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Prefton; or to reimburfe him perhaps for the fine of one thoufand pounds, which, for that very deportment, the Court of King's Bench thought proper to fet upon him.

It is not often that

the chief juftice, and the prime minifter are fo ftrangely at variance in their opinions of men and things.

I thank God there is not in human nature a degree of impudence daring enough to deny the charge I have fixed upon you, Your courteous fecretary, your confidential architect are filent as the grave. Even Mr. Rigby's countenance fails him. He violates his fecond nature, and blushes whenever he speaks of you- Perhaps the noble Colonel himfelf will relieve you. No man is more tender of his reputation. He is not only nice, but perfectly fore, in every thing that touches his honour. If any man, for example, were to accufe him of taking his ftand at a gaming-table and watching, with the fobereft attention, for a fair opportunity of engaging a drunken young nobleman at piquet, he would undoubtedly confider it as an infamous afperfion upon his character, and resent it like a man of honour. Acquitting him therefore of drawing a regular and fplendid fubfiftance, from any unworthy practices either in his own houfe or elsewhere, let me afk your Grace, for what military merits you have been pleased to reward him with a military government? He had a regiment of dragoons, which one would imagine, was at leaft an equivalent for any fervices he ever performed. Befides, he is but a young officer confidering his preferment, and, excepting his activity at Prefton, not very confpicuous in his profeffion. But it feems, the fale of a civil employment was not fufficient, and military governments, which were intended for the fupport of worn-out veterans, must be thrown into the fcale, to defray the expensive bribery of a contefted election. Are these the fteps you take to fecure to your Sovereign the attachment of his army? With what countenance dare you appear in the royal prefence, branded as you are with the infamy of a notorious breach of truft? With what countenance can you take your feat at the treafury board or in council, when you feel that every circulating whifper is at your expence alone, and ftabs you to the heart? Have you a fingle friend in parliament fo fhameless, fo thoroughly abandoned, as to undertake your defence? You know, my lord, that there is not a man in either house, whofe character however flagitions, would not be ruined by mixing his reputation with yours; and does not your heart inform you, that you are degraded below the condition of a man, when you are obliged to hear these infults with fubmiffion, and even to thank me for my moderation?

We are told by the higheft judicial authority, that Mr. Vaughan's offer to purchase the reverfion of a patent in Jamaica (which he was otherwife fufficiently entitled to) amounted to a high mifdemeanor. Be it fo, and if he deferves it, let him be punished. But the learned judge might have had a fairer opportunity of difplaying the powers of his eloquence. Having delivered himself with so much energy upon the criminal nature, and dangerous confequences of an attempt to corrupt a man in Vol. VI. Ꭰ

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your grace's ftation, what would he have faid to the minifter himself, to that very privy counsellor, to that first commiflioner of the treafury, who does not wait for, but impatiently folicits the touch of corruption; who employs the meaneft of his creatures in thefe honourable fervices, and forgetting the genius and fidelity of his fecretary, defcends to apply to his house-builder for affiftance?

This affair, my Lord will do infinite credit to government, if to clear your character, you fhould think proper to bring it into of- or into the Court of K-g's B

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But my lord, you dare not do either.

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JUNIUS.

A Charge delivered to a Jury, on a late Trial of the utmost impor tance to the Subjects of this Country.

Gentlemen of the Jury,

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HIS is an action, wherein J-W, Efq; is plaintiff, and the Right Hon. G

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D, E of is the defendant. It is an action of trespass for false imprisonment, brought by the plaintiff; it is in the form of a declaration, for breaking and entering his dwelling house, and there making a noise and disturbance, breaking open locks, and taking away his papers, and likewife for falfely imprisoning his perfon feveral days in the Tower. The fubftantial part of the claim in this action is for feizing his papers and perfon, without a legal authority. Gentlemen, to this declaration, the defendant has pleaded, he is not guilty of the fact; and the whole matter to be tried in this action is, whether he is guilty or not guilty, in order to affefs fuch damages as you fhall think proper. It has been proved over and over again, and there is no manner of doubt that the imprisonment was illegal, and likewife the feizing of the plaintiff's papers. It comes now fingly before you to assess the damages, which you think the plaintiff ought to recover under all the circumftances. The plaintiff has called feveral witneffes to maintain his cafe fet out in his declaration. On the part of the defendant, it is admitted, and fo it most certainly appears to be to every body that ever heard a cause, that the warrant whereby the plaintiff was imprisoned, and his papers feized, was an illegal warrant; it has undergone the confideration of this court, and likewife the court of King's Bench, and has been deemed illegal, and very properly fo, by every judge who has feen it, therefore it is impoffible to juftify it; and there is no pretence or foundation for the defendant in this cafe to make any fort of stand against the action, by way of juftification, in the way he has done, because it clearly and manifeftly is an illegal warrant, contrary to the common law of the land: and if warrants of this kind had been reckoned legal, I am fure, as one of the plaintiff's witneffes obferved, it is extremely proper for the authority of this kingdom to interpofe and provide a remedy, because all the private papers of a man, as well as his liberty,

