During the unparalleled excitement caused by Wilkes’ outlawry
in 1768, Lord Mansfield, on pronouncing the judgment of the
King’s Bench reversing the outlawry, discoursed on the terrors
held out against judges, and the attempts at intimidating
them. He said: “I honor the king and respect the people, but
many things acquired by the favor of either are in my account
objects not worth ambition. I wish popularity; but it is that
popularity which follows not that which is run after; it
is that popularity which sooner or later never fails to do
justice to the pursuit of noble ends by noble means. I will
not do that which my conscience tells me is wrong upon this
occasion to gain the huzzas of thousands, or the daily praise
of all the papers which come from the press. I will not avoid
doing what I think is right tho it should draw on me the
whole artillery of libels--all that falsehood and malice can
invent, or the credulity of a deluded populace can swallow.”
(Text.)--CROAKE JAMES, “Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.”
(2785)
=Righteousness=--See CONVICTIONS, STRONG.
=Rights Preferred to Privilege=--See POLITENESS.