The National Register. — London, England, 1814-07-10 00:00:00

JULY 10. resides in Portman-squat e. in a very precarious state of health. The authenticity of the certificate is unquestionable ; and it is more im portant, since it was ni.t obtained for the purpose of proving the truth of my statement, but his the original certificate authorising his retorn to England on account of ill health, and bears date nine days prior to the ::Ist of February. It includes a period of six weeks, namely, from the Ist of January : and yet the learned Judge argued against the probability, nay, stated, that it was almost im possible, that I should have heard of his illness on the 17th of Fe bruary ! With respect to inv account of the conversation which passed between De Berenger and myself, I submit to Ow house, that it is not only true, but pet feetly probable. It was not necessary that I should know the business which De Berenger had been transacting, in order to belie% e that he had reasons for wishing to quit the kingdom. His wish to go to America, and Sir Alexander Cochrane's application in Isis behalf, were known to me, and clearly proved on the trial : and the prosecutoes Counsel admitted De Be renger was in the rules of the King's Bench, and so involved in debt, that he would rather reside in any country than this. . After the ap prehension of Mr. De Berenger, I did, by the advice of Mr. John. stone, address to him a letter through the office of Lord Solmouth, calling Nom him to state to the public his reasons for coshing to my house on the v'lst of February —and he answered that " his object was correctly detailed in my affidavit." I hold this original letter in my lunch. Relying upon the difference of the dress in which De Berenger appeared before me from that described by the Stock Exchange Committee, and on the assurance of Mr. Johnstone that De Be renger bad informed him that he could unequivocally prove an alibi by at least a dozen credible witnesses, and believing that, at all events, my own ismoeence mould prove nsv protection, I felt so perketly secure as to the issue of the trial, that I gave no instroc tipos to counsel. attended no consultation, and never even read my own brief; into which a fatal error was introduced ; but leaving the whole business entirey its the hands of my Solicitor, I retired to my noose in the country, and did slot retnin till two days previous to the trial. His Lordship next complained that his ease had been mixed wills that of Mr. Butt, -contrary to his express directions. He denied and disproved, by a letter from his solicitor, Isis having any concern in setting up De Borenger's alibi. As to De Berenges's dress, his Lordship stated Ishii:elf to be now rrady to prove that it was such as he had sworn it to be, and not suet& as Crane described, and, regretted that his servants had not been called to prove his de poßition. He sent them to Goildhall for the purpose ; but an error having crept into tho brief, wherein De Berenger's coat was de scribed to have been a red one with a green collar, though he (1 Cochrane) had sworn it to have been green, Mr. Serjeant Best re fused to examine thens. Ili __.s Lordship glanced at the probability ghat Crane might be influenced by the reward of 2501. offered by the Committee. He described Crane from the fallowing paragraph, extracted from some paper : " On Friday last William Crane, the driver of the hackney-coach No. 782, was summoned before the Commissioners, upon a char, : e of cruelty to his horses. The circumstances detailed were so shecNag us induced the Commissioners to obserce, they never heard a more atrocious case." Now, Sir, I ask, continued his Lordship, is the evidence of an old and faithful servant, who has been in one family 17 years, together with the evidence of three other witnesses of unimpeached veracity, to be outweighed in the balance by a wretch of this stamp ? On the subject of thc bank -notes, found in De Berenger's possession, which had been evehaoged for others that had once been his ; his Lordship pledged himself to prove, that they were given by him to Mr. Butt,' for bona fide payments, for money borrowed, and to Messrs. Wilkinson and Crosthwaite, his Lordship's wine-merchants, in whose cellars he was engaged . more than two hours, on the d.iy the fraud was alledr,ed to have heen anmed, tasting wines to be sent oti board the Tonnant. Having mentiotr.d Mr Butt, I take this opportunity of stating, that my connection with the fowls a:Ose from a conversation with that Gentleman in Oetc.ber la 4. when the progress of the allies and the favourable aspect of affairs induced him to recommend me to place my spare money in govern me, t securities. I told him, that I had disport! of it in private se curities and land. He then informed me that I might rain without advancing, the principal, and offered to conduct the business for me. He urged this proposal, which I then declined, being unwilling to entor into spectilations which I did not understand. However, in in the course of a few days, to my great surprise he brought me the sum of 4301. as the profit on a speculation which he said he had made for me. Not wanting the money, I desired him to sport with it till he, had knit it. Between that veriod and the 19th of Feb. the sum which he had gained for