gibbet in a certain yard or place, near to or in part overhang- and hang persons, That A. B. late of &c. [and other defendants,] being re- For fixing spectively persons of uncharitable, wicked, malicious minds a gallows and dispositions, and unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously ing theredevising, contriving and intending as much as in them lay, to on an effiinjure, aggrieve and vilify the good name, fame, credit and gy of two reputation of D. C. and E. G. gentlemen, being respective- and there ly, good, peaceable and well disposed subjects of our said leaving lord the king, and to bring them into great scandal, infamy, them contempt, ridicule and disgrace, on, &c. at, &c. aforesaid, did hanging unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously erect, set up, and fix, and time, and cause and procure to be erected, set up and fixed, a certain gal- taking lows or gibbet in a certain field near to the dwelling of the said them down D. C. there, and then and there unlawfully, wickedly and mali- and burnciously, hung up and suspended, and caused and procured to being them hung up and suspended, to and upon the said gallows or gibbet, Crim. Law. VOL. III. for some in the pres sence of divers people. divers,*to wit, two effigies or figures, that is to say, one effigy or figure intended to represent the said D. C. another effi[*911] gy or figure intended to represent the said E. G. and then and there unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously, kept and continued, and caused and procured to be kept and continued, the said effigies or figures so hung up and suspended as aforesaid, for a long space of time, to wit, for the space of half an hour, and during that time there, unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously published and exposed, and caused and procured to be published and exposed, the said gallows or gibbet, with the said effigies or figures thereon, in the presence and view of divers and very many persons then and there assembled and met together, and afterwards, to wit, on the same day and year aforesaid, at, &c. aforesaid, unlawfully, wickedly and maliciously took down the said effigies or figures from the said gallows or gibbet, and carried and conveyed the same to a certain other place in, &c. aforesaid, and there unlawfully, wickedly aud maliciously, in the presence and view of divers and very many persons then and there assembled and met together, burnt and consumed the said effigies or figures, and caused and procured the same to be burnt and consumed by fire, to the great scandal, infamy, contempt, ridicule and disgrace of the said D. C. and E. G. in contempt of our said lord the king and his laws, to the evil and pernicious example, &c. and against the peace, &c. [Second count for the effigy of D. C. Third count for the effigy of E. G.] ex parte before a For pub- That before the printing and publishing of the scandalous, lishing an defamatory and malicious libel therein afterwards mentionstatement ed, to wit, on, &c. one M. P. preferred to and before the of prelimi- right honourable Thomas Smith, then and still continuing to nary exa- be mayor of the city of London, and one of the keepers of minations the peace and justices of our said lord the king, assigned to magistrate keep the peace, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, previous trespasses and misdemeanours, committed within the city of to his com- London, a certain charge against the said R. S. that is to say, mitting a person for a charge that the said R. S. had, on the high seas, within the an offence jurisdiction of the admiralty of England, on board a certain with ship, unlawfully made an assault upon her the said M. P. which he with intent her the said M. P. feloniously and against her will, to ravish and carnally to know; to wit, at, &c. and that the defendants well knowing the premises, but being malicious and ill disposed persons, and devising and intending to traduce, defame and aggrieve the said R. S. and to injure and prejudice him in the minds of the liege subjects of our lord the king, and to cause it to be believed that he was guilty of the is charged. () (i) See 2 Camp. Rep. 563. where this was held libellous. said assault, and thereby to prevent the due* administration [*912] of justice, and to deprive the said R. S. of the benefit of an impartial trial for and concerning the matter of the said charge, did on, &c. at, &c. wilfully and maliciously print and publish, and cause and procure to be printed and published, a certain scandalous, malicious and defamatory libel, of and concerning the said charge and the matter thereof, which said scandalous and malicious libel was and is according to the tenor and effect following, that is to say, "Police,-Mansion-house. The captain for whose apprehension a warrant has been issued, as we stated in our yesterday's paper, was apprehended on Wednesday afternoon by two of the city officers at the house of his attorney, and underwent a private examination before the lord mayor, yesterday morning. His name is S. and the charge preferred against him was for assaulting Mrs. P. the wife of Mr. P. who, we understand, is attached to the commissariat department in the island of Barbadoes, with intent to commit a rape on board his own ship, the Mentor, on her passage to England. The circumstances of this case, so disgraceful to captain S. are, we understand, as follow: Mrs. P. embarked at the isle of Barbaboes, on board the Rachael, captain C. being one of the last of the West India convoy, amongst which was also the Mentor, commanded by captain S. with intent to join her husband in London. In the course of the voyage a dead calm stopped the progress of the fleet, and mutual visits were made from the different ships; amongst others the passengers and officers of the Rachael were invited to partake of a repast on board the Mentor, and Mrs P. accompanied by captain C. and some other persons, accordingly proceeded in the ship's boat to the vessel, where