
 persons had done so before, and thence to add to the number of 
 Oifenders. Amongst all the parodies which the defendant had 
 read, he could not find any that bore any proportion to the 
 enormity of the present. The Litany, and all the forms of prayer, 
 were in our statute books, as much as the law of inheritance, 
 which gives to a son the estate of his father. Lord Hale, venerable 
 as well for the sanctity of his character, as for the profundity of 
 his learning, had declared, as the Attorney-General had told them, 
 that Christianity was part of the common law of the land. If this 
 I)ublication were not to ridicule religion, let them take it with 
 them, and see what other purpose it could answer. To raise a 
 laugh — a laugh at whom, if it were not at religion 1 The last 
 ])assage in the work seemed to be the worst ; for there, instead of 
 the solemn and impressive words, " May the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy 
 Ghost, be with you all evermore ; it said, " May the grace of our 
 Lord George, and the love of Louis XVIII. , and the fellowship of 
 the Pope, be with you all evermore." The defendant had adverted 
 to many grievances that did not exist. The right of filing informa- 
 tions ex qfjicio was expressly saved to the Attorney-General by the 
 statute of William. And as to granting copies of the information, 
 in what instance had such copies ever been granted to any subject 
 of the realm 1 Did the defendant wish a particular law for him- 
 self ? He said he was ignorant of the charge to which he had to 
 plead. What ! did he not jjublish this work ; and how could he 
 not know what the charge contained ? Then what other grievance 
 had he to complain of 1 Was it that he was discharged upon his 
 own recognisance 1 It was now for them to consider whether the 
 defendant was guilty. Different persons, it was said, had pub- 
 lished similar things. As to going up to the time of ^lartin 
 Luther, Boys, and so on, the habits of those times were totally
 
 13-1: SECOND TRIAL. 
 
 difierent; the first scenic performances were mysteries or repre- 
 sentations of incidents in Sacred Writ. Luther himself was not 
 very temperate when he was engaged in .controversy. There were 
 many things in the parodies which have been read that must be 
 considered as profane and impious ; but this of the defendant 
 transcended them all in magnitude. He would deliver them his 
 solemn opinion, as he was required by Act of Parliament to do ; 
 and imder the authority of that Act, and still more in obedience 
 to his conscience and his God, he pronounced this to be a most 
 impious and profane libel. Believing and hoping that they (the 
 jury) were Christians, he had not any doubt but that they would 
 be of the same opinion. 
 
 (His lordship, who appeared much oppressed with indisposition 
 during the latter part of the trial, delivei^ed his charge in so faint 
 a tone, that it was scarcely audible beyond the Bench.) 
 
 The jury then, at a quarter past six, retired ; at eight they 
 returned ; and their names having been called over, the foreman, 
 in a steady voice, pronounced a verdict of — NOT GUILTY. 
 
 The Court was exceedingly crowded ; and as soon as the deci- 
 sion was heard, loud and reiterated shouts of applause ensued. 
 His lordship called upon the sheriffs to preserve order ; but the 
 expression of feeling was so ixni versa], that all interposition was 
 impossible. The crowd then left the Court, and, mixing with the 
 multitude in the hall and in the passages, communicated their 
 feelings with their news, and the loudest acclamations of applause 
 filled the avenues, and were echoed through Guildhall and King 
 Street, which w^ere extremely crowded. Never, indeed, was a 
 greater degree of public interest excited upon any trial. The Court 
 was crowded throughout the day ; and for several hours before the 
 jury retired, Guildhall was as full as upon the assemblage of a 
 Common Hall. The sensatioii i^roduced by the result of this 
 important trial cannot be described. Before his lordship left the 
 Court, he asked the Attorney- General what case he would take 
 next. The Attorney-General replied, that he should take next 
 tliat which stood next in order — " The King against Hoxe, for 
 the ' Sinecurists' Creed.' "
 
 SECOND TRIAL. 135 
 
 Mr. Hone eudeavouvcd to leave the Court privately ; but lie 
 v/as recognised by some persons in the Court, who, in their exul- 
 tation, were forgetful of the great fatigue he had undergone during 
 his trials on this and the preceding day. He was pressed upon by 
 innumerable greetings, and hands shaking, and was desired on all 
 sides to get into a coach ; but this he positively declined, and 
 almost overpowered by the eagerness of salutation, escaped into 
 the Baptist-Head Coffee House, Aldermanbury ; vv'hcre he was 
 joined by a few friends. After having taken some slight refresh- 
 ment, he walked home unrecognised, to his anxious family. On 
 his arrival he was much, indisposed, and apparently too much 
 exhausted to undergo the fatigue of defending himself on the 
 third trial, which was appointed by the Attorney-General and 
 Lox'd EUenborough for the next morning, at half-past nine o'clock, 
 on an ex-officio information for publishing a third Parody, entitled 
 " The Sinecurists' Creed."
 
 THE 
 
 THIRD TEIAL 
 
 WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 €i:^®fRct0 Jhiformatiott. 
 
 AT GUILDHALL, LONDON, DECEMBER 20, 1817, 
 
 EEFOKE 
 
 LORD ELLENBOROUGH AND A SPECIAL JURY, 
 
 FOU PUBLISHING 
 
 A PAEODY 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ATHANASIAN CEEED, 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 "THE SINECURISTS' CREED." 
 
 LONDON : 
 PBINTED BY AND FOE WILLIAM HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLEES. 
 
 1818. 
 
 PRICE ONE SHILLING.
 
 l3^ 
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 THE KING AGAINST WILLIAM HONE, 
 
 ON AN EX-OFFICIO INFOKMATION FOK PUBLISHING A PARODY 
 ON THE ATHANASIAN CEEED, 
 
 ENTITLEU 
 
 "THE SINECURISTS' CREED." 
 
 TraED IN Guildhall, London, on Satueday, December 20, 1S17, at the 
 London Sittings aeter Michaelmas Teioi. 
 
 BEFOKE LOPvD ELLENBOEOUGH AND A SPECIAL JUEY. 
 
 On the niglit of Friday, the 19th of December, 1817, imme- 
 diately after the verdict of Not Guilty on the trial of the second 
 information against Mi\ Hone, for the j^arody on the " Litany," it 
 ■was settled by the Lord Chief- Justice and tlie Attorney-General, 
 that the trial of the third information, for the parody on the 
 " Athanasian Creed," should commence the next morning ; yet it 
 was beKeved on all hands, that the third information would not be 
 then brought on ; and, indeed, it was generally supposed it would 
 be abandoned altogether. The most obvious reasons were, that as 
 two verdicts had been given for Mr. Hone, by two different 
 juries, the Ministers of the Crown could with no good grace put 
 him upon his trial a third time ; and further, that fatigued as he 
 had been, by long previous anxiety, and the exertions of two suc- 
 cessive days — on the first of which he spoke near six houi's, and 
 on the second near seven hours — it would be indecent to brine:
 
 138 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 him into Court a tliird time, without the hipse of a single day, 
 :ind calculate upon the previous exhaustion of his bodily strengtli 
 for that success whicli they could not hope for while he retained it. 
 
 Howevei-, it being understood on the following morning, 
 Saturday, December 20th, that the third information would 
 really be tried, the avenues of the Court were crowded at an 
 earlier hour than on the two former days, and public curiosity 
 Tv'as at its height. The sheriffs, city marshals, and an increased 
 body of peace-officers, were in attendance. At a quarter-past nine 
 the Attorney-General appeared in Court, and about tlie same time 
 the youth (Mr. Hone's brother) brought in a larger quantity of 
 books than before, which he placed in order on the table of the 
 Court. Mr. Hone himself did not arrive until half-an-hour 
 afterwards. He appeared exceedingly ill and exhausted. 
 
 At a quarter before ten o'clock, Lord Ellenborough being 
 seated on the bench, Mr. Law stated that the prosecution was the 
 King against Hone, on an ex-ojjicio information ; and proceeded to 
 call over the names of the jury. Though the Court was crowded 
 to excess, the most profound silence prevailed. 
 
 Only seven special jurymen attending, the Attorney-General 
 prayed a tales. 
 
 The Attorney-General challenged William Green, one of the 
 talesmen who served on the jury the day before. 
 
 Mr. PIoNE immediately rose, evidently labouring under great 
 indisposition, and begged that he might be allowed time to 
 recollect himself. A moment after, he said he objected to 
 that peremptory challenge of a common juror, and required the 
 cause of it. 
 
 The Attorney-General observed that the Crown had a right 
 to challenge, without assigning any cause, until the panel was gone 
 through. If there did not then appear to be a sufficient number 
 to form a jury, he should, if called upon, state his reasons for 
 challenging any individuals. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough said — The defendant might in that case 
 call upon the Attorney-General, but not befoi-e — that he believed 
 was the rule of law.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 139 
 
 Mr. HoxE was at this time sitting down, and appeared ex- 
 tremely agitated. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I believe, Mr. Hone, you Lave not heard 
 the observation of the Attorney-General. 
 
 Mr. Hone replied, that he did not distinctly hear it. 
 
 His lordship relocated the words, and assui-ed the defendant 
 that he should have the benefit of any legal objection that appeared 
 material to his defence. 
 
 Mr. HoxE — I am thankful to your lordship. 
 
 The Attorney-General challenged J. Matthews, merchant. 
 
 I\Ir. Hone again rose to object to the challenge. 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii repeated the assurance he had made, and 
 the defendant sat down evidently seriously indisposed — he was 
 much convulsed. 
 
 A gentleman at the bar, who sat near the Attorney-Gencr.;], 
 ha\ing made some remark upon the appearance of Mr. Hone, — 
 
 The Attorney-General addressed his lordship — What he had 
 to state, he said, did not arise from a wish on his part to postpone 
 the proceedings of the Court ; it arose from a very different source. 
 j)ilr. Hone appeared to be very unwell ; and it had been just 
 suggested, that a delay of the proceedings might be necessaiy, in 
 consideration of his probable inadequacy to enter upon his defence 
 v.-ith the full command of those energies which he possessed in a 
 very considerable degi-ee. This was a ground of postponement 
 that could by no means be controverted. 
 
 !Mr. Hone — I make no request, my lord. 
 
 The Attorney-General — The defendant certainly appeared 
 iinable to make any great physical exei-tion, and as it was necessary 
 for him to have a full control upon so serious an occasion, the 
 postponement might be desirable. 
 
 Mr. Hone said, he was thankful for the offer of indulgence. Ho 
 certainly felt much agitation, but it was not agitation of mind. 
 He was merely exhausted from the effort of the day before. In a 
 little time, he hoped to be so far recovered as to be able to enter 
 upon his defence. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Mr. Hone, you will now make a pra-
 
 140 
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 dent and discreet election ; for if the trial begins, I sliall not be 
 able to put a stop to it. 
 
 Mr. Hone — My lord, I make my election to proceed now, if 
 your lordsliip pleases. 
 
 The followinor ojentlemen were then sworn : — 
 
 THE JURY. 
 
 George Moeewood, Pancras Lane. 
 George Elwall, Love Lane. 
 KoBERT Edgar, Fenchurch Street. 
 Daniel Eckenstein, College Hill. 
 James Barry, Cateaton Street. 
 James Brockeank, Bucklersbury. 
 William Clerk, Philpot Lane. 
 
 Merchants. 
 
 Richard Lewis. 
 Alfred Coles. 
 James Pearce. 
 Frederick Sansdm. 
 Anthony King Newman. 
 
 Talesmen. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — The jury is now foi-med ; and, lest you 
 may suppose that you can object to them hereafter, I must state, 
 that you will not have such an opportunity. If you have any 
 objection, advance it now — there will not be an opportunity at a 
 future time. Should you have any objection to the Attorney- 
 General's challenge, you must rely on it now. 
 
 Mr. Hone — I thought there would be a futui-e time to 
 discuss it. 
 
 Lord Elleneorough — There will not. I rather think you 
 will find nothing in the challenge to excite suspicion; but don't bo 
 advised by me. 
 
 Mr. Hone — The jury are all strangers to me. I have no doubt 
 that they are respectable and conscientious men, and I wave the 
 objection altogether. 
 
 Mr. Shepherd then opened the pleadings. This was an in- 
 formation filed by the Attorney-General against the defendant, for 
 publishing an irreligious and profane libel on that part of the 
 Divine Service of the Church of England, denominated " The 
 Creed of St. Athanasius," with intent to scandalise and bring into 
 contempt tlie said Creed. 
 
 The Attorney-General now commenced his address to the
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 141 
 
 jury, observing, that the information which he had thought it a 
 part of his official duty to file against this defendant, charged him 
 with the publication of a profane libel on that part of the service 
 of the Church of England Avhich was called the " Creed of St. 
 Athanasius." The tendency, if not the object, of such a libel, 
 appeared to him to be to excite impiety and irreligion in the minds of 
 those who might read it, and to bring into ridicule and contempt 
 the mode of celebrating Diviae worship in this countiy. That 
 Christianity was a part of the law of England, was a proposition 
 which no man could deny ; for it had been so held from the earliest 
 periods of our history. At the Reformation, and by several sub- 
 sequent Acts in the reigns of Edward VI. and of Elizabeth, the 
 form of the national religion was established. But after the re- 
 storation of Charles II. the Act of Uniformity, as it was called, was 
 passed, and provided that form of public prayer which was inserted 
 in the Common Prayer Book, and ordained to be kept in all parts 
 of the country, as a record to be produced, if necessary, in Courts 
 of Justice. Whatever relaxation from penalties imposed by this 
 statute might have taken place since that time, the Act, in other 
 respects, remained untouched, the established form of prayer was 
 left sacred, and was to be defended against all who sought to bring 
 it into contempt. Whatever differences of opinion might prevail 
 on the doctrinal points of the Athanasian Creed, amongst different 
 religious sects, it was a part of the Church Service, as established 
 by law in England. And although the law did not forbid the 
 decent discussion of the theological subjects to which it referred, 
 it ought not to allow it to be scoffed at, or treated with general 
 ridicule. It was for the jury to decide whether this was not the 
 true character of the publication recited on the record, and whether 
 this did not amount to the offence of libel. There could, ho 
 apprehended, be no doubt with regard to the tendency of the 
 work : but it might be urged in the course of the defence, that 
 such was not the object of the author in publishing it. But he 
 must take leave to say, that if a man advisedly did a wrong act, 
 he was answerable for its natural consequences, because it was his 
 duty to reflect upon its tendency and nature before ho committed
 
 142 THIKD TRIAL. 
 
 it. Now, v/riting and publisliiiig were plainly acts of deliberation, 
 in excuse of which, if they were wicked or unjustifiable, it was 
 impossible to allege a naomentary impulse or the infirmity of 
 human nature. He was astonished, indeed, that such a pretence 
 fshould be emplo3"ed, as that the defendant was unconscious of the 
 tendency of the writing in question. From the number of books 
 which he saw on the table, it might be attempted to show that 
 similar works had been circulated by other persons. But whoever 
 they were, or whatever their merits in other respects, he had no 
 hesitation to say, that they had been guilty of the same offence, 
 and that such instances could, therefore, constitute no justification 
 of the defendant's conduct. The libel iu question must be judged 
 upon its intrinsic contents alone, and not by the authority of 
 parodies equally oflfensive. The Attorney-General then read several 
 jiassages from the paper he held in his hand, which was entitled 
 " The Sinecurists' Creed," and proceeded to show that those pas- 
 sages were a parody upon many parts of St. Athanasius's Creed, 
 by reading the corresponding pai-agraphs. The injury likely to 
 arise from the dissemination of this awful system of impiety would 
 be, the Attorney-General observed, particularly great in the case 
 of those who were not enlightened by education, and who wei'o 
 therefore easily initiated into bad principles by publications of 
 tliat kind. But that was not the only class that would suffer. 
 When children were brought up in the principles of Christianity, 
 the best expectations might be entertained from their mature 
 years ; but if they were not protected from these inroads, the great 
 bond that linked man to man would be shaken, and there was no 
 vice that did not afford a speedy promise of becoming greater and 
 more uncontrollable. The man whose acts led to this unfortunate 
 event must be lesponsible. His fault arose not from oversight or 
 tlioughtleasncss, but from a cool deliberation. It woiild be for the 
 jury to say whether the defendant's publication was calculated to 
 have the impression he described. 
 
 Mr. SwANSON, clerk in the office of the Solicitor to the 
 Treasury, proved tliat he purchased the pamphlet on the 17th 
 February, at J.Tr. Hone's late shop iu Fleet Street, &c.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 143 
 
 Lord Ellexborough — Perhaps it may not be thought necessary 
 Ly the defendant, that St. Athanasius's Creed shonld be read. 
 
 Mr. HoxE wished it to be read, tliat lie might haA'C the more 
 time to prepare his defence. 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii — I had better give you time expressly 
 than take up the time of the Court unnecessarily. The Creed 
 shall, however, be read, if it is your wish. 
 
 Mr. Law i-ead St. Athanasius's Creed ; after which he read the 
 publication charged as a libel. 
 
 TuE SINECURISTS' CREED, or BELIEF ; as used throughout the 
 Kingdom. Quicunque vult. By Authority. From Hone's "Weekly 
 Commentary, No. II., London : Printed for one of the Candidates 
 for the Office of Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and 
 Sold by "WiLLiAii Hone, 55, Fleet Street, and G7, Old Bailey, three 
 Doors from Ludgate Hill. 1817. Price Twopence. 
 
 THE CREED OR BELIEF. 
 
 fj Cpon all suitable occasions may be su/nrj or said the followinj 
 CONFESSION — tipstanding and uncovered. 
 
 Quicunque vult. 
 
 "WHOSOEVER will be a Sinecurist: before all things it is necessaiy 
 that he hold a place of profit. 
 
 "Which place except every Sinecurist do leceive the salary for, and 
 do no service : without doubt it is no Sinecure. 
 
 And a Sinecurist's duty is this : that he divide with the Ministry 
 and be with the Ministry in a Majority. 
 
 Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing with the Opposition. 
 
 For there is one Ministry of Old Bags, another of Derry Do\mi 
 Triangle : * and another of the Doctor. 
 
 But the Ministry of Old Bags, of Deny Down Triangle, and of the 
 Doctor, is all one : the folly equal, the profusion co-eternal. 
 
 Such as Old Bags is, such is Derry Down Triangle : and such is the 
 Doctor. 
 
 Old Bags a Mountebank, Derry Down Triangle a JMountebank : llio 
 Doctor a Mountebank. 
 
 * Triaii<jle. is a thing having tliree «Ve.? ; tlio menuest and most tinkling of all 
 musicRl instrument.^; mactiincry used iu luilitary torlurij.
 
 144 THIRD TRIAL, 
 
 Old Bags incomprehensible, Derry Down Triangle incompreliensible : 
 the Doctor incomprehensible. 
 
 Old Bags a Humbug, Derry Down Triangle a Humbug : and the 
 Doctor a Humbug. 
 
 And yet they are not three Humbugs : but one Humbug. 
 
 As also they are not three incomprehensibles, nor three Mounte- 
 banks : but one Mountebank, and one incomprehensible. 
 
 So likewise Old Bags is AU-twattle, Derry Down Ti-iangle AU- 
 t wattle : and the Doctor All-twattle. 
 
 And yet they are not three AU-twattles : but one All-twattle. 
 
 So Old Bags is a Quack, Derry Down Triangle is a Quack : and the 
 Doctor is a Quack. 
 
 And yet they are not three Quacks : but one Quack. 
 
 So likewise Old Bags is a Fool, Derry Down Triangle is a Fool : and 
 tlie Doctor is a Fool. 
 
 And yet not three Fools : but one Fool. 
 
 For like as we are compelled by real verity : to acknowledge every 
 Minister by himself to be a Quack and Fool ; 
 
 So are we forbidden by state etiquette : to say there be three 
 Quacks, or three Fools. 
 
 Derry Down Triangle is made of none : neither born nor begotten. 
 
 Old Bags is of himself alone : a Lawyer bred, a Lord created, by 
 his Father begotten, 
 
 The Doctor is of Old Bags, and of Derry Down Triangle : neither 
 made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. 
 
 So there is one Old Bags, not three Old Bags : one Derry Down 
 Triangle, not three Triangles : one Doctor, not three Doctors. 
 
 And in this Ministry none is afore or after the other : none is greater 
 or less than another. 
 
 But the whole three Ministers are co-Charlatans together, and 
 co-Tricksters. 
 
 So that, in all things, as is aforesaid : the Majority with the Ministry, 
 ami the Ministry in the Majority, is to be worshipped. 
 
 He therefore that will be a Sinecurist, must thus think of the 
 INIinistry. 
 
 Furthermore it is necessary to his Sinecux'e's preservation : that he 
 also believe nightly the mystification of Derry Down Triangle. 
 
 For the Sinecurist's right faith is, that he believe and confess : that 
 Derry Down Triangle, the queue* of the ^Ministry of the great man now 
 no more, is now both Minister and Manager. 
 
 * Kyutio, sf. tail, stalk, cuo, trail, &c.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 145 
 
 Minister, first selling the substance of his own country to this : 
 Manager scattering the substance of this over all the world ; 
 
 Perfect Knave and perfect Fool : of unsparing despotic views — on 
 overstrained taxation subsisting ; 
 
 Equal to Old Bags as touching grave Trickery : and inferior to the 
 Doctor as touching his Mummery. 
 
 AYho although he be Knave and Fool, yet he is not two, but one 
 Minister ; 
 
 One ; not by a conversion of the Charlatan into the Minister ; but by 
 shooting a more showy juggler, who wanted, and still wants, to be a 
 Minister. 
 
 One altogether ; squandering in profusion our substance : by votes 
 of corrupt Majorities. 
 
 For as by power of Dupery, and our Money, he makes whom he 
 will his own : so by Intrigue and Cajolery, he is Minister : — 
 
 Wlio, to talk for our Salvation, descended to kiss the Nethermost 
 £ud of Tally-high-ho ; and rose again as a giant refreshed ; 
 
 He ascended into a higher place, he sitteth at the right hand of the 
 Chair ; from whence he shall hear how those who being starved, — ' by 
 the Visitation of God,' — became Dead. 
 
 At whose nodding all Sinecurists shall rise again, and again ; 
 and with their voices cry Aye ! Aye ! and the Laureate, in 
 token of joy, shall mournfully chaunt the most doleful Lay in his 
 Works. 
 
 And they that have said Aye ! Aye ! shall go into place everlasting; 
 and they that have said No ! shall go into everlasting Minorities. 
 
 And Coleridge shall have a Jew's Harp, and a Eabbinical Talmud, 
 and a Eoman Missal : and WoRDSwoRTn shall have a Psalter, and a 
 Primer, and a Eeading Easy : and unto Southey's Sack-but shall be 
 duly added : and with Harp, Sack-but, and Psaltery, they shall 
 make merry, and discover themselves before Derry Down Triangle, 
 and Hum his most gracious Master, whose Kingdom shall have 
 no end. 
 
 This is the Sinecurist's duty, from doing more than which, except he 
 abstain faithfully, he cannot be a Sinecurist. 
 
 ^ Glory be to Old Bags, and to Derry Down Triangle, and to th« 
 Doctor. 
 
 As it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be, if such thiri'js 
 be, without end. Amen. 
 
 [Here endeth the Creed or Belief. 1 
 h
 
 14G THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 During the Attorney-General's opening, and whilst the Creed 
 and the alleged libel were being read, Mr. Hone was occasionally 
 occupied in making notes, but he seemed weak, and not collected 
 in his mind. He was engaged in writing when Mr. Law concluded 
 the reading of the Sinecurists' Creed. 
 
 Mr. Hone rose and stated, that he was not quite prepared ; he 
 craved the indulgence of the Court for a short time, whilst ho 
 ari-anged the few thoughts he had been committing to paper ; hU 
 mind had not been quite cool ; he should be ready in five minutes, 
 at farthest ; he would certainly not detain the Court longer than 
 that. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — The Attorney-General warned you, and 
 admonished you, in the situation you were placed as to health. I 
 otFered you the indulgence of postponing the trial, but we reallj'- 
 cannot have delay interposed from time to time in the course of 
 the trial. If you shall wish even now to have it postponed, I 
 venture to predict that you will be suffered to request a delay of 
 the trial ; but it must be a request, and unless you make it, the 
 tibial must go on. Do you make such request 1 
 
 Mr. Hone (in a determined tone, and with an expression of 
 countenance which did not indicate much respect for his lordship) 
 personally) — No ! I make no such request ! (His powers seemed 
 renovated by the refusal of the Coui't to give him time, and pausing 
 a few seconds, he said) My lord and gentlemen of the jury- 
 f turning from the jury to Lord Elleuborough, he exclaimed with, 
 earnest vehemence), my lord, I am very glad to see your lordshij 
 here to-day ; (with increased vehemence) I say, my lord, I am verj 
 glad to see your lordship here to-day, because I feel I sustained ai 
 injury from your lordship yesterday — an injury which I did not 
 expect to sustain. I do not know how very well to measure m] 
 words, and yet I knov/ I should do so in anything I have tc 
 remark upon yonr lordship's conduct; but if the proceedings of 
 solemn trial, like that of yesterday, and this to-day are to b€ 
 interrupted — and I say that, because I think the charge youi 
 lordship gave 
 
 L ird Kllf.x BOROUGH — I cannot hear any observations in that
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 147 
 
 way now, on what passed yesterday. You may make common 
 and ordinary observations, but I cannot sit here to be attacked. 
 
 Mr. Hone — (pausing, and looking signilicantly at Lord Ellen- 
 borough) I will not attack your lordship. 
 
 Mr. HoxE — Gentlemen of the jury, I will not say what his 
 lordship did on the trial last night ; but if his lordship should 
 tliiak proper, on this trial to day, to deliver his opinion, I hope 
 that opinion will be coolly and dispassionately expressed by his 
 lordship. I say, if his lordship should think proper to give an 
 o])inion, because notwithstanding what has been stated, his lord- 
 ship is not bound to give an opinion ; I repeat, gentlemen (most 
 vehemently), by Mr. Fox's Libel Bill, the judge is not bound 
 to give an opinion : the Act does not make it imperative, but 
 leaves it discretionary with the judge whether he shall give his 
 opiuion or not. It is true, there may be Acts of Parliament or 
 difficulties of law, the explanation of which rerpxires the opinion 
 and the intervention of the judge ; but such is not the case upon 
 the occasion to which I allude. I will not relate what passed 
 upon my last trial, but I will suppose the case of a defendant 
 i'.sking the opinion of the court for information, and answered in 
 a manner calculated rather to cause confusion in his mind than to 
 clear up the difficulty : and I will ask, whether such ought to bo 
 the conduct of a person presiding in a court of justice? An Act 
 of Parliament should be so clear, that he who runs may read ; and 
 that is, that he who reads it may understand its meaning, without 
 the intervention of a judge; and I take this Act to be so. But, 
 nevertheless, if legal opinion be desired, there is the exposition of 
 the Vinerian Professor of Law upon it, Mr. Christian — no mean 
 authority ; for this gentleman is distinguished for his learning and 
 legal knowledge, and is himself a judge, being Chief Justice of 
 Ely. That learned person, observing on Mr. Fox's Libel Bill, in 
 his notes on Blackstone's Commentaries (B, 4. p. 151, Ed. 1795) 
 says, " That Statute provides that the judge may give his opinion 
 to the jury respecting the matter in issue," not shall 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — You are mis-stating the statute. 
 
 Mr. Hone (loud) — I beg your lordship's pardon (veliemently),
 
 148 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 you are interrupting me, my lord. I was not quoting tlie statute; 
 I was reading, as the gentlemen of the jury know, to whom I am 
 addressing myself, the Exposition of Professor Chiistian upon the 
 words of 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — The words in the statute are " shall or 
 may give his opinion." 
 
 Mr. Hone — I shall read the statute presently. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Well, go on. 
 
 Mr. Hone (earnestly and slowly) — My lord, I think it neces- 
 sary to make a stand here. I cannot say what your lordship may 
 consider to be necessary interruption, but your lordship interrupted 
 me a great many times yesterday, and then said you would inter- 
 rupt me no more, and yet your lordship did interrupt me after- 
 wards ten times as much as you had done before you said you 
 would interrupt me no more. I feel it proper to make this obser- 
 vation ujion this interruption. Gentlemen, it is you who are 
 trying me to day. His lordship is no judge of me. You are my 
 judges, and you only are my judges. His lordship sits there to 
 receive your verdict. He does not even sit there to regulate the 
 trial — for the law has already regulated it. He sits there only as 
 the administrator of that law — to take care that nothing in the 
 regulation of the law prejudice the prosecutor or the defendant, 
 I hope that unless I transgress the^law I shall not be again inter- 
 rupted to day — but if I do, I crave interruption, for it will be 
 necessary. I hope for that necessary interruption, but then it 
 must be necessary interruption. If I transgress the law, I shall 
 do it unwittingly. I trust that I shall not be allowed to do it, 
 and then like a poor fly in the web of a spider, be pounced upon 
 and crushed ! 
 
