Star. — London, England, 1809-03-10 00:00:00

r - as much anxiety, as if the character of a bro ther bad been concerned; but in this proposi ;• w hich I am ab out to tender to the House, I ii ive‘ been influenced by those considerations alone , L- would have influenced me in the case of an en• fr' s tringer. I have done that which I thou g ht pub -1:c justice, and public policy demanded of me. It is for the House to determine on the question before them. Pot myself, and for the judgment which the country in a v pronounce on my conduct, I repeat that I am perfectly easy. As fir as 1 am concerned, I assure the H on . Gentleman opposite, that although my consti tvnts are as popular in their sentiments as those of an y Member in the House, I have not the least ap plehersion, that when the course which I have pur -4• • led is explained to them , I shall not forfeit that con fidences t which for so many years it has been my good f ort une to enjoy—llaving said thus much ,he returned thanks for the attention of the House, and moved, as an amendment, that all of the original motion, after the first word, " that," should be left out, and that his Resolutions should be substituted, as they appeared in the STAR of yesterda. On the question being put upon the Amendment, Mr. BATHURST declared, that, in his opinion, 6 e o riginal address was so objectionable, that he could not accede to it ; but at the same time be wished t o s ubmit to the House, ill its stead, something very different from the amendment proposed by his Right Honourable Friend. He could not allow the propri ety oc:ely Address to his Majesty, unless the• House h a t clreething to communicate of a very different na ture It would be absurd to lay at the foot of the throne an Address merely containing an account of t heir proceedings. The preferable ,step, in his opi p:oo, would be, to take the sense of the House on a resolution, that his Royal Highness had by his con duct exposed himself to undue influence in the dis charge of his important duties. Should the House (ktermine in the affirmative on this resolution, it might be acted upon by his Royal Highness, and con sidering the relation that existed between his Majesty old his Royal Highness, he did conceive that this would be greatly preferable to any Address to the King, conveying the sentiments. of the House upon the subject. He concurred entirely in the opinion of his Right Hon. Friend, that no corrupt motives could be imputed to his Royal Highness p but painful as the declaration was, it was a duty imperative upon him to state, that in the view which he had taken of the evidence, it appeared to him too clearly established, that his Royal Highness had exposed himself to an undue influence. With respect to the character of the witnesses that had been brought forward, he con tended, that however suspicious that character,however they might be justly accused of being at least accom plices in the crime which they professed to expose, , ; et, v. hen their testimeny was corroborated by indis putable documents, that it ought unquestionably to h.ue its due weight. He began his examination wall the case of General Clayering. When he con sidered the manner in which this subject was treated is the ]otter from -the Duke cf York to Mrs. Clarke, Er could not resist the conclusion that the letter from WeeeClarke, in which this answer originated, meat have ceintained . something more than a bare inquiry wheher any new reglmcnts were or were not raising. In his opinion, it must have conveyed to the Duke Ws.CLrke's request, that his Royal Highness would give General Clavering one of those regiments which sie presumed were about to be raised. The notoriety of the existence of influence on the part of M; s. Cheke, a notoriety by which General Clavering and Dr. O'Meara had been induced to apply to her for as.- iistsnce, could scarcely have so existed without some ground. Having formed a cennection with such a worthless woman, it was not sterprisine that his Royal Highness should by degrees allow her to possess an influence over him which was certainly unjustifiable. And that she did possess this influence, there was, in his opinion, abundant testimony to prove. The flight Honourable Gentleman then alluded to the tNimony of Miss Taylor, which he considered as oiler-ding proof of Mrs. Clarke's influence over the Duke of York. On the case of Samuel Carter, he teas not desirous of pressing inquiry. It was IL gene rous transaction on the part of his Royal Highness and Mrs. Clarke, and he would only observe, that it sea: unlikely that Lieutenant Sutton's recommenda tor, four years previous to his obtaining the cern was the cause of his appointment. From ell the