69 



judges appointed by the Crown. Your Lordships have but a life interest in the 

 public property, but they have an inheritance in it for their children.' 



" But the Chancellor, we are expressly told by Colonel Conolly, decided in this 

 case, not from the consideration of evidence collected at the trial, but from the 

 absence of a charge affecting the accused. ' There is no charge whatever,' said 

 his Lordship, ' against Mr. Atkinson ;' and what else could be said by a man of 

 legal mind ? Take the words in Mr.Tredennick'sletter, distinguished by inverted 

 commas, and let any one who ever served as a Grand Juror, declare are they such 

 as would induce him to put a fellow- subject on his trial for having uttered them? 

 Coupled with other words given before, or coining after them, they might be mis- 

 chievousthey might be harmless standing by themselves they are merely non- 

 sense ; and if men are to be tried for talking nonsense, we want a great addition to 

 our judicial corps. 



" The Chancellor is told, that Mr. Atkinson made use of the following expres- 

 sions, ' Remember, boys, you may cut, hack away, and destroy what you please, 

 only take care, don't commit a breach of the peace to bring you before us, the 

 bench, as we cannot interfere ;' and his Lordship says, ' there is no charge what- 

 ever against Mr. Atkinson. 'he does not decide from evidence delivered before Mr. 

 Drummond on the trial, for, if he had, he would have talked of guilt or innocence ; 

 but he contents himself with saying, ' there is no charge whatever.' 



"' Why, then, was Mr. Atkinson subjected to the temporary uneasiness which 

 the imputation against him must have caused ?' I hope that question will be 

 asked by the assembled magistrates of Donegal on the 2d November. Reputation 

 is a personal right of the subject, as much as liberty; it is not to be trifled with 

 by persons in authority ; it is their duty to protect the rights of all ; and the 

 subject should remind them of that duty. I honour the inhabitants of Bally- 

 shannon and its neighbourhood for the promptitude with which they have come 

 forward, upon this occasion, to stand by an individual ; I honour them for their 

 declared conviction, ' that the local magistrates, who conduct the judicial business 

 of their district, are endowed with zeal, integrity, and capacity, and are there- 

 fore fully equal to discharge the duty required of them.' And I hope effectual 

 steps may be taken to make known this conviction to the Government, that 

 justice may be administered among you, in a satisfactory manner, which cannot 

 be entirely by stipendiaries. ' No man,' says a great constitutional lawyer, ' in 

 the least acquainted with the history of nations, or of his own country, can refuse 

 to acknowledge that if the administration of criminal justice were left in the 

 hands of the Crown, or its deputies, no greater freedom could possibly exist than 

 government might choose to tolerate, from the convenience or policy of the day.' 



" Having thus observed upon the paper sent, and the matters therein referred 

 to, I beg to say, that if God permits my attendance at Letterhenny on the 2d 

 November, I shall bring before our meeting a motion on the subject of Mr. 

 Atkinson's trial, and the duty of the Constabulary as set forth in the letter of 

 Mr. Anderson, and the testimony of Mr. Hayden, with reference to reporting 

 words which are used by magistrates in their judicial capacity. 



" Your faithful servant, 



<: JAMES SINCLAIR." 

 " Holly Hill, near Strabane, Sept. ZStk, 1841." 



