Court here to understand and be informed that before and at the respective times of the printing and publishing the several scandalous malicious and defamatory libels hereinafter mentioned the right honourable Edward lord Ellenborough was and continually since hitherto hath been and still is the chief justice of our said lord the king assigned to hold pleas before the king himself and also a peer and lord of the parliament of this kingdom to wit at London in the parish of St. Mary-le-Bow in the ward of Cheap and that heretofore to wit on the second day of December in the 48th year of the reign of our sovereign lord George the third of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland king at the Guildhall of the city of London a certain action of trespass and assault then depending in the court of our said lord the king before the king himself wherein one Thomas Boyce was the plaintiff and one Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe was the defendant was tried by a jury of the said city of London before the aforesaid Edward lord Ellenborough then and still being the chief justice aforesaid at and upon which said trial the said jury found and gave their verdict for the said Thomas Boyce against the said Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe and assessed damages to the said Thomas Boyce over and above his costs and charges by him about his suit in that behalf expended to 80%. And the said attorneygeneral for our said lord the king giveth the Court here further to understand and be informed that John Harriott Hart late of London printer and Henry White late of the same place gentleman well knowing the premises but being malicious and ill-disposed persons and unlawfully and maliciously devising and intending to bring the administration of justice in England into hatred and contempt among the liege subjects of our said lord the king and to raise and excite disaffection and discontent in the minds of the liege subjects of our said lord the king and also to traduce defame and vilify the said Edward lord Ellenborough so being such chief justice as aforesaid and a peer and lord of the parliament as aforesaid and to bring him into great and public hatred and contempt afterwards to wit on the 20th day of December in the 48th year of the reign aforesaid at London aforesaid in the parish and ward aforesaid unlawfully and maliciously did print and publish and cause and procure to be printed and published certain scandalous malicious and defamatory libels of and concerning the aforesaid trial and the verdict aforesaid and also of and concerning the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid and the conduct of the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid at the said trial one of which said scandalous malicious and defamatory libels is according to the tenor and effect following (that is to say) "To the Right Hon. Edw. Lord Ellenborough, the Lord Chief Justice of His Majesty's Court of King's-bench" &c. &c. &c. (meaning the aforesaid Edward lord Ellenborough) "My lord" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) "The magnitude and importance of the subject to which I request your most serious and immediate attention, must furnish a sufficient apology for thus personally addressing your lordship. The two most valuable and perhaps only remaining, securities for the rights and liberties of Englishmen, are, unquestionably, the trial by jury, and the freedom of the press. So long as the administration of justice continues pure and undefiled, and the wrongs and injuries of a suffering people experience full and adequate redress; so long as the public functionaries of our assemblies of legisla ture and courts of jurisprudence be open to free examination and inquiry, so long, my lord, and no longer, may the people of this country be justly considered as safe from the gigantic strides of despotism, and the encroachments of arbitrary oppression. Impressed with this salutary conviction, I feel it a positive right, so well as an imperious duty, to rouse the vigilant attention of my fellow countrymen to the late proceedings in their courts of justice, to call publicly upon your lordship" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" for satisfactory explanation respecting a case that recently came under your cognizance, and was submitted to your jurisdiction," (meaning the said trial of the said action) "to examine freely but respectfully the force and validity of the observations that have been attributed, falsely, I hope, attributed, to your lordship, and clearly demonstrate their evil tendency and pernicious consequences to the public at large. My lord, it is essential not only to the national safety, but to the security of every individual subject, that the man who is entrusted to preside over the tribunals of England should be eminently distinguished for inflexible integrity and uncorrupted virtue: that he should rise superior to all selfish considerations or party views, and that the promulgation of his opinions from the judgment-seat, should place his character in the most exalted point of view as the avowed enemy of corruption and the friend of public justice. "I had intended, my lord, that these preliminary reflections should have been accompanied by a few remarks on the peculiar hardships and unprecedented circumstances attendant on the case of a Mr. William Dickie, who is now suffering all the aggravated horrors of a perpetual imprisonment merely upon a civil action of debt! but a desire to obtain complete information on the subject, and the present instance appearing to require more immediate attention, I shall suspend my observations, and confine myself to the case before me. "My lord, a most shameful and wanton outrage on the personal freedom of an English subject has been committed by a brutal ruffian, and the complainant appeals to a British tribunal for indemnification and redress; the case is completely proved, as well by the concurrent testimony of the most respectable witnesses in behalf of the plaintiff," (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) "as by the cross-examination of those on the part of the defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bailiffe.)