The Statesman. — London, England, 1820-10-26 00:00:00

IFINIIW arm — g o they act, sufficiently account for the vileness of I tw i t conduct. lint to what, except the most revolt- ' mg mate depravity, and the most shameless contempt a ll t he decencies of life, as well as of the princi ote pfjustice, can we ascribe a similar course pursued by t hose of distinguished rank, who cannot plead the h o e excuse of poverty and subjection. Nothing be t he grossest arrogance, or the most besotted iivotiot e, can lead them to imagine that practices 0 repugnant to the whole spirit and form of 0 English Court of Judicature can be pursued is 3 ~,,n en t, without rousing in every English breast t he warmest indignation and abhorrence. How de testable, ac companied with such a course, are all thme hypocritical and disgusting pleas of deference for moti lity, on which the prosecution of the Qrarst `are been impudently attempted to be justified ? It 00 oduct like this, that repels the hearts of honest o ,‘ ',lightened men from the system that excites it, 0 t pokes them cleave with greater sympathy and w e l t to her whom it strives to destroy. It is by m aw like this that the minds of Englishmen are arm front the authorities which they are expected word. more than by any means that ever have hoc or can be directly employed, for inspiring them ‘ 4l disaffection. The Throne, we read, is established ; but it can never be supported by hypocritical pretence. To think of thus promoting t k i kgratlation of the QuEsst, and by these vile arts to stwagtben the interests of morals or of political sr social order, is, of all attempts, the most absurd and lawsnistent. in sifting at the degratlation of her Naar', the men who are so base as to employ these mans, if they do not actually effect, must awfully en danger their own. General Per, it has been announced, has taken p o ssession of Palma.), which surrendered on the 7th instant. DEFENCE OF THE QUEEN. HOUSE OF LORDS.—This SIORNINU. Aft , :r the ceremony of prayers, the Peers were called. —The dr:Auiters were Lord Nortliesk, the Earls of (ins tant and At lesburr, the Marquis Cornwallis, the Mar gaisys of • Exeter and Winchester, and the Duke of Counsel were then called in, and Dr. 1.1-sittswrox, as NMI as silence could be obtained, addressed the House all/lion 6:— • - Lords-11ne1 I been suffered to exercise my own discrerian, I sbottld not now have the honour of address t; but on the present occasion, I am about to disehar.,,.e a ditty whirls Las been east upon me by the better opinion of my learned colleagues, who consider this vas • so entem-ive in its branches anti so important la its affects that, Ives after the powerful exertions' of my learned Friend oho atitireoted you yesterday, there yet some room for observation upon this extra ordinary ease. Your Lordships are aware that tins task which has fallen upon me is one of no ordinary diffi culty to perform ; but although 1 an► conscious of my inability to perform it, I have one consolation which will attend me throughout the discharge of this doh• : it is the consolation, that in the sound judgment of all my Learned Friends, this case, it would be my duty to assist, stands upon a foundation so firm, that the faults of the most unskilful advocate cannot injure it ; and an additional consolation I feel is, the assurance that the none tWs case shall undergo discussion, the more clear will he the innocence of the illustrious lady on whose behalf I stand. I feel it, my Lords, to be my duty, in the first instance to notice tuu circumstances in this case, witich, in toy humble judgment, render these proceed ings with •tit precedeut in all the annals of Ilistorv. In the first place, I observed, that not only is the Governrucnt of this eottntry the prosecutor, but to Iry astonishment, I see the Members of that Government sitting in . 111,1 g -went on the artotseil. In the next place, I should remark, that althouOt that branch t f my profession which has been my inure immediate study, has brim:hi me to the frequent consideration of cases of adultery, I never yet knew or heard of a ewe set extraordinary at the present, with referenr•e to the age of the accused. Not only have I never known or ht art!, but I do not believe I ever read a case of a husband orekitic the divorce of his wife on a charge of adultery committed at the age of fifty. 'the Learned Gentleman then proceeded to a-k are out the dnties in the marriage state reciprocal'? Is there nue duty fer the subject, another for the seep tred Monarch ? Where shall I look for that inter course that nature ordained between the mother and the child? That same spirit of persecution that ex iled n:y illustrious but unfortunate client from this land, has fotlow•ed her into her testing place. These are eireamstancoa of a disagreeable nature, that my it:sinful duty obliges me to advert to. It is needless to &Paw thus subject 'brooch all its bearings; but if I were to i n troduce those topics which arc handled in those courts to which I have the honour to belong. what should I say of the husband, who, insensible ct: his own honour, would come to this House and call fur justice i What would I say of the man, who, if he hail the misfortune to discover any frailties in his wife, would say, not indeed, as he would say, "do thy way, and sin no more ;" hut would say, Co, indulge thy criminal passion and desires ; go, en joy as long as you please, your adulterous intercourse, and I grill /Sssis.is yam witA the mesas." My lards, we have introduced no recrimination. Thanks to the wisdom of those Learned men, to whose bands the rause of the Queen is entrusted ; thanks to thtir prudence, the nation has been saved from the d,eadful consequences of such a proceeding. hut, my Lords, unless you are prepared to violate the laws of God and man, unless that Learned Bench, wham I see before use, and who constitute a part of this august assembly, are prepared to abandon the sacred tenets of the Gospel. you cannot. 