Part 9 (2/2)

The long-continued attempts of Sir Henry Tyler and his friends to stith took practical shape, and in July, 1882, Mr Foote, the editor, Mr Ramsey, the publisher, and Mr Whittle, the printer of the _Freethinker_, were summoned for blasphemy by Sir Henry Tyler hih in the proceedings, and the solicitors proainst the editor and printer if Mr Bradlaugh would himself sell theh had always shown hi his sins on his own shoulders, he saw no reason why he should assume responsibility for a paper over which he had no control, and which was, he thought, by its caricatures, lowering the tone of Freethought advocacy and giving an unnecessary handle to its foes He therefore answered that he would sell the solicitors any works published by hiue of the whole of such works The object of this effort of Sir Henry Tyler's was obvious enough, and Mr Bradlaugh commented: ”The above lettersfailed in his endeavour to get the science classes stopped at the Hall of Science, having also failed in his attempt to induce Sir W Vernon Harcourt to prosecute myself and Mrs Besant as editors and publishers of this journal, desires to make me personally and criminally responsible for the contents of a journal I neither edit nor publish, over which I have not a shadow of control, and in which I have not the smallest interest Why does Sir HW Tyler so ardently desire to prosecute, me for blasphemy? Is it because two convictions will under the 9th and 10th Will III cap 32, renderin Parliament?” The _Whitehall Review_ frankly put this forward as an object to be gained, and Mr Bradlaugh was su blasphemous libels in the _Freethinker_; meanwhile Sir Henry Tyler put a notice on the Order Book to deprive ”the daughters of Mr Charles Bradlaugh” of the grant they had earned as science teachers, and got an order which proved to be invalid, but which was acted on, to inspect Mr Bradlaugh's andno party to the case Looking back, I marvel at the incredible meannesses to which Sir Henry Tyler and others stooped in defence of ”religion”--Heaven save the mark! Let me add that his motion in the House of Commons was a complete failure, and it was emphasised by the publication at the same time of the successful work, both as teachers and as students, of the ”daughters of Mr Charles Bradlaugh,” and of land who had succeeded in taking honours in botany

I must pause a moment to chronicle, in Septeht in the whirl of les I wrote an article on hi a tribute on his grave: ”A strong ood man

Utterly out of har with sternly-rebuking eyes on all the eager research, the joyous love of nature, the earnest inquiry into a world dooe An ascetic, pure in life, stern in faith, harsh to unbelievers because sincere in his own cruel creed, generous and tender to all who accepted his doctrines and submitted to his Church

He never stooped to slander those horeed His hatred of heresy led him not to blacken the character of heretics, nor to descend to the vulgar abuse used by pettier priests And therefore I, who honour courage and sincerity wherever I find thee to steadfastness wherever I find it; I, Atheist, lay my small tribute of respect on the bier of this noblest of the Anglo-Catholics, Edward Bouverie Pusey”

As a practical answer to the numberless attacks made on us, and as a result of the enorical and political writings by these harassing persecutions, webusiness to 63, Fleet Street, at the end of Septe that at which Richard Carlile had carried on his publishi+ng business for a great tiallant struggles Two of the first things sold here were a payptian policy, and a critical voluh found time to write in the intervals of his busy life Here I worked daily, save when out of London, until Mr

Bradlaugh's death in 1891, assisted in the conduct of the business by Mr Bradlaugh's elder daughter--a wo character with many noble qualities, who died rather suddenly in December, 1888, and in the work on the _National Refor, and then by Mr John Robertson, its present editor Here, too, from 1884 onwards, worked with h'sspeakers of the National Secular Society; like her well-loved chief, she was ever a good friend and a good fighter, and to ues, one of the few--the very few--Freethinkers ere large-hearted and generous enough not to turn against me when I became a Theosophist A second of these--alas! I could count theers--was the John Robertson above mentioned, a man of rare ability and wide culture, soenerally effective order, but a th to any h thinking, loyal-natured as the true Scot should be, incapable of enerous of friends

