lords, I rely upon the juflice of this houfe, and pray that I may be granted a copy of the charge, with a reasonable time to make my defence. Likewife that I may be allowed counfel; and, that I may be admitted to bail." Black rod then withdrew with his prifoner. Lord Walfingham again arofe, and moved, That Mr. Haftings might be admitted to bail in the fum before mentioned.

The duke of Norfolk faid, after hearing the articles read, and the exceeding enormity of them, he could by no means agree to take fuch flender bail. His grace apprehended the least fum which could be demanded in the prefent cafe fhould be fifty thousand pounds, he therefore moved an amendment, that Mr. Hallings fhould give bail for twenty-five thousand pounds, and two fureties in the like fum.

Lord Townshend said, the honour of the nation was intimately connected with the prefent profecution. The charges against Mr. Haftings' were of a very heavy nature, be yond any thing that the Journals could produce. He therefore feconded the noble duke's motion.

Lord Hopetoun and lord Walfingham apprehended the fecurity first propofed was quite fufficient.

Lord Thurlow quoted the cafe af fir John Bennet, who gave bail in the fum of forty thousand pounds upon an impeachment of a fimilar nature. His lordfhip was againft requiring exceffive bail; it being cqually oppreffive and illegal,

The original motion was withdrawn, and the fum of forty thou fand pounds was agreed upon by the house as fufficient bail.

A converfation then took place, refpecting the time to be allowed the prifoner to put in his anfwer.

The lord chancellor obferved,

that it would be impoffible to be done in the courfe of the prefent feffion. He was therefore of opi nion to allow him a long month; namely, until the fecond day of the next feffion of parliament.

Mr. Haftings was again called to the bar, when the lord chancellor faid-"The house has taken your prayer into confideration, and you are to be allowed a copy of the charge. against you. You are to have counfel affigned you. Name them." [Mr. Haftings named Mr. Plomer, Mr. Law, and Mr. Dallas. The chancellor put the question, and thefe three gentlemen were affigned as counfel.] "You are likewife allowed a month to the fecond day of next feffion of parliament, to deliver in your defence at the bar of this houfe. You are likewife to be admitted to bail, yourself in twenty thousand pounds, and two fureties in ten thousand pounds each. Have you any bail ?" Mr. Haftings"My lord, they are now at the bar," Chancellor. Name them. "George Sumner, efq. "Richard Jof. Sullivan, efq.

The houfe agreed to accept the bail; and they accordingly juftified at the bar; and entered into a recognizance for Mr. Haftings' appear,

ance.

Lord Chancellor." Mr. Haftings, you may withdraw."

23. The great caufe between commodore Johnstone and captain Sutton, was finally determined in the houfe of lords, in favour of the former. See Vol. V. p. 100, Vol. FI. p. 39, and Vol. VII. p. 46.

Bristol, May 26. Some workmen digging lately for making a canal near Coalbrook-dale, difcovered a thick glutinous fubftance iffuing from the fiffure of a rock, which, on examination, proved to be a mineral tar, which appears to

(B 4)

have

have all the properties of the common tar. We hear feveral hundred barrels of it are already collected, the quantity that iffues daily being very confiderable.

28. Saturday morning, at ten o'clock, their majefties went to see Mr. Whitbread's brewery in Chifwell-freet, which was rendered as convenient as poffible on the occafion; when they had viewed every part of the premifes in a moft minute manner, which took up four hours, they graciously partook of fome refreshment provided in the houfe, and they expreffed them felves exceedingly pleafed with the whole. Mr. Whitbread attended their majesties, and they feemed very much fatisfied at viewing fo large a work totally employed in the confumption of the growth of England. The whole was conducted with the greatest regularity and order, in a very plain and elegant manner. The team engine in this brewery is erected in a handsome building, fo as to exhibit every part of it at one view; and Mr. Watt, the patentee, was prefent to explain the machine, which afforded their majesties fingular pleasure.-Their majesties were attended by three of the princeffes, the duke of Montagu, lord Aylesbury, lord Denbigh, the duchefs of Ancaster, and lady Har

1. Arrived in London, Meffrs. Tenon and Colomb, appointed by the royal academy of fciences at Paris, by order of the French council of ftate, to vifit all the hofpitals, of every fort, in Great Britain and Ireland, and make on their return, a particular defcription of every inftitution, and its feveral arrangements, management, and advantages. This commiffion is in confequence of the French government having refolved, on the reprefentations of the royal academy of medicine, to remove the Hotel Dieu at Paris from its fituation in the middle of the city; and to erect four or more grand hofpitals at the outskirts of Paris, and fuch convenient fmall infirmaries in different airy parts of the city, to receive accidents, and fuch tick whose cases could not admit of being conveyed fo far from their habitations as to the intended hospitals.