anti placed to my account, without 4.99 my control, amounted to 4.2001. I have witnessed many disinterested acts of Mr. Butt, and I think him incapable of a dishooourble action. His Lordship next proceeded to comment with great bit terness on the conduct of the noble Judge who tried the cause. (This we must omit, as likewise his observations on the Jury]. %illy did Lard Ellenborough, in his charge to the jury, (continued his Lord ship), take one part of my affidavit as true, and another as false ? professes to quote from my affidavit as to the facts of my fur nishing De Berenger with a coat to wear instead of his uniform : and put it to the Jury to consider " whether a man coming so dis. guised, and going away with his disguise in a bundle, was not on a dishonest errand ?" In all this Lord Ellenburough professes to quote, and draw conclusions from my affidavit ; and he represents me as acknowledging De Berenger to have come into my presents disguised; and going away again with his disguise in a bundle I If there be one word of this in my affidavit, then I am p'erjnrcd, and Lord Ellenborough speaks truth. 1 stated, that De Berenger. an officer in a rifle corps, called upon me in a green uniform ; and this, the Judge submits to the Jury, is ka disguise, and a proof of his coming on a dishonest errand I " Having hunted down the game," continues this Chief Jastice, the prosecutors at last sheaved whit became of his skin. And • it is a very material fact, that the defendant Berenger strip ped himself at Lord Cochrane's." Whys is it muteriai cause it is one of those facts, which a guilty man would Lave been most anxious to conceal : and since this material fact inver enuld have been known if I (Lord Cochrane) had not voluntarils divulged it, it is chiefly important, as furnishing strong presumptive proof of my innocence. [His Lordship then takes several detached parts of • Lord Ellenborough's charge, on which he rematkvaith great free dom of invective. This we must pass over, for the reasons hefore assigned.] His Lordship complained that it was not stated to the Jury, that he was from home two hours after De Berenger.called ; who had consequently time to change his dress, and had a portman teau with him to carry off his disguise, the . same probably in which he carried it to Dover : that he (Lord C.) first disclosed the tact of De Berenger's coining to his house On the proceedings that took place atter the trial, his Lordship said,—l did think, that as the witnesses who could materially have contributed to prove my inno cence of the charge had not been ex:mini:A; and aft I could sheer that their not being examined originates' in error, and that such error was not my own, that I had a just claim to a new trial. My first application was rejected under the pretext of a Rule of Court —which is, that no person. however innocent, if included with others in an indictment for a conspiracy, and if the dill - lenity of separating the cases are condemned, shall be allowed a s encasing,. unless he eau catch his supposed associates, and compel theinto ac company item into Court—a condition which it hi as indispeusible as impossible to pertiirm. As I could In inter see the wisdom nor justice of this Rule of Court, I pressed stiy hard to be heard in he. halt of my. ; but it so happened that another person, also convicted of a conspiracy, had that very mornin; beets refused a new trial ror a similar reason. On my second attempt to obtain a new !rial. I was indeed permitted to speak ; and I have reason to belicve that the statement• which I !ben read notivinced many persons its court, and has since convinced many thffliqklidS out of court, of my entire innocence. Of' the ditierent documents on which my :notion for a new Iliad was fUlllPded, some were not per mated to be read, and others were only read to be rejected. Among the latter was 111 V affidavit of the 11 th of June, to which call the attention of the Hmse : [The affidavit has been given in a fOrmer paper.] Here, Sir, I submit, is ample refutation of the aspersions"cast upon me from the Bench. I trust the House will now be satisfied, that I lost no time in divulging all that passed, and did, a' the earliest a tios , Able period, make a full demand of all that passed betwi en me and pi. Ilerenger on the v.lst of February, and that he did not appear before me iu the " costume of his crime." 01 all ty1111111ie(5 Sir, the wort is, that which exercises its reins mice under the glllAe of judiciai proceedings, and especially if a filo y make part of the means by which its base purposes are 016.10. The who is flung into a prison, or sent to the.seatlAil, at the nod of «n avowed despotism, has, at least, the consolation to know that Lo •uffictin;s bring down upon that despotism the execratioo of man. kind ; but he who is entrapped and fifiangl4d in the meshes of a crafty 11,114 1 corrupt system of inrispiudence; who is pursued imper ceptibly by a law with leaden ti et and iron jaws ; who. is not put upon his trial till the ear of the pribliC has been P"6"1"11. amid i'4 heart steeled against him, falls at last,:witliont being (-ucre(' w't.t a hope of seeinu his tyrants cwt.:Opt, even by the woolliest of tilelid3. • In their principle, the ancient and settled law; of Etz. ••• • THE NATIONAL REGISTER. . •-_