that "lesion of the will" which would render a human being irresponsible
for his acts. These verdicts, undoubtedly, gave rise to a grave
discussion, whether the law, as it now stands, was sufficiently
stringent to have reached these cases; and though this question was
decided in the affirmative, the mere entertaining of the doubt afforded
another specious confirmation of the impression, that a singular
fatality was attendant upon a state prosecution. This idea received
another support from the case of Lord Cardigan, who, about this period,
was unexpectedly acquitted, on technical grounds, from a grave and
serious charge. This, however, was no state prosecution, and we do but
notice it, _en passant_, in corroboration of our general argument.

We now come to the case of the Chartists in 1842. For some time
previous to the summer of 1842, great distress, it will be remembered,
prevailed among the manufacturing population of the northern and
midland counties. The misery of the preceding winter had been dreadful
in the extreme; emaciated, haggard beings might be daily seen
wandering about the country half naked, in the coldest weather;
sufferings, almost without a parallel, were borne with patience and
resignation. Despair there might be in the hearts of thousands, but
those thousands were mute and passive in their misery; all was dark,
all was hopeless; the wintry wind of penury blew untempered, keen upon
them, but still they cried not; hunger preyed upon their very vitals,
but they uttered no complaint. Let us not, even now, refuse a passing
tribute of honour and respect to the passive heroism which in many an
instance marked the endurance of the hopeless misery of those dreadful
times. At length, however, evil and designing men came among the
sufferers--remedies for the pressing evil, and means of escape from
the wretchedness of their condition, were darkly hinted at; redress
was whispered to be near, and they, the hungry fathers of famished