Note 31 — SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. IN BEHALF OF FREE SPEECH, ON THE TRIAL OF JEAN PELTIER, ACCUSED OF LIBELLING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE; COURT OF KING’S BENCH, FEBRUARY 21, 1803.
Reading edition
Note 31, p. 207.—Mackintosh was wise enough to see that war was inevitable. It came sooner, perhaps, than he anticipated. Only a few days after the conclusion of the trial, the King sent a message to Parliament that war could not be avoided, and hostilities broke out May 18, 1803. Under the circumstances the impressive passage that follows on “the public spirit of a people” was peculiarly suggestive.