Star. — London, England, 1816-04-23 00:00:00

n t h at . c hange whieb, according to ray opinion, and the best of my intelligence, was desirable—an opi r i on in which almost the whole of England at this re nt COMM. ti:av aside whatever relates to abstract no. ions ot Government, and confining myself to what personal to the King, I ask why you have attacked' character, so well known to France, and to all rtra pe, in observing, 4 4 I suspect he is not sincere, hat be trifles with his profe.ssions of clemency, and that he will support the Terrorists ?"—Perhaps I have' d o ne wrong to the intentions of the King, whom I :ace personalty knew, and who inseired me with a ;rig of respect which has been testified by me in public services with which he is well acquain-, hrtt when 1 saw that the King did not confer cie iN . r .iral in some degree promised to Madame de vr r'.. tie, and that the King's Ministers • were °IA. v .: rtal.ra their measures of clemency already annovr.c...l to the Chambers, I at first ascribed this e. between promise and reality to a want of sii :erity on his part, especially as he has the right, t r .in Lis sovereign character, to say, " I will." On my arrival in France, I brought opinions entirely fa vourable to his happiness, although I ditrervil as to t h e means of accomplishing it, and have always nought that amnesty alone could lead to that desir-, rrie result. Q. But aft , r you had conceived a desire to see the G o vernment overturned, you supported your conjrc. ores in this respect with the opinions of Foreign Mi. : ricers ; and yon so little concealed this desire, that io reporting their conversation on the subject, you 'to o pe as*. letters* " it is not that I regard then, ~.oracles, but the publicity of Their predictiortr renders them important." It would seem from this, that you attached a great value to this importance —Na desire on my part similar to that which is sup posed can be inks red from the use of the word 4, im portance,".which signifies nothing in our language, or in the passage where I have employed it, more ;ban the authority communicated to the intelligence by the sources from which it proceeded. Q. But at the end of this first refl”ction, why do you.sptak of an individual departed for Milan in the character ot an Austrian courier, to carry the iatelli geoce that the crisis had arrived at maturity ; ought it not to be concluded, that at this pe;;Od you were in the ee: ,ade l lee of a conspiracy which had for its object the subversion of the Government ?—I an nounced this intelligence which I had received in the diplomatic circles without any peculiar object ; and such a communication I had a right to make : but with respect to any conspiracy tending to over throw the French Government, I repeat, that my political conduct has been always unitorki on that subject, never to interfere, either personally or for My' creamy, if charged with her interests, in the internal rfrairs of France ; and I defy the world to prov. ;:rat I have ever swerved from these principles. _ . Q. What would appear, however, to establish in a :arm el and positive manner, that you attached the west lively interest to the circumstance of the con. 7;tt's departure, and to the objezt of h s mission, :ire I the exnressions which you ad.l lower ;ha: the majority of the people 2rotilenze f.,r the yout.g N,t. : rieon, and that hti I); etegsions, supporte.i by the ktnsians and Austriar.4, will finally prevail :"—: IA reason at this time to attach importance to the I deprture of the courier, but some time aftenvards I wai informed that I had been deceived. I had how- i 've t a right to Iselieve and to announce that 4. was approachinf.T, v:lien I saw the Englis!i troops de.; lay their iepartore from day to day, notwithstanding t..:? Treaty o Peace. Q. But did not you proceed farther than canjne• tares, and speak of a particular and positive know ledge, when you observed, 66 sanguinary scenes will' take pl..ce before the revolution can be coast - Lama. fed ; but the point is fixed, and the impulse given ?" A. I did not say 46 will take place," but 66 y take piace," which changes the sense of the phrase, and ,onverts certainty into possibility. In other respects, t.:e preceding news justified my opinion up to the p..rio..i ...len I was undeceived; and this news was' confined to the departure of the courier, but re iated to all the political events which formed the sub. I :ct cif general conversation.. I shall finally add, iny political opinians (and this declaration is rille with perfect candour) had no influence on my thcai al with regard to the measure • submitted bc me for saving Mons. Lavalette. My only put. pa= was to save an unhappy man, of whose life or e-Ath eireurwtances had, in some degree, made me the arbiter, and who addressed himself to me, not is t,fidence of my personal humanity, but of national generosity. The devsia n being read, the accused declared, Oat answer s contained the truth, and that he had tailin g to alter or to add. It was then signed by us and by the Clerk. • RODENT WILSON, DUPUY, AND DEROSrE• INTERROCM,TORY.