the individuals of which were perfect strangers to me; and I strongly
urged them to give a conscientious verdict, agreeable to the oath they
had taken, and to assess the damages _according to the evidence which
they had heard_. During this address, I was repeatedly interrupted by
Mr. Tinney, who presided; but when I concluded, after having made a
forcible appeal to their honour as men and as Englishmen, there was,
on my sitting down, an universal burst of applause, upon which, Mr.
Deputy's deputy ordered the officers to take all the offenders into
custody. This impotent threat caused an universal laugh, and the enraged
and mortified judge proceeded to sum up, as he called it, in a fruitless
and weak, though laboured attempt, to refute what I had said in my
address In fact, he acted as a zealous advocate for the plaintiff, or
rather as a stickler for the absurd rule of court, to make the jury give
a verdict of damages, notwithstanding the only witness produced, swore,
that there was not the thousandth part of a farthing damage done.
The jury turned round, and were about to consider their verdict, but Mr.
Deputy's deputy peremptorily ordered them to withdraw, to consider their
verdict. I expostulated against this; and while the discussion was going
on, the foreman of the jury said, they were unanimous in their verdict,
which was that of "NO DAMAGES." This enraged Mr. Deputy to such a
degree, that he exposed himself to the ridicule of the whole Court; he
insisted upon their withdrawing to reconsider their verdict, said that
he would not accept any such verdict, neither would he record it, and
he peremptorily ordered the officer to take them out, that they might
reconsider it. Several of the jury had got out of the door, and all of
them were removing but one old gentleman, who sat very firmly upon the
front seat, and never offered to rise. The officer with his white wand
tapped him several times upon the shoulder, and desired him to withdraw.
The old man, whose name was DAVID WADWORTH, a baker of the town of
Devizes, answered each tap with "I sha'nt." Mr. Deputy's deputy now
rose, and with an affected solemnity, ordered the old man to withdraw,
and reconsider his verdict. He replied, "I sha'nt reconsider my verdict!
I have given one verdict, and I sha'nt give any other!" _Deputy_.--"You
have given a verdict of NO DAMAGES, which is contrary to law, and which
I will not receive; therefore go and reconsider your verdict, for I
insist upon your giving some damage." The reader will easily conceive
that I did not hear this in silence; I exclaimed, "For shame! what a
mockery of justice!" Mr. Deputy threatened; I smiled a look of contempt
and defiance. Mr. Deputy turned round to the officer, and peremptorily
ordered him to turn the old man out; and he began to follow his
instructions, by taking him by the collar. The old gentleman, however,
was not to be trifled with, for he sent the officer with his elbow to
the other end of the jury-box, and exclaimed, "I won't go out; I won't
reconsider my verdict." _Deputy_.--"I _will_ have some damage, if it be
ever so small." Old man.--"I won't give any damage. Why, did not the
shepherd swear there wa'n't a mite of grass for a sheep to gnaw? Then
how could there be any damage? T'other'em may do what they like, but I
won't stir a peg, nor alter my verdict. I won't break my oath for you,
nor Squire Astley; nor all the Squires in the kingdom."
This speech caused a burst of laughter and universal approbation. Mr.
Deputy's deputy now ordered him into custody, and said he would commit
him. Against this I loudly protested, declaring it false and arbitrary
imprisonment. "False imprisonment" resounded through the Court, and
great confusion arose; the candles were put out by the audience, and
such indignation was levelled at the mock judge, this jack-in-office,
that Mr. Deputy and his companions took the prudent course of making a
precipitate retreat, proving to a demonstration that a light pair of
heels, upon such an emergency, is a very valuable appendage even to a
deputy's deputy. The cry was to chair me to the Inn; I with a stentorian
voice exclaimed "_NO!_" chair David Wadworth to his home; and taking
advantage of the general confusion, I and my son stepped into my
carriage, which I had ordered to be in waiting, and we arrived at my
own door, in Bath, just as the clock struck twelve. On the first day
of Term, the sixth day of November, Mr. Casberd, after stating a most
pitiful case to the Court of King's Bench, moved for a rule to shew
cause why this second verdict of "_no Damages_" should not be set aside,
and a new writ executed. This rule was instantly granted; but the
plaintiff was ordered to pay the costs of the inquiry held at Devizes,
and of the present motion, as a punishment, I suppose, for not having
managed matters better. As soon as I received the notice, I repaired
to London, to consult Mr. Clifford upon opposing the motion; and, as I
thought, with additional grounds of success. But, upon hearing the case,
my friend Clifford absolutely refused to shew cause against the rule;
declaring that it was useless, and that he would not a second time
encounter, upon the same subject, the sarcasms of Lord Ellenborough.
