Star. — London, England, 1809-02-10 00:00:00

Q. What appointment do you allude to ? A. His a ppointment on the Commissariat as Assistant Com missary. Q. To whom did you apply for thit appointment for Mr. Dowler ? A. To his Royal Highness the Duke of York. Q. From whom was it notified to you that the ap pointment was made ? A. His Royal Highness told ale that he had talked to Mr. Charles Long upon it, and that it was settled at last. Some little difference • Lad existed in the Prince's Regiment, in consequence o f which Mr. Manby was obliged to leave the regi ment. His Royal Highness promised the Prince to get s omethin g as good for Mr. Manby, and conse ouently that Gentleman was *to be Gazetted before Mr. Dewier. Before this, Mr. Dowler had under taken to procure some votes for the Defence Bill, then in its progress through the House. General Clavering brought up Lord John Campbell from Scotland to ;u rrort the measure, and if his brother had been in town, he would have voted on the same side. I had a few friends more who also *supported the bill, and gr:e a list of seventeen to Mr. Dowler, who might ';nought over. There were seventeen in all ; but Dowler could not get the.number, the busi dropped. Of the seventeen upon the list I !-irr, several were in the Opposition. [Here the cosivthed with laughter.] His Royal High ,s told me that he had given the list to Mr. Charles 0. you slid that his Royal Highness told you, o f - Major Tucker, that Greenwood had him • 1 ,, t d o you mean by the expression Greenwood had ; al A. it was his Royal Highness's expression, and IL Mile. Q. (13y Lord FOLICSTONE.) Were you in the habit sliming all the applications you received to his :oyai 1-lihness ? A. Yes, I was ; but not all the fticalar applications,lxhen many applications were ade to me on the same subject. If a man sent me l e application, I shelved it to his Royal Highness ; aif I got ten more from the same person, I did trouble him with them. Q. If offers of money had been made to you, must It his Royal Highness have been aware of it A. fe was aware of every tking I did ; but I took care !ver to be indelicate towards him on such subjects. Q. Did you shew the letters you received to him ? Yes. Sir J. HALL asked the witness how she knew ;at the note alluded to in her first examination, which As given her by Captain Knight, had been changed • a servant of the Duke of York ? A. I believe I Al not state positively that it was a servant of the Juke of York, but thkt the Duke of Yerk assisted in getting it•changed. .1 now find, that it was .y butler, Pearce, to whom I had given the bill, Ind who had tried in vain all over the neighbour iced, to get it changed. His Royal Highness then tid, " Take it to my wine-merchant's, at Steven's !etel, in Bond-street, and they will get it changed." bilieve it was there that the bill was changed ; that' butler saw the partner of Mr. Stevens, and gave le message, but I am told that he declines giving 7 - Iv sort of information about the transaction. Thewitness was ordered to withdraw. W.ARDLE then rose to state, that he had scr: Mr. Pearce, who said, that since he had testimony at the bar, he recollected per he had changed a large note, by the direc tv: ci:lx Duke of Yorke and Mrs. Clarke. The ha l been given him at night, and was not chan the next morning. Upon his (Colonel War i!,.*s) asking him how it happened that he did not .ct that when he was examined at the Bar of .. Ilse, he answered, that he was subject to dread ...d.aches, and had one at the time he was exa- He did not then remember the wine-mer - ;Its in Bond-street ; but he now recollected it, and was very ready to be examined again at the bar, if the Committee should think proper. Mrs. CLARKE was again called in, and examined 6r Sir T/lONIAS TURTON. Q. In what manner did you recommend Mr. Dow ler to the Duke of York ? A. As a gentleman. 7— Q. Did you ever mention him as a relation ? A. No, :ever as a relation, but only as a friend.—Q. Did y.:u ever mention to his Royal Highness the sum that you were to receive from Mr. Dowler ? A. I am not sure whether I mentioned the exact sum ; but I stated to him that Mr. Dowler had been more liberal to me than any other person ever was for an appoint ment cf that value.