The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-07-19 00:00:00

CO I aVE L WARD LE. TO THE EDITOR OP THE ST.4TES.V,Iti. --moss.-- Magna est Veritas et proevalebit. Sta,—lt has rarely in any country, and, I be lieve, never in this, where corruption, pervading al,nost every department, rides paramount, fallen to the lot of an individual either to expose public delinquency, or to attempt to stem the torrent of redignte and wanton expenditure, without en couetering both obloquy and persecution. Of the truth of this position, the late remarkable action tried ie the Court of King's Bench, nomi nally at the suit of an Upholder, but Ovally at the instigation ul , ersenages of importance and celebrity, greatly • • rtni.• to the ostensible pop pets of the exhibition. and supported by the v.. ',finery and interested testimony of en avowed , :,stitute and adulteress,. is a most irrefragable ef. Whether the verdict of the Jury was, on occasion, obtained by perjury, as has been fl•Cs itftl, is a question on which I do nut at pre sent clene to offer a decided opinion, as the truth or relsehuod of the witnesses will, at no great distance of tim; be rendered abundantly mani fest —hut this I will maintain, that a more extra. ordinary exhibition of ingenuity and invention new: r was displayed in any Court of Justice than upon that trial. All human judgment is fallible, and liable to im. position ; nor is it difficult fur a gang of abandoned and unprincipled wretches to cutispire against the reputation of any victim, on whose immolation at the shrine of revenge or cupidity, they may have resolved : but although successful they may at first be, in attacking by surprise their unsuspect. ing victim, Justice will at last infallibly bring to light the machinations of the most secret and con. tiingly-coutrived conspiracy. 1 apply these obser vation, Sir, in a general sense ; —whether the transactions which mill form the subject of this letter caw implicate the Upholder, his secret andivulged employers, his coadjutor, and his cutuUutrir, the public must alone decide. I shill not however hesitate in saying, that there were in the late trial some contradictions, in point of probability, that would have constrained me to draw a conclusion very, different from that of the Jury, who gave a verdict in fevour of the Upholder. The testimonies of the profligate, flagitious harlot and adultress ; and of the bro ther of the Upholder, unAltpported as they were by that of any clerk, workman, or do mc•tic servant, I should nut have hes tat d one moment to reject, for I do believe them to have been alike interested, in the emit of the suit—the harlot, be casting the responsibility from her own shoelders to those of the object of their plunder; and the brother, by the interest which I am confident lie will be h..reefter proved to have had in the event of this suit. It is in truth surpassing credibility, that witnesses so cir cumstanced should have obtained credit stith a jury; that jury was however on oath, and it is far from my intention to question the conscientiousness of the verdict. Bit t, admitting the testimonies of the harlot and the partner—l beg his portion, bro Mer—were unobjectionable, both as to competence and credibi lity, it is to me astonishing, that the inconsistency l and disagreement in their statements on the sub- ject of the goods delivered to her on hire, to the amount of 2001. din! not operate at orce to the de struction of their evidence ! Mrs. Clarke first tells the Jury that, owing 3001. or 6001. she knew it was in vain to apply for further credit ; but it afterwards comes out in evidence, that she had at that +tie furniture, to the value of 2001. in her house on hire from this " u ulder." " Colonel " Wardle," says she, " knew the state of my " and had seen the things previously sent g g in on hire by Wright."—Se that, although she knew it was in vain to apply to him for ere. slit, he had tru•ted his goods in her house, un hire, which, unless he had a man in possession, and that dust nut appear, amounts to exactly the same thing. The other witness disagrees in tete, as to this 2001. worth of furniture, persisting in its having been afterwards charged to Colonel Wardle's account, which the harlot deoies, as serting it to have been returned. Granting, how. ever, for the sake of argument, all these objet. lions to have been surmounted, what shall we say to the conclusive fad of the pretended vendor of this furniture charging the sum of 91. 14s. for the inqurance against fire of that property which had ceased to be his, and with the value of which h.: charges Colonel Wardle as his Debtor! ! Sir, I challenge the undirulged employers of the Upholder to adduce even from those annals of human turpitude, the Sessions Papers of the Old Bailey, a precedent so conclusive, so pregnant, as this charge, for the insurance of goods sold, deli vered, and absolutely out of the power and cos. tody of the vender. Let os only suppose the property to have been destroyed —upon what do. cument could the value have been recovered ? I believe that in such a case of misfortune, the oath of the proprietor, if tiring, is a ceremony that generally precedes the payment of the loss—a sine qua non. Was this same Upholder then at once the proprietor of the goods lent to Mrs. Clarke, and the creditor of Col. Wardle ?