1 say. pro nounce as unfavourable decision on this case. Al low rue to call your Lordships attendon to the r. law of this case, at least those of your Lordships to whom such information may not be familiar, in order to prevent you from being misled by my Learned Friends on the opposite side. My Lords, the Soli-1 citor-General, in his able speech, referred your Lord ships to a d ec i s i on t h a t was p ronou nc e d by Sir Wil liam Scott, and no man bows with more reverence to the matchless talent of that great Judge, than I do. Ile then referred th e i r Lord s hips to the decision. It was in the case of Louden v. Louden. But my Lords, although the Solicitor-General dwelt with great empha sis, on that decision , he concealed from your Lordship's view the grounds on which that decision was founded. On this subject, my Lords, I shall quote, for your better information, the words of that great man, who, no matter what the station of the parties may be, never forgets the ends of justice. He said, " that acts of the most indecent familiarity bad been proved by wit nesses above suspicion ; the letters of the lady were intercepted, and they were letters of such a descrip tion, that many a woman who inhabits a brothel would be ashamed to write." And surely, my Lords, it must be considered a little extraordinary that my Learned Friends could bring themselves to draw a comparison between the two cases. Do not think that I call fur your verdict on mere legal grounds, because there is not sufficient proof to amount to a moral conviction, but because I sin firmly of opinion that no proof ha s been adduced on which any man of honesty or &milkier+ could pronounce a verdict. It is not me intention to trouble your Lordships with any disproof of the minor parts of this case. But I will show you that Rastelli, Deniont, Majucchi, and the others are perjered ; and if I do not, before I close this address, I beg your Lord ships will stop me, and I am prepared to throw up my brief. But while lam able to do this, which I have no doubt of ; and also that the principal, nay the only, the sole supporters of the Bill are perjured, need I entertain the slightest fear of an unfavonrable verdict ? In advert ing to time evidence of Demont. he could say nothing less, than that she had been nurtured to betray her gener. , us mistress. The Learned Gentleman referred to various parts of her evidence, and pointed out the pal pable can;ion with which she spoke, whenever giving evidence of a circumstance likely to fall under the observation of others. Ile should now go over the evidence of twelve persons had been called too behalf of her Majesty, who hail been constantly with her, fruit her first entry into Naples, until her de parture from it: and, as to credit and character, lie would nut insult those respectable persons, by making a comparison of them with the cargo of Italians. The Learned) Doctor then went over the evi dence of Lord Glenbervie, and of Lady Charlotte Lindsay ; the latter a witness, whose testimony was given in the mist candid and honourable manner. That 1.a.1y said, that Bergaini conducted himself towards the Princess, as a person in his sitnation oa tunny ought to conduct and it was nut a lit tle remarkable, that Lady Charlotte Lindsay, was with her Royal Highness, in March and April, l 1,, the time when the adulterous intercourse was charged to have taken place at Naples. Iler Ladyship observed. that there appeared no more familiarity on the part of the Princess towards Bergaml, than three was too anis.. Siccard. In discussing the evidenceof Lady Charlotte Lindsay, he could not forbear reminding their Lordships, of that which was probably known to several of them — that that Lady stood for honour and character very con siderably above the usual standard of her sex. He should j now address himself to the equally respectable testimony of the Honourable Mr. Craven, who declared that he never saw any impropriety in the conduct of her Royal Highness either at Naples or any where else, when he had time honour of being with her; and that lilt the part of Bergami there was nothing presumptuous or assuming in his deportment from the time he waited behind her chair, as a Courier, to the moment 311.1 in cluding the time of his being admitted to dine with his Royal Mistress, at her table. Sir W. Geld also spoke to the same effect. Berganii, he said, behaved as lie ought, and he (Sir W.) never observed any impropriety in the conduct of her Royal Highness. A question