APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



J 65 



parated; and the verdict at pre- 

 sent is only the verdict of nine, 

 not of twelve. 



Mr. Justice Abbot. I have de- 

 livered my judgment upon it : if 

 it be incorrect, you will have an 

 opportunity of correcting it here- 

 after. 



Mr. Wooler. I have no means 

 of appealing against your lord- 

 ship's judgment hereafter. Tliis 

 cannot be justice, my lord ! The 

 three jurymen are ready to depose 

 on affidavit that they did not con- 

 sent to the verdict. 



June 6. — The King v. Thomas Jo- 

 nathan H'ooler. 



Mr. Justice Abbot, at the sitting 

 of the Court, addressed the rest of 

 the Bench as follows : — 



I wish to take the earliest op- 

 portunity of reporting some cir- 

 cumstances which occurred yester- 

 day at Guildhall, in the course of 

 a trial which took place before me. 

 The case to which I allude was 

 an information by the Attorney- 

 General against a person of the 

 name of Thomas Jonathan Wooler, 

 for a libel. After the case had 

 been gone through, the Jury re- 

 tired to consider of their verdict, 

 and wliile they were absent another 

 case was called on, the trial of it 

 was proceeded in, and just before 

 the reply in the second case was 

 concluded, the door on my left 

 hand was opened, in order to ad- 

 mit the gentlemen of the jury, who 

 had returned after considering of 

 their verdict ; and as soon as the 

 reply was iinished, in one or two 

 sentences, the names were called 

 over by the otlicer in the usual way, 

 and answers were given in the or- 

 dinar)' manner. The foreman of 

 the jury then said, that the jury 



found the defendant guilty, but 

 three of them were desirous, or 

 had desired him, on their part, to 

 add something. I then interposed, 

 and observed, that I thought I 

 could not receive any thing coming 

 (lom a part only of the gentlemen 

 of the jury; that the verdict must 

 be the verdict of all ; and I then 

 asked (speaking, as 1 thought, in 

 a very distinct and audible voice) 

 whether all the jury agreed in the 

 verdict ? 1 was answered tliat they 

 did, and at that time I heard no 

 dissent expresse<l by any person. 

 The situation, however, was such, 

 the jury not having all of them 

 come into my view, that it is not 

 altogether impossible that some 

 mistake or misapprehension might 

 h ive taken place j it is not impos- 

 sible that some might not hear 

 distinctly what had been said. 



The jury having then retired, 

 and the door being shut again, I 

 proceeded to sum up the cause in 

 progress ; and when I had con- 

 cluded, (it not being decorous to 

 inteiTupt me), and after the se- 

 cond jury had retired to consider 

 of their verdict, a gentleman at 

 the bar suggested, that some of 

 the gentlemen of the first Jury had 

 not concurred, nor intended to 

 concur, in the general verdict de- 

 livered ; or had been desiious that 

 the verdict should be received with 

 some degree of qualification. I 

 have not the words very distinctly 

 now in my mind, but the circum- 

 stances 1 have stated. I farther 

 understood, that some of the jury 

 were present, in or near the court. 

 I then said, that the verdict of the 

 jury had been recorded, and that 

 it seemed to me, that sitting in 

 that place, 1 could not do any thing 

 in the matter, I do not know 



whether 



