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    Untitled Article

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    THE BEATSON LIBEL CASE. of

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    THE rOPJE IN IRELAND.

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    large as that which follows Mr . Spubgeon himself , if he relinquished for a time his archiepiscopal functions ,, and appeared in a pas seul on the boards of Drury Lane theatre ! ' While on this subject , we may remark that . the dramatic world does actually possses one theologian , ' at . least , in Mr . Harcoubt Bj ^ nd , whose argumentative powers may be said to be on a par with his histrionic : and all London knows the reverend "incumbent of the Haymarket . " This subject is one on which much more might be said , but let us trust that the good sense of the public requires only that such things should be brought under their notice , for them to see

    the necessity for their being at once discountenanced and put an end to That the religinus tendencies of English society are , o-enerally speaking , in a right and wholesome direction , cannot be denied , and that they be not misdirected by the vagaries of vanity , the mistakes of zeal without discretion , or the sinister and selfish interests of persons who derive unhallowed profits and influence from their perversion , is most cordially to be hoped . It is consolatory to hear that something is about to be done with respect to things mooted in the Liturgy of the Established Church when the Parliament assembles . It is high time for the

    adoption of measures that shall effectually remove a crying scandal . Let the public , however , neither slumber nor sleep in watching the promised legislation ; it will be found a duty requiring their vigilant attention .

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    r ^ OLERIDGE said have considered legs be 'V' the final cause of turnips ; but , with less stress of imagination , we may assume General Beatson to have been specially bom to inflict well merited torments upon our military authorities ; for , in addition to clearing his character from charges that ought never to have ' been brought against him , he has succeeded in exposing the dishonesty and trickery of the Horse Guards to an extent which must lead every honest man to be ashamed of those defects of our parliamentary system , which permits siich conduct to be perpetrated with comparative impunity . General Beatson , it will be remembered , being famous for his management and

    training of irregular cavalry , was very properly selected to manage the Bashi Bazouks at the time of the Bussian War . To account for their behaviour , we must suppose our officials to have suffered pangs of mental torture at the thought of having made an honest appointment of a Company ' s officer , who was not m the habit of going out shooting with the Prince Consort , nor furnished with a grandmother decorated with the livery of the Court . The general ' s task was a hard one , and it would have been more honourable , although less congenial , to their instincts , if the fraternity of red tape worms had exerted themselves to

    Horse Guards should produce some official papers , and in one instance a clerk from that establishment informed Mr . Baron Bramavell that the document should be forthcoming if he thought it was required , although the Duke of Cambridge and the War Minister thought it ought to be reserved * . ' Upon this the learned judge seemed so overtaken with a fit of flunkeyism as to . make him forget the dignity and interests of his court . Alluding to the Duke of . Cambridge and the War Minister he declared "he was very glad to see persons in their high station showing such deference to a court of justice ; " but he at once deferred to their view that the papers should be withheld . His lordship might have known that the mere offer to produce the papers if he asked for them , was proof that the public service : could suffer no great detriment from their piiblication ; and as the matters are now historical * and the very war they relate to long since concluded , it was perfectly inexcusable that the judge should thus decline to obtain the best evidence in his power , and damage the cause of a gallant soldier in order to do the agreeable to persons of rank . Quite in keeping with this unfortunate conduct was his summing and directions to the jury , whom he bewildered with a jargon about " privileged communications , ' * and induced to find a verdict for the defendant which will go far to establish the doctrine that officials are entitled to slander whom they please . Although the defendant admitted having made the objectionable statements , the Judge suggested that the jury should consider he had riot done so , because General Shikley ' s recollection was somewhat different . He thought it would have been " naore becoming if the defendant had said that he recognised the report he had circulated to be erroneous , and he gladly acknowledged it . " But he suggested the consideration whether the communication was not made by Mr . Skene "in discharge of his duty , and therefore privileged ; " The only pretence of privilege arose out of the fact that Mr .. Skene was in official communication with ^ his superior . But surely that cannot justify the propagation of a slander which , if believed in and acted upon , wbiild ruin for life the character and prospects of an innocent man . If Mr . Baron BraMwell's law of privileged commuuicaiiohs is to be swa llowed by juries , no one will be safe who has the misfortune to suffer the bad opinion of dislike of ariv official , who chooses to -convey a slander to his superior . Such a "doctrine is monstrous ; and we can only account for the learned Baron having given force to it by supposing . that .-he had swallowed a red-tape worm , which a vigorous anthelmintic will be required to expel .

