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and at length sat down with the conviction that he had rendered the proper arrangement of his intellectual faculties extremely dubious. Upon the motion for limiting the operation of the Stamp Duties Bill to political periodical pamph lets, a gentleman (Sir W. D. Crespigny) remarked, that if any circumstance should occur, which might cause a sudden termination to the political career of the Noble Lord, (Castlereagh), the Public (if the Amendment was not agreed to) would be deprived of the benefit of purchasing his dying speech and confession," This also produced a hearty laugh, but the Amendment was of course negatived. The only speech worth noticing was that of Mr. Macdonald, and that was so contemptibly interlarded with protestations. against blasphemous and seditious publications, which are asserted to have done a vast deal of mischief, although there is no proof the existence of any of their mischievous effects, nor is the species of mischief defined one whit more intelligibly than the very nature of the words. " blasphemous and seditious publications."

Lord Castlereagh still adheres to the infliction of the penalty of banishment on all publishers and authors who may be twice convicted of libel. This is so very atrocious that we cannot let, it pass without a comment in the first, the person banished is driven an exile, we will suppose, to France. If he is rich, the change must be certainly for the better; but what a miserable state must he be placed in, who in a foreign land, with the language of whose jinhabitants he is, perhaps, unacquainted, and without a shilling to buy him bread or a profession by which to earn it. To such a punishment, transportation-nay, even death itself is preferable.

The penalty, will, however, defeat its own object, for no intelligent Jury will pronounce a verdict of Guilty when a punishment so atrocious will be the consequence of their verdict. We see that at the Old Bailey Juries frequently, and, we must say, in a very praiseworthy manner, convict people of felony to the amount of thirty-nine shillings, to save them from death, when it must be apparent that the goods stolen are often worth ten times that amount. But they are aware of the severity of the English Criminal Code of Laws, and thus stretch forth the hand of mercy between the culprit and the executioner. We are aware that many will view this leaning to mercy, (and we boldly say, to justice) as criminal, amongst which number ranks Mr. Cobbett; still do we declare that we are not influenced by personal apprehension, in our opposition to the cruel penalty of ba

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nishment for seditious libel. Cobbett, in his "Life of Paine," makes the following ungracious attack upon that great cha racter, as well as upon all others who were ever endued with a portion of the milk of human kindness.

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"At this place the reader will undoubtedly call to mind Paine's vehement sallies against the penal code. All the patriots look upon lawgivers, judges, juries, and the whole suite of justice as their mortal enemies. Inhuman wretches!' say some, that are leagued together to rob man of his Rights, and with them of his existence.' This is like the thief, who, when about to receive sentence of death, protested he would swear the peace against the judge, for that he verily believed he had a design upon his life. Reader, Reader, while you live, suspect those tender hearted fellows who shudder at the name of the gallows. When you hear a man loud againstthe severity of the laws, set him down for a rogue."

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We do not profess to know Mr. Cobbett's real opinion upon the penal code of England, for it would be useless to suppose that a man's real sentiments can be known, when he has been through life a weathercock. Without any fear of being appreciated as rogues by our fellow-countrymen, we do conceive the English Code to be the most cruel that has been acted upon since the days of the Spartan Lawgiver, LYCURGUS.

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MR. WADDINGTON'S REFUSED AFFIDAVIT.

I, SAMUEL WADDINGTON, of No. 10, Middle Row, Holborn, London, do most solemnly swear:

That, on the evening of the first day of December, in the year of our Lord, 1819, Thomas Child, of Norfolk Street, situated near the Mint, in the Borough of Southwark, a watchman and patrol of the night, on the Bankside in the Parish of Saint Saviour's, in the liberty of the Clerk, in Southwark, aforesaid, when peaceably going about my business, did call me back and unlawfully seize and take by force the body of me, Samuel Waddington, to the watchhouse in Guildford Street, about eight o'clock of the beforementioned evening, and malignantly charged me with having used seditious expressions, by announcing that a Publie Meeting was to take place on the following day on Clerkenwell Green, which was subsequently postponed to a future day. On the second day of December I was taken before Thomas Evance, Esq. one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace of Union Hall Police Office, who committed me on

the following oath, maliciously and falsely sword by the aforesaid Thomas Child :-" That there were to the number of a dozen persons collected round me, and that I then and there made use of various inflammatory and seditious expressions, tending to excite and stir up his Majesty's subjects to oppose and resist the proceedings now going on in Parliament, and the Laws and Government of this country against the peace, &c. &c. &c. On the above oath being made out by the Magistrate's Clerk and Thomas Child, and I not being allowed to speak one word in my defence, I was committed to Horsemonger Lane Gaol, where I was confined fourteen hours and a half out of every twentyfour, in a cold damp cell, with the clothes on the bed so wet that water, owing to the dampness of the walls, might be wrung from them, which has seriously impaired my health. I was thus imprisoned for nine days and then discharged, without any charge having been preferred against me before the gentleman who constituted the Graud Jury at the thea Sessions.

