*  From  a  memorial  jnesented  by  captain
Johnston,  to  the  first  division  of  the  court  of
session,  and  dated  March  1,  1817,  I  extract
the  following  passage  relating  to  this  affiur :

"  The  complainer  also  thousht  proper  to
refer  to  some  proceedings  whicti  were  insti*
tuted  against  the  memorialist,  twenty-four
years  ago,  on  account  of  a  publication  in  a
newspaper,  which  he  at  that  tune  conducted,
which  gave  an  unbecoming  and  incorrect
account  of  some  proceedings  in  the  court
of  justiciary.  The  memorialist  was  there  legally
responsible  as  principal,  being  publisher  of
the  newspaper,  although,  from  bad  heslth  at
the  time,  nc  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the
matter,  and  was  not  able  to  discover  who
was  the  author  of  the  paragraph.  The  me-
morialist, in  these  circumstances,  was  sub-
jected to  the  displeasure  of  the  Court,  and  in
consequence  of  tiis  legal  responsibility,  suf-
fered imprisonment,  which,  fiom  the  situa-
tion in  which  he  then  stood  was  attended
with  great  patrimonial  loss^  and  rendered
doubly  severe  from  bad  hMudth.  The  real
author  of  the  paragraph  kept  himself  con-
cealed for  eighteen  years,  and  confessed  the
circumstance  to  the  memorialist  about  six
years  ago.  The  memorialist  has  stated  that
circumstance^  because  the  mention  of  that
case  might,  to  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the
circumstances,  attach  a  degree  of  blame  to
him,  which  he  no  way  merits,**


^S]  Jnr  Coniempt  of  Court.
Curkf  ic^lSih  February^  17iS.