—Q. Did she ever hear Mr. Dow ler Ely that he was acquainted with Sir Brook Wat tTn, who could assist hini in the appointment ? She recollect ever to have heard him say so. Q. lie sure that he never told her, that either he or tlitht.r wculd use interest with Sir Brook Watson kr that purpose ? A. No, he never told me any I.J: thing. Examined b y Mr. LOCKITART. Q. Dld she ever receive lists of names to be pro. from ar.y person, and from whom ? A. She ir..ver had received so long a list as_ that which had Len before mentioned. Sbe never had more than . tv. o or three names on a paper at any other time.— c Could she recollect from whom she got those lists ei cne or two names ? A. She could not recollect. S!-.e was surrounded by a great many persons, and sle believed she had go: into very bad hands, or this business would not have been made so public as it u,:s. She had already mentioned some names ; she }nd mentioned Captain Sandcn and Mr. Donovan, but she understood Mr. Donovan meant to denyevery L ing respecting him. She had, however, seen in the with Mr. Donovan, a Lady that brought a great ra:iny things to her recollection, and she wished that that .I , ,ady might be examined.—Q. Who is that Lady ?A. he is an Officer's widow: she is acquaintedwith many c fthel-e transactions, and quite in the habits of military intrigile.—Q. Did you circulate any list of prices, at which commissions were to he sold ? A. No ; I never did. The business of the sale of commissions did not belong to me.—Q. Pray what was the name of that Lady that you saw in the lobby with Mr. Donovan ? A. Although I have seen her frequently, I do not im mediately recollect her name at present ; but I shall soon recollect it ; she is an Irish wonian. ‘ CLARKE then addressed the liOuse to the fol ic w!ng effect I should be glad that the House !id ask Col. M.Mahon some quAtions respecting r")' conduct towards the Duke.of York, and whether - was any thing unhandsome in the propositions made him. I would wish Colonel M'Mahon to say *•‘. .at those propositions were, and what was the soti •-• •nce of the messages that he brologht bowl:mu, of m ew g et ouer Mr. take: in it brat: surf tow! a fel I gl --e55 r!):4 rpr hir not of Ito, Pal ma, one but nvt not He nev C tta by dld DI r.) En, sai he it r. I; if if I. n 1 • tt ra• 'Ol a.k this in consequence of a letter I have received to night, and I am sorry to be obliged to expose Colonel vieMahon in this manner." Mrs. CLARKE was then asked to produce the letter, which she said she had received, and was also asked when she had received it, and. from whom ? A. She received it from the hands of one of the messengers, after she came into the House to be examined. She had not read it herself. The letter was then called for, and produced. It was in substance as follows : WestminFter-Hall, Thursday night, 8 o'Clock. MADAM—I am most anxiously desirous to see you to night. The lateness of the hour will be no obstacle on my part. lam now at the Exchequer Coffee-house; but if it is more convenient to you, I shall be happy to wait on you this night at Westburn place. What the business is to which this letter alludes, you may easily guess, but it would be highly improper to glance at it on paper. It may be of great importance to you. Your sincere friend, Wm. WILLIAMS. P. S. I have applied to two or three Members to deliver in this letter, but to no purpose, and I am obliged to send it by one of the Messengers of the House. I hope you will not attribute the hasty manner in which this letter is drawn up to any thing of ne gligence or disrespect. Mrs. CLARKE examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL. Q. Pray was this the letter which appeared to affect you so much in the beginning of your evidence ?—A. It was not this letter alone, but the letter as connect ed with a circumstance which occurred yesterday. Q. What was that circumstance ?—A. The same Gentleman who wrote that letter called at my house yesterday, and he was one of the two that I mention ed that I have seen since my last examination. When he called, he sent up a letter, stating that he had late ly seen me at the play, in company with a Noble Lord and Sir Robert Peat, and that he wished to speak to me on most particular business. I desired that he might be shewn up. He very soon asked me whether there was any body in the back room, and I told him there was not ; but as my character has been so questioned of late, I thought it the best way to open the door, and hew him that there was not. He then entered into conversation with me on the present business, and advised me to stay away, and take the whole blame upon myself. He said, that my cha racter could be no worse than it was at present, but that, if I would consent to go away and abandon the country with my children, I might depend upon it that I should be provided for in the handsomest man ner. I therefore considered the letter that has been now read as connected with the business which occur red yesterday. The witness was then ordered to withdraw, and Mr. BRAND proposed that this Mr. Williams, if lie was in the Exchequer Coffee-house, or in the neigh bourhood of that House, should be taken into custo dy, and immediately brought up to the bar to be examined. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that te was of the same opinion, and should now move, that the Committee should immediately cease proceeding, and that for this purpose the House should be immediately resumed, to make the proper order on the occasion. The motion was agreed to, and the SPEAKER took the Chair. A motion was then made, and unanimously agreed to, that this Mr. Williams, if within the pre cinct of the House, should be immediately taken into the custody of the Serjeant at Arms. After a very short interval, the Serjeant at Arms reported that he had executed the orders of the House, and that Mr. Williams was in custody. The House immediately resolved itself again into a Committee, and Mr. Williams was brought up to the Bar, and examined by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. Q. Pray, Sir, what arc you ? A. lam a Clergy man.—Q. Where do you live ? A. Am I bound to answer that ? The CIIAIRI•IAN told Mr. Williams that he was bound to answer the questions put to him. Mr. WILLIAMS then answered—As I suppose I must be very circumstantial, I live at No. 17, So mers-place East, near Somers Town.—Q. Is that letter in your hand-writing, and are you acquainted with its contents ? A. I certainly am acquainted with the contents, as the letter is of my hand-writing.— Q. What business was it upon which you wished so anxiously to see Mrs. Clarke ? A. I had business with Mrs. Clarke, but I really do not know how I can de corously answer that question. It was no business which had any reference to the subject now under dis cussion in this House.—Q. Were you at Mrs. Clarke's house yesterday ? A. No; it was the day before yesterday. Q. What conversation had you with Mrs. Clarke ? A. It related generally to the transactions going forward. I spoke to her a little of the newspapers, and she told me that she had been attending for eight hours the night before, and was obliged to withdraw, without being able to give her evidence.---Q. How could this conversation have taken place the day before yesterday, as it was on that night that she had been brought up to be examined ? A. I am not sure about the day, but I know that it was the day after she had been examined.---Q. Did he state to her any thing as to the course hereafter to be pursued in this investigation ?A. Does not recollect.--Q. Did he give her any advice as to the mode she ought to con duct herself ? A. He stated, that it would be wcll for her to be extremely cautious : she should consider the high consequence of the Personage whose conduct was under consideration.—Q. Did he advise Mrs. Clarke to quit the country ?A. No.--Q. Did he ever advise her to stay away, and not give any evi dence ? A. No ; he spoke ambiguously, but merely from the suggestions of his own mind, and not from any authority. Q. For what purpose did you propose this to Mrs. Clarke ? A. [hope you will allow me to pause for a short time, as there are many things which now oc cur to my mind. Among other reasons, it occurred to me, that in the intimate and confidential connexion which must have subsisted between Mrs. Clarke and the illustrious personage that it would not become me to name, there must have been, in the course of four years, many circumstances which would be most dis agreeable to be published, and yet which could have no bearing upon the great Parliamentary inquiry now going forward. I told her that if she introduced these things to public attention, she would probably draw :down upon herself the resentment not only of that il lustrious personage, but of his whole family. I told her that no compensation that she could receive from the: present friends, could be sufficient to protect her from the resentment of the whole family to which that illustrious personage belonged. He hoped :he House would not expect him to detail the conyersatioa fur- tifer.—Q. Did he advise her'to - quit the tottery'? A. N0..-.