-7Ea. 23. 2. State your name, christian name. age, proles l'9%, place of birth, and •of residence.— My name is It..pert Thomas Wilson : I am 38 years old, I was too in London, am a Major-General, not in. active •: , :rtice, and have resided in Paris three months, at 11 ".21, rue rie la Paix. Q. Dr/yeti acknowledge A your production, or at 1.1:a as copied by you, the report which I present to 3'.h, and which its title attributes to M. Pozzo di minister plenipotentiary, and said to be - ad.' ‘r.'swd by him to the En3pm : or of Russia ?—:The French government has calumniated me, or permit- I'd vie to be calumniated, In the journals published' 11:•.! . irr its dir ect i ons , b y stat in g that the original draft r^ Ins report was found amongst my papers, written rny hand, and chat I was its author. I now tender, ""rdet that it nasty he j•rined to the present minute, winch I addressed on this subject to M. h 'zz) di Borg() on the 23d f January last, and 'hid, I caused to be printed in the English journals. Q• Did you not at least assist in promoting the cur. c 'mon and publicity of a work which was calcula t--; 'ori produce so pernicious a result to Europe in i y.ral, and to France in particular ?—No; a copy _ , iz was mere l y l ent to me , f rom which I drew an -7,-1;:r for tile English government ; the copy which c ' n to me was b o r r owed by me to be communi t'!"ito a subject of the Emperor of Russia, in order , Q , t ave his opinion a s to the authenticity of the work, LEttli I myself believed to be an official document. the around of th e e xt r act w hi c h it contained from i , szer of Lord Castlereagh, which could be known one who had access to the poste-feuille of the. Emperor. As ai hist:akal state ptper b r, had a right to have it in my possession ; but never lent it to any native of France., . Q. Did you not at least seek to accredit it in de f.:l-4ring your sentiments en the principles therein de veloped, and which, if enforced, must hive caused the subversion of the system adopted by . tll the powers of E'irope, and have carried agitation . and disorder into the bosom of France, whose legitimate Sovereign had been just re-established by all the allied armies ? —lt appears to be forgotten that I AM an English man, and that the rights of an Englishman are not understood. My former answer is definitive, nal - will I be drawn into a •rnetaphysical discussion of politics. Let me be accused and judged ; and when I shall be before the tribunals, I shall know how to defend my self and maintain my rights. O. Do you acknowledge to be of your writing the letter which I present to you, and which has been ' found among the letters of Lavailette ?—No, Sir, it is not my hand. Having taken thc answers o!' Ow accused, we have I closed the present proces-verbal, which he signed atter reading it with us and the clerk; and has also signed and marked with a ne varietur the letters which we presented to him ; the repot t attributed to M. Pozzo dr liorglio, and the lert.e.. - which he deposited in our hands. PROTEST OF Eft Io 3! : %. — L.SaN t lIIIIINTIONED IN THE IC. NUTS Or THE 'ZVI II j Vs.:IA.IY, AND ANNEXED TO Toe MINISTE ENCLOSrD. " January '34, 1816. " Before replyin.; .. zit.: f 7 ftviTiv!!atories, it is my duty to state the motives which have h iiii4le dissuaded me from so doing, and those which now cit. - A.:a ma to a change of conduct. l'ir, , , , I have received an a s s urance t h at M r. Bruce and Captain Hut ...n..., oh *i..ve a'-ea fy .! .T2.e., ...el 1 ;;:x :h'l3 7a.'st7bri :',•vm , ...I/ restraint with regard ro their proceeding's. " Secondly; the application of the moral question no longer existing in its former rigour. I have taken occasion to make my situation known to the English Ambassador, and to transfer to his re.ponsibili , y the defence of those rights and