NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE Momnouthshire trials, Corn-law meetings, Postage, O'Cost- NUL in Dublin, the Revenue, and the meeting of Parliament next Thursday, claim each a few words of notice in our weekly summary. After a trial o seven days, terminated on Wednesday, Joust
FROST has been f. 1 guilty of high treason. For a brief space it seemed doubtful whether the Jury would consider all the technical
conditinso " specific crime to have been fully made out in the trial:1.111s it was, they accompanied their verdict against the prisoner with a request to show him mercy. The Crown lawyers conducted this prosecution in a highly com- mendable spirit of fairness and humanity. There was no eager grasping at conviction—no attempt to exasperate the Jury by ap- peals to political prejudices, or exaggerated description of danger *oat the spread of Chartism—no suggestion of the policy or ne- cessity of punishing the accused in,terrorem; while at the same time professional skill was employed to bring an immense number of' scattered facts in support of the charge in the indictment. In this respect, we should think the Solicitor-General's speech has seldom been equalled; while the reader of Mr. FITZROY KELLT's vigorous and most ingenious pleading for the prisoner, feels convinced that no effort was spared to put his case in the most favourable light. It will be remembered that a decision against the Crown, of' the point respecting the delivery of the list of witnesses with a k•opy of th:: iaasictmneut, v;,• :Id be equivalent to an acquittal of FROST, and sueh of his confederates as may be convicted. Even should this not be the issue, the recommendation to mercy remains; and there is a general impression that in no instance will the extreme penalty of the law be exacted.
