HETHERINGTON ***




Produced by David Widger.




                   *THE TRIAL OF HENRY HETHERINGTON*

                                  _By_

                          *Henry Hetherington*

                    _On an Indictment for Blasphemy_






CONTENTS


    A FULL REPORT OF THE TRIAL OF HENRY HETHERINGTON
    THE TRIAL
    INDICTMENT
    Second Count:
    Third Count:
    Mr. Bult opened the proceedings
    DEFENCE
    OBSERVATIONS
    Extract from The Sun Newspaper
    "TO LORD DENMAN, ON THE LATE PROSECUTION FOR BLASPHEMY




A FULL REPORT OF THE TRIAL OF HENRY HETHERINGTON


ON AN INDICTMENT FOR BLASPHEMY,

LORD DENMAN AND A SPECIAL JURY,

ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1840;

FOR SELLING HASLAM'S LETTERS TO THE CLERGY TO ALL DENOMINATIONS:

THE WHOLE OF THE AUTHORITIES CITED IN THE DEFENCE, AT FULL LENGTH.

LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HENRY HETHERINGTON, 1-26, STRAND;

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1840

Price Sixpence.

To

JAMES WATSON,

BOOKSELLER,

THE FRIEND OF TRUTH, THE INFIDEL TO ERROR, AND THE LOVER OF LIBERTY,

THIS TRIAL

IS DEDICATED,

IN PROOF OF THE AFFECTIONATE ATTACHMENT THAT SUBSISTS BETWEEN TWO
FRIENDS, WHO FULLY RECOGNISE AND ACT UPON THE PRINCIPLES AVOWED AND
CONTENDED FOR IN THE FOLLOWING DEFENCE; AND AS A TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM,

TO GOD'S NOBLEST WORK--AN HONEST MAN!

BY HIS FAITHFUL FRIEND,

HENRY HETHERINGTON.




THE TRIAL


COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, December 8, 1840.

Sittings at Nisi Prius at Westminster, before Lord DENMAN and a
Middlesex Special Jury.

PROSECUTION FOR BLASPHEMY.

THE QUEEN Versus HETHERINGTON.

This was a prosecution instituted by Her Majesty's Attorney-General, Sir
John Campbell, against Henry Hetherington, bookseller, of 126, Strand,
for the publication of a blasphemous libel.




INDICTMENT


Of Easter term, in the Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria.
Middlesex:--

Be it remembered, that on Tuesday, the twenty-eighth day of April, in
the third year of the reign of our sovereign lady Victoria, by the grace
of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen,
Defender of the Faith, in the court of our said lady the Queen, before
the Queen herself at Westminster, in the county of Middlesex, upon the
oath of twelve jurors, good and lawful men, of the said county of
Middlesex, now here sworn and charged to inquire for our said lady the
Queen for the body of the same county; it is presented as followeth,
that is to say, Middlesex to wit. The jurors for our lady the Queen upon
their oath present, that Henry Hetherington, late of Westminster, in the
county of Middlesex, bookseller, _being a wicked, impious, and
ill-disposed person_, and having no regard for the laws and religion of
this realm, but _most wickedly, blasphemously, impiously, and profanely
devising and intending to asperse and vilify that part of the Holy Bible
which is called the Old Testament_, on the third day of February, in the
third year of the reign of our sovereign lady Victoria, by the grace of
God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender
of the Faith, at Westminster aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, did
publish, and cause to be published, a certain scandalous, impious, and
blasphemous libel, of and concerning that part of the Holy Bible which
is called the Old Testament, containing therein, amongst other things,
divers scandalous, impious, and blasphemous matters of and concerning
that part of the Holy Bible which is called the Old Testament, according
to the tenor and effect following, that is to say, "What wretched stuff
this Bible (meaning that part of the Holy Bible which is called the Old
Testament) is, to be sure! What a random idiot its author must have
been! I would advise the human race to burn every Bible they have got.
Such a book is actually a disgrace to ourang outangs, much less to men.
I would advise them to burn it, in order that posterity may never know
we believed in such abominable trash. What must they think of our
intellects? What must they think of our incredible foolery? And we not
only believe it, but we actually look upon the book as the sacred word
of God, as a production of infinite wisdom. Was insanity ever more
complete? I for one, however, renounce the book; I renounce it as a vile
compound of filth, blasphemy, and nonsense, as a fraud and a cheat, _and
as an insult to God,"_ to the great displeasure of Almighty God, to the
great scandal, infamy, and contempt of that part of the Holy Bible which
is called the Old Testament, to the evil example of all others, and
against