principles of justice open which . .depend, and which I should have k no w n how to defend to every extremity, without opening this commu nication " 'ly.: '.nformed that by my perseverance, In wh:ch, after the 'Messrs. Bruce and Iletchinson, and nly coin inutiica:iors t!) , ... /t:nbassador of my coml . ry, 1 stool alca.e, I was delayitlg •he and prolonging the sufferings of my fri,ods. %. lit :az, also to appear before the Courts, yet always !iroteitic in the ii.ost solemn manner again , t the itifractii.n of tws nati.ois. the civil and ini..taty laws of my cnitii•ry, isms the most sacred principles and strongest sznctions of jusiti the adoption id . an inquisi:orial system; ar.d protesting always against the protin:t inn and use of any t vitlence nbta!tied, or ougilt to be obtained, by these Illegal means, in order to prttpare anii establish the act of accusation against me ar.d my friend;; I wait o hear and rei.iy to the interrog iinries, re.ery inys.lt rii,ht of giving such answers as .et m to nie : tie pt , apt--, not upon a principle of vanity, but for the sake of every ver-tin ac cusrd in ftittwe, and in order to give weia;lit to an r.:l*.ur vhich raftiA bec mie siuto:t4l. " I have supported the pretensions and the rights of ere citi ztr,e or Great I;crant. 1 rely with confidence nu my c•Al.ery tor thy ur.,tectiq:s wh:c3 I chins. N . WILV.N." 1:11 ERIWC , ATORIES OF MICHEL BRUCE. Ftitsr 'II:IIItUGATORV—.I.I LLI ICY Is. TLis day, being the 13th .1 014.4 1 y, 1316, at three o'clock in Cie elit'..l"itooll, we, t h e tuidersignrcl, Pierre Georges Fr.tnc,...;:s Mosier and Pierre Cara •1 l!olice, of the City of Paris, in exectniln t:f his Excellency the Secretary of State, , ; . .linister of Ge.. - .eral Police, repaired to the hotel of tito eirtei:Lurf. I'o:ice, where, bring in the•cabinet (4 M. lasp:!ctor-General Faudras, we trans-, v..,-1):•.1 oruer to the gaoler of the depot esta. .011..::•1.1 in hotel, to bring before us the Si , ttr Critze, :.r. ::rrealed this morning, as tap p.c4rs frt.ni the minnzes of cur colle:lgut Befr a ra, thew, 4.48 ay:Trig eXmilinltlo3. as to his name, surname, etc. ?—I am narnzd Michel Brune, a native 01 London, aged 26 year, an English Gentleman, residing in London. Q. How long have you been in Paris ? Fur what object ? Where is your place of residence ?—I have bees at Paris about a year; some days after Bona parte's departure for the army, in June last, I quitted Paris, and went towards Switzerland ; but I was not porinitteci to leave the frontier, and thus was forced to return to Paris: I was then absent about three ..ce:ks.. I am at Paris for my arrite.ement : my re.:ide:,re is Rue St. George's, No. 21.. Q. Who -are the persons whom you most visit at Patis ?—I mix a great deal in society : 1 visit a great number of persons; 1.1 , t for the la .t three or four months I have led rather a retired lite. We then presented to him a little box, in which were enclosed the pipers that had been seized in the morning : he acknowledged that the seals had not been touched. We proceeded, in his presence, to open the chest, and unfold the papers. We formed them into two packets, one of English papers of a, l date posterior to 1814, and the other of French papers of the same date; and 'we returned all the other papers, together with pamphlets and other printed articles, into the box. And we proceeded no further. The above having been read to Monsieur Bruce, lie said that it contained the truth, and it was signed by. us. Closed the above day, month, and year, at five o'clock in the afternoon. (Signed) MICHEL BRUCE, MONNIER, AND AIALLEVAL. SECOND INTEFtROGAToRY, JANUARY 14. Q. Did you not torn the plan of procuring the escape of Marshal Ney ?—No. Q. Did you not take very active steps in his fa your ?—No : only my personal opinion hat al wai s been, that he could not be tried without violating the Treaty of Paris. Q. Were you not in correspondence with Marshal Ney ?—1 saw him almost every day. I had known him for some time, that is to say, ever since I have been in Paris. Q. Are you not connected with General Wilson and with Captain Hutchinson ?..-1 am connected with both. - • Q. Last Sunday, at about eight o'clock in the evening, did you not pass part of the evening at Mr. Hutchinson's, rue de Helder, No. 3 ?—I was certainly there : but before I go further, I beg you to inform me positively of the motives of my detention. We are not accustomed in England to give answers be fore we know what is imputed to us. Q. You are accused of having favcured the escape of the convict Lavalette, and of having feat your cabriolet to conduct him out of Paris: what have you to answer ?