A the large publishi+ng preazine, edited by myself, and entitled _Our Corner_; its first number was dated January, 1883, and for six years it appeared regularly, and served andist work A Buchner, Yves Guyot, Professor Ernst Haeckel, G Bernard Shaw, Constance Naden, Dr Aveling, JH Levy, JL Joynes, Mrs Edgren, John Robertson, and ularly each hts on every hand, and a huge constitutional agitation going on in the country, which forced the Govern in an Affirmation Bill; resolutions from Liberal associations all over the land; preparations to oppose the re-election of disloyal ates sent up to London by clubs, Trade Unions, associations of every sort; a ar Square; an uneasy crowd in West that Mr Bradlaugh would go out to them--they feared for his safety inside; a word fro in an Affir; a veritable people's victory on that 15th of February, 1883 It was the answer of the country to the appeal for justice, the rebuke of the electors to the House that had defied them

Scarcely was this over when a second prosecution for blasphean, and was hurried on in the Central Criot of the sternest type The trial ended in a disagree hie acted very harshly throughout, interrupted Mr Foote continuously, and even refused bail to the defendants during the interval between the first and second trial; they were, therefore, confined in Newgate from Thursday to Monday, and ere only allowed to see theh iron bars and lattice, as they exercised in the prison yard between 8:30 and 9:30 aain on Monday, they were convicted, and Mr Foote was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, Mr

Ramsey to nine months, and Mr Kereat dignity and courage in a most difficult position, and heard his cruel sentence without wincing, and with the calm words, ”My Lord, I thank you; it is worthy your creed” A few of us at once stepped in, to preserve to Mr Ramsey his shop, and to Mr

Foote his literary property; Dr Aveling undertook the editing of the _Freethinker_ and of Mr Foote's ress_; the immediate necessities of their fae of the shop, and within a few days all was in working order

Disapproving as many of us did of the policy of the paper, there was no time to think of that when a blasphemy prosecution had proved successful, and we all closed up in the support of men imprisoned for conscience' sake I commenced a series of articles on ”The Christian Creed; what it is blasphe what Christians must believe under peril of prosecution Everywhere a treht e that blasphemy laere not obsolete

From over the sea came a word of sympathy from the pen of HP

Blavatsky in the _Theosophist_ ”We prefer Mr Foote's actual position to that of his severe judge Aye, and e in his guilty skin, ould feel more proud, even in the poor editor's present position, than ould under the wig of Mr Justice North”

In April, 1883, the long legal struggles of Mr Bradlaugh against Mr

Newdegate and his common informer, that had lasted from July 2, 1880, till April 9, 1883, ended in his coment of the House of Lords in his favour ”Court after Court decided againstand Tory journals alike ood friends thought that ots held me fast in their toils I have, however, at last shaken ment of the House of Lords in my favour is final and conclusive, and the boasts of the Tories that I should be made bankrupt for the penalties, have now, for ever, coht Yet but for the many poor folk who have stood bysince been ruined The days and weeks spent in the Law Courts, the harassing work connected with each stage of litigation, the watching daily when each hearing was i--it is hardly possible for any one to judge the terrible le” Aye! it killed hi his splendid vitality, under his iron constitution

The blaspheh, Mr Foote, and Mr Ramsey now came on, but this time in the Queen's Bench, before the Lord Chief Justice Coleridge I had the honour of sitting between Mr Bradlaugh and Mr Foote, charged with the duty of having ready for the former all his references, and with a duplicate brief to mark off point after point as he dealt with it Messrs Foote and Raht with courage unbroken Mr

Bradlaugh applied to have his case taken separately, as he denied responsibility for the paper, and the judge granted the application; it was clearly proved that he and I--the ”Freethought Publishi+ng Co to do with the production of the paper; that until November, 1881, we published it, and then refused to publish it any longer; that the reason for the refusal was the addition of comic Bible illustrations as a feature of the paper I was called as witness and began with a difficulty; claie if the oath would not be binding onon e found a way out of the insulting for whether the ”invocation of the Deity added anything to it of a binding nature--added any sanction?” ”None, my Lord,” was the proe Giffard subjectedhis best to entangle me, but the perfect frankness of my answers broke all his weapons of finesse and inuendo

Soe Giffard's opening speech was very able and very unscrupulous All facts in Mr Bradlaugh's favour were distorted or hidden; anything that could be used against hi the many monstrous perversions of the truth es of publisher, and of registration of the _Freethinker_ wereit put in the House of Coe of publisher was adistration was ed, as there was no previous one The House of Co in Nove February

This one deliberate lie of the ”defender of the faith” will do as well as quoting a score of others to shoickedly and maliciously he endeavoured to secure an unjust verdict