I also do hereby declare, that this unjust, illegal, and unconstitutional imprisonment has so far impaired my health, that I am totally unable to follow my trade for the purpose of earning an honest livelihood; the cold which I there caught having fallen in my limbs and eyes, in consequence of which my vision is very considerably impaired.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CAP OF LIBERTY. · SIR, The foregoing affidavit (if I may thus call a paper which, has not yet been sworn to) I yesterday presented at Hatton Garden Police Office, for the purpose of giving it a legal sanction to that title; but the clerk to the Magistrates told me that he believed such an affidavit was not admissible. I therefore, Sir, would request your insertion of it in your patriotic publication, with the following remarks, which, I believe, are to the purpose. The foregoing facts prove that I have been grossly and wantonly attacked and imprisoned without any proof of any sort of crime, which is directly contrary to the chartered laws of our country; for, in the 28th year of the reign of King Edward, it was declared and enacted by authority of Parliament, "that no man, of what estate or condition that he be, shall be put out of his land or, tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited, nor put to death, without being brought to answer by due process of law."

Had Thomas Evance, Esq. suffered me, as is the duty of

every impartial Magistrate, to have entered into the merits or demerits of my case on the examination, I should then have been able to prove to him my innocence of the false charge laid against me, and convinced him of the wilful and corrupt perjury of the aforesaid Thomas Child; such conduct being pursued against me, induces me to quote the following verse from the 30th chapter of Proverbs :

"There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from amongst men.'

With a hope that you will comply with my request, I beg leave to subscribe myself, Sir,

Your fellow-citizen,

S. WADDINGTON.

WAR ON THE REVENUE.

In a former number of the "Cap of Liberty," we announced to our Readers that a Breakfast Powder was preparing at No. 10, MIDDLE ROW, HOLBORN, opposite Gray's Inn Lane, and would, in a few days, be offered to that portion of the public who are willing to sacrifice their sensual gratifications for the purpose of regaining their Liberties. We are now happy to inform our Readers that it is ready for sale; we have several times drank it for breakfast, and we feel persuaded, that it is superior to any coffee which can be purchased at three shillings per pound; there will be, consequently, a saving of three hundred per cent, to the family which uses it, it being on sale for the moderate demand of ONE SHILLING per Pound. It is very pleasant to the taste, and must be used in exactly a similar manner with coffee, its strength being as nearly as possible in proportion to that of the exciseable article. It need scarcely be mentioned, that the Radical Powder is equally as pleasant in the evening as in the morning.

This is a new species of war-a war upon the revenue, which is, thank heaven! becoming general throughout the 'nation, and which, if persevered in, will doubtless effect the purpose for which it is intended. It is sold for the accommodation of the less opulent classes, in quantities as low as two ounces. A liberal allowance will, we understand, be made to all venders of the Radical Breakfast Powder.

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THE MEASURES OF MINISTERS.

A Song of Similies.

All England's been wond'ring what would come to pass,
In the present queer state of the nation;
Their measures the Ministers cut out at last,

And straight-jackets must prove our salvation.
They'll strike at the root with a new-sharpen'd Bill,
Which they're grinding the Parliament's wish on,
For Radicals, by their new method of drill,
Are sowing the seeds of Sedition.

A treacherous bait now floats in the stream,
Which thro' both houses quickly is gliding;

They're trolling for Pikes, by their nets it would seem,
And their great skill in angling they've pride in.

A large standing army they're trying to raise,
The Radical train-bands to kill;

Their quick steps are certainly worthy of praise,
For the awkward squad's constant at drill.
The nation's old coat they'll endeavour to patch,
Tho' much mending more 'twill not bear;
Of heavy oat-cakes they are baking a batch-
And hard of digestion, I fear.-

*

Its once-boasted Freedom the Press now must lose,
Or at least will become a dead letter:

If they turn a new leaf, or a fresh page.composez
I hope it will read something better.

Alluding to TITUS OATES.

NOTICE TO THE READER.

*

WHATEVER alterations may be necessary in this Publication, to meet the Bills now pending in Parliament relative to the Restrictions on the Press, we beg to apprize our Readers that our Pablication will be continued as usual; and whatever plans our cotemporaries may adopt, this Publication WILL NOT BE STAMPED. The same plan will be adopted with respect to the REPUBLICAN and MEDusa.

T. DAVISON, Printer and Publisher, 10, Duke Street, Smithfield.

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