--When I shall come to my trial, I will furnish the necessary explanations. . • Q. Are you not connected with M. EU i st on of the sth regiment I—l do not know him. Q. Where did you send your cabriolet last Mon day, half an hour before day 3—l will answer when I come to my trial. Q. Have you not a cousin who is a General, and commends an English brigade in France ?—t cer tainly hate a cousin who is a General, and who com mands an English brigade in France. He has net been here these two weeks. Q. On S.iturday, the Gth of the month, was not the Aide-de-camp of this General at your house ? Was there not a conference at your house between General Wilson, the Aide-dc-camp, and yourself ? Whet was its object ?-1 know nothing about it, ua such meeting having taken place at my house. Q. You hod not your cabriolet on Monday the Bth of this month : when was it returned to you ?—I be lieve that it has not yet been returned : I am not certain, for 1 have not been in my stable for several days. Q. To whom have you lent it ?—I will tell in Court. Q On the .sth or 6th of the month, did you not send to Captßia Hutchinson a measure, according to which he caused to be made a military riding coat, waistc at, and pantaloons ?—I will expkiin myself on this subject before the Court. Q. Last Sunday evening ditl you not sve the con vict Lavalette metamorphose 4 into :in English officer, at Mr. Hutchinson's will answer to that before the Court. Q. Do you know whether the convict Lavaktte ba: lett Paris or not ?--1 know that lie has left Paris. Q. On what day t At what hoer ? With whom. and how ?-1 cannot answer this question : bur I have no difficulty in saying that I co•operated in the flight of Lavalette from a teelinn of humanity. Q. How did you co-operate in his flight ?—I lent mY cabriolet for that purpow. • V. *Co whom did you lend your calirioict :—To the person who accompanied La7alette in his fliAht. Q. Who was that person ?—I will not point him out. Q. Where did you take the moasitrr, of Li...ileac by vhieh his English clothes w. s ma& ?-1 buyer to ,k such me:tuire. Q. \Vl:ere, and by whom, was it scut to you ?-4 nr ., t answer that qu-stion. Q. li.dor , ! - LavaLtte left Paris, did yon nrq. for sane d.tys v 11(.m he w rs cuncs•alri ?-- No : I h .d not 'evil him s.iiiee his acre; ; whorl I saw bon at Ntr. Liu Snully O. W. .s he itt,t dust as an Eiylish officer ? I bv h...:‘..! he WAS. • Q. Did be go alone to M. lintchinson's, or accom ra•decl, and by whom ?—I don't know. Q Who were the persons present. at M. lintchin soll's when M. Lardtette w.ts there ?—I nut answer thAt question. Q. Was it not then tint you promised to lend your cabriolet, in order that M. Lavaiette might set off eaily the lien: day ; and did you not concert all the measures fit to iiivour his flight ?—Before this .neeting at M. Huteliinson'a; 1 had promised to lend cabriolet for 4. Lavitlette. And no fertJ•.er question w. 14 asked. The above examination having been read to him, he said it was true, and signed it with us. gßucg, moNNIFit, ASD sittu.s.vAL. THIRD noreitnonATonr--JAN• 15. 13ei1g as his name, surnime, age, profes s:on, bit th-pl.tcy, and residence, He answered ; 1 tin called Michel Bruce, my age is 26. I and a gentleman, born in London, residing in !'aril, tue George's, No. 21. O. From your first e:;antination, rur answers have 'frip - T: Ji-ri. 7%V:tied t.yr :: partieoia r it - hlract-qt of jrant. ot is and good faith : you ILIVI: s.iid, that, ilidep e n. dently of some discovei ies w7.ich you have trade, you cyanid make known the whole tatitl,, when you shouki be in the presence of justice : you nnv: api..ear befire a member of the tribunal: are you toady to keep y.:tur promise ?—I am ready tce.t.:ll flit truth: I ex , preised a wish to see M. de Cazes, .111iiiisti.r of Police, I ar.l if lie can listen to me, 1 win explain myself with ail 'let fraiikm...s that ought to be expccted irom me. Q. T:te forins of justice oppose what you ask..