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REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

COURT OF KING'S BENCH,

IN THE GUILDHALL, LONDON,

ON THE 12TH, 13TH, 14TH, AND 15TH DAYS OF OCTOBER ;

BEING THE

MOCK TRIALS

OF

RICHARD CARLILE,

FOR

ALLEDGED BLASPHEMOUS LIBELS,

IN PUBLISHING

THOMAS PAINE'S THEOLOGICAL WORKS

AND

Elihu Palmer's Principles of Nature;

BEFORE

LORD CHIEF JUSTICE ABBOTT,

AND SPECIAL JURIES.

London:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY R. CARLILE, 55, FLEET
STREET.

quested him not to obtain his warrant immediately, as he had an engagement for Christmas-day. No arrest however took place, nor was any bail required on the part of the Attorney General, who was an honourable fellow, when compared with his successor Gifford.

The sale of the work went on very slow and the Publisher had began to fear that it would not be prosecuted, as a month elapsed without hearing of any thing of the kind. On the 16th January he was agreeably disappointed, at the information, that, the Vice Society had submitted a bill to the Grand Jury which was found true, and to prevent an arrest he took his bail to the Old Bailey the sanie evening. This happened on the Saturday evening: the circumstance was noticed in a few of the Sunday papers, and subsequently in all the daily ones: the sale increased rapidly-the first edition of one thousand copies was quickly sold, and an edition of 3000 more got up with all expedition.

The indictment at the instance of the prosecutors was moved into the Court of King's Bench, to which the Publisher imparled on the first day of Hilary Term. At the same time he was called upon to plead to an Information ex officio by the Attorney General for the same publication; to this he also imparled, which circumstance, it appeared, subsequently produced one of the Six Acts to put a stop to imparling!

Enraged at the extensive circulation of the work, the Vice Society sent their Solicitor to Chief Justice Abbott to obtain a warrant on the ground that the sale of the work was continued, and that they intended to prosecute a second indictment. This piece of villainy was acquiesced in by the Judge, and the Publisher was arrested on the evening of the 11th February, so late as eight o'clock, and on going before Mr. Justice Holroyd at his Chambers in Sergeant's Inn, he protested against the legality, or the necessity of the arrest, and refused to give bail, upon which the agent of the Society moved for his committal to Newgate, and the pliant old Judge acquiesced by saying, that the sale of every book was a distinct offence and indictable. He was answered, if such was the case, he would find enough to do to try them all. That this arrest was a piece of villainy the result proved, as there could be no possible means of stopping the sale of the books, and the trial of one indictment would be as well as the trial of one hundred, or the whole '4000 copies which have een actually sold, so as not to have a dozen copies left, and even now, so great is the private demand for them, that it answers any and every person's parpose to print them. The sale of them never can be suppressed in this country, therefore all further prosecution is vain, and mere personal malignity and annoyance. The publisher will now through his agents print, and sell another edition before he quits his Prison, and what proof is further necessary of the inutility of all such prosecutions?

He found himself within the walls of Newgate, soon after ten o'clock, at an hour when he could not even a find a prison-bed to

lay on, and was obliged to sit up the whole night; but was made comfortable, as far as fire, and candle, and a decent room could be so.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE COPIES OF THE WARRANT AND COMMITTAL TO NEWGATE.

"COPY OF WARRANT.

"ENGLAND, (to wit).-Whereas it appeareth unto me by the affidavit of George Prichard, and the affidavit of Thomas Fair, that an indictment was found by the Grand Jury for the city of London, against Richard Carlile, late of London, bookseller, for selling a certain blasphemous libel, intitled "Paine's Age of Reason," which indictment has been removed and filed in his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, and to which the said Richard Carlile appeared in the said Court, and gave recognizance to plead thereto within the first eight days of the next Easter Term. And that since the said Richard Carlile hath entered into the said recognizance, he hath sold another copy of the said libel to the said Thomas Fair, for which said last mentioned offence, the said George Prichard intends to prosecute the said Richard Carlile in the said Court of King's Bench. These are therefore to will and require, and in his Majesty's name, strictly to charge and command you, and every of you on sight hereof, to apprehend and take the body of the said Richard, and bring him before me or one other of the said Judges of his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, if taken in or near the cities of London and Middlesex, if elswhere, before some Justice of the Peace near to the place where he shall be herewith taken. To the end that he the said Richard Carlile may become bound to the King's Majesty in the sum of £200, together with two sufficient sureties in the sum of £100 each, for the appearance of the said Richard Carlile in his Majesty's Court of King's Bench, on the first day of next Easter Term, to answer to all and singular indictments against him for publishing the said libel, and to appear from day to day in the said Court, and not depart until discharged by the said Court. Hereof fail not at your peril. Given under my hand and seal the eleventh day of February, 1819.

(L. S.

"To Thomas Gibbons, gentleman, my
tipstaff, or any other tipstaff of his
Majesty's Court of King's Bench,
and to all chief and petty constables,
headboroughs, tything man, and all
others whom these may concern."

"COPY OF COMMITTAL.

"C. ABBOTT."

"THE within named Richard Carlile having been brought before me this day, by virtue of the within warrant, and not having sufficient sureties to answer to the offence in the within mentioned warrant, is committed to the custody of the Keeper of his Majesty's goal of Newgate, being the common gaol of the city of London, where the said Richard Carlile was apprehended upon the said warrant.

"Receive the body of the within named Richard Carlile into your custody, and him safely keep until he the said Richard Carlile shall be discharged by due course of law.