 Mr. Hone, resuming his argument, contended that by Mr. 
 Fox's bill the judge was not bound to give any opinion on the 
 question, whether the thing under consideration was libel or not, 
 l)ut that it was left discretionary for him to do so or not, as he 
 thought proper. His lordship seemed to think otherwise, and 
 that it was a part of his duty to give that opinion. His lordship 
 would, therefore, no doubt, pursue that course to-day — he would
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 149 
 
 not say what his lordship did yesterday, but he trusted his lord- 
 ship to-day would give his opinion coolly and dispassionately, 
 without using either expression or gesture which could be con- 
 strued as conveying an entreaty to the jury to think as he did. 
 lie hoped the jury would not be besceched into a verdict of guilty. 
 He was now broiight to answer to a third accusation for a similar 
 alleged oflfence, by his Majesty's Attorney-General ; and he came 
 into Court wholly unprepared, unless from such preparation as 
 he might have collected from the probation of his two former 
 trials. The Attorney- General had behaved towards him most cour- 
 teously, so far as he was concerned. He had experienced this 
 both on his trial and previous to it. He had no charge to bring 
 against that gentleman. He did not know how far the Attorney- 
 General acted in this business from his own jirivate judgment, or 
 in what degree he was subject to ministers. He was unacquainted 
 with the relation in which he stood ; but had he received any 
 intimation from ministers to that effect, he believed he would not 
 thus have proceeded to bring him into Court a third time ; he 
 should not have been once more dragged from his bed to appear 
 before a jury. Before coming into Court, he was so ill that he 
 thought he should not have been able to proceed. He had taken 
 no refreshment since yesterday, except one glass of wine, and was 
 so feeble last night, that he could not get into bed without help. 
 He was apprehensive that notwithstanding he had received medi- 
 cal aid, he should not have been able to stand up in Court : but 
 had he not been able to walk, he should have ordered himself to 
 be brought in his bed, and laid upon the table, for the purpose of 
 making that defence, even in a state of feebleness, which he unex- 
 pectedly found himself now able to enter upon with more strength 
 than he had hoped to possess : indeed, his powers were restored in 
 an extraordinary measure. He should, even under the most help- 
 less debility, have defended himself against the charge of circu- 
 lating a publication which, was called a libel, but which he knew, 
 and should prove, to be no such thing. He should regret much, 
 if in the course of his trial any such expx-ession of feeling should 
 be manifested as occurred yesterday. They who Avere present
 
 150 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 ouglit to command themselves, and remember that he was on a 
 trial of life or death. Such was truly the case ; for, if found 
 guilty, he knew he should receive sentence for such a term of 
 imprisonment as to deprive him of health, and eventually of life. 
 Those who interrupted yesterday did what was wrong, but it was 
 not the only wrong to be complained of. He had that morning 
 complained to the sheriff then sitting by his lordship (Desanges) 
 that two of his witnesses wei'e refused admission into Coui't on the 
 trial yesterday, though they produced their subprenaes at the door. 
 That little indulgence might have been granted to those who lived 
 in his service, and entertained some friendship for him, merely 
 because he had not used them ill. It was attempted to turn the 
 laugh which had been excited yesterday in Court to his disadvan- 
 tage. It was attributed by the Attorney-General to an irreligious 
 feeling occasioned by the parodies which he had publislied. This 
 he could not consider veiy fair; it had a tendency to make the 
 jury believe that this laugh was one of the irreligious effects 
 arising from the productions he had published ; whereas, it was 
 the effect of the ridiculous allusions to his Majesty's ridiculous 
 Ministers, without the least reference or thought for an instant 
 respecting the Athanasian Creed. The parody for which he was 
 at present upon trial, had been i-eserved, he believed, for no other 
 reason but because it was the weakest of the three. The Attorney- 
 General, no doubt, had selected the parody on the catechism as 
 the first object of accusation, for no other reason but because he 
 looked upon it as the strongest case ; that on the Litany was the 
 next ; the last was beyond comparison the weakest. It was an 
 old saying, that experience made fools wise. Experience, however, 
 never made fools wise. It made men of understanding wiser, but 
 not fools. If there was any truth in the proverb, he should not 
 then have been a third time in Court, after being twice acquitted 
 upon similar charges. He did not impute folly to the Attorney- 
 General. On his part, the proceedings arose perhaps from an 
 error in judgment ; but there were others who, after the experience 
 of the last two days, were so foolish as to allow him to be brought 
 a third time to trial, though the chance of being found guilty \vas
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 151 
 
 reduced even to less than the proportion of 1 to 999. The Attorney^ 
 General, neither upon this, nor upon the former trials, has quoted 
 much by way of authority to enfoi'ce his opinion. All the au- 
 thority was upon his (Mr. Hone's) side. It was contained in thft 
 books that lay upon tlie table. He had selected many passages 
 from them which he should have occasion to read once more. 
 They all proved that parodies upon the Scripture had been in fre- 
 quent iise even among pious and enlightened men. The opinion 
 of Sir Matthew Hale had been mentioned and quoted as the 
 highest authority upon the subject of religion as connected v/ith 
 the state. He was, no doubt, an honest, wise, upright, and pioiis 
 judge. He could not say he was in eiTor in the particular opinion 
 alluded to on a former trial, but he was not infallible, and might 
 have been deceived as well as otliers. That pious and upright 
 judge actually condemned to death some persons for being witches. 
 He might have been a great man, but this was a proof that he 
 was vreak at least in one respect. "With respect to the authorities 
 he had quoted upon the subject of parody, there was a great 
 difference of opinion between him and the Attorney-General. 
 He should, however, quote them again, and should tell the jury 
 that Martin Luther was a parodist as well as William Hone. 
 In the title page of Wilkes's Catechism, he had stated that it was 
 never before published ; he afterwards, however, discovered that 
 it had been printed and published before. This information he 
 had from a gentleman of the bar, Mr. Adolphus, who came into 
 his shop to purcliase the Catechism, and seeing it mentioned on the 
 title-page that it had never before been published, infoi-med him 
 that it was printed and published in the 1st volume of the 
 Morning Chronicle, remai'king at the same time, that the title- 
 page was an imposition. Such was the fact. Was Mr. Adolphus 
 in court 1 he believed that gentleman would have no hesitation 
 in admitting it. Truth was always his leading ijrinciple, as it 
 ihould be that of every other man. He defied any person with 
 whom he had the least dealing, to bring a charge of falsehood 
 against him. With respect to the parody on Wilkes's Catechism, 
 he wrote it himself upon a manuscrijit which had been piit into
 
 152 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 his liands by a gentleman, who told him, at the same time, that it 
 was never before published. That gentleman belonged to the 
 profession of the law. He was a regular attendant upon church, 
 and his lordship heard of him every term he sat. "Whatever might 
 be the consequence to himself, no consideration could induce him 
 to disclose the name of the person who fui-nished him with the 
 manuscript of Wilkes's Catechism, although that person had not 
 once called upon him, or in any other way noticed him since this 
 prosecution. He was persuaded though, that if he conceived it 
 to be a blasphemous publication, or to have the e^dl tendency 
 attached to it upon the trial, the gentleman to whom he alluded 
 would have been the last man to put such a production in a 
 train for circulation. The Attorney-General, in his reply on the 
 foi'mer day, seemed to think that the Litany was not published 
 before. The truth, however, was, that three weeks previous to 
 his publishing it, it had been circulated widely in very populous 
 districts. It was sent to him, not by the author, whom he did 
 not know at the time, but by another person, whose name had 
 been heard by every man in England. The author had called on 
 him before the prosecution, and avowed it to be his ; but it would 
 have been courteous in that person to visit him in prison, or at 
 least to have sent him a line, were it only with a view of consoling 
 him in his trouble. It was true he (Mr. Hone) made some altera- 
 tions in it. He introduced some additional supplications, the 
 " Glory be to George : " and the Collect for Ministers ; " Enlighten 
 our Darkness," &c. This last prayer, however, had no effect on 
 ministers ; for otherwise, after being acquitted twice before, they 
 would have been enlightened to the folly of putting him a third 
 time upon trial. He did not pretend to be well acquainted with 
 the law of libel ; but he was far from thinking that all truth was 
 a libel, though there were many things true that should not be 
 told or written. Were he, for instance, to give a scandalous 
 history of all he knew, or could learn, of a certain great personage, 
 from his birth to the present day, however true it might be, no 
 person could say that the publication of it Avould not be equally 
 scandaloiis. Such a publication differed very much from what
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 153 
 
 might accidentally or careles^sly occur in conversation, or slip from 
 ti person's pen while writing. The doctrine of libel was quite 
 undefined; but he had no doubt that the day would come when 
 nothing would be considered libel until it was declared so 
 by a jury. 
 
 Parodies, it was said by the Court and the Attorney-General, 
 should not now be defended by the production of similar ])ul)lica- 
 tions by other persons, and at former periods But why, he would 
 ask, single him out, after he had been twice before acquitted by 
 two juries, even after all the picking and packing of the Crown 
 Office? Why send him now a third time before another jury, 
 selected in the same way 1 With respect to parody, it was as 
 ancient even as the time of Homer. The finest pi'oductions of 
 genius were produced in ancient as well as modern times. They 
 were parodied because they were generally known, and were in 
 themselres original and beautiful, obtaining for that reason an 
 extensive popularity. The thing was not done from motives of 
 contempt — quite the contrary. If parodies on Scripture were 
 criminal, they must have been so at all times, whoever might have 
 been the author, and whoever might have then been Attorney- 
 General. The informations against him were filed by the late 
 Attorney-General. He was brought into Court on the 5th of May 
 last, and that very day Sir William Garrow resigned his situation. 
 He would not say the resignation arose from his being ashamed of 
 his conduct, but it was remarkable that the informations filed by 
 him upon that occasion were the last acts of his political life as 
 Attorney-General. No information was filed against others who 
 had written parodies. An information had not, and would not, 
 he believed, be filed against Mr. Canning, for his parody on Job. 
 The reason was, perhaps, that it was known that Mr. Canning 
 could make a good defence, while he (Mr. Hone) was supposed 
 unable to make one, was brought before a jury three times suc- 
 cessively. He never before in his life spoke in the jiresence of 
 more than ten persons. If Providence ever interfered to jirotect 
 weak and defenceless men, that interference was most surely 
 manifested in his case. It had interposed to protect a helpless
 
 154 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 and defenceless man against the rage and malice of Lis enemies. 
 He could attribute his defence to no other agent, for he was weak 
 and incapable, and was at that moment a wonder unto himself. 
 (Here a mixed murmur of applause and pity was heard from the 
 crowd assembled.) As the law of libel stood at present, it was not 
 possible to be understood. It was, in its present state, only cal- 
 culated to entrap and deceive people into punishment, and reminded 
 him of the conduct of one of those despots, who, in all countries, 
 frequently get into the possession of powei", and use it only for 
 the purpose of punishment and oppression. The person to whom 
 he alluded was the tyrant of Syracuse. It was his custom, when 
 laws were promulgated, to have them written in very small 
 letters, and placed so high that they could not be read ; but who 
 ever dared to transgress them were punished with ail the severity 
 of a despot, though the wretches who suffered the punishment 
 could not possibly have known the law, for the pretended trans- 
 gression of which they suffered. Such exactly was the law of 
 libel. In fact, there was no such thing as law of libel ; or, if there 
 was, the law was written upon a cloud, which suddenly passed 
 aAvay, and was lost in vapour. Nothing was a libel until a jury 
 pronounced it such. He was pointed at, and showed as one guilty 
 of publishing the most blasphemous productions. Yf hen in the 
 King's Bench, he was shunned as a pestilence, even by those who 
 were, or pretended to be, formerly his friends — by those whom, as 
 David said of Jonathan, his heart loved. His acquaintance, it 
 was true, recommended him to counsel, but some objections were 
 urged against all whom they pointed out to him. Some from 
 motives of etiquette, could not attend upon him in prison. Others, 
 though they might have talent, had not courage to undertake his 
 defence. Without courage it would be iiseless to attempt it. The 
 question he put, upon such recommendation of counsel being made, 
 was, has he courage ? Will he be able to stand up against my 
 Lord Ellenborough 1 Will he withstand the brow-beating of my 
 Lord Ellenborough'? It was necessary that a person under- 
 taking his defence should be a stranger to fear ; for, if he per- 
 sisted in saying anything when once his lordship had njade an
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 155 
 
 ol)jection, the consequence Avoixkl be to lose uhat is called the ear 
 of the Court. 
 
 The Attorney-General — I cannot sit hei-e quietly and hear 
 such language directed to the Court. I submit, my lord, whether 
 it be right 1 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Perhaps, Mr. Attorney, you might 
 have interposed your objection sooner ; but yon have heard the 
 sort of attack which was made ujjon me, I think the best course 
 Avill be to let the thinj blow over us ! 
 
 Mr. Hone would, he said, entreat pardon, if anything painful 
 to the gentlemen of the bar had fallen from him. Talent and 
 courage, he perceived, were necessary to his defence. As to 
 talent, he possessed, if any, but a very humble share ; but mental 
 fear was a thing to which he was, and ever had been, an iitter 
 stranger. He did not know what fear was ; and while he con- 
 ceived himself to have truth and justice on his side, no earthly 
 consideration could deter him from expressing his opinion, and 
 doing what he thought right, which he ever did, and ever should 
 do, withoiit thinking of consequences to himself. There was a 
 circumstance which occurred previous to his coming into Court, 
 that gave him great pain. It proceeded from Dr. Slo^?, the editor 
 of one of those publications that wei'e always ready to perform any 
 dirty work which they deemed acceptable to men in power. It 
 stated, that a person who had been tried and convicted, was to 
 receive twelve months' imi^risonment for publishing one of those 
 parodies, for which he (Mr. Hone) had been twice acquitted, and 
 would, he hoped, be acquitted again that day. This man applied 
 to a solicitor, by whom he was recommended to let judgment go 
 by default, as the best course which he could adopt. 
 
 The Attorney-General — I am quite sure nobody on my part 
 or by my desire, ever had any communication with the person 
 alluded to, or ever advised him to either plead guilty or not guilty. 
 Mr. Hone observed, that all he meant to .say v^as, that the man 
 Avas not convicted, was not tried, but suffered judgment to go by 
 default. There were, however, communications between this man 
 and the solicitor who conducted the present prosecution ; and yet
 
 156 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 lie received a sentence equal in extent to anything which might 
 have been expected, even by a man who had been found guilty by 
 a jury of his country ; and, what was very extraordinary, on the 
 very morning this person was brought up to receive his sentence, 
 he (Mr. Hone) received the first notice of his trials. It was 
 equally extraordinary that this person called on him three or four 
 times previous to his going up to Court, to ask him for his advice, 
 although antecedent to those occasions he had actually taken advice, 
 and had determined upon the course he should pursue. Williams 
 was what was described as a loyal man ; that was to say, a sort of 
 thick and thin man ; who, if a person in authority were to say go, 
 hegoeth; come, and he cometh. (Murmurs of approbation.) He 
 was in a corps of yeomanry, and he told him (Mr. Hone) that he 
 had often printed for Government. His full conviction was, that 
 if he (Hone) had been found guilty, the man would not long have 
 remained in prison. He thought he had a strong right to com- 
 plain of one or two gross and infamous falsehoods inserted in a 
 paper which was published every morning at six o'clock, and which 
 there had been time, therefore, for every one of the jury to have 
 seen before he entered the box. At six o'clock every morning did 
 the ghost of Dr. Slop (a name acquired by Dr. Stoddart, on account 
 of the profane curses lavished by him upon Buonaparte, before he 
 was dismissed from The Times Journal) walk forth in Crane Court, 
 Fleet Street. By this ghost it had been stated (for what purpose, 
 unless to prejudice him on his trial, could not be imagined) that 
 Williams had been found guilty hy the verdict of a jury for the 
 same publication. This was as false as was another statement, 
 that he was in the practice of selling obscenity, which he detested 
 and despised as much as any man. Siich falsehoods put forth at 
 such a time, when he was standing up in that Court, in the hour 
 of peril, to vindicate his innocence, could only have pi'oceeded 
 from one who was a villain to the hack-bone. And such he would 
 proclaim Dr. Slop to his face, whenever and wherever he should 
 meet him. 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii — Do not use such expressions. You say 
 you have got through life free from private and acrimonious
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 157 
 
 bickering ; do uot say that now which may hereafter provoke it. 
 I say this merely for your own preservation, and not with a view 
 to interrupt you. 
 
 Mr. Hone assm-ed his lordship that he sincerely acknowledged 
 the propi-iety of his intei'ference, though it was difficult for him to 
 restrain his feelings. It was nevertheless true that he cherished 
 no hatred against this individual; he was indeed an object of 
 contempt, and not of hatred, and was regarded by him in no other 
 light than as a lost, unfortunate, and abandoned man. He had 
 come into Court with strong feelings of irritation, which he could 
 not well restrain when he found that this man's statements went 
 to impute to him the publication of sedition, blasphemy, and 
 obscenity. He denied that he had ever suffered any obscene work 
 in his shop ; and if it could be proved that he had, he called upon 
 the jury to find him guilty of blasphemy, in order that under that 
 verdict he might receive the punishment due to obscenity ; for, 
 next to blasphemy, he considered obscenity the greatest offence 
 Avhich a man could commit. He had, however, no hatred for such 
 a man; and although Dr. Slop had attempted to do him this injury 
 in the moment of peril, if the miserable man were in distress 
 to-morrow, and it was in his power to relieve him, he would not 
 hesitate to hold him out a helping hand. This feeling had been 
 cherished in his breast ever since he knew right from wrong. 
 (Murmurs of Applause.) He wished he could have had it in his 
 power to say that his trial had uot come on that day, merely for 
 the sake of being able to say something in favour of his persecutors. 
 Some of those grave personages went to the Chapel Hoyal witli 
 their Prayer-books on the Sabbath-day. It was to be lamented 
 that they lost sight of those principles of Christianity which he 
 hoped they were in that place accustomed to hear. He by no 
 means wished that justice should not be done; for to neglect to do 
 justice would be injustice ; but he thought, in the present case, 
 they might have borrowed a little of the character, the precept, 
 and the e.xample, of one whose name he could not mention without 
 reverence and humility — he meant Jesus Christ. He would not 
 be so irreverend as to read any passage to illustrate the chai-acter
 
 158 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 of that Divine Being ; but lie well recollected that when Jesus ' 
 was on earth, he continually exhorted his followers to the exercise [ 
 of mercy, charity, love, and goodwill. This was exemplified in 
 many instances, but in one more finely than in all the rest. He 
 had heard various sermons on this subject, but none of them \ 
 produced an impression equal to that which he experienced on ■ 
 reading the relation to which he referred M'hen alone and in his 
 room. That to which he alluded Avas the story of the woman 
 taken in adultery. The Pharisees went to Christ in the temple, 
 and brought to him a woman whom they had taken in adultery, a 
 crime the greatest that it was possible for a wife to be guilty of. 
 She did not deny her guilt, but Christ, turning to the Pharisees, 
 said, " He that is without sin let him cast the fii-st stone ; " her 
 guilty accusers withdrew in silence, leaving the woman alone with 
 Jesus, who desired her to " Go, and sin no more." If there were 
 nothing but this to excite veneration in the human mind for that 
 Divine Being, it was sufficient ; and he had only to lament that 
 such an admirable example had not been followed by those who 
 had brought him there that day. By the Jewish, laws, the woman 
 who had committed adultery was liable to be stoned to death, and 
 yet none of her accusers could say they themselves were without 
 sins. Were his prosecutors without sins, he would ask 1 Were 
 they not open to impeachment 1 He would impeach them ! 
 These Pliarisees were guilty of the same crime for which they 
 were now seeking to punish him ! Tlie miserable hypocrites ! 
 The wretches ! (Murmui's from the Crowd.) That was a strong, 
 a very strong phrase ; he did not mean to apply it to any pei'son 
 in particular; all he meant to urge was that his accusers had 
 themselves done what they ought not to have done, and ought 
 therefore to look with the greater lenity towards him. He had 
 now to ask the jury, for it was too late to ask his accusers, to 
 follow the precept of our Saviour in another part of the Testament, 
 viz. — " to do unto others as you wish others to do unto you." He 
 felt much better to-day than yesterday. He was animated by the 
 consciousness of having done no wrong. For any wrong he might 
 have unwittingly done he was exceedine-lv soriy. He was ex-
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 159 
 
 cecdingly sorry if anything he liad written or published liad a bud 
 tendency. His lordship had misconceived the cause of stopping 
 the sale of his publications. He had not stopped it because he 
 tliought the publication wrong, but because persons whom he 
 respected had been hurt b}" them. He esteemed the hearts, though 
 he could not resjjcct the judgment, of those persons. He would 
 hurt no man's mind. Sorry, sorry, sorry, vras he, that the prosecu- 
 tion was not stopped. Althougli his prosecutors had thought of 
 bringing him to trial at all. and had actually put him on his trial ; 
 although they had. done so a f5econd day, after a jury of honest 
 Englishmen had acquitted him ; yet he should have been happy, 
 for their own sake, that his prosecutors had made some atonement 
 by a twelfth hour repentance. See the odds against me, he 
 exclaimed, in a fervid tone ; it is one farthing against a million of 
 gold. My prosecutors have laid a wager ^^dth public opinion ; but 
 they will lose it to their irretrievable shame. " Skin for skin (he 
 exclaimed, vehemently), all that a man has will he give for his 
 life!" I am here on trial for my life. If you, the juiy do not 
 protect me, my life must fall a sacrifice to the confinement that 
 shall follow a verdict of guilty. My prosecutors, my persecutors, 
 are unrelenting, I feel now as vigorous as when I was in the 
 middle of my defence on Thursday last; and I talk to you as 
 familiarly as if you were sitting with me in my own room ; but 
 then, gentlemen of the jury, I have not seats for you; I have not 
 twelve chairs in my house; but I have the pride of being in- 
 dependent. None is supposed to be independent without property. 
 I have never had any property. Within the last twelve months 
 my children had not beds, At this moment there is not furniture 
 sufficient for the necessary enjoyment of life. For the last two 
 years and a half I have not had a comj^lete hour of happiness, 
 because my family have been in such misery that it was iuipo.-^sibh- 
 for a man of my temperament to know anything of happiness. 1 
 have been asked, why I have not employed counsel 1 I could not 
 fee counsel. I have been asked, when I should publish my trial / 
 I could not pay a repoi'ter; and at this moment I have no rei)orter 
 in Court, Gentlemen, you do not see me in that dress which my
 
 IGO THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 respect for you, and for myself, would make me anxious to appear 
 in. I did resolve to get a suit of clothes for these trials, but the 
 money I had provided for that purpose I was obliged to give for 
 copies of the informations against me. These things I mention to 
 show you what difficulties I had to encounter in oi"der to appear 
 to possess independence of mind, and to let men know how 
 cautious they should be in judging of men. Seven or eight years 
 ago I went into business with a friend in the Strand. I had then 
 a wife and four children, and I was separated from them by evils 
 accumulated from endeavouring to help those who could not help 
 themselves. I attempted, in conjunction with the friend, who 
 originated the plan, to establish something of an institution similar 
 to the saving-banks that are now so general. There was a number 
 associated for this purpose, and I was their secretary. Our object 
 was to get the patronage of Ministers for our scheme. Mr. Fox 
 was then in power. It was the Whig Administration. "We hoped 
 to throw a grain into the earth which might become a great tree — 
 in other hands it has succeeded. It was very Quixotic — we were 
 mad ; mad because we supposed it p)0ssible, if an intention were 
 good, that it would therefore be carried into effect. We were not 
 immediately discouraged, but we met with that trifling and 
 delaying of liope which makes the heart sick. 
 
 [Here a person fainted among the crowd, and was carried out. 
 The Court and jury took the opportunity to take some refresh- 
 ment. Mr. Hone withdrew, for a few minutes, from the Court, 
 threw of his coat, washed his arms and face with cold water, and 
 rinsed his mouth ; and when the Court was ready resumed.] 
 
 I find I was entering into too much detail, I meant simply to 
 state that I lost every thing, even the furniture of my house. 
 With that friend I got again into business. We became bankrupts, 
 owing to the terms on which we commenced it. But, on the 
 meeting of our creditors, the first question was, ' Where is your 
 certificate]' All signed it at once, save one, who was uninten- 
 tionally the cause of my failure, two years and a half ago, when I 
 went into prison for debt, and was discharged by the insolvent act. 
 Having then got some books to sell, being always fond of old
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 161 
 
 books, I took a shop in Fleet Street, at the corner of Lombard 
 Street. It was three feet wide in front. I had no pUxce tliere for 
 my wife and my seven children. The shop was in cons-equence 
 broken open three times, and all that was worth anything in it 
 taken away. I was now in desperation, thrown on a wide ocean 
 without a shore, and without a plauk of safety. I then accidentally 
 wrote something which happened to sell. By this success I got a 
 place for my family, which was scarcely a dwelling for human 
 beings. From my anxiety for my family, and the harassed state 
 of my mind, I v/as attacked with apoplexy, and my family were 
 thrown into the utmost alarm. I was obliged to remove to save 
 my life. I then took a place in the Old Bailey. I could furnish 
 only one room. I would not let lodgings, because I would not 
 expose my state of destitution. Just as I was getting my head a 
 little above water, this storm assailed me, and plunged me deeper 
 than ever. I am as destitute as any man in London. I have not 
 one friend in the world. It has been said that I am hacked. Ko ! 
 friends ai-e got by social intercourse ; and the expense of social 
 intercourse I have never been able to afford. I have as true a 
 relish for the comforts, as well as the elegancies of life, as most 
 men in much higher ranks ; but I have ever been independent in 
 mind, and hence I am a destitute man. I have never written or 
 printed what I did not think right and true ; and in my most 
 humble station have always acted for the public good, according to 
 my conception, without regard to what other men did, however 
 exalted their rank. 
 
 The defendant now apologised to his lordship, the Attorney- 
 General, and the bar, if he had offended them by anything he had 
 said ; and entered upon what was immediately connected with his 
 defence. Informations by the Attorney-General had been defended, 
 he said, as always known in the practice of the law. He denied 
 this. To hold to bail for libel was illegal ; and in support of that 
 proposition he quoted a passage from a letter written by Mr. 
 Dunning, afterwards Lord Ashburton, in the following words : — 
 "I never heard, till very lately, that Attomiey-Generals, upon the 
 caption of a man, supposed a liljellei-, could insist upon his giving 
 
 H
 
 162 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 securities for his good behaviour. It is a doctrine injurious to the 
 freedom of every subject, derogatory from the old constitution, and 
 a violent attack, if not an absolute breach, of the liberty of the 
 press. It is not law, and I will not submit to it." — (Mr. Dunning's 
 Letter concerning Libels, Warrants, &c. p. 31.) He next referred 
 to the information filed against him, and from which he quoted, 
 and submitted that the only question the jury had to tiy was, as 
 to his intention when the publication m question issued from his 
 hand. That his intention was such as was imputed to him he 
 utterly denied. Nothing was further from his ideas than to excite 
 irreligion and impiety in the minds of his Majesty's subjects. The 
 jury were his judges. They were to decide both upon the law 
 and the fact ; and by their decision his fate would be decided. He 
 stopped the publication, not, as he was a living man, because he 
 thought it criminal, but he gave way to the wishes of persons not 
 to be ai'gued with. 
 
