The National Register. — London, England, 1816-04-29 00:00:00

r I *their a.seertiotes; but it is itosunibent on them to explain the motives of their condom. Our of them (namely. Ili ho was the first confident in this &taw, will declare, that, adver tised of the retreat of Lavalette in Paris by au 411011SLM01111 letter, :it which be himself recta% eat eumplimesite, he believed, according to the declerations of the said tette r, that he was the only prison who conk, save him. At first his pride was flat. tried ; then his natural seestbility nail excited ; and, last of all, his understandine was csalted by discovering in the escape of 11Avalette sontetliltee romantic, and even miraculous, which powerfully struck his imagination, and impressed his heart. 'Doe etaer (Hutchinson) dial not feel the same decided warmth of fancy. It We' :0 his mind, a sentinieut of humanity which •exel ted itself in t hel cause of Lavalette: he only yielded to the desire of sit% isg an unfortunate man. The third (sir Itoht. Thomas Wilson) de•riv es the motives of his corset :et from higher considerations. He imagines that the honour of his own go vern:wait would base been riestroved, if a sentence of the royal court of Paris was exesuted. • He does not concern Wm pelt' with rho rights of soverelgort, or the unquestionable au thority of th,: judicial power in Erailee over a French subject. Alai! truly these arc comanon rules. The capitulation of Paris, -however, is his law. It has been violated, and be cunceives it to be his duty to clear his government of the opproarium which that violation casts upon it. Thus the convict was to • be saved for the honour of justice and that of Eaglatel. You - shall soon see how much truth there is in all this but, before we discuss his intentions, we mast establish facts. The convict had escaped from prison, bat it was necessary to escape from Paris. 1k could not here be concealed from an active poliec—a police which never sleeps—which has a hundred eyes to see, and a hundred hands to aapreliend— which always succeeds in seizing the object whom it pursues. It wa, necessary, therefore, that Lavalette should leave Paris, and cseu Frani c. You . arc already acquainted with the plan and the details of his escape. He effseted his escape in the imiform of an !Menet Officer. anal accompanied by Loglish of 'neer.; as tar as Compiegne, one of whom conducted LAW as far as Mons. Thus Bruce, who received the first confidence, goes to com municate it to HUICIIIRSOC, then to Wilson. The plan was At- ranged between then,, and each of them engages to act his part in co-operating for its accomplishment. Bruce Is to pro cure the measure of Lavalette; Hutchinson ordere the clothes; Wilson is to secure two passports under feigned mimes. thee of them engages post horses, another lends his carriage, and the third his -lodgings to receive thh convict on the night pre vious to his departure: and they all assemble on Sunday the 7th of Jatinary for the final accomplishment of their Wriect. The pretext of their meeting was au arrtngcnictit for a hum. intt-party; hut, at nine o'clock at night, an unknown individital announces Lavelettc, who is introduced, passes the night in the lodging:, and sets out with them on the following morning. I shall not trouble you with an acconut of the journey. I shall not descant on the measures they took before setting net, or the boldness and grandeur of enterprise which they disclosed. I shall lay before you the precautions they took against :we-- dents —the led-horses for the purposes of flight, the arms for the pawpoecs of defence--in a word, all those circumstances which invest an expedition with adventure and honour. 1 will lead your attention to one point : I mean the asylum given to the culprit before his departure front Paris ; and that given upon the road, in a house at Compiegne. This is called, in the language of the laws, a resale'. The simple fact of concealing condemned criminal is in itself a crime. The opposition of the accused Wilson, his protests against our procedure, his per petual invocation as an Englishman of the judicial forms of his own nation, are all connected with peetensions which cannot be listened to in matters of criminal justice. Criminality gives the right of punishment ; it bestows jurisdiction, for it aims at public order; and there is not a nation on the earth, there is not a social body, which does not in the hie:hest degree possess the right,and he under the obligation, to punish those who in ftinge it. livery malt sleiold know, when planting his foot open a foreign soil, that -his first duty is to observe its laws. Does be not eajaay their protection—du they not watch over his safety—and rim he