-Q. How long was it since he was first acquain ted with her ? A. - Two months.—Q. Where did he first see her? A. At the Opera. Q. Did he see her any where else ? A. No.—Q. Was he instructed by any body to enter into these conversations ? A. No; it was purely from the sug gestions of his own mind.--Q. Why did the witness eome here this night ? A. If I must answer that question, or go to prison, why to•be sure I must an swer it. One of my objects was to endeavour to per suade Mrs. Clarke, not to persevere in those sarcastic, cutting, and witty animadversions, that I thought she had indulged in too freely.—Q. Was that your only object ? A. It was one of my objects.—Q. What was the other ? A. I certainly did not come here with any object adverse to the illustrious Per sonage whose conduct is now under examination ; and therefore I am much surprised that I have been treated so harshly in the course of this examination. —Q. State to the Committee what was your other object ? A. I thought that if I could have an oppor tunity of seeing her to night, previous to the appoint. ment that I have to-morrow evening, with an Agent of the Duke of York, I might probably be able to suggest to her the propriety of suppressing those parts of her testimony which could have no bearing upon the political question, but which might produce an inveterate resentment on the part of the personages I have before mentioned.—Q. Who was the agent of the Duke of York, with whom you had made this appointment? A. Mr. Lowten.—Q. What was the ob ject of the meeting you were to have to-morrow with Mr. Lowten? A. The purposes I had before stated. I had spoken to two or three Members • Colonel Gor don, Mr. Adam, and Colonel M'Mahon. They, through delicacy, declined receiving my communi cations, but referred me to Mr. Lowten.—Q. What did you say to Mr. Lowten, to induce him to make an appointment with you ? A. I told him that I had spoken to the Gentlemen that I have named, and told them that I had ver y important communications to make, in consequence of the conversation I had had with Mrs. Clarke; that those Gentlemen had de- clined interfering from motives of delicacy, and that I had been referred to him. I added, that it was impossible that any man, in four years unreserved communication with a woman, should not have said and done things that were not fit to meet the public eye.—Q. What was it that you did mean to propose to Mr. Lowten, at the meeting that you were to have with him to-morrow ? A. I can't say exactly. It would have depended on the circumstances of the time, and particularly on what I should hear from Mrs. Clarke. —He certainly had not the leatt idea of being brought up to-night in this manner to answer ques tions. He by no means wished Mrs. Clarke to smother any material evidence, but if he could per suade her to suppress what was not material, he thought he would have rendered a great service, both to her and to the illustrious personage.—Q. Was there any other object ? A. I suppose the Chancel lor of the Exchequer, who is a lawyer, don't wish me to furnish evidence which might tend to criminate myself.—Q. I wish to know if the witness declined answering, on the ground that his answers would cri minate himself ? A. Certainly not. I think I have answered very fairly. The witness was then ordered to withdraw. Mr. KENRICK then rose in his place to make a statement of what he had heard respecting this last witness. Mr. Jones, the Messenger, pointed him out in the lobby, as he was assisting in seizing him. When he was brought into the Vote Office • the ac count he there learned of him was this : Mr. Low ten represented him as a man whom he believed to be out of his mind. He had for a long time teazed Mr. Jones, the Marshal, endeavouring to persuade him that he was a very near relation of his. He was convinced that this Mr. Williams laid under a men tal derangement. Mr. ADAM said, this Gentleman called upon him yesterday at about five o'clock, and sent up word gene rally that a Gentleman wished to speak to Mr. Adam. lie saw him, and Mr. Williams introduced himself, and told him that he was extremely anxious to state something to the Duke of York, which was of great importance, upon the present business. I declined receiving this communication, and referred him to Mr. Lowten, if he had any important communica tion to make. Colonel M'MAHON then rose, and said that he had heard with extreme surprize, his name repeatedly mentioned by Mrs. Clarke. He did