The Statesman. — London, England, 1818-05-18 00:00:00

,-ar - • .... _ I - -- ,__,~., .- - •Cb lir . r, 0 Akkr.t)...).,. :4 0 ,,z 4 1) ci VAuatlizs , f' - - , ...0 wintry, so long l- bf I bl .. "lig country , Patriots wanted no tog butirm4, - .it .—.l It have now obtained, and t it only disposable troops Weil to Spain has to send across the Atlantic, have just ailed tbe I e- with one of the Russian frigates to Peru, where they 11, o f are now wanted more than in any other part of quit, he South America. The Spaniards have had the start ht lot getting their report before the Public; it now appears . sires, dose! ly that it was sent off express, not to tell the Government t "of Madrid Moitto had gained a victory, but to in. most form athem that he was in a most dreadful plight, aid o; " u. pile IN , most either leave the country or have fruit supplies. is th 1 of --omme—_ the Further New York Papers, with Charleston, to /frog im- the 19th ult. reached us this morning, but they for. eiplo .-- nish nothing very new or important. The Amery. the hat can writers are pleasing their intaginistions with the to 1 lnn o >a e advantages that will result to their trade from the L f ab D e s passing of the Navigation Act for countervailing the et .. ...._._ 111t11 21 , -- ___ .t_ aria 'THE STATESMAN sew it in the Committee-room of the House of Com move, POT heard of WI a eery short time before, when, (tom something he heard he referred to the copy of the Treasurei's account, and saw the item. When the thing *as first communicated to him he did Pot believe it.—ln re-examination, witness said he believed Mr. Platt, before be became a Dissenting Minim's., was a doll.maker. He knew of no pro. prey sneer what he had by marriage, and that con iisted- of some ground vents,. Ii was the duty of the person who called out the items of the Treasurer's sc. cAtaut.at the eadit,realck off theism' he might call )10,14,4,1116itibt ,to call me me item, and yet AWL A. ro pis sum could not %mimeo audited at the ~Vll4l7lthillefal lanais* it meet of necessity have meth -the previous eencl.lott of the Governors, and - would isevichees prodoced. Whether any mschnutice was give%4 ; the chords. as was referred Ass at the M..11%0 alsearestry.on 00013(14 A ague Ile WO not of blitown knowledge sap „tit was 61 - Inis•44.. on" cesTIN, Where Solicitor's bill was to itpail m , ; to refer.itao the Governors fo r a pp roval.— . kts,argaitot rels ties. to Mr. Merceron's prosecutions .y.e? eery salsa ; be mrceemmrl it. in the general parish , *mAat, bet whether it attracted the Governor's no s*, "snot, be could ant tell. hip )hert Wrightson said that be resided in the Irrielt et Si- Matthew, Bethoal.green. Ale was in the b 7 of itteoding. the vestries. Ile attended the r e f the 6th stfi * April, 1814. His titivation had zottpesly been 0040 the probability of Messrs. 10.1!andCrinfletyll'a *II for defending Mr. Merce. ,rowlepol; two indigments being brought forwa rd.— i i i. 1 44;411 4 11,0 Inetir for, nttendieg. Witness sat be .t,Tert Mr. 11 3 1,att s'vl Nr. • Mermen. His reasons aKftePiadoll bimetal( wes to inspect the bills, in or ,Meats. Dein Led Crossland's bill was pro s that he .might oppose it. Mr. Platt called dririthe items. As the items were called out, Mr. M i eeceron produced the bills; when he produced . them, witness took them from him separately, and landed them to the Chairman ; witness remained . . _ ling to the end of the audit, and dur time he was satisfied that no such item Crossland's bill for 1. ls. 3d. was saw no paper r especting it, nor did mg like it ; he never quitted his situa business of the meeting ; when the died, he. with many others, signed book. The entry of the 19th of A 4. feral pages before his signature. When had not the least knowledge of the ?n -and Crossland's bill. Some time lifter persons told him be had signed the audit, *containing that account; he applied to Mr. May, s eestry clerk, to see the copy of the account, and i ihen sew it for the first time. This was about a c znetith before he was summoned to the Committee of 4ltel,Honse of Commons.