invoke their aid in one case, and brave their authority in another? Good sense alone renounces such an error. As to the forms of inquiry, as to time mode in which the criminal tribunal is regulated which applies the laws, it is clear that they depend upon the right of sovereign jurisdiction. Every state has its justice, and also its mode of administering it. It is said, that a Frenchman accused of having committed a crime in England is entitled to have one-hall of his jurymen French. This is a privilege, doubtless. Here, however, you swill have no need of this privilege, it will be useless to you : Justice does not enquire whether you are natives or foreigu e is; it views you only as accused; anal it will know no other distinctions but those which proofs shall establish between in nocence and guilt. I proceed to the examination of these proofs, but I must first touch upon the head cut' accusation. Bruce, Hutchinson, and Wilson, are charged with being ac romplices in concealing Lavalette, lu ewiug that lie was con demned to die. The consequence is, that they facilitated and constainniuted his escape. Anal here I must anticipate a dispute about words. It will be said, that the escape was the act of is suing (ruin prison ; that outside the gates it wa. consummated ; and that thus it is false to charge the accused with hoeing face- Hated and comminmated a thing already June. But wa must look to the sense in which they are inculpated. It must br true, that the escape was this souse-- that the re-capture of the convict was rendered impossible. In vain dial the pull( e snake its searches tit Paris, wham the convict was no longer the re ; in vain, also, did it search for him in France, when he had passed the frontier; and thus the escape was con summated. But the fact which constitutes the crime which stands at the head of the accusation is the concealment. It does 11 , 1 i signify eether it aided or did not aid the escaae : it is, indeed, also little importance, that even if the convict had not been ulti mately able to save hiruself a had tie been re-taken in the very plsee sersei as his asj lute. :cue vaan who bad procured it har him would Lase been not the. WWI guilty. In one word, concealment is a distinct offence from that of escape ; and to establish (Iris paint of crimf Jai law unanswera bly, it is sutf.eisut to CUilipitit eauctments of the law on the two subjects. In the offence of escape, all who en -operated in it are punish ed : there is no distinction, except in the .pciailties ; for he who is placed as the keeper is more guilty than him who is not ; be yawl this the quality of the person is no feather regarded; and though eublic opinion may revolt at it, and litimaiaity sued a te.:r, a sun is not at liberty, legal!) speaking, to aid his father, nor a w ife her husband, in breaaing from prison; awl if Madame Lavalette has not been brought to trial, it was because, notwiih " atandiMr her ostentatious declarations, justice remained doubt and that it still perceived the influence of the ana act by which a wife tessieted her husband. rarity at principle? 'llw reason &lawless t sacred elld insiolable place ; Mat those 'nu mure to eotivry, but to juslice, which ritatauthocity in the 61 Wily, then, this sew: 19, tliat thr p ison is a confuted Iliac Lotlvng TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER. di tains ahem till thee answer for their crimes. In the eircet oi . concealment. neither does the law punish without distit eimn; it follows the dictates of ri null., and pious excaptions are lain (lowa for the father, the son, the spouYe, the brother, and other relatives in the S4llle degrt e. Here clemency stops, and jits• tire commlices. Renee all who eutireal a convict, with whom they are nut connected by ties of blood, are culpable. Bruce, Hutehinson, and Wilson will, therefore, he guilty: if they have concealed _ hat the' happened on this Nisi:less? There have been the coneealtuent and escape of Lavalette. Justice makes her inquiries ; at first, those only are found who arc implicated in the escape front prison ; and when it is shout to terminate its enquiries, a ray of unexpected light is thrown on the mystery of the concealment ; ether men and other projects are disco. weed. Those engaged iu the escape from ;nabob ale.ialt but to ~eve Laval' tte : those engaged in his cone. Malicia, by saving Lavalette, wished, or at least appeal to have wished, to excite to sedition or to revolt ;anti to excite any kiln! of (limit . - tie_r, provided only it was disorder. Butt the plan was foolish. Doubtless it wax; still, however, we must examiee it. We most see by what hand* the apple of discord was to be thrown amongst us. and the eoriespontience teaches