they were hospitably received and luxuriously entertained by captain S. who was peculiarly marked in his attentions to Mrs. P. during the day. While the party were enjoying the pleasures of the feast, however, a brisk gale sprung up, and the surface of the ocean, which had previously been undisturbed by the slightest zephyr, became now agitated with considerable fury, to the no small alarm of Mrs. P. who became exceedingly desirous to return to her own ship. From this step, however, she was deterred by the roughness of the sea. In this dilemma, captain S. with much apparent politeness, begged that she would not make herself uneasy, observing if she was not afraid to remain under his protection, he would give her such accommodation, and endeavour to consult her comfort and happiness in such a manner as to leave her no ground to lament her temporary absence from the Rachael. After some persuasion, Mrs P. agreed to accept the offer, as from the increasing strength of the winds she saw there were no hopes of her being able to get back that night without being exposed to [*913] hardships* extremely unpleasant for a female to encounter. Captain C. and his male friends, therefore, quitted the ship, leaving Mrs. P. behind them, and returned to the Rachael. The state cabin was then prepared by captain S.'s directions for his fair visitor, to which she soon after retired, but had not been there long, when the obtrusion of the captain upon her privacy, excited no little astonishment, which from his subsequent conduct, encreased to the utmost alarm. He commenced his attack by apologizing for his entrance, and by ascribing his unexpected visit to the impression which the charms of Mrs. P. had made upon his too susceptible heart. He proceeded in the same strain of fulsome flattery for some time, but finding that his eloquence had no other effect than to raise the indignation of his innocent visitor, he proceeded from words to deeds, and having, in the first instance, imprinted some impassionate kisses, he took some other liberties with the person of Mrs. P. which delicacy forbids our describing, but which so far irritated and terrified Mrs. P. that she shrieked with the utmost violence. Her cries at length attracted the attention of a gentleman named A. who was a passenger in the vessel, and who instantly rushed to the spot, in time to prevent the perpetration of the vile and dishonourable intentions of the captain, from whose loathsome embraces he extricated his almost senseless victim. The ensuing morning Mrs. P. returned to the Rachael, and on her arrival in this country instantly informed her husband of the atrocious manner in which she had been treated, and immediate application was made for a warrant, in consequence of which, the criminal is likely to meet the legal punishment of his villainy. The result of the examination yesterday was, that the captain was himself held to bail in 1,000l. with two sureties in 500/. each, to answer for his appearance at the Admiralty sessions, or court of King's Bench, as the parties may think fit, to take his trial for the offence. Mrs. P. is a woman of an interesting and intelligent countenance, about twenty-five years of age. The captain had nothing either captivating or prepossessing in his appearance, and is about thirty. He did not seem the least affected at his disgraceful situation, nor to feel in the slightest degree, the very contemptuous manner in which he was regarded by all who were aware of his unmanly conduct. He employed a short hand writer, a barrister, and a phalanx of friends; if possible, to intimidate his accuser by the publicity of her exposure. Notwithstanding these attempts, however, to screen himself behind her delicacy, she gave her evidence in the clearest and most collected manner, which conscious innocence and innate virtue could only have enabled her to accomplish. This was the only examination which occurred at this office worth detailing."-to the great damage, &c. to the evil example, [*914] &c. and against the peace, &c. INDICTMENTS, &c. FOR LIBELS ON DEAD PER SONS. son who That A. B. late of, &c. being a person of a wicked and ma- For a libel licious disposition, and wickedly and maliciously contriving on a perand intending, to injure, defame, and disgrace and vilify the was dead. memory, reputation and character of G. N. C. earl C. then (k) deceased, and to bring the family and descendants of the said G. N. C. earl C. into great scandal, infamy and contempt, and to cause it to be believed that the said earl in his lifetime, was a person of a vicious and depraved mind and disposition, and destitute of filial duty and affection, and of all honourable and virtuous sentiments and inclinations; and that the said earl had led a wicked and profligate course of life, and had addicted himself to the practice and use of the most criminal and unmanly vices and debaucheries, on, &c. at, &c. with force and arms, wickedly, maliciously and unlawfully did print and publish, and cause to be printed and published, in a certain newspaper called "The World," a certain false, and scandalous, and malicious libel, of and concerning the said earl C. [here set forth the libel with innnendoes,] to the great disgrace and scandal of the memory, reputation and character, of the said G. earl C.; in contempt, &c. to the evil example, &c. and against the peace, &c. INDICTMENTS, &c. FOR VERBAL SLANDER. [Cumberland. Commencement of information as ante 6.] For inThat M. J. late of, &c. spinster, being a wicked and ill disposed sulting and vilify. ing the (k) The words in italics were not inserted in the original indictment, and it was holden bad on the ground that without some averment of intent to vilify the family, or excite ill-blood, no indictable offence was charged on the defendant. See 4 T. R. 126. (1) This indictment was settled by a very eminent crown lawyer now on the bench. See also ante 2 vol. 214. Mere words of a pri commissioners of the property tax in the execution of vate individual are not, in general, |