--Sir, I am no stranger to the common method of procedure of that class of worthy upholders, who pick up an honest livelihood by furnishing houses for dashing t'yprians. The nature of this species of traffic is sell known. The Cyprian upholder 611 s a house with gaudy, tawdry furniture, fur which he mo destly caws about five-awl-twenty per cent. per annum, by monthly payments, for the hire and swear and tear of this Prrniture; but, as a preli r?:nary, he also takes from the female. cpadjutriz a bill of sole—and as she must appear in style, a ma.i in possession serves at once the double purpose of protecting the property of the worthy Upholder —and adding to the splendour of the es. tabes; men t by a dashing livery. But, above all, the - Cyprian Upholder insures the property against ,lire. Matters thus goon, until some inexperienced Cull of property or e rpe lotion is hooked ; when at the mo men t th a t h e i s supposed to be under the irresistible influence of his Delilah, an execution 13 announced. The damsel faiuts—and lit Inc cccds to fit, until the d!pe satlsfite, by payment or security, the worthy Upholder. The frequent recurrence of this Dram has rendered the trick absolutely stale—And in the western branch of the metropolis—many very worthy Upholders have contrived to pick up iii this Cyprian track very pretty fortunes. Now, sir, had I been upon that Jury—this same charge uf LI:. for insurance from fire would hate been an insurmountable obsta cle to my joining in a verdict for the Upholder ; and had that Jury known as much as I do of the practices of Cypriot! Upholders, I believe the , charge for insurance would of itself have knocked. up the Plaintiff's case. To the character of as Upholder it seems this worthy Gentleman added that of Purveyor of White-washing, 'U013446 1 ' Kitchen Utensils, and the Lord knows what —fue all of which Colonel Wardle is made responsible. All this I know 19 the custom of the trade Iss Goprion traesesctions—but as it certainly is net the cuAtorn of reguhr and respectable Upholdeee ...charges so impudent would certainly have con. vinced me of the real nature of the trans. action. On this memorable trial, the " sar castic eloquence" of the Attorney.Geeeral was greatly admired, and partieularly in the happy in troduction of the speech of Colonel lYardle at the close of the last session of Parliament, on the sub ject of the income tax ; and it is only to he la mented that this Learned Officer of the Crown did not, at the same time, introduce some few of the many philippics of Mr. Burke and Mr. Fox, on the subject of pensions, places, and profligate expenditure; for they would have been fully as relevant to the question at issue--as the mesth of Cul. Wardle—the Attorney-General would thus have had a happy opportunity of convincing the pub. lie of his intense anxiety for the ease and welfare of the People, and thu Refornsation of Abuses. But the public in general are somewhat at a loss to conceive upon what ptinciple the speech of Cul. Wardle could possibly be introduced on the trial with the upholder ; and there are, indeed, some eu ignorant of the character, temper, awl conduct a the Attorney.Geueral, ap to impute that " sat. antic dissertation" to malignity or ill nature. I have hitherto, Sir, confined myself to chew. leg, and that I believe successfully, the Meets. eistenry—absurdity—kand improbability of the Charge of the Upholder. Bet admitting, for the mike of argument, that all this were trite—ln the same of God in what possible way can it affixt I Col. Wardle iu the estimation of tho public ?--- Suppose that by the very same measures which are imputed to Colonel IVarille, with regard to the Upholder, he could relieve the nation from the burtheo of the most odious of all barthens —the Income Tax ?—Do you believe that there would be found one man who pays that grievous, unjust, oppressive, and cruel imposition, who would withhold his gratitude from Colonel Wardle, because, itt addition to the labour, obloquy, and abuse, that he endured in the undertaking, he sacrificed a part of his fortune to accomplish a great national purpose I •Sir, the question will not admit of argument. The truth is simply this Colonel Wardle has boldly applied the tee to the very root of corruption, and the robbers, the abettors of pub lic corruption, the participators in the public plunder, are one and all alarmed for what they term their property—that is, the produce of the taxes, squeezed out. of the very vitals of the suf fering•community, of which they