    procure pay and food for his men , instead of establishing a foraging party for the collection of tittle-tattle , find a commissariat " of scand ' al for the most mischievous use of the trumpery gossip they managed tp bring together . It appears that Mr . Skene , the Consul at Aleppo , was appointed Civil Commissioner at the Dardanelles , and Mr . Calvert , the Consul at > the latter place , was directed to assist the General in lvis operations . Having n good apparatus for the purpose , Lord Panmuhe soon received stories against General Beatson , and directed an inquiry into his conduct , but neither informed him who his accuser was , nor at first even communicated the

    notice of the accusation . , The affair , however , readily answered one purpose—it enabled the Horse Guards to find something to do for Generals Shirley and VjivrAN—the former was to take the superior command over Beatson , and the latter inspected the force . In the recent trial of BisATsoN v . Skene , General Vivian thus described his own position and proceedings : ¦— " Tt was most disagreeable to me to meet General Beatson , because I had caused nn inquiry to be

    made by a . body of officers , and was not iii a position to inform him who his accuser was ; and I got permission from Lord Panmurk to give him a copy of the charges . " A more disgraceful way of treating a general officer of known character mid merit could not be conceived , and the authorities have been obliged to confess thoy were wrong , by giving him subsequent employment . But , though all the charges broke down , General Bkatson did not receive that , satisfaction from the Horse Guards to which ho

    was clearly entitled , and having discovered that some of the most seriouB accusations came ( Vom Mr . Skene , ho sought redress in ex court oflaw ; and after a long delay , arising from his absence from this country , the cas ^ oame off last ; week . The counsel for Mr . Skene acknowledged tho use of . the words , complained of , tp tho effect that General Beatson hod assembled tho command * ing officers of regiments and endeavoured to persuade thorn to mutiny against General Smith , by whom ho had boon superseded . Ifov tho course of justice in this case it was important that tho

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    AN Irishman loves a row ; indeed , as the ethnologists us , a Celt always did , and always will as long as the largest part of his brain bumps out over his ears , as it does , into that double-barrelled , dangerous organ of Combqllveness . Well acquainted with this scientific fact , it was with no surprise that we read the otlier day the blatant speeclx of an Irish lloman Catholic priest , who declared that he had about a thousand young shillelagh-men in liis two parishes of Knockmadown and Ballybrag , and that he was prepared to lead them over into old

    Italy , and bring back the Pope in triumph to Dublin . An song says that the shillelagh is superior to the musket because it never misses fire—as to its superiority to grape shot w , e arc dubious ; though we believe that Rocjiejaqi / elin and his Vendean peasants several times won cannon from tho French Sans-culottes with no stronger weapons than clubs . We were not the least surprised to find this Irish Friar Tuck wielding his quarter staff so lustily on the papal platform . We are quite sure that there are few villages in' the hot-blooded south of Ireland which could not furnish-a Peter the Hermit , in tho shape

    of a priest , to preach-up a new crusade , or'to help to chnir tho Pontiff in the choir of Dublin Cathedral . Wo could imagine tho dismay of the gopd old gentleman in difficulties , when the vessel of St . Pe , teh , now a little leaky , touched tho shores of tho Emerald island . How turbulent , after tho ominous quiet of tho streets of Home , the roars of " Oend , nrille Failthn , " " Long-life to your Riverince , " " 0 that Dan had seen this day I" " Down with tho murthcriiig Saxon ! " How seared he would be at the upward flight of briinlosa liats , tho scurry of frightened pigs , tho mad race and whirlwind of jaunting cars ! He might certainly be n little shocked to see the Reverend Father Poldoqdir suddenly

    leave his side , in tho midst of a " discoorse" about " ¦ Joseph ol Austria , " to burst into some crowd of Pnpid followers , who foi more joy were breaking each other ' s hoods , and diapcrso . them with swishing blows of liis heavy horso-whip . It might puzzle Him too wJipu rudo men in frieze coats , at secret audiences , showed him suddenly their hnmls wot with landlord's blood , and prayed the Head of the Church for tho absolution then- pariah priests had a thousand times promised them for such holy deed * .

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    Jan . , 1860 . J The Leade * * end Saturday Analyst . ¦ . ' 61 . .

    The Beatson Libel Case. Of

    of THE BEATSON LIBEL CASE .

    The Ropje In Ireland.

    THE TOPE IN IRELAND .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 21, 1860, page 61, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2330/page/9/