-"The circumstances are shortly these: the plaintiff'" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)," who had formerly resided in India, and filled an important situation in his majesty's army, was returning to Europe, as a passenger in a vessel under the command of the defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bailiffe) "with his daughter, a child of eight years of age; and, during the early part of the voyage, had enjoyed unmolested the privilege of occupying the poop, and taking his recreation there with the superior officers and passengers. On a sudden, however, without any cause assigned, he" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" is debarred from this enjoyment by the defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe)" and compelled to retire with his daughter to another part of the vessel. The terms in which the prohibition is conveyed, are of the most insulting and degrading nature. The defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bailiffe) calls out to the mate to take that fellow from the quarter deck and never let him come there again!' the plaintiff" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" is, accordingly, ordered to quit the poop; he retires without any hesitation, and from that time confines himself in a more retired and private part of the vessel. Soon after, an alarm being given of some strange vessels in sight, which are mistaken for an enemy, the defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe)" calls over the names of all the passengers, orders them to their respective quarters, and commands the plaintiff" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" to take his station at the poop. The latter" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) "refuses to obey this order, not choosing to return to the situation whence he had been so ignominiously driven. He at the same time professes his readiness to fulfil his duty in any other situation. The defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bailiffe) "Immediately calls out, Here, take this 'd—d rascal, and put him' " (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" in irons !'"` "This brutal and ferocious order is instantaneously obeyed, and a British subject and a freeman is loaded with fetters, and exposed on the poop to the insulting derision of the crew, and the inclemency of a cold night! For this outrage, and for indemnification for the expense of his removal from a vessel where he could no longer with safety or prudence continue, he" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" returns to England in another, and seeks for reparation in a British court of justice. The British public, my lord," (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) will be amazed to learn, that, after a recital of this atrocious offence, and a full and complete proof of the truth of the accusation, that, under the direction, and upon hearing the concluding remarks of the lord chief justice of England" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" an English Jury," (meaning the aforesaid jury) "feeling, no doubt, for the wounded honour and insulted rights of an injured fellow-countryman, award damages to the extraordinary amount of (I blush to name them) eightypounds!!! The public must certainly be at a loss, my lord, to account for the excessive lenity of this singular verdict, especially when they contrast it with the case of Dickie, where, merely for words spoken at a common alehouse over his cups, and possibly not quite in his sober senses, a verdict was given for sevenhundred pounds; and the unhappy culprit, in consequence of his inability to pay the penalty of his offence, and even in spite of the forbearance of the aggrieved party, is doomed to end his days in a jail!!! But our surprise will be materially diminished and our apprehensions increased when we peruse your" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough's)" concluding observations :-we are told, in the printed statement of this remarkable trial, that your lordship" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" was pleased to observe, that in this case, neither party had been entirely free from blame!' and we are naturally led to inquire of your lordship, what part of the plaintiff's" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce's)" conduct was deserving of reprehension? you acknowledge that he had been, rudely driven from the poop;' and without any as signable cause or alleged misconduct deprived of his usual comforts of exercise and recreation; you assert that 'the defendant" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe)" had the strict right of withdrawing his indulgence if he thought proper, while you, at the same time, deny the exercise of a similar right to the plaintiff" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce)" to withhold his assistance from a wretch who had publicly treated him with gross indignity and contempt, in a case too of extreme personal danger, where he was bound by no moral sympathy or legal obligation! You" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" are reported to have said, that the plaintiff " (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) "falsely consulted the suggestions of his wounded pride!' Good God! my lord! is that delicacy of sentiment, that acuteness of feeling, that nice sense of honor, that decent pride, which preserves men honest amidst the raging temptations of surrounding vice and folly, and nourishes in their bosoms the noble principles of freedom and independence-is this, the safeguard, and often the substitute, of all our other virtues, which resents an open insult as a serious injury, and learns to practise the useful lessons of forbearance, out of respect for the rights of others, to be thus misrepresented, undervalued, and despised? Upon what principle, my lord" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) "either of law or justice, was this injured gentleman" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) "bound to expose his life, and hazard the ruin of his helpless daughter, who could look to her parent alone for protection and support? was he enrolled or registered as one of the crew? Did he receive the wages of a soldier or a seaman, or had he any share or concern in the property or merchandise of this vessel? None. He was a private passenger, coming peaceably over to England, for the laudable purpose of educating his only daughter, and claimed the common rights of hospitality and decorum! My lord, the details of this trial" (meaning the aforesaid trial)" have filled me with horror and indignation!Be assured that the public mind is stea dily fixed on the character and conduct of the present lord chief justice of England" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" and regards them with an eye of suspicion and alarm!