By order of the French govern ment, Meffrs. Tenon and Colomb delivered to fir Jofeph Banks, bart. prefident of the royal fociety, a letter from the prefident and royal academy of fciences of Paris, requenting the prefident and royal fociety to affit thofe gentlemen in their examinations of the feveral hofpitals. They were received and entertained by fir Jofeph Banks with that zeal and liberality which dif tinguishes his excellent heart; and, deeming this deputation from France as a high compliment paid to the British nation, fir Jofeph has taken every flep, by application to the

British

cial departments, and every tociety or perion who, by their authority, recommendation, or affiftance, could give thofe gentlemen the information they defired.

5. Was tried in the court of king's bench, an action of trefpafs and falfe imprisonment, brought by Mr. Charles Hay, a wine-cooper of Quebec, against fir Frederic Haldimand, as governor of that province, for arrefting him on fuspicion of high treason, as a man difaffected to the king's government and meafures during the late difputes with America, and confining him in a loathfome cell during the space of three years and fixteen days. The confinement was confeffedly illegal; but there were circumftances that juftified fufpicion; on which account the jury, which was fpecial, moderated the damages, and found a verdict for the plaintiff, with zool. damages.

6. Lord George Gordon was tried before juftice Buller, at the court of king's bench, on an information for having written and published a pamphlet, intituled, "A Petition to lord George Gordon from the Prisoners in Newgate, praying for his Interference, and that he would fecure their Liberties, by preventing them from being fent to Botany Bay." This strange performance, being read, appeared to be a farrago of vague reafoning, and abfurd reference, interlarded with a great number of Scripture phrafes. he paffage quoted in the information was to the following purpose: "At a time when the nations of the earth endeavour wholly to follow the laws of God, it is no wonder that we, labouring under our fevere fentences, fhould cry out from our dungeons and afk redrefs. Some of us are about to fuffer execution

to be fent off to a barbarous country. The records of justice have been falfified, and the laws profanely altered by men like ourselves. The bloody laws against us have been enforced, under a nominal administration, by mere whitened walls, men who poffefs only the fhew of justice, and who have condemned us to death contrary to law, &c."

The attorney general opened the profecution by remarking, that nothing could be more obvious than the purpofe for which this publica tion was intended.-It purported to be an addrefs to lord George Gordon; but, as it would appear, had been actually written by him felf, with a view either to raise a tumult among the prifoners within, in an endeavour to procure their deliverance; or, by exciting the compaffion of thofe without, to caufe a diurbance, and produce the fame effect. It was now but a few years fince, he faid, without meaning any particular application in the prefent inftance, that the citizens of London had feen those eff Ets completed, which this pamphlet went to produce; and the confequences were too well known to need a repetition. It included the law and the judges in indifcriminate. abufe: he would not contend for abfolute perfection in the former; but thofe who condemned our laws, fhould not relide under their jurisdiction. The criminal law was no where attended to with more care, or enforced with fo much lenity. This, however, had nothing to do with the prefent cafe, as the defendant had fufficiently fhewn, by his conduct, that reformation was not his object.

John Pitt, the turnkey of Newgate, was then called. He depofed,

that,

that, in the month of December lait, lord George Gordon had repeatedly vifited the lodge, and afked to fee the prifoners, particularly thofe under fentence of death, which request was often denied. On the publication of the pamphlet in question, lord George fent a copy to him, and others to Mr. Akerman, and Mr. Villette the ordinary. A few days after, he found a man and woman diftributing them in great numbers at the door of the prifon, Jp confequence of this, he waited on lord George at his houfe in Welbeck-ftreet, and told him that there was fad work about the diflribution of the pamphlet; to which his lordship replied, "No matter, let them come on as foon as they pleafe; I am ready for them." He then faw a great number of the books in the room, and took one to Mr. Akerman, at lord George's particular defire; and alfo gave a direction to the refidence of thofe perfons who had distributed the pamphlets in the Old Bailey.

The records of the conviction of feveral perfons were then read and authenticated; and Mr. Akerman, and Mr. Hall, the keeper of the New Jail, Southwark, were called, for the purpose of proving, that there exifted, at the time, convicts of the fame defcription as thofe who were fuppofed to have addreff ed the pamphlet to the defendant.

