270 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



state it as an unlawful assembly. 

 The next count was, that on the 

 30th July last, an assembly of the 

 parishioners of the parish of St. 

 Mary was held. At that assembly 

 they proceeded to an election of 

 delegates. Those delegates were to 

 be the delegates for that parish, ac- 

 cording to the mandates of the 

 meeting of the 9th of July ; at that 

 assembly the traverser was present, 

 and did act in the election of the 

 delegates. He recited the second 

 section of the Convention Act, and 

 then proceeded — " I have now 

 stated the charges in the indict- 

 ment ; and they divide themselves 

 into a question of law, and a 

 question of fact. Of law, if the 

 assembly so ordered to be convened 

 is an unlawful assembly. It will 

 save time to inform you, that 

 question was agitated fully upon 

 the trial of Dr. Sheridan ; and af- 

 ter a full and most able defence, 

 the court was of opinion, that it 

 was an unlawful assembly, without 

 any doubt ; and to that opinion I 

 bow, and that point is now settled, 

 unless my learned friends mean to 

 persuade you that you are the 

 judges of the law, whereas the 

 constitution have only made you 

 judges of the fact. " He then pro- 

 ceeded to comment upon the evi- 

 dence produced on the former 

 trial, and to show its sufficiency 

 for conviction. He contended, 

 that, notwithstanding the verdict 

 of the former jury, the facts were 

 as clear as the sun. 



Huddleston and Sheppard (the 

 peace-officer), who had been pro- 

 duced as witnesses for the Crown 

 on the former trial, wereexamined, 

 when the latter produced his notes, 

 the loss of which seemed to have 

 been so dwelt upon orrfSheridan's 



trial. The Court adjourned at six 

 o'clock, till Wednesday, when it 

 proceeded upon the trial, and .T. 

 M'Donagh (also a witness on be- 

 half of the Crown on the former 

 trial) was produced, and upon his 

 examination and cross-examination 

 having closed, it appeared by his 

 testimony, as well as Sheppard's, 

 that one of the persons assembled 

 in LifFey-street, on the 31st of 

 July, warned the meeting of the 

 proclamation issued on that day. 

 This was considered as laying a 

 foundation for giving in evidence 

 the proclamation, to show that it 

 warned all persons from holding 

 any election, pursuant to the re- 

 solutions of the Aggregate Meet- 

 ing of the 9th of July, from 

 which and the warning, it would 

 appear that this was a meeting 

 of that nature. The Gazette, be- 

 ing oflered as evidence of the 

 proclamation, was admitted by 

 the defendant's counsel, and its 

 contents read ; here the evidence 

 for the Crown closed. The pro- 

 clamation furnished an additional 

 link to connect the two meet- 

 ings. 



Counsel for the traverser then 

 contended, that there was a vari- 

 ance between the indictment and 

 the evidence, — that the charge was 

 " The having elected five represen- 

 tatives for a district in the city of 

 Dublin, called St. Mary's parish, " 

 and used as a parish by the Roman 

 Catholics ; that the evidence was, 

 that the Catholic parish of St 

 Mary, for which they conceived 

 the election to be held, comprised 

 three Protestant parishes, one of 

 which, St. George's parish, by an 

 old act of parliament then pro- 

 duced, appeared to be altogether 

 in the county, and not at all in the 



city. 