—The increasing frequency of duels in this country can excite no surprise, when we reflect that an opinion appears to be rapidly gaining ground (an opinion which I trust is ill-founded) that private injuries have of late been seldom compensated by public reparation; that the sufferings and grievances of individuals have become subjects of banter, and ridicule; that the characters of witnesses have been assailed, and their testimony confused and perverted by the gross calumnies and vulgar witticisms of babbling pleaders, and pettifogging attornies, and that men, therefore, rather choose to become the arbiters and judges of their own causes and quarrels, than seek in vain for a tardy or ineffectual redress from a public court of justice!—The consequences to a man of your lordships penetration and discernment need not be pointed out. Think of them seriously and at your leisure; and, for the present, my lord, farewell. "Dec. 18, 1807. JUNIUS." "The Editor thinks it but proper here to remind the reader that the plaintiff upon the trial" (meaning the aforesaid trial)" stated, that, in consequence of the usage he had received, he was compelled to go on shore at St. Helena, whence to obtain his passage to England, he was obliged to pay 100 guineas! and to an English subject so circumstanced, a British jury, in a trial" (meaning the aforesaid trial) "at which the lord chief justice of England" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" presides, for an outrage upon his personal feelings the most indignant and scandalous that could be offered, award the liberal damages of 801.!!!" And the other of which said scandalous malicious and defamatory libels is according to the tenor and effect following (that is to say) "To the Editor of the Independent Whig. "Dec. 12th, 1807. "Sir;-I have read a report of a trial" (meaning the aforesaid trial) "in the Morning Post and Morning Chronicle of this date, before lord chief justice Ellenborough" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" and, if that report be correct, it is full time that the doctrines and decisions of that personage should be carefully attended to, with a view to their being candidly examined and discussed out of a court of justice, where it may not be very prudent to enter into a controversy with his lordship. He" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) has upon several occasions announced a bias so very strong towards arbitrary power, that I have been led to suppose it was in the latter end of the reign of James the second, and not of George the third, (the father of his people) that I was living. Impunity gives boldness; and it is perhaps owing to the silence of the public on the animadversions and ad dresses of our judges to the jury of late years, that the promulgation of principles subversive of our rights has been carried to a very censurable extent. I know nothing of the parties in question; I know, indeed, that captains of Indiamen are apt to fancy themselves great men, and to exercise an authority indecent and illegal. In the present instance the public prints state, that a man" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) "and his daughter have taken a passage on board of a ship in India for Europe; a valuable consideration is given to the captain who, of course, becomes a kind of stage coachman, innkeeper and vintner to the passenger, who has a stronger claim to good manners and attention from this coachmau and innkeeper, on account of the exorbitant sum which is generally exacted for his bed and board. In this case, the ship is neither more nor less than a travelling public-house, like one of the trechtschuyts on the canals in Holland and Flanders, the skippers of which furnish meat and drink, at stated not arbitrary prices, to their respective passengers. The Dutchmen do not give any goodwill for the command entrusted to them, but the skippers of our English passage vessels to and from India, give from 8 to 10,000l. some say 12,000l. good-will; of course this enormous sum, and no doubt with enormous interest, must be reimbursed to them; and how is it reimbursed? by carrying, like stage coaches, parcels and passengers, by fair trade, and by smuggling.-The captain whom I pay for my passage is to me no other than a stage coachman, and can have no more right to exercise authority over me, than an Innkeeper has to dictate to his guests. Lord Ellenborough" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) 66 seems to think very lightly of an Englishman being confined several hours in irons by the impudent mandate of a man hired to behave civil to the person whom he insults and degrades. Lord Ellenborough" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)" feels nothing for the wounded sensibility of a female, the daughter of the injured party. I suppose his lordship" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) "is not a father, — I should almost question his" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough's) 66 ever having been a son, if there had been any other mode of coming into existence. If the passenger" (meaning the said Thomas Boyce) had behaved ill, which does not appear, I doubt whether the captain" (meaning the said Thomas Gabriel Bayliffe)" could legally forbid him to walk in any open and VOL. XXX. public part of the vessel; and his doing -To the great scandal and disgrace of Second Count.