as a complete anfwer to the charge that he had published a wicked and malicious li. bel; and to fhew this innocence, prayed permiffion to prove that he had only pubifhed the ftri&t truth for the information of his readers. The Diflrict Attorney then contended for the odious and abfurd do&trine, that the greater the truth the greater the libel, and hence to permit the defendant to prove the truth would be only to prove the greater guilt upon himself. His Honor Judge Thompson, however, faid that he fhould certainly permit the truth to be given in evidence, to fhew the innocence of the defendant's intention. Accordingly a witnefs was produced who fwore that on application to poftpone the trial of Crofwell, for the purpose of procuring witnesses to prove the truth of the publication for which he flood indicted, Judge Lewis refufed the application, declaring that he would not permit his witneffes to be worn were they in Court. Here Foot, diftrict attorney, contended that this did not prove the truth of the words on the record, inafmuch as the opinion of the Judge was delivered on a queftion for putting off the trial, and not on the trial itself. The blundering stupidity that could attempt a diftinction of this fort, for the purpofe of fhewing that the intent of the printer, though innocent, if applied to an opinion delivered on the trial, would be malicious if applied to an opinion delivered from the fame bench and the fame person on a preliminary queftion, is truly worthy the advocate of fuch a caufe,

His Honor Judge Thompson, in his charge, treated the diftinction attempted to be made by the District Attorney as futile, and obferved that without doubt the words fet forth on the record as conftituting the defendant's guilt, had been fubftantially proved, So thought the jury; and being men of plain fenfe, whofe heads had never been turned by thofe technical | diftinctions which can find a man guilty of having committed a crime whofe intentions are pure and upright; being utterly unacquainted with that species of fophif try by which they could reconcile it to themselves, ubon their oaths, to convict the defendant of a wicked and malicious action, without once confidering whether it was wicked and malicious or not-they rejected the doctrine contended for on the part of the people, confining them to the fimple quellion whether Mr. Tracy publifhed the paper or not, and taking the whole matter into their confideration, pronounced the Defendant NOT GUILTY.

This verdict is in the highest degree hon. prable to the jury, and melancholy to remark, the charge highly honorable to the Judge who prefided. It is indeed melancholy that fuch a ftate of things fhould alfeady exift in the intancy of our govern

ment, that for a Judge to deliver from the bench an impartial opinion, unbiaffed by party confiderations, forms a fubject of juft panegyrick and entitles him to the fpecial gratitude of the community. With Mr. Juftice Thompson, we cannot hefitate to admit that his Honor Judge Lewis, when he precluded Crofwell from producing witneffes to prove his innocence, and told the jury that they were to confider nothing but whether Crofwell was the publifher of the Wafp and whether or no the explanations given to fome paffages by the Attorney General, were correctly given -but whether the defendant was guilty or not of malice in the publication, was not for them but the Court to determine, although they, on their oaths, and not the Court, were to pronounce whether he was guilty or not, I fay we readily join with. Mr. Juftice Thompson, in admitting that Judge Lewis in all this, " was governed by the best motives and from the fulleft conviction of its correctnefs;" and yet when we hear a man high in office charge the Vice-President of the United States with being an apoftate to his party, merely because he gave a cafting vote in favor of poftponing for a fingle day, an immense queftion involving in the opinion of at leaft one part of the community, the very exiftence of the government itfeif, have we not cause to fear that however good the "motives," and however firong the conviction of rectitude, the jaundiced eye of party may be to habituated to fee through a difcolored medium, that we have a precarious fecurity in motives? Poor human nature with the "best motives" fometimes deviates into a obloquity of conduct, into which it is betrayed from the 66 fulleft conviction of its correctnefs." Therefore when we find a man of fufficient firmness to refift all temptation, and to perfist in the ftrait forward path of uprightness, we cannot hesitate to award him our hihgeft approbation.

As we fall, in the courfe of a few months, have a correct and learned report of Crofwell's Trial, from an emment law character, which will afford an opportunity to discuss more at large the queftion of libels, we fhall now content ourfelves with putting a fingle cafe to fhew the abfurdity of the doctrine lately contended for before the Supreme Court, viz. "The greater the truth the greater the libel," which," Law. yer" Caines fays, in his fpeech, only a legal but a moral pofition,'

" is not

A libel is defined to be "a writing defaming a private man, magiftrate or public perfon;" and the realon given why the truth fhall not juftify it is, that the law confiders the criminality to confift in "the tendency of libels to create animofities and diflurb the peace," this Blackftone fays, "is the whole the law cor.fiders." Let us put this to the test, In the Evening

Poft of May 8th, appeared the following advertisement

Ef

"Four hundred dollars reward. "caped from the State-Prifon, after fet"ting fire thereto, James Sandford, a "native of Long-Ifland, 23 years old, of "fair complexion, brown hair, five feet "nine inches high-had on a blue coat.''