—ln cross-examination, wit -Mess said he was subpcensed in the former indictments against Mr. Merceron—did" not think he was at church on the 22d of August. He attended the meet ing on the 23d. Ile did not hear the notice alluded to in the cross-examination of the last witness read. He never heard any thing about a notice respecting the payment of Messrs. Dann and Crossland's ac count. The thanks of the audit to Mr. Merceron might have been pissed on the 6th of April, but he did not recollect it. Platt examined the casting op of the account t he had the book in his hand the whole of the time, and he declared the casting up right. Mr. Rich Bigg, also a resident in the parish of St. Matthew, Bethnal.green, proved that he was at the audit on the 6th of April; he was about the middle of the vestry ; he did not hear all the items of the Treasurer's book called over. The business had be gun before he went ; he thought he heard all the items that were called while he was in the room; he did not hear such an item as Dann and Crossland 9251. Is. 3d.," called over. Ile signed the book, and when he so signed it, he was not aware that it contained such an item as Dann and Croasland's bill. In cross.ezamitiation, he said, when he signed the aedit he intended to ratify the account. Mr. William Henry Drouet attended the audit in question, for the express purpose of opposing the payment of Dann and Crossland's account. He watched for that item, but never heard it called over. If it had been called over, he was sure he must have heard it. When he signed the audit, had he believed Donn and Crossland's bill to he an item, he would not have signed it. lie would have lost his right arm drat ; he should have considered it a robbery. In cross-examination, witness said he had been prosecuted by Mr. Merceron, and convicted by the verdict of a Jury, but never was brought up for Judg ment. He heard the vote of thanks to Mr. Meceron, end beard many others which he did not think he de served. In re-examination, he said, he had been prosecuted by Mr. Merceron for a libel in a notice to call a vestry ; he was tried in this Court, but Mr. Merceron had not thought proper to call him up for ' judgment. The requisition referred to the naming lion of Mr. Merceron's accounts. Mr. Norton, partner to Mr. May, was present at the vestry meeting on the 16th of August, 1813; he also attended the meeting on the 23d of August, in the same year ; he was there at the beginning of the meeting : Mr. Platt was present. At the commence ment, the meeting was numerous. The first business was a ballot for the election of a Collector of Poor Rates. Remembered' Mr. Platt bringing forward some resolutions, which he had brought ready writ ten. There were then, to the best of his recollec tion, about a dozen present. At first, at the ballot, the vestry was full. They went away as they bal loted. The resolutions produced were Mr. Platt j 'a writing, and the same which h e had p roduced. they were carried' they were handed to witness.-- Witness could not say he was present at church the Sunday before; had no recollection at the meeting of a notice having been read relating to the objects for the assemblage; he inferred that it was from ge neral usage. Was present at the audit on the 6th April, 1814, but did not recollect Dana and Cross land's bill being called ; he could not speak to any of the items. He never saw Dann and Crossland's bill till the 17th April last, when it was delivered to him in the same state in which it is now. Cross-ezamined.—Before any vestry meeting was called, a notice was entered in the publication book, and this was read in the church. This was the usual practice. Mr. GURNEY here declared the evidence for tie prosecution-to be closed. [lt was at this moment announced, that the other indictment aetpst the. Defendant, celatire to er;anted to public-linens, veiuld nit be tried, until Monday (this thy), and thttbe Court **old sit at Guildhall, en Tuesday.] entA, Mr. TOPPING, in a very eloquent and powerful ad siresa.to the Jury, impressed upon thefrininds that the simple question for their consideration was, whether Mr. Merceron had fraudulently, chortles. finely, deceitfully, and unlawfully Inserted in 1116 account the item of Messrs. Dann and Crossland% bill for the purpose of d eceitfull y appropriating the, money of the parish to that account. Unless they were satisfied that the evidence adduced on the part' of the prosecution, sustained the charge so alleged on the record, the Defendant would he entitled to an acquittal. They could not fail to bear in mind mi lder what circumstances this serious accusation was ',brought forward. It was Nought forward against a Gentleman, who for 30 years had filled the