Star. — London, England, 1806-02-25 00:00:00

i.S. IHSEiiIGERCL COURT OF RING'. BENCk, FEB. s4l Tin KING V. PIM*, aso., Mr. Haatlsm. opened this indictment, which gated, that the Defendant being employed in his Ma jefty's in a civil and military Ration out of Great Britain, to wit, in the Mend of Trinidad, did unlawfully, Cruelly, and inhumanly torture Louifa Calderon, under the age of fourteen years, by fixing a rope to her wrifi, flinging her up to a ceiling, and faftemog her hands and feet on a (pike of wood, &c. on the zoth of December, in the year tfiot. There were other counts for a common streak. To which the Defendant pleaded dot guilty, on which iffue was joined. Mr. Gaitairw, opened the cafe on the part of the profecution. He hid, that the talk of Rating the fads which belonged to this thrift extraordinary and horrid tranfadion, was originally committed to much abler hands than his; but which now, unfor tunately for hinge% had devolved on him. How ever, he felt tome confolation in reflecting, that this was a cafe to be tried before an Englith Court of Jul rice, where no eloquence was necet ( ary, and where a plain Rattment of the fads was all that would be ne cam, and he had to lay before the Jury that gate, anent, which he fhould prove to them in a way which imould force from them a reladaot verdict of Guilty, and without which proof no fuch verdict ought to be obtained. He would nee the words—a reluctant us did of Guilts—becaufe no perfon who beard it, not exciptiog even himfelf, whole duty it was to rapport the prolkmation, would not be better pleafed, if the fads would jellify the Jury in recording it, to hear theirs prcnonnet Not Guilty." The cafe which this record prefented to them was, that the Repre tentative of his Sovereign, in one of dependencies of this country,. bound to prated the fubjeds of it ageing all fpectes of violence, bad abufed his &us lion; and degraded the country to which he belonged, by inflicting what in England few bad ever beard of, and bad only read of with detegation and horror ; the torture of one of his Majefly's fubeds, without the teat pretence of law, the leaß jut tification, but to gratify, on a helplefs female, his tyrannical dap°. fitiqn to opprefs. The Ifland of Trinidad furrendered to his Ma jelly's arms, eider the great and jußly renowned Sir R. Abercrombie, in the year f ttrr. On that occafion that great character had taken the Ifland on certain Articles of Capitulation, which he granted to the people of that country, and rendered by law the fame as forinerly, and the bufinefs of Governor devolved on the Defbndant. When Sir R. Abercrombie left it, the fame la* was to be continued as under the qld Spann Government, until his Majeßy's pha risee could be known, therefore the law was the fame as that of the Spaniflt 'Rands before that conqueß, and which were ordered to eziß by Sir R. Abercrom bie, until his Majefty's pleafure fhould be known', and which laws were afterwards continued by his Msjelly's Royal Proclamation, and by which the inhabitants of Trinidad were protected. In the year Boi, it appeared that the perfon whole fufferings were now about to be laid before the Jury, Louie* Calderon ' then of the age of about so or t s years, had been (educed by a perfon of the name of Pedro Rouis, with whom the had lived as his mifirefs; that to us in-England appeared moll horrible, but in that country, young women became mothers at the age of Is, and thok who had not the good fortune to form bailout-able ermneftion, got into a Rate of concubi nage at as early age. Thus it was that this young crea• lure lived with thisperfon, Don Pedro Rouis, and as he bail nothing to conceal from the jury on this occafion , be fhould fate to them at once, that when Die was thus living with this perfon, the was engaged in an in trigue with Carlos Gonzales, who in the year tilos, availed bimfelf of the intimacy which fubfifted between him and Louifa Calderon, to get into the bottle of Don Pedro Rouis and robbed him of two thoufasti dollars, upon which Gonzales was taken into euflody, and there being reafon to fuelled that Louifa was acquainted with his guilt, the was 'silo, together with her mother, taken into cußody. She was taken before one of the Magiarates, who ads, in the firft inftance, in this island on loch occaflons, and examined clofely as to the fade.