- M. L.t.k eazes, as c:iief of the administrative police, is sf,eci..lly charged with the. prevention of crimes; but •oi.ce committed, the cognizance of them is referred to the judiciary police, and M. de Cazes must himself refuse, if he was acquainted with your deshe to see him. That which you cinder a favour would be an i:Lval thing, of which you would yourself have a right to complain. I will receive as well as lie the information which you can give for the assistance of justice: it is in the interest of truth that I question you, and not in order to turn your information against yourself. —A. I demand, in order to preserve a greater freedom in my de!laratior., that the persons here pre- sent may retire, and I will disguise nothing. 1 And immediately we directed the two gensthrmes ; and the different persons - who had accompanied the Sieur Bruce to go into the next room. The Sieur Bruce then went on in these terms: I was never connected in fricndshT with NI. Lava lette : 1 was never at his house : he never came to ray house ; yet I knew him a little heron: his arrest : his personal qualities, his sweetness in society, his amiability, inspired for him in my mind a greater in terest than is usually felt for persons whom one is not in the habit of seeing. His trial, his detention, and rte sentence pronounced against him, added to the iiataaiteents•with which I was di.posed towards him; bit since his arrest I have had with him no connec tion direct or indirect. I was entirely ignorant of the phce of his retreat after his escape. I even th.ught that he had a long time left France. I did not know ni; wife. I never saw her in my life. The or ;lc of the month, a person unknown brought me an amnyrnous letter, in which was exalted the goodness nt my character, and it was added that the confi dame which it inspired induced a determination to renal a great secret to me, and this secret, it was ad ded, was, that M. Lavalette was still at Paris : I alone, ' it was said, was capable of saving him, and it was re quested I would explain my intentions on the subject. 1 did not .10 so immediately, but I promised an an swer at a place which I pointed out, and which I think myself bound in honour not to make known. I add, that my caution prevented me from patting any questions as to the name of the person who sent me the letter, and as to the place of M. Lavalette's retreat. I thought that in an affair of this nature in discretion could not be too carefully avoided. Gene ral Wilson was ignorant of all these details. It was piyself who acquainted him with therin ; it was my self who engaged him to join his efforts to mine in favour of M. de Lavalette; and if there is any per. son culpade in this business, I declare that it is m)- salt aleae, sifce it vat ray entreaties w)ich &terrain . ed him, mho is falsely coniderea a: the author of this scheme. Q. Did n.' political opinions, rather t h an persona affections, you +7 serve Lavalette ? And did you not do so as a consequence of those sentiments which you had manirested since the alirair of ntrshal Ney ?—I allow that my political opinior s oplr ,zed to gether with humanity on my conduct slime the affair of Marshal Ney : I firmly believed that the capitula. Lion of Paris was an obstacle to his bdry put on hit trial. As to Lavalette, I declare u; on my honour, that I was moved solely by t...e commiseration which his- casa had czcited in me : the adventure of his escape appealed to me to have something tomantic and even miraculous about it, which forcibly struck my imaginati,:n, and excited in me a kind of lively interest for his person. Q. `Vas it Lot you who procured the measure of Lavalette fir tiieur liut.chinsmi to be s•w to the tailor ?--I do not know to whom I gave it. cir. cumstance, which appeared inditfercit to me, has esc:sped my memory ; hut it is t: tie th.:t I procured it. Q. Do lon !maw the tail& vdic was employed to make th,.. clothes ?—I do not know : I nev..tr saw him. 0• ( - )3 the 7th of Janu 4ry, in tiao evening, when you saw L:lvAlette at Si, ur Hatchins 3,'s, did you Icarn LiVaitnEC had ciAm: thew, and the place from which he had come ?—I did not Ask him; and I declare t h at I (11l not even wkh to know. Q. Do you know, at least, whLater he came on foot or in a cinriage?--I bciieve he came in a ca. brioht; 11(0. ...ever Idr not affirm ; when I met hint at the tkw he was on tent. Q. Do you not know, that as soeu as he was in. trodaced tht: tf.partm.mt of Captain I !.utchiusna • ohe of his blends came to the door, to brin g him a pair of pistols braid it said so, but I saw no per. sun ; no ?e: . son'tnwrA the mem. O. ikt . w:)At hour ifd you quit the I.partment of Captain Hutchinson ?