Trial of Lord George Gordon - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Trial of Lord George Gordon
Lord George Gordon
Lord George Gordon was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780....

for high treason

High treason

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...

occurred on 5 February 1781 before Lord Mansfield in the Court of King's Bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

, as a result of his role in the Gordon Riots

Gordon Riots

The Gordon Riots of 1780 were an anti-Catholic protest against the Papists Act 1778.The Popery Act 1698 had imposed a number of penalties and disabilities on Roman Catholics in England; the 1778 act eliminated some of these. An initial peaceful protest led on to widespread rioting and looting and...

. Gordon, President of the Protestant Association, had led a protest against the Papists Act 1778

Papists Act 1778

The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain and was the first Act for Catholic Relief. Later in 1778 It was also enacted by the Irish parliament....

, a Catholic relief bill. Intending only to hand in a petition to Parliament, Gordon riled the crowd by announcing the postponement of the petition, denouncing Members of Parliament and launching "anti-Catholic harangues". The crowd of protesters fragmented and began looting nearby buildings; by the time the riots had finished a week later, 300 had died, and more property had been damaged than during the entire French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. Gordon was almost immediately arrested, and indicted for levying war against the King.

Defended by Thomas Erskine

Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine

Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine KT PC KC was a British lawyer and politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom between 1806 and 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and childhood:...

and Lloyd Kenyon

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon, PC, SL, KC was a British politician and barrister, who served as Attorney General, Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice. Born to a country gentleman, he was initially educated in Hanmer before moving to Ruthin School aged 12...

, Gordon was accidentally assisted by the Attorney General

Attorney General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the chief legal adviser of the Crown and its government in...

, James Wallace

James Wallace (politician)

James Wallace was an English barrister, Member of Parliament, Solicitor General and Attorney General.-Life:The son of Thomas Wallace, of Asholme, Northumberland, attorney-at-law, Wallace was called to the Bar in 1757. In 1770, he was elected as one of the Members of Parliament for Horsham in Sussex...

, who managed to "ridicule" some of his own evidence before Gordon was set back by Kenyon's lacklustre and confusing speech. However, an impassioned speech by Erskine, which argued that Gordon's actions were only crimes under the illegally extended law of constructive treason

Constructive treason

Constructive treason refers to the judicial extension of the statutory definition of the crime of treason. For example, the English Treason Act 1351 declares it to be treason "When a Man doth compass or imagine the Death of our Lord the King." This was subsequently interpreted by the courts to...

, led to the jury finding him not guilty. This result, which met with pleasure due to the popular disquiet with the idea of constructive treason, left juries unwilling to apply the extended law of constructive treason; as a result, the government was forced to incorporate it into statute law. Erskine became renowned as an excellent, albeit unorthodox, advocate; Gordon, on the other hand, was later excommunicated and imprisoned, dying in jail in 1793. Kenyon was chosen to replace Wallace as Attorney General at the next change of ministry.

Background

Lord George Gordon

Lord George Gordon was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780....

, third and youngest son of the third duke of Gordon, and brother of the fourth duke

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon

Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon KT , styled Marquess of Huntly until 1752, was a Scottish nobleman, described by Kaimes as the "greatest subject in Britain", and was also known as the Cock o' the North, the traditional epithet attached to the chief of the Gordon clan.-Early life:Alexander...

, an "ignorant young nobleman, almost simple-minded in his attitude to Catholics", was the President of the Protestant Association. This body was dedicated to the repeal of the Papists Act 1778

Papists Act 1778

The Papists Act 1778 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain and was the first Act for Catholic Relief. Later in 1778 It was also enacted by the Irish parliament....

, a Roman Catholic relief bill

Roman Catholic Relief Bills

Roman Catholic Relief Bills were attempted steps of legislation in the United Kingdom towards Catholic Emancipation. They sought to remove the legal tests and disabilities imposed on British and Irish Catholics, brought about by Henry VIII's state Protestant Reformation, and numerous subsequent...