— She denied any knowledg e of the tranfaaion , and the Maerate felt that by the law of Spain, his power with regard to her was at an end. The young woman having denied knowledge of the fad, whe ther from her own confcioufnefs of innocence, orfrom a with to (Breen the young man with whom the had been thus criminally intimate, was an inquiry not worth pureeing, the Magiftrate felt that he had 68 aethority to take any coercive Means to procure any knowledge from her of her awn Carat, and he reforted to the Governor, and he d to Rate to the Jury that he fhould produce. in the hand writing of this Defendant, General Pidon, the then Governor of the land of Trinidad, this bloody lentence-- ,, Inflict the torture on Louifa Calderon ;" figned with his own hand, is T. Afton." The Jury would believe there was no great delay in the execution of this orders She was taken to the jail for the torture, where Se was told if the would con fers, all her limbs would be (pared, but If the did not, and if her limbs were deßroyed (and to alarm her Rill mote) If her torture thould end in death, her errors would fall on her own head ; and to Make this terror irrefillible, they brought a negroe to practice upon to Phew her what the was to expel; thus had i the torture been introduced for the firft time, into a Britith fettlement, and that by a Britifh fubjed; and ' that fubjed the reprefentative of his Soverei g n there, ' to extort coofeffion from a perfon under accufation; in order to make her accufe another. The young wo man perfifted in her innocence, and then they pro. <ceded to inflict this punifhinent upon her; a punith anent which Mr. Garrow laid, "tor want of a propel name is calledpiciering, but in Which it is mifnamed , for it thould be PICTONING"—for, he raid, it was a libel on the military punifhment of picketing, to refers,. ble it to this horrible ad of torture : in our picketing the unhappy fufferer whom it became neceflary to . chaftife for the purple of preferring fubordination and military difcipline, had fomething like reit ; but in the torture which had been inflicted on this poor creature, there was nothing in the nature of reit, but both the hands and was feet were a Loa f r attene ece d, that the pre ff ure of the body onp pi of wood, and in this Rate of torture and torment, .was this devoted young woman kept for forty-five minutes, by a watch held in the hands of one of the per... • . fans who attended the horrid e n this d n—a lion the poor girl accufed Gonzales, but the coacf (ion not being confidered fatisfaitory, the was in left than 34 hours fubjeded to the fame cruelty a fecond time ; perhaps this faithful reprzfentatinn of the feene would give the Jury an idea of the reality of the fufferings of its objeet—(holiang top a piBvre of d. which had bent draws for the purfrofe of toprefintial the fcene).—lt appeared to him that the cote which he had to lay before the Jury on the part of the pro fecution, was complete. His charge *gala the Governor was, that he had abufed his fituation, and, without probable caufes or jollification, inflia ed this poniflunent on this poor creature ; hut he un derftood he was to be told that although the higheft magiftrate in that country could not do this, yet that Governor Mon was juftified in doing it, from the Law of Trinidad. He (hould however fuppofe, (fab led to my Lord's corretion, to which he fhould implicitly bow,) that whatever might have been the pradtice in Trinidad, or the opinions of perfnns in Trinidad, there could be no mule for Governor Mon for fuch an as of inhumanity, orders he could prove the imperious and abfolute neceffity of it; us hers he could Thew that he had no choice; that the fafety of the ifland depended upon it, for that other -I,wire he was to remember that he was a BMA ruble. re fencing his Sovereign, bound to enforce no law which was repugnant to the feelings of common- ha , manity; that one of the great inducements our ewe- • miss have to furrender to the Britifh, is the confidence • they have in our protedlion when they do ; that when they become fubjeas of the Briti(b Government, torture was at an end. But he fbould ftill . go farther, and, until be was correaed by authority, contend, that it was not enough for the Governor tb new that he might inflitt this puoilhment by * law of Trinidad, but that he mutt make out a ate of abfolowe stereo: for it, before he tarnilbed the . Britilh name with Co fool a deed. In Eng land torture was not known—it was not to be spipeeted that we (hould know it here ; not becaufe we