appropriate to themselves so enormous a portion. The very names of such men as Col. Wardle, Mr. Whitbread, Sir Francis Burdett, Lord Folkestone, and that real lover of his country, Mr. Cobbett, are odious to the ears of what that Gentleman has so happily termed " Public Robbers ;" they tremble for the security of their plunder, their places, their pen sions, their contracts, their jobs. During the investigation of the Duke of York's case, the public opinion was so thoroughly awakened, that resistance at that moment was impossible— reiterated attempts were made to put down Col. Wardle at the very opening of the case—there were niany tart and very cross examinations of himself, and of the eitnesses produced by him, an' some very long speeches in support of the Duke of York : but all was ineffectual—out went the Duke. But from that moment revenge was meditated, and Colonel Wardle, the marked sacrifice. Let it however be remembered, that every at tempt that was made in the (louse of Commons, to crush Colonel %Yardle, terminated in giving new force and vigour to his charges; and but for the sage counsel of Mr. Wm. Adam, and Mr. Lowten and his Clerk, innumerable letters had remained in that obscurity, to which, by their intrinsic merit, they ought ever to have been doomed, had not public justice, and the safety of the nation, im periously demanded their exposure. I warn those who are now so weakly and so child ishly endeavouring to put down Colonel War dle, against stirring thc mephitic pool of public corruption...the turbidity was rapidly subsiding...the people were again sinking into in. difference...but if the abettors of public corruption will madly raise contention, let them rest as sueed, that disclosures must eventually be made, which it is not only the interest, but the never.ceas. lag ohjoct of thc Robbers to conceal. I shall not, Sir, trolhle you further at present than to announce my intention of soliciting your admission of a future communication on the subjects of the Harlot, the Upholder, the noted Mr. stokes his attorney, and a certain inmate ;to the house of the " Harlot," whose activity in disseminating calumnies the most abo. minable—l shall think it necessary to reward by laying before the public a history of his connec- tion and association with a prostitute, to whose bounty he is at this moment iudebted for his daily subsistence. VERITAS. A letter receivull in Glasgow from Jamaica, rimed 3d June, say, " An expedition of 1400 men sails to-murrow morning, under the command of mit. Lieut..6o“.inur, for tho reduction of Domingo it is thought it will not hold out lung." _ _ Notwithstati.hog the great rains that have pro. sailed throug'fout tho eoontry i the *ors looks every whero try prumisiag. V BY A.GON• rdN. A cause was tried at the Surrey Sessions, On Monday, which excited no small degree of amuse ment. It appeared from the evidence, that Mr. Sauey. Dixon, a Common Councilman of the City of London, was attracted by a little row that happened to be kicked up in the Blackfriars' Road, as he was on his way to Walwurth, be tween eleven and twelve at night, un the 425th of March last. On arriving at the scene of action, Mr. Samuel Dixon found a constable in the act of restraining that liberty, to which all are by nature entitled...in plain English, two womeu and a man were in custody for making a riot at that unseasonable beer of the night. Mr. Samuel Dixon, who, it seems, if we aro to believe the statement of his Counsel, was perfectly sober, but at that moment, in the disposition to argue phllusephically rather than legally, very sagaci ously stated, as an abstract propolition, that the Constable had no right to interrupt persons who were passing on the highway ;—to this argument Mr. Constable replied, by staring the offence, which not only justified, but imposed on him the duty of that interruption. Mr. S. Dixon rejoilied, hr col. Taring the constable, who, calling to his assistance anotherspecial pleader of the nattiest Perrin, they, tugether, woad certain weighty arguments, by which Mr. Seined Dixon was reduced to quietude ...upon which he immediately demurred to the ju. risdiction of the constables : " Unhand me, vil. lain," says he, "for lam a Common Council. man of the City of London !!".-.to which the un mannerly constable had the impudence to answer, that he cured nut who or what he was, to the watch-house he must go. The Common Couneil. man again resorted 'to certain substantial *rim. went, ; but, after several attempts to escape, by treading on the toes of the constables, its the watch-house he was at length, foaming with rage, like a lion in the talk, conducted. Here he fell into a fit of heroics, fur on bring asked his name.—" My name," says he, " is Sameel— " I suppose you will next ask who gave me that name."