annual office of Treasurer of the parish, without the slightest imputation upon his conduct —a Gentleman whose demeanour for that long period of service defied the malice, the envy, the vindictive spirit of those, who thus, by the most active industry, had found means of producing a solitary allegation of error. The Jury also could not fail to bear in mind the time et which this charge originated. It found its way, for the first time, into a Court of Justice at the end of the year 1817—the supposed act of misfeasance bay. log occurred in the year 1813 t and that it.arol out of those unfortunate disputes which had so long ewe. broiled the parish--disputes which, it was lamentabli to observe, had acquired additional heat since the present Rector had come into the parish. The evi. dente adduced in support of the charge, he contend ed, had completely failed of its object, because, so far from its showing that the Defendant had acted clandestinely in this transaction, it must satisfy the mind of every dispassionate observer, that publicity marked the whole proceeding. Two of the witnesses only had said that they did not bear the item of Messrs. Dann and Crossland's account called out ; •nd the others were nut present during the whole of the audit. Now he was prepared to show, by a host of respectable witnesses, that the item was publicly called out, and that the vestry were perfectly cogni sant of the question which they were called upon to determine. After a great variety of powerful obser vations upon the circumstances of the case, which we have not room to detail, the Learned Counsel proceeded to call his witnesses. James May, the younger, produced the notice book of the vestry meetings of the parish, containing the entry of a notice of the 6th of August, 1813, which he believed to be the hand.writing of a clerk named Hilary, then in the office of his father. There was also a notice entered of the 3d of April, which in great part was witness's hand-writing, which was afterwards entered in the publication book for the succeeding Sunday. Looking at the audit account book in question, containing the item of Dann and Crossland's account, it was in witness's hand-writ ing, and was a faithful copy of Mr. Merceron's book. This was afterwards kept in his father's office. The notices in the publication book went from his father's office by the beadle to the parish clerk, for the pur pose of being read in the Church. Cross-essmined.—The clerk, Hilary, he spoke of was now alive, and lived over the water. Did not know who authorised the notice to be put in the pob. lication book. Samuel Ames, sen. parish clerk of Bethnal-green, proved, that on Sunday, the 22d of August, 1813, he read in the church, between the morning Service and the Sermon, a notice of the audit of Mr. Merceron's account on the following Monday. This notice was read, and it appeared to embrace, besides other items, a notification that Messrs. Dann and Crossland's bill for law 'spruces woold be taken iuto consideration on the following Monday. The Rev. William Francis Platt stated, that he was a Dissenting Minister residing at Bethnal-green, where he had lived 19 years, daring which time he was a vestryman of the parish; attended the Vestry Meeting called on the 23d of August, 1813. It was a numerous meeting. Was at that time a Governor of the Poor; heard the notice read as to the objects of the meeting. The Resolutions as to the law es pences charged by Messrs. Dann and Crossland were drawn up by himself; they were put and seconded, and carried unanimously. Ile also attended the Audit Meeting on the 6th of April, 1814; he held the book while the several items were called over; lie went through all the items then submitted to the Vestry for audit. As far as he could recollect, he called over the item of law espences, 6 ` Dann and Crossland, 9151." and at the same time lifted up his shoulders, and expressed his astonishment at the amount. Believed that be called over all the items so audibly, that every body most have heard them ; and so intended. Thought the meeting numerous. — The book was before him, and any body might have looked over him. Conceived that he ticked this large item. Ile cast the items of the amount him self. Staid till the end of the meeting, and signed the book. There was then a Resolution of Thanks passed to Mr. Merceron, and a Requisition that be would continue Treasurer for the