property), Mr. Scarlett might go

on.

Mr. Scarlett then requested time to send out of court; and receiving, after a few minutes, an answer to his message, declared that he had no further evidence to offer.

The Lord Chief Justice.- "Then against Weaver there will be no evidence at all."

Mr. Scarlett contended, that the identity of the newspaper would still be a question of fact for the jury. He had shown his copy to have come from the office of the John Bull, and the names of two of the defendants to have been written over the door.

The Lord Chief Justice was bound to declare that the Stampoffice affidavit (or the copy of it rather) could not now be taken at all into the case. That affidavit was made evidence by the statute, as to the property, &c. of the paper therein described; the points of description being distinctly extended to printer's name, publisher's name, and place of printing. Now the paper produced by the prosecution was not (as to the place of printing specified) the paper de

scribed in the affidavit.

The Solicitor General said, that whenever a change of place or property occurred, a fresh affidavit was made at the Stamp-office. The truth was, his learned friends had, by mistake, gotten the wrong affidavit. Mr. Scarlett. At all events, there is evidence as against Shackell and Arrowsmith.

The Solicitor General, in rising on the part of the defendants, declared his unwillingness to enter upon the merits of the case, and rested his cause on the absence of all evidence, that could fairly or legally fix the defendants with the crime imputed to them.

Lord Chief Justice.-"The prosecutor relied, in the outset of his case, upon an extremely wellknown and beneficial act of parliament, which makes a copy of the affidavit filed at the Stampoffice evidence of property, &c., so far as regards the newspaper in that affidavit described. The newspaper, however, put in to-day does not correspond with the description in the affidavit produced; and the affidavit, therefore (which is commonly the only necessary proof), should, upon this occasion, be laid entirely out of consideration. The only evidence then left is that of the witness Wright. He says that he bought the paper produced, at a certain house where Shackell and Arrowsmith, printers,' is written over the door; and it is for you to declare, in the exercise of your judgment, whether that testimony satisfies you, that Shackell and Arrowsmith were concerned in the sale. I, for my own part, am bound to say, that it is the slightest evidence upon such a point that I ever remember to have heard offered to a jury."

The jury, after about a quarter of an hour's consideration, said, that they held the publication to be a libel; but, upon the ground of defective proof as to the property, they found the defendants -Not Guilty.

Mr. Scarlett begged that his lordship (the chief justice) would certify, that the cause had been tried upon probable ground, as such certificate was important in the matter of costs.

The Lord Chief Justice said, it was a case, in which he should not hesitate to certify.

man J. J. Smith, the acting magistrate at this justice-room, was engaged for a considerable time in an examination, with a view to the discovery of the murderers of a male infant, which had, it seems, been found by a waterman, so far back as the 17th of December, upon one of the starlings on the west side of Londonbridge. The body of the child was wrapped up in a piece of flannel, and inclosed, together with a large stone, in a coarse bag. A coroner's inquest had been held upon it, and a verdict of " murder" brought in against some person or persons unknown. The churchwardens of St. Mary Magnus, in which parish the body was found, had offered a reward of 5l. for the discovery of the murderers, and the officers on both sides of the river had been using every diligence to obtain some clue to the perpetrators thereof. At length, Welfare, an officer of this establishment, got private information, that a young woman had stated that she had seen a child thrown into the river. He succeeded in tracing this young woman out, and brought her up to-day before the magistrate, when her deposition was taken. It was to the following effect: - That her name was Elizabeth Canty, and that, being on London-bridge, in her way home to the Borough, about eight o'clock in the evening of the 12th December, she observed a man with something wrapped up in his arms, which she soon knew, from its cries, to be an infant. He was standing over the first arch of the south-east part of the bridge. He looked about him cautiously on each side, to see if he was observed, and she distinctly saw him thrust

the bundle with the infant through the balustrades of the bridge into the river. Suspecting his intention, and seeing a female with him, she addressed herself to her, and said, "The man is going to drown the child;" to which the woman replied, "What is that to you or me?-mind your own business." While this conversation was passing, the man accomplished his horrid purpose, which was no sooner effected, than he and the woman made off down Tooleystreet. Though the deponent, in her way home down Tooley-street, actually followed them some little way, and even passed Welfare, and Reeve the marshalman, in that street, she was so much agitated, that neither then, nor at the time of the shocking occurrence she had witnessed, had she given any alarm. She lost sight of them, she stated, in Tooley-street, and went herself directly home.