 He would now prove this parody to be no libel. It was 
 possible to parody the most sacred work, without bringing the 
 work itself into ridicule and contempt. The parody might be used 
 as the vehicle of inculcating, by the peculiar language of the thing 
 parodied, an impression of a different tendency. Parody was a 
 ready engine to produce a certain impression on the mind, without 
 at all ridiculing the sentiments contained in the original work. 
 Such was the object of Martin Luther's parody on the first Psalm; 
 and such also was the object of Dr. Letsom's Thermometer of 
 Health, and a number of works applying religious phraseology to 
 give a more solemn impression to the moral or the sentiments 
 inculcated. In illustration of this position, he proceeded to submit 
 to the jnry the same works of which he availed himself on the 
 preceding trials ; amongst which were Dr. Boys', the Dean of 
 Canterbury's parody on the Lord's Prayer. Tliere was no doubt 
 that Dr. Boys had written his parody unadvisedly, but certainly 
 without a bad intention. Such was his (the defendant's) parody 
 on St. Athanasius's Creed. It was not written for a religious, but 
 for a political purpose — to produce a laugh against the Ministers. 
 He avowed that such was his object; nay, to laugh his Majesty's
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 1G3 
 
 ]Ministers to scorn ; he had laughed at them, and, ha ! ha ! ha ! he 
 hiughed at them now, and he woukl laugh at them, as long as they 
 were laughing stocks ! Were there any poor witless men le.«s 
 ridiculous than these Ministers, his persecutors ; one of whom was 
 himself a parodist,, sitting now in the Cabinet, winking at, insti- 
 gating, aiding and abetting, this prosecution. George Canning was a 
 j.arodist, with William Hone and Martin Luther, (Applause.) 
 CJeorge Canning come into Court. George Canning come into 
 Court ! make way for him if you please. No, gentlemen of the 
 jury, you will not see Mr. Canning here to-day ; but had I him 
 now in the box, I would twist him inside out. Mr. Canning had 
 jiarodied the Scriptures, but he (Mr. Hone), had only pai'odied the 
 Common Prayer. He next adverted to the caricature called 
 "The Mantle of Elijah." And who was the Elijah personified? — 
 why, Mr. Pitt ! And who was the mantle-catcher 1 — why, this 
 same George Canning, who was now one of his persecutors. 
 Before he had spoken of this Eight Honourable with forbearance ; 
 but now he must speak with contempt of the man who could act 
 thus towards the poor miserable, and supposed to be defenceless, 
 bookseller of the little shop in Fleet Street. This very caricature 
 Avas published under the auspicies of Mr. Canning ; certainly, at 
 least, with his entire knowledge. Mr. Canning ought to have been 
 a willing witness for him on the present occasion ; he ought to 
 come into the witness box, to confess his own sins, and plead the 
 defendant's cause. It was hoped, he had no doubt, by certain veiy 
 grave membei's of the Cabinet (my Lord Sidinouth and my Lord 
 Liverpool), that \Villiam Hone could not stand the third day — 
 that he would sink under his fatigues and want of physical power. 
 " He can't stand the third trial," said these humane and Christian 
 I^.Iinisters ; •' we shall have him now; he must be crushed," (Great 
 shouts of applause.) Oh, no ! no! he must not be crushed; you 
 cannot crash him. I have a spark of liberty in my mind, that 
 will glow and burn brightei-, and blaze more fiercely, as my mortal 
 remains are j^assing to decay. There is nothing can crush mo, but 
 my own sense of doing wrong ; the moment I feel it, I fall down 
 in self-abasement before my accusers : but when I have done no
 
 164 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 wrong, ■when I know I am right, I am as an armed man ; and iu 
 this spirit I wage battle with the Attorney-General, taking a tilt 
 with him here on the floor of this Court. The consciousness of 
 my innocence gives me life, spirits, and strength, to go through 
 this third ordeal of persecution and oppression. He should order 
 a frame for Elijah's Mantle in his way home to his family, and he 
 should place it over his mantle-piece, for his children to laugh at. 
 He said he should do this to-night, because he had no doubt that 
 the jury would acquit him without retiring from the box. (Great 
 applause.) He next adverted to Lord Somers's tracts, and called 
 in aid the parody of the Genealogy of Christ, and accompanied it 
 with a powerful appeal to the jury, upon the iniquity of this last 
 effort to overwhelm him — to send him to Gloucester goal, to rot 
 and perish under the weight of his afflictions. The Harleian 
 Miscellany contained a parody on the Lord's Prayei\ 
 
 The Attorney-General objected to its being read, as too 
 indecent for the ears of any persons in these times. 
 
 Mr. HoxE said, in courtesy to the Attorney-General, he would 
 not persist in reading this work. He then went over the same 
 ground which he had pursued yesterday, bringing under the atten- 
 tion of the jury a great variety of different parodies, written by 
 churchmen and many other jiersons, considered in their times as 
 most religious and venerable men. One of which he had not before 
 read, was by the Rev. Mr. Toplady, a very popular preacher, of 
 "reat talent, amongst the Calvinists, wlio died greatly lamented, 
 at a very early age. Mr. Toplady's object was to ridicule Lord 
 Chesterfield's Letters,* and the morals therein inculcated. It was 
 entitled — 
 " Christianity Eeversed, &c. ; or, Lord Chesterfield's New Creed. 
 
 " I believe, that this world is the object of my hopes and morals ; 
 and that the little prettinesses of life will answer all the ends of human 
 existence. 
 
 " I believe that we are to succeed in all things, by the graces of 
 civility and attention ; that there is no sin, but against good manners; 
 and that all religion and virtue consist in outward appearance. 
 
 • Can be had of the Publishers of this work, in 2 vols., edited by Chai-les 
 3tokos C.'irey.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 165 
 
 " I believe that all women are children, and all men fools ; except a 
 few cunning people, who see through the rest, and make their use of 
 them. 
 
 "I believe that hypocrisy, fornication, and adultery, are within 
 the lines of morality ; that a woman may be honourable when she has 
 lost her honour, and virtuous when she has lost her virtue. 
 
 " This, and whatever else is necessary to obtain my own ends, and 
 bring me into repute, I resolve to follow ; and to avoid all moral 
 oifences, such as scratching my head before company, spitting upon the 
 floor, and omitting to pick up a lady's fan. And in this persuasion I 
 will persevere, without any regard to the resurrection of the body, or 
 the life everlasting. Amen. 
 
 " Q. Wilt thou be initiated into these principles ? 
 
 "A. That is my inclination. 
 
 '■ Q. Wilt thou keep up to the rules of the Chesterfield morality ? 
 
 " A. I will. Lord Chesterfield being my admonisher. 
 
 " Then the Oficiator shall say, 
 
 " Name this child. 
 
 "A, A FINE Gentleman. 
 
 " Then he shall say, 
 
 " I introduce thee to the world, the flesh, and the devil, that thou 
 mayest triumph over all awkwardness, and grow up in all politeness ; 
 that thou mayest be acceptable to the ladies, celebrated for refined 
 breeding, able to speak French and read Italian, invested with some 
 public supernumerary character in a foreign court, get into Parliament 
 (perhaps into the Privy Council), and that, when thou art dead, the 
 letters written to thy bastards may be published, in seven editions, for 
 the instruction of all sober families. 
 
 " Ye are to take care that this child, when he is of a proper age, be 
 brought to C — t, to be confinnedP 
 
 Of the other works to which he particularly alluded, was 
 Mr. Reeves's penny publication entitled the " British Freeholder's 
 Political Catechism." That gentleman had himself been prose- 
 cuted ; not, however, for his catechism, but for having depicted 
 the British Constitution as a tree, the branches of which might be 
 lopped off, and yet the ti-unk remain. For this libel he was 
 prosecuted under the dii-ection of the House of Commons, although 
 it was carried on very unwillingly. Mi*. Reeves published hia
 
 1G6 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 parody on the catechism no doubt with the best intentions, because 
 he used the parody as a popular mode of inculcating what that 
 gentleman considered wholesome truth. Such was the object of 
 the parody now prosecuted. But what was the difference between 
 his sitviation and Mr. Reeves's ? Mr. Reeves was basking under 
 the sunshine of a cou.rt, and was a placeman. If he (Mr. H.) was 
 convicted, there was no doubt that he also would become a govern- 
 ment placeman : but where 1 — in Gloucester gaol ! To the 
 juiy, however, he looked for his I'escue from this bigoted perse- 
 cution. He was charged with parodying the language and style 
 of sacred works. But what was that style and language] — it 
 happened to be translated nearly three centuries ago, but the lan- 
 guage of that time was not, on that account, peculiarly sacred. 
 There was no doubt that if the Bible was re-translated, it must be 
 so altered as hardly to be known, except by its sense. If a parody 
 on the style only was the offence, even Mr. Canning himself, as a 
 literary man, as a man of taste, and a man of words, would acquit 
 him. But whatever might be the motive of this prosecution, there 
 could hardly be any doubt that it was an unchristian feeling on 
 the part of my Lord Sidmouth, to suffer him to stand here for the 
 third time to take his trial for an offence which two juries of inde- 
 pendent Englishmen had pronounced not to be libels. He would 
 not say that Lord Sidmouth was a bigot; but he must say that 
 the spirit , of persecution and unchristian feeling marked this 
 abominable attempt to sacrifice, by all or any means, a defenceless 
 and innocent man, for party purposes. Lord Sidmouth himself 
 knew, and every man in the country, even the most bigoted must 
 know, that this parody was not written for irreligious purposes. 
 The fact was, the hopeful Ministei'S of the Cabinet wanted to make 
 him a scape-goat for their political sins ; those which were his own 
 particular sins he should glory in, so long as he lived, because he 
 knew that his objects were truly constitutional, and aimed at the 
 happiness of his country. The jury must see that the parodies 
 which he read were not calculated to injure religion. Most of 
 them had political or moral objects. Of the former description 
 was the parody in the Oracle newspaper, and the parody on the
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 16? 
 
 Te I) mm, adapted in five languages, to the combined royal armies, 
 lately employed against Buonaparte ; and of the latter was the 
 religious play-bill, which he had read on the other trials, which 
 was printed by one of the Society of Friends. Such also was the 
 parody on the recruiting bill, the object of which was to draw the 
 attention of the idle and dissolute to spiritual concerns. Of the 
 like description were the hymn tunes played at Rowland Hill's 
 Chapel, although they were the popular and national airs per- 
 formed at theatres and other places of amusement. Dr. John 
 Rippon, an eminent and most respectable teacher of religion 
 amongst the Baptists, had adapted .such tunes to the most pious 
 strains of psalmody. For instance, such tunes as " Drink to me 
 only with thine eyes," " Eule Britannia," " God save the King," 
 ttc. The hymns of Dr. Collyer, Lady Huntingdon, Dr. Watts, 
 and others, were adapted to operatic and military airs, etc. These 
 tunes, no man could doubt, were used as vehicles for religious 
 Avorship, and exciting moral feelings. His parody was adapted 
 exclusively to a similar subject, and was not meant, directly or 
 indirectly, to affect the sacredness of religious worship. Profane- 
 ness and irreligion must be the same at all times, and in all places; 
 and if the most venerable and sacred pillars of religion had i-e- 
 sorted to this mode of inculcating religious sentiments, the offence 
 must have been as culpable in their times, if it was an offence, as 
 in the present. Bishop Latimer, who had burned at the stake, a 
 martyr for religion, had spiritualised a pack of cards, as John 
 Bunyan had the fig-tree, for the most moral purposes. He blamed 
 the Attorney-General for the cruelty of cutting one crime into 
 piecemeal ; for all these three informations might have been 
 included in one. An hundred libels might have been embraced 
 in one information. But no ; the object was to embarrass and 
 entrap him. One chance of catching him was not sufficient for the 
 vindictive spirit of las Majesty's Ministers. They were determined 
 to have him at all events ; and therefoi-e three hooks were baited ; 
 but he hoped the jury would save him from the third. All these 
 snares were laid for his ruin, by a ministry remarkable alike for 
 bigotry of spirit and hostility to freedom. They were laid by that
 
 168 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 ministry, who not long since endeavoured to interfere with those 
 principles of religious toleration which were held sacred by all 
 good and rational men, by introducing a bill into Parliament for 
 restraining the right of preaching among the Dissenters. Yes, 
 that odious bill, which Avas scouted out of Parliament, throvigh the 
 firm and manly appeals of the Dissenters themselves, originated 
 with Lord Sidmouth, by whom he had been most unjustly held 
 out to the country as a blasphemer, although now persecuted by 
 that minister only for a profane parody. This minister endea- 
 voured in Parliament to stigmatise him for an offence which could 
 not be even alleged against him before a jury. This minister of 
 the Crown took the advantage of abusing him in a place where he 
 (Mr. Hone) could make him no answer, and this was a practice 
 too common with his unmanly colleagues. But here he would 
 answer that minister by affirming, that which he would challenge 
 the Attorney-General to contradict, namely, that to impute to him 
 the crime of blasphemy was a foul and unfounded slander. Such 
 slanders, however, were not uncommon. Mr. Canning was quite 
 in the habit of abusing men in the House of Commons, whom he 
 would not venture to meet face to face ; while he was in a rage if 
 any the most indirect allusion was made in that house to any 
 member of that confederacy of literary hirelings and jjolitical apos- 
 tates, of which he had been so long the principal leader and active 
 patron. Yes, any man who could write in that style, about which 
 Canning was so peculiarly solicitous, that it seemed, in that 
 gentleman's view, more material than thought, was secure of mini- 
 sterial patronage, if the writer could only follow Mr. Canning in 
 the desertion of principle and the sacrifice of real independence. 
 
 But to return to the subject under the consideration of the 
 Court. He observed that parodies had been so numerous in this 
 country, that no one could suppose them subject to any legal cen- 
 sure. He remembered a parody levelled at Lord Grenville, in the 
 Oracle newspaper, when it was a ministerial print, as indeed, it 
 liad always been for several years befoi-e its death ; for that paper 
 was dead, notwithstanding the support it received from ministers ; 
 and having mentioned that support, he could not help stating the
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 1G9 
 
 manner in which it was usually aft'orded to newspapers. When 
 the venal journalist could write what was deemed a good article in 
 favour of the ministry, 500 or 600 of his journal were bought by 
 the Treasury, and gratuitously circulated among their partisans 
 through the country. Those purchases were made indeed as often 
 as the journalist appeared to his patrons to deserve attention ; and 
 they were made, too, with the public money. Thus the money 
 wrung in taxes from the pocket of the jjeople was distributed 
 among those prostituted writers who were employed in endea- 
 vouring to pervert their understanding. How much of this 
 money was given to the Oracle for abusing every principle and 
 ad\'Ocate of liberty, he could not pretend to say, but its death was 
 a pregnant proof of the integrity, power, and judgment of the 
 people, among whom it could obtain no currency. Por, after all, 
 if a paper could not obtain circulation among the people, ministers 
 must feel it of no use to them, and therefore withdraw their 
 patronage from a hireling as soon as the people discard his 
 productions ; which they will always do as soon as they clearl}- 
 understand his character — such had been the fate of many news- 
 papers and other periodical publications in this country. Heriotts 
 paper, the True Briton, met the fate of the Oracle, and for the 
 same reasons. When Heriott was provided with a place, which 
 he now held, Cobbett was ofiered the True Briton, but he refused 
 it. The True Briton, too, under Mr. Heriott had its share of 
 parodies, which were always of course pointed against the 
 opposition. 
 
 He then addressed himself to the particular parody charged as 
 a libel, and adduced a parody on the Athanasian Creed, from the 
 Foundling Hospital for Wit, as follows : — 
 
 PROPER RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS, WITHOUT WHICH NO PERSON 
 CAN BE AN EXCISEMAN. 
 
 Quicunque vult. 
 
 Whosoever would be an exciseman, before all things it is necessary 
 that he learns the art of arithmetic. 
 
 Which art, unless he wholly' understand, he, without doubt, can be 
 no exciseman.
 
 170 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 Now the art of arithmetic is this, we know how to multiply and 
 how to divide. Desunt pauca. 
 
 The 1 is a figure, the 2 a figure, and the 3 a figure. 
 
 The 1 is a number, the 2 a number, and the 3 a number, and yet 
 there are Desunt plurima. 
 
 For like as we are compelled by the Eules of Arithmetic, to acknow- 
 ledge every figure by itself to have signification and form : 
 
 So we are forbidden, by the rules of right reason, to say, that each 
 of them have three significations or three powers. 
 
 The 2 is of the I's alone, not abstracted, nor depending, but produced. 
 
 The 3 is of the 1 and 2, not abstracted, nor depending, nor produced, 
 but derived. So there is one figure of 1. Desunt nonnulla. 
 
 He therefore that will be an Exciseman, must thus understand his 
 figures. 
 
 Furthermore, it is necessary to the preservation of his place, that he 
 also believe rightly the authority of his Supervisor. 
 
 For his interest is, that he believes and confesses that his Supervisor, 
 the servant of the Commissioners, is master and man : Master of the 
 Excisemen, having power from the Commissioners to inspect his books; 
 and man to the Commissioners, being obliged to return his accounts. 
 
 Perfect master and perfect man, of an unconscionable soul and frail 
 flesh subsisting ; equal to the Commissioners, as touching that respect 
 which is shown him by the Excisemen, and inferior to the Commis- 
 sioners as toviching their profit and salary. 
 
 Who, although he be master and man, is not two, but one Supervisoi*. 
 
 One, not by confusion of place, but by virtue of his authority ; for 
 his seal and sign manual perfect his commission ; his gauging the 
 vessels, and inspecting the Excisemen's books, is what makes him 
 Supervisor. 
 
 Who travels through thick and thin, and sufi'ers most from heat or 
 cold, to save us from the addition of taxes, or the deficiency in the 
 funds, by corruption or inadvertency. 
 
 Who thrice in seven days goes his rounds, and once in six weeks 
 meets the Collectors, who shall come to judge between the Exciseman 
 and Victualler. 
 
 At whose coming all Excisemen shall bring in their accounts, and 
 the Victuallers their money. 
 
 And they that have done well by prompt payment, shall be well 
 treated. 
 
 And those that have done ill, by being tardy in their payment, shall
 
 TUIRD TRIAL. 171 
 
 be cast into jail ; and the Excisemen whose books are blotted, or 
 accounts are unjustifiable, sliull be turned out of their phices. 
 
 These are the rules, which except a man follows, he cannot be an 
 Exciseman. 
 
 Honour to the Commissioners, fatigue to the Supervisor, and bribery 
 to the Exciseman. 
 
 As it was from the beginning, when taxes were first laid upon Malt, 
 is now, and ever will be, till the debts of the nation are paid. Amen. 
 
 Mr. Hone then read a parody on the Athana.sian Creed, from 
 the " Wonderful Magazine," entitled — 
 
 THE MATRIMONIAL CREED. 
 
 Whoever will be married, before all things it is necessary that he hold 
 the conjugal faith, which is this. That there were two rational beings 
 created, both equal, and yet one superior to the other ; and the inferior 
 shall bear rule over the superior ; which faith, except every one do keep 
 whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall be scolded at everlastingly. 
 
 The man is superior to the woman, and the woman is inferior to the 
 man ; yet both are equal, and the woman shall govern the man. 
 
 The woman is commanded to obey the man, and the man ought to 
 obey the woman. 
 
 And yet, they are not two obedients, but one obedient. 
 
 For there is one dominion nominal of the husband, and another 
 dominion real of the wife. 
 
 And yet, there are not two dominions, but one dominion. 
 
 For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge 
 that wives must submit themselves to their husbands, and be subject to 
 them in all things : 
 
 So are we forbidden by the conjugal faith to say, that they should be 
 at all influenced by their wills, or pay any regard to their commands. 
 
 The man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man. 
 
 Yet the man shall be the slaA'e of the woman, and the woman the 
 tyrant of the man. 
 
 So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the subjection of the superior to 
 the inferior is to be believed. 
 
 He, thei-efore, that will be married, must thus think of the woman 
 and the man. 
 
 Furthermore, it is necessary to submissive matrimony, that he also 
 believe rightly the infallibility of the wife.
 
 173 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 Foi' the right faith is, that we believe and coufess, that the wife is 
 fallible and infallible. 
 
 Perfectly fallible, and perfectly infallible ; of an erring soul and un- 
 erring mind subsisting ; fallible as touching her human nature, and in- 
 fallible as touching her female sex. 
 
 Who, although she be fallible and infallible, yet she is not two, but 
 cue woman ; who submitted to lawful marriage, to acquire unlawful 
 dominion ; and promised religiously to obey, that she might rule in 
 injustice and folly. 
 
 This is the conjugal faith ; which except a man believe faithfully, he 
 cannot enter the comfortable state of matrimony. 
 
 There were others, but the next, and only one he should read, 
 was from the " New Foundling Hospital for Wit :" it was written 
 against the late Lord Chatham, as follows : — 
 
 A NEW POLITICAL CKEED. 
 
 FOR THE YEAE MDCCLXVI. 
 
 Quicunque volt. 
 
 Whoever will be saved : before all things it is necessary that he 
 should hold the Chatham faith. 
 
 Which faith, except every man keep whole and undefiled, without 
 doubt he shall sink into oblivion. 
 
 And the Chatham faith is this : that we worship one Minister in 
 Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity : 
 
 Neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. 
 
 Por the Privy Seal is a Minister, the Secretary is a Minister, and the 
 Treasurer is a Minister. 
 
 Yet there are not three Ministers, but one Minister ; for the Privy 
 Seal, the Secretary, and the Treasurer ai'e all one . 
 
 Such as the Privy Seal is, such is the Secretary, and such is the 
 Treasurer. 
 
 The Privy Seal is self-create, the Secretary is self-create, and the 
 Treasurer is self-create. 
 
 The Privy Seal is incomprehensible, the Secretary is incomprehen- 
 sible, and the Treasurer is incomprehensible. 
 
 The Privy Seal is imresponsible, the Secretary is unresponsible, and 
 the Treasurer is unresponsible. 
 
 And yet there are not three incomprehensibles, three self-created, or 
 three uuresponsibles : but one incomprehensible, one self-create, and 
 one unresponsible.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 173 
 
 For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity, to acknowledge 
 every person by himself to be God and Lord ; 
 
 So are we forbidden by the articles of the Chatham alliance, to say 
 there are three Ministers . 
 
 So that in all things, the Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, are 
 to be worshipped ; and he who would be saved, must thus think of 
 the Ministry. 
 
 Furthermore, it is necessary to elevation that he also believe rightly 
 of the qualities of our Minister. 
 
 For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that this son of 
 man is something more than man ; as total perfection, though of an 
 unreasonable soul, and gouty flesh consisting. 
 
 Who sufi'ered for our salvation, descended into opposition, rose again 
 the third time, and ascended into the House of Peers. 
 
 He sitteth on the right hand of the , from whence he shall 
 
 come to judge the good and the bad. 
 
 And they that have done good, shall go into patent places, and they 
 that have done bad, shall go into everlasting opposition. 
 
 This is the Chatham faith ; which except a man believe faithfully, 
 he cannot be promoted. 
 
 As he was in the beginning, he is now, and ever will be. 
 Then all the people, standing up, shall say, 
 
 O blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons and one Minister, have 
 mercy on us miserable subjects. 
 
 These parodies were known to almost every reading man, and 
 yet none of them were ever prosecuted, nor was there an instance 
 upon record of the prosecution of any parody. How then could 
 he suppose the publication of the parody before the Court an 
 illegal, a guilty act % But he liad no such feeling — lie declared 
 most soleianly that he had no intention to commit any ofience in 
 this publication, and the jury were to judge of intention. But to 
 dissuade the jury from such a rule of judgment, a course of delusive 
 observation was addressed to them. They were told truly, that 
 they were to judge of a man's intention by his act, and not by his 
 declaration. Granted : but upon what ground should he think 
 his act an offence, or that sort of publication criminal, which had 
 never been so pronounced % There was no analogy between hi^
 
 l~i THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 act and the commission of any crime defined and forbidden by the 
 law, although such analogy had been urged on the other side. If 
 he had committed any act denounced by the law, or deemed a 
 crime by the common sense of mankind, he should not have pre- 
 sumed to speak of the purity of his intentions. No jury, indeed, 
 could attend to declarations of innocent intention from any man 
 committing an act of acknowledged criminality ; bvit that was not 
 the nature of the publication which he had uttered, and for which 
 he was prosecuted. Therefore he could conscientiously say that 
 he had no guilty intention in sending forth that publication, and 
 he had no doubt that the jury would believe him, and would send 
 him home to his family, in spite of all the expedients used in this 
 extraordinary prosecution ; for extraordinary it truly was, the 
 Attorney-General having split into three indictments matter, 
 which being of the same character, he might have comprehended 
 in one. But were the matter even different, did it consist of two 
 or three different subjects, he was assured by the most eminent 
 barristers, that the Attorney-General could have included them in 
 one information. Why then should so many inforaiations be pre- 
 ferred against him, but for a purpose which he trusted the integrity 
 and judgment of the jury would defeat 1 They would not, he was 
 sure, be persuaded to think his publication a fit subject for punish- 
 ment, after such parodies had been overlooked as he had just read 
 to the Court. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough observed, that every one of tlie parodies 
 the defendant had quoted, were as prosecutable as that with which 
 he then stood charged. 
 
 Mr. Hone admitted this ; but why, he asked, were they not 
 prosecuted 1 Where were the Attorney-Generals of those days ? 
 Why did they abandon then- duty 1 The Attorney-General might 
 any day go into the Crown Office, and file an information against 
 any man who wrote anything in opposition to the Government. 
 A parody was never seized before. Why was his parody now 
 attacked ? Was it because Lord Sidmouth was the only good 
 Secretary of State for the Home Department 1 He charged that 
 noble secretary with having put all the people of England against
 
 riUKi) TKIAL. 
 
 175 
 
 him as a blasphemer. There were persecutions of various kinds 
 for blasjihemy, and also for atheism. A man charged with atheism 
 had been punished in Poland, in the beginning of last century, 
 whom he believed to have been certainly as honest a man as the 
 Secretary of State. One of the poor ci'eature's hands was cut oft* 
 with an axe by the executioner, and afterwards the otiier was 
 chopped off; his two bleeding stumps were then thrust into boiling 
 pitch, and the miserable man was burned alive, whilst — lifting his 
 eyes and his mutilated arms to heaven — he cried, " Oh, God of 
 Abraham ! Oh, God of Judah ! have mercy upon me ! Oh, God of 
 my fathers ! have pity upon me." Who, O who (cried Mr. Hone, 
 i-aising his voice to a tone of the utmost vehemence), who were 
 the blasphemers 1 "Who were the Atheists 1 Were they not the 
 bloody-minded men who called themselves Christians, rather than 
 the defenceless man whom they put to death in that horrible and 
 cruel manner. (Great applause instantaneously burst from every 
 part of Guildhall ; and Lord Ellenborough declared he would 
 adjourn the Court if greater order were not observed.) During 
 the whole of Pitt's administration, there was not one prosecution 
 for libel ; and yet party feeling never ran higher, and cheap pub- 
 lications were never more numerous. In the volume that contained 
 the parodies on the Westminster election, he could find 100 more 
 of them as strong as his, yet for none of them was ever a prosecu- 
 tion insi'ituted. He on all occasions made frequent use of the 
 language of Sciipture. That proceeded from his intimate ac- 
 quaintance with it. He had ever deliahted to read its beautiful 
 narrations. He had long been employed in preparing a publica- 
 tion on the Bible, and he hoped yet to finish it, and to give it to 
 the world, notwithstanding he had been called a blasphemer. In 
 no age of the world was there before a prosecution for pared}-. 
 He had seen a letter pretended to have been written by Jesus 
 Christ, and found sixty-four years after his death, now in the pos- 
 session of Lady Cuba in Mesopotamia. He believed the author 
 was not a blasphemer, but that he ought to be put into a cooh- 
 shop, and to be fed on beef-steaks. This letter pi'etended, that a 
 woman in labour, who had it, should be safely delivered. It gave
 
 176 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 instructions as to tlie Sunday and Good Friday. All this was 
 quite absurd ; but he would on his knees entreat the Attorney- 
 General not to proseaite the author. Indeed, he had seen such 
 letters from a child ; and a gentleman had one of them that was 
 150 yeai's old. Parodies of all kinds used to be circulated in 
 "Westminster, and even to be paid for by the Treasury, before 
 Westminster became independent. Mr. Canning, the i-ight 
 honourable parodist, had been a member of Lord Townsend's Com- 
 mittee, though a secret one, for he was then a trimmer ; and from 
 them issued many parodies. Why did not the Attorney-General 
 })rosecute Mr. Walter Scott* for the "Tales of my Landlord," a 
 work which abounded with Scriptural phrases, set in the most 
 absurd and ridiculous view 1 He would ask whether Sir Samuel 
 Shepherd would prosecute this poetical placeman, or would he 
 prosecute him (Mr. Hone) if he published a dozen pages from the 
 woi'k of Mr. Scott, while the original author was left untouched? 
 Sure he was, that the Attorney-General would not prosecute Mr. 
 Walter Scott for using Scriptural phrases upon similar subjects, 
 notwithstanding all the solicitude which the learned gentleman pro- 
 fessed, to hold the language of the Gospel sacred to religious purposes. 
 But he would ask the Attorney-General which he thought worse, 
 blasphemy or atheism 1 And did not the learned gentleman know 
 that there were hundreds of atheistical works at present in circu- 
 lation 1 Nay, did he not know that many eminent persons in this 
 country openly j^rofessed atheism 1 And was no solicitude felt for 
 the cause of religion, unless its language were employed to expose 
 the character of ministers, or to subject them to ridicule 1 
 
 It had been observed by the learned judge, in his charge to the 
 jury yesterday, that he (Mr. H ) was not entitled to draw any 
 argument in his defence from the parodies which had been hereto- 
 fore published, because, as his lordship observed, " the publication 
 of parodies upon the Scripture, or the use of scriptural language 
 for jocular purposes, had never had any legal sanction." Now he 
 held in his hand publications, in which such language appeared, 
 under the direct authority of government. 
 
 » Born, 1771. Crealod a Baronet, 1820. DM, 1832.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 177 
 
 Lord Ellenborough said that he did not recollect having used 
 the words imputed to him by the defendant. He might have used 
 some such words, but lie did not remember the precise words that 
 fell from him. 
 
 Mr. Hone declared that he quoted the words referred to with 
 accuracy, and that he had no wish whatever to misrepresent his 
 lordshij). He was in the recollection of the short-hand writers in 
 Court. But to the point. He was surely justified in concluding 
 that his lordship's impression was rather erroneous ; the Lord 
 Chamberlain sanctioned, and a succession of Crown lawyers and 
 judges having seen and enjoyed that which he was about to cite. 
 Here Mr. Hone read the following passage from the " Hypocrite" :"' 
 
 Lady Lamb. O dear ; you hurt my hand, sir. 
 
