Bingley, William
(fl.
There the matter should have rested; but, embittered by his treatment at the hands of authority, he decided to sue for damages arising from his arrest. The attorney general, John Foster (qv) accused Bingley of ingratitude and insisted that the prosecution had been capable of proving that he was the publisher (although not the printer or proprietor), but had desisted because of his straitened financial circumstances. Offended by the allegation of poverty, Bingley blamed his circumstances on the tardiness of Irish gentlemen in settling their newspaper accounts. Bringing his case against the sergeant-at-arms in 1785, he stubbornly refused to accept a collection made by some MPs for him. In an arrogant demonstration of parliamentary sovereignty and privilege he was once more brought before the commons. Abandoned by his solicitor, he was sent to Newgate jail and subsequently ignored by the parliamentary authorities. His petition to go before the commons was refused three weeks later. On 2 August he did so once more, abandoning his case, and a week later he was released.
An obstinate man, from that point on he was broken in spirit. He does not appear to have continued in journalism. In 1799 he was the author of a volume on the 1798 rebellion entitled Discontent in Ireland, and cause of the rebellion. He may have returned to England at this time. The year and place of his death are unknown.