the prisoner; concluding a very able and argumentative speech by observing, that the counsel for the prisoner might say, that he had acted for the interest of England, inasmuch as, instead of promoting, he had prevented an invasion! But how could that be said? for if he knew of an intention of inva sion, and had not communicated his knowledge to those most bound and most competent to counteract it, he prevented his country from gaining a decisive advantage, by the loss that would accrue to the enemy from their failure; and by forewarning them, he proved himself equally their friend, and the enemy of England: if he had been for England, the way was very short; but his conduct clearly shewed he had been for France. It therefore remained with the defendant to make his innocence appear. His property, his honour, and his life, depended now on his conviction or his acquittal. The jury were invested with a very solemn and very important duty. They were called upon to grant equal justice to the defendant, and to society. As they must guard themselves against any impressions which the misrepresentations of the prosecutors might make upon their minds, so must they have an equal guard against any false impressions made by the counsel for the defendant. In the deliverance they were to make, if the evidence was inconclusive, they would readily acquit him; but if the proofs were satisfactory, the country call ed for his conviction. William Smith, esq. M. P. Mr. Sheridan, and lord Lauderdale, were called as witnesses to relate some conversations they had with Stone on the subject of the state of this country; the general result of which appeared to be, that they considered him as a weak enthusiast, who was desirous of bringing about a peace, for the sake of favouring what he considered principles of freedom. Having proved the conspiracy between Jackson and Stone, several letters of the former were produced, particularly one which pointed out the particular parts of Ireland most favourable to an invasion by the French, and Mr. Cockayne, the evidence against Jackson in Ireland, was called, and stated the whole of his connec tion with Jackson, nearly the same as he did on that trial. At half past ten the court, with consent of counsel, adjourned to nine o'clock the next day. And at nine on Friday morning, the court proceeded on the trial. The first evidence produced was a parcel of letters from the prisoner to Mr. Pitt; in which Stone pretended to make some discoveries, as to the designs of the French, by garbled extracts from his brother's letters, which were themselves produced, to shew the unfairness of the prisoner's conduct in this particular. A letter from Mr. Pitt was read, expressing his doubts as to the authenticity of the prisoner's information. The counsel for the crown then proved the correspondence between the prisoner and Jackson in Ireland; which being read, closed the evidence for the prosecution. Mr. Serjeant Adair then rose to open the evidence for the prisoner, and to observe on that for the pro secution. The former consisted only of evidence to character-on the སྣ་ the latter the learned serjeant entered into a long and accurate discussion, in a very elaborate, feeling, and interesting manner. He be gan by observing, that the jury were called upon to discharge a most important, sacred, and awful duty. They were entrusted, on the one hand, with the vindication of the laws of their country, and the safety of the community, of which they themselves formed a part; while the fortune, the character, and the life of a fellow-subject, were committed to their deliberation on the other. The dearest interests of the unfortunate man at the bar were in their hands! He must call him unfortunate, for whether guilty or innocent of the crime with which he was charged, no man in his situation, and having submitted to the sufferings to which he had been subject, let the innocence of his heart be as pure as it might, could be called fortunate. The verdict of the jury might put his life out of danger, and restore to him that liberty to which he had long been a stranger; but no verdict of their's could place him in the situation he was in on the day before he was apprehended. After endeavouring to explain the motives which might probably actuate the prisoner, as arising from vanity or affectation of consequence, Mr. serjeant Adair proceeded to state what he considered as the outline of the facts of the case, in the following close and ingenious way-"A person of the name of Jackson came over from France by the way of Hull, in the character of an American merchant, with letters of recommendation from Mr. J. H. Stone, to Mr. W. Stone, the prisoner. Mr. Stone, VOL. XXXVIII. during his residence in London, shewed him some civilities, and advanced him money on his brother's account. "Soon after he went over to Ireland, where he was tried and convicted of high treason, and died; and during his residence in Ireland, Mr. Stone furnished him with some statements of the internal situation of this kingdom. The question for the decision of the jury then was, whether, under these facts, they were persuaded, from what Stone knew of Jackson, that he gave Jackson these statements as information