CLITHERO.
SOME very vigorous efforts have been made by the friends and ad- mirers of Mr. Irving at this borough, to follow up their extrajudicial exploits by a little legal persecution. There is nothing too iin- pudent for the Conservatives. We should have thought they would have been content with "let a' be for let a' be," as our Northern friends have it ; but the compliments of Ministers seem to have determined them to persevere in their course of wantonness. No fewer than five attempts were made at the Clithero Petty Sesqions, to convict as many men of rioting and disorder,—whose only fault was, that they had been beaten, and abused, and cut down, and trampled upon, in order that Mr. John Irving might indulge his whim of making a procession into a borough where his chance of success was about as great as his chance of succeeding to the Throne of England. And what were the charges for the prosecution of which the law was attempted to be stretched and tortured? The Times of this morning tells us— mirers of Mr. Irving at this borough, to follow up their extrajudicial exploits by a little legal persecution. There is nothing too iin- pudent for the Conservatives. We should have thought they would have been content with "let a' be for let a' be," as our Northern friends have it ; but the compliments of Ministers seem to have determined them to persevere in their course of wantonness. No fewer than five attempts were made at the Clithero Petty Sesqions, to convict as many men of rioting and disorder,—whose only fault was, that they had been beaten, and abused, and cut down, and trampled upon, in order that Mr. John Irving might indulge his whim of making a procession into a borough where his chance of success was about as great as his chance of succeeding to the Throne of England. And what were the charges for the prosecution of which the law was attempted to be stretched and tortured? The Times of this morning tells us—
Thomas Pryer was accused of " d—mn—g" somebody, and of using the words "d—ma-.-d Boroughttiongers;" it was sworn moreover that he had been "ginning" a good _part of the day. James Robinson was charged by one of the witnesses with having struck at a person in the seat behind a carriage in which Mr. Broeklehurst was standing. Mr. Brocklehurst's carriage had no seat behind it ! James Lawton was charged by Betty C,ottam with feloniously and treasonably opening the door of Mr. Irving's carriage, and spitting into Mr. Hartly, a solicitor, proved that Lawton stood by him the whole time that 3Ir. Irving was passing through the town, and that he (Lawton) was never within many yards of Mr. Irving's carriage ! William Greenhalgh was charged by Arkwright with seizing hold of his "left leg," to unhorse him. Another man, however, proved that it was he and not Greenhalgh, who touched Ark-
wright's leg, because Arkwright's he, had trodden you him. Richard Frankland was charged with catching hold of a soldier's bridle, for the purpose of throwing down the horse; Frankland, it would appear, returned to the charge after being struck down three times with the soldier's sabre. Frankland's wit- messes directly contradicted the accusation.
Greenhalgh was held to bail in 201., to appear at the next Sessions ; and Frankland's case was adjourned. Mr. Irving's second attempt at punishing the electors of Clithero has not been quite so successful as the first. We may remark, that the entire of the offences because of which the Riot Act was read, and some twenty people were cut and slashed and ridden over by the soldiers tinder the orders of Mr. Irving's Magisterial friends, is summed up in the above charges. We forget—Greenhalgh was said to have thrown a stone of six pounds weight, which hit a soldier on the head, without the soldier's being conscious of the blow !
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