were capable of underftanding it, but we had thought of it fo feldom on account of its being fo horrible to our feelings, and in the adminiftration of office in England, it never had been and never could tolerated. Our hiftory indeed informed us. that in the reign of Henry VI. it was recorded of the Duke of Effex, that fomething of this fort was at tempted, to the infamy of his name for ever ; of which we had a good account in that valuable book, Blackftone's Commentaries, in which it appeared that the Duke attempted to introduce the torture of the civil law ; and the machine was now in the Tower under the title of if the Duke of Effie' Daughter." Another inftance is our hiftory was the caufe of Fen aim, who affaffinated Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, !when it was propofed to put that villain to the tor. ; but a queftson had been referred to the judges, sad they all agreed that torture mild not is allowed by at Lew of Eglasid ; nor could it be imputed to Go. ! moor Mon, that he was fuch a fool as to fuppofe the torture could ever be ufeful in the difcovery of truth. as had been moft ably Rated by Mr. juftice 1 Blackftone to be in its very nature that which would make the unhappy (offerer accufc any body, or even I secure itfelf falfely, from the escefs of pain and hor nor and it had been matter of calculation bow much torture a perfon of a given firmaefs of nerve could bear before he thould begin to (ay any thing that is afked of him in order to be relieved : st was therefore a wane of time to dikter* the point as to torture being ea inftrument to procure truth, or to fuppofe that Governor Piton could be fo fool& as to expea it could produce any Inch effee ; indeed, the abfurdity of k was fo great, that even Spain itfelf. and other aoestries where it had been prevalent, had become shamed of it, and had difufed it for many years. N But," Paid Mr. Gaaaow, w what will you fay if I prove to you, by many witnefies, that fo far from torture being the daily prattice in Trinidad, and that the Government there have ufed it, it was never ofed there by any body but Governor Fitton himfelf ; that he has the merit of its introduaion that the inftrument which relocates that, which by way of infamy is called the o Duke of Effix's Daughter," that is, an inftrument of torture, had no exiftence until General Mon corfed Trinidad with its pretence ;-..that it was an inftrument never known in that country until a Britifh Governor introthiced it—the Reprefentatives of the Sove reign of this mighty Empire—who thus (ullied the Britifh charater, always fo famed for its huma nity. Gentlemen, if I prefent this cafe to you in this light by proof, as lam allured I (hall—if I prove to you that there is no fuch law as that by which any torture can be infliaed—that there was no inftrument by which torture could have been in- Aided until General Piton brought it into Trinidad —if I prove that this puni(hment of torture has been hatted on this poor helplefs young I prove, in the hand-writing . of General Mon hitt:deli; the bloody order for its infliaion, I (hall leave the General abfulutely without the (Wow of a cafe to defend him. Gentlemen, the date I gave you of this tranfaelion Is tome time removed from the prefent time, and ma be raid to be far removed from it, being Mot. It be came expedient, in the minds of his Majefty's Minikes, to introit certain powers of inveftigation and direaion. to Commiffioners appointed for that purpofe ; one of thole was Colonel Fullerton, who took much trouble to difenver many evils which required a remedy, and this among them. This rune being difelofed to him, be felt it his duty, a duty he owed to the Britifh chara&ef and to common humanity, to bring it for inquiry, as it is now before you; for which, I think, his country is indebted to him. Gentlemen, I have feen the unhappy viCtim of this cruelty—l few her this more: ing, in a room which I entered by miftake, think ing it was one in which a confultation was to be held. She (hall be prefented to you, and you (ball hear her tale. Gentlemen, I (hall heat, with as much patience and attention, and with as much real pleafure as any man in Court, the addrel which will be delivered to you on behalf of the Defendant, by my excellent and more eloquent fritrid Mr. Dallas. But I (hall time to you with confidence, notwithftanding any addrefs that can be made to you, that I (hall obtain your verdia. I afk not of your palGons, but