Talk:Sackville Tufton, 9th Earl of Thanet

Earl of Thanet's non-cricket activities
More interestingly than cricket, the Earl of Thanet was tried in 1799 and found guilty of attempting in 1798 to liberate an acquitted defendant (Arthur O'Connor, acquitted by the jury of treason in Maidstone - see http://www.searcs-web.com/oconn2.html ) before he was discharged by the court (when there was in fact another warrant out for O'Connor's arrest and so O'Connor was not, in fact "free to go") in what seems like a most unseemly courtroom affray. See generally Speeches of Lord Erskine Vol III (Chicago, Callaghan & Co 1876, reprinted with Vol IV 1984 by The Legal Classics Library) which gives a very full account. The earl (described in the UK National Portrait Gallery key to the painting of the Trial of Queen Caroline as a "gambler" was fined 1000 pounds and sent to the Tower for a year. I'm too lazy to give the links for all of this but there is no reason why somebody else shouldn't.221.133.201.98 (talk) 05:04, 28 May 2009 (UTC)