"Well then!" said I, "I will myself attend and shew cause against the
rule." I shall never forget poor Clifford! I shall never forget his look
of astonishment. He seemed to be absolutely struck speechless. After a
considerable pause, however, he exclaimed. What! will you go into the
Court of King's Bench, to argue a point of law with the four Judges,
against their own decision? "Yes," said I, "I will, even should there
be four hundred judges; and I will state that I have done so, in
consequence of your refusing to do it." "By G--d," said he, "if you do
so, they will commit you." I smiled, and told him I thought he knew
me better than to suppose that I should be deterred from doing what I
conceived to be my duty, by the dread of being committed, or of having
any other punishment inflicted upon me. "Well," said he, "you may do as
you please, but, by G--d, Lord Ellenborough will surely commit you." I
replied, that I supposed he would not eat me; and even if I thought he
would attempt it, I would go and see if he would not choke himself.
Clifford then asked if I had studied the law upon the subject; upon
which I begged him to turn to some act of parliament, to shew that a
jury were bound to give a verdict directly in the teeth of the evidence.
Clifford admitted that there was no law upon the point; but argued, in
the language of Lord Ellenborough, that it was a rule of court, and that
the Judges would not listen to me for a moment.
The day arrived, I attended the Court; at length it carne to Mr.
Casberd's turn, to say, (in answer to the inquiry of the Chief Justice,
whether he had any motion to make,) "My Lord, I move for the rule to be
made absolute, which I obtained the other day, in the case of Simpkins
and Hunt; and I call upon the defendant's counsel, my learned friend,
Mr. Clifford, to shew cause why the second verdict, 'No Damages," should
not be set aside, and why a fresh writ of inquiry should not be executed
before a judge at the assizes for the county of Wilts.
Mr. Clifford now got up, and said, that he had no instructions; but
that the defendant himself was in Court, and, as he understood, meant
personally to offer something for their Lordships' consideration. When
he had concluded, I rose immediately; my Lord Ellenborough, and his
brothers upon the bench, darted their eyes at me, as if they meant at
once to abash and deter me from saying any thing. I, however, was not to
be put down in this manner; and I began, in my homely strain, to address
them. But, before five words were out of my mouth, Lord Ellenborough
interrupted me, and in one of his stern tones, demanded, if I came there
to argue a point of law, upon which they had already decided? I answered
firmly, "I am summoned here to shew cause why a second verdict, given
in my favour, in the cause of Simpkins against Hunt, should not be set
aside, and why a third writ of inquiry, in the same cause, should not be
executed; and if your Lordships choose to hear me I will do so to the
best of my ability." "Well, go on," was the answer, in a very rough
uncouth voice, and with a frown, and a roll upon the bench, which set
all the learned friends in a titter.
I was proceeding to say something, and, I suppose, in rather an awkward
and confused manner, when with a sneer on his face, the bear of a judge
bellowed out, "Mr. Casberd told us, that the jury at Devizes were
influenced by your _persuasive eloquence_! I see nothing of it here!"