—ilbout midnight. (2. Tr' g.) there was it r t hece..try to cress the ap:utment of the S:vur S tuvagy, alga whom !ha C vain hy!.gcd hunk! name of the ::it ar S tuv.r,-;e : I :.:cer iy.!rzeivrd either him or any pru-soii of Olt. house, at iu4“ to my and I vatvc:. lny comnaunication from the apArs nitmt of Captain flutchiusco with that of Any other \Vas it not in yrur cabriolet that Lavalette escaped ? HAS this cabriolet been sent bark to you ? —[ have nut ascertained whLth :the c.:!niolet has been sect l•ack : I can say noiLing pu,ieive on this subject : t do not deny that I lent it : the documents which 'have come into your hands perhaps ieare no doubt a$ to the name of the person to wh(gn I it t but it is tut my business to make it kite xi). I speak the truth on every point that respects myself perso nally : I ilo not think it a duty to de su wizen it may compromise others. Q. Q. Was it not you who sent to the hair-dresser a sample of hair and three measures to make a peruque for Lawalette ?—No, Sir. Q. Yet the contrary would Appear to result from the note which I now chew yot:, as w.ll as the sam ple, and which were found in your part-tenille !—I certainly acknoraledge both the sample and the note t but I declare that thither of them !me,: any connec• tion with M. L?valette : J afri:aa that it was a COM. liiiSSlOn Niell6 I received .:bout a year ago from a i person namel Zerthold, who v:at then at Constanti. I n..sple, and 1 believe attach:Ai to the E.iglish embassy. I 'T:le- t - i:,"" ; rviiere will be founu ir. my perte‘ teuil! , i which w,ll coat 1m this ‘Lclaration. Tfla!rore helo t ; read over, the prisoner said that his an:we: s containe 1 the until ; :hat he persisted irt them i . .::at he ii...d rn.thiug tc change or to add to them ; and ..igned with us and the clerk, as well the preset): r;:.4unnation as the note thercin alluded to. raucc, DLPUY, /IND DZROSTZ. FOURTH INTFIi7tOCATOPY-:-/:112 . - Q. Do you 4cknowled,.;e the box ulacii I skew po w sealed with the seal uf tlit: Prefecture, to belong to you ?—No, Sir. [And immediately we L'roLe the wrapper of paper sealed at its two extremities, one across the box, and the other on the cover; and after opening the box, we put the following qmestion Q. Do you acknowledge the portfelio . and the se.; vcral papers contained in the acknowledge the hoz : as to the papers, the examination of them alone cin inform whether they all belong to me, and whether soma are not strange to me. Then proceeding to the examination of the meet, and being convinced of the nature of most of them, fere and nce by their dates, that they w could r.ut have any re. , direct or indirect, ith the affair on which we were seeking information, we occupied ourselves in making a selection of all those which were foreign ur purpose, and we returned them to the box to be shut up again, being first sealed with our seal, and , niter making a summary and sufficient description of them to p3l::t ota their contents, in case it should be though: proper to examine them afterwards. Tile s;tid pipers consist, Is:, of a collection of ever* copies, printed, and in sheets, relative to the affair of Marshal Ni:y, and of divers other political plmph lets: 2el, of a collection of family letters, observations made during La :was, and addressed to the Sieur Bruce, from Const.intiaople, Aleppo, London, Ge neva, kc. all dated 1813, 1814, and 1815; these last before the month of July : 3d, of a roll of useless papers and envelopes of letters. We also put up in the box a little list'of tureade in red Morocco, and the portfolio which contained a part of the papers, on the fastening of which.was written the name of the Sieur Bruce. We then proceeded to the separation of the other papers, and we formed them into two packets. The first is composed of nine letters or billets, writ• ten in English, which we market and signed with the Sieur pruce. The second consists of fifty.four pieces, written in French, equally marked and signed by ourselves and the Sieur Bruce,. We lastly put under one cover four sealed kites, addressed to Mons. the Duke de Galle, to Madame Richt, at Constantinople, to the Sieur Claudier James Richt, and to Madame the Countess of Aldborough, at Brussels. The Sieur Bruce declared, th.tt he had been desired to convey three of the.e letters, but he did not know how the letter addressed to the Duke de Galle came among his papers. We also put under the same cover another letter, unsealed, dated ;he 10th Oct. 1314, written in french, and not signed. The Bieur Bruce declares that he believes he raw!! ;T:-