not know that any thing which he could say would have any ten dency to throw light Upon the subject under investi gation. The mode that he became at all acquainted with Mrs. Clarke, was this : an anonymous letter had been sent to the Prince of Wales, promising to make most important communications. In conse quence of this letter, he called at the place appointed, No. 14, Bedford-row, Russell square. To the wo man that opened the door, he shewed the letter, and asked, was the lady of the house at home ? He shewed the letter as his credentials, and was she‘vn up into the parlour. There. he saw something of what Mrs. Clarke had called the Ambassador of Mo rocco's papers. He saw about ten Morocco chairs, which were round a table, at which it appeared there had been a supper party the night before. When he was shewn into the drawing-room, he saw a lady to whom he was introduced as Miss Farquhar. He shewed her the letter as his introduction, and she con fessed having sent that letter to the Post office. He asked her to put down in writing what she had to com municate. She told him that she would communicate nothing except personally. I told her that it was im possible for me to promise her an interview with so exalted a personage, unless she would give some clue by which I might discover Whether the com munications she talked of were really important or not. She then entered into a long 4eneral conver sation of a most extraordinary nature. the object of it appeared to be to set the two illustrious brothers at va riance. She said, that she could prove, by several let ters in her possession, that there was a bitter hatred on one side. I then said to her, I believe it is to Mrs. Clarke that I have the honour of speaking. She laughed and said it is. Her statement shewed nothing but a dis position for vengeance, and a wish to stir up bad blood between the two illustrious persbnages,which I am con vinced is impossible to be done. She stated, that Mr. Adam bad called upon her, and told her, in a firm, steady manner, that the Duke was determined to separate from her ).but that if she would retire to _the country, and live with pcoprietr and decorum, he would allaw her an antitifrof 11406. ilatitni. did accordingly retire to the country, but n/ ret dv ing any remittances on account of the annuity, she was absolutely driven to town, in order to endeavour to get her arrears, and to try to have the annuity seta tied in some more satisfactory manner. If this had been done, his royal Highness would not hive been troubled with hearing any thing more of .her. He then told her that oa the sitpposttion that her state ment was correct and orthodox, he should not refuse to convey any proposition that she wished to . make. When - he delivered her proposition, he was informed that her conduct had been so abominable, that it was impossible to comply with her request. He then stated that as to the communication offered to Jiiin by Mr. Williams, it was by a letter, which he read, and de. dined having any thing to do in the busine•is. Colonel GORDON w:ts . then examined. • He stated, that this morning he was told by his servant, that a gentleman wanted particultrly to speak to him. He bid hiS servant skew him up, and when he came into the room, the gentleman, who was a complete stranger to him, asked him, " Is it to Colonel Gordon that I have the honour of speak. ing r' He answered; "my name is Gordon ;do me the favour of telling me yours." He said he had al ready told it to Mr. Adam and Colonel M‘Mahon ; that they had declined receiving his communication, (which he then explained to me), and said, that if I was of the same mind with these gentlemen, of course he had nothing further to say. I told him I was perfectly of the same opinion with these gentlemen, and that I did not wish to receive any communications for the Duke of York but such as were of a military nature. I advised Min, however, if he had any com munications of another nature to make, to call on Mr. Lowten, who was agent to his Royal Highness. On going away, he said his name was Williams. Mr. LONG then rose and said, that as to Mr. Dowler's appointment, he had not the least recollec tion of the Duke of York having applied to him upon the occasion, or of his having recommended Mr. Dow let to Mr. Pitt. He remembered, in the year 1805, he had recommended Mr. Manby of the 10th, because there had been disputes and animosities in the Prince's regiment, which it was supposed would never be done away, while that Gentleman was Paymaster of that regiment. As this, however, did not affect the moral character of Mr. Manby, it was thought the best way for him to retire from the regiment, and be provided for in another manaer. He recollected perfectly that these were the circumstances which led to his recom mendation of Captain Manby to the Commissariat.