This insult roused me; I began now to speak as loud as his lordship,
and demanded to be heard without interruption. The amiable judge next
inquired, whether I had any affidavits in answer to those filed against
me on the part of the plaintiff? I answered "Yes, I had many; but I
wished to proceed in my own way." But this was refused to me. The judge
demanded to see the affidavits, and I consequently produced one made by
myself, as well as one from nearly every one of the jurors who had sat
upon the two former writs of inquiry. These affidavits, one and all,
declared, that the jurymen had given a verdict agreeable to the
oath which they had taken, and to the only evidence produced by the
plaintiff; and they added, that they could not conscientiously give any
other verdict. The jurors who sat upon both the inquests hearing of the
rule that was obtained to set aside the second verdict, had voluntarily
sent me up these affidavits in the most handsome manner. I had, however,
no sooner read one of them half through, than Lord Ellenborough, who had
been whispering with one of his worthy brothers, endeavoured to stop
me, notwithstanding which I proceeded, till he jumped up in a violent
passion, and in a stentorian voice declared, that I should not read
those affidavits; that they were not admissible, and he would not hear
them. I began coolly to argue the point with him, and contended that
they were not only applicable but material to the justice of the case;
and without the Court would hear them it would be deciding in the dark.
The affidavits were, I said, couched in respectful and even humble
language, and I maintained that the Court was bound in justice to listen
to them. I had by this time overcome the awkward feeling which I first
experienced at being placed in such a situation as that of the floor of
the King's Bench, which is, as it were, between a cross fire of gowns
and wigs; and I said this in a firm and deliberate manner.
Stung by my coolness and perseverance, Ellenborough jumped up once more,
and, with the most furious language and gestures, began to browbeat me,
actually foaming with rage, some of his spittle literally falling on
Masters Lushington and another, who sat under him. I own that I could
scarcely forbear laughing in his face, to see a Judge, a Chief Justice,
in such a ridiculous passion. In a broad north country accent, he
exclaimed, "Sir, are you come here to teach us our duty?" He was about
to proceed, when I stopped him short, and in a tone of voice, a note or
two higher than his own, I replied, "No, my Lord, I am not come here
with any such purpose or hope; but, as an Englishman, I come here, into
the King's Court, to claim justice of his Judges; and I _demand_ a
hearing; therefore, sit down, my Lord, and shew me that you understand
your duty, by giving me your patient attention." I said this in such a
determined way, that he instantly sat down, and folding his arms, he
threw himself back in his seat, where, for a considerable time, he sat
sulkily listening to what I had to say; in fact, till I had almost
finished.
I now went on to argue that there was no law to compel a jury to give a
verdict contrary to evidence, and I dared them to find twelve honest men
in the county of Wilts who would do so. "Nay," said I, "if there be but
one honest man upon the jury, I will pledge my life that that jury will
give a similar verdict--your lordships may decide what the verdict shall
be, and what damages I ought to pay; but you will never get a jury, if
there be but only one honest man upon it, who will give any damages. If
you have hampered yourselves by a ridiculous rule of your own Court, the
sooner you do away with such a rule the better for the character of the
Court. I will abide by any decision that you will please to give;
but, for God's sake, never grant a rule, never make a rule absolute,
expressly for the purpose of trying the experiment, whether you cannot
compel twelve honest men to perjure themselves, merely to comply with an
absurd rule of Court."
The Chief Justice had been biting his lips during the whole of my
address; but this was too much, it was the truth in plain language; and
accordingly he rose up once more, and having recovered himself, he, in
rather a more dignified tone, called upon me to forbear, and not insult
the Court, or he should be obliged to stop me, which he was unwilling to
do, he being anxious to promote the ends of justice, and hear what I had
to say. Thus, after having, for nearly an hour, done every thing in his
power to browbeat me, to put me down, and to prevent my being heard at
all, _now,_ forsooth, _now_ that he found I was not to be intimidated,
he was anxious to promote the cause of justice, and to hear what I had
to say! After going over the tender ground again and again, I declared,
in conclusion, that if they did make the rule absolute and send it
before a judge and another jury, that I should feel it incumbent on me
to attend, and exhort that jury to do their duty, and not to perjure
themselves. They might, I told them, send it down to the assizes, but,
as they could not have a _special jury_, I would pledge my life that
they could not pick out twelve common jurymen in the whole county, who
would give a verdict which would in effect say that the twenty-four of
their countrymen, who composed the two former juries, had been guilty
of perjury. I implored the judges to settle the verdict themselves,
in which case I would abide by it; but not to try the experiment upon
another jury, who would be sure to give a similar verdict of "No
Damages."