circumstances, he conceived that it must be evident to the mind of every man, that there had 112 en a constant interference acting upon his Royal which in many instances had influenced his cor.;ict, arid was to a certain extent prejudicial to the irtereszs if the army. There was a part not touched (n either in the Address of the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. \.arLile), c.r in thwßeoltitions of his Right Han. Intod, ('lie Chancellor of - the -Exchequer), which woald think not fly- least important in this . .zn , .l it was this which did not L;o to the ex c.)nuption as to undueinfluence, that he had t:iett 6 :it it his duty to In 0t out to the House. Unless some other Hon. Gentleman pursued this course, he would, at the close of the debate, suggest a Reso. hion, to mark with the anim Idversion of the House the connection itself in • which the Commander in thief had been engaged, and also (without viewing .t morally or religiously), its political bad conse- Taences and dangerous example.. Previous to this, however, he would deem - it necessary to come to a •:ote on a Resolution, such a; the first proposed by Right Honourable Gentle man—aye or no,. r: he titer the Commander in Chief was guilty of corny rn or not. Afterwards he would propose an ad cress, "that the House had observed with the deepest regra, that in con:equence of a connection the most Immoral and unbecoming, undue influence had been co ntinuallyexerted,which brought disgraceful charges .t . , , ainst the Commander in Chief, and tended to give odour to transactions the most pernicious and indis creet." Mr. WIIITAREAD said, that after the impartial 111 (1 clear manner in which the Honourable Gentle man who had just spoken had viewed the case before the house, and after the judicious and tmexception- A lemanner in which he h a d drawn i r refragable de ductions from the various point's laid down, his eon lnsions could not possibly be rejected, except by the honourable and Right Honourable Gentlemen who d%poken on the other side. He bad wished much rise after the Right Honourable Gentleman oppo ' e (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) of whom he ip3lt justly say, that in his exertions last night and "•L'Zlit he had surpassed himself, and exceeded even attY pr: l - sue , fide fort tha all the his ;it the col] to ditl 11( lu to th tiu res du (Li mi sid Ivo Ki the his be the to ev tln tin te, t , p; e h.i Si , ill hi h. It tc 2 I t ;t ;e r- s- g if 1-„ !(..) t 1 it It - 1, 45 Id o in :1 what might have heen tepeeted4rora human power* in that House. If the Duke of York failed after so great a display of talent in his cause, such a failure could not possibly even be imputed to the want of an able and acute advocate to defend him. He gave the Right Hon. Gentleman credit for his assertion, that throughout this business he had been actuated by a conscientious sense of his duty, and in animadvert ing on what had fallen from him, he would so chas tise his feelings as not to say any thing painful to him, while he pointed out the errors of his reasoning, or the falseness of his deductions. The Right Ho nourable Gentleman had begun and ended his speech with an attack upon his Honourable Friend (Mr. Wardle). In the latter part he had certainly no right to suppose that his Hogourable Friend, in the expressions that fell from him had meant any thing unconstitutional, or any thing more than what was well grounded in fact and in reason ; that it be came the Members of that House to look to the ge neral sense of the people whom they represented.— The observations on this head came with a strange effect from the Right, Honourable Gentleman, who had himself mounted into power by an appeal from Parliament to the People. As for what he said respecting garbled extracts and libels, he had only to call on his Learned Friend on his right (the At torney General), not to suffer such illegal proceed ings to go unpunished. For his part, as far as he had been able to form an opinion, the comments,. that had appeared in several publications, were as gross and partial on the one side as on the other.