 Doctor Cantwell. Impute it to my zeal, and want of words for ex- 
 pression : pi'ecious soul ! I would not harm you for the world ; no, it 
 would be the whole business of my life — 
 
 And again. Lady Lamb says, you are above the low momentary 
 views of this world. 
 
 Dr. Cant. Why, I should be so ; and yet, alas ! I find this mortal 
 clothing of my soul is made like other men's, of sensual flesh and blood, 
 and has its frailties. 
 
 Ladij Lamb. We all have those, but yours are well corrected by 
 your divine and virtuous contemplations. 
 
 Dr. Cant. Alas ! Madam, my heart is not of stone : I may resist, 
 call all my prayers, my fastings, tears, and penance to my aid ; but yet 
 I am not an angel ; I am still but a man ; and virtue may strive, but 
 nature will be uppermost, 1 love you, then. Madam, 
 
 It was well known that the person meant to be represented 
 and ridiculed in the character of Dr. Cantwell, was that celebrated 
 preacher, Mr. Whitfield ; and the sentences he was made to utter, 
 as Dr. Cantwell, were varied from his own journal. This distin- 
 guished man had, with John Wesley and others, done great good 
 in promoting morality. If, indeed, those excellent persons had 
 rendered no other service to humanity than that of civilising the 
 Kingswood colliers, they were entitled to the praise of mankind. 
 
 • Ej- Isaac Bickorstaff. Born, 173j. Died, 1787. 
 N
 
 178 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 Yet Mr. Whitfield and his language were thus caricatured upon 
 the stage, with the authority of one of the first officers of the 
 Crown. But again Mr. Whitfield was still moi-e ridiculed in 
 Foote's* Farce of "The Minor," from which Mr, Hone read the 
 following extracts : 
 
 Mrs. Cole. I am worn out, thrown by, and forgotten, like a tattered 
 gai-ment, as Mr. Squiutum says. Oh, he is a dear man ! But for him 
 I had been a lost sheep ; never known the comforts of the new birth ! 
 Ay, I have done with these idle vanities ; my thoughts are fixed upon 
 a better place. What, I suppose, Mr. Loader, you will be for your old 
 friend the black-ey'd girl from Rosemary Lane. Ha, ha! Well, 'tis a 
 merry little tit. A thousand pities she's such a reprobate ! — But she'll 
 mend ; her time is not come : all shall have their call, as Mr. Squintum 
 says, sooner or later ; regeneration is not the work of a day. No, no, 
 no.— Oh !— 
 
 Loader. Crop me, but this Squintum has turned her brains. 
 
 Sir Geo. Nay, Mr. Loader, I think the gentleman has wrought a 
 most happy reformation. 
 
 Mrs. Cole. Oh, it was a wonderful work. There had I been tossing 
 in a sea of sin, without rudder or compass. And had not the good 
 gentleman jjiloted me into the harbour of grace, I must have struck 
 against the rocks of reprobation, and have been quite swallowed up in 
 the whirlpool of despair. lie was the precious instrument of my spi- 
 ritual sprinkling. 
 
 Dr. Squintum was the character in which Mr. Whitfield was 
 again i-idiculed, and Mother Cole was meant to represent an 
 infamous woman of that day, whose name was Douglas. In the 
 preface to this farce, the writer says, that " it must be useful, 
 while there was a bawd in the street, an auctioneer in the rostrum, 
 or a Methodist in the pulpit." All this was tolerated, and no one 
 was heard to complain of any disposition in these dramatic writers 
 to make use irreverently of scriptural language, although applied 
 to the most ludicrous purpose. But it was not directed against 
 
 * Samuel Foote was designed for tho law, but relinquislied the study, and was 
 driven by necessity to the stage. In 1747 he became manager of the Haymarket 
 Theatre. He wrote, besides his various mimetic entertainments, twenty dramas. 
 His style he seems to havo borrowed from MoliOre, but his humour was original 
 and peculiar. Born, 1721. Died, 1777.
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 179 
 
 Ministers, nor against the Established Church, and it seemed that 
 in such cases alone was the use of scri])tural language calculated 
 to bring religion into contempt. To those, however, who dissented 
 iVom the Church, or the IMinisters, scriptural language could, it 
 would seem, be applied with impunity. So it ajipeared from the 
 parodies vrhich he had quoted, as well as from the following pas- 
 sages in " The "Weathercock," which was a farce not long since 
 written : 
 
 Variella. Yea, verily, I saw a damsel, friend, clad in gaudy apparel. 
 
 Tristram Fickle. You say true ; very gaudy and fantastical, unlike 
 the modest attire which thy fair form gives grace to. 
 
 Var. [aside]. So ! so ! 
 
 Tris. Zouuds ! What a most delectable creature she is ! I was 
 always fond of the Quakers. There is something so neat about them. 
 Such a charming modesty. — You did see that person then ? 
 
 Var. Yea, the sight of her flaunting attire did offend my eyes. 
 
 Tris. 'Tis a pity such a pair of eyes shoxild be offended. Poor con- 
 ceited little ape ! "Why you look a thousand times better in that simple 
 dress, than she did in all her frippery. 
 
 Vai: I seek not to look well. 
 
 Tris. And therefore thou art a thousand times more lovely. For 
 thy sake, fair maid, I will become a stiff Quaker. AYilt thou introduce 
 nie to thy con-ven-^iWe ? 
 
 Var. Yea ; and it does rejoice me exceedingly, that the spu'it dotli 
 move thee towards us — Hum. 
 
 Tris. Hum. 
 
 Var. And wilt thou listen to the good things which are said unto 
 thee ? V/ilt thou learn therefrom ? And wilt tliou not sigh for the 
 damsel in the colours of vanity ? 
 
 Old Fickle. "What is here ? May I believe my eyes ? 
 
 Trie. If they tell thee that thou seest before thee one of the faith- 
 ful, verily thou may'st believ'e what they say, for they speak unto thee 
 that which is true. 
 
 0. F. And you are turned Quaker ? 
 • Tris. Yea, a damsel hath wrought my conversion — yea, a fair dam- 
 sel. "Wilt thou give thy consent that I espouse her, and make her a 
 thing of my own ? Verily I do expect the damsel to join with me iu 
 the reauest, that we two may be made one.
 
 180 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 Hei'e there was the use of scriptural language tolei'ated on the 
 stage, for the very purpose of ridiculing a most amiable and 
 respectable class of Dissenters, the Quahers ; yet this Farce had 
 the sanction of the Lord Chamberlain. But, with facts before 
 them, how could the jury, whom he had the honour to address, or 
 any body of respectable men, conclude that he, in publishing the 
 parody under prosecution, could suppose he was committing a 
 criminal or an illegal act % The parodies, however, which he had 
 quoted, and in reading which he feared he had trespassed upon the 
 attention of the jury, formed but a small part of those which he 
 had it in his power to bring forward. He could, indeed, have 
 covered the table with such, compositions. How many could he 
 have taken from Chalmers' Poets : and was it meant, if he should 
 be convicted, to have an index expurgatoris applied to this, and the 
 numerous other works in our language which contained parodies- 
 upon the Scriptures ? He referred to the History of the West- 
 minster Election, in which Lord J. Townshend was a candidate, 
 for a number of parodies from both sides. Some of those parodies 
 were probably from the pen of Mr. Canning, who had a notorious 
 taste for such composition, and that gentleman was, in the contest 
 alluded to, a member of the committee for conducting Lord John 
 Townshend's election. But he was a secret member ; for this gen- 
 tleman was then ready to serve the Foxites, with whom he pro- 
 fessed to concur, while he wished to conceal his operations from the 
 Minister, whose patronage he was intriguing to obtain. Thus Mr. 
 Canning played the same double game many years ago which he 
 had lately performed towards his militant friend Lord Castlereagli. 
 But how would the jury feel, as honourable men^ towards a pro- 
 secution instituted against him by the authority of this very 
 Minister 1 Was he to be punished for imitating the example of 
 Mr. Canning, in writing parodies, while that gentleman enjoyed 
 impunity and power] Was it becoming on the part of Mr. 
 Canning, or of Lord Sidmouth, who was also, he understood, a 
 party in the Westminster contest to which he had alluded, to 
 institute this prosecution against him 1 But, independently of the 
 parodies he could have quoted from the history of this contest, he
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 181 
 
 could adduce many others from tbe first periodical publications. 
 AVho that had, for instance, been in the habit of reading the 
 Morning Chronicle, could forget the many interesting parodies 
 which appeared, especially in the early numbers of that excellent 
 paper — yes, most excellent paper, he must call it ; he meant for 
 the character of its politics. 
 
 Mr. Hone here presented several prints which he had adduced 
 on his previous trials. He exhibited Mr. Fuseli's celebrated print of 
 " The Night Mai-e ;" and then showed a parody upon it represent- 
 ing the Lord Mayor (Wood)* as the night mayor (mare), upon the 
 breast of a girl. What, he would ask, did this parody ridicule ? 
 Was it Fuseli's print, or was it Alderman Wood ] The Attorney- 
 Oeneral had not prosecuted — for ridicule upon Alderman Wood 
 was not unacceptable to ministers. Did the Alderman bring an 
 action ? That excellent man, and able magistrate, had too much 
 sense to do so. The print ridiculed his well-meant, though, 
 ]3erhaps injudicious, eiforts to clear the streets from prostitutes. 
 By neglecting it he made it harmless. He was afraid that his 
 lordship would think the introduction of all the prints he Jiad 
 before him unmeaning. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough (smiling) — I am afraid I may say so. 
 
 Mr. Hone — The object was to show that the design and efiect 
 in all those parodies were to impress something on the mind quite 
 unconnected with the thing parodied, and that the thing parodied 
 had suffered nothing from such a use of it. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — ^The picture is ground for indictment. 
 Mr. Hone granted it ; but what was gained by indicting ? 
 Where was a man more ridiculed than Sir William Curtis ? Yet 
 he only bought as many as he saw of them, to laugh at them. 
 Prosecution created a demand for the thing prosecuted; and, in 
 consequence either of prosecution or suppression, curiosity Avas 
 always excited to a publication supposed to be unattainable or 
 scarce. When Mr. Home Tooke's " Diversions of Purley" (a work 
 which every man who knew the English language read and admired) 
 was first published, it was in octavo, A second edition in quarto 
 * Twice Lord Mayor— 1815-lC.
 
 182 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 was preparing, but, iu tlie meantime, a well-known bookseller, 
 still living, pirated the octavo edition, and sold it for one giiinea 
 the copy. It was tlius that a great demand was created, by giving 
 publicity to a work. He then read the subject of libel, and com- 
 mented with great spirit and force upon the different parts of it. 
 He would ask any man coolly to lay his hand on his breast, and to 
 say that the Sinecux'ists' Creed was written with the design and 
 intention to ridicule St. Athanasius's Creed. His lordship Avas 
 once a member of the Cabinet, and had differed on a great question 
 of state fx'om the other members. His lordship was of one opinion, 
 and the rest were of another opinion ; yet there were not two 
 Cabinets, but one Cabinet. "Was this parodical phrase impiety ] 
 He had taken that mode of expressing truths which he could not 
 otherwise have declared ; for if he had attended the Prince 
 Regent's levee, and in his presence called any of his ministers 
 incomprehensible, a fool, a humbug, or a mystificator, his Royal 
 Highness might, perhaj)s, be of a different opinion. At least, 
 his telling his thoughts in that way would be rather useless and 
 unpleasant. He then exhibited several prints by Gillray, the 
 Prodigal Son, representing two high personages ; the Devil 
 addressing the Sun, representing Buonaparte and the Prince 
 Regent ; the Hand-writing on the Wall, representing Buonaparte 
 in the midst of his council ; the ascent of Mr. Pitt as Elijah ; and 
 General Hoche's apotheosis. He now recapitulated the principal 
 points of his defence. Luther had parodied the Bible, and yet no 
 information had been filed against him. The Attorney-General 
 and his lordship had excused Luther as he had done it in a 
 moment of irritation, against persons who had been troublesome to 
 him. Could not the same persons find any excuse for William 
 Hone 1 He had been attacked as showing a bad example to his 
 family. He had indeed wiitten this parody in twenty minutes, 
 while he held his infant on his knee. But let them recollect that 
 Mai'tin Luther had a family. He had not always continued a 
 monk. Yet he parodied the fii-st Psalm. He was as pure as 
 Luther, and claimed the same excuse. But no excuse was neces- 
 sary, for there was no wi'ong done. Gillray was a parodist ; he
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 183 
 
 employed his transcendent talents in parodying Scripture for poli- 
 tical purposes. In the asceut of Mr. Pitt, as Elijah, George 
 Canning was represented as catching tbe dropping mantle. Fox, 
 the most humane, the Lest man that ever sat in an English 
 Cabinet, was represented on a dunghill, with a Jacobin red cap on 
 his head. He wished Mr. Fox's spirit predominated now in our 
 counsels, and the nation would be in a far different state. The 
 power of government would not be made execrable by the [jcrse- 
 cution of an innocent and defenceless man. O the persecutors, 
 the persecutor.s, the persecutors, that obliged him now to stand 
 the third day on his trial ! Why did they not, to save Mi'. Can- 
 ning's character, abstain from this ^prosecution 1 Mi'. Canning 
 would have thanked them, and said, " Hone is a poor fellow ; I 
 am a parodist too ; this prosecution is a nasty thing ; I don't like 
 it." There was Lord Sidmouth, a grave, a good, a religious, and 
 surely a charitable man ; there was Lord Ellenl)orovxgh, a veiy 
 grave man (his lordship could not resist a smile here) ; why did 
 they not step forward to help a poor oppressed man 1 O no ! he 
 could not stand three days ; their united force would surely crush 
 the insect 1 IsTo, he defied their power. They could only immor- 
 talise him. He would at least go down to posterity with George 
 Canning. If this right honourable parodist ascended after Mr. Pitt, 
 he would lay hold of his left leg, and ascend along with him. They 
 would perhaps have spared him this third trial, if he had implored 
 their mercy. But no ; he disclaimed, he anathematised their 
 mercy." They were belov/" the contempt of William Hone, the 
 humble bookseller of No. 67, in the Old Bailey. Walter Scott had 
 edited the parody of Lord Somers. Why was he not prosecuted ] 
 O no ! this Mr. Scott, a man of great talents, was ministerial, and 
 had held a little ogling for the laureateship with Robert Southey. 
 Who was plain Robert Southey, when he wrote Wat Tyler, and 
 such publications as displeased Ministers. He was now a pen- 
 sioner and Robert Southey, J^sq. He (Mr. Hone) had occasion 
 when he edited the " Critical Review," which he did for six 
 months, to see the Stuart Papers. They were published by the 
 librarian to the Prince Regent. There was no prosecution against
 
 184 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 that gentleman publishing a partial and insidious apology for those 
 tyrants. No ; a great deal of the spirit of " the bonny king and 
 niickle wise mon" was still to be perceived. The Stuarts must be 
 excused and spoken gently of; they must not be talked of as the 
 tyrants, the hypocrites, the bloody-minded persecutors they really 
 ■were. Such langiiage was unacceptable to courtly taste. Mr. 
 Heeves had parodied the Catechism, but afterwards obtained a 
 pension. But his politics were different. Koyalty had singled 
 him (Mr. Hone) out for persecution, on account of his politics. He 
 could not pretend to have become known to Royalty, but ministers 
 would make him known. This was entirely a political prosecution. 
 Lord Sidmouth had before tried liis hand at persecution, when he 
 brought in his bill against the Dissenters. The same noble lord 
 left him to stand three days in that Court. When such a man 
 was Secretary of State, there was very little chance of the liberty 
 of England being protected. The Morning Herald, of the 4th of 
 May, 1812, parodied Scripture .to ridicule Lord Grenville, but it 
 was for and on behalf of ministers, and there was no prosecution. 
 The language of ministers was, " Everything must be done to keep 
 down those confounded fellows, the "Whigs, curse them." The 
 people were taxed to pay these expenses. He, poor as he was, 
 contributed to pay the secret service money. Every morsel of 
 bread that went into his children's mouths was taxed for the paltry 
 purposes of his pitiful proseciitors. He now made a solemn appeal 
 to his conscience as to the innocence of his intentions. He would 
 submit to be posted up as a liar, and to bend his head whenever 
 he walked in public, if he once uttered there, or anywhere else, 
 what he did not believe to be true. Upon his conscience, then, 
 he assured them, that he had no more intention to ridicule St, 
 Athanasius's Creed, than he had now of murdering his wife and 
 children when he went home ; for he was sure the jury would send 
 him home to his family. He knew none of them : but he hoped, 
 and he believed, that they were honest-minded and indejDendent 
 men. The Sinecurists' Creed had an extraordinary sale, but not 
 so extraordinary as the Litany. However, he stopped it, from the 
 motives he had mentioned. He confidently put himself under
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 185 
 
 their protection. As to St. Atlianasius's Creed, Gibbon stated 
 tliat it was not written by Athanasiiis. Some said that it was in 
 fact a parody upon his creed, and written by Yigilius, four cen- 
 turies after Athanasius had died. Warburton expressly states 
 that it was not his. Waterland mentions that it was doubted. 
 Archbishop Tillotson on one occasion exchiimed, " I wisli we were 
 well rid of it ;" and in recent days, upwards of 200 clergymen met, 
 and solicited the late Dr. Porteus,- Bishop of London, to take some 
 stoj)3 to put an end to the obligation at i:)rescnt imposed on them 
 to read it. Even his lordship's father, the Bishop of Carlisle, he 
 believed took a similar view of the creed 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — I do not know what his opinion was on 
 this point ; you, perhaps, have had better opportunity of knowing 
 his belief. Whatever that opinion was, he has gone many years 
 ago, where he has had to account for his belief and his opinions. 
 
 Mr. Hone was about to make some particular references to the 
 Bishop of Carlisle's opinions, when 
 
 Lord Ellenborough interrupted him, and said, "For common 
 delicacy forbear " 
 
 Mr. Hone — (In a subdued and respectful tone.) — 0, my lord, 
 I shall most certainly ! Sure he was, that this creed was not 
 generally believed even by Churchmen. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — It is not alleged to be Atlianasius's 
 Creed here. It is said only to be commonly called the Creed of 
 St. Athanasius. 
 
 Mr. Hone — Then it would seem to be the Attorney-General's 
 opinion, from the form of the information to which your lord.shi]) 
 lias just referred, that the Athanasian Creed is apocryphal, and 
 cannot be viewed as genuine by my prosecutors. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — Yes ; but the Act of Uniformity made 
 it that which it is now described to be. 
 
 Mr, Hone — The Act of Uniformity ! God forbid that the 
 Act of Uniformity could have had the effect of making this what 
 it is deemed to be, fi-om its import, by some persons. God forbid 
 that this Act could jnake all men think alike on such a subject as 
 this.
 
 186 TIIIED TIUAL. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough — It is not intended to have that effect. 
 It merely operates to create uniformity amongst those who conform 
 to certain religious opinions. It is not intended to compel those 
 uf a different persuasion to believe it. 
 
 Be it so (resumed Mr. Hone) ; whether this creed were written 
 hy St. Athanasius or not, he was not himself prepared to state. 
 lie had intended to read a speech made by the Bishop of Cloglier 
 on this creed, but it was long, and not essentially material to the 
 case ; for the question here was, whether the publication before 
 the Court was meant to bring that creed into contempt, and to 
 that he could give the most conscientious negative. But the jury 
 would, he had no doubt, consider, not the tendency, but the 
 intention, Tliey were not bound to follow his loixlship's oj^inion. 
 If his lordship's opinion were adopted, he should at once have to 
 walk to the King's Bench. To the juiy he looked, and to them 
 alone, for protection ; for from them alone could he expect aid or 
 advice ; and he took leave to observe that it would answer the 
 ends of justice to pay more attention to what he said, than to 
 what might be ui-ged by the Judge or the Attorney-General He 
 had declared that he had no intention to publish a libel, and this 
 declaration was entitled to credit upon this ground, which he 
 would undertake to afiS.rm was the law of the land, namely, that 
 the production before the Court was not a libel, until the jnry had 
 so pronounced it. AYith them alone the power of making that 
 decision rested ; and he appealed to them as men, as Christians, as 
 men and brethren, to consider what he had said. For whether 
 they differed from him in political or religious opinions, he trusted 
 they would, in the spirit of justice and Chiistian charity, examine 
 his case, and consider the terrible sentence that awaited him if 
 they should find a verdict against Jiim. He might happen to differ 
 in political opinions from many of the gentlemen of the jury, but 
 he hoped that they would feel that tolerant spirit towards him 
 Avhich he himself had always practised and recommended to others. 
 For he never could conceive any man entitled to that intallibility, 
 which, by some people, was attributed to the Pope ; and without 
 such arrogance no man Y>''ould attempt to prescribe or censure those
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 187 
 
 who conscientiously differed from bis opinions. Were sucli a 
 jjractice indeed indulged, perpetual disputes must arise, harmony 
 l>e destroyed, and men be reduced to the savage state. But the 
 liberality that was especially of late years so vridely spreading, 
 promised to guard the world from such a state of discord and 
 misery. Differences on politics and religion were not now found 
 to interfere with the charities of social life, or the performance of 
 moral duties, and therefore he could not apprehend that prejudice 
 could be found to operate in the breast of any Englishman acting 
 under the solemn obligation of an oath. He felt the most xm- 
 (pialificd confidence in the principles and judgment of the jury, 
 whose attention, he feared, he had too long occupied. But he felt 
 that he was struggling for life, for should he have the misfortune 
 to be pronounced guilty by the jury, the punishment which awaited 
 liim would be equal to the loss of it. In such a struggle he fancied 
 himself gifted with supernatural powers, but he feared he had 
 ti-espassed too much upon the time of the Court. He had, however, 
 no disposition to give offence, and this he begged to be understood. 
 He might have been in some instances too eager or peremptory in 
 replying to the Judge and the Attorney-General, but he most 
 sincerely assured his lordship and the learned gentleman, that he 
 had no intention whatever to offend. Feeling that his all was at 
 stake, he hoped he should be excused for the many materials he 
 had brought forward, perhaps unnecessarily. He could still go to 
 the King's Bench, and lay his hea,d down there with the greatest 
 composure, but for his family. If the jury felt doubts, they would 
 be reasonable doubts, and they knew that he was entitled to the 
 benefit of them. He committed himself to them. The liberty of 
 the press was attacked through him. The prosecution had nothing 
 but a political ground-woi'k. Two juries of cool honest men had 
 already acquitted him. He had no doubt but they, too, would 
 send him home to dine on Sunday with his fimily. 
 
 After a speech of precisely eight hours and five minutes, ho / 
 concluded, amid the ajiplause of the immense multitude that 
 crowded the Court and all the passages to it. 
 
 Mr. Hone declined to adduce the witnesses who proved on the
 
 1S8 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 former trials that lie had stopped the publication of the parodies 
 as soon as lie understood that they were deemed libellous by 
 Government, upon Lord Elleiiborough's undertaking to read his 
 notes of that evidence to the jury. The notes were read by his 
 lordship, and Mr. Hone called 
 
 Thomas Cleary, Esq., who deposed, that on the 21st of Feb- 
 ruary (a day he had reason to remember), he met Mr. Hone near 
 Charing Cross, who stated to witness his intention of stojjping the 
 publication of the parodies, as they had been called, in the report 
 of the House of Lords, profane and seditious, or something to that 
 effect. That witness remarked, their being so characterised in the 
 report, did not make them profane or seditious, and strongly 
 I'ocommended Mr. Hone not to take what witness considered so 
 ill-advised a step ; as it would by implication be an admission that 
 he (Mr. Hone) considered the pai-odies profane and seditious, while 
 nobody but the Borough-mongers so considered them. That 
 notwithstanding this advice, Hone stopped the publication the 
 following day ; for which witness told him he was a fool. 
 
 The Attorney-General rose to reply — He observed upon the 
 remark of Mr. Hone, as to the division of the charges against him. 
 into three informations, stating, that such proceeding was agreeable 
 to practice, especially where the publications charged as libellous 
 were quite distinct and separate, as was the case in this instance. 
 Therefore the defendant had no right to complain, and still less 
 could he warrant the complaint which he had made, of having the 
 present trial brought forward to-day, after tAvo days of previous 
 trials. For it must be in the recollection of the Court, that before 
 the jury were sworn, he proposed to postpone this trial, in con- 
 •sequence of an undei'standing that Mr. Hone was indisposed, from 
 the fatigue of the two preceding days, and that that gentleman 
 declined to avail himself of the proposition. Were Mr. Hone 
 unequal to make his defence, or did he feel unable to proceed, he 
 could have had time for repose and recovery ; and therefore he 
 could not attribute to the counsel for the prosecution, the slightest 
 disposition to subject him to any unnecessary inconvenience. But 
 tlie propriety of persisting in this prosecution, notwithstanding
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 189 
 
 the previous acquittals of Mr. Hone upon similar charges, would, 
 he hoped, be felt by every reflecting mind, from the very principle 
 upon which Mr. Hone had rested his defence this day ; for Mr. 
 Hone had distiiictly asserted his right to publish the paper which, 
 was under prosecution, and having stood upon that ground, he (the 
 Attorney-General) should have felt himself guilty of gross dere- 
 liction of duty, if he had not persevered in this prosecution. On 
 the former days, the defendant, with a view to induce a belief 
 that he had no intention to publish a libel, rested particularly upon 
 his stoppage of the publication of the parodies, but to-day, he had 
 openly contended for his right to publish them. But if this plea 
 of right were admitted, what was to prevent the defendant from, 
 publishing those parodies again on Monday ? He would not say 
 that the defendant expressed or entertained any sucli intention, 
 ))ut if his claim of right were admitted, what was to prevent him 
 or any other person from republishing this parody 1 and to 
 abandon the present prosecution would be tantamount to an 
 admission of that claim. What a serious responsibility, then, 
 should he inciir, if he exposed the cause of religion, and of the 
 country, to the evils too likely to result from such an admission. 
 What a door would be opened for the incursion of profaneness. 
 In his notions of the duty of a judge upon the trial of libel, he 
 undertook to say that Mr. Hone was quite mistaken. For the 
 judge derived no authority from the statute, commonly called Mr. 
 Fox's, which he did not possess before. His lordship had unques- 
 tionably the right of stating his opinion upon the law to the jury, 
 upon this as well as upon every other question ; and if he did not 
 enjoy that right, what would become of the function and oflice of 
 a judge 1 But the judge was invested with the power of stating 
 the law upon the subject of libel, with a view to guard against in- 
 consistent decisions, or the establishment of capricious conceptions, 
 as to the principles of the law. Besides, by the statute alluded to, 
 provision was made peculiarly favourable to the accused, if any 
 special verdict were found, or any appeal made to the judges iipon 
 the finding of a verdict against him contrary to law. But the 
 defendant seemed entirely to misunderstand the character and
 
 190 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 object of the statute. Now as to the question before the Court, 
 tlie defendant had adduced a number of parodies, some of "which 
 were even worse than that which he had himself published, and 
 none of which were such as he (the Attorney-General) was disposed 
 to defend. Being of opinion that the more becoming course was to 
 reserve Scriptural language for appropriate purposes, he could not 
 approve of its application to different objects. Then as to the 
 prints, it might be that the caricature of Mr. Fuseli's night-mare 
 was meant merely to ridicule the late Lord Mayor, but even so it 
 was an indictable publication. So would any print reflecting upon 
 an individual. But if any painter were to make a ludicrous 
 application of the sufferings of our Saviour, who could doubt that 
 such application would outrage the feelings of every Christian, and 
 amount to a profane libel] So if any one who should parody the 
 paintings of Rubens or Mr. West, upon sacred subjects, he would 
 be indictable for a profane libel; for no man would be justified in 
 exciting mirth, or ridicule, or prejudice, through the medium of 
 sacred subjects. So of certain obscene airs, which were too 
 familiar to the vulgar, and which he was sorry to have ever heard 
 Avere applied to the Psalms of David, such an application would 
 be profane. As to the parodies quoted from Luther and others, 
 he heard them vv^ith regret; but they were the effusions of 
 excessive zeal, and he apprehended that zeal in excess was 
 generally vice. Of the parodies adduced by Mr. Hone, he thought it 
 proper to take some notice. First, as to that from Mr. John Reeves, 
 it was clear that it was not the object of that parody to bring 
 reli'^ion into contempt, although Scriptural phrases were made use 
 of, from v/hich it wovild have been better to abstain. The same 
 might be said of the parody from Mr. Toplady. But there were 
 other parodies adduced by Mr. Hone, which all Christians must 
 condemn — must review indeed with disgust and abhorrence. 
 AVith respect to the " Tales of my Landlord," Mr. Walter Scott 
 had no doubt made use of a great deal of Scriptural language, 
 which, however, was put into the mouths of zealots, at a time that 
 such language was much more familiar than in modern times. 
 But yet the object of this language was by no means to bring
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 191 
 
 religion into contempt. On the contrary, the evident end of ilw- 
 author was to ridicule fanaticism, and to expose the artifice of 
 liypocrites, who sought to palliate vice and knavery by the use of 
 Scriptural language. Mr. Hone was therefore mistaken in sup- 
 posing the " Tales of my Landlord " any precedent for his system 
 of parody, or any excuse for his conduct. He was also mistaken 
 in his conception of the several acts of the legislature with respect 
 to toleration ; for no act, cither ancient or modern, tolerated that 
 which was forbidden by the common law, namely, railing or 
 scoffing at the Trinity, or the Ritual of the Church. To illustrate 
 this, the learned gentleman referred to the Acts of James I., 
 Charles I., and Charles II., upon the subject of religious toleration. 
 As to the paper before the Court, the learned gentleman read 
 -several passages of it, from which he argued that its object was to 
 ridicule the Creed of St. Athanasius, which was a part of the 
 Church E-itual, The whole, he thought, evidently a scoffin"' at 
 the Trinity, in the terms of " Old Bags, Deny Down Triangle, and 
 the Doctor." But Mr. Hone had said that he did not intend to 
 ridicule the Trinity or the Creed of St. Athanasius ; but a man's 
 intention was to be judged by his acts or their effects, and not by 
 what he declares to be his intention. For, if the declaration of 
 an intention on the part of the accused were to be taken as evi- 
 dence, no one accused would ever be found guilty. But so far 
 indeed from that being the conception of the law, there was a case 
 in the books where a man who had thrown a piece of wood from 
 the top of a house into the street, was found guilty of murder 
 because that wood killed a passenger upon whom it had fallen. 
 Therefore, the law would not excuse any one who committed a 
 crime, whatever might be said as to his intention. The man who 
 flung down the wood had most probably no intention to kill the 
 passenger, but then he was bound not to do that from which mis- 
 chief was likely to accrue. So Mr. Hone was answeral)le for the 
 evil but too likely to result from that publication which he deliber- 
 ately published ; for it could avail nothing to any man to make 
 protestations of innocent intention, while he scattered about his 
 firebrands and arrows of death. The jury would recollect, that
 
 192 THIRD TRIAL, 
 
 the object of prosecution was to repress offences. Blackstone had 
 very properly observed, that the end of punishment was not to 
 afflict individuals, but to prevent offences. Such, and such, alone, 
 lie declared to be the object and end of the present prosecution. 
 For he had no personal animosity whatever towards Mr. Hone ; 
 but he felt it his duty to tlie piiblic to institute this prosecution, 
 Avith a view to prevent the issue of such publications in future 
 as were calculated to undermine the religion of the country, 
 and so to destroy the basis of morality, comfort, happiness, and. 
 prosperity. 
 