Lord Ellenborough made a long palavering speech, urging the necessity of
not departing from their former practice, and he expressed his opinion
that the rule ought to be made absolute, in which, as a matter of
course, his three brethren upon the bench agreed. The rule was therefore
made absolute, and a new writ of inquiry ordered to be executed, before
the judge of assize for the county of Wilts; the plaintiff first paying
the expense of the former writ of inquiry, and of this application to
the Court.
My argument and the decision were published in all the newspapers, and
created a considerable sensation throughout the country, amongst the
practitioners of the law; and although there were a variety of opinions
held as to the legality of the verdict, it was the universal opinion in
the county of Wilts, that if I attended, and took the same ground as I
did upon the two former occasions, any other jury would give the same
verdict. As I did not disguise my intention of attending for that
purpose, a question arose amongst the attorneys, the friends of the
plaintiff, whether it was not possible to prevent my being present when
the writ was executed; but, as I was determined, this was considered
to be impracticable; and I own, whenever I heard such a proposition
discussed, I treated it with contempt, being convinced that such a plan
could never be executed. I knew, indeed, that all sorts of schemes were
openly canvassed at the time, but I paid no attention to them, little
dreaming of any plot being formed for carrying them into effect. It
will, however, be seen hereafter, that I was much too confident, and
that I was ultimately defeated, by means of a most infamous conspiracy.
Relying upon my own straight-forward and upright conduct, I was
totally neglectful of the machinations against me of the _stock purse_
conspirators, who, I have since learned, never let an opportunity slip
to draw me into a scrape; and, as they spared no pains or expense, and
as they employed a host of emissaries, it was not at all surprising if
they succeeded in some of their attempts, as I was a sanguine sportsman,
and devoted to the pleasures of the chace, and was likewise an excellent
shot; and it was in my zeal in following these field sports that they
placed their greatest reliance of catching me upon the hop, they being
ever on the watch to take the meanest advantage of the slightest
trespass or other occurrence, upon which they could find an action,
regardless whether it was tenable or not.
I was riding out one morning, shooting with a friend, and as we were
passing along a lane, a public high road, I suddenly felt a smart blow
on the side, and at the same moment some one seized me by the flap of
my shooting jacket, and nearly pulled me off my horse. When I recovered
myself, and turned round, my friend, the late Mr. John Oakes, of Bath,
who had seen the attack made upon me, was demanding of a ruffian the
reason for such outrageous conduct. This ruffian was a fellow of the
name of Stone, a game-keeper to Mr. John Benett, of Pyt-House, of
Corn-Bill notoriety, one of the present members for the county of Wilts.
Stone stood grinning defiance, with a double-barrelled gun, cocked, in
his hand. Indignant at the atrocity of the assault which, without the
slightest provocation, had been committed upon me, I sprung from my
horse, and laid down my own gun on the bank, and walking deliberately
up to the scoundrel, I first seized his gun with one hand, and with the
other I struck him three or four blows; upon which he let go the gun
and fell. This fellow was a notorious fighter, and, as he has since
confessed, was hired to commit this assault upon me, with the
expectation that I should resent it, which would afford him an
opportunity to give me a severe drubbing. His goodly scheme was,
however, frustrated; for my first blow, after I came in contact with
him, was planted so effectually, and followed up so rapidly, that the
hireling bruiser was defeated, before he could make any successful
attempt to retaliate.
Having discharged his gun, I returned it to him, and the gentleman
walked off, or rather sneaked away, not only having himself received a
sound hiding, such as he had intended and undertaken to give to me, but
apparently perfectly ashamed and sensible of his folly. It appears,
however, that after he had gone home, about a quarter of a mile, and
washed himself and taken his dinner, he, on the same afternoon, walked
to Pyt-House, a distance of thirty miles, to inform his master of the
awkward and unexpected result of the experiment which he had been
making. After due deliberation, he was advised to return, and to prefer
at the sessions a bill of indictment against me for the assault. If he
could procure any witness to confirm his story, so much the better; but,
as no other person was present but myself and my friend, this was no
easy matter to be accomplished. The bill was, however, found at the
quarter sessions, and the indictment was removed by _certiorari_ into
the Court of King's Bench, to be tried at the assizes.