us, that some foreigners were seriously employed on the happiness of France, that they were at work upon it, and that they would derive great joy from their success! It is true, however, that they are in IRV(' assistance, and that WC shalt take good care to give them none. How, then, were the) to make us happy in spite of ourselves? Now, gentlemen? Why, as was done in i7VI. The correspondents did nut know any better menus apparently, because there are ito tither. Thus an appeal was to lie made to the friends of liberty, who were to lout themselies iu motion; bete were to he movements in the provinces; and, abort all, a good means of agitation won!ii be the persecution of the Protestants, real or pretended! Oh ! ex relict' t ! nsis is on idea waieli fie wildfire, which spri ads leer cuslagium aiming the rat, (emit 'Nark this n which en,:tenthr. u spiril 4 lafillst lnuieeJ umii contempt for Me new &y -owl y.. . . It - is clear that, if the people were an totally misled, the revolution would be complete ; and it is for this very 'yawn that revolution is impossible. Edward IVilson, at Loudon, judged better of the state of France than his brother did at Paris. He began to dim rim his predictions, and wait tbr facts. He remarks, that if the French nation generally tom strongly disinthned to the Bourbons. proof of this tootrid be doily maetfested. And lie adds this observation : It so happen.; that there is no nililuryf wee in the 1-evinces, und yet the provinces are tranquil. On this subject he becomes inflamed. and says. that if it is WiSlit'd to overturn the existing order of things, the fire mud be , constantly kept, and ron,tantly risible, like a beacon of alarm in France and in foreign countries. May God avert this from us, and from foreign countries also ! We have all of us seen the sinister planet, portautous of storms, the storm is pas , ed, and new signs announce to us that the earth is pacified. Yes, we are at peace timomtz ourselves, and we will be to with others. The nations are at peace, with the single exception of some torkulimt men, to whom peace is war, as our old Montaigne has observed. Very well, let them re main in war, its theatre shall not be extended; but let them not imagine in their foolish thoughts that they will agitate France, if their beacon ylataraa is perceived, we shall only hasten to extinguish it, as we run to nut oat a tire. I shall now confine myself to the terms oldie indictment: and shall investigate % heth.iT the prisoners were accomplices in the coneeahnent of Lavalette. Art. 248 of the pen•l code declares guilty those who have concealed, or caused to he concealed. Such are the terms of the law. The nature of the fact is such, that there is a moral con viction, that those who concerted to get Lavalette out of France, also came to an understanding as to the mode of accomplish ment, the moment the escape from prison took place; he who wills the end, wills the means. It is also equally certain, that Lavalette, issuing from an unknown retreat, had need of some place of depot, where he might be at the disposal of those who meant to carry him off. You has e not be and it said that the re ; was on their part any vont ttttt neation with the first asylum 14 here Lavelette was s►creted; this was not neer-wiry : it w as sufficieni that they provided for I • 40 imtue•diate its)Ill111 ; and, by his passing the night there, that asylum became the place of comealment. What new happened? For the accused Hutchinson the fact is material. Lavalette passed in his appartinems in the rile Helder the night between the 7th and the Bth of January lust. Hutchinson knew well that Lavalette wrs condemned, and it was indeed his condemnation that excited the interest which he felt in his fortunes. Thus, with respect to him, al: the conditions of the law are fulfileir or rather all the prohibitions of the law are violated, mid the accused stand's:convicted of the mime charged. The prisoner Bruce is not in a situation that admits of greater doubt. It was to him that the first disclosure was made. He was the man who inspired a predilection into the condemned ; for lie who declared I elf so zealously in the affair of Mar shal Ney, would naturally be expected to sympathize with the situation of Lavalette. Reliance was placed on him, therefore, before trial was made. You see how he prided himself on the action, how he claimed the first share in the inheritance of glory. If any one is guilty, he is the noun. Nothing further could be requited to establish ►he crime of which he is guilty. He concealed likewise the condemned. The hour and the place of meeting were agreed upon with the rest. In csonse quence, he is found w ith lintehiuson on the evening