Lord George afked the witneffes, feverally, whether he had ever any conference with the perfons mentioned in the record; to which they replied in the negative.

His lordship then entered on his defence; which was delivered in a defultory manner, and made up of materials as heterogeneous as ever went to fuch a compofition. A petty fraud, he faid, committed in his own family, had firft drawn his at

tention to the laws against felony, when he found that it conftituted a capital crime, though the fum taken was no more than eighteen pence. He then entered into a hiftory of our criminal law, from the time of Athelstan, for the purpofe of proving that code, in its prefent ftate, to be by much too fanguinary. This, he said, was a subject which ftruck his heart. He had communicated his ideas to lord Mansfield, and to the recorder, who had admitted their propriety; and to judge Gould, who had defired him to put his thoughts on piper. This was all he had done in the prefent inftance. His idea was only to enlarge the powers of the judges; though wicked lawyers had attributed to him another intention. He quoted the act of parliament for fending the convicts to South Wales, as a proof that the legislature thought with him on the fubject: he quoted the Gazette of last Saturday, as a proof of his majefty's attention to God's laws, which he faid were directly contrary to the prefent practice: and he affured the court, that, if he had time to send for his books, he could fhew them that every word of his pamphlet was actually in the Bible! -His lordship complained very much of thofe vexatious profecutions which were inflituted against him, He quoted Blackstone's Commentaries, book iv. cap. 23. who fays, "that informations filed ex officio, by the attorney general, are proper only for fuch enormous mifdemeanors as peculiarly tend to disturb or endanger the king's government, and in the punishment or prevention of which a moment's delay would be fatal." This, he faid, had by no means appeared in his cafe, as one of the informations against him had been pending for ten, and

the

the other for fix months. This extraordinary mode was therefore a grievance on him, which was not juftified, as it appeared, by any preffing neceffity. He exhorted judge Buller not to lofe the prefent opportunity of inttructing the jury on the difputed point, whether they were to judge of law as well as of fact. He then complained, that fpies had been fet over him by the treasury for several vonths; and concluded with repeating his declaration, that his object had been reformation, not tumult. His lordfhip fpoke for upwards of an hour and a half.

Judge Buller, having briefly fummed up the evidence, remarked, that there could be no doubt of the fact of the defendant's having written and published the libel, the former of which he had actually confeffed. There remained, therefore, only to determine whether the averments in the information were equally true; that is, whether the judges of the different courts, his majefty's law officers, were those alluded to, on which the jury were to determine.

The jury, without hesitation, returned their verdict, GUILTY.

The printer, Thomas Wilkins, was then tried, and found GUIL

TY.

Lord George then prefented an affidavit for the purpofe of putting off his trial on the fecond information; ftating, that he had proceeded, accompanied by a proper perfon, to Mrs. Fitzherbert's, in order to ferve her with a fubpœna: that, on appearing at the door, he read the original fubpoena, and at the fame time prefented the copy and a fhilling; but was, together with his attendant, turned out of doors by the fervants; under thefe circunftances, fo contemptuous both to

the name of the king himself, and his "dearly beloved Francis Buller," it would, he was convinced, render it indifpenfably neceffary for the court to poftpone his trial; and, as he confidered the virtues of the judge equal to his abilities (both of which he admitted to be bright), he trufted his integrity would still remain unfullied, and that the court would not proceed to try him till they had evinced their power fufficient to the production of his witneffes, and believed they would not attempt to decide on him till they were first enabled to do him juf

tice.

The attorney general faid, that he could not poffibly allow the merits of this affidavit. The notice of trial had been given near three weeks ago; therefore an ineffectual attempt to serve a fubpoena but two days ago, could not form a sufficient claim to any farther delay. He wifhed alfo to know to what parts of his defence the evidence of Mrs. Fitzherbert would be applicable.

Lord George replied, by mentioning a converfation which, he faid, he had with Mrs. Fitzherbert at Paris, with the relation of which he intermingled fo many allufions to the fituation of that lady, either too indelicate, or too abfurd for repetition, that judge Buller was compelled to interpofc. His lordfhip was with fome difficulty filenced; and it was then ordered, that the trial fhould proceed.

The information was then read; which stated, as libellous and feditious, two paragraphs which ap peared in the Public Advertiser, on different days in the month of Augutt laft, relating the particulars of a vifit paid by count Cagliostro, accompanied by lord George Gordon, to Monf. Barthelemy, the French Chargé des Affaires, enlarg