of your jullice, a verdit of guilty againft this defendant ; although you mull feel that while you give it you put one of your fel. low fubjeas of high rank In an horrible fituation, yet you feel it to be your duty ; and therefore, what ever the confequence may be to the individual, you will di:Charge that duty to your country." Louifa Eai!ierOli wtit examined by Mr. Atha ii, through the evidence of Mr. Lelpy, the interpreter. She gate a long, circumflantial, and minute detail of her fufferings under the torture, according to the ftatement of - Mr. Garrow end of the dreadful fcene under which the had fainted, and fell into the arms of the officer who attended the execution of the tor. tore on the wooden (pike, Sic. &c. She was imme diately put in iron, and kept in prifon eight months afterwards, and releafed and brought to this country by Colonel Fullerton. Raphael Chandris gave an account of the fame thing, and to the fame effect, and defcribed the nature of the office of the Judges in,whofe Court the lenience of the torture was pronounced. Don Juan De Monies, examined by Mr. HARJU. son, proved the hand-writing of the Defendant Go vernor Pidon to this order—" Inflict the torture on Louifa Calderon. T. Pidon, ssel Dec. rflor ;" and all that it was inflided, as already Rated, by virtue of this order, and no other authority. Lord E B OROUGIS" Well, we all know that torture is no part of the Law of England. But they muff thew on the part of the Defendant, that in Trinidad they were, at this time, under fome other *an the Law of England." Mr. DALLAS addreffed the Jury with his ulnal ele gance in fupport of the cafe of General Pidon. He entreated the pry to difinifs from their minds all (pecks of prejudice which was too apt to lay bold of men of the belt under-Readings upon fuch an occalinn m the prefers. He obferved that a great deal of art had been employed to bring odium on the character of General Pidon on this occafion, for a confitiera ble time: he alluded to the difputes which had taken place betweeft that Officer and Colonel Fullerton on this fubjed, and proceeded to dilate the various cir cumftances of this cafe, from the time of the Hand furrendering to the brave Gen. Abercrombie, whole Aide de-Camp General Winn was, and for whom General Abercrombie had the higheft efteem; as a proof of it,he left'l'rinidad under his Government, and left it to him to obferve all the old laws of the Spanifh Colonies, part of which, he was forty to fay, was the pratlice of torture, not that hors id torture, by which human beings 101 l their limbs, and fumetimes their lives, but a much milder fpecies of punifhment, as had been evinced by the appearance of this young girl, who had received no permanent injury. Here he entered on the kifiory of tortures, Mewing how they had been ufed nn various occafions ; and obferving, that the way to judge of fuch a cafe as this was not for the Jury to carry about them Englifh ideas, but to confider that this was a Spanill colony, where Spina( laws and Spanilh habits continued; part of that law was to apply this milder *cies of torture to thofe who were fufpeded of knowledge of crimes, to make them confefs what they knew—not that he was defending the pradice, but he was only fitting it. A Court of competent jutifdietion had taken this young woman up, had examined her by the rules of their law. had determined on applying this torture to her, but could not do fo without the authority of the Governor —applied to him for that authority—he being no lawyer, thought he was bound to comply with the requek and iffued it in which he sided merely minillerially. He re minded the Jury, that if the crime of which this young woman was 'seeded had been committed in England, it would have amounted to burglary, and had the been convicted, the would have Offered, be caufe the had ailed her gallant to rob her mallet. That although this torture was an improper mode of punilliment, yet it was not fo cruel as many of the laws of the Englifh Colonies againll Negroes, who are Cajal to have their notes flit, right hand cut off, or even to Puffer death fin obltruding a white per fou in the execution of the (entente of the law, &c. He contended that the Defendant in this cafe, Gen. Pidon, was entitled to his acquittal, on leveret grounds : Fill, That by the law of Spain, which the General was bound to adminifter, torture was appli cable in a particular inflance : if he could thew that, there