succeeding year. Heard no objections to the account. Cross-examined. --Had been 40 years a Dissenting Minister, and 30 in the parish. Ilad never been of , any other other calling , and was g lad such a question had been put. Was not conscious of any communi cation between him and the Defendant, between the 6th of August and the 23d of August, 1813. Did not attend the parish church when the notice was read in the church; but bad beard of it, and might have heard of it from Mr. Merceron; probably be heard of it on . Monday, the 23d of August ; the Meeting took place about eleven o'clock on that day: had no doubt he had heard of the intended Meeting in the week preceding the day it took place: conceived he wrote the Resolutions on the Monday morning : would not swear one way or the other; believed he wrote them on the Monday morning; the 'Resolutions arose spontaneously in his own-mind, considering them proper for the occasion. Had no doubt that he had frequent communications with the psrishioners shout the Resolutions, in asmuch as / the parish was then much disturbed and in agitation. Could not say these Resolutions were not meditated before. . Had not seen Dann and Crossland's bill before he wrote the Resolutions ; and had not the least intimation that that bill had beg corn. muniqeted tlitsparish before the ReillhWili‘itliv e draw* hp.' Hui not been it the habit of ;suiting Itesoletiosa, Of "Vending vestry meetings, untie`ait eight years age, when the Rev. Mr. King me Rector of the parish. Had frequently drawn op Re solutions lately; before the audit day, 6th of April, had not been in the habit of calling over the items Mr. Merceron's accounts ;..ted had never seen the account in question before: 'Called out the items not in a loud, bet in an audilltiFkine, which every body might hear; and upon callieg out Dann and Cross liked's bill, shrugged up his shoulders, and said, " What a monstrous busineu it is." Recollected, distinctly, an acccount produced by Mr. Merceron , which the latter held in his hand, to check the item the law eapences, and upon seeing that, he ticked ti item. Would not swear that any body else.but him self saw Messrs. Dann and Crossland's account. — Could not swear that any body else called out that item in the account. Did not seen,the nem of Dann end Crossland, but saw the amount on the back of it. He knew of one instance in which a Solicitor's bill was referred to a Committee before it was paid. When he proposed a Resolution that the ezpences of the prosecutions should be paid, be made no enquiry respecting them. James Brown Un win said he was a surgeon and ac coscheur : he had lived eight years in St. Matthew, Bethnal-green •hew as a Commissioner of the Assessed Taxes and Land Tas, and also a Governor by Act of Parliament. He was present at the vestry meet ing on the 23d of August : he 66 sager" the Resolu tions passed, and did not see a dissenting voice.— He was also at the audit meeting on the 6th of April. Mr. Bishop was in the Chair; he believed M r. Bishop " war" a shoe-maker. He heard Mr. Platt reed over the different items of the treasurer's meeting, I. his judgment loud enough fo r all the /Wry to be n. l Most assuredly he recollected hearing Dann and Crosse land's names called over, and, moreover, he bad a conversation about it after. He beard the sum nine hundred and " hodd ;" but not the exact sum. Several other witnesses were then called, who merely corroborated the foregoing; and Mr. SCAR tarn rose to reply, and observed, that if, at the opening of the business, he had felt any confidence as to the result, that confidence was increased to con firmation by the evidence they had just heard. They had been told that the life and death of Mr. Merceron depended on the issue of that trial, fur that his honour was dearer to him than his life. Certainly any man, with the common feelings of a Gentleman, must suffer most severely such an imputation upon his character ; but it was very evident that Mr. Merceron was a man content to take money from funds on which he had no claim ; and he might, perhaps, feel regret, but a sense of shame would never trouble him., He should, however, stand or fall by the broad facts of the 'eve, for he would not enforce the minutiae. It appeared in evidence, that on the 10th of July he paid the account of Daun and Crossland, and there was no doubt he immediately conceived the idea of making the parish bear