— There was another part of what had fallen from the Right Hon Gentleman which he could not pass by in silence—it was where he told them, in terrorerd, that if they removed the Duke of York from the Chief Command of the Army, 'they could not get another able to supply his place. This threat, how ever, gave him no alarm ; for, so far from thinking that it was absolutely necessary to have a personage of that illustrious birth at the head of the army, lie considered that, exteris parllnis, it would be better to have a person less illustrious by birth in that situa tion. However Gentlemen might sometimes say in that House " let us deal with the Duke Of York as with any other individual," it was Perfectly well un derstood, that it was utterly impossible to treat the Duke of York in the same manner as an individual of less illustrious birth would be treated. Would it be said, that if such a mass of evidence had come out respecting the conduct of any private individual in that situation, that he could be permitted any longer to retain the command of the army ? (Hear! hear! ) If it was most notorious that any individual, not of the Royal Family, would be displaced from his command on such things appearing against him, it was absolute nonsense to say, " Let us,deal with the Diike of York as with any other individual in the empire placed in the same situation:" He did not mean to condemn the Duke merely on the score of immorality ; for what man would be justi fied in condemning a public man for any private immorality which was only between himself and his own conscience ? All men might be conscious of suf ficient deviation from this strict morality in themselves not to be very severe in attacking the deviations from morality in others— (Hear, hear! J—lt was not of pri vate immorality that he complained, but merely of that sort of immorality which affected the State, and the department over which he presided. Such immorality, however,if it had appeared in evidencepubliclyagaihst any other Commander in Chief, would have removed him from his command. But it was not his wish, to catch at every thing as a ground for his removal, un less the matter in proof was sufficient to induce the House to think that step necessary. The Honoura ble and Learned Gentleman (Mr. Burton) had told them, that he entered upon this inquiry with his mind prejudiced against the Duke of York ; for his part he did not enter upon it with such a feeling, but certain ly with a high sense of the honour and courage dis played by his Honourable Friend (Mr. Wardle). — The Right Honourable Gentleman had said that he did not believe the Address was produced by his Ho nourable Friend, but that in framing it he had mixed with cooler heads than his own. if the Right Ho nourable Gentleman meant no more than he said, he certainly had had no reason to think his Honourable Friend so intemperate as to require the aid of cooler heads, but if on the other hand he meant to say that he had lent himself to designing men, who had ob jects in view beyond his own, it was false to say so. His Honourable Friend was neither weak nor wicked enough for such a line of conduct. Such as his Ad dress was, lie would vote fcr it without the fear of having any such motives ascribed to him. Before en ter ing upon the merits of the case, he had torefer the House to the commencement of these charges, when allegations of conspiracies, conspirators, and secret advisers were so freely made, at the moment when it was generally thought that all proof had failed and the matter must drop. He justified himself from this' allegation if meant for him, and declared that he had only been in company with Mr. Wardle twice during the last two years, and had only one conversation with him on the subject now before the House. In that lee had pointed out to him the heart burnings to which he would expose himself, and the danger of failing in his proof; seeing it was derived from such sources, but lie had told him at the same time, that if he was deter mined to bring the matter forward,hewould vote forits being referred to a Conunfttee, and was sure no Member of the House would oppose him. He had heard that in his absence last night, his Honourable Friend had al luded to him in commendation for his aid, he thanked him for this compliment, but he had done no more for him than he would for any other man in the same situation: he had °illy stood by to see him bavetair play, and there had been occasions on which it was neces sary for his Friends to stand forward in his behalf. The Right Hon. Gentleman had accused his Ho nourable Friend of flinching, but this was not the fact. His Honourable Friend had stated distinctly, that the Duke of York had cognizance of the corrupt practi►es carried on, and it was only a proof of his Honourable Friend's temperance in approaching the throne, that had been construed into an abandonment of his chaiges. It he had acted otherwise, the House would have heard enough of the cruelty of wounding the feelings of a father, Lly a strong representation of the misconduct of hii son. In this then, his opinion exactly coincided with that expressed by -his Ho nourable Friend ; and that if he could have said the Duke of York was innocent, he should have done it. in short and concise terms ; but if he was in some de tee