PROSECUTION OF COBBETT. — The trial, for libel, of the far-famed author

of the Political Register took place on Thursday, at the Guildhall, before Lord Tenterden and a Special Jury. _Cobbett had given in the Register of Saturday last a perfect "spy of the time," and added very particular directions to the place, for the benefit of such of his friends as might choose to grace his trial by their presence. The galleries were filled a considerable time before his arrival ; which was greeted by three cheers,—a very unusual circumstance within the grave walls of the King's Bench. The libel formed part of the number of the Register dated 11th December 1830. It was contained in the following passages—

?But without entering at present into the motives of the working people, it 'sunquestionable that their acts have produced good, and great good too. They have

he the very parson that I have quae:31,

been always told, and they are told now, an..hurniugs, can do them no shown that their acts of violence, and particularly the good, but add to their wants by destroying the food they Van"

they know better ; they know that one thrashing-machine takes away the wages from ten men; and they also know that they should have none of this food, and that potatoes and salt do not burn. Therefore this argument is not worth a straw. Besides they see and feel that the good comes, and comes instantly too. They see that they do get some bread in consequence a a destruction of part of the corn ; and while they see this, you attempt in vain to persuade them that what they have done is wrong. And as to one effect, that of making the parsons reduce their tithes, it is hailed as a good by ninety-nine hundredths even of men of considerable property ; while there is not a single man in the country who does not clearly trace the reduction to the acts of the labourers, and especially to the fires. For it is the terror of these, and not the bodily force, that has prevailed. To attempt to persuade the far rens 1.1.1,11LUS Ing combat plain common-sense. They must know, and they do know, that whatever is received by the parson is just so much taken from them, except that part which he may lay out on productive labour in the parish, and that is a mere trifle compared with what he gives to the East and West Indies, the wine.countries, the footman, and other unproductive labourers. In short, the tithe-owners take away from the agricultural parishes a tenth part of the gross produce, which, in this state of abuse of the institution, they apply to purposes not only not beneficial, but generally mischievous to the people of those parishes,"

And again

" The course of these ilhused men has been as free from ferocity, as free from anything like bloody-mindedness. They have not been cruel even to their most savage and violent persecutors. The most violent thing that they have done to any person has not amounted to an attempt on the life or limb of the party ; and in no case but in self-defence, except in the case of two hired overseers in Sussex, whom they merely trundled out of the cart which these hirelings had constructed for them to draw like cattle. Had they been bloody—had they been cruel—then it would have been another matter. Had they burnt people in their beds, which they might so easily have doue—had they beaten people wantonly, which has always been in their power—had they done any of these things, then there would have been some plea for severity. But they have been guilty of none of these things. They have done desperate things, but they have been driven to desperation. All men, except the infamous stock-jobbing race, say, and loudly say, that their object is just; that they ought to have that which they are striving for ; and all men, except that same hellish crew, say that they had no other means of obtaining it."

The Attorney-General, in commencing Isis address, adverted to the shouting and clapping of hands which had taken place on Cobbett's en. trance ; which he strongly reprobated. He then proceeded to consider the matter of the libel itself ; and in doing so, he remarked that the writings of Cobbett had a tendency to produce incendiarism. Cobbett—" Is it not proper, my Lord, that the Attorney-General, in stating to the Jury the case against me, should confine himself to the charge contained in the indictment ?"

Lord Tenterden—" He will state it by and by." Cobbett—" I beg pardon ; he is stating what is not in the indictment : he says that I am charged with publishing that which has a tendency to do so and so."

Lord Tenterden—" That is his argument. I cannot stop it2' Cobbett—" I am charged with intending to do so and so ; but I am not charged with the crime to which that tendency is supposed to lead."

Lord Tenterden—" Pray, Sir, be quiet ; you will have your oppor tunity of addressing the Jury by and by."

Cobbett--" I beg that the indictment may be read."

Lord Tenterden—" It will be read at the proper time."

Cobbett—" Will it be read before I go into my defence ?"

Lord Tenterden—" It will be read at the proper season."

Cobbett—" When is the proper season ?"

Lord Tenterden—" This is not it."

Cobbett—" I beg to be excused. The Attorney-General has, in the

indictment, denominated me a ' labourer ;' being a labourer, I am enti.

tied to indulgence." Lord Tenterden—" This is not . the time for you to address the Jury.

I cannot hear you now." Cobbett—" Being a labourer,' and ignorant of the law, I did not know."

The Attorney-General resumed—" The Jury would see the propriety of a remark which he took the liberty of making a few minutes ago. They would now see the spirit in which the defence was to be carried on by the gentleman—" Cobbett—" A labourer, if you please." Lord Tenterden—" If you will not sit down, Sir, I must try the cause in your absence." Cobbett—" Unless the Attorney-General call me a labourer, I must

protest every time."