of Sun day ; he there receives Lavalette. It is he who receives him principally, for at the appointed hour he descends to meet La valette ; lie conducts him from the stye et door to the apartment which was appointed fur him, and into it he leads the condemn ed with his own hand, for In such a delicate matter he must du every thing himself to make sloe of success. As for the accused Wilson, he will pretend, perhaps, that he is not included in the sante proof of guilt; for in strictness he cay say, " I happened accidentally to he with my fi lend hutch• insult; I went to his lodgings to enjoy my share of a bowl of punch, and I saw M. Lavalette arrive. the meeting was acci dental, and shall I be liable to punishment for having merely seen Lavalette ?" This language, if it came from the lips of a mast who hail no other communications from Lti‘aleite, might Le cuaciusive. As matters are at present, it signifies nothing. There is here a compact between three men to favour the escape of Laca tette, and, of course, to com•eal his person precious to his ewape. It is impossible fur who was on Cie morniag of the 9th at t h i gate of the house in the rue de Nelder, for the purpose of receiving Lavalette, to say that be did not know his retreat, and still further to dec - aire that be lad not contri buted to supply him with one. Du we not hem speak of one and the same trausaction concerted be twee;: ihemf 'fo conceal lavalette, and lead hint off, the three coadjutors, therefore, must necessarily hose concerted in a plan arranged for the whole transaction. I might a-k if the offence of COIICC:1 111 (In reerli) does nut consist ectiiily in the act of affording asylum i if to disguise a ama uZ oat likewise one 01 the tucans APRIL e 9. of eotiet...ling him, of secreting him from the pursuit of justice, if lie who ordered his measure to be takes'. se los furnished the uniform awe English officer, he who, to use an expression e.f his.own, dressed inn: 4.n the road (fait fis toilette e7l routc,) by cutting off some white hairs which appealed from below his coigUre; if all (heat arc not indiscriminately guilty of having disguised, concealed, and protected (merle) Lavalette? Hut on this point I shall not enter into controversy; it will lie ter minated in another wry. Au asylum at Pavia was not enough, another was necessary on the road,—thev stopped at Com piegne. At this time Wilson, who accompanied the terse-11er, who had given orders that the carri...ge should arrive at Coos • piegne at such au hour, and should stop at such a house. aas not a stranger to the choice of his lodging; it was pre-engaged before their arrival, they concealed in it Lavaleite. The learned cutinsel entered into a variety of farther sren. menu, which want of 4.440 in preve tits tis from in , erting, and concluded as follows: "i trust that I hoer sufficiently do velopeel the. facts; 1111111 shall conclude by calling sour sullen - time to the circumstances which tigueavate them. f speak not of the ante.ntion, altheugh the iutention constitutes the essence of the ulience, and though in this case the intention was truly perverse and detestable; I speak not to you of the material circumstance of the offence gt nensily ; the facts of escape and concealment are its themselves • 'd acts —they are effected by prudence and stratagem; lie who fit .4, or who conceals himself, has no wish to brave any one, but here the final escape was conducted with arms; and both he who fled, and those who accompanied him, were leterniined to employ force, if tie. eessaty. I pass over the circumstances of the led horses, in order that the flight might be more rapid in case of obstacles-- this was in the nature °rite transaction, in the necessity of their situation—but Lear possession of arms! and against whom were they to be used ?—against the public agents of Ft ench au thority—against those who are charged with its ortlers—agaitist all those indiscriminately so whom the superintendeuce and de• relicc of public order have been intnisted. Here, ti.en, the offence partook nithe initiative of an attack on the state; anti in this point of view, which it is impossible to disjoin, it acquires all the gravity of which It is perceptible. It has, then, called fur the warmest reprobation, the strongest repression, and the utmost extent of the punishment which the law provides for similar offences." After he had ended his speech, which made a great im pression on the auditory, the sitting was suspended for a quarter of an hour. 