would be an end of this indictment, becaufe every cnnnt in it charged that this was unlawfully done. Secondly, The ground was (for Gon forbid that General Pidon's defence should relt alone upon the &II) that the indictment in this cafe charges the application of torture in a particular inftance, with out any reference of its being done malicioutly or without probable caufe. Lord Ettritaoaouon obferved, that this was an untenable propofition ; for if a thing be done in the way of a crime, and that thing be olikvwfai, it is in law fuppofed to be making& done—no fpeciflc Proof of malice was neceffary in the cafe of a crime ; the malice was an inference of law oiling out of the ail ; this had been held in the cafe of the King and the Juftices of Cumberland, who had ailed bonafidei and under the advice of a very eminent Gentleman at , the bar ; yet as that happened to be an erroneous opinion, their conduit was held illegal, and therefore by inference of law, malicious, although it reduced the punifhment to nothing. Mr. Dattas continued. The third ground of ob- Whoa was, that fuppofing the Jury to be of opinion, that by the laws of Spain torture ought not to be in- Sided, lint that General Pidon was milled by the advice of others, and by books treating of the law of Spain, into a milconceptlon of the law ; and therefore this was a cafe in which an indictment will not lie; for that an erroneous opinion formed under judicial authority, is a complete rawer to any indictment againft a perfou ailing in a judicial character. Under all theft different heads, he argued that General Pillion was entitled to his acquittal. Lord ELLINIWROUGH••—•." There may be flips in the conduct of the Governor of a great fettlemtnt which should not be taken advantage of, when he ads bona fuk : but the caufe will be tried fairly ; if he has infiifted torture without the authority of the law, he ought to be punifhed for it; if it is torture inflicted by authority of the law, he ought to go free, however our feelings may revolt at the Tea." A vaR number of written documents were then Lead, and depositions of witneffes from the illand of Trinidad, and many Witnefies examined upon the practice of the law in Trinidad ; bot none of them knew of any infkance of torture having been inflicted there, nor of any fuch thing as the inftrument or tor cute being feen until the defendant became its Go vernor; and the firft inilance was in the picketing of fome foldiers, and the inflance in quellion was the fecond. Mr. Archibald Cloller, who had been Attorney• General of the Nand. gave an account of certain •ii b y sal Flll* s, ea e ever tit es--t Curr a, 'pica, Ellizondo, Robadilia, Patrida, and its Gregori.in Gloffary, Colones, Ito. front all which extran, w e re read, and in which it appegreel that torture may be ufeil by the laws of Spain (:fine n me of them /cave an account of the laws tiF the Cols nies of grain, which were alledFed to be 'different in n. Any re Ss; and totally fo, with regard to torture, from thit Of the mother country, It was then propofed by Lord ELL' pianaoucti, that this cafe be turned into a Special Verdi, and acquiefced in by all parties; but agreed that they fhould proceed to afcertain, and get upon his Lord fhip's notes as many of the fans as poffible as to the law of Trinidad ; in the courfe of which there was a great difference of evidence as to the fans; feveral witneffes (wearing that none of the old laws of the mo ther country was applicable to the colonies : and one gentleman who was a Spanilh Advocate who had come from Trinidad, and had been employed by Colonel Fullarton here to (radiate depofitions, (wore he did not know it to be the law to be found in any books of the bell authority, that the torture was ap• plicable even to Old Spain, by any authority of a later date than that of t 260. which was in a Rate of diffoe tude ; and others, (peaking as to the pranice of thirty years, in which no loch thing as torture had been known. Upon this Lord ELLEwsnr.nucH obferved, that a Special Verdid could be found ohly where the evi dence was all on one way, he could not prefent to the Court a verdict to be argued, when the fads were contradidory ; if he did fo, the Court would order a venire de sew ; it mud therefore be left to the Jury to and, as a fad, whether torture had been nfed at all by the laws of Trinidad ; if not, there was an end of the cafe. If they found that it had been ufed ud der the laws