—A very natural inference for a boy of eight years old—thobgh we are unfortunately so dense as not to perceive the wit of this observation in a sober Common Councilman of sixty. The awful disclosure of his sirname this cautious Civic Counsellor refused to make, until two accidental spectators became answerable for his future ap pearance. Mr. Nolan made an ingenious speech in which he took the same ground a ith the meek, pa•sive, and much-injured Mrs. Lucy Sinclair Sutherland, who pleaded the delicacy of her form, when op opposed to that of Mr. Turuer,...Mr. Nolan urged the improbability of a man of 60 making so stout a resistance.-.. The, constables and watchmen shook their heads. The civic orator thou address ing the Court, declared upon his honour, that he merely expostulated with the constable (here that Officer shook his head) ; that he was himself first assaulted; that in addition to his word of honour, he had made an affidavit to that effect, that he thought it a duty to his coun try to act as he had dune; and that he had lived io London 40 years. The Jury, however, in spite of the word of honour and affidavit of Mr. Samuel Dixon, believed the oath of the wit nesses, and must grieved we are to record that the Civic Orator was found guilty, and fined 20P. Is this Mr. Samuel Diton, who requested the j Court to acquit him on the strength of his word of honour and affidavit, in defiance of the testi mony of two competent, credible, dis i nitre Ated l un.. impeached, and unimpeachable witnesses, the same IMr. Samuel Dixon who has given notice of a motion in the Court of Common Council, to rescind the •ote of thanks to Colonel Wardle, by reason of a verdict given against that Gentleman, on the evidence of two witnesses who are asserted by him to have given false evi dome, and whose testimony is, from notorious facts, known by all to be questionable p We have not the pleasnre to be acquainted with Mr. Samuel Dixon, and merely ask this question for informa tion. From the well-knows eacocthe: loquendi of Mr. Orator Dixon, as he is sometimes called, we should he inclined to imagine that it must be the same Gentleman who made the curious speech to the Court of Quarter Sessions, which we have recorded. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. Dove*, JULY IB.—The brig Flora, of New York, is just arrived off bens, from 'tot!sod, haring been desired by our cruisers am to eater a Dutch port. The 5'M and King's German Regiments marcbcd through yesterday. PLY NOITTN, JULY 17.—Came out of harbour and ow chewed in the Mood, his ;Majesty's ship Fortuntv. Passed up Channel yesterday, a large Fleet, supposed to • Jamaica. Balled last evening a tender. Came in the America. schooner. Hammy, from Bootee. to Bilboa, detained by the Amelia frigate. be the A. letter from Li‘lson, dated the 29th ultimo, contrins the following laureation from South America " The Cavildn, banished by Liniers, and who were no their way to Pataionia, have been rescued by the (lovernor of Mandell(' who Stied out a sloop of war to follow tilers. This vessel h appily came op with the ship in which the Members of the Cavildo were embarked, retook them, and brootht them into Montebello, to thereat satkfaction of the isha insists, who celebrated their deliverance by public re joicings." - - There was last week a most splendid wedding at Earl Mozaa's seat, Millington Castle, in Leires. tershire, Sir GEORGE Rumnoco, Bart. to the Hon. Miss PA RILYKS, his Lordship's ward, the sister of the Earl of RANCLIDE. BOLD[IIO v. JACKIMIC-11111111 Report of the verdict in this caew having Wien incorrectly given, we have to 'Lite, that the sum of 5F1,212/. was taken, as the verdict wooniartl4, subject to the decision of the Court of King's Bench, on a case to be argued. If the opinion of the Court should coincide with that of the Chid Justice, the 'verdict will be reduced to 46,9911. . FOAT-RAct.—Anotlikr match Is Made for 1000 guineas, between Jones, olio performed u wonder. ful match against Williams, uti the Ilereford Road, and a person of the tiawe df Edwards. The match is eight miles, and is to telt Place at New. market on the 21st of Angus!. The sinner is backed to go the distance in 45 minutes. A Gentleman of the name of Hosea Started on Saturday morning at Clitte Common, Sumer Set. shire, to do the Barclay match of 1000 miles a thousand hours, for a e ager of :.:90 intiness. Tile pedestrian walks over a piece of tlie common from his 011111 dome. lie IS a stout atiiletic man, but ' betting is considerably aping lii u. Captain Aiken agaito displ.t)ccl his agility yes. tertlai on the Twickenham roaJ. in a quarter of a mile race fur 50 guineas. The bet a:l , , that the Captain did nut du the quarter of a mile In une minute and twenty serouds ; but he went off a t score, and performed the match in five seconds less than the given slim.. lii the year 1019, the 17th of July, one B-r. 'lard Calvert, of Andover, rode from St. George's Church, in Southwark, to Dover ; from Omura passed by a barge to Calais in France, returned to Doter, and from thence returned trick to St. George's Church the saine day—setting out about three o'clock in the morning, and arriving in South. wark about eight o'clock iii theevenitig,freals and hearty.