 Lord Ellenborougii then charged the jury. He pronounced 
 the complaint of the defendant as to his peculiar grievances, in 
 consequence of the conduct of the present prosecution, to be en- 
 tirely groundless. It was the duty of the Attorney-General to 
 institute this pi'osecution ; and although the defendant was right 
 in his opinion that the Attorney-General might include different 
 charges in the same indictment, yet it was indisputably at his 
 discretion to do so ; and the course the learned gentleman had 
 taken was agreeable to practice. The defendant appeared to think 
 that libels upon the Scriptures formed a sort of composition ex- 
 empted by law from prosecution or punishment; but the cases 
 of Woolston and Paine should have informed him that his impres- 
 sion was unfounded ; so was his assertion that there was no law of 
 libel ; for from the earliest records that law had existed, and been 
 well understood by the judges. The Act of Mr. Fox, as it was 
 called, had indeed made no change in that law. That was no 
 doubt a proper legislative provision. Chief Justice Eyre had 
 stated, that if the jury had only the power of deciding upon the 
 fact of publication, the printer of the libel itself miglit be liable to 
 conviction for libel. He thought the case put by that learned 
 judge quite too strong, because the interposition of the judge must 
 in such a case serve to prevent a verdict ; but still he approved of 
 the statute. In this statute, howevei', there was nothing to pre- 
 vent a lil)el from being tried like all other offences, in which the 
 judge was called upon to state his opinion upon the law to the 
 jury. For, according to his construction of the statute, the judge
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 193 
 
 was bound to state liis opinion upon such prosecutions, and that 
 Avas also the construction of his learned predecessor; otherwise, 
 indeed, the functions of a judge would cease in such a case. Mr. 
 Hone had, no doubt, told the jury, not to attend to the opinion of 
 the judge, and he might think himself justified in so saying. 
 Unquestionably the juiy were not bound to adopt the opinion, or 
 follow the advice of the judge ; but without wishing to invade 
 their province he felt himself imperatively called upon to perform 
 his duty, by stating his opinion upon the paper under prosecution. 
 After that opinion was stated, it would be for the jury, from a 
 calm and candid review, as well as of that opinion, as of the paper 
 charged as a libel, to declare theii- judgment. The main defence 
 was parodies w^-itten by other men at different times. The 
 Exciseman's Creed was very ofiensive. In Bishop Latimer's time 
 much greater familiarity was used in public discourses than at the 
 present period. The parodies quoted by tlie defendant appeared 
 to his mind to offer nothing in defence of the paper before the 
 Coiu't, which was in fact worse than any of those parodies, even 
 bad as they were. But if the mode of defence pursued by the 
 defendant was valid, what criminal could be convicted ] For there 
 was not one offender perhaps, who could not quote one hundred 
 instances in which persons committuag the offence with which he 
 stood charged had escaped with impunity. Mr. Hone had, he 
 apprehended, very truly conceived, that if he had employed any 
 barrister, the course of defence upon which he had determined 
 would not be followed up by such barrister ; for from his (Lord 
 EUenborough's) experience of the profession, he did net think that 
 there was a gentleman at the bar, who would outrage decency and 
 propriety so far as to exhibit such disgusting parodies and prints, 
 or at least persist in such exhibitions, especially after the judge 
 had expressed his decided disapprobation of them. God knows that 
 he (Lord Ellenborough) had no wish to do the defendant or any other 
 man an injury, but he felt it due to the ends of public justice and 
 the preservation of individual character, to interpose occasionally 
 his advice to Mr. Hone. Finding that advice, however, unavailing, 
 he had declined to interfere, and let the defendant pursue his own 
 
 o
 
 ^194 THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 course. Btit yet he called upon the jury not to allow the numer- 
 ous libels which Mr. Hone had thought proper to read, or the 
 gross calumnies which he had uttered against individuals, to 
 operate upon their minds in considering the question, whether the 
 paper before them was or was not a profane libel. The defendant 
 had repeatedly declared that he had no intention to publish a libel 
 in sending forth this paper, but upon that point the observations 
 of the Attorney-General were perfectly just, for the law always 
 concludes as to the intent of any man from his act ; and here the 
 question being, whether the defendant intended to bring into ridicule 
 the Athanasian Creed, the jury were to decide that question from a 
 review of the paper before them, and not from the declarations of 
 the defendant. Here the learned lord read the parody itself, and 
 expressing his belief that the terms of "Old Bags, Derry Down 
 Triangle, and the Doctor," wei-e meant to be applied to some 
 public men, commented on each article as he proceeded. The 
 only question for them was, whether this was a libel. Did it force 
 ludicrous and absurd images into the mind when the creed was 
 read? The Father was Old Bags, the Son was Derry Down 
 Triangle, the Holy Ghost was the Doctor. The defendant asked 
 whom the laugh excited by this was against 1 But although the 
 laugh might be against the persons represented under those terms, 
 did not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, form a part of 
 the association in this laugh 1 If they found that there was a 
 mixed profanity of this kind in the subject of the libel, they must 
 find a verdict of guilty; if both the subject and the object of the 
 parody were made ridiculous in the conjunction, they must come 
 to this conclusion. He had not a doubt that the parody before 
 them was a profane and impious libel. This paper was not charged 
 as a political libel, and therefore it must be found as a profane 
 libel, which it was described in the record. His lordship entreated 
 the jury to consider the importance of the case which they were 
 called upon to decide — that the temporal comforts and spiritual 
 inteiests of their countrymen might defend their verdict. He 
 begged them to recollect, that if such publications as that before 
 them wei'e not prohibited and punished, the country was too liable
 
 THIRD TRIAL. 195 
 
 to be deluged by irreligion and impiety, whicli had so lately pro- 
 duced such melancholy results in another nation. The learned 
 lord, after some comment upon the defendant's stojipage of this 
 publication, which fact would no doubt have due weight upon 
 those who, in the event of a verdict of conviction, would be called 
 upon to pronounce sentence, observed that it should have no 
 weight whatever with the jury. 
 
 The jury retired afc half-past eight to consider their verdict. 
 
 In twenty minutes the jury returned into court, and the fore- 
 man, after the usual forms had been observed, pronounced Mr, 
 Hone NOT GUILTY. 
 
 The moment the verdict was announced, a spontaneous burst 
 of applause issued from the crowd in the Court. 
 
 This soon extended to the crowd without ; and for some 
 minutes the hall and adjoining avenues rung with the loudest 
 acclamations. The crowd waited for some time for Mr. Hone in 
 order to greet him as he passed. By an intended manoeuvre, 
 however, two groups passed out, in one of which it was expected 
 he was, and it was cheered accordingly. He afterwards passed 
 out through the immense multitude, alone and unnoticed. 
 
 During the absence of the juiy, a gentleman was brought into 
 Court in the custody of the Chief and Deputy Marshals of the 
 City, chai'ged with riotous conduct on the steps leading- from 
 Guildhall to the Court. It appeared, that towards the close of 
 the evening a prodigious crowd of persons, amounting to the 
 number of not less than 20,000, had assembled in the hall, and 
 in the avenues leading thereto. Many of these persons were 
 desirous of forcing their way into the Court, but their efforts were 
 resisted. Among others, the gentleman now brought forward. 
 He attempted to push up the steps, when Mr. Wontner, the Chief 
 Marshal, told him he could not pass. He replied that it was an 
 open Court, and he had a right to admission. This observation 
 attracted the attention of the crowd, which moved towards the 
 spot. Mr. Wontner then said, if he questioned his authority to 
 ])revent his entrance, he must take him before Loi'd Ellenboroufh 
 "With this view, he laid his hand on his arm, when a scuffle ensued
 
 19G THIRD TRIAL. 
 
 and some disturbance, which, ended by two of the officers being 
 struck, and one of them knocked down, principally, as it was 
 stated, through the conduct of the prisoner. These facts were 
 jiroved by several witnesses. The gentleman on being called on 
 for his defence, stated his name to be Mr. Thomas Wetherell ; that 
 he had been five years at King's College, Cambridge, and had but 
 recently returned from the West Indies. He had certainly 
 attempted to come up the steps, and did not conceive he was 
 acting improperly by attempting to enter an open Court. The City 
 Marshal had laid hold of his arm, and in attempting to extricate 
 himself from his grasp, all the subsequent confusion happened. A 
 gentleman named Marsh corroborated his statement. 
 
 Lord Ellenborough fined Mr. "Wetherell twenty pounds, and 
 directed that he should be detained in custody till the fine was 
 paid. 
 
 On Thursday, the first day's trial, before Mr. Justice Abbott, 
 Mr. Hone spoke near six hours. On Friday, the second day's 
 trial, he spoke near seven hours. On Saturday, the third day, he 
 spoke in his defence upwards of eight hours.
 
 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 AND 
 
 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 THE 
 
 PROCEEDINGS 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING, 
 
 DECEMBER 29, 1817, 
 
 ^t t!je Citg of Hontion Kuhtxn, 
 
 FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENABLING 
 
 WILLIAM HONE 
 
 TO SUEMOrXT THE DIFFICULTIES IN WHICH HE HAS BEEN PLACED BY BEIXG 
 
 SELECTED BY THE MINISTERS OF THE CROWN AS THE OBJECT 
 
 OF THEIR PERSECUTION. 
 
 Mr. WAITHMAN in the CHAIR 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 3^tS0litti0its anir tij^ Si^iUtijts 
 
 MR. WAITHMAN, 
 
 SIR FRANCIS BURDETT, 
 
 MR. ALDERMAN THORP, 
 
 MR. PERRY, 
 
 MR. P. WALKER, 
 
 LORD COCHRANE, 
 
 MR. CHARLES PEARSON, 
 
 MR. STURCH, 
 
 AND 
 
 MR. WOOLER. 
 
 THE SUBSCEIPTIONS EECEIVED FEOM TIME TO TIME, 
 WITH ALL THE NAMES, MOTTOES, &c. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY AND FOR WILLIAM HONE, 67, OLD BAILEY; 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1818. 
 PRICE SIXPENCE.
 
 ME. HONE. 
 
 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 AND 
 
 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 A Meeting of the friends of the Liberty of the Press and Trial by- 
 Jury was held at the City of London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, 
 on Monday, December 29, 1817, to consider of the best means to 
 promote a subscription in aid of ]\Ir. Hone, who had so nobly and 
 successfully struggled against Ministerial persecution. The meeting 
 was one of the most numerous and respectable we have for a long 
 time witnessed. The great room was com^jletely filled at an early 
 hour by an anxious auditory, amongst whom we observed several 
 elegantly dressed females. A few minutes before one o'clock — 
 
 '"'Mr. Waituman took the chair. He was accompanied into the 
 room by Sir Francis Burdett (who was loudly cheered on his 
 entrance). Alderman Thorp, Alderman Goodbehere, Mr. Jones 
 Burdett, Mr. Perry, Mi-. Hai-e Townsend, Major James, Mr. John 
 Williams (the banker), Mr. Sturch, Mi\ Charles Pearson, Mr. 
 Wooller, (fee. Loi*d Cochrane entered soon after the business had 
 begun, and Avas received with long continued plaudits. 
 
 Mr. Waithman, immediately after he had taken the chair, rose 
 and addressed the assembly as follows : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, — Although I may have to regret that the chair is 
 not more ably filled, yet I can assure you that I never undertook a 
 
 » Elected Alderman, 1818; Lord Mayor, 1823.
 
 200 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 duty with more satisfaction than I do the present ; because I am 
 convinced that no object can possibly tend more to support the 
 liberties of Englishmen than that which we have this day in view. 
 Gentlemen, I had no previous acquaintance whatever with Mr. 
 Hone ; and, about a week or two before his trial, when he spoke 
 to me in the street to request that I would look over his jury list, I 
 did not recognise his person. With respect to the Parodies I never 
 read them till they were published after the trials ; and though, 
 gentlemen, I have no particular taste for these sort of productions, 
 yet I have seen articles of this kind published on various occasions, 
 and I believe you all know that in no instance until the present 
 were they prosecuted by the Government, or taken notice of by 
 the Law Officers of the Crown. (Applause). I am sure, gentle- 
 men, not one of us can entertain a doubt that if those Parodies had 
 been published in favour of Administration — if they had been 
 published in ridicule of Reformers — if they had been published 
 against the rights of the people — his Majesty's Government would 
 never have attended to them. (Applause.) If, indeed, the object 
 of ministers had been to rescue religion from any insidious attack 
 of the kind alleged the laws of the country were open to them, and 
 they might have proceeded in the usual way ; but that would not 
 answer the purpose they had in view, and therefore they resorted 
 to less honourable expedients. In all ordinary cases, I believe, 
 where the law was doubtful, and the object was to define it and 
 make it generally known, the Law Officers of the Crown have been 
 accustomed to proceed in the most cautious and delicate manner. 
 It was the custom in such cases not to render the law an engine of 
 oppression, but by its means to bring offenders fairly to justice and 
 to make their fate a warning to others. On this point it may seem 
 improper that I should enlarge ; but, perhaps, as our object is 
 precisely the same, as we have not met to discuss any question on 
 which I think there can arise a difference of opinion, I may be 
 allowed to make an observation or two on this subject, and, there- 
 fore, I think it right to call your attention to the origin of those 
 prosecutions and the way in which they have been conducted. 
 When the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was contemplated.
 
 AXD LIDERTY OF THE PRESS. 201 
 
 and Committees of both Houses of Parliament -were formed in 
 order to examine information that was to be laid before them by 
 ministers, a great deal was said to inflame the public inind and to 
 render the country outrageous, not only with respect to those 
 pviblishers, but with reference to other individuals engaged in the 
 cause of Reform. Little doubt can now be entertained, gentlemen, 
 but that the outrages spoken of as a ground for suspending the 
 Habeas Corpus Act were caused by the exertions of those infamous 
 spies and informers who were hired by the Government, and whose 
 conduct it is unnecessary for me to descant upon. (Loud applause.) 
 Gentlemen, instead of indicting this individual (Mr. Hone), as 
 they would have done if their object had been that which they 
 pretended, ministers took a widely diflferent coui-se, having first 
 taken care that everything should be done by those committees to 
 agitate and inflame the public feeling. The Habeas Corpus Act 
 was suspended. Mr. Hone was dragged from his family and con- 
 signed to prison — (these prosecutions have been hanging over his 
 head ever since) — and, at length, the Law Ofiicers of the Crown had 
 brought him to triah All these preparations which I have men- 
 tioned, gentlemen, were to make conviction more certain. Had 
 the intention of ministers been to rescue religion from any insidious 
 attack, they would, as I have before obsei'ved, have proceeded by 
 indictment, and not by ex-officio information. If their motives 
 were pure, they would have tried him on one case only. They 
 would not have assailed him three times with the manifest intention 
 of inflicting a vindictive punishment on an individual for transgres- 
 sing a law, the breach of which had not pi-eviously occasioned any 
 person to be brought up to trial. (Applause.) I attended the 
 court during the whole of the last day's trial, and for some time on 
 the preceding days, and I there witnessed, with feelings of the 
 highest gratification, the exertions made by Mr. Hone on behalf of 
 the liberties of the whole people of England. (Applause.) I say 
 the liberties of the people of England, for we cannot be said to 
 have any liberties unless we have a Free Press and an unshackled 
 Trial by Jury. (Applause.) The freedom of the pi'ess was sup- 
 ])orted by Mr. Hone in a manner so much to my satisfaction that I
 
 202 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 felt it my duty to do everything in my power to rescue that 
 iiidividual from the consequences with which those prosecutions 
 must necessarily visit him, if his case be not boldly taken up by 
 his fellow citizens. (Applause.) Therefore it was that the present 
 meeting originated with a few individuals who attended at the last 
 day's trial, and afterwards proceeded to take refreshment at a 
 neighbouring coffee-house. They felt, as Englishmen ought to feel 
 (and they took no credit to themselves for such a feeling), that 
 Mr. Hone deserved to be supported — that, having exerted his 
 abilities in a manner so honourable to himself and so useful to the 
 country, he ought to be shielded from the effects which these pro- 
 secutions must otherwise bring vipon him — and they determined 
 to do all that lay in their power to enable him to support his wife 
 and numerous family in a manner worthy of him and of them. 
 (Applause.) The gentlemen who then formed themselves into a 
 committee had prepared some resolutions which will be submitted 
 to you this day. I shall be very glad to hear any observations that 
 may be made thereon, or to receive any suggestions that may tend 
 to further the object we have in view. 
 
 Sir Francis Burdett* then stood forward, and was about to 
 address the meeting, but was prevented, for several minutes, by 
 the cheering which his presence excited, and the cries which pro- 
 ceeded fi'om the individuals at the lower end of the room, who 
 were anxious that he should mount upon the table. In order to 
 pi'ocure silence- 
 Mr. Waithman rose and said, "Gentlemen, if you will have 
 the goodness not to stand on the forms, every one of you will have 
 a good view, and be enabled to hear perfectly well." 
 This appeal produced immediate order. 
 
 Sir F. Burdett then ascended the table, and after the shouts 
 of exultation had subsided, proceeded to deliver his sentiments. 
 He commenced by stating, that he could not but feel extremely 
 flattered at the manner in which his countrymen had been pleased 
 
 * An eminent, popular, and parliamentary leader. Elected, 1807, to rej)resent 
 Westminster in the House of Commons, and he sat for that constituency nearly 
 thirty years.
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 to receive liini on tliis occasion. At the same time, lie feared that 
 the very few words it would be his lot to address to them at 
 present, would scarcely repay them for the deep anxiety they 
 manifested. If he went over all the topics connected with the 
 subject of their meeting this day, he was sensible that he would 
 take up more time than they could possibly spare — and, as there 
 was no feeling of difference on this occasion, as they had a specific 
 object in view — it would perhaps be an improper opportunity for 
 impressing on the minds of the assembly those sentiments, with 
 respect to the Liberty of the Press, and Trial by Jury, which he 
 had always nourished, and which, on many occasions, he had j)ub- 
 licly declared. ISText to that paramount object — the preservation 
 of the Liberty of the Press — their greatest exertions ought to be 
 made to support an honest countryman, struggling in opposition 
 to the oppressions exercised against him, on scandalous hypocritical 
 pretences. (Applause.) Those who made use of those pretences, 
 seemingly intended only to crush an humble individual ; but they 
 meant, in reality, through his person, to destroy the free press of 
 the country. (Applause.) The resolutions that were put into his 
 hands this day, fully expressed those sentiments, and pointed out 
 the necessity of supporting their oppressed countryman under these 
 circumstances. He had fully merited their kindest consideration ; 
 and, when such a claim of gratitude, when such a debt of justice 
 was due by them for the exertions that individual had made in 
 favour of their liberties, it was incumbent on them to express the 
 feeling which they, in common, he believed, with the whole British 
 public, entei'tained of the scandalous conduct of the Government 
 of the country, both with respect to the origin of those prosecu- 
 tions, and to the infamous manner in which they were carried on. 
 (Applause.) The resolutions comprised several most important 
 points — first, the conduct of the individual — next, the importance 
 of the struggle in which he had engaged, and the circumstances 
 under which he undertook it — and then, what was a corollary of 
 all that preceded it, the debt of justice and of gi-atitude which 
 they owed him, and which, beyond a doubt, they were most 
 anxious to repay. (Great applause.) Agreeing as he did in all
 
 204 TKIAL BY JURY 
 
 the sentiments of their worthy chairman — agreeing with him, as 
 they all must, in the importance of the Liberty of the Press, and 
 of Trial by Jury, he would, still go one step further, and say, there 
 was no solid support for either of those great privileges, but by 
 the existence of a third — he meant a fair representation of the 
 people in Parliament. (Applause.) They had no security for the 
 Liberty of the Press — they had no security for the personal liberty 
 of any man amongst them — they had no security for a pure Trial 
 by Jury — if the House of Commons were not what it was intended 
 to be — and what the people had as much right to have, as those 
 who held property under the present system had to it, or as the 
 King had to the Crown — namely, a free, fair, and honest repre- 
 sentation of the people. (Great applause.) The excluded people 
 (he would not now call them the deluded people, for their eyes were 
 opened, and information on the subject of a representative form of 
 Government, a subject formerly supposed to be far beyond the 
 grasp of an ordinary mind, was now industriously circulated) had 
 every reason to complain — but they began to feel their power, and 
 they were no longer to be duped by fallacies as they had been. 
 The people had at length attained the knowledge so necessary to 
 their existence as freemen, that the superintending body over those 
 two great essentials should consist of an unpolluted representation 
 of themselves. Their eyes are open to what appeared before 
 beyond their comprehension, and what now must appear to be 
 superior in importance to everything else — the necessity of elect- 
 ing those who should take care of the Trial by Jury, of the Preedom 
 of the Press, and who would see that the judges of the land acted 
 according to the Law and the Constitution. (Loud applause.) Of 
 Mr. Hone's merits he might say Avith truth (although he blushed 
 to say it), that he absolutely defeated, by dint of ability and manly 
 exertion, the judges and the Crown lawyers, (Hear, hear.) For 
 oppression and undue advantage against a meritorious but defence- 
 less man, this prosecution on the pai't of his Majesty's Ministers 
 was without a parallel. Indeed, it would be almost impossible to 
 pick out an instance in which injustice and oppression had been 
 so decidedly marked, even if they were to look to the volume of
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 205 
 
 State Trials, which had been called a libel on the judges of 
 England. Few men in the conntry could have fought their way 
 with such manly intrepidity, and at the same time with such elas- 
 ticity of moral and intellectual vigour. He believed the country 
 was quite alive on the subject to which he now called their atten- 
 tion — and if they were so, to whom was it owing 1 Certainly to 
 Mr. Hone — who at the peril of his life — at the expense of the 
 destruction of his fortune — and, finally, when the annihilation of 
 all his future views was threatened — stood forward, undismayed, 
 and dauntlessly dared the worst his adversaries could do. (Ap- 
 ])lause.) For this they were deeply indebted to him. "With Mr. 
 Hone's conduct hereafter he had nothing to do — but, he conceived, 
 they had no right to doubt but that it would be honourable and 
 manly, when they recollected the courage he had evinced, and the 
 spirit of honest independence which he had displayed, when 
 beset by dangers calculated to embarrass and appal men much 
 better known to the public. (Applause.) There was another 
 individual (Mr. C. Pearson"), whose name ought not to pass un- 
 noticed on the present occasion, although it had not been alluded 
 to by the worthy Chairman — an individual, whose exertions had 
 been of the utmost consequence to the liberty of the subject, in as 
 far as the Trial by Jury was connected with that sacred object. 
 The gentleman to whom he alluded was entitled to the thanks of 
 his country for the pains he had taken to obtain an important 
 reformation of the Special Jury List. The object attained by that 
 persevering and disinterested individual, he considered as one of 
 the most important that had been accomplished during the event- 
 ful period in which he lived. For, when a system of corruption 
 existed, he conceived that a greater good could not be effected 
 than the compelling the friends of oppression to give up that old 
 corrupt list of jurymen, and to procure another, containing the 
 names of upright and honourable, and perfectly disinterested men. 
 (Applause.) Mr. Pearson had effected this, and by so doing had 
 perhaps laid the foundation for all those defeats which the ofiicers 
 
 * Appointed " City Solicitor " 31st October, 1839. Died, 1-lth September, 18G2. 
 lie was the originator of tho Metropolitan Under-ground Eailway.
 