'when it was resemed, M. Clavean spoke m defence of Eberle, mad particularly insisted on the impossi bility of his recognizing Lavalette in a disguise which was se complete that every one was the dupe of it—even the gaoler who gave his hand to the convict, and the gendarme at the outer gate through which he passed. There was nu reason why an extraordinary perspicacity should be expected from Eberle. The language used by Eberle to his comrade at the moment when the chair set off—" it is droll, those three women did not say a word to me"—was exclusive of all suspicion of a participation; for if he had been an accomplice, he wou ld have avoided any language which might have compromised the success of the pint. M. ISLacuee, the defender of Roquette de Kergaidee, en deavoured to dispose the jury in favour of his client, by the recital of services which his ancestors and IIiCUSCIi . have ren dered to government. His only recompence was an annual pension of 30 francs, for himself and every member of his Mindy who had, like him, escaped the massact e of the colonies. The learned counsel then dwelt on the /Acetic heisted' Madame Lavalette and his client; and observed, that the three or four minutes during which the gaol( r was detained by his wife, so justly alarmed, were sufficient to secure the retreat of the convict; tbr if Roquette had got assay from her directly, he would have found Lavalette, alum the absence of the chair man kept nearly for that time at the gate oldie prison. After several other observations, the learned counsel ob. served—l arrive now at the hut charge against my client (at the word last, an ah! of satisfaction was heard among the auditors who visit scenes of this sort merely for amusement, without reflecting on the importance of the functionary who defends the accused)-1 mean the charge of not taking away the handkerchief with which Lavalette covered his face. Ro quette was a man; and, as the advocate-general has observed with a noble accent, he would not deserve the name of man who could have been unmoved at such a scene. M. Mv coy is, the counsel for Benoit, relied chiefly on his being the servant of La viCette, who 'night have erred front excess of devoted duty. He paid a Well tr.bute to Madame La valette, and mentioned as a subject of congratulation, that, in the midst of crimes and misfortunes with which our eyes were afflicted, they might repose with satisfaction on the noble devotedness of conjugal affection. lie referred in favour of his client to the deposition of Madame Lavalette, who had de clared that her boldness had done every thing. He compared the conduct of his client with that of the widow Dutoit, and complained that their situation was different—Jhe President interrupted him, observing, that he t nut criticise the sen tence of the chamber of accusation.),—" It is cot to criticise it," said M. Manguiri, " but to invoke it fur the sake of my client that I speak (." Wit . . . The advocate then proceede.l to appeal to the maxims of morality which recotnineild to domestics i:erolednta and oladi owe—maxims V.hicly said he, ai•pear to be coot, aty to the regulations of positive law. . . [there again the counsel was interrupted by the President and the advocate-get:oral, who observed that he must not appeal to any authority in opposition to the law.) M. M11:01;IN protested as to the purity of his intentions, and eonelinkil by referring to an expression of the advocate-gene ral, that his client had dime more than his duty: he left him, therefore, with tnll contid once to the jury. The sitting broke op at a quarter past five, and will be env t inued to-morrow, to hear the other Advocate, and At blinn1101; up of the President. It was remarked with interest that M. the Chief President, I)EStZE, pier of Fratiee, was present to participate in the satis faction with which a nunicroas vet select auditory applauded The talent and wise discretion ot the magistrate who directed this important trial. THIRD DAY.—WsDNESDAY, APRIL 24. M. DVPIN, the Advocate of Sir RonsitT WILsoN and his friends, made a speech intuit admired and of considerable Mae nuity, hot turning principally on points of French law, which would afford little entirtaittment to our readers. On the facts charged against the accused, after their frank avowals, coral borated by the fullest proof docunicutory and parole ' no possi ble &Oat could remain : and about half-past five on Uedneklay afternoon the jury (12 in number, drawn by lot, and mostly men connected with . ..he law) delivered their verdict into court. It was read by their foreman, and contained an acquittal of all the Fr:iichnieti exeunt the turnkey EIiFAILE, who, as uell As Sir Rol:F:1:T W/LSON, Mr. Bitt:CF:, and Mr. HUTCH iNsoN, was found quilts. The President, M. de Suss, then proceeded to read the !nail, of the penal rode spplivable l 0 the convich•4 Ve41011:4 £j utj.i was scutctiue d to tau )*:4l•3' WUlulaunlaent.