guilty, he ought to express his opinion mildly in ealin language. The 'Right Hon: Chancellor of the seemed astonished at- the 'audacity of the witness is Exchequer had, in one of his resolutions, expressed it inventing (as they supposed) such improbable false as the opinion of the House, that his Royal Highness ; hoods. It then became necessary to shew that she would in futu r e he less liable to fall into such de- had told the truth, and the Duke's letter about Dr, structive connections. History indeed afforded many ; O'Meara was also produced. There dilnot 2ppear examples of men, who had risen from disgrace "to , any thing of deliberate vengeance in this conduct of greater eminence and renown than they could other- Mrs. Clarke. Site exposed no letters but what were wise have attained ; and, in consideration of this, as , absolutely necessary to support her testimony ; and well as fo r the sake of his Majesty, and for the sake ' if she had mentioned a number ef names and cir of the Duke of York, he would most cordially agree cumstances not immediately bearing upset the guess with the motion of his Honourable Friend. Undue tion for which she was called as a witness, it was be influence had been proved to exist to.a great extent, cause those answers were extorted frOm her in the and the House were called upon to mark their sense cross-examination. He really thought that the At of it. None but drivellers would shrink from the torney-General had not bettered his case at all by his duty before them, and refuse to vote either that the long cross-examination of Mrs. Clio lee He would conduct of his Royal Highness was corrupt, or that not go into an examination of the other letters.— he had a knowledge of the corrupt practices carrying ' What, he would ask, could send Dr. O'Meara to Mrs. on, as their opinion stood ; and it was easyfor Them Clarke, but the supposition that she posensel all the in agreeing to this resolution to mark distinctly what influence over the Duke of York that was generally their sentiments really were. Thus having made a attributed to her? Would any man have tralieved such few general remarks on what had been said on the a circumstance, if this letter had not been . produced ? other side, he begged leave, with the permission o f , 'What could have sent the Protestant hierarchy of Ire the House, to say a few words on the nature of the ; land, bearing a recommendation from the Archbithop examination of the witnesses, who, for three weeks, of Tuam, but the persuasion that she could effect all had attended at their Bar, and of the degree of cre- , that her agents asserted? A learned Gentleman stated, dit due to their testimony. The Right Hon. Gen- that he had a list of twenty-eight instimces in which tieman had said a good deal on this subject ; and the Mrs. Clarke's testimony was contradicted. One of these Honourable and Learned Gentleman had given them related to bet declaration that she had never repre a lecture on evidence, and the caution with which the sented herself as a widow. By whom was her evidenct testimony of accomplices was to be received. Th e impeached ? Why,'by Mr. Nicholls; in his opinion, a Learned Gentleman had, from his own experience, most impeachable evidence himself; for it must be in stated ; that they ought not to be believed ; but he the recollection of the House, that this most worthy contended that they ought; as well in this case as in evidsnce came into possession of a number of most cases of life and death, which they were every day important documents, for such they turned out to called into criminal courts to prove or disprove. How be, beleeging to Mrs. Clarke, and that he, disho many murders would, have paSsed away unpunished nestly, or at least illegally, withheld them. They but for such witnesses ; and in this instance, where the . might be papers affecting her life, and yet he would life and death of the character of the Duke of Yoi k, not suffer her to peruse them. The Right Ho and the life and death of the country were involved, nourable,Member had spoken much of Mrs. Clarke's he could not see why it ought to be rejected. Where, dexterity ; but what dexterity could have ena in cases of corruption, was evidence to be got, but bled her to produce such incontrovertible proof such as was brought forward on this occasion, out of of all she had stated respecting General Clavering's and unconnected with the Office of, the Commander . application to her ? Did she know, at the time in Chief. The Hon. and Right Hon Gentlemen had she first mentioned him at the Bar, that this letter undertaken a task of no small diflicuty to accomplish, was in existence' Dexterity ! one ounce of nature was when they attempted to