for the ene my, with the criminal intention stated in the indictment; or for the purpose of averting an impending calamity from his country? The facts were clear as sunshine, and this was the only question that arose upon them. He called upon them, therefore, to consider, whether there was sufficient evidence of an overt act of treason, and if there was, it was not the encouraging of an invasion, but the preven tion of that event, from which so much evil would have been conse quent. Jackson was convicted of high treason, in persuading the French to invade this country; whereas the prisoner was accused of high treason, and the overt act with which he was charged was preventing an invasion. But if the motive for causing an invasion was criminal, how could the motive for preventing an invasion be criminal also? The learned serjeant then went at length into the evidence produced; and concluded by calling several witnesses to prove the publicity with which Mr. Stone com municated soner from the overt acts. Mr. justice Lawrence remarked, it was for the consideration of the jury, whether the information sent through Jackson to France, had for its object a design of serving the French, or averting an invasion. municated the correspondence of ting those papers into the hands of his brother, not only to friends, the jury, leaving it to them to but to strangers; a circumstance judge of the intention of the pri totally incompatible with that guilt with which he was charged. He also called very respectable evidence, that so far from his har bouring treason to the country, he, on the reverse, was loyal to his king, and a firm friend to the constitution. Several persons were then called, all of whom gave evidence to the prisoner's good character, and some to the circumstance of the publicity used relative to his correspondence with his brother. Mr. Erskine then addressed the jury considerably at length on the whole of the case; as did also the solicitor-general in reply, on behalf of the crown; but our limits will not allow us to lay them before our readers. Lord Kenyon summed up the evidence. He was for tempering justice with mercy; but this maxim could not sanction the court in suffering a criminal to escape, if it were proved that he had grossly offended the law. He rested wholly on the second count, which stated an adhering to the enemies of the crown. He quoted the opinion of the late Lord Mansfield, that letters sent to a power at war, instructing them how to shape their efforts, came under this branch of the statutes, and are an overt act of high treason. His lordship read to the jury what he called the two emphatically important papers; the letters of Mr. Smith and Mr. Vaughan. There was no criminality, he admitted, in either of those letters; the only guilt was in transmitting them to the enemy. His lordship went over the whole with remarks, and concluded a strong and warm charge, by put About eight o'clock the jury took some refreshment, and then retired to consider of their verdict. The judges, except Mr. justice Ashhurst, who retired, took some refreshment on the bench, where they remained till eleven o'clock; when the jury returned, bringing in the prisoner-NOT GUILTY. instantaneous The words were scarcely pronounced, when an and unanimous shout arose in the court, which was loudly foined by a numerous crowd in the hall. A gentleman, named Richard Thomson, was observed to have joined in the shout, and was immediately ordered by his lordship into the custody of Mr. Kirby. Mr. Thomson apologised to the court, by say ing, that his feelings on the joyful occasion were such, that if he had not given utterance to the joy which arose within his breast, he should have died on the spot. Lord Kenyon replied, that it was his duty to suppress the emotions of such tumultuous joy, which drew contempt on the dignity of the court. His lordship ordered that he should pay a fine of 201. for his misconduct, and remain in custody till payment. Mr. Thomson tendered his check for the sum, but this was refused, and he was taken into custody. The crowd without caught the spirit of those within; and the ball, as the judges retired, was filled with acclamations of joy. A de A detainer was lodged against Mr. Stone for a considerable debt, immediately after his acquittal. He was, however, liberated from his confinement in Newgate on Saturday the 13th of February following. Petition of Sir Fancis Blake to the House of Commons, presented by Mr. Grey, 8th February, 1796. To the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain in Parliament assembled. The humble Petition of the subscribing party, Prayeth, That your petitioner may be permitted by this honourable house to sketch, for their consideration, the outline of an arrangement, which takes for its aim the political salvation of this country, the happiness of the community at large, and of every individual, and which proposes to work its effect by means, which are apparently, both easy, certain, safe, and honourable. And your petitioner further prayeth, that it may be permitted him to state to this honourable house, for the purpose of their more ready determination, the reasons which have influenced him to suppose the arrangement