The Attorney-General apologized for using the term "gentleman,"

and also that of "labourer," on the ground of custom ; and was at length allowed to finish his argument. An argument on a libel differs from all others, that it is one which any man may make, whether he be a lawyer or not. The proposition to be made out in the present case was, that the words of the libel were intended wickedly and maliciously; and this was to be made out by a commentary which required philological rather than legal skill. Sir Thomas dwelt particularly on the expressions in the libel where it is declared, that " out of evil comes good," and particularly that out of the burnings great good had come ;which, he contended, could mean nothing else but that, for the procuring of further good, it was only required to light more fires. The defence of Cobbett was long, and rambling, and passionate. Pirst of all, he complained that numerous libels had been permitted to pass unprosecuted, while that which was the subject of trial had been greedily pounced upon : he particularly alluded to various statements in the Thnes, the Chronicle, and the Courier, in proof of this. His next complaint was, that his trial, which nominally took place on Thursday the 7th of July, had been in progress ever since December last, partly by notices in the House of Commons, partly by fabrications out of it Heinstanced the motion of the Honourable A. Trevor, whom he represented as colleagued with the Ministry on the occasion—(Mr. Trevor is a nominee of the Marquis of Londonderry); and to the story of Goodman's confession, into the refUtation of which he entered, by very long statement of particulars. His next ground was, that, taken in connexion with the context, the words of the libel bore no such interpretation as had been put upon them ; and, lastly, that many of his former writings had been directed to an obviously opposite purpose. In proof of this, he stated—and the fact was confirmed by the evidence of the Lord Chancellor, who was subpcenaed for the purpose—that Lord (then Mr.) Brougham had applied to him last year, for permission to publish, for the Sodety of Useful Knowledge, his letter to the Luddites, written in 1816; so convinced was his Lordship Of its salutary tendency. Mixed up with the defence, of which these are the principal points, Was

an inconceivable quantity of vituperation of the Whigs ; from which it might be made out, that all the attacks against liberty that have been

perpetrated during the last hundred years, have been the work of that party-that they have never counselled a good or a wise act themselves, or failed to support a bad one when counselled by others. Cobbett's address wls_several times cheered by the galleries.

Lord Melbourne was examined respecting the remission of Goodman's sentence ; but it was decided that the cause of his pardon could not be inquired into. Earl Grey was also subprenaed, and attended in court, but was not examined. Earl Radnor and several other witnesses were examined as to character ; and all of them described Cobbett as a person very unlikely to incite men to acts of inceudiarism: they also spoke to the character of his lectures, which were said to have converted Goodman into an incendiary, and they described them as perfectly harmless.

When Sir Thomas Denman had replied, Lord Tenterden summed up, with most commendable moderation. His Lordship observed," that in the letter to the Luddites, which had been put in by the de fendant, as disproving the intention charged to him by this indictment, he appeared to have very zealously defended the use of machinery ; whereas in the article set out in the indictment, there was one expression, that respecting one machine doing the work of ten men, which was certainly at variance with the sentiments evinced in the pub lication of 1816. The language of the article in question seemed strongly calculated to effect the purpose charged to the defendant ; but that was a question exclusively for the Jury, and not for him. They would therefore retire, take the publications with them, and calmly, dispassionately, and fearlessly consider of their verdict."

The Jury retired at a quarter past six ; soon after nine o'clock notice was given to their friends that it was r ot likely they would agree that

night. At a quarter past nine on Friday, the Chief Justice being on the bench, the Jury entered the box ; when, it appearing that two of their number were determined, comic qui coute, to acquit, and any further confinement being considered dangerous, the Jury were discharged. There seems very strong reason for questioning the expediency of this trial. The libel, if it be such (and any thing is a libel which a Jury chooses to call so), is certainly none of the strongest-it admits of a good as well as of a bad interpretation ; the occasion is gone by-the build rigs are over-in the present state of the country Cobbett's tales and his argu ments, which in November last were all-powerful, are incapable of moving a single heart or hand in the kingdom. Under such circumstances, a verdict must have been alike useless to the Government and to the com munity. Cobbett's reputation has had the fate of Penelope's web what it has gained in the light it has regularly lost in the dark ; his total contempt of every thing like fairness or truth has been unceasingly employed to undo the tissue which his talents were occupied in weaving. For some years, the unravelling process has proceeded with such rapidity, that the gain of the day was no longer equal to the waste of the night. The author of the Register was bankrupt in fame, when the Attorney-General stepped kindly in to save him from -political annihilation. The trial, had it been successful, would have made the for tune of a far worse paper than the Register; its lame and impotent conclusion gives to Cobbett all the advantages without any of the pains of a confessor in the cause of liberty.