of Trinidad, then a Special Verdid might be taken. It was then proved that Sir R. Abercrombie con. tinned the old Spanifh late after the conquell ; and his Majetty exprelfed his royal pleaftite afterwards to the fame effed. After which Mr. Daxtes c•lntended there was abundant evidence from the books to thew that tor. cure had been ufed by the law of Trinidad- Mr. Gaitaow entered on a general reply, and con tended that now he was entitled to a general verdid of Guilty, which he did with great force and animation. Lord ELLarsolouois left the quellion to the Jury to find whether, on the whole of the evidence, they were of opinion that torture had been ufed by the au thority of law, in the ifland of Trinidad ?—That thi law books, out of which extrads had been read, fpoke of torture being agreeable to the law of Old Spain, was clear ; but on what terms Old Stain orig i n.tlly goo/ p#Alf of Trisidad two hundred years ago, did not appear ; it might have laws for the Colonies different from thofe of the Mother Country, as we had for ours ; but on that fttbjcilt there was a total ab. fence of proof. The quellinn was this—What was the law of the Wand of Trinidad when General Piton took the Government of it ; Or rather, at the time bf the capture of it ?— , Whether torture was part of that law ? The Jury found—There was no fuels law culling in the ifland of Trinidad, as that of torture, at the time of the fuirender of that idand to the BEMs. Lord ELIA maostouGu—" Then, Gentlemen, Ge neral Piton cannot derive any protetton from a fop pofed law, after you have found that no futh law obtained in that Mend at the furrender of it, and when be became its Governor ; and therefore your verdid fhould be, that he is guilty."—Gray. Mr. D Paid he &Quid move for a new triad, on the ground of the propofitions he had Rated. The Trial bated from nine o'clock in the morning till [even in the evening, and the Court was very - much crowded. While the unfortunate objet of the Defendant's barbarity was giving her evidence, an unmoifiened eye was not to be feen, and in particular when the Drawing was (hewn to her, which gave a reprefentation of her fufferings, the Ihrunk from it with a look of horror which excited the moft lively , fenfations in the audience. Governor Piton walked the Hall of the Four Courts during the whole of the trial. He is a tall • man, of a very fallow complexion, apparently about ' fifty years of age, and was drefred in black. He was accompanied by feveral of the civil officers of the 1 ldand. NAUTICAL INTEL ENCE. FALMOUTH, Fla. 23.—Arrived his Majelly's Chips ST. ;OWN, Vice Admiral Sir CHARLES' COTTON; PRINCESS ROYAL, PRINCE GEORGE, WINDSOR CAS. rut, BARFLIUR, FORMIDABLE, GLORY; and his Ma. jetty's Sloop of war ATALANTA, from a cruize off Brett; the brig Hope, Flee:two, from Demarara for London, laden with coffee, cotton, fugar, &c. with lofs of her fails, anchors, dec.; faded from thence under convoy of the BEAULIEU frigate, eleven weeks fine; and the Anchors, Hoes, of and from Dram. —Sailed his Majefly's (loop of war Emus Ls, with feveral veffels under her cower)y for the Downs. PORTSMOUTH, Fan. 24 —The tranfports suited here having the tft Light Horfe, and la, ad, sd. and 4th battalions, of the German Legion on board, have orders to hold themfelves in readinefs to proceed to Ireland ; the remainder of the troops, it is expeted, will be landed here. Arrived the Mars, SMART, from Lifbon with fruit. Sailed his Majef• ty's Ship Isconsrasr for Guernfey. Came into harbour from Spithead, feveral tranfpor:s (light) with hones. DOVER, Fee. 24.—The TARTAR and Nistsza Re venue cutters have feized, and fent in here, a large fmuggling lugger, having on board 1,200 calks of fpirits. Sailed the hoy Columbus, of Barth, Capt. WILKINS, for the Nine, to wait for convoy, being bound to Hamburgh with a cargo of wine and fruit from Malaga. Arrived this afternoon the (hip Ran ger, of and for Baltimore, in ballaff, from Anther , dam. One of our boats fell in with this morning, at half pal nine, eight miles W. by N. of Dungenefs • the (loop Two Slflers, belonging to Rye, having on board a cargo of oak plank. She had not a perfon, on board ; and, as fhe appears to be in good condi tion, it is fuppofed the mon have been chimed by a French privateer, and the crew, fanner than run the rick of being taken, took to the boat. Thr boatmen have brought her into this harbour. Wiud S.W. ant blows fret's, with a thick fog. :i