— He remembered also that a Member of that House, a Member for the county of Slime?, did interfere about the same time for the appointment of Mr. Manby, wh, ' was, as he believed, a relation of that Gentleman. Mr. SUMNER observed that he was very much interested for the appointment of Mr. Manby. He did not know what was meant by animositities in the regiment ; his belief was, that Mr. Manby had some way or other fallen under the displeasure of the Prince of Wales ; and that he should not be completely op pressed and ruined by that displeasure, he was anxious that he should get another employment, which was that he had received in the Commissariat ; and he believed that, in the discharge of the duties of the place, he had conducted himself in the most exem plary manner. Mrs. CLARKE was then called in again, and her exami nation was continued. Q. What reason had you to think first that you could raise money by commissions in the army ? A. I always found his Royal Highness ready to oblige one in attending to my recommendations. Q. Did you desire Mr. Corn to burn letters and papers he had from you, and when ? A. I did. I think it was about the time of Lord Melville's trial. Q. (By Mr. Ltrri.EroN). The witness has stated that she had but 10001. per annum from the Duke of York. Had she credit with his trades people ? A. No.—Q. Did you state to the Duke the circumstance of the money given in Mr. Dowler's case ? A. I stated the whole of the case to him. Examined by Mr. SHERIDAN. He wished the witness to state whether she had used her influence to get appointments not within the military department. He should ask her for instance, whether there had been any applications to her about getting promotions in the Church ? A. She did not recollect any direct applications made to-her for this, object, except by a Dr. O'Hara; who wanted to be made a Bishop.—Q. Had she been applied to, to get other preferments in the Church, and by whom ? A. She had been applied to very lately, but as she had no longer ahy influence, she paid so little atten tion to those applications, that she could hardly tell the nature of them.—Q. What was the rank of pro motion sought for ? A. She was not sure whether a Bishoprick or a Deanery.—Q. Through what Chan nel did those applicants expect to receive their pro motion ? A. I suppose, through his Royal High ness the Duke of York. They were not aware that I had no longer any influence in that quarter. Q. (By the CHANCELLOIE of the EXCHEQUER). Do you recollect the name of any Gentleman who applied to you to get those Church promotions for others ? A. I do remember one Gentleman, . Mr. Donow.n, but I understand he means to deny every thing.---Q, On whose behalf did Mr. Donovan apply ? A. I cannnot recollect their names, but I think it - ., very pro bable that they may be found in those letters of mine that arc in the possession of Colonel Wrardle,—Q. Did you ever mention the proposal of Do. O'Hara to the Duke of York ? A. Yes, and I laid before him all his documents.—Q. Did his Royal Highness promise to interfere in that business ? A. Yes. He told me that he mentioned it to slie Kin, but that it, was not likely to be done, as tlie King, did not like the 0 in the name.—Q. Wi;iether Dr:O'Hara specified any particular sum, and what eJat sum was ? A. I think that Gentleman must be 2.' friend of his, and he must kno* better than L Q. (By Mr. YORRE.) At ) what time did Dr. O'Hara make this application A. In 1805. Q. (By Sir G. of York pay sever, WARRENDER.) Did not the Duke i al sums besides the 10001. a-year ? A. I - believe his ' oyal Highness paid for one landau. —Q. No whiz, sum ? A. She could not recOUP"'" , , 4. one.—Q. Un - / a were the amount of the dt' ts at the time of separei.pon ?A. Someth; up. - - ponnds.--/Z: Whether she h( from the nuke of York, 1Y!.: A Doef recollect any.---Q, did she 'reside in Gloncester-i about ',,m00 years and a half. E 1 ~~. 11, 4 thing uP' 4- -r two thousa n d r; iersb< received any s u m s 'sides ?.11 - the 10001 . a-year ? ' !. What period of time place ? A. She believed i 4. [744re - over: I. ~1.. 1 /.1 . ~ I