Now this must be allowed to possess all the requifites neceffary to conflitute a perfet libel. First, It is defamatory. Dr. Johnfon tells us that to defame is to deftroy reputation by either acts or words;" furely this must deftroy the reputation of Mr. James Sandford, for it defcribes him as a convict in the State-Prison, and even charges him with fetting fire to it. Secondly, It is all true, and inasmuch as it would have a " tendency to create animofity in the mind" of Sandford and "induce him to difturb the peace" by affault. ing the publisher, the truth, inftead of a defence, is only an aggravation. We will fuppofe now that the printer at New-Orleans fhould in compliance with the gener al request of the Infpectors of the StatePrifon, re-publifh the above advertisement from the Evening Poft; and that when Mr. Lyon was brought to trial, he fhould acknowledge he published the words. charged, but fhould move to put off the trial till he could fend to New-York and procure witneffes to prove the whole truth refpe&ting Sandford's conviction, confinément in the State- Prifon, &c. &c. "No, fays the learned Judge, this defence is inadmiffible; if your witneffes were here in court I fhould not permit them to be fworn, nor an exemplification of any record to be read." To the pannel he would fay, "Gentlemen of the Jury, the de. fendant ftands indicted for maliciously publishing of James Sandford that he was a convict in the State-Prifon, &c. all which is clearly libellous, and you gentlemen have nothing to do with the truth or falfhood of the words, for if Sandford was really a convict and fet fire to the State-Prif on in New-York, and efcaped and came hither, this is only an aggravation of the offence, with which Lyon ftands charged, and which you are fworn to try; indeed, if we are to believe the defendant himself, who alledges that he has published nothing but the truth, then in the eye of the Jaw the libel is greater than if the fame thing had been published of either you.or myfelf; you therefore have only to confider whether the defendant publifhed the words as charged; if he did you must pronounce him guilty by your verdi&t."

1

Such a cafe would be precilely parallel in all effential particulars with the late cafe of Crofwell; I think I may venture to defy the fubtlety of even the fubtle and ingenious Mr. Caines himfelf to make out any material distinction between them.And now the reader has before him the

A gentleman at St. Louis, on the Miffifippi, under date of May 5th, 1804, writes that "Capt. Lewis, who had been fent by the Prefident of the United States, to explore the newly acquired territory of Louifiana, was at that plage, and intended leaving it in a few days on his return to the city of Washington, accompanied by 20 Indian Chiefs.

It is faid that General Armstrong will be appointed to fucceed Mr. Livingston our Ambaffador at Paris.

A Mr. Mitchell of Charleston, S. C. has been convicted at the Federal Court of enlifting two men for the British Privateer Experiment, and fentenced to pay a fine of 200 dollars, and be imprisoned 30 days.

From the Westward we learn that great injury will be fuftained by the farmers in that quarter from the failure of their crops of English grain. Many fields are winter

killed; and the Heffian fly has made fuch ravages upon others that whole fields have been ploughed in and planted with other grain.

on the purchase of Louifiana; perhaps they will once more be let off, if they once more will make an open and folemn difavowal by their minifter at the court of St. James's, of the public acts of anothA letter from Natchez fays, "A very er minister at the court of St. Malmai. heavy rain has lately fwept away all the fon's. What a dignified attitude for an bridges in the the country, and great dam-independent government! Although this ages have been done to the crops. PropProperty, including mills, cotton gins, flaves, the amount of 100,000 dollars. Our country is rather gloomy at prefent-no cafh in circulation and but little bufinefs.

Two men, one named Crocker, the other Southwick, were on Saturday laft committed to prifon at Baltimore, on fufpicion of negro ftealing, and counterfeiting, or paffing notes knowing them to be counterfeit.

The wretchedness of the people of Paris, fays a London paper, is at prefent fo very great that 11,100 perfons are fupported by charity in their own houses, 13,900 in the hofpitals, and 5.500 in the country, and yet the ftreets (warm with beggars,

FOREIGN NEWS.