"Dated the 11th of February, 1819.

"G. S. HOLROYD."

"To Mr. William Robert Henry Brown, Keeper of his Majesty's gaol of Newgate."

the work, and you are anxious to glut your vengeance with punishment before trial.

"I doubt whether any of you who have instigated these Prosecutions have ever read the Theological Writings of Thomas Paine, for if you had read them, and had possessed the least conception of vice and virtue, you would have found nothing of a vicious tendency in them, you would have found nothing that came within the province of your professions to pro

secu'e.

"Have you no priests in your Society? Why do you not set them to write a volume of the same size to refute the arguments and assertions of Paine? I will pledge myself to sell it with the other. Is there not a Bishop amongst you that can again attempt to do what Watson has vainly attempted? For shame! do not attempt to destroy by the sword of perverted law what so many bishops and priests are so well qualified to destroy by argu⚫ment and reason. For what do they receive so many thousands of the public money? For what have we universities and colleges, and so many thousand Priests who have to boast of collegiate education? unless it is to support by argument, intellectual reasoning, and controversial disputation, the several doctrines and dogmas which they profess to teach, and wish us to believe. For shame! I say again, spur them on, and do not let their professions be set at nought by a few untutored minds. They must either do this, or raise again the blood-stained standard of the cross, and again enforce their doctrines by the sword.

66

Christianity, like the material world, has had its rise, its

progress, and is now experiencing its decay, but differs in this point, that there is no hope of its regenerating or revivifying. And vain will be the attempt to oppose it to human reason. The press, that dreadful park of artillery, will continue to open its destructive fire on superstition, bigotry, and religious and civil despotism; and what shall check its career?

you,

"Hear, ye promoters of theological dissensions, and tremble, whilst I tell that you possess the same dispositions as your ancestors, who kindled the flames in Smithfield. Would public opinion tolerate it, you would pursue me to the stake with the same satisfaction you have pursued me to a prison. Reserving for a better opportunity any further opinions and observations on your character, conduct, and views as a Society, I would beg leave to call your attention to a work lately published in London, entitled the "Principles of Nature," by Elihu Palmer, the first chapter of which I will here insert as a specimen, which is strictly applicable to our relative situations, with the exception of a few of the first sentences.

[As this work was subsequently prosecuted and as the chapter forms part of the Report of these Proceedings it is omitted here.]

"I presume, Gentlemen, since you have attempted to suppress certain creeds as well as vice, that each of you are in duty bound to peruse this work, of which this is a part and specimen, it is a work which I hold in estimation, and consequently requires your attention.

"I hope I shall have the pleasure of selling a few copies of this work to your Honourable Society, whether for the purpose of a prosecution or not, I am quite indifferent, as I hold Paine's opinion to be good, that under a bad government it is well to have a good work prosecuted.

"I am, Gentlemen, your firm opponent,
"R. CARLILE."

(6 Newgate, Feb. 13th, 1819."

1

Ou the 22nd February, Mr. Waith nan presented the following Petition to the House of Commons, and in so doing, appeared anxious to be considered by the House, -as unconnected with the Pețitioner.

“TO THE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED. "The PETITION of RICHARD CARLILE, of Fleet Street, in the City of London, Bookseller.

"HUMBLY SHEWETH,

"THAT your Petitioner in consequence of a Bill brought into your Honourable House by his Majesty's then Attorney-General, Sir Vicary Gibbs, entitled, "An Act to enable his Majesty to hold to bail in cases of Libel," has repeatedly been exposed to frivolous and vexatious arrests.

"That your Petitioner, on or about the fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, was arrested on the authority of three warrants issued by Mr. Justice Holroyd on the oath of one Griffin Swanson, a common informer, who deposed that your Petitioner had published three several impious and profane Libels. That pur suant to that arrest, your Petitioner was committed to the Kings Bench prison, by Mr. Justice Holroyd, in default of bail required on the three several warrants. That your Petitioner was confined in the aforesaid prison until the twentieth day of December, of the year aforesaid, when he was liberated on his own recognizances, without an opportunity of justifying his conduct before a jury of his countrymen, or rescuing his character from the reproach which had wantonly been heaped upon it.

"That your Petitioner, on the sixteenth day of January in the present year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, was informed that a Bill of Indictment had been found against him by the Grand Jury then sitting at the Old Bailey Sessions, on the oath of one Charles Jones, a common informer, who deposed also that your Petitioner had published a certain impious and profane Libel, entitled "The Theological Works of Thomas Paine," and that your Petitioner to prevent an arrest, did put in bail to appear and answer to such charge. That on the nineteenth day of January in the year aforesaid, your Petitioner found that a writ of Certiorari had been obtained to remove the said indictment into the the Court of King's Bench, your Petitioner caused a notice to be served on the proper parties that your Petitioner would appear in the Court of King's Bench on the first day of the following (Hilary) term, and then and there answer to such indictment or any other indictments or informations that might then and there be preferred against him, and put in such bail as the Court may require. That your Petitioner did accordingly put in bail to appear and answer to the said indictment, and also to an information which had been filed ex officio, against the said publication by his Majesty's Attorney-General, Sir Samuel Shepherd, Knight, and your Petitioner left the court with an idea that he had fully satisfied the prosecuting parties of his appearance to defend his intentions in publishing the said alleged Libel.

"And further sheweth, that your Petitioner, conscious of the rectitude of his intentions, did continue the sale of the said alleged Libel, thinking that the oath of a cominon informer was not sufficient authority to induce your Petitioner to put the construction of an impious and profane Libel on

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