 206 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 of tlie Crown had experienced. Tliis lie considered as the first 
 fi-uits — as a foretaste of the invaluable blessings resulting from a 
 constitutional reformation. An appeal to an honest and upright 
 jury might be truly said to be a trial by the countiy, not a trial 
 by a sham time-serving pack of ministerial tools. Now, it might 
 well be expected that the object of Court vengeance could appeal 
 with confidence to a jury of Englishmen, who were armed against 
 treasury influence, and who would stand firm in the cause of 
 liberty. If this glorious reformation could be extended to the 
 county of Middlesex, and the Middlesex Special Jury List were 
 purged of corruption, then would a fair prospect be opened of 
 setting at defiance, as Mr. Hone did on this occasion, the unfair 
 practices of Judges in the Courts of Law. He conceived that a 
 more improper doctrine was never laid down on any occasion, 
 than what had been promulgated by a learned judge in the course 
 of these prosecutions. How could he so mistake the case, as to 
 state, that an Act meant to protect the Liberty of the Press, 
 should be turned against the very purpose for which it had been 
 introduced? Never had any attempt of this sort been more 
 glaring than the construction put upon Mr. Eox's Libel Bill, the 
 professed object of which was to support the Liberty of the Press. 
 But the Learned Judges attempted a construction which was in 
 direct opposition to the object for which it was framed ; for, accord- 
 ing to them, the judge on the bench had a right to act as foreman 
 of the jury, and deliver his own verdict first — (hear, hear) — 
 and this with all due theatrical solemnity — the hand upon the 
 heart — at least, the hand where the heart should be — (laughter) — 
 and under the pompous solemnity of an oath of office ; but this 
 too with all the aggravations and exaggerations of the importance 
 of the trial — before the jury opened their mouths, or even had an 
 opportunity of forming their own conscientious opinion upon the 
 subject. Now this could not be the true construction of Mr. Fox's 
 Act ; for if it were, the King's subjects were in a worse situation 
 than they were before the passing of the Act. If he (the Hon. 
 Bart.), read the Act rightly, it was, that the judge should give his 
 opinion to the jury as in other cases. Now, if that were so, he
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 207 
 
 would ask, whether the judge in this case ought not to give such 
 an opinion as would be most conducive to the ends of justice, and 
 most favourable to the liberty of the country. But Mr. Hone and 
 an honest jury had put the right construction upon the Act, and 
 they happened to put a very different construction upon it from 
 that of the learned judge. They could not be i-easoned out of their 
 own plain, unsophisticated, common sense — they could see no guilt, 
 whei-e the intention did not accompany the act, and confoi-ming to 
 the general principles of the Law of England, they could not find 
 a man guilty, who had no intention to commit offence. The 
 intention was the gravamen of the charge, and unless the intention 
 v/as corrupt, there could be no guilt. The fact, however, was, 
 that he never knew a lawyer able to perform a common-sense idea 
 upon the subject of the law of libel. Unfortunately, there was no 
 settled and defined law upon the subject ; and, indeed, so uncertain 
 was the law of liljel, that a man could hardly be able to tell, in 
 nine instances out of ten, when he had or had not written a libel. 
 Xay, a man who set out with an avowed intention of writing a 
 libel, might Ml of his object, though he meant to break the law. 
 Tliere were cases in which a man would be justifiable in writing a 
 libel ; for instance, when the object was to awake his countrymen 
 to a sense of some dangerous inroads upon their liberty. Such 
 might fairly be called an honest libel ; but it was most lamentable 
 that there was no certain i-ule of law applicable to offences of this 
 description. All other offences in the criminal code of the countiy 
 had some technical name by which they were respectively known 
 and defined. The plainest understanding could comprehend the 
 meaning of burglary, murder, &c. — oflences which were known to 
 the common law of England. But there was no knowing what a 
 libel meant. It was an offence which cari-ied with it the marks of 
 its accursed origin, — namely, as the invention of the Star Chamber, 
 founded upon musty remnants of the Civil Law, which was 
 contrary to the genuine principles of the law of England. All 
 offences injurious to the country were clearly defined by the latter; 
 but this new fangled offence was founded in ai-tifice and false 
 pretence. By this law, a man of the purest motives and most
 
 208 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 upriglit character might be doomed to linger out a miserable 
 existence within the walls of a dungeon, without even being 
 aware that he was committing any offence. Libel was really any- 
 thing which the law officers of the Crown could persuade twelve 
 men, picked and chosen by the master of the Crown Office, to 
 believe to be an offence against his Majesty's Ministers. To Mr. 
 Charles Pearson's manly exertions, however, was the country 
 indebted for a change in this unjust system of packing and 
 culling jurymen. But in truth, it might be said (with his friend 
 Mr. Home Tooke) of the old jury list, that it was like offering a 
 man a basket of rotten oranges, from which he was at liberty to 
 take his choice. (A laugh and much applause.) It seemed, 
 however, that the judges of the King's Bench had laid it down as 
 a broad position, that the master of the Crown Office had a right to 
 nominate and choose the jury from the jury list. This was a 
 position which was without any legal authority, and one which the 
 common sense of the people would not endure. It was impossible 
 to bear the people down with doctrines so diametrically opposite to 
 the principles of common justice. This was a subject into which 
 it was impossible now to enter. Mr. Hone, by his manly and 
 courageous exertions, had achieved a public good ; and in that 
 sense must his recent painful trials be considered. Like the man 
 who used to exhibit his head in the lion's mouth, he had had his 
 head in the lion's mouth, but fortunately for him the lion had not 
 wagged his tail, or probably his fate would have been the same with 
 the unfortunate showman. His perilous situation ought not to be 
 forgotten. But upon this subject it was unnecessary for him to say 
 a word. The numerous assembly present mai-ked the sense of 
 public feeling on the occasion, and he was quite persuaded that 
 Ml-. Hone would meet with that reward which his distinguished 
 merits deserved. But, because he had won the victoiy, they were 
 not to suppose that he had not encountered any danger ; because 
 he had returned to his family, they were not to imagine that he 
 was not near being snatched away from them. If a verdict could 
 have been obtained against him, he probably never would have 
 returned to them again. But, as he had gone through his critical
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 209 
 
 trials ■\\itli manly intrepidity, with a boldness truly English, 
 without oftence and without fear — he conceived that his conduct 
 called on them to piit him in such a situation, that, for the rest of 
 his life, he should feel the benefit of those rare good qualities which he 
 had so eminently displayed through the whole of this business. He 
 should now conclude, although the subject was one fluent as the 
 sea, and, were all its sands eloquent tongues, it comprised matter 
 to employ them all. He felt it unnecessary to address such an 
 assembly — an assembly of Englishmen — in a strain of exhortation 
 on the suflei'ings which Mr. Hone had endured. Ho would not say 
 a word on that point, because he knew full well that their feelings 
 would dictate to them what they ought to do. He knew that they 
 needed not to be prompted on such an occasion ; and, therefore, 
 he should conclude by moving that the resolutions be read. 
 
 '"'Alderman Thorp declared his unwillingness to offer himself 
 to public notice on any occasion, but when called upon to perform 
 an important public duty, he should rather be thought obtrusive 
 than reluctant. Therefore, he had no hesitation to second the 
 motion, which had been so ably supported by the worthy baronet 
 who preceded him. It was impossible, in his judgment, for any 
 Englishman not to exult in the issue of Mr. Hone's trials, and in 
 the manly manner in which that meritoiious individual had con- 
 ducted himself throughout ; for while that conduct presented a 
 most interesting example of the genuine spirit of an Englishman, 
 the result afforded a most important testimony of the value of the 
 trial by jury, and an additional barrier for the Liberty of the 
 Press. He cordially congratulated the Meeting upon this 
 inestimable victory, feeling, as he did, the great benefits of the 
 Trial by Jury, and the Liberty of the Press ; for without those 
 invaluable privileges, no country could be free, and with them no 
 country could be enslaved. The three Juries, therefore, who tried 
 Mr. Hone, and who might well be regarded as the representatives 
 of the uncorruptcd population of England, had asserted their 
 ri'^'ht to maintain the Trial by Jury in the fulness of its purity, as 
 well as performed their duty in defending the Liberty of the Press. 
 » Elected Alderman, 1817. Lord Mayor, 1820. 
 P
 
 210 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 Such Jurors were entitled to the universal thanks of their country 
 in establishing the triumph of sound reason and common sense 
 over hypocrisy and sophistry, (Applause.) The Worthy Alder- 
 man concluded with a panegyric upon the motion, which was put, 
 and carried unanimously. 
 
 The Resolutions were then piit by the Chairman ser-iatim, and 
 were carried unanimously, and with the loudest acclamations. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 1. That the Liberty of the Press is one of the dearest rights and 
 proudest distinctions of Englishmen, and is inseparably connected with, 
 and wholly dependant on the purity of the Trial by Jury. 
 
 2. That the inestimable importance of the sacred and constitutional 
 ri"-ht of Trial by Jury, has never been more demonstratively proved 
 than by the recent prosecutions and honourable acquittals of Mr. 
 William Hone. 
 
 3. That Parodies on Scripture having been written and published 
 by Martin Liither, the Father of the Reformation, by Dignitaries of 
 the Church, and by other eminent and learned personages down to the 
 present time, we are persuaded that the exception taken to the parodies 
 of Mr. Hone by the present Ministers of the Crown was to answer 
 political purposes against the Liberty of the Press. 
 
 4. That a hypocritical pi'ostitution of Religion, and a pretended 
 zeal for its defence, when used by corrupt Statesmen as a mask for 
 political persecution, must ever be held by all sincere Christians as the 
 worst pi'ofanation of its sacred name. 
 
 5. That it is evident fi'om the manner in which those prosecutions 
 were commenced and conducted, that the real object of Ministers was 
 not to protect Religion ; but to crush an apparently defenceless indi- 
 vidual, who had exposed their political delinquencies, to stifle public 
 discussion, to destroy the Liberty of the Press, and to uphold existing 
 abuse. 
 
 6. That the extensive knowledge, the varied talents, the manly 
 intrepidity, the energy of mind, and the unshaken perseverance which 
 enabled Mr. William Hone so dauntlessly to resist the reiterated 
 assaults of Ministerial persecution, entitle him to the gratitude and 
 support of every friend to constitiitional freedom. 
 
 7. That a Subscription be now opened, and that the money which may 
 be subscribed, be placed in the hands of a Committee to be used in such
 
 AND LIBEUTY OF THE TKESS. 211 
 
 v/ay as shall appear to them best calculated to promote the permanent 
 welfare of Mr. Hone and his Family. 
 
 8. That the following Gentlemen be of the Committee : — Alderman 
 Goodbehere,* Alderman Thorp, Ixobert AVaithman, Joseph Hurcombe, 
 William Sturch, Samuel Brooks, William Williams, William Teesdale. 
 
 9. That Eobert Waithman be the Treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Waithman now observed that lie should have stated that 
 there had already been subscriptions to a veiy good extent received. 
 The Chairman was called on to read tlie names, and immediately 
 proceeded to state the names, &c., under which the subscriptions 
 liad been received ; among others, were, from a lady, .£50 ; ISo 
 Politician, £5 ; No Parodist, but an enemy to persecution, .£21 ; 
 Mr. Waithman, £10 ; Mr. Sturch, £10 ; Pro Bono Publico, £2 2s. ; 
 Aldermen Goodbehere and Thorp, £10 each; An Englishman, 
 £10; James Perry, Esq., £20; Sir Richai-d Phillips, £5; Jones 
 Burdett, Esq., £5, and so on to a very considerable amount. 
 Mr. Waithman next observed that he liad a very gratifying thing 
 to communicate ; it was, that he had received through a friend 
 known to them all, a subscription of £100. (Loud applause, and 
 cries of "Name! name!") He did not know who this liberal 
 contributor was, altliougli, perhaps, his name might be collected 
 from the manner in which the subscription was given ; it was 
 accompanied by the following sentence: — "From a Member of 
 the House of Peers — an enemy to persecution, and especially to 
 religious persecution employed for political purposes." (Loud and 
 continued cheers.) The worthy Chairman, in conclusion, said, 
 that it was impossible for any person not present at Mr. Hone's 
 trial, to form the least conception of the ability, courage, and 
 feeling displayed by that worthy man in the trial. He appeared 
 on the highest pinnacle on which a man could be placed, while all 
 around him looked little, very little. " I'd sooner forget all I ever 
 saw beside, than be without the impression which I felt on wit- 
 nessing such a scene." (Great applause.) 
 
 Mr. Perry, of the Morning Chronicle, rose amidst tumultuous 
 applause, for the purpose, he said, of taking a part in the pro- 
 
 * Elected Alilcrmin, 1809.
 
 212 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 ceedings of that day, than •wliicli none could have been more 
 grateful to his feelings — it was to propose the thanks of the 
 assembly to that eminent and distinguished patriot, whose merits 
 were too strongly engraven on the mind of every man who heard 
 him to require enumeration — he meant Sir F. Burdett. (Cheers.) 
 To do justice to the character of that enlightened statesman, would 
 require a portion of the eloquence which had been displayed by 
 Mr. Hone in the course of his able defence ; he felt that he was 
 incompetent to the task, and could only say, that they all owed 
 the deepest obligations to one who had so bravely, with so much 
 eloquence, and with such unabated zeal fought their battles. 
 (Loud cheers.) He was delighted to find that the enthusiasm of 
 the meeting corresponded with his own. It might with truth be 
 said, that no man deserved more the admii-ation of his countrymen 
 than the Hon. Baronet to whom he alluded. Met as they were 
 to defend the liberty of the press — for unless the press were free, 
 no man could exist in society — it was the light of the mind, it 
 was to the mind as air was to the human body, without it they 
 must expire. (Cheers.) He said, met as they were for this 
 purpose, it was impossible to tell what was the amount of the 
 debt of gratitude which they owed to those individuals who had 
 stood forward to protect that which was the food of the human 
 mind. (Cheers.) The Hon. Baronet (Sir F. Burdett) had said, 
 that, in point of fact, the law of libel was utterly undefined, and 
 that men with the best intention, and with their eyes open, might 
 write a libel. This was, indeed, a faithful representation of the 
 case. The interpretation which he had heard given to a libel, and 
 more especially by those who were interested in meeting the 
 wishes of Ministers, was, that truth was a libel, that anything 
 which was written or published, of which any body complained, 
 was what the law designated a libel. In other words, that any 
 man who dared to publish the truth, however important the truth 
 might be to the interest of the community, was a libeller. He 
 could only say, that he for one would brave this construction. 
 He would publish the truth, though he should provoke his 
 Majesty's Ministers to attack him. (Applause.) He denied that
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 213 
 
 truth -was a libel. To tell tlie truth was a pri\-ilege to which 
 they were born, and was one which he would not be tlie first to 
 sacrifice. The Hon. Baronet had said that he did not know a 
 single lawyer who had ever formed a common-sense idea upon the 
 question of libel. Althougli it gave him pain to differ in the 
 slightest degree from one for whom he entertained so much 
 respect, yet in this particular he was bound to disagree with him, 
 and he thought the Hon. Baronet would be a convei*t to his 
 opinion. There was a lawyer who had been able to come to a 
 just conclusion on this subject. He meant that individual who 
 had been the real parent of the libel bill — one who had defended 
 him successfully under prosecutions for libel, and one to whom his 
 country would ever feel indebted — he meant Lord Erskine.' 
 (Loud and reiterated cheers.) Lord Erskine was a lawyer who 
 had grappled with the greatest judges of his day, in the first stage 
 of his legal business, when he had everything to dread from their 
 power, and everything to hope from his subserviency. Befoi'e he 
 proceeded to read the resolution, to move which was the object of 
 his rising, he begged leave to suggest the expediency before they 
 separated of some steps being taken to have another meeting. He 
 conceived it was of the highest importance that they should have 
 an opportunity to express their feelings on the great cause of all 
 those persecutions. That which he wished was, that an expression 
 of public feeling should go forth, and that a meeting of the 
 Freeholders of the county of Middlesex should be called, for the 
 purpose of making a declaration upon the suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus Act, and upon that abominable circular which had been 
 issued by the Minister of the Home Department ; by which he 
 had prohibited the circulation of what he was pleased to call 
 blasphemous libels, and empowered the magistracy to send to 
 prison those by whom they were sold. These publications had 
 now, by the acquittal of Mr. Hone on three successive trials, and 
 
 * Born about 1750. On the death of Mr. Pitt in 180G, when Lord Grenvillo 
 received the commands of George III. to form a new administration, llr. Erskine 
 Mas created a peer, and raised to tlie dignity of Lord High Chancellor of Great 
 Britain. Died, 1823.
 
 214 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 Oil three successive days, during wliicli he had been tormented 
 physically as well as mentally, been pronounced no libels. The 
 whole foundation of the suspension of their liberties was a mere 
 fallacy ; and under such cii'cumstances, were they, with their eyes 
 open, to suffer the act by which those liberties were suspended to 
 expire of itself 1 (Shouts, and cries of " ITo ! no!") Would 
 they not, by an expression of public feeling, call for its instant 
 repeal, and not by acquiescence, as with the Mutiny Bill, or a 
 common Shipping Bill, have it hereafter renewed as a matter of 
 course once a year? (Cries of "Yes! it must be I'epealed with- 
 out delay.") Let a requisition be sent to the Sheriff of Middlesex, 
 and let it be known that it came from that room, requiring him 
 to call a meeting for this purpose; and let the committee appointed 
 on the present occasion bring the matter forward in such shape as 
 to them might seem proper. He trusted their example would 
 be followed by others, and that the feeling would go round the 
 country. Mr. Perry concluded by moving: — 
 
 10. That the thanks of this meeting are due to Sir Francis Burdett, 
 Bart., for his spoutaneous offers of co-operation with the gentlemen 
 originating the subscription, in strict conformity with a life of pure 
 patriotism and love of country. 
 
 Mr. "Walker rose to second this motion, which had his most 
 complete and unqualified concurrence. The worthy baronet full 
 well knew the feelings of Englishmen. (Applause.) He had too 
 much judgment to dwell on any exhortation to them to subscribe 
 on an occasion of this kind, he left that point in its proper place, 
 well knowing that they would exercise their zeal upon it in a man- 
 ner becoming such a subject. He would take this opportunity of 
 paying a proper tribute to the fair sex, a few of whom were then 
 in the room. (Some interruption here took place.) They recol- 
 lected that one fair lady sent £50 to grace their subscription. 
 (Great applause and laughter.) They ought also to bear in mind 
 that one juror on the first day's trial stepped forward on behalf of 
 Mr. Hone, when he was about to be put down for using what the 
 judge thought irrelevant matter, and said that he thought the
 
 AND LIDERTY OF THE PRESS. 215 
 
 matter I'elevaut.'"" Such a man deserved public thanks for the ex- 
 pression of his honest feeling. (AppUxuse.) It maintiuned and 
 sup25orted at such a moment in Court a struggling and nearly 
 overpowered man, and enabled him, under Ju7->/-ma:Ats, to trim his 
 little bark, then exposed to the pelting of the pitiless storm, and 
 bring it round into the harbour with safety. The gale which was 
 chasing Ijigotry from the shores of South America would not allow 
 that hideous monster to take refuge in England ; but entering- 
 Guildhall it rived the very trappings of the Judge, who was obliged 
 to exclaim to the Attorney-General, who felt the blast, '' we had 
 better let it blow over us." (Much laughter.) The worthy gentle- 
 man concluded by an eloquent appeal to the meeting on behalf of 
 Mr. Hone and his infant family. 
 
 The resolution of thanks was then carried by acclamation. 
 Sir Francis Burdett rose and returned thanks. He felt that 
 this new subject on which Mr. Perry had touched in so handsome 
 a manner towards him, and with so much eloquence in descanting 
 uj)on the topic, was one on which he (Sir Francis) could say little, 
 except that he highly cherished and esteemed this expression of 
 their good opinion ; and that he also considered the good opinion 
 of his fellow- citizens as the only reward he could hope for, wish, or 
 experience throughout the whole of his life. (Applause.) On the 
 same principles which this day received the stamp of their much- 
 valued approbation, they might reckon on his future eflbrts, be the 
 time long or short that may remain for his public career. Before 
 he entered on a moi-e pleasing task than self-allusions, he would 
 make one or two observations on an allusion made by Mr. Perry, to 
 the opinion of an eminent lawyer relative to the law of libel. 
 There was, doubtless, no person more conversant than that gentle- 
 man with the subject, or fitter to pi-onounce an opinion upon it. 
 Mr. Perry and himself (Sir Francis) were equally convicted libellers, 
 and they had a right to look closely to this matter, [Here it was in- 
 
 * He said that lio was prepared to die, if need be, rather tlian pronounce a 
 man " guilty" who was manifestly prosecuted, not for blasphemy or sedition, but 
 for exposing abuses wliich were eating into the very heart of the nation. This 
 juror was an eminent London merchant, named Elwall.
 
 216 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 timated to the worthy baronet that Mr. Perry had not been convicted 
 on the occasion he alhided to.] Sir Francis tlien observed that he 
 had committed a mistake ; he certainly recollected very well that 
 his friend was indebted to a very able defence which he made in 
 person for his acquittal on a groundless charge of libel, but he 
 thought that he had been convicted on a former occasion, and on 
 that account he thought he might have considered him as his fellow 
 colleague. He had himself been imprisoned for what was called a 
 libel, and he might be so again ; but no fear of that kind would 
 ever deter him from exposing a corrupt Assembly that acted in 
 the name of the people, just as the ministers were acting in the 
 name and on behalf of his Majesty. (Applause.) No penalties 
 that Assembly could inflict should ever deter him from speaking 
 the truth in defence of the liberties of the people. Whenever they 
 attempted to enact measures trenching upon the natural, unalien- 
 able, impi-escriptible, rights of Englishmen, there was no penalty, 
 there should be no laws, which should ever deter him from incur- 
 ring that penalty, from breaking those laws whenever the rights 
 and liberties of his country required such a sacrifice. {Loud and 
 continued cheering.) As to the observation respecting the oj^inion 
 of a certain great lawyer on the subject of libel, he did not think 
 there was any disagreement between them on this point. Lord 
 Erskine, when at the bar, did certainly bear up most nobly against 
 the oppressive doctrines of judges, but he never did define what a 
 libel was ; and a gentleman who was ia the habit of writing, like 
 his friend, did not now know any lawyer to whom he could go and 
 consult as to what was libel or what was not ; and if he did consult 
 lawyers they would give different opinions according to their private 
 views. In short, no one ever could define what a libel was ; and for 
 himself he believed everything he ever wrote might by some lawyers 
 be called libels. (Laughter.) There never was such a despotism 
 as this Law of Libel, as it was called, had reared. It was a 
 thousand times worse than the plan adopted by the tyrant Caligula, 
 who posted up his laws, but in places so high and in letters so 
 small that, though it was impossible to read them, it was death to 
 commit an infraction upon their provisions. A difi"erent plan was,
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 217 
 
 indeed, practised in the early times of England. The statutes were 
 then really promulgated — they were posted in the market places 
 o.ud read in all the churches. This fair notification may be said to 
 justify the maxim that ignorance of the law was no excuse for its 
 infraction. But what was the case now, they had rooms full of 
 statutes on every simple subject? Lawyers did not know the law, 
 they only went to look after it among the books on receiving their 
 fee. (Great laughter.) There never had been a common-sense 
 definition of the Law of Libel, or of the oflfence itself The only- 
 fair definition was that any writing was a libel which a pei'sou 
 belonging to the Government thought so. (Applause.) The notion 
 that a thing was a libel because it tended to a breach of the peace 
 Avas nonsense — it was absurd. A man, forsooth, was accused of 
 Avriting something which may possibly provoke, not himself, but 
 some other man to do a criminal act. This was pi'etty common- 
 sense and excellent law — it was in so many words to say that if an 
 individual laid down his goods where some thief was tempted to 
 take them away, the owner should be punished for his tempting, 
 and not the thief who stole the property. (Great applause.) He 
 had now the pleasing task of drawing their attention to the exer- 
 tions of a gentleman who had deserved well of his country. He 
 meant Mr. Pearson, who, along with Mr. Wooler, was the first to 
 attack the abominable system of striking special juries. And not 
 only Mr. Hone, but the public at large were indebted to that 
 gentleman for having so bravely j^laced himself in the gap, and 
 endeavoured to break down that practice. Li reforming that 
 obsolete and imperfect list, he maintained that the greatest practical 
 benefit ever conferred in his time was thus bestowed on the com- 
 munity. He thus brought home one of the greatest and most 
 leading benefits of the British Constitution. He accomplished this 
 great act by his own exertions, and through the medium of his 
 own intellect, which enabled liim to see his way clearly and properly 
 to the real evil at issue. The worthy baronet concluded by 
 moving — 
 
 11. That the thanks of this meeting are hereby given cordially to 
 Mr. Charles Pearson, for his manly and successful struggle in correcting
 
 218 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 the corrupt system of packing juries, which has contributed so essen- 
 tially tov/avd the present triumph ; and especially for the gratuitous 
 advice and assistance given to Mr. Hone throughout the whole of the 
 prosecutions, affording a rare example to his profession of zeal, inde- 
 pendence, and disinterestedness. 
 
 Lord Cochrane then rose, and was received with loud cheers. 
 He said, that in doing himself the honour of seconding the motion 
 just made, he could not refrain from expressing the great gratifi- 
 cation he felt at seeing such a meeting assembled, for a cause in 
 which, they must have the concurrence of every honest man 
 throughout the nation, (Hear, hear.) With very different feel- 
 ings he appeared in that room on a former occasion, when an 
 attempt was made to practise a delusion upon the people, by telling 
 them that their distresses arose from the sudden transition from a 
 state of war to a state of peace. This delusion he, at the time, 
 assisted to dispel. They had now to contemplate a very different 
 spectacle ; they had to witness the triumph of the oj^i^ressed over 
 his oppressors ; and to learn from it the wholesome lesson, that 
 while tlie purity of an honest Trial by Jury existed, and while 
 English jurors were faithful to their trust, tyranny could never 
 shackle the ^ieople, (Great applause.) But this triumph never 
 could have been obtained, had not the Jury List been purified. 
 Was it to be endured, that in such a metropolis as London, only 
 480 men (tlie number on the old list) were qualified to perform the 
 important office of jurors 1 It was thus that previous convictions 
 had been obtained ; for in all other cases juries were found to take 
 the law of libel at once from the judge. The present, however, 
 was the greatest blow that tyranny ever met with in this countiy. 
 Short of a radical reform in the House of Commons, this reform in 
 the Trial by Jury was the most important. When any of the 
 gentlemen who heaxxl him, therefoi'e, sat on juries, he hoped they 
 would guard, themselves against the misrepresentations which were 
 made by lawyers ; and he hoped this subject would be soon taken 
 up in a proper manner in Parliament, He spoke feelingly on this 
 subject. (Applause.) But the case of others had been much 
 worse, for many were convicted and punished with death, on the
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS, 210 
 
 evidence of the most abandoned cliavacters ; men were convicted 
 by packed juries, and on the evidence of suborned and false wit- 
 nesses. His lordship afterwards adverted to the sentence that had 
 been passed on him upon axa iinjust conviction for breaking out of 
 prison. A fine of £100 had been thus imposed on him ; but 
 sooner than have paid that fine, he would have remained and 
 rotted in prison ; his constituents paid it for him, and relieved 
 him from his most painful situation. That money he wished now 
 to return ; and with feelings of heartfelt thankfulness to Mr. 
 Hone for his manly and able exertions in defence of the liberties 
 of the people, he would now lay down the £100 which he then 
 held in his hand, in addition to the sums already subscribed for 
 him. (Here there were torrents of applause, which lasted sevei'al 
 minutes.) He said he never in his life did any act with more 
 satisfaction than this. He wished he had the means of doing 
 more. (Cries of " Bravo ! ") He had attempted to convert the 
 money with which he would pay his subscription, into the ancient 
 coin of the realm, but the Bank would only pay old outstanding 
 notes in this manner ; they knew that no such were to be had, 
 and this they called a resumption of cash payments. (Applause.) 
 He might have got Sovereigns or Regents, but he knew that they 
 had nothing to do with this subscription, and he therefore did not 
 bring them. (Laughter.) What other names for coin there might 
 be by and bye, he knew not now. The good old Crowns would 
 be called, perhaps, Boroughmongers ; the Half-crowns, Sinccurists ; 
 the Shillings, Placemen ; and the Sixpences, Expectants. (Con- 
 tinued laughter and applause.) The noble lord animadverted 
 with great indignation on the prosecution he had endured, and 
 pledged himself to unfold such a scene, with reference to the 
 transactions imputed to him, as would shock every honest and 
 feeling mind. He concluded by repeating his eulogium on Mr. 
 Pearson, and seconding the motion of thanks to that gentleman. 
 (Great applause.) 
 
 The motion was unanimously carried. 
 