-And the said attorneygeneral of our said lord the king giveth the Court here further to understand and be informed that the said John Harriott Hart and Henry White so being such persons as aforesaid and again unlawfully and maliciously devising and intending as aforesaid heretofore to wit on the 20th day of December in the 48th year of the reign aforesaid at London aforesaid in the parish and ward aforesaid unlawfully and maliciously did print and publish and cause and procure to be printed and published a certain other scandalous malicious and defamatory libel of and concerning the aforesaid trial and also of and concerning the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid containing therein (amongst other things) divers scandalous malicious and defamatory matters and things of and concerning the aforesaid trial and also of and concerning the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid according to the tenor and effect following (that is to say) "I have read a report of a trial" (meaning the aforesaid trial) "in the Morning Post and Morning Chronicle of this date, before lord chief justice Ellenborough" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough); “and if that report be correct, it is full time that the doctrines and decisions of that personage" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) "should be carefully attended to, with a view to their being candidly examined and discussed out of a court of justice, where it may not be very prudent to enter into a controversy with his lordship. He" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) "has upon several occasions announced a bias so very strong towards arbitrary power, that I have been led to suppose it was in the latter end of the reign of James the 2nd, and not of George 4 H the 3rd (the father of his people), that I was living; impunity gives boldness, and it is perhaps owing to the silence of the public on the animadversions and addresses of our judges to the jury of late years, that the promulgation of principles subversive of our rights has been carried to a very censurable extent" --To the great scandal and disgrace of the said Edward lord Ellenborough and of the administration of justice in England In contempt of our said lord the king and his laws To the evil example of all others and against the peace of our said lord the king his crown and dignity. Third Count-And the said attorneygeneral of our said lord the king for our said lord the king further giveth the Court here to understand and be informed that the said John Harriott Hart and Henry White so being such persons as aforesaid and again unlawfully and maliciously devising and intending as aforesaid heretofore to wit on the 20th day of December in the 48th year of the reign aforesaid at London aforesaid in the parish and ward aforesaid unlawfully and maliciously did print and publish and cause and procure to be printed and published certain other scandalous malicious and defamatory libels of and concerning a certain supposed action and of and concerning a trial thereof in and by the said last mentioned libels surmised to have been then lately had before the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid and the verdict supposed to have been given at such supposed trial and also of and concerning the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid and the conduct of the said Edward lord Ellenborough as such chief justice as aforesaid at the said supposed trial one of which said lastmentioned scandalous malicious and defamatory libels is according to the tenor and effect following (that is to say) "To the Right Hon. Edward Lord Ellenborough," (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)," the Lord Chief Justice of his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, &c. &c. &c. "My lord;" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough)-"The magnitude and importance of the subject to which I request your most serious and immediate attention, must furnish a sufficient apology for thus personally addressing your lordship. The two most valuable, and perhaps only remaining securities for the rights and liberties of Englishmen, are, unquestionably, the Trial by Jury, and the Freedom of the Press. So long as the administration ofjustice continues pure and undefiled, and the wrongs and injuries of a suffer ing people experience full and adequate redress; so long as the public functionaries of our assemblies of legislature, and courts of jurisprudence be open to free examination and inquiry; so long, my lord, and no longer, may the people of this country be justly considered as safe from the gigantic strides of despotism, and the encroachments of arbitrary oppression. Impressed with this salutary conviction, I feel it a positive right, so well as an imperious duty, to rouse the vigilant attention of my fellowCountrymen to the late proceedings in their courts of justice, to call publicly upon your lordship" (meaning the said Edward lord Ellenborough) for satisfactory explanation respecting a case that recently came under your cognizance, and was submitted to your jurisdiction, to examine freely but respectfully the force and validity of the observations that have been attributed, falsely I hope attributed, to your lordship, * and clearly demonstrate their evil tendency and pernicious consequences to the public at large. My lord, it is essential not only to the national safety, but to the security of every individual subject, that the man who is entrusted to preside over the tribunals of England should be eminently distinguished for inflexible integrity and uncorrupted virtue; that he should rise superior to all selfish considerations or party views, and that the promulgation of his opinions from the judgment seat should place his character in the most exalted point of view, as the avowed enemy of corruption and the friend of public justice. I had intended, my lord, that these preliminary reflections should have been accompanied by a few remarks on the peculiar hardships and unprecedented circumstances attendant on the case of a Mr. Wm. Dickie, who is now suffering all the aggravated horrors of a perpetual imprisonment merely upon a civil action of debt!! but a desire to obtain complete information on the subject, and the present instance appearing to require more immediate attention, I shall 'suspend my observations and confine myself to the case before me. "My lord, a most shameful and wanton outrage on the personal freedom of an English subject has been committed by a brutal ruffian, and the complainant appeals to a British tribunal for indemnification and redress. The case is completely proved, as well by the concurrent testimony of the most respectable witnesses in behalf of the plaintiff” (meaning the plaintiff in the said supposed action), "as by the cross-examination of those on the part of the defendant” (meaning the defendant in the said sup |