disqualify all the witnesses , worth 5000 weight of dexterity. He had often seen on various grounds, some from parts of their testimony, rude nature bring an evidence through, but he never some from their situation in life, and others in classes, saw that sffected by whatwas called dexterity. Of this which they endeavoured to make out. Although nature Mrs. Clarke disclosed a genuine and fine trait. women of the description of one of these witnesses, ! When Clavering's letter was produced to her, at thebar, might suffer from this mode of arrangement, he would ' a smile of joy beamed upon her countenance. She saw wish to know how they were to manage with their Cap.; with a glance that every thing she asserted respecting runs and Generals. Could they disqualify Mrs Clarke this man was confirmed, and that in one point at least because she had lived in open prostitution with several her truth was unquestionable. But it was that she persons. Those unfortunate creatures who sunk, de- represented herself as Dowler's wife, and that he ac graded, and lost in the distinctions of social life, could, quiesced in the imposture. Good God! was she on this if they were called on, convict many, many of the othei ' account to be deprived of all pretensions to veracity? sex of the blackest treachery and perjury. If Mr& ! Let them recollect their youthful days. Let them Clarke's testimony was thrown out, what were they ; lay their hands on their hearts, and say whether they to think of receiving the testimony of the lowest and have not sometimes made a wife of some one that was most degraded of womankind, living in the most infa.! no wife at all ? Nicholls was the chief evidence to this mous and miserable state of being, who were daily I fact, and yet upon a pinching question being put to heard in cases where the life of an individual depended him, what kind of exhibition did he make ? He was upon their evidence. There was a matter of which t asked whether he ever sued Dowler for the debt con he had heard, but which he would not now prarti. treated by Mrs. Clarke ? What was his answer ? Never. cularise, that a Lady of the same description had ; This shewed that no imposition had been practised on twice given her testimony respecting a Will in Court, him, and that if even Mrs. Clarke represented herself Which was proven by her evidence alone, unimpeach- as the wife of Dowler, that he did not believe her asser ed by any of the considerations stated by the Learned! tion. Astothe otherwitnessesthat wereproducedin cor- Gentleman.--(The Honourable Gentleman, we roboration of Nicholls's evidence, Reid, the master of were informed, alluded to Mrs. Carey).—The Ho-; the hotel, the waiter, and the porter, and the incidents nourable and Right Honourable Gentleman had also of carrying the wine to this and that place , they m ade attempted to prove that -Mrs. Clarke was actuated by for nothing. They did not prove that Mrs. Clarke ever wilful and deliberate revenge. He would not men- really represented herself as the wife of Mr. Dowler. tion the provocation the Duke of York had given her, If, instead of being such a case as it was, this were a nor the manner in which he treated her in pecuniary I case affecting life and death, so help him GOD it would matters, which was, to say the least of it, not very I not affect him. Ahother evidence was brought to sup creditable to him. Had there been any attempt to port that of the four evidences he mentioned. It was show she had acted improperly ?. and yet the _Right that of Mr. Few, the auctioneer. Now what did he Honourable Gentleman had said, that if his Royal • prove' Why nothing more than this; that in a conver- Highness had agreed to the demand contained in her I sation with her, she talked of her late husband—that he letter, (they . were not claims, they were solicitations) , perceived one morning a cocked hat in the wi nd ow, he would have been acknowledging that he was corn-land that he was told by the maid that her mis pletely in her power. The Honourable Gentleman / tress was a gay widow, and that she had been at here went into a defence of Mrs. Clarke's conduct in the .Masquerade toe night before. And was such this respect, and contended, that there was no proof a flimsy circumstance as this to shake the whole of a vengeful disposition towards his Royal Highness, evidence she had given at the bar of that House ? It and that the present discoveries might be accounted also appeared that on a Court Martia l she had been for on other principles. When she appeared at the described as a widow, but there was no proof that she Bar, she certainly displayed all that pertness, levity, was ever examined to this point. This was the only