would

would be in the power of a fecretary of state, or any of his fervants. The law does not make any difference between great and petty officers; thank God, they are all amenable to juftice, and the law will reach them, if they step over the boundaries the law has prescribed. Gentlemen, it is material for your confideration, that this warrant, in the form of it, is illegal; yet ftill it is not a warrant of their own original framing, it was in conformity to many precedents in their office, from the time of the revolution. About the 3d or 4th of James II. there had been warrants of the fame fort in the office, which were directed in the fame form, and therefore the ufe made of this evidence is to try to take off a great part of the imputation of malice, which has been attempted to be proved, to difpoffefs you of any idea of malignity in the defendant in granting it, and to fhew you that he did not do it without precedent. If wrong, it was a precedented mistake. With regard to the evidence for the defendant, there have been a great number of warrants read; the first evidence they give is a reference to the then attorney and folicitor general, and I will read to you first of all what the reference fays, and then the answer.

W.

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[The precedents were read, 41 in all, about 50 more were produced but not read; then, J--W. was called, Mr. A—, and next P-C and LS, Efqrs. The last piece of evidence produced on the part of the defendant was to prove that the plaintiff had obtained a verdict of 1000 pounds against Mr. W- for an action against him for the feizure of his papers.] This is the evidence laid before you.

As to the warrant, I have faid enough concerning the illegallity of it; it comes then to be rightly aud truly nothing more than this, that this gentleman has been imprisoned falfely by an illegal warrant, without a proper authority; that he has been kept in cuftody from Saturday the 30th of April to the Friday following, and then fet at liberty by this Court; he was confined feven days before he was discharged, and he has had his papers taken away by force likewife, by this illegal warrant and therefore you are under all these circumftances to affert and affefs the damages, you think he ought to recover, for this feizure of papers and false imprisonment.

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You all very well know what vaft deference I always pay ever will to that part of the office of a jury which properly belongs to them. I never did, nor ever will, while I have the honour of executing the office of a judge, attempt to comptrol or influence the minds of a jury, in respect to damages, but fubmit to them fuch obfervations as occur to me upon the evidence, but not by way of controuling them; I dare fay, I have faid the fame an hundred times, and as the gentlemen at the bar have induftriously avoided, upon both fides, pointing at any particular fum you fhall give, I will as industriously avoid pointing it out too, and leave it to you to judge as you fhall think proper. In regard to the law, I have always been as tenacious of the proper function of a judge, as I have been of the jury. When a question comes before me прок

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upon a point of law, I fhall always take an opportunity, when the jury are not to interpofe in it, to explain to them, and with regard to facts, I fhall take them as I take the law: That being the cafe, you are to take all the circumftances of this caufe into your confideration; there is another reafon why I will lay very little more to you than what is my duty; which is, that when a fpecial jury of the first rank of people in the county appear to try a fact, there is not fo much neceffity for a judge to defcant upon the nature of a caufe, as there is to an inferior rank of men, perhaps, not fo well acquainted with, nor fo properly qualified to balance fuch a caufe as this.

