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Page 2 of 6

ACT ONE Scene 1
	(Before the curtain rises there is the beat of a bodhran, and a single voice chanting "The Ballad of Francis Collins") Francis Collins is dead, boys, Francis Collins is dead. He lies in an unmarked grave, boys, Francis Collins is dead. He fought for freedom of speech, boys, He fought for it long ago. But nobody know his grave, boys, Francis Collins is dead. Time : 25th October, 1828. Place : York (now Toronto), Upper Canada. Curtain rises on a courtroom; Judges' Bench with three chairs facing the audience; Robinson and Boulton conferring at a table to right; Baldwin and Collins, with vacant third chair at table to left - Collins has quill, inkpot and paper and is seen taking notes from time to time; Jarvis standing beside Judges' Bench; two jurymen (representing twelve) sitting in audience. There is a general buzz of conversation while audience is settling down. House lights remain on. (Jarvis moves forward.)
JARVIS	Rise, all rise! That means you in the back, too. On your feet. On your feet, I say! (There is a shuffling among audience. Enter Chief Justice Sherwood from right and, while lawyers bow, takes middle chair on Bench.) Order. Order! The Court of King's Bench, District of York, is now in session; His Lordship, Mr. Justice Sherwood, presiding.
SHERWOOD	You may sit down. (All sit.) Sheriff, has a jury been selected?
JARVIS	Yes, my Lord, but no oath administered as yet.
SHERWOOD	Then get on with it, man. Get on with it!
JARVIS	William Davenish! John Hayden! You will take the oath on your own behalf, and on behalf of your colleagues (reading from list) Peter Lytle, Thomas Cosford, William Elliott, Daniel Knowles, Andrew A. Thompson, Thomas Walton, Johnathan Gates, John Richardson, Bradshaw McMurray, Duncan Kennedy. (Davenish and Hayden stand up). Raise your right hands. Do you swear to discharge your duty as jurors to the best of your ability?
DAVENISH and HAYDEN	We do.
SHERWOOD	Speak up, men! Speak up! The Court must hear you.
DAVENISH and HAYDEN	We do!
JARVIS	That's better. My Lord, the jury has been sworn.
SHERWOOD	You may sit down. (Jurors take seats in front row.) Gentlemen, you have taken an oath. This, I remind you, is a court of law, not a theatrical performance. I will not abide anything which may interfere with or cast a reflection upon the proceedings which are about to take place. Mr. Robinson, the particulars, please. (House lights dim.)
ROBINSON	(rising) The King versus Francis Collins, my Lord.
VOICE	Now the bastard will get it!
SHERWOOD	Order! Order! One more word and the court will be cleared. Mr. Robinson, proceed.
ROBINSON	My Lord, the defendant is charged on four counts of libel, malicious, false, malignant libel; libel on Officers of the Crown; on Officers of this Court; libel on prominent personages and dignitaries of this Colony; libel, yes, even on His Majesty's own representative, His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor.
SHERWOOD	Libel on the Court, you say?
ROBINSON	On your humble servant, my Lord, in my capacity as Attorney General; and, even worse, my Lord, on my Lord's own colleague, the learned and distinguished Mr. Justice Hagerman.
SHERWOOD	On Mr. Hagerman?
ROBINSON	Yes, my Lord, on Judge Hagerman. And on Mr. Boulton, the Solicitor General, too!
BALDWIN	My Lord, if it please the Court, while awaiting the arrival of my colleague, Mr. Rolph, I represent Mr. Collins.
SHERWOOD	The accused?
BALDWIN	Mr. Collins, the proprietor --
SHERWOOD	The accused?
BALDWIN	Mr. Collins, the proprietor and editor of the Canadian Freeman - -
SHERWOOD	Mr. Collins, the accused?
BALDWIN	Mr. Collins, the accused.
SHERWOOD	Thank you, Mr. Baldwin.
BALDWIN	My Lord, Mr. Collins is also the proprietor and editor of the Canadian Freeman - -
SHERWOOD	Yes, Mr. Baldwin; yes, Mr. Baldwin. The Court knows Mr. Collins; Mr. Collins the proprietor; Mr. Collins, the editor; but in this Court, in this case, Mr. Collins is the accused. Is that clearly understood, Mr. Baldwin?
BALDWIN	Yes, my Lord, clearly understood.
SHERWOOD	Then let's get on with it. How does the accused plead?
BALDWIN	Not guilty of libel, my Lord, on any of the charges, and has chosen trial by jury.
SHERWOOD	Mr. Robinson, proceed.
ROBINSON	My Lord, the libels with which the accused (emphasis) is charged are contained in the following article which appeared in, yes, the Canadian Freeman, under date of Thursday, October 16, some twelve days ago, my Lord.
SHERWOOD	Yes, yes.
ROBINSON	I shall read the article, my Lord. (Reads from newspaper) "YORK ASSIZES - Our Assizes commenced here on Monday last, and the Attorney and little Boulton have put their heads together again on Tuesday, to see if they can do anything in the way of libel. On that morning the Attorney General called upon the Editor of the Freeman to take his trial upon one of the cases of libel held over since last Assizes. The Editor, who pressed the Attorney to trial last court, when his counsel had been brought to town at a heavy expense, by express, rose and said that he was not ready for trial, neither of his counsel being in court, and that from the undetermined manner in which the Attorney General spoke last assizes, he did not expect that proceedings would be followed up. The Attorney General, with a view to bringing us to trial unprepared, first rose and stated an open palpable falsehood in Court -- namely, that we had been arraigned last assizes. When we contended to the contrary, to the satisfaction of the Court, the Attorney (with emphasis) in his native malignancy - - in his native malignancy, my Lord -- the Attorney in his native malignancy, took till next day -- Wednesday, my Lord -- to hunt up authorities to see if he could force us to trial without the privilege of traverse -- and I digress, my Lord -- the jurors may not be familiar with the term "traverse" -- it simply means postponement -- to see if he could force us to trial without the privilege of traverse, contrary to universal practice of the court. This he attempted to show yesterday, and our old customer Judge Hagerman -- our old customer! My Lord -- our old customer Judge Hagerman was in favour of the measure. Mr. Robert Baldwin -- the accused's counsel, junior counsel, my Lord -- in our behalf stated that he was taken by surprise-- that he thought from the observations of the Attorney General last Assizes these cases were quashed -- such was the opinion of Mr. Rolph, leading counsel, and of the defendant himself, and that as he did not think the Attorney General would refuse the right to traverse, he was not prepared to reply to his argument against it. The question is to be decided today; in the meantime we expect Mr. Rolph here daily, and when he arrives we will show the Attorney and little Boulton that we are not afraid to meet them." (Commotion to left of stage; enter Rolph, takes seat beside Baldwin and Collins.)
ROBINSON	My Lord, "today" has arrived. Even Mr. Rolph, I see, has arrived, no doubt at great expense; and the day of judgment for Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins the accused, has arrived. (Robinson resumes seat beside Boulton.)
SHERWOOD	Mr. Rolph? The late Mr. Rolph? (Boulton and Robinson beam.)
ROLPH	May it please the Court, yes, my Lord, I have arrived late, and I apologise - a trivial matter of a horse's shoe. And I agree with my learned friend, the day of judgment has arrived, but not for my client, Mr. Collins; no, indeed, not for Mr. Collins, but for my learned friend the Attorney General, for my equally learned friend the Solicitor General, for Mr. Justice Hagerman, for this Court, for the administration of justice in this colony, and, my Lord, for the Canadian Freeman, for the liberty of the Press, for the very foundation of the rights and freedoms of all citizens here in the Canadas, for their seed, breed, and generations to come. This case --
SHERWOOD	This case, Mr. Rolph, will proceed -- now!
ROLPH	As it please the Court, my Lord. (sits.)
ROBINSON	(rising) To establish responsibility for the publication of these foul libels, my Lord, it is necessary to trace them back to their foul lair - note I do not say foul liar -- that is for the jury to determine -- but to their foul lair, the office of the proprietor, of the accused proprietor of what masquerades as a pillar of the Press in our own fair community of York. To do that I call as witness, Allan Wilmot.
JARVIS	Allan Wilmot, come forward. (Wilmot, an unprepossessing youth, hesitantly leaves his place among audience.)
JARVIS	Take the Bible in your right hand. (Wilmot complies, almost dropping the book.)
JARVIS	Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and but the truth?
WILMOT	(nervously) I do, I do.
ROBINSON	Your name?
WILMOT	Allan, sir.
ROBINSON	Your full name?
WILMOT	Allan Wilmot, sir, your Honour.
ROBINSON	Occupation?
WILMOT	What?
ROBINSON	Your job, Mr. Wilmot!
WILMOT	Oh, yes, sir; yes sir. My job.
ROBINSON	Well?
WILMOT	Yes, sir; very well, sir. Yes sir; thank you sir.
ROBINSON	Mr. Wilmot! Will you kindly tell the Court what is your job?
WILMOT	I work for Mr. Stegman, sir.
ROBINSON	Mr. Stegman, a respectable merchant and esteemed man of commerce, in York?
WILMOT	The same, sir; the very same. Very respectable, very. Very esteemed too, sir -- very.
ROBINSON	Mr. Wilmot! My Lord, I apologise. Now, Mr. Wilmot, please remain calm, and tell the Court what you know about the case.
WILMOT	The case, sir?
ROBINSON	The Canadian Freeman, sir!
WILMOT	Ah, yes, sir, the Canadian Freeman, sir. Well, 'tis like this, eh! Mr. Stegman, sir, you see, he buys it. He's a subscriber, you might say. Every week he buys it. It generally comes out on a Wednesday, sir -- (Baldwin and Collins laugh.)
ROBINSON	Mr. Wilmot -- Mr. Wilmot! I show you a copy of the Freeman (with finger pointing at date.)
WILMOT	Oh yes, sir; yes sir. Did I say Wednesday? Thursday, sir; yes, that's it. It comes out on a Thursday. (more laughter from Collins.)
SHERWOOD	Silence! There will be silence.
ROBINSON	And how did you get this copy of the newspaper which, my Lord, I shall tender as an exhibit?
WILMOT	The boy brings it, sir, every week.
ROBINSON	What boy, Mr. Wilmot?
WILMOT	The paper boy, sir. The paper boy brings the paper every week, sir. Never a week passes but he brings the paper.
ROBINSON	And where does the boy come from, Mr. Wilmot?
WILMOT	Sure from the newspaper office, sir. Where else would he come from?
ROBINSON	He delivers the paper for the accused? Is that right Mr. Wilmot?
WILMOT	Now you've got it, sir. He delivers it for Mr. Collins, sir, the editor.
ROBINSON	That will do, Mr. Wilmot. That is quite sufficient. I have no more questions, my Lord. (Hands newspaper up to Sherwood, and sits).

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ACT ONE Scene 1

ACT ONE
Scene 1