was then put to Sir William Gel!, on the part of the prosecution —a question, the like of whir% was never put before on a criminal prosecution; fur its object was to aseertain the opineus of the witness as to the guilt or innocence of the accused. " said the learned Doctor " I did not object to the question, for give me but an honest witness, and if I believe my client innocent, I will let you ask bins what you please. Give me but a man who regards the solemnity of an oath, who has a character to maintain, anal who desires to hold up his head in manly honesty, and fears to hang it in coasts:oos guilt ; give me such a man for my witness with an inno cent client, and away with objections and technicali ties! Away with the distinction of cross-examina tion, re-examination, and objections to leading questions! Try such a witness by the severest test of cross-exami nation, and I will not only permit, but thank you in the name of my client." The question to this witness was, " Did you observe any thing in conversation, look, or gesture, to induce you to entertain an idea that an adul terous intercourse existed ?" See my Lords to what an ordeal my illustrious client is reduced! If in the course of her Royal Highness's residence at Naples, there had been one single act, one unguarded expression in the innocence of overflowing affability, what must hare been the answer? How is her Majesty tried Not by facts ; but by A uctruding opinions, anti yet, even by this trial, she came through it with honour for Sir W. Geld said, in answer, that he had never the least idea of any impropriety in her conduct. But the Attorney-General would say, " These are people of character, and the Queen was on ber guard before them." Well then, he (Dr. L.) would refer to the evi dence of a plain honest domestic of her Royal High mess, M. Siccard, whose evidence was completely con firmative of the testimony of the other witnesses; who swore he never saw or suspected any impropriety. and that her Royal Highness was condescending and affable to all her servants, almost to a fault, Dr. Holland had sa id that the manners of Bergams to wards her Royal Highness was unpresuming and re . spectful ; and denied all impropriety of conduct betwemi them. Mr. Mills stat ed, that lie saw them together firm quently, and never observed the smallest impropriety of , any thing that was in the slightest degree c d o e n ro d g u at cl Ory or to the character of the British Bonfire. 1 MAN. - _ that criminal intimacy, which was charged by the Bill, bad ever existed, would not Bergami have been seen at some period or another, presuming upon that crimi nal Intimacy, and departing from that respectful line of conduct Which these gentlemen invariably witnessed ? Lieutenant Hownam also never observed any impropri ety or indecency in the conduct of the Queen toward him. All the other witnesses had deposed to the sass' effect ; the last of these, Vassali, had been staying with her Majesty up to her arrival at St. (liners, and never witnessed the smallest impropriety. lie trusted he had fully established the proposition with which he set out, that the conduct of the Queen and of this person, had been perfectly consistent with their respective situo.. lions. The next statement of the Attorney-tie *oral was, that the Queen having formed this degrad leg attachment, and being conseiols of the infamy and disgrace which would attend its indulgence, by differ eat ingenious contrivance, parted with her English mite. It was his object to 'hew that each and every one of these charges were unfounded. Let their Lordships see how the last fret stood. The Learned Doctor then went through the various causes which induced the dif ferent English persons of her Majesty's suite. It was then stated, that the Queen forgetful of her true dignity, had associated with low people. Now it had been )roved by Doctor Holland and others, that she bad been visited by ail the nobility,—that there was not a court to which she did not go, and every where, as Lieutenant llownam hail described it, her conduct was majesty and grace. He had for gotten that there was one exception. At the Court of Vienna her Majesty was not received. At that Court my Lord Stewart was ambassador. At that Court the brother of Lord Castlereagh resided, one of the prosecutors in this case. And what was my Lord Stewart beside ? Ile was the foster-father of !ajocclii, the principal dealer in perjury. Here was the reason which prevented her Majesty's reception at the Court of Vienna. The Learned Counsel then went over the evidence of Mr. ('raven and Sir IV. Gel!, relative to the recommendat:on of liergami, and his appointment as con ler. When they considered the manner in which Ile had conducted himself before he entered the service of the Princess ; and from that period, to the present time, did it not contain a strong refutation of the impropri ety that was alleged upon is elevation ? But, my Lords, bow far different could his conduct have been, if the crimes alleged against the Primness, had been committed. Front the very moment that she con sented to this ignominious and disgraceful passion, she would have become his slave. When he lied found her ungovernable passion at its utmost height, he would throw away all idea of servitude, anal would have riled her as he thought fit. Is it likely, my Lords, if this was the case, she would have gone on this journey, an adventure that few would undertake, when she could gratify her criminal desires at home, unin terrupted. My Lords, if we are to judge at all the conduct of the Queen by human actions, we must see this conduct is quite inconsistent. 