so doing."

"Certainly," replied the Judge; "step forward, that the Court may hear
you."

Collins then stepped forward, and addressed the Court in a speech which
had evidently been prepared for the occasion.[99] "My Lord," said he, "I
am the humble conductor of a public press in this town. I come forward
to accuse His Majesty's Attorney-General of vindictiveness and foul
partiality in the discharge of his duty as prosecuting officer for the
Crown. He has sent his nephews and apprentices as spies into my office
in order to hunt up imaginary offences. He has preferred bills of
indictment against me on supposition of libel, and I have been dragged
from my business by a common constable, and obliged to give bail in this
Court, while he, the Attorney-General, has allowed the most infamous
crimes to pass in review before him, without taking any notice whatever
of them." And so on, with much more to the same purport.

The speaker was interrupted by the Attorney-General, who had been
conferring with a member of the bar in an adjoining room, but who had
been specially summoned into Court by his clerk, Henry Sherwood, who had
informed him that Collins was making a long harangue to the Judge.
Observing that the Judge showed no disposition to put a stop to the
proceedings, Mr. Robinson requested to be informed what was the
defendant's object in addressing the Court, and whether he had made any
motion. "If Mr. Collins is allowed to proceed," replied Judge Willis, "I
dare say his object will appear." Collins accordingly proceeded:--

"My Lord, while I have been dragged into this Court, on the mere
suspicion of libel, by His Majesty's Attorney-General, I hold in my hand
the printed confession of His Majesty's Solicitor-General, Henry John
Boulton Esquire, of a crime that the law of England calls murder,
committed ten or eleven years ago.[100] Yet no indictment has been
brought against him, and this confession is attested by James Fitz
Gibbon Esquire, a magistrate of this District, and by the Sheriff of
this Court. I hold also in my hand the printed history of an outrage of
the grossest character, where a number of young official gentlemen in
this town assembled together and committed a noonday burglary, by
breaking into the private house of William Lyon Mackenzie, and
destroying his property. This atrocious outrage, please your Lordship,
was proved on the floor of this Court, in the presence of His Majesty's
Attorney-General. The