in question to be fraught with the benefits suggested by him-which are briefly as follow: That from sources of information the best within his reach, it has appeared to the complete satisfaction of your petitioner-That trade is not an object, which by any possible human contrivance can be made amenable to the payment of any tax, that can affect the parties concerned in its manage ment, inasmuch as the parties so concerned, can always contrive to relieve themselves by shifting the weight, which in that case must ultimately and principally fall upon the proprietors of land, who have no such means of shifting the weight. That uniformly as the trade of the nation has more or less flourished, the territorial rental has, in like manner, and in some such propor tion, been observed to advance. That in the year sixteen hundred, the territorial rental did not exceed six millions per annum. That from the year sixteen hun. dred and eighty-eight, under all the difficulties and distresses of, the intervening space, the trade of the country increased, and the rental advanced from six to fourteen milli, ons per annum. Computing, therefore, by the vast increase of trade, from the period last named to the present time, comprising a series of years for the most part favourable, the final result must be, that the present rental cannot reasonably be supposed to fall short of fifty millions per annum; which led of course to the following conclusions: That the way to advance the land is to give every possible encouragement to trade, That the way to depress the land is to burden trade. That to burden trade is, in effect, to burden land besides depressing it. Taking, therefore, the present territorial rental at fifty millions per annum; the funded rental at ten millions; the two together at sixty millions per annum; the present payments to government at fifteen millions per annum; the pressure of those payments on the rental named, as authorised by general acknowledgment, at fifteen shillings in the pound, your peti I 2 tioner tioner proceeded to reason upon those data as follows: If it be true that the territorial and funded rental is sixty millions per annum, Then is it true, also, that five shillings in the pound, on such a rental, will raise a revenue of fifteen millions. If it be true that we now pay ten shillings in the pound to raise a revenue of fifteen millions, Then is it true also, that we pay five shillings in the pound more than we have any occasion to pay. If it be true that the trading part of the nation can always contrive to create for themselves an exemption from state burdens, Then it is true also, that the landed and funded proprietors are, and have all along, to their irreparable loss, been the principal, if not the sole paymasters of all imposts, and consequently that little or no injury will be done to that body of men, but that great and lasting advantage will accrue to them, and to their posterity, by changing the mode, as here proposed, of collecting the revenue. Your petitioner, therefore, most humbly prays, that he may be per mitted and authorised to charge his real estates with the payment of thirty thousand pounds, or with the payment of such other sum, be the same more or less, as may be ascertained by this honourable house, to be his proportionate share of the public debt, supposing the said public debt to be parcelled out for payment among the several proprietors of lands, houses, mines, waters, tythes, rents, in any way arising therefrom, monies so secured, and public funds. And your petitioner further prays, that his said estates may be made subject to the payment of interest on the sum to be so charged as above, at the rate of four pounds, per cent. or any other rate of interest, be the same more or less, which may appear to this honourable house to be his proportionate share of the annual charge of the said public debt, supposing the same to be transferred as aforesaid. And your petitioner further prays, that he may be permitted and authorised to pay in future his proportionate share of the civil list and peace establishment, by an annual pound rate, the quantum of which pound rate to be ascertained by this bo'nourable house, in like manner as before has been mentioned. And your petitioner further prays, that as often as the exigencies of government may provide a further aid, he may be permitted and authorised to pay his proportionate share of the same, by such an additional pound rate as may be ascertained by this honourable house to be sufficient to accumulate the sum which would fall to his lot of payment, supposing the whole annual supply to be raised within the year, and parcelled out for payment among the several proprietors aforesaid. And your petitioner further prays, that he may be permitted and authorised to make such temporary and such permanent payments, as have been severally named and assented to on his part, by half yearly instalments, and that the same may be declared to be accepted in full satisfaction of his proportionate share of all taxes, customs, duties, and parliamentary imposts, laid already, or which may be laid on the subjects of this country, or their concerns. And your petitioner shall ever pray. FRANCIS BLAKE. STATE |