'floe Learned Doctor then drew the attention of their Lordships to the evidence of Demont on the Queen's arrival at Naples. He I i was tarry to he obliged to tread on grouuds that had been gone over by his Learned Friends. Bat there were some points that he could nut avoid observing on. His Friend, the SolicitorAieneral, must triunsph• antly laid the scene of ailtil:e7y at Naples. On the first night of the Queen's snivel, she goes to the concert, on the second to the opera ; and their Lordships would remember, that the whole fit of adultery depended on [lemma solely.—Now, according to her story, William Austin bad been rasevell from the room of the Princess in which he was in the habit of sleeping, on the night of their arri ! val. Now William Carrington proved, that long before the Queen's arrival at Naples, William Austin had been removed from the chamber of the Princess ; and Mr. Craven had sworn to the same fart, heroism he had ad vised her that William Austin should hr removed, in consequence of his being grown too old. Siccardhad also been called, who swore to the same facts. Ile was aware he was introducing a part of the case that must be tedious to their Lordships. But lie would go further and spew the inconsistency of this lady's deposition. She snore, that on the nig'st the Princess meant to celebrate her Hymenial rites, she removed William Austin into ano ther room adjoining hers, through which there was an easy and free communication. What wonlol their Lord ships think of that? lint she goes further, and states, that on her return, the Princess went towards the Cabinet, and immediately returned, and then dismissed Demont. She stated that in order to facilitate the accomplishment of this desire, Bergami had been placed in the cabinet, and iu direct opposition, they had the . testimony of Sic card, who placed liergami in that bed unknown to the Princess, fur the purpose of protecting that part of the House. lint in three days afterwards, this lady is again called up, and she completed the tale, with the story of *ivies. When examined ahem Bergami slept, she did not know, unless in the large bed. This same large bed bad no shorts on, but had the appearance of two sleeping in it, and had certain ap pearances, which she called stains; and that she ob served the same arrangement the whole time the Princess was there. Would any hotly give the slightest credit to such an assertion ? 'that a lady, at her age, in the month of November, would run the risk of sleeping for four months, on a bed without sheets, outside the blankets? And the more so, when she could have had every convenience. He should pass from Demont to Majocchi, her partner in the baneful, profitable trade of false swearing. Ma jocchi asserted that while he was asleep, or seeming to he asleep, the Princess passed him and went to the room of itergami. He (the Doctor)should have something to say on this assertion, but Majocchi determining to complete the proof, actually swore that her Royal Highness dill this a second night, and this second assertion very fortunately disproved the whole. Haul lie rested on his first assertion it nilght have been urged that the Prin cess dial not know Majocebi was 113 that room ; that she was confused , or a number of other vireo(' might be advanced to shew the probability that3lajocchi had spokes the teeth. But to suppose. that the Prince" , ia her lie tin to gratify her unholy passion, shoals, have (rid alias all caution, and should have paled thorough Majocchi's room A second time, and that too, not bi necessi y, but by choke, (fur it was proved that there was another, and more convenient communication toßer gau►i's room), to suppose all this, would he to suppose that she bad taken leave of her senses; indeed, the story carried contradiction on the face of R. The Learned Doctor then proceeded to a review of the e% dente respecting the masked hall et Naples. The statement of the Attorney tieneral was, that her for it Highness went to that ball in an indecent dreg., and that on her changing the dress, Bergami was in her chamber fur threr•quarters of an hour to assist h..r in the change. The proof on the other hand was, that the dress was not indecent, and that with reference to the change of dress, her Royal Highness had sevc^al dresses underneath that in iptestion. But the oljee! of the Attorney-Ueneral to raise an impression f attachment at Naples was evident. For if I n • could on e poison the source, he would have no shill •x!tv in de stroying the remainder. If lie could raise a belief in th .ir Lordships' minds that an attachment existed at Naples, it would not Jte difficult to lead them to an equal belief of all the seeming disgusting evidence. The Learned tientlentan requested permission to re tire for half an hour, which was readily granted, and the House adjourned for that time. (To be roatiared is a Secomd rt:th) z.) A letter from Rome, dated the ;th inst. m mti tet a curious question having arisen between the P. 1;! ti Government and that of Vienna. The Pope's Le gate at Ferrara has reclaimed, in the name of. the Pontifical Government, the Count tandnici, of th.tt city, who had been arrested by the An..!tian ..