Reports of State Trials. New Series, Vol. III., 1831-40. Edited
by John Macdonell. (Eyre and Spottiswode, for H.M.'s Sta- tionery Office.)—The first trial reported is that of Charles Pinney, Mayor of Bristol, for neglect of duty on the occasion of the Bristol riots of 1831. The trial occupied six days, and ended in the acquittal of the accused. It occupies more than two-fifths of the total space. Another important case was " Stockdale v. Hansard," in which a very curious and interesting question of privilege was raised. The plaintiff brought an action against the printers to the House of Commons for an alleged libel contained in the Re- port of the Inspectors of Prisons. Next to this comes the "Cana- dian Prisoners' Case." A curious case was that of "The Queen against the Rev. Joseph Rayner Stephens," for inciting to rebel- lion. Mr. Stephens declared that he did not belong to any extreme political party, but advocated, one might say, academically the right to make armed resistance. He was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. Various trials of less importance, and other cognate matters, are given in the four appendices.
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