This was considered as a great point gained by my enemies; and the
members of the stockpurse association were greatly rejoiced, that they
had got me into what was considered by some of them as being a serious
scrape. Others openly expressed themselves in this way, "That they would
much rather have paid their money to Stone, if he had given me a good
thrashing, than to have me punished by legal proceedings." And one of
them, a parson prig, had the insolence and the folly to tell me,
that they would get a _better man_ for me next time, for that they
were determined to bring down one of the _prize-fighters_ to give me a
drubbing. This fellow was then, and still is, an insufferable cockscomb,
and I remember very well my answer to him. I told him, that I knew all
the prize-fighters of any note, and they knew me; and that, with the
exception of GULLEY and CRIBB, who I was certain would not undertake
any such office, I was sure that if any one of them made the attempt, I
should serve him in the same way that I had served Stone.
Another of the stock-purse gang, MICHAEL HICKS BEACH, of Netheravon,
one of the M. P.'s for Cirencester, had brought an action of trespass
against me, which was also to be tried at the same assizes; so that,
with this, and the writ of inquiry in the case of Simpkins and Hunt,
which was for the third time to be executed before one of the judges, my
hands were pretty full of law business. This circumstance, however, did
not deter me from doing my duty to the public, when occasion offered. I
was very well aware that I had drawn down the indignation and the hatred
of the aristocratical upholders of a corrupt system of government, by
the open and avowed hostility that I had always expressed, in public
and in private, against the supporters and abettors of the system; and
I will now proceed to shew the reader, which, perhaps, I ought to have
done before, the main cause of this inveterate hostility against me, and
of the stock-purse conspiracy being formed, for the declared purpose of
putting me down, and, if possible, driving me out of the county.
It will be recollected that I stood forward publicly at the county
meeting, that was held relative to Lord Melville's peculations, and that
I had afterwards called the county members to account for their conduct,
in not opposing the two shillings a bushel additional duty that was
imposed upon malt. These were mighty offences, not easily to be
forgiven; but the grand offence, that which was so unpardonable, that
it was never to be expiated, was, that I had caused a requisition to be
signed, and procured a county meeting, in order to censure the Duke of
York, and to send up a vote of thanks to Colonel Wardle, for his having
detected and exposed the infamous transactions practised by the famous
Mrs. Mary Anne Clarke, and the Commander in Chief, with regard to
promotions and exchanges in the army.
The Parliament of Great Britain assembled on the 19th January this year,
1809. The King's speech, which was delivered by commission, announced
the offer of peace made by the Emperors of France and Russia, and the
reason for rejecting it, which was, that his Majesty had entered into
a treaty of friendship with the Spanish government. In this speech he
relies on his faithful Commons to grant him the supplies for pursuing
the war with vigour, congratulates them upon the complete success of the
plan for establishing a local militia, and urges them to take steps for
maintaining the war in Spain, by increasing the regular army as much as
possible, without weakening the means of defence at home. The ministers
carried every measure with a high hand, and the _faithful Commons_,
by very large majorities, granted the supplies for 120,000 seamen
and 400,000 soldiers. Thus the ministers, aided by the faithful
representatives of the people, were plucking John Gull, and emptying
his pockets, by almost turning them inside outwards, while they were
tickling John's brains with promises of glory, and a number of other
fine things.
Charges were now made, and supported by authentic reports, as to the
misconduct and peculation of the commissioners of Dutch property. These
charges were brought forward by the regular marshalled opposition, the
Whigs, as well as various other charges, as to the abuses existing in
the military and naval departments; but, as these were mere regular
opposition sham fights, the ministers put them down, by a negative to
all their motions, and they even caused a bill to pass, to allow the
army to recruit from the militia.