 Mr. C. Pearson — Gentlemen, I rise under considerable 
 trepidation to acknowledge the obligation I feel myself under for
 
 220 TEIAL BY JURY 
 
 the kindness I have just experienced. In acknowledging my gra- 
 titude for that exhibition of friendship which you have so feelingly 
 manifested towards me on this occasion, in consequence of the 
 part I have taken in this business, I feel a very great degi'ee of 
 difficulty, — because it is the first time in my life that I have 
 addressed so large an assembly — and it is certainly the first time 
 that I ever addressed an assembly on such an occasion. If I do 
 not return thanks so expressively as you may conceive I ought, it 
 is not because my heart cannot feel emotions of gratitude. My 
 heart has felt them in hallowed silence — you have touched its 
 most sensitive chord — but I am unable to sweep the strings, on 
 this occasion, with the same facility that I might do on others. 
 (Applause.) My exertions were called forth, on the recent 
 struggle, because I saw such abilities and talents in the gentleman 
 whose conduct has earned your approbation this day, as led me to 
 believe that he would be able to make a powerful stand against 
 the inroads of power. (Applause.) I hope this applause is given 
 to me, not for what I have done, but because I am a new soldier 
 in the cause of freedom, whom you would wish to encourage ; I 
 hope it is hountij, given to me, as a recruit — and permit me to 
 observe, if such be the fact, that Mr. Hone is my hringer — and I 
 trust the hringer will be liberally rewarded. (Applause.) When 
 I went to the Crown Office with Mr. Hone to strike the jury, and 
 to endeavour to abolish that system, which has sent many persons 
 as innocent as he is, to dungeons and to death, I found there the 
 Ostlers of the Augean Stahle, with the hacks of the Court in 
 waiting, and the Jehus of the law ready mounted in order to ride 
 •over the liberties of people. (Applause.) I found them, like the 
 Indian worshippers, ready to sacrifice to the God of their idolatry, 
 by driving the chariot of power over this oppressed man. (Ap- 
 plause.) They said, " Gentlemen, thex'e shall be no selection — 
 there shall be an indiscriminate taking — you may proceed to any 
 part of the stable — well knowing that the sorry jades in that 
 stable, almost worn out in the service of corruption, were ready to 
 give us the long-trot the moment they were employed. I was for- 
 tunate enough to produce an opposition to this system. I stated
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 221 
 
 ray determination to attack, in every way, a system detested by 
 good men in all times — a system reprobated on the trial of Mr. 
 Home Tooke — a system, the ])rinoiples of which those who have 
 been the victims of it never took on themselves to investigate, 
 because they felt so many strong prejudices embarked in flxvour of 
 what appeared to be a fair jury. (Applause.) We, however, sent 
 their hackneys back to the stable — (applause) — and, I am happy to 
 say, I have secured stable and all, and have them now in my pos- 
 session. (Laughter.) I feel much obliged to many individuals in 
 this I'oom for the triumph that has been obtained — because I 
 know it is to be ascribed to them in a great measure. Their manly 
 exertions — their exalted names — their honourable chai-acters — 
 caiTied forward my views in that Court (the Common Council) 
 before which it was necessary that I should appear, for the purpose 
 of effecting the great object I contemplated. I allude more parti- 
 cularly to the honourable individual who now tills your chair. 
 From him I received the most polite attention, the most manly 
 and candid support. (Applause.) It was no trifle, when he, a 
 veteran in arms, who had led so often to victory, condescended to 
 follow the suggestions of a raw recruit, who might be said ncA^er 
 to have seen a musket, and to be completely ignorant of the use of 
 it. (Applause.) Gentlemen, thovigh much has been done — much 
 yet remains to do. "VVe have not only to put down the system for 
 the present, we must effectually provide against its recurrence at 
 a future pei'iod. (Applause.) I hope we shall not let the present 
 year pass away without doing that which will stand on recoixl for 
 ages, as essentially beneficial to the country. I trust that in this 
 year, when the great luminary of our Constitution, the Habeas 
 Corpus Act, has been eclipsed, that we shall not be plunged in 
 total darkness ; but that the renovated Jiiry List will be left to 
 cheer and console us ; I trust it will rise as the evening star of 
 our liberties, when all beside is dim and cloudy. (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. SruRCH said, a resolution had been put into his hand which 
 did not require any deep reasoning or great preparation in. order to 
 introduce it to the meeting. If it had been othei'wise he should 
 have declined bringing it forward, because he came into that room
 
 222 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 totally unprepared to take any active part in the business of the 
 day, and was quite ignorant of tlie resolutions that were intended 
 to be proposed. He knew indeed the general purpose of the meet- 
 ing. He considered it to be a most laudable one, and he entirely 
 approved of it. The resolution which he was about to move 
 accorded entirely with his sentiments, and, he was convinced, with 
 those of every person present. It required no ability to bring it 
 forward, and therefore he undertook the task, not only without 
 reluctance, but with pleasure, because it afforded him an oppor- 
 tunity of expressing the gratitude of his heart to those worthy 
 gentlemen who were the caiise of calling this meeting, and particu- 
 larly to hif^> valued friend who now presided in the chaii*. The 
 situation was indeed one of which any individual might be justly 
 proud — because he presided over an assembly of freemen, met for 
 the sacred purpose of supporting and pi'otecting those rights and 
 privileges which were dear to them as their lives. The motive 
 which induced him to take that chair was the same that had 
 directed his conduct during a long life spent in the public service — 
 namely, a wish to serve that great and noble cause of liberty in 
 which they were all so deeply interested. (Applause.) He had 
 also another gratification of coming forward with this resolution, 
 because it gave him an opportunity of expressing his indignation 
 at, and his reprobation of, that most unjust and cruel persecution 
 which Mr. Hone had experienced — (applause) — which was carried 
 on under the hypocritical pretence of zeal for religion and morality 
 — (applause) — at the very moment that those who were engaged in 
 it knew that religion had nothing to do with it ; that it was 
 fomented by a feeling of political revenge on their part ; and that, 
 in fact, the publications had no object but a political one. (Applause.) 
 He could not help confessing that at some moments he was inclined 
 to look with an eye of pity and compassion on the Attorney-General 
 and other persons connected with him in these prosecutions. He 
 could easily conceive the difficulties they laboured under ; and if 
 he thought that the law of England would excuse one more parody 
 before they were laid by for ever, he would say, " It is easier for a 
 camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a Crown Lawyer
 
 AXD LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 223 
 
 to be an lionest mau ! " (Laughter.) In conclusion, after a hand- 
 some eulogy on the public and j)rivate virtues of Mr. Waithman, 
 it was moved by Mr. Starch — • 
 
 12. That the thanks of this meeting be given to Mr. "VVaithman for 
 his conduct in the chair, and for his exertions uisou all occasions to sup- 
 ]) irt the cause of liberty. 
 
 2Ti\ WoOLER stood forwai'd amidst a scene similar to that "which 
 thetlieatre presents when Mi-. Kean* appears in a favourite character. 
 He said he rose on the present occasion to second the motion that 
 had been just introduced to their notice, and he did so with the 
 gi'eatest pleasure, because there was no man whom he could feci 
 greater pride to see in the chair than the gentleman who now filled. 
 that situation. He thought it was as decisive a proof as that 
 gentleman could give (if proof were necessai-y) of his entire devotion 
 to those principles of reform and liberty which they all wished to 
 rescue from the powerful grasp of tyranny. The present was one 
 of the most important cases on which a public meeting could be 
 convened. It was a meeting of the inhabitants of tliis gi-eat me- 
 tropolis, hurling back on those slanderers who had deprived them 
 of their rights the charge of sedition, disaffection, and disloyalty, 
 which they had preferred against them ; and telling those who had 
 dared to infringe on their liberties that they were ready to defend 
 them. (Great applause.) The result of those trials had proved 
 the truth of a proposition which he always had and ever would 
 maintain — namely, that there was nothing so contemptible as 
 usurped power, and nothing so formidable as courageous innocence 
 and a determined spirit. (Applause.) The result of those trials 
 had finely exemplified the moral observation of our great poet — 
 
 " Thrice is he arm'd who hath his quarrel just — 
 And he but naked, though lock'd up in steel, 
 Whose conscience with injustice is polluted."t 
 
 This remark might fairly be said to have been literally fulfilled in 
 
 Mr. Hone's case. Thrice was he assailed, thrice was he armed for 
 
 * Edmund Rean, an eminent Englisli tragedian, was born in London about 
 1787 ; died, May loth, 1833. 
 I Shr.kcspcarc.
 
 224 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 the attack, and tlirice lie returned successful from the combat. 
 (Applause.) The array which he had to encounter was dreadful. 
 Awful was the appearance behind the bar and on the bench of wigs, 
 and gowns, and gravity — all summoned to oppose him. (Laiighter.) 
 He was encountered by those who deemed their forensic jiai'apher- 
 nalia more important than did the contending heroes of old the 
 armour of Achilles ; by those who sometimes seemed to forget that 
 imagination might lead people to look for a man beneath the gown, 
 or a head under the vyig, however ill its interior might be furnished. 
 (Laughter.) Those gentlemen depended much on their gravity ; 
 but when they learned from natural history that the gravest quad- 
 ruped was an ass, and the gravest bird an oiol, men of common 
 sense would not pay much attention to this qualification. (A laugh.) 
 The character of an English Judge ought to be one of the noblest 
 titles that a man could boast. (Applause.) He ought to hold the 
 scale of justice equally between power on the one hand and passion 
 on the other. (Applause.) He should hold his hand as steadfastly 
 opposed against the Minister of the Crown, if the minister meant 
 to wrong the people, as he would against any portion of that people 
 who had been misled into the commission of crime, and were pro- 
 secuted for a breach of the laws. (Hear, hear.) While English 
 Judges maintained this character, and pursued this conduct, England 
 was safe ; but when the man was seen on the Bench and not the 
 judge — when he who wore the judge's gown apj)eared to be the friend 
 of Ministers ; when he was seen acting with them on all occasions 
 and abetting all their proceedings ; when, instead of being counsel 
 for the prisoner, he appeared as his vindictive prosecutor — what 
 might not the country fear? (Great applause.) He could applaud 
 ambition when greatness of mind accompanied it, although he 
 might lament its career ; but he hated that grovelling meanness 
 which clung to place only for its emoluments'? (Applause.) When 
 dignity of conduct was seen in high situations it was respected as it 
 ought to be ; but where littleness of mind appeared, conjoined 
 with high rank, it met with merited contempt. If such contempt 
 had fallen on some persons in this country were the people to 
 blame ? Had they sought to bring greatness into disrepute ?
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 225 
 
 No ; it was not the people. They never harboured sucli an idea. 
 Those persons only had wrought this eflect who employed their 
 power and greatness where it ouglit not to have been exerted; 
 who used their influence where it ought to have been unknown. 
 (Applause) A good deal was ever said about the credulity of 
 Englishmen — they were usually reproached with being too fond of 
 confiding in appearances. They all knew, as a matter of history, 
 that a measure was passed early in his present Majesty's reign, 
 which, as the name went, bad for its object, making the judges 
 independent of the Crown. But it was a strange independence for 
 these high characters that the Crown should appoint them in the 
 first instance ; and that they should afterwards for life retain the 
 
 same liigh salai-ies. From the Crown then they got everything 
 
 from the people nothing — and did not the regular march of judicial, 
 like any other ofiicial patronage, show the independent qualities for 
 which Judges were selected by the Crown. Did the people not 
 see it in the opinions invariably pronounced by Learned Judges in 
 every case of libel which came under their cognisance. (Applause.) 
 The people of England stood now on a ^^roud eminence. They saw 
 before them two high barriers erected for the i^reservation of 
 British freedom — one, the Trial by Jury ; the other, the Libertv 
 of the Press ; they had also to look forward to the proper guard 
 and protection of both — a constitutional Representation of the 
 Peo^Dle. (Applause.) The first of these great barriers was incon- 
 testibly ei'ected. Thirty-six Englishmen, on three successive trials, 
 had finished that great work. A free Press also remained ; and 
 if the people would only do their duty, and assert their rights with 
 proper spirit, so as to recover the true tone and stamp of English- 
 men — then also the great barrier of constitutional representation 
 would be found to rear its head. (Applause.) The worthy Baronet 
 near liim (Sir F. Burdett) had boldly and honestly told them that 
 if fresh laws for restraining what were called libels were made, or 
 even the old ones continued with their common constructions, he 
 should not hesitate to break them if he foimd it necessary so to do 
 in the assertion of a public right, or the advocacy of a iDublic 
 principle. (Hear, hear.) The Hon. and worthy Baronet would, 
 
 Q
 
 226 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 in so acting, do wisely, honestly, and riglitly ; for lie would have, 
 if attacked, the proud shield of constitutional judges, whose 
 sjjecial province it would be to say, whether he had acted under a 
 right motive or a wrong one, in the infraction of law with which 
 he stood charged. (Applause.) Mr. Home Tooke had ably drawn 
 the distinction between the province -of a judge and a jury. The 
 former he truly described, as being but the senior officer of the 
 Court, whose duty it was to preserve order, and facilitate the 
 progress of judicial inquiry and investigation. But judges, now-a- 
 days, enlarged the scope of their authority. When, on a late 
 occasion, the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench gave a 
 decisive opinion against a point urged by Mr. Hone, in the course 
 of his defence, or rather of one of his defences, the latter hajopened 
 to say, " That is only your opinion, my lord." " Yes," rejoined 
 the judge, " it is not only my opinion, but the opinion of every 
 other lawyer of the day." So that according to the dictum of the 
 judge, the opinions of the lawyers were to be the law for English- 
 men to obey, and not the plain principles of law as bequeathed by 
 their ancestors. (Applause.) The gravamen of Mr. Hone's admir- 
 able defence was, that he had no intention of committing the 
 crime wherewith he stood charged, and that he knew of no law 
 forbidding the act he had done. " !" said the judge, "it is not 
 for what you intended you are to be punished, but for what its 
 tendency may be on the minds of others." On the same rule, the 
 language and conduct of the judge ought to be impeached, not 
 indeed for his intention to the words he uttered, but their ten- 
 dency on the minds of others, for they evidently went to subvert 
 the whole Trial by Jury. (Laughter and applause.) He (Mr. 
 Wooler) had accidentally been brought before the public, and 
 by no less a personage than the Attorney-General, to whom, for 
 his favour, lie owed many thanks. (Laughter.) In the situation 
 in which he was thus placed he hoped he would be found to do 
 his duty. He had early learned a lesson, which every man would 
 find it his best interest to make the rule of his conduct, namely, to 
 resist oppression, whenever and whei'ever it appeared, and it soon 
 'Jiust be destroyed. In the accidental way in which he had been
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS, 227 
 
 tlirowii upon tlie public, he first had the advantage of that individual's 
 assistance, to whom allusion had so often been made this day — he 
 meant Mr. Peai-son, who did for him, at an early period, what he had 
 since done for Mr. Hone, who generously gave up in his behalf the 
 application of that valuable time and talent, which, in the end, 
 led to such invaluable result — (applause) — a result which put it 
 out of the possible reach of the Crown to pack a jury for a political 
 A'crdict. (Hear, heai-.) The master of the Crown Office may still 
 amuse himself by looking over the jury book for the names of any 
 of his old acquaintances ; but as it is not likely he will find any, or 
 at least many of them in the list, the people may consider them- 
 selves in something like comparative safety. To be sure there were 
 men enough to be found ready to commit any crime for lucre-sake, 
 and these men had got good patrons, for the Government had 
 kindly taken all the Castles, and Olivers, and Reynoldses under 
 their fosteiing protection. (Applause.) The people could only 
 lament that such was the melancholy fact, but they had also the 
 consolation to know that these men went about branded by society, 
 and would hardly be found now with courage enough to show 
 tlieir heads to do their dirty work. If judges proclaimed that the 
 Crown Officer had a right to nominate, or, in other words, to pack 
 a jury, a juror so selected would feel the situation in which he was 
 placed, and even the most cowardly and venal slave would be 
 asliamed of performing the office for which he was culled, and 
 would sneak off from the Minister's call. (Applause.) The 
 enemies of the people were strong — but they were so, because 
 the people suffered themselves to be weak ; they were powerful, 
 because the people would be impotent. If the latter once shook 
 off their apathy, if they once more roused that voice, which 
 compelled the tyrant, John, to sign Magna Charta, and which 
 drove James from the throne, and dictated terms to William, 
 that a compromising Parliament failed to enforce ; if they, he 
 repeated, now raised that voice, it would be heard in thunder. 
 If they were but faithful to themselves, the attacks of their 
 enemies would soon be repelled. They had only to emulate 
 the spirit which reigned over Mr. Hone's three recent trials,
 
 228 TRIAL BY JURY 
 
 and the result on future occasions would ever be found to 
 correspond, (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. Sturch here said, as it would not be proper for the Chair- 
 man to put this resolution, he begged to be allowed himself to do 
 so. It was then put and carried by acclamation. 
 
 Mr. Waithman then rose, and returned thanks in the following 
 manner : — " Gentlemen, I feel under difficulties of several kinds 
 at the present moment. One of them, you must perceive, is a 
 severe cold under which I labour, and which has confined me to 
 my house for the last week ; indeed nothing would have at this 
 moment called me from it but the important business of this day. 
 (Applause.) The next difficulty is, that I do not like to exhaust 
 the time which you would wish yourselves to devote to the real 
 business of the day, the subscription of Mr, Hone. (Applause.) 
 I hope this will not be deferred until a more convenient season, no 
 time can be more convenient than the present ; let every man 
 come forward with his subscriptions. (A laugh and applause.) 
 Although I am not a raw recruit in political debate, yet I assure 
 you that I am embarrassed and inexperienced in meetings of this 
 kind. I seldom have the fortune to address an assembly composed 
 of all friends of liberty, and therefore I am at a loss what to say. 
 (Lavigliter and applaiise.) You know that my general sphere of 
 action is among men who are not exactly unanimous in the support 
 of the principles and measures which I think congenial to the 
 spirit of our constitution. Such is the force of habit that I really 
 feel at a loss, I feel in fact awkward, when I look round the room 
 •for a political combatant and can find none. (Laughter and 
 applause.) I am never so much at home as when I find that sort 
 of obstruction which is likely to put one on his metal, and call his 
 spirit into action in fair political combat. (Applause.) It is 
 not then, as now, a choice to play one's part, but it becomes an 
 impex^ative duty for an honest man to raise his voice against an 
 opponent in asserting the rights and liberties of mankind. 
 (Great applause.) I was present during parts of the two first 
 days of Mr. Hone's trial, and I was close to him during the 
 whole of the third and last day. The only merit I lay claim
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 229 
 
 to relative to this business is, that on his quitting the Court 
 a free man on Saturday night, I accompanied him into a neigh- 
 bouring coffee-house, to get some refreshment, and I believe 
 was the fii'st to suggest the idea of convening this meeting. 
 (Applause.) In doing so, I only did what, under the same circum- 
 stances any one of you would have done. I felt as an Englishman, 
 and expressed myself like one. (Applause.) There was one 
 remarkable occurrence on Mr. Hone's trials, which has not, I 
 believe, been mentioned by any of the gentlemen who have 
 touched on the subject. When this worthy and honest man, with 
 all the courage, and principle, and talent, of a patriotic English- 
 man, was adducing in his vindication proofs of similar parodies 
 having been published by other men high in Church and State, 
 and urging that this was his only vindication (and he could have 
 no other nor better), he was stopped by the solemn declaration of 
 opinion notified by the judge, who said, 'this was no defence.' 
 The man was, in fact, tried and judged before he entered Court ; 
 for, many months ago, I find, by a newspaper report which but 
 lately fell into my hands, the Law Officers of the Crown declared 
 in the House of Commons that ' copies of these infamous and 
 atrocious blasphemies' had been transmitted to them. Thus he 
 was prejudged, tried, cast, and condemned, and merely brought 
 into Court to have the legal forms of his conviction observed and 
 recorded. In vain did Mr. Hone urge to the judge that he only 
 took these parodies as a medium for conveying political squibs 
 against certain characters in office, to whose principles he was 
 opposed, and not as meaning to ridicule the Scriptures ; in vain 
 did he plead the precedent of gi'eat statesmen and great divines. 
 *No,' said the judge, 'it is useless to produce these authorities, 
 they are all libels no matter from whom they emanated. I have 
 no hesitation in saying, that the authors of them, be they who 
 they may, ought to stand where you do now — Don't produce them 
 here.' But the jury thought otherwise, and on their production 
 acquitted the defendant. (Applause.) Mr. Hone had no other 
 course than to persevere in adducing his precedents, and he very 
 properly did so. What answer had the judge to give to this
 
 230 TKIAL BY JURY 
 
 manly declaration of Mr. Hone ? If all these are libels, my lord, 
 wliat answer lias the Attorney-General, have all the Attorney- 
 Generals, in a long course of time, to give for not prosecuting the 
 authors ? Were they asleep 1 Who of all the parodists has been 
 charged for publishing his parody 1 If it is evil intention in me, 
 what prevents it from being evil intention in the Right Hon. 
 George Canning 1 If I am to be at the bar, why does he not 
 stand at my elbow 1 This was the only line of defence he could 
 have fairly made, and he made it like a man. (Hear, hear.) It 
 was notorious that heretofore publications of this sort were either 
 permitted or wmked at; if, then. Ministers were determined to 
 take a new course, they should have given fair notice of it, and 
 not have suddenly pounced upon a helpless and solitary man, to 
 inflict a penalty which it was notorious had so long remained 
 dormant. Three honest juries defeated such unworthy prose- 
 cutions, and consequently stamped their opinion on the motives 
 from which they sprung. (Applause.) The struggle to effect this 
 triumph was glorious for Mr. Hone, but still more so for the 
 people of England, in behalf of whose rights and liberties it was 
 virtually made, rights and liberties that were preserved by his 
 courage. If there rested on the head of such a man any stigma or 
 imputation, the people would nevertheless be his debtoi's for wKat 
 he has done in their behalf; but where there is, as I have heard, 
 no such stigma or imputation, the claims of the individual for 
 public gratitude and protection are strong and irresistible. 
 (Applause.) As to myself, I can only say, in return for your 
 favours, that I cannot describe the gratitude I feel for this expres- 
 sion of your good opinion ; nor can I repay it so well as by steadily 
 persevering in that course and support of your freedom and 
 liberties, which has gained for me this mark of your approbation. 
 And allow me to say, with the worthy Baronet near me, that as 
 the good opinion of my fellow-citizens was the only award I ever 
 had the ambition to look for, so it shall be the only one to which 
 I shall ever aspire in my future life ; conscious that, in seeking 
 the continuance of your good wishes, I shall be pursuing a just 
 and liberal line of conduct.
 
 AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 231 
 
 The worthy Chairman then announced a subscription of £100 
 from Sir Francis Burdett, which was received with loud cheering. 
 
 Mr. Hone being loudly called for — 
 
 Mr, WAiTHMAif rose to say, that he had early in the day 
 prevailed on Mr. Hone to leave the Tavern, and depart to his 
 own house. It now appeared that some gentlemen regretted this, 
 and wished to hear him. (Cries of "No ! No I") I advised what 
 I have told you from delicacy to Mr. Hone, for I think he is in 
 one respect like myself, though far superior to me in courage and 
 talent, "When I say ho is in one respect like myself, I mean that 
 he would rather meet a host of adversaries in the field, than the 
 friends assembled here to day. (Laughter and applause.) I hope, 
 therefore, gentlemen, you will excuse." (Cries of " Bravo I 
 Certainly.") 
 
 Mr, Jones Burdett next stood forward, and, after briefly 
 adverting to the persecution which Lord Cochi-ane had sustained, 
 and the sufferings he had undergone, proposed — 
 
 13. That the thanks of this meeting be given to Lord Cochrane, for 
 his zealous endeavours on the present occasion. 
 
 This resolution having been carried with acclamation, 
 Lord Cochrane begged the assembly to accept the very inade- 
 quate expression of his sense of the high honour they had conferred 
 on him ; it was such as they could best appreciate by a reference 
 to their own sensations ; it was too powerful for him to describe. 
 His feelings were such as no ordinary vote of thanks could excite. 
 "When he found — after all the calumnies that had been levelled at 
 his honour — after witnesses had been produced against him, who 
 were supported by the same hands that fostered Oliver and Castles — 
 after a trial before the very judge who would have consigned Mr. 
 Hone to a dungeon — that he still retained the esteem and confi- 
 dence of his fellow-countrymen, no words in the English langaage 
 could adequately express the feelings that arose in his breast. 
 (Applause.) At the time he alluded to, that system was in its 
 infancy. It had not arisen to that maturity of infamy that now 
 distill tiruished it. But he was sure that the result of the late
 
 232 TRIAL BY JURY AND LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 
 
 trials liad given it a mortal stab — it could not survive siicli a 
 wound. Juries would know their power, and they would use it. 
 They would no longer be terrified by the fiat of a judge — they 
 would assert that prerogative, without which liberty could not 
 exist. He pledged himself, that, before one month elapsed, he 
 would lay before the public a statement relative to the measures 
 resorted to in his own case, by the side of which the villanies of 
 Oliver and Castles would appear diminutive. This exposure would 
 for ever deter the Government from having recourse to such base 
 artifices. He was gi'ateful to his fellow-countrymen for the honour 
 they had done him — he thanked them for the unshaken opinion 
 they entertained of his honour and integrity ; and he would 
 endeavour, while he existed, to uphold that character, without 
 which every man's life must be miserable. (Applause.) 
 
 The meeting then separated with the most perfect order. 
 
 Towards the conclusion of the meeting, the crowd became so 
 excessive, that the room, which is one of the largest in London, 
 would admit of the entrance of no more. The consequence was, 
 that several hundreds were obliged to retire without being able to 
 hear a syllable. 
 
 The crowd followed Sir Francis Burdett, at the conclusion of 
 the meeting, with the loudest cheers, to his house in St. James's 
 Place.
 
 SUBSCEIPTTONS KECEIVED. 
 
 His Grace the Dute of Bed' 
 ford 
 
 The Marquis of Tavistock . . . 
 
 The Earl of Darlington 
 
 The Earl of Sefton 
 
 A Member of the House of 
 Lords — an enemy to per- 
 secution, and especially to 
 religious persecution, em- 
 ployed for political pur- 
 poses 
 
 Sir Francis Burdett, Bart. . . . 
 
 Lord Cochrane 
 
 25 one, and 5 five pound 
 notes, from a lady unknown 
 
 Robert Waitb man 
 
 Alderman Goodbchere 
 
 Alderman Thorp 
 
 Walter Fawkes, Farnley HaU, 
 Yorkshire 
 
 James Periy .. 
 
 William Williams ... 
 
 Hon. Marmaduke Dawnay... 
 
 W. Crawshay, Thames Street 
 
 S. Curtis, Billiter Lane 
 
 The Proprietors of the Bri- 
 tish Press and Globe 
 
 A few Friends to the Liberty 
 of the Press and Trial by 
 Jury, from the Ward of 
 Cripplegate Without (first 
 subscription) 
 
 A Country Gentleman — pre- 
 sented with the above 
 
 Nathaniel Newnham 
 
 Joshua Grigby, Drinkston, 
 Suffolk 
 
 £ S. 
 
 105 
 
 50 
 
 105 
 
 105 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 Francis Canning, Foxcote, 
 
 near Shipston, on Stour ... 
 
 The Constitution, the whole 
 
 Constitution, and nothing 
 
 but the Constitution 
 
 Leigh and John Hunt, Ex- 
 aminer Office — not what 
 they would, but what they 
 could 
 
 E. Waithraan, jun. ... 
 
 J. Waithman 
 
 W. Waithman 
 
 Charles Pearson 
 
 John M'Creery 
 
 Thomas Keys 
 
 An Englishman 
 
 J. C. Hitchins 
 
 Atkinson, Milk Street 
 
 J. K. C 
 
 An Enemy to Persecution ... 
 
 Eev. B. Treleaven, Reading... 
 
 Thomas Jonathan Wooler ... 
 
 Jones Burdett 
 
 William Sturch 
 
 Wm. Teasdale, St. Paul's 
 Churchyard 
 
 Seven Friends at Liverpool . . . 
 
 John Wilks 
 
 John Tennant 
 
 Whiston Powell 
 
 Wm. Lawrence, M.D., College 
 of Physicians 
 
 Powle 
 
 F. P 
 
 J. Pearson, Rutland Wharf... 
 
 Joseph Hurcombe, St. Paul's 
 Churchyard 
 
 £ s. 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 2
 
 234 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 Eobert Carter, Minories 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 W. E 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 H. Dibbing, Basing Lane ... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Wm. Blissett, Holborn 
 
 1 
 
 U 
 
 T. B 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 J. T. Clarke, Uxbridge 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 James Hoppe, St. Paul's 
 
 
 
 George Pole ... 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Churchyard 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Thomas Wishart 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Eobert Kirby, Kennington ... 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Eichard Crawshay ... 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Parrot Fenton, jun. ... 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 William HaUet, Berks 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Thompson 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Edward Franks 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 A Friend to an Impartial Jury 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 E. H 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Sherwin 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 N 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 P. T. Lemaitre 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J. B 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Briton 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Pro Bono Publico 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Josephiis 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 J. W 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 A Friend to Justice 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 One who thinks highly of Mr. 
 
 
 
 Clement Poole, White Cross 
 
 
 
 Hone's conduct 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Street 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Major 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Friend, by the same 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Iota 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Martin's Lane 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Briton (2nd subscription)... 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 P. W 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Sir Eichard Phillips 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Godfrey Higgins, Skellow 
 
 
 
 Major Charles James 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Grange, Yorkshire 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 John Elsee, Chigwell Eow ... 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 No Parodist, but an Enemy to 
 
 
 
 P. P. Baraud, Cornhill 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Persecution 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 T. A. Phipps, News Office ... 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 A Briton 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J. S 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 W, Prater, Noble Street 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 E.J 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J. P 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J. F. Gwjnn 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Geo. Weatherstone ... 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Eichard Taylor 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 Old Bags 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Areopagiticas ... 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Anonymous 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 J. Norris, Tokenhouse Yard 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 Sam. Sampson, Sise Lane ... 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 William Barker 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 ■William Wansey 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Joseph Gray ... 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 John Wansey 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Foster, Corbett Court ... 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 S. Eoberts, Fleetmarket 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Brent 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 W. Deykes, Thavies Inn 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Samuel Sbarewood ,.. 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 John Deykes, Bartlett's Build- 
 
 
 
 Henry Hare Townsend 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 ings 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Young ... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 J. Morrison, Fore Street 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 William Stevens 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Croft Ryland 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Eev. Wm. James Fox 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 J. Chatfield, StockweU 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Eev. James Gilchrist 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Thomas Vyse, Holborn 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 J. E 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 W. A. B 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 No Politician ... 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Williflm Eouth 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Elhanan Bicknell, Newington 
 
 
 
 W. HaU, Grove, Hackney ... 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Butts 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 W.V 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 William Clarke 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Thomas Reeve 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 John Mason 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 WilHam Griffith 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 E. L. Gee 
 
 1 
 
 1
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS 
 
 £ s. 
 ... 1 
 ... 1 
 
 Samuel Saxtoa 
 
 AV. Jacobson ... 
 
 Captain Savigne ... ... 3 
 
 G. M. Ball, Shadwell 1 
 
 James Mather ... ... 5 
 
 A Friend 2 
 
 C.J. Hector 5 
 
 John Cross 2 
 
 E. S 5 
 
 W. S 1 
 
 T. S 1 
 
 T. Halchin 1 
 
 "\V. Leaf, jun 2 
 
 Edward Hancock 1 
 
 Samuel Partes 1 
 
 J. Wild 1 
 
 Smith 1 
 
 Thomas Gibljs 1 
 
 Sam. Oliver, Distaff Lane ... 1 
 
 J. Souter 1 
 
 Anthony Soulby ... ... 2 
 
 Eobert Stevenson ... ... 2 
 
 John Foster, Bromley, Mid- 
 dlesex 1 
 
 Thomas Dean 1 
 
 William Mitchell 1 
 
 P. W 2 
 
 Twattle 1 
 
 M 2 
 
 T. Cartwright, Thames Street 1 
 
 W.Williams , ... 2 
 
 George BlundeU 1 
 
 K. L. Jones 1 
 
 William EUis 1 
 
 Fether, King Street ... 1 
 
 Mrs. Fether", ditto ... 1 
 
 Stephen Newman 1 
 
 Thomas Gainsborough ... 2 
 
 Eev. Ebenezer Jones... ... 1 
 
 Alex. Galloway, Holborn ... 2 
 
 James Webb ... ... ••• 1 
 
 J. T. Mount, St. Alban's, Caer- 
 
 leon 1 
 
 The Doctor in Bedlam ... 1 
 
 A Disciple of C. J. Fox ... 1 
 
 An Enemy to Corruption ... 1 
 
 RECEIVED. 
 
