Joseph Augustus Dowling

“ Your affidavit states, that, since the time of your conviction, there have been publications reflecting on your character. The Court does not approve of any misconduct in any one, and, however the natural indignation of the public may be called forth by the enormities which you have committed, the Court would of course apportion such punishment to any parties justly complained of, as the nature of the case, under all the circumstances, might demand. ”

“ My Lords,—The less I call jour attention to the nature of the offence imputed to the defendant, I think it will be the better. I shall merely direct your attention to the character and situation of the defendant; for when a man in his situation of assumed piety, makes it the mask for extraordinary delinquency, I submit to your Lordships that he becomes an object for extraordinary punishment.
p. 5Your Lordships have found by the report, and also by the affidavit of the defendant himself, that reports of a similar description against his character had gone abroad. ”

“ And that soon after this, a mob assembled before the house of the defendant, with marrow-bones and cleavers, an effigy of the said defendant, and a transparency; and, after having lighted a fire before his door, the flames of which ascended as high as the windows of the first floor, they burnt his effigy in that fire; they then broke the defendant’s windows, and acted otherwise riotously, by which the defendant was compelled to leave Hammersmith. In consideration of these facts, the affidavit went on to pray a lenient punishment from the Court. ”

“ I do not think that your Lordship will intimidated from administering to him a due portion of punishment for his offence, by any such intimation as that letter holds out.
Mr. Justice Bayley then addressed the defendant as follows:—The painful part of my duty is, to pass on you the sentence of this Court, for the enormous crime of which you stand convicted. It is not only painful when I think that you are so far advanced in years, and that you were in a situation which it became your p. ”