There is another thing I fhall mention to you, which is, that no prejudices, of whatfoever kind, fhould influence you; it is my opinion you all come here as unprejudiced and difpafionate to try this caufe as. I myfelf do, therefore all things faid out of doors, all papers and pamphlets, and every thing either in writing or converfation, are always in the adminiftration of justice to be totally. laid out of the minds of judges and jury; they must be blind, deaf, and dumb to every thing but the evidence before them; They must diveft their minds of whatever papers may influence them; I fpeak for myfelf; I have not read three papers about it, and I never do about any thing; I keep my mind free for every thing that may come before me of that kind. To be fure, there has been, with regard to the plaintiff, a neceflity for me to read and look into the law; with regard to any thing elfe, I never fuffered myself to be biaffed or affected by the reports or reading of fuch papers or pamphlets, as are wrote with an endeavour to pervert juftice. Much has been faid upon both fides, which does not particularly apply to this caufe; in direct terms, it is the evidence, and the propriety of what arifes neceffarily and immediately from the evidence, that you are to form your judgment,

upon.

Now, Gentlemen, in the firft place, it appears moft clearly that the plaintiff has been taken up unlawfully, has been imprifoned feven days, has had his papers rifled, examined, and feized, that thofe papers have been likewife improperly and illegally taken notice of and by the letter that has been read to you, it appears that fuch of them as could not tend to prove the charge against him would be returned, and fuch as would prove him guilty would not; That he has had these papers taken from his houfe without the leaft pretence of right whatever. As to the declaration, Gentlemen, that is nothing in regard to breaking locks and doors, and all these kind of things; they are only. formal words; the damage upon them is nothing; the damage is for the unlawfully imprifoning him, and taking his papers without a proper authority; and there has been a moft plain grofs injury done him, and it is plainly and grofly a violation of the laws. You are not, in afferting the damages, to turn your eyes upon the broken locks and doors, mentioned in the declaration; the spirit of the thing is for feizing his perfon, and confining him feven days, and for unlawfully keeping his papers. Another fact is

proper

proper to be confidered; the manner of doing it: It has been proved to you that, with regard to fending him to the Tower, and committing him close prifoner, there has been an order in the warrant directing him to be kept clofe prifoner; there has been a direction given by Lord E, in the defendant's prefence, a verbal order not to admit any body to fee him, which is a thing extremely unlawful. There is another thing mentioned with re gard to the change of cuftody: As to that I own there does not feem to me to be that difference contended for; it appears that the plaintiff was taken up and brought to the defendant, and that there was a Habeas Corpus applied for, but then it was applied for improperly, and therefore cannot be confidered as evidence before you. I don't fee (but that must be for your confideration) that any manner of oppreffion from the changing the custody appears from the evidence before us. It does not appear that the fecretary of state knew that the Habeas Corpus was applied for, before the warrant for fending him to the Tower was prepared and figned. It does not appear that they knew it, from any thing I can fee; they beft know whether they did or not. There was fome hurry about it, but I don't fee any thing has been proved of any intention to opprefs the plaintiff, because they did not know, at the time they figned the warrant, that the Habeas Corpus was applied for; there must be fome mistake about that, as it did not come to the defendant's knowledge. You know very well I never give myself the liberty to inforce words, but give them you precifely; you are to confider the evidence, and judge whether or not you think that this cuftody was changed by the fecretaries of ftate, with an intention to injure the plaintiff; if so, it would be an aggravation of the illegal treatment. As to his being ill treated, upon my oath, I cannot fay I fee any fort of ill ufage; there does not feem to be the leaft ill ufage defigned him, there does not feem to be any aggravation arifing out of this matter. Upon the contrary, according to one of the witneffes, the plain-. tiff faid the defendant behaved like a nobleman, and he fhould always regard him for it; upon the evidence, I don't find that change of cuftody was meant as an aggravation.

Now, gentlemen, with regard to the proof before you, as I told you before, you are the only proper judges; as to the giving thefe orders, and the conftruction of them; it must be obferved, that as foon as it was known that his friends were not to fee him, Mr. W- did endeavour to rectify it. It appears upon evidence, that, from the beginning of his knowledge of that tranfaction, he took all the pains he could to rectify it, and get the verbal orders relaxed, upon which he applied to the defendant, and he fent word that the plaintiff's friends might fee him; but as to the behaviour throughout, it is nothing at all to this caufe, as they had not a proper authority for detaining the plaintiff; therefore the point for you to confider is, whether the evidence that has been laid before you, on the behalf of the defendant, does not, in a great measure, draw out the fting of this warrant. With respect to the warrant, if the defendant had invented this warrant himself, if it had been the firft iffued out of his office, it would have been

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