his
papers. Judge Pratt summed up in his favor, directing the jury that
general warrants were 'unconstitutional, illegal, and altogether void.'
As being the instrument in eliciting this memorable exposition of the
laws, Wilkes deserves the gratitude of every Englishman who cares one
jot for his constitutional rights, and of every lover of freedom
throughout the world. He was not without immediate and substantial
rewards, for the jury found a verdict for him, with L1,000 damages. The
corporation of the city of London, who had taken his part throughout,
eventually chose him sheriff, lord mayor, and chamberlain, and presented
the lord chief justice with the freedom of the city, in token of their
admiration for his conduct. On the other hand, Wilkes was expelled the
House of Commons, on account of the libel, and on the very same day
which witnessed his triumph in the Court of Common Pleas, he was tried
in the Court of the King's Bench, for its republication, and found
guilty. He refused to surrender to judgment, and was accordingly
outlawed. He then proceeded to the Continent, from whence, some three or
four years later, he addressed a petition to the king for a pardon. As
no notice was taken of this, he returned to England, and paid a fine of
L500, his outlawry being reversed. He next petitioned the House of
Commons for readmission; but his petition was rejected, and a new writ
issued, when he was returned by an overwhelming majority. The House
expelled him again, and this farce of expulsion and reelection was
enacted four distinct times, until at last his election was declared
null and void. He subsequently brought an action against Lord Halifax
for illegal imprisonment and the seizure of his papers, and obtained
L4,000 damages. He lived several years after this, but took no prominent
part in political affairs, confining his energies to the sphere of the
city. While he was in exile at Paris he published an account of his
trial, etc., but, as he was unfortunate in his defenders, so was he in
his adversaries. The writings of his friend and coadjutor, Charles
Churchill, the clever writer, but disreputable divine, are wellnigh, if
not entirely, forgotten, but the undying pencil of the immortal Hogarth
will forever hold him up to the gaze of remote posterity. Whatever may
be the feeling as to his political opinions, and however great may be
our gratitude to him in one particular instance, his authorship of the
abominable and fi