Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh EditionRobertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Religion
Charles Bradlaugh: a Record of His Life and Work, Volume 2 (of 2): With an Account of his Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings. Seventh Edition
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Bradlaugh, Charles, 1833-1891
On the 28th June Mr Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant attended the Court of
Queen's Bench to receive judgment from the Lord Chief Justice and
Mr Justice Mellor. My father had thought it likely that there might
be a heavy fine, but unlikely that there would be any sentence of
imprisonment. He drew £250 from the bank, and showed me the notes as
he put them in his pocket-book, bidding me, in the event of a sentence
of imprisonment, take the notes from him and pay them into the bank
again; and my sister and I accompanied him and Mrs Besant into Court.
The Solicitor-General opened by moving the Court for judgment; some
discussion arose on the absence of the _postea_, and then Mr Bradlaugh
submitted three propositions to the Court: (1) A motion to quash the
indictment; (2) a motion for arrest of judgment; and (3) a motion for
a new trial. But the Lord Chief Justice would neither consent to a new
trial nor to a rule for an arrest of judgment; he left the decision
as to quashing the indictment to the Court of Error, declining,
however, to stay execution until error was determined. The arguments
over these points took up the whole morning, and after luncheon the
Solicitor-General, in order to influence the Judge in his sentence,
brought forward two affidavits, one asserting that Mr Bradlaugh and
Mrs Besant had continued to sell the pamphlet since the verdict, and
the other stating that Mrs Besant, in a speech at the Hall of Science
on the previous Sunday, had represented the Lord Chief Justice as
being favourable to them, and the verdict as against his summing-up.
Sir Alexander Cockburn was greatly incensed at the alleged reference
to himself, and regarded the continued sale in the light of "a grave
and aggravated offence." My father offered that if the Lord Chief
Justice would stay proceedings until the writ of error was argued, he
would pledge himself that no sort of advantage would be taken of the
indulgence of the Court to continue the sale of the condemned book;
but as yet the Judge was obdurate. "I think we must pass sentence," he
said. "Have you anything to say in mitigation?"
"I respectfully submit myself to the sentence of the Court," my father
replied in his gravest tones. "I have nothing to say in mitigation of
punishment," added Mrs Besant.
The Judge then proceeded to sentence them to imprisonment for six
calendar months, to a fine of £200 each, and to enter into their own
recognisances for £500 each for two years.
The judgment was delivered towards the end of a long day of hard and
wearisome fighting, and my father, who, with Mrs Besant, had of course
received the sentence standing, was very white; his voice, however, was
quite firm when, the Lord Chief Justice having concluded, he quietly
and respectfully asked, "Would your lordship entertain an application
to stay execution of the sentence?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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