The speech over, a nue did not call witnesses who knew the facts, such as Mr Norrish, the shopman, or Mr Whittle, the printer These he carefully avoided, although he subpoenaed both, because he did not want the real facts to come out But he put in two solicitor's clerks, who had been hanging about the pre endless _National Reformers_ and _Freethinkers_, sheaves of thee hoped to convey the ientlee books, presumed to be _National Reforht for nobody understood, the counsel for the Crown as little as any one, and the judge, surveying them over his spectacles, treated them with supreme contempt, as utterly irrelevant Then a h was rated for Stonecutter Street, a fact no one disputed Two policeo in ”You saw o in, I suppose?” queried the Lord Chief Justice On the whole the most miserably weak and obviously ht into a court of law

One witness, however, er When he stated that Mr Maloney, the junior counsel for the Crown, had inspected Mr Bradlaugh's banking account, a nation ran round the court ”Oh! Oh!” was heard froe looked down incredulously, and for a eneral e Giffard is a splendid actor, he was not aware of the infa, for he looked as startled as the rest of his legal brethren

Another queer incident occurred, showing, perhaps h's swift perception of the situation and adaptation to the environment He wanted to read the Mansion House deposition of Norrish, to shohy he was not called; the judge objected, and declined to allow it to be read A pause while you ht count five; then; ”Well, I think I may say the learned counsel did not call Norrish because ” and then the whole substance of the deposition was given in supposititious fore looked down a hter ie ofof end; barristers all round broke into ripples of laughter unrestrained; a broad smile pervaded the jury box; the only unrave stateht” have been asked The nature of the defence was very clearly stated by Mr Bradlaugh: ”I shall ask you to find that this prosecution is one of the steps in a vindictive attempt to oppress and to crush a political opponent--that it was a struggle that commenced on one into the box I should have shown you that he was one of the first then in the House to use the suggestion of blaspheainst me there Since then I have never had any peace until the Monday of this week Writs for penalties have been served, and suits of all kinds have been taken against me On Monday last the House of Lords cleared entlemen, I ask you to-day to clear me from another Three times I have been re-elected by my constituents, and what Sir Henry Tyler asks you to do is to send me to them branded with the dishonour of a conviction, branded not with the conviction for publishi+ng heresy, but branded with the conviction, dishonourable tolied in this matter I have no desire to have a prison's walls closed on me, but I would sooner ten times that, than that my constituents should think that for one moment I lied to escape the penalties I a I have ever written or caused to be written Aspointed out, it is no question with me, Are the matters indicted blasphemous, or are they not blasphemous? Are they defensible, or are they not defensible? That is not my duty here On this Ithe policy of the blasphe that, if I were here ht say that they were bad laws unfairly revived, doing more mischief to those who revive theainst But it is not for anything I have saidI have writtenI have published myself It is an endeavour to make me technically liable for a publication hich I have nothing whatever to do, and I will ask you to defeat that here Every ti When I first fought it was hoped to defeat ht to make me bankrupt by enormous penalties, and when I escaped the suit for enormous penalties they hope now to destroymy heresy, not because I aht way, and it there be anything in it that the law can challenge I have never gone back froone back froone back fro I have ever done; and I ask you not to allow this Sir Henry Whatley Tyler, who dares not coer, to stab a man fro up by Lord Coleridge was perfect in eloquence, in thought, in feeling Nothing ined than the conflict between the real religious feeling, abhorrent of heresy, and the determination to be just, despite all prejudice The earnest effort lest the prejudice he felt as a Christian should weigh also in the minds of the jury, and should cause the to theainst the unbeliever what they would not adainst prosecution of opinions; the admission of the difficulties in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the pathetic fear lest by persecution ”the sacred truths h the sides of those who are their enemies” For intellectual clearness and moral elevation this exquisite piece of eloquence, delivered in a voice of silvery beauty, would be hard to excel, and Lord Coleridge did this piece of service to the religion so dear to his heart, that he showed that a Christian judge could be just and righteous in dealing with a foe of his creed

There was a ti for the verdict, and when at last it came, ”Not Guilty,” a sharp clap of applause hailed it, sternly and rightly reproved by the judge It was echoed by the country, which almost unanimously condemned the prosecution as an iniquitous atteh's political enemies to put a stop to his political career Thus the _Pall Mall Gazette_ wrote:--