APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. 129 



the plaintliT comes <:o demand, and 

 Avhich justittr rt-qu res for the injury 

 he has received. 



'• I had no: bceii iong on the seat 

 ofjiisticp, bej'ore Lfelt [should best 

 «j!>char^e my iluiy to C'le public, by 

 tn.ikiiig the Inw of the laud subser- 

 vicni U) the laws of morality and re- 

 ligion ; and therefore, in various 

 cases thai havR come before lue, 

 when 1 saw a cousluerable decree 

 of guilt, I have pressed li'.e judge- 

 ment cfjuiies to go along with me 

 in enforcing thesauciionsofreiioion 

 and morality by ihe heavy pennlues 

 of the law ; and I have found juries 

 co-operate with me in trying how- 

 far the immorality of a libertine age 

 would be corrected, by letting all 

 parties know, tliat they best con- 

 sulted their own interest by dis- 

 charging those dulles they owed to 

 Gjd and society. 



" Caiis;S of this kind have very 

 differtnt complexions. Causes have 

 come before me, where I ha^e 

 t Iionght it incumbent on juries to dis- 

 chargeplaiiiiiffs witii small damages. 

 Causcs of this kind have come be- 

 foiv me, where I liave thoaglit the 

 very cause of aeiijn failed, and 

 thcrctoie thephinllrFhas been non- 

 suiir.d. There have also been causes 

 of this sort where juries have given 

 very large damages. 



" I'Lis cauue has about it a cha- 

 racter and complexion diflerent from 

 a 1 I ever witnessed, dirte.rent from 

 all { have heard of in the history of 

 lilt- jurisprudence of tliis country. It 

 hemphatUallif an unfortunatecau.se. 



" It I had found the defendant 

 making U'e of the fiiendshij) of the 

 plainlitf", entering his hou^e, and 

 obtaining the confidenceoi his wife; 

 it I had found him using the liberty 

 of access as tlieineans of sedturtion, 

 i should have thought no damages 



Vol, X:XKVI. 



put on the record too high for the 

 plaintiff to receive at your hands. 

 ppt th.s is not that ca.se. To the 

 plaintiff no imputation on earth be- 

 longs. He appears to have acted 

 with he honour b^.bnging to ths 

 most diustrions house of which he 

 is soimportant a member. Rutal 'he 

 moment he received this Lady's 

 hand, he did not receive her atFec- 

 tions. She" was never seduced from 

 his arms . because her affections were 

 engaged from the beginning, ai'.d 

 irredeemably fixed Upon another. — 

 To the defendant, for a great part 

 of the ;iine, I can impute no blame 

 at all ; he did that which was dilli- 

 cult for a young man; he seems la 

 have bridled his passion for a consi- 

 derable time ; he retired with his 

 friends, young men, br-^.nches of 

 honourable fimilies, to the country, 

 to sec whether absence mi^ht not 

 wean his affections. Unfortunately 

 for both, the absence was not ot very 

 long continuance ; he returneti to 

 town — they S3v/ each other. The 

 half-extinguished flame was again 

 lighted up, and the unfortunate 

 consequence followed which you 

 have heard. 



" It is for you, on this occasion, 

 to ascertain the damages. The ac- 

 tion complains of the loss of the 

 comfort and society a man ought to 

 receive in the married slate. Un- 

 fortunately for the plaintiff, this 

 comfort and society hardly ever be- 

 gan—but still he has a right to ex- 

 pect some da;nages. I should give 

 damages, not merely nomiaal d.i- 

 majes, but damages not to a very 

 large amount. Tnesedamiges will 

 shew the sense you have of the im- 

 morality, for that is not to be de- 

 fended. Y(ju will not give great 

 damages which shall press a young 

 man, who, it is clear, at One lime 



K of 