wit, acuteness, effrontery, and impudence with which case upon which the Learned and respectable Member she had been charged ; but on being examined three made any observations ; the remaining 2'T continued hours by a late Attorney-General, the present Attor- untold. He lamented extremely that the Learned ney-General, and others, with the Solicitor-General Member (Mr. Burton) had not an opportunity of at their back, by way of corps de reserve, and being seeing the persons who gave their evidence at the called in again and again, and re-examined, till she bar. If that advantage were within his reach, he was like to faint through bodily fatigue, they had not was persuaded their testimony would have made a been able to make any thing out. The Learned , different impression on him. Much depended on the Gentleman ( the Attorney-General) might observe, manner of giving their testimony, and on the persons that she had baffled him, and when he thought that by whom the questions were put. It would fre he had got her fast, off she went into a new beat.— quently happen that evidences might be provoked He then made sonic observations on the mode in Lto say many things that were highly improper which she was treited, and did not think it strange, I This he would admit Mrs. Clarke had often done, that if all the Members encouraged her by laughing ; bunt her veracity was riot to be wholly shaken on at her answers, she should continue in a course that that accouht. This observation applied especially appeared so amusing, till she exceeded propriety and to the testimony of Mr. Stower, who had been decorum. The Learned Attorney-General had ques- brought forward to prove that Mrs. Clarke's husband . tioned her for three hours, and made but little of it. i was a stone-mason. The Right Honourable Gen. He got out some stories which led to the disclosures ' tleman, in the course of his admirable speech, had respecting General Clavering, Dr. O'Meara, and the touched on many cases, in most of which Mrs. Clarke production of the correspondence, which Mrs. Clarke ; was triumphantly set up by other evidences, and in would never have produced but from these circum- none more than in that of General Clavering. But stances. How thendid Gentlemen exult in her hay- it was said that her evidence was contradicted by Mr. ing advanced falsehoods ? On the first examination R. Knight. He had the honour of being long ac of Mrs. Clarke, she mentioned nothing about those +Lamed with this Gentleman, and entertained a great respect for him ; but he could not help thinking letters of the Duke of York, and did not spew the least intention of producing them. She was in a man- that in some instances he had been led into an over ner compelled to produce them, by General Clavering statement of the case. When Dr. Thynne was asked choosing to come down to the House for the purpose whether he- understood from Mrs. Clarke that he was of impeaching her testimony. The evidence of Ge- to keep the transaction a secret from the Duke of neral Clavering would have borne down Mrs. Clarke, York ? he replied, that " that was a matter of sur if she had not produced the letter of the Duke, men- mice. " Mr. R. Knight stated that Mrs. Clarke told tioning the name of Clavering, and proving that he him she would expose the Duke of 'York : but did apply to her about military promotion. • After- was there tiny evidence to spew that she meant wards, by accident, the letters of Clavering, which .by this thre it that she intended to expose him at were discovered at Hampstead, completely overturn- the Bar of that House; - or was it not rather such ed the testimony of General Clavering, and left a n ex p osure as that threatened; in her letter to his him as black as Erebus. It was equally neces- Henourable Friend (Mr. Adam)? That this was sary for her to produce the second letter. She had the impression at the time upon Mr. Knight's mind been asked in the course of the cross-examination was evident from this, that aceceding to has own whether she had been ever applied to for promotions statement, he requested, "if she was going to pub. in the church ? and she mentioned, in answer, that I , shher memoirs, he hoped she would spare his bro- Dr. O'Meara, who wanted to be made a bishop, had applied to her. This answer occasioned great laughter in the House. No onebelieved fora moment a story that seemed so absurd and preposterous. Gentlemen i Li y 1 : (I f i I: It lb 4 I, ) I i i 4 : P i `. 1 ~! ~1 47441 11L.1 •••••••••••••1 -. 7 - • tiler." Mr. Knight had stated, that gie requested of him that the business s'aourd be kept secret from the • Duke of York, and every one must telietN: him. He bad no doabt that she did make sume sapubit - *. 1