 An obscure Donation to Pub- 
 lic Merit 
 
 A Friend 
 
 Thomas Taylor 
 
 Henry Brandon 
 
 A Friend to the Innocent ... 
 
 Thomas Frost 
 
 WiUiam Morley 
 
 Mallett ... 
 
 A Friend ... 
 
 United Euglishhieu ... 
 
 Charles Hicks 
 
 Williams 
 
 John Jones 
 
 Derry Triangle 
 
 Thomas Gibson 
 
 John Greaves 
 
 A Gentle Shepherd ... 
 
 Thomas Frost 
 
 J. W 
 
 E. W 
 
 Samuel Smith... 
 
 John Stewart 
 
 T. P 
 
 H. H 
 
 A Cornishman 
 
 H. T. L 
 
 CuUen 
 
 An Enemy to Hypocrisy 
 
 A. andB 
 
 Gratitude to Mr. Hone 
 
 E. E 
 
 H. W 
 
 J. B 
 
 W 
 
 P. W 
 
 — Keys, Aldgate High Street 
 
 A 
 
 V. F 
 
 Facts 
 
 C 
 
 Sundry Sums subscribed, each 
 less than =£1 
 
 A Juryman on the third day's 
 trial ... 
 
 H 
 
 235 
 
 £ s. 
 
 10 7 
 
 1 1 
 5
 
 236 
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 
 £ s. 
 
 Peter Moore, M.P. ... 
 
 George Dawson 
 
 David Taylor 
 
 George Taylor 
 
 An Enemy to Hypocrisy 
 
 James King, Terling . . . 
 
 George A. Carruthers 
 
 A Genuine Friend of the 
 Liberty of the Press and 
 Trial by Jury 
 
 An Abhorer of Tyranny and 
 Oppression 
 
 An Admirer of Honest and 
 Undaunted Jurors 
 
 H.D.Parker 
 
 A Friend to even-handed Jus- 
 tice 
 
 Ellen-Borough 
 
 An Enemy to Political and 
 Keligious Persecution 
 
 Sandford and Huxley 
 
 Alexander Turnbull ... 
 
 For Mr. Hone 
 
 " My name would ruin me"... 
 
 Alfred Thorp 
 
 J. S 
 
 S. W. 
 
 W. Sowerby ... 
 
 W.H.Butler 
 
 G. A. S. May the Light of 
 Eeason obscure the Lamp 
 of Corruption 
 
 OhI Minions of Pitt 
 
 Who increaseth the Miseries 
 of the World 
 
 Oil for the Hone 
 
 Charles Edward Hanford 
 
 Joseph Martin 
 
 John Herman... 
 
 J.Robinson 
 
 D. K 
 
 Isaac Harrop, Altringham ... 
 
 Y. Z., Birmingham ... 
 
 William Frend 
 
 Henry Francis Harrison 
 
 Samuel Lewen 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 LO 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 A few Scotchmen 
 
 Thomas Groom, Esq., late 
 Mayor of Maidenhead 
 
 Rev. R. Aspland, Hackney 
 Road 
 
 John Atkinson, Fore Street... 
 
 A Village Curate's Mite 
 
 Goss & Co., surgeons, Bou- 
 verie Street... 
 
 WiUiam Webb 
 
 " The Doctor" 
 
 Wm. Broad 
 
 Afew Friends at a Bookseller's 
 Shop, implacable enemies to 
 iniquity in the cloak of 
 justice, or hyopcrisy under 
 the veil of religion ; and 
 consequently warm advo- 
 cates for a persecuted hus- 
 band, his deserving wife, 
 and their heljiless family ... 
 
 To Right freed from Might ... 
 
 T. P. Glassington, Strand ... 
 
 An Admirer of Undaunted 
 Juries 
 
 Rev. J. Holme 
 
 T. C. 
 
 The Struggler, 33, Coventry 
 Street 
 
 T. Newman, Alton, Hants ... 
 
 W. C 
 
 The Ghosts of Jeffries and Sir 
 William Noy 
 
 Andrew Wilson 
 
 James Ramshaw, a fi-iend to 
 religion, but an enemy to its 
 beiijg used as an engine of 
 persecution... 
 
 Richard Flower 
 
 Benjamin Flower 
 
 George Flower 
 
 The Ghost of Dr. Slop's Dirty 
 Shirt 
 
 Edward Langley 
 
 L. Hind, Rockingham Row ... 
 
 The Ghost of Judge Jeifries... 
 
 £ s. 
 5 5 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 £ s. 
 
 Wm. Buckeridge 1 
 
 A conscientious Jury and a 
 
 conscientious Attorney £1 6s. 8d. 
 
 George Goodwin 
 
 Emily ... 
 
 G. Davis, Scarborough 
 
 An Enemy to Ex-Officio In- 
 formations ... 
 
 James Street ... 
 
 F. Hebb 
 
 Jas. Young, to Mr. Hone, for 
 defending in his own person 
 the freedom of the Press, 
 attacked for a Political ob- 
 ject, under the old pretence 
 of supporting Religion 
 
 J. M 
 
 An Enemy to Oppression un- 
 der all masks, particularly 
 those of Eeligion and Jus- 
 tice 
 
 George Long 
 
 AVmiam Adams 
 
 Dean and Mnier 
 
 An Enemy to Oppression ... 
 
 Michael Bush... 
 
 E. M. a cut at Corruption ... 
 
 John Hollis 
 
 The respectable 36, per do. ... 
 
 S. Sparks, Crewkeme 
 
 Percy B. Shell}', Mario w 
 
 Samuel Athawes 
 
 Eev. W. T 
 
 D. Sykes, EayweU, near Cave, 
 Yorkshire ... 
 
 A Whig 
 
 From all weak and wicked 
 Ministers andunjust Judges 
 deliver us ... 
 
 An Enemy to the EstabUsh- 
 ment of a British Inquisi- 
 tion ... 
 
 E.Jones 
 
 Thomas Wood 
 
 Benj. Godfrey Windus 
 
 T. Pinsent, Plymouth Dock 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 E. Cunliffe, Blackburn 
 
 Morgan 
 
 Dr. Brandy 
 
 Two Brothers, who think true 
 Eeligion never was, nor ever 
 will be, injured by the Li- 
 berty of the Press ... 
 E. Clark, Ormond Street 
 
 J. H. Green 
 
 B. G 
 
 S. S 
 
 John Snowden, Stroud, Glou- 
 cestershire ... 
 No Parodist, but a Friend to 
 
 Freedom, ditto 
 
 A Foe to tyrannical Judges, 
 ditto... 
 
 W. E. 
 
 An Earldom for Myself and a 
 
 Translation for my Brother 
 
 Temperance, Soberness, and 
 
 Chastity, in Honour, Trust, 
 
 and Dignity 
 
 A Despiser of the Perverters 
 
 of any Oaths, particularly 
 
 of "Oaths of Office' 
 
 A Cobler's Mite 
 
 T. L. G 
 
 A Friend to the Liberty of the 
 
 Press 
 E. Essex 
 "As false as Hell" 
 
 J. B 
 
 J. B 
 
 J. L 
 
 Gregory Speck Lee 
 
 1st Trial ... 
 
 2nd Trial ... 
 
 3rd Trial ... 
 
 Thomas Jecks 
 
 P. P 
 
 Captain Milligans SpUligans 
 HHligans, of the Ship Ee- 
 form, bound to Toleration 
 
 Port 
 
 Major Cartwright 
 
 237 
 
 £ s. 
 5 
 2 
 
 1 y 
 
 2 
 
 1 1 
 
 2 3 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 2 2 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 t) 
 
 ofthe 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 £1 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 0- 
 
 -2 
 
 3 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 
 1 1- 
 
 _3 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 20
 
 238 
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS KECEIVED. 
 
 A Friend to Liberty and Jus- 
 tice ... 
 
 Thomas Creevey, M.P. 
 
 Harvey Combe, Charlotte 
 Street 
 
 Anonymous ... 
 
 A steady Friend to Eeform 
 and a Just Representation 
 of the People and Property 
 of the Country, and an 
 Enemy to Prosecution,much 
 more Persecution under 
 Religious or other False 
 Pretences, but an Enemy 
 equally to Universal Suf- 
 frage, as leading to Univer- 
 sal Rapine ... 
 
 "William Carr ... 
 
 Rowland Hunter 
 
 Timothy Trueman, Bucking- 
 hamshire ... 
 
 Robert Canning, HoundsliUl, 
 near Stratford-on-Avon ... 
 
 Thomas Northmore, Cleve 
 House, near Exeter 
 
 Thomas Church, Acton 
 
 Thomas PhilUps, of Middlehill, 
 Broadway, Worcestershire 
 
 H. G. B 
 
 An Enemy to Hj'pocrisy and 
 Persecution, by W. Sturch 
 
 William J. Sturch 
 
 John Sturch ... 
 
 Anthropos 
 
 George Hart ... 
 
 William Scaley 
 
 One who disapproves of the 
 Parodies, but abhors Per- 
 secution 
 
 E. Boothy, Chesterfield 
 
 Silver, Hammersmith ... 
 
 From a Scliool Boy, who wishes 
 Mr. Hone to have a very 
 grand subscription 
 
 An Old Eccentric — an Enemy 
 to all Informers 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 — Bond, Esq., Crooked Lane 
 George Fitch ... 
 
 J. W 
 
 Vox PopuK Vox Dei ... 
 
 A few Admirers of William 
 
 Hone, Ship, Talbot Court... 2 
 A few Friends, Cock and 
 
 Hoop, Old Artillery Ground, 
 
 Spitalflelds 2 5 
 
 A few Fi-iends, Enemies to 
 
 dictatorial Judges 5 10 
 
 T. Chapman, Manchester ... 2 
 
 W. H. C 1 1 
 
 Not W. Holmer, sen., Borough 1 1 
 A Member of Trinity ... 1 
 
 F. Newburn, Darlington ... 1 
 The Misses Greathead, ditto 1 
 J. Peacock, M.D., ditto ... 1 
 
 G. C. Ashley, King's Row, 
 Pimlico ... ... ... 1 
 
 E. Lee, Clapham 2 2 
 
 W. J. SeweU, but no Scrip- 
 ture Parodist ... ... 10 
 
 T. Burn, Camberwell ... 1 1 
 
 A Friend to a Free Press ... 1 1 
 
 J. D. andW. S 1 
 
 For Delicacy's sake forbear — 
 
 " and Felix trembled " ... 1 
 
 Not Wm. Fairbrother, High- 
 bury Place lOs. Gd. 
 
 Not Jno. Wass, Windsor 
 Terrace, City Road 
 
 J. Hutchinson 
 
 J. S. Hutchinson 
 
 Equity versus Law ... 
 
 V. Rumley 
 
 Philip Guy 
 
 H. T. ... " 
 
 Tartuflfe Sidemouth ... 
 
 "Open your Eyes and see — 
 stretch out your hands, 
 seize, and bring him into 
 Court." — Bomhastes Furioso 1 1 
 
 The Ghost of Home Tooke ... 1 
 
 " The hope of the Hj'pocrite 
 shall perish" ... 10s. Cd 
 
 10s. 
 
 Gd. 
 
 .. 1 
 
 1 
 
 . 1 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 . 1 
 
 1 
 
 10s. 
 
 Od. 
 
 . 1 
 
 
 
 . 1 
 

 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 
 " Balsam for a legal gripe" ... 1 
 
 John Pickard, Noble Street... 2 2 
 
 John Pick ard, jun 1 1 
 
 Joseph Picliard ... 10s. Cd. 
 
 Alfred Pickard ... 10s. Od. 
 
 G. Dyer 1 
 
 H. B. Piosser and Friends £2 4s. 6d. 
 One who abhors an arbitrary 
 
 and merciless Judge ... 1 
 
 John Cross 1 1 
 
 J. W., a Friend to Pieligion, 
 
 Courage, and Talent ... 1 1 
 
 J. Apperley, Long Lane ... 1 1 
 
 G. Fordham, Odsey 1 1 
 
 J. Fordham, ditto 1 
 
 Mr. Nash, Koyston 1 
 
 J. Fordham, ditto 1 
 
 John Butler, ditto 1 
 
 E. K. Fordham, ditto ... 1 
 
 James Piggott, ditto 10 
 
 J. Butterfield, ditto 10 
 
 George Fordham, Saudon ... 15 
 
 Swan Nash, Chesterford ... 10 
 
 David Lilley, Caml)ridge ... 1 
 
 Samuel Fordham. Kelshall ... 1 
 
 Geo. Fordham, ditto ... ... 1 
 
 J. Lilley, Bassabourn ... 10 
 
 W. C. Carver, Melbourn ... 10 
 
 George Wallis, Harston ... 10 
 
 E. W. Fordham, Broadfield... 10 
 
 J. Trigg, Melbourn 10 
 
 W. Corrington, Biggleswade... 1 
 
 Thomas Wade, Kitchen ... 1 
 
 J. M. B 1 
 
 Mrs. Faircloth, Foulmire ... 10 
 
 T. Wallis Sheppreth 10 
 
 W. Beddam, lloyston ... 10 
 
 J. Sampson, Chesterford ... 10 
 
 W. Wedd, Foulmire ... ... 1 
 
 — Peppercorn, Stamford Bury 1 
 
 J. H. S 1 1 
 
 J. Wigget, Drury Lane ... 2 
 
 Freemen stand or Freemen fa' 1 
 
 Robert Hall, Borough ... 1 1 
 
 W. Addaras, Eotherliithe ... 1 
 
 William Broad 1 1 
 
 W. H. Parker 
 
 S. H. T. B 
 
 H. W. B 
 
 Thomas Parker 
 Borough of Calne, Wilts 
 A few Inhabitants of ditto 
 
 239 
 
 £ s. 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 1 1 
 
 10 10 
 5 10 
 
 Geo. Lister, Ginley House, 
 
 Lincolnshire ... ... 10 
 
 Pi.. Moline, Gracechurch Street G 
 
 E. W 5 5 
 
 An Enemy to Jeffei'ies ... 5 6 
 " I win go to him myself to- 
 
 moiTow ! " . . . 10 
 
 T. A 1 1 
 
 T. Sharp, Newgate Street ... 1 1 
 
 Geo. Stevenson, Bow Lane ... 1 
 An Enemy to Packed Juries, 
 as well in the City as the 
 
 Country ... ... ... 2 2 
 
 Samuel Nicholson 2 
 
 An Admirer of Firmness in a 
 Jury, and Modesty in a 
 
 Judge 1 
 
 James Curtis, Old Fish Street 1 
 
 G. Pt. W 1 
 
 Anticipated Eetrenchments 
 
 for 1818, per Old Bags ... 2 
 J. Goldsmith, Hambledon, 
 
 Hants 2 
 
 A Friend to the Liberty of the 
 
 Press ... ... ... 3 3 
 
 T. P. Cooper, Brighton ... 1 1 
 
 Three B's at the Shades ... 15 
 
 G. ofHighgate 1 1 
 
 Allen Fordham ... £1 lis. Gd. 
 No Admirer of an Earldom- 
 hunting Judge ... ... 1 
 
 Rt. Wakefield 1 1 
 
 A few Friends at Horsham ... 2 
 
 For value received ... ... 1 o 
 
 Thos. Chaplin 1 1 
 
 James Mumford ... ... 1 1 
 
 William Barnard ... ... 1 1 
 
 John Barnard ... ... 1 1 
 
 Bags, jun., Derry Down, 
 
 jun., Monttj Banquo ... 2
 
 240 SUBSCRIPTION 
 
 £ s. 
 An Independent Weekly Paper 2 
 
 Christopher Terry 2 
 
 James Albright 1 
 
 A Friend 1 1 
 
 Judge Jeff eries "Works rebound 
 
 in Calf by Law 2 2 
 
 Collected by Mr. Sandars at 
 Liverpool ... ... ... 30 
 
 John Fisher 1 
 
 Wm. Eigby, Oldfield HaU, 
 
 Cheshire 10 
 
 No Scripture Parodist, but a 
 Detester of Hypocrisy and 
 
 Persecution 5 
 
 E. & W. Johnson, 7, Bishop- 
 gate Street 5 
 
 Keep us from Law, and from 
 the Shepherd's Paw ... 5 
 
 P. T 5 
 
 "I must not give you my 
 
 name, but God bless you"... 1 
 An Enemy to Political Judges 
 
 from Leighton Buzzard ... 1 
 
 A Miller's Mite 1 
 
 The Barber to the Skinners' 
 
 Club forthe use of the Hone 1 
 The Constitution of " The 
 Universal Church," and of 
 "Eeligious and Civil Union" 
 towards the defence of the 
 Liberty of the Press ... 1 1 
 
 Tlie Ghosts of Ludlam and 
 
 Turner, by Mrs. Blake ... 2 2 
 J. Beldam, Eeed, Herts ... 1 
 A. Herbert, Coventiy ... 1 
 
 Thos. Gardyne, county of 
 
 Angus, N.B. ... ... 3 3 
 
 David Carnegy, do., N.B. ... 3 3 
 
 AVilliam Weep for all, with his 
 
 blessing 1 
 
 May Jefferies never be for- 
 gotten, and Law become 
 mild and humane ... ... 1 
 
 Friends from Principle and 
 Interest to the Freedom of 
 the Press 11 
 
 S RECEIVED. 
 
 £ s. 
 
 No!!! 10 
 
 Thos. Kenward, Battel, a mo- 
 derate Eeformist ... ... 1 1 
 
 F. J. Nash, Bishops Stortford 1 1 
 W. Johnstone, ditto ... ... 1 1 
 
 W. E, Hawkes, ditto 1 1 
 
 W. Bird, ditto 10 
 
 T. Bird, ditto 10 
 
 Case and Patmore, ditto ... 1 1 
 W. Daniel, jun., ditto ... 1 1 
 
 T. Special, ditto 1 1 
 
 Thos. Joslyne, ditto ... ... 1 1 
 
 One who dislikes Parodies on 
 Scripture, but is an Enemy 
 to Persecution, cUtto ... 2 2 
 Thos. Holme, Westerham, 
 
 Kent 1 1 
 
 Wm. Allinson 1 
 
 A few Friends to the Liberty 
 of the Press at Melbourne, 
 Dorsetshire, per ditto ... 5 13 
 
 A Whitby Friend 1 1 
 
 As much like Judge Jefferies 
 as the present Times will 
 
 admit ... 1 
 
 Francis Burdett Haines, Fore- 
 mark House, Poplar ... 1 1 
 May Jefferies' Fame and Jef-^ 
 
 feries' Fate 
 On every modern Jefferies j" 
 wait. 1 
 
 A Foe to Tyi-anny 1 
 
 Thomas AVelby, Northmore... 3 3 
 No Parodist, but an Admirer 
 of the Man, who, by his 
 ability and courage, has 
 proved the fallacy of the 
 the Lawyer's Law, that 
 when a Man is his own 
 Advocate, he has a Fool 
 
 for his Client 1 
 
 A Mussulman, who thinks it 
 woukl not be an impious 
 Libel to Parody the Koran 1 
 Enemies to Jefferies in the 
 
 I'Jth Century, Fifeshire ... 1 
 
 1
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 
 241 
 
 S.T.Dawson £1 
 
 Thomas Nutter, Cambridge 1 
 
 John Eaden, ditto 1 
 
 John Lloyds, Potton, Beds... 3 3 
 An American Citizen ... 1 
 
 John Sermon ... ... ... 1 1 
 
 T. C. Hansard 1 1 
 
 I have folly eqtial, I have pro- 
 fusion co-eternal 1 
 
 A speedy Eeformation, no 
 Eevolution, the same King 
 
 and Constitution 
 
 Alex. Cassy, Pentonville 
 Edmund Hergeen, jun., Quar- 
 les, near "Wells, Norfolk ... 
 Manus Inimica TjTannis ... 
 May t"he Suspenders of the 
 Habeas Corpus be speedily 
 
 Suspended 
 
 H. Smith 
 
 Isaac Pitcher 
 
 Old Bag^'s Wife 
 
 William Smith 
 
 Gaunt and Turton 
 
 G. H 
 
 May the Persecuted never 
 
 want Friends 1 1 
 
 Subscriptions received at the 
 
 Office of the Bury Paper ... 15 3 
 A few Friends to the Liberty 
 
 of the Press at Dudley ...11 
 
 Wm. Strutt, Derby 10 
 
 Joseph Sti-utt, ditto 10 
 
 J. Douglas Strutt, ditto ... 2 2 
 E. M. Barrett, Hope-end, 
 
 Ledbury, Herefordshire ... 10 
 Thos. Eawson, Wards-end, 
 
 near Sheffield 5 5 
 
 Alexander Campbell, Walton- 
 
 on-Thames 5 5 
 
 James Crompton, Paddington 5 
 
 H. C 5 5 
 
 H. C.,jun 5 5 
 
 " A Venial Offence " compared 
 with partiality, hypocrisy, 
 &c 5 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 ... 1 
 
 10s. 6d. 
 never 
 
 ... 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 The Man -who so bravely pro- 
 tested against Ex-Offieio 
 Informations 
 
 John Blackett 
 
 " Open your eyes and see, 
 stretch out your hands and 
 take" — Chief Justice 
 
 WiUiam Moore 
 
 May the Persecuted 
 want Friends 
 
 Jas. Thomas, Colford, Glou- 
 cestershire 
 
 An intense hater of Tyranny 
 under every fonn ... 
 
 Isaac Cox, solicitor, Honiton 
 
 Ed. William Gray, Newberry, 
 Berks 
 
 May the unblemished Hone 
 never want the Oil of Jus- 
 tice ... 
 
 Thomas Smith, Easton Grey, 
 Gloucestershire 
 
 Three times twelve for thrice ■>, 
 tried Hone, 
 
 Who cleared the course him- 
 self alone, 
 
 And won three heats by twelve 
 to one 
 
 L. M. Simon ... 
 
 E. G. Thomas 
 
 Thomas Hovell, Cambridge... 
 
 J. E. Hovell, ditto 
 
 William E aden , ditto 
 
 A little more Oil for the Hone 
 
 From Manchester, per E. Baxter. 
 T. and E. Potter 
 Baxter and Croft 
 T. B. W. Sanderson ... 
 Eichard Malley 
 Thomas Stevens 
 
 John Wood 
 
 Samuel Pullein 
 S. W. Blencowe 
 Samuel Jackson 
 Swan and Buckley ... 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 IG 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ter 
 5 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 10 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 

 
 242 
 
 s. 
 
 John Anderson 1 
 
 A Friend 1 
 
 Alexander Petty 1 
 
 Gallemore and Co 1 
 
 Eeligion can protect itself ... 1 
 
 John Hall 1 
 
 J. A 1 
 
 A. Clegg ... 1 
 
 Weight and Hermitage ... 1 
 
 Justice versus Law ... ... 1 
 
 Thomas Wilkius 1 
 
 E. Wilson 1 
 
 J. L 2 
 
 A -well-wisher ... 1 
 
 Joseph Johnson 10 
 
 W. Shawcross 10 
 
 John Mitchell, sen., M.D. ... 1 
 
 G. W. Wood 1 
 
 A. andB 2 
 
 Spirit of Sir William Jones ... 1 
 
 John Thompson 1 
 
 A Conscientious Attorney £1 6s. 8d. 
 
 T. G 10 
 
 J. Robinson ... ... ... 1 
 
 Ogden and Thomley 1 
 
 J. and S. Bates 1 
 
 J. Croft 10 
 
 J. Eawson 10 
 
 Gleave and Fellows 1 
 
 John Mason 1 
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED. 
 £ 
 
 Chr. Pottinger 
 
 J. G 
 
 William Lindsey, Leeds 
 One who during Mr. Hone's 
 three days' Persecution, 
 sympathised with his agony 
 of suspense, pitied his bodily 
 fatigue, and admired his 
 
 mental energy 
 
 Eobert Knight, BarreUs, Hen- 
 ley, in Arden 
 W. P., Philliraore Place 
 Thomas Bonham, Petersfield 
 Jon. Walsh, Halifax 
 
 2 
 
 10 10 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 Jno. Hancock, Nottingham ... 
 John Eawson, Sheffield 
 A swarm of B's from Somerset- 
 shire, whose stings are for 
 the oppressors of Law, and 
 whose honey is for the op- 
 pressed by Law 
 
 The returned interest of an 
 honourable Debtor, by J. S. 
 
 R. P 
 
 J. Corder, Springfield, Essex 
 Sidmouth, Oliver, and Co., 
 
 perW. G 
 
 Two determined Enemies to 
 Tyranny and Oppression, 
 firm Friends to the Protest- 
 ant Eeligion, but no great 
 admirers of St. Athanasius 
 Rev. T. B. Morris, Eector of 
 Shelfdnger,who disapproves 
 of the Parodies, but abhors 
 the making an afi"ected 
 zeal for Eeligion, the pre- 
 text for Political Persecu- 
 tion 
 
 John Pigott, Ulting, Essex ... 
 J. C. Agnes, Langford 
 Thomas Nash... 
 One who considers (to use the 
 words of the great and ex- 
 cellent Charles James Fox) 
 " Hypocrisy to be the most 
 odious and degrading of all 
 
 human vices" 
 
 Thomas Berry, Walton Ter- 
 race, Aylesbury 
 Thomas Squire, Epping 
 
 T. W 
 
 Green and Son 
 J. D. "It may operate in 
 mitigation of punishment ! " 
 J. M. (Second Subscription)... 
 Edm. Waller, Luton, Beds ... 
 
 J. A. W 
 
 "For Shame!!!" 
 
 J. Mortimer, Wareham 
 
 £ s. 
 5 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 :3 10 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 .'] 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ;i 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 Capt. Ellis, do. ; 11. N.,per Jo. 
 T. Browu, do., per do. 
 
 K. G., do., per do 
 
 A Lady, 10s. Cd. ; J. B., 10s. ; 
 
 two Purbeck Men, 10s. each; 
 
 and sundry subscriptions, 
 
 19s. 6d., per do. 
 <>. D., IlammersmitU 
 Further Subscriptions from 
 
 the Office of the Bury paper 
 .lohn Clark, Lempsfield, Surrey 
 AVilliam Philpot 
 A Broker 
 
 A Poor Vulcan 
 
 A Lawyer opposed in lorinciple 
 
 to Law 
 
 Searle 
 
 Reformation ... 
 
 J. V. Earle, Winchester 
 
 " Man is as his mind is" 
 
 SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED, 
 
 i s. 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 24.3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 For the Hone that set the 
 Razor that shaved the Rats 
 
 T. C 
 
 George and James Goy 
 
 D— , " Take Physic, Pomp !" 
 
 May Heaven born truth no 
 longer be endured by the 
 l)eople of England... 
 
 Samuel Parr (D.D.), who most 
 seriously disapproves of all 
 Parodies upon the hallowed 
 language of Scriptui'e, and 
 the contents of the Prayer 
 Book, but acquits Mr. Hone 
 of intentional impietj'-, ad- 
 }nires his talents and his 
 fortitude, and applauds the 
 good sensj and integrity of 
 his Juries ... 
 
 MarkWilks 
 
 10 
 2 
 
 2 2 
 
 ■",,* The Proprietors of severed Indejjendent COUNTRY 
 NEWSPAPERS, considering that the Liberty of the Fublic 
 Press has been essentialli/ j^'^'omoted hy Mr. Hone's exertions, 
 have most handsomely opened Books for Suhscrip>tions at their 
 resp)ective Offices, and voluntarily in their Journals j)i'omoted the 
 object which the. Committee have hi view. Sums so subscribed 
 as loell as those procured by the spontaneous kindness of other 
 Individuals in the Country, roho are desirous of contributing 
 by their exertions to the future loelfare of Mr. Hone and his 
 family, may be transmitted as often as convenient to Mr. Waith- 
 JiAN, tlte Treasurer, or to either of the other Gentlemen authorised 
 to receive SxcbscrijJtions in London. 
 
 Subscriptions will be received by ROBERT WAITHMAN, 
 the Treasm'er, Bridge-street, Blackfriars ; Alderman THORP, 
 Aldgate, High-street ; ROBERT CARTER, Minorics ; JOSEPH 
 HURCOMBE, St. Paul's Churchyard ; WILLIAM TEASDALE, 
 St. Paul's Churchyard; SAMUEL BROOKS, Strand; and 
 ALEXANDER GALLOWAY, High Holborn.
 
 n
 
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