% v• t!torities at Verona, for having belonged to the Assoriation of the Carlionari. 'I he Le t fate has found ed his demand on the erantid that the. Count Canenice being a subject of St. Peter, is, in that quality. ti.e amenable to any foreign tril...itnal. Will the Anstr:an lievernment comply frith th s demand of the llot.y Fa ther ? Whether it will or not, we Inspect the sTtua tion of the unfortunate Cou n t will be little arered. ' The following most melancholy event oecurreA, during a heavy gale of wind, accompanied with rain. from the W.S.W. on Jiond.ty last, iu Tenhy Bay.— A line schooner, with a figure-bead and painted pout (supposed to be an American) having . reitnied the eastern point of ('ably Island and stood in for Trilby, while the crew, by their usanouvring of the vess:l, I .. u etrayed a total ignorance of the roast,—two pilot boats immediately pat to sea, in order to render them assistance. When, at the imminent peril of their lie: a. the humane and enterprising individuals who thus tee rituriuusly volunteered their serriees had proceeded about a mile from the shore, the schooner was at a k by a heavy sea, which washed her stern-boat oyerbJart. On perceiving the tremendous breakers on Weedlex rocks, the crew, it is supposed, were afraid to near t' .• shore, and cottersreenttty bore away in another tier::- Lion. It being late in the evening, theee is tie wee) , !reason to apprehend that the vessel was st:euded on . the opposite side of the bay, and that, from the stn. , \of the sands, the crew must inei itably have eerish• al. One of the ; pilot-hoats returned in safety to Teoby, , whilst • the seller, when within a few yard, of tha I shore, was, by a sudden gnat of wind, upset. In coa lsequence of this, two boats were instantly dispatched. n l with a view to the assistance of the unfortunate title::- era; but we lament to state that, notwithstaeding every possible exertion to save them, four out of five I who had thus been precipitated into the sea and' were 1 benumbed with cold and exhausted with fatigue, stinK to rise no more. In aggravation of this ecalatn a-1 tons circumstance. we regret to learn that three of t:•:.• • unfortunate men have lett wives and children to d.:, plore their untimely fate.—Two of the bodies have been picked up. The Right lion. William George, Earl of E r.l will early in the ensuing - month lead to the 1” ut-n, al altar Miss Eliza Fitzelarenee, third daughter id* i.is , Royal Highness the Ituke of Clarence. 'the briar elect is in her ISO' year. i A most sanguinary riot took place at the fair of Emly, in the county of Tipperary, on the 22d 111 , . There has been a feud existing het w..en the families !of Hogan and Pi:zgerald for time inueutotial, but kid from coming to au open conflict by the activity !of the police of Tipperary. till this (evasion, when these unfortunate people, to the number ef sere r A thousands, commenced their bloody proceedings 1... fore seven o'clock in the morning, armed with r:yth... 1 sticks. swords, and fire-arms. They fought wit:. , desperate fury until the coming up of the pelic.., which put an end to the contest. One mall w ' s killed, and flee supposed mortally, soil several siiehtly wounded. 'I hirty-three pri- otters were lode rd in Tipperary jail by the police. The Magistrates have memorialized Government for an increase to thy small garrison of Tipperary. Yesterday, a gentleman went to his brother at the Stock-Exchange to sell out a quantity of stock, fc. which the broker tendered him his draft for npvtard.: of 4000/. The gentleman did not seem to like tle broker's tender, and desired him to bring Rani.: notc for the amount. With this request the broker complied and the gentleman put the notes he received. in hi pocket-book, and departed from the Stock-Exchar! , . H. had not proceeded further than Lornhariktre.•, when he found that his pocket was picked of the ponce'. book with its contents. A reward of 200/. is this morn. line offered for the detection of the depredator. Among the multitudes who, yesterday, accompaitied the processions to Brandenhurgb House, the pic.••• pockets were, as usual, diligent in their vo•atio:. Three of them, however, were unfortunate in their speculations. They happened to he caught in the fa. • by the mob, and dealt with in a summary manner. A., the river was near at hand, they severally received ~. severe ducking in the Thames. ~, . .M.M....M•111.1 CORN I:ICHA NOITWT. 1--.7:L--'1)111' market coreltmine thinly supplied with Wheat, a few samples of ene qua. lily sold from Is. to 2s. per quarter above Mond iy . prices, and there was rather more &mend for theneenr..l qualities. Vine Barley bring seater it also I. p qear• ter dearer, but there is no insproveimrut in the, ordthary descriptions. ripe fresh Oats folly support Moprlay's prices. la Beans, Peas, and other utticlea there_ is nu alteration. -~.- =~ 1 •~ '~ I - I . •