APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



175 



in the Court, which soon extended 

 to tha crowd on the outside ; and 

 for some minutes the hall and ad- 

 joining avenues rang with shouts 

 and acclamations. 



Some davb afterwards a libeial 

 subscription w;is entered into for 

 Mr. Hone and his family. 



" — '' i ■ 



TREEDOM OF SPEECH AT THE BAR. 



Lancaster, Sqit. 10. 



Hodgson V. Scarlett. — Mr. Rich- 

 ardson stated the action to be 

 brought by Peter Hodgson, gen- 

 tleman, for damages on account 

 of words spoken by James Scarlett, 

 Esq. at the last spring assizes in 

 this court. 



Mr. Raine. — May it please your 

 lordship, gentlemen of the jury, 

 It f)lten happens to all of us, ow- 

 ing to pvofessional accident, to be 

 engaged in actions painful to our 

 feelings. Painful, 1 can with 

 truth assure you, the present action 

 is to my feelings. Having tra- 

 velled in our professional walk, 

 with a gentleman of Mr. Scarlett's 

 character, for more than 26 years, 

 having known him in private life 

 for a still lunger period, I cannot 

 be supposed capable, by any 

 who know me, of harbouring an 

 unkind sentiment towards him, 

 and still less of giving utterance 

 to such a sentiment, if 1 could en- 

 tertain it : but what I owe to my 

 client ; what I owe to the pro- 

 fession to which I belong ; what 

 I owe, I may say it without arro- 

 gance, to myself, oblige me to lay 

 before you the ground of the pre- 

 sent action. Peter Hodgson is, 

 and has long Vieen, an eminent 

 attorney in Whitciiaven, in the 

 co\uity of Cumberland, and t^p- 

 plies now to you in consequence 



of the wound given to his pro- 

 fessional reputation by Mr. Scar- 

 lett's language at this bar. The 

 freedom of speech at the bar is of 

 the utmost Importance. During 

 the 'present assize I heard, with 

 much pleasure, Mr. Scarlett des- 

 cant upon this topic. I could not 

 help believing that he spoke then 

 in anticipation of this action. This 

 fi eedom of speech is of the great- 

 est importance, not only to the 

 dignity of the bar, but to the in- 

 terests of the public, whose high 

 and delicate interests are intrusted 

 to the bar. Of this freedom none 

 can be a rhore strenuous and tena- 

 cious friend than I. In imporl- 

 ance and utility, I hold it to be of 

 the same rank as freedom of dis- 

 cussion in the Commons' House 

 of Parliament. 1 have thus made 

 "the "highest admission in favour of 

 Mr. Scarlett 5 but bounds must be 

 set to this fieedom of speech — 

 otherwise, from the greatest bless- 

 ing, it becomes the bitterest curse 

 that can infest and annoy society. 

 These bounds were overleaped in 

 this case. Mr. Scarlett, while ad- 

 dressing the jury for the defendant 

 in an action in this court, went 

 out of his way to traduce and 

 vilify tiie character of the attorney 

 for the plaintilF, and to wound 

 his reputation. I sha:ll notgointo 

 the particulars of that action : they 

 are not upon the record, and his 

 Lordship will tell you that it was 

 not necessary they should. The 

 words charged, and Which we 

 shall prove to have been spoken,, 

 are tliese — " Some actions are 

 founded in folly, some in knavery," 

 (Mr. Karon Wood. Tliat is surely 

 true. — Mr. Raine. Yes, my Lord, 

 these are certainly truisms, hut 

 they are thus connected), " some 



in 