NEW-YORK, JUNE 10.

conduct of Mr. Livingfton is prima facie to be confidered as the conduct of the American nation, yet we fhall have the fatisfaction to let it be feen that it is decidedly reprobated by the American federal prefs.

The murder of the French prince, the Duke D'Enghein, has excited univerfal indignation and execration.

The papers contain feveral interefting articles on this fubject which we fhall give

as foon as we have room.

The fuicide of General Pichegru is entirely difcredited in London. The Englifh prints confider it as a foul murder. More particulars will be given, hereafter. On the whole our readers, we think, will perufe our column this evening with more than ufual intereft.

LONDON, APRIL 16. The Hamburgh mails due on Wednefday, arrived last night. Though it has not brought any news from Paris of fo late a date as that we received by the last Moniteur, it has furnished us with fome interefBy the politeness of one of our mer. ting particulars upon the internal state of cantile friends we are put in poffeffion of cantile friends we are put in poffeffion of France. Never during the moft fanguinLondon papers up to the 18th April, in-ary period of the defpotifm of Robefclufive, and Glafgow up to the 19th, received by the Britifh fhip Pitt, Capt. Campbell, which arrived here yesterday in 52 days from Greenock. Thefe English papers, as our readers will perceive, are three days later than any heretofore received in the United States, and contain fome very interefting intelligence, particularly on the internal ftate of France.

pierre, was the Police of Paris more tremendonfly active; its myrmidons pervades all places, fwarm in all the Coffeehoufes, infeft every place of public amufement, intrude into every hotel, and invade even the privacy and retirement of domeftic life. Such is the condition of France under a man who boafts of having united all hearts, and of whofe Government the Pruffian ambaffador fays, that it has concentrated men of all denominations and of all parties. Arrefts are fo frequent and numerous, that the ufual places of confinement are inadequate to the containing the perfons arrefted. Private habitations have therefore been hired for the imprifonment, or rather the inhumation of the wretched victims of the Confular tyranny.

In this city, on Thursday evening last,0 CMrs. WINTIE UPHAM, in, the 69th year of her age.

In danger's very darkest hour,
Think on the bloomy wreathed bower,
Where first the rapture filling power

Of beauty's smile enchanted thee.

Think on your sweatheart's sighs and tears,
Your sisters, parents, anxious fears,
On all that social life endears,
And all you love so tenderly.

On, Scotchmen! to the combat push! With all your native valour rush! Fight till the heart's red torrent gush From your last-living enemy.

Improvements, &c.

From the Phil. Daily Advertiser.

MR. POULSON,

THE following information may perhaps prove of fervice to fuch of your readers as have not cool and dry cellars to preserve their meat and other provifions, and the hint perhaps offers an opportunity to thofe, who have leifure and talents, of improving it to great public advantage.

A joint of meat or any provifion fufpended in a flannel bag will keep sweet a confiderable time longer than by any of the modes generally practifed. The cooler and dryer the meat is when the flannel. is put round it the better, and it will occur to any thinking mind that the flannel fhould be perfectly clean. A flannel bag with a bowl or plate in it is also the best mode of conveying butter from, or perhaps to market, and if the bowl or plate is made of wood the better.-A fironger proof cannot be given of the truth of the above, than that ice wrapped in flannel will keep a confiderable time, whereas if expofed to the air or wrapped in linen it will diffolve almoft immediately.

An ointment, made of the effential Oils. of Elder, Carraway, and Rosemary, wi h Rofe-leaves and Cammomile flowers, and rubbed on the pit of the ftomach at bed time, is ftated to be an effectual remedy for the Hooping Cough.

Diversity.

[The following advertisement of a stray cow, is copied verbatim from a paper published some years in Boston.]

ABBERTISEMENT.

Bofton, May 70th, 1784. Their was a Cow de fmifhed laft Friday, colour of a light red Cow, pretty much a fhort tail, not fa long as other cows tales,

fhe is a long flim cow, not fo fat as fome cows. fhe is not as poor as fome. This will convince any of the public if feen fuch a cow, Sir or Gentleman of honor, whoever seen or find him, turn him to Boston, to Mr. York Ruggles, feven tar lane, he will warn whoever bring him will be a great price, the cow was brought up in the country, he was brought through Bof. ton four months ago, alfo more, the cow had four white legs, and four red legs.

P. S. He has gote lite red eyes, he has gote tall flim hornes, a little cut of the ends, he is not lefs than feven years old, he has got one year long and he is go: one year fhort, and a flit in one of them, and a piece clipped of other.