8. We mentioned in our former volume the pretended miraculous cures of prince Hohenlohe:* from the following advertisement, which appeared in the Times newspaper of this date, he appears to be making converts in England by the mere force of his name :

"To Germans, Foreign Merchants, and Others. - Prince Alexander, of Hohenlohe. Whereas several public journals, both foreign and domestic, have announced most extraordinary cures to have been performed by prince Alexander, of Hohenlohe, this is to entreat, that any one who can give unerring information concerning him, where he now is, or of his intended route, will immediately do so; and they

* See Annual Register, 1821, History of Europe, pages 167, 168.

will thereby confer on a female labouring under what is considered an incurable malady, an obligation which no words could describe. Should a gentleman give the information, his own feelings would sufficiently recompense him; but if a person in indigent circumstances, 10 guineas will be with pleasure given, provided the correctness of his information can be ascertained. Address to A. B., at Mrs. Hedge's, laundress, 9, Mountrow, Davies-st., Berkeley-square." FIRE.-A most destructive fire took place at Seaton Delaval, the property of sir Jacob Astley, which in a few hours consumed that noble mansion. Every endeavour to preserve the body of the building was unavailing. The two wings were happily saved by the great and active exertions used in making a separation between them and the house. The fire originated in a chimney, to which a large beam of wood in the roof was affixed; the flames burnt with such fury as to bid defiance to all human efforts. The glass in the windows, by the intense heat, was reduced to a liquid state, and the lead on the roof poured down like water. The fire commenced its ravages about four o'clock, and it was nine before it could be checked.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT. -At three o'clock, the lord chancellor, and lords Cholmondeley and Melville, the three commissioners, entered the House of Lords. The yeoman usher (Mr. Quarme) summoned the Commons. Mr. W. Ley (in the absence of Mr. Rickman) and other officers of the Commons appeared below the bar. The lord chancellor said, that they, as commissioners, were authorised to declare the parliament, by

CARLILE'S SHOP. - A new mode

has been adopted for avoiding the penalty of selling seditious and blasphemous libels. The little parlour, which adjoins the shop, has been converted into a citadel; the glass partition, which separates them, is closely blinded, and the operations are carried on in ambush behind it; two of the squares of glass have been taken out, and in the place of one of them is erected a box with an aperture for the receipt of money, over which is an inscription "Put your money in here;" and in the place of the other, a contrivance by which the pamphlet wanted is slid down to the purchaser from the inside of the citadel. This machinery, however, is used only for the sale of such works, as have already been made the object of prosecution. The seller is invisible, and the identification of his person rendered impracticable, unless the citadel be taken by storm. dington, heretofore the radical standard-bearer, whose own experience has procured for him an extensive acquaintance with the persons of officers and informers, has assumed the command, and conducts the operations in the front shop, where the sale of such of Carlile's publications, as have not as yet come under the censure of the law, is carried on as usual.

Wad

4. A deputation of the Farming Society of Ireland, with the duke of Leinster at their head, attended at the Castle of Dublin on Friday last, and presented an address to the lord lieutenant. They claimed, under their charter, his excellency's patronage, explained the objects of their institution, lamented the obstacles to their complete success, which had been lately experienced from the limitation of their funds, " under the necessary system of general retrenchment," and hoped for the aid of the lordlieutenant in promoting the future efficacy of their society. Lord Wellesley, in his answer, after lamenting that the efforts of the Farming Society for the diffusion of industrious habits should have been fettered by the unavoidable limitation of their funds, added as follows:-"But I cannot omit this opportunity of declaring, that it is not less my inclination than my bounden duty to give every aid to the progress of that wise and necessary system of general retrenchment, which has been adopted by his majesty's government and by parliament, and which is as essential to the true dignity of the crown, as it is indispensably necessary for the security of the state, and for the interest and welfare of the people."