— Baker's Ght oxide. Some years since a mats rode a horse 1000 mike in 1000 succeeding hours, ene mile to the h.iur, on Stinehcombe.hill, Gloucestershire ; he vi uis with case. Last Friday evening, Mr. S—, a dishing beau, well known in the neigh!tourlioutl of Hood. street, undertook for a wager of too guineas to sell a kit of pickled salmon %titbit' an hour ! Ti e money was put into the hands of a third person ; and Mr. accumpanierlby a friend, starttd with the well-known cry of " Come buy it y prime pickled >•almon," MI a tour round Chelsea. His voice and eccentricities soon brought a great concourse of people around him, who, after en. jnying the• humorous remarks and observations of this comical blade, purchased the whole concern among them in less than half the giren time, to the do small diverpion and entertainment of the inhabitants of Sloane-street, and to the entire sa. usfaction of the winner. A person has tindertalcen, for a thousand gui. near, to eat a thousand puddings in a thou,and s ucce ss ive 11 , meg—each pudding to weigh oi.o pound ! Itch are two to one is favour of the i•er. kOTID1114:e. CORN EX;IIANGE, Jusr 19. The Market this day is Si ithilat fresh arrivals of Wheat. bat to!erahle rcataiLitig quautitm., nailing tar expected sup plies, the buses almost decline pareka-wl, fi ce snitoplei are dearer ; ind )4.111, far One. likewise ; Pe.ise and Butt;, ut each de.cripeino, at a small coercive to price; the bop pis es of Foreign Oats are cotwideratle, and fits wimples taentuf %real a satali ads knee a Ness Wipe awed .learn ; Floor at lase?rices; One .Nnieriain 48'. 514. per barrel. Wheat, tpia. this Pk. Tie b. Beam, - - - - 460. 51'. Fine ditto Its~ - - - Stitt. 40s. :114. 4Y4. I Potstne ditto - - - - as Malt. - - -t fi() W. Peas k Boilers) 903.10?... I Pow Yluor -- - Ws. (hes Pr is, tleais frt. 61s. Trials in the Snprcate (Curt of Madras, for forgery of the Nabob's hoods, and perjury, base given rise tu ' , arty violence. Thc Jury found two persotn, whose trial lasted sixteen days, guilty. The Chief Justice bas nut thought it proprr to carry the verdict into eltecution, as being not founded on evidence, and has referred the case fur his hlivarsr t i e coOsitleratian here. This stems at least a safe ant pestilent meastire, as justice cannot thereby be Sttally frustr.ited ; bpt it gives great discontent to the prosecutors. - - FOOTPAD9.—On Saturday evening last, near twelve o'clock, as Mr. B. of the Gusto/R.1(0ov, anti a friend were going across Chistleherst Com. mon, from the Tig er's Bead, where they had dined, to au adjoining I nn, they were attacked by three ill-looking fellows (one was observed to be its s drab great coat), and Mr. B. was robbed of a parcel, containing his wearing apparel, and ouudry other valuable articles ; his friend was severely beaten, in endeavouring to rescue Mr. B. who is (with the assistance of the Bow-street ollicets) making every possible search after the offenders. Yesterday the blaster and Wardens of the Bakers' Company waited on the Lord Mayor, when his Lordship, after examining the Meal. weighers' report, ordered the rricts of bread to be raised half an assize, which will make the pattern loaf wheaten, Is. lid. and household Is. SUICIOE.—Mr. Parnell, upwards of 60 years of age, of Adam-street, Edgware-road, some days ago cut himself itt several parts of his body ; a Surgeon dressed Isis wounds, and had strung hopes of his recovery. On Friday last he or. dered his keeper to go down stairs for something for him to drink ; daring the absence of the per son,_which was very short, he went to the window of his room, threw himself into the street, being the descent of two storks, and was iintantly dashed to pieces. A Coroner's Inquest sat yesterday at the Tune, near Newington, on• the body of Samuel Sksl. low, a grazier, from near Stamford, who met hi, death on Sunday at the house of Mr. Smith. The deceased had dined with a party at Mr. Smith's house, and ate heartily. Whilst taking his sine after dinner, in apparent health, and in unusally high spirits, he suddenly fell from hte chair and expired. The deceased wls on a visit from the country, where be has left a widow and family to lament his sudden loss. A shocking accident happened yesterday morn ing at Windsor.. A young man, who was on a visit to one of Mr. Bayley the linen-draper's shops's'', having gone with his friend and another shopnian to bathe in the Thames, they all got out of their depth, and it is supposed were seized with the cramp ; the young man and one of the shopmen were unfortunately drowned ; the other was with much dilicillty get out. The bates were is a short time found and brought to shore, and every means recommended by the }lvey), Society used, but withont erect. •' L I. - i ;1 1 1111 11