ade out a formidable indictment,
whereupon Paine, then a member of the French National Convention,
informed him that the prosecution might as well be directed against the
man in the moon, and that the liberties of the people of England were in
reality on their trial. After this impertinence the sentence went
against Paine by default, and that, too, despite a skilful speech by
Erskine (December 1792). The aim of Government of course was to warn
those who were circulating Paine's works that their conduct was
seditious and that they did so at their peril.

The Home Office Archives show that in very many cases the warning was
disregarded, and several prosecutions ensued, with varying results.
Still more frequent were the cases of cursing the King, sometimes in
obscene terms. To these we need pay no heed. Frequently the offence was
committed in taverns by democrats in a state of mental exaltation. To
this exciting cause we may probably ascribe the folly of John Frost, the
attorney with whom Pitt had some dealings during the Reform agitation of
1782. He was now charged with exclaiming excitedly: "I am for equality";
and, when challenged as to the meaning of his words, he added: "There
ought to be no Kings." In this connection it should be remembered that
Frost and Barlow had on 28th November 1792 presented to the French
National Convention the most mischievous of all the addresses sent by
Radical Clubs to that body. It ended with the statement that other
nations would soon imitate France (that is by overthrowing the monarchy)
and would "arm themselves for the purpose of claiming the Rights of
Man."[282] This piece of bravado must have told against Frost at the
trial; for it proved that amidst his potations at the tavern he spoke
his real mind. Erskine did his best to defend Frost by quoting Pitt's
letters to him of May 1782, on the subject of Reform.[283] The device
was clever; but obviously Pitt's association with Frost for strictly
constitutional purposes in 1782 could not excuse the seditious language
of the latter under wholly different conditions eleven years later.
Frost was condemned to six months' imprisonment in Newgate and was
struck off the roll of attorneys.[284] Other noteworthy trials ensued,
notably that of the "Morning Chronicle" newspaper, which ended in an
acquittal; but it will be well now to turn to the important developments
taking place north of the Tweed.

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