. Prior to the passage of the Act, Catholics were legally forbidden from voting, inheriting land, saying mass, serving in public office or academia, bearing arms or serving in the military, although these prohibitions were frequently overlooked, particularly those regarding military enlistment. The 1778 Act explicitly removed the bans on saying mass, land inheritance or academic standing, and involved several other implicit concessions, made to encourage Catholics to serve in the military. This was made necessary by the ongoing course of the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, which was going poorly for British forces – it was felt that Catholic relief would both directly strengthen the armed forces and prevent the repeat of revolution in Ireland, a mostly Catholic nation, which politicians thought a distinct possibility given their "trade grievances and troubled politics".

On 2 June 1780, approximately 60,000 people gathered in St George's Fields

St George's Fields

St George's Fields was an area of Southwark in South London, England.Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south-side of the Thames, which was low lying marshland unsuitable for even agricultural purposes. As such it was part of the extensive holdings of the king, it is difficult...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, to hear an address from Gordon. He and the mob were there to hand in a petition to Parliament (of which he was a Member) decrying the Papists Act. After marching to Parliament and reassembling, the mob became incensed by a declaration from Gordon that consideration of the petition was to be postponed, and fragmented. Gordon himself encouraged the crowd with "anti-Catholic harangues", denouncing approaching Members of Parliament, and groups began destroying and looting Catholic buildings or buildings owned by those they alleged to support Catholic relief. Several Members of Parliament were attacked, the house of Lord Chief Justice Lord Mansfield was destroyed, and several prisons were broken into. At least 300 died in the week it took the military to quash the riots; Emma Mason writes that more property was damaged during this week than in the entire French Revolution

French Revolution

. 450 were arrested, including Gordon himself, who was charged with high treason

High treason

. His indictment stated that he "most wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously did ordain, prepare, and levy public war against our said lord, the King".

Trial

Gordon retained two barristers for his defence, Thomas Erskine

Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine

and Lloyd Kenyon

Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon

, and was arraigned by the Attorney General

Attorney General for England and Wales

before Lord Mansfield in the Court of King's Bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

on 5 February 1781, pleading not guilty. The Attorney General opened, managing to accidentally reduce the evidence of some of his own witnesses to ridicule; this was offset by Kenyon's confusing and poor speech in Gordon's defence. Kenyon, an equity barrister with little experience of public speaking, was noted as "a curious choice for the defence", and seeing the reaction of the jury to his speech, Erskine asked for leave to delay giving his speech, which was granted.

Following the testimony of 12 witnesses, who stated that Gordon was of excellent character and was loyal to both the king and the constitution, Erskine rose, and instead of arguing that Gordon had not been involved instead took the line that his crimes did not constitute treason. High treason was at the time still based on the Treason Act 1351

Treason Act 1351

The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to...

, which mandated that the definition of treason could not be extended by judges. Notwithstanding this, the judiciary had extended this to include constructive treason

Constructive treason

. Erskine was successful in showing that Gordon's motives had only been to defend his nation, not to harm it, and that without the intention to commit treason, no treason could be committed. The original law required the act to be treasonous in nature, not in consequence, and Gordon's crimes fell into the second category.

Erskine's speech was replied to by the Solicitor General

Solicitor General for England and Wales

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...

, James Mansfield

James Mansfield

Sir James Mansfield , SL, KC was a British lawyer, judge and politician. He was twice Solicitor General and served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1799 to 1814.-Early life and career:...

, and the summing-up by Lord Mansfield was not favorable to Gordon. However, Erskine's reasoning carried the day with the jury, who found Lord George not guilty.

Aftermath

The verdict was received with pleasure by the majority of the populace, with the principle of constructive treason "widely regarded as highly threatening and injurious to public freedoms"; as a result, juries became far less willing to convict people for constructive treason, and the government resorted to amending the Treason Act to incorporate the judicially-invented concept of constructive treason into statute law. Erskine's speech, more than anything else, is considered to be the source of this acquittal; Lloyd Paul Stryker in his biography of Erskine notes that he "had held his jury spellbound-not the jury only, but the whole courtroom also. His logic, his sincerity, and his fire had driven in his close-knit arguments with hammer blows". Erskine later became Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

in the Ministry of All the Talents

Ministry of All the Talents

The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...

and was renowned as an excellent, albeit unorthodox, advocate. Kenyon, on the other hand, became Lord Chief Justice. Gordon, the defendant in the case, had a less successful subsequent career; he was later excommunicated and sent to prison, where he died of typhoid in 1793.

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