COURT OF KING'S-BENCH, GUILDHALL. - Before the Lord Chief Justice and a Special Jury. -The King v. Weaver and Others. -This was an indictment against Weaver, Shackell, and Arrowsmith, for a series of libels upon her late majesty the queen.

Mr. Tindall opened the pleadings.

Mr. Denman, in rising to address the jury, adverted to the circumstances, which gave him the leading of the case. The standing, which he (with his friend Mr. Brougham) had enjoyed during her majesty's life, had not, in the wisdom of those who directed such arrangements, been continued to either of them since her death;

and therefore it was, that a task devolved on him, which would have been executed more ably by the hand to which it had been originally committed. After detailing a chain of circumstantial evidence, by which he proposed to prove publication against the defendants, Mr. Denman read the offensive paragraphs, which were five in number-published in the papers of the 25th of February, the 2nd of March, the 8th of April, and the 14th and 27th of May, 1821.

John Sykes, esq., solicitor to the Stamp-office, produced an affidavit as to the property of the "John Bull."

The hand-writing of the three defendants being proved, the document was put in and read. It was dated the 15th of December, 1820. Weaver appeared to be the printer and publisher; Shackell and Arrowsmith the sole proprietors. The paper was to be called "John Bull," and to be printed at No. 9, Dyer's-buildings, Holborn.

,

Mr. Sykes (cross-examined by the solicitor-general) said, "I believe there is no second paper called 'John Bull, entered at the Stamp-office; but I have not made a search to that effect. There is a paper called 'The Real John Bull.' There is an affidavit in the office as to the 'John Bull, subsequent to that which I have just produced."

Mr. James Mallison, register of newspapers at the Stamp-office, produced various numbers of the "John Bull."

The first paper put in, No. 10, dated Feb. 19, 1821, appeared to be printed by R. T. Weaver, Dyer's-buildings, Holborn, and published by him at No. 11, Johnson's-court, Fleet-street. The next number, No. 11, Feb. 26, 1821, was printed and published by R. T. Weaver, at No. 11, Johnson'scourt, Fleet-street. The witness then put in the several numbers of the "John Bull" paper, which contained the libels under prosecution.

Mr. William March, collector of the watch-rate, and of the king's taxes, for the parish of St. Dunstan, proved, that he had received rates and taxes from both Shackell and Arrowsmith, for the houses Nos. 10 and 11, Johnson's-court, Fleet-street. Witness knew the place, at which the "John Bull" is sold in Fleet-street. It is only a shop, no number to it, nor name. "John Bull Office" is written over the shop, and Shackell had paid witness rates and taxes for it.

A notice from Shackell of appeal against the window-rate, was then put in. It was in the following

terms:

"I appeal against the window duties charged to my premises in Johnson's-court; those premises being wholly used for warehouses, and no person sleeping therein."

John Bayley proved the receipt of poor's rates from Shackell and Arrowsmith, for the houses Nos. 10 and 11, Johnson's-court.

Mr. Thomas Hill said, I am a partner in the firm of Burgess and Hill: we are booksellers, and live in Great Windmill-street, Haymarket. In the course of last year we constantly inserted advertisements in the "John Bull;" a clerk used to call for the advertisements, and settle the account. We paid by a promissory note at two months' date.

The promissory note was then put in:

November 13, 1821.

Two months after date, we pro

August 3.

"Your terms we will accede to, and will commence on Monday, next. One form will be ready at 11 o'clock, the other at a quarter past two."

After this agreement, witness again printed the "John Bull" for three weeks. He printed it by machinery. The forms came over from Mr. Shackell's office. Witness had been many times at the "John Bull" office, in John-. son's-court, and he had seen Weaver, Shackell, and Arrowsmith there; but did not think that, when he first worked for the paper, Arrowsmith was concerned in it. He had received payments both from Shackell and Arrowsmith.

Mr. William Allen proved the purchase of the libels in question at the "John Bull" office, No. 11, Johnson's-court, Fleet-street.

Mr.John Felton, clerk to Messrs. Sweet and Stokes, said, that, when he called in Johnson's-court to serve writs on the defendants, he