it, for on the 19th of August he charges it to the parish in his book ; aud it was not till the 23d that he could boast even the authority of the audit, of which so mueh'had been said. But of what nature was that audit ? The persons composing it were obviously the engaged allies of Mr. Merceron to fight the battle fur him from the beginning to the end, even with their eyes closed. Mr. Justice A satr, in his charge to the Jury, went over the whole of the evidence, and comment. ed at large oe the particular points of it ; observing, that for the defence, it was at least extremely con. trudictory, and in some instances even impossible. —The question was, Had a full and fair notice been given of this audit, or bad it not ? And it certainly appeared to him that it had not. It was incumbent on the Defendant, knowing the animosities that ex isted against him in the parish, to have given the ut. most publicity to this transaction, if be bad meant uprightly. The prudent man, at least, would have been careful to have avoided suspicion. But this was not the case ; for it was evident there were not more than ten or twelve persons present, and they were the sworn friends, as it were, of the Defendant. The law says, that money raised for the use of the poor, should not be applied to eny other purpose. If, therefore, the Jury were of opinion that this bad been otherwise applied, it had beets so done uo;aw fully ; and if they thought sufficient notice had not been given, it had been done clandestinely ; and they would of course pronounce accordingly. The Jury immediately, without retiring from the box, pronounced the Defendant—Gni/U. He was ordered to be brought up on the fourth day of next Term for judgment. South ing . Madi lorm most PRINCLSS Or W•LES' p o o l ic DAY KB FT.—Holiday at the Offireo. THE STATESMAN• LONDON: MONDAY. MAY 18, 1818. advantages passing . British Colonial System. " This Bill," says the National Intelligencer, •• proposes a change in 'eor system of navigation, which, without being Kahle to the objections which apply to general sys• tems of restriction, promise material advantages to that important interest which at present languishes aa. der the disadvantages with w hick it escosetets the Bei. fish restrictions on an extensive branch of our tritue:i There is no reason for supposing that these new cum. mercial regulations are the result of any inimical feeling towards this country ; on the contrary, they seem to have entirely originated in a wish to obtain for the commerce of the United States, those advantages to which they may think themselves fairly entitled. from the beginni igg that whole 0 as Dane and Cr piled out. lie beer any thin r ttite asring the I i veOtt was field .1410 :rimescrer's I grgitto severe nod he hod try,of Dann an awards some per' his understood that St. John's (New Brunswick) and lialifas will be made free ports, u well u Bermuda. Copies of dispatches, bulletins, and private ec. counts of considerable interest and importsace, have reached es from Venezuela, and the scene of mill. tary operations in New Spain, which we are gratified in stating, confirm the accounts of the late victories gained by the brava and patriotic Chief, General Bo- LIYAR, and give a very different picture of the pro gress of South American independence than the pre. tended official accounts forwarded to Europe by the enemies of freedom and the agents of the Court of Madrid. The pleasing intelligence we are noticing, has been received by the brig Syren ; it comes by the way of Angostura, a devious route of more than 400 leagues, which will account for its not arriving sootier, and is such as we anticipated, proving that at Calabozo Monita.o was not only defeated, but completely overwhelmed by a force that was then off a march of 300 leagues, without a single hour of rest. From these Bulletins, as well as private Sc. counts, it is evident, that the army of Venezuela, under General BOLIVAR, bare regained their We have received the French Papers to the 15th instant. They bring an account of the death of the Prince of CONDE, wbo expired on the morning of the 13th, in the 132 d year of his age. In the afternoon of that day, his remains were viewed by the nister for Foreign Affairs, the Chancellor of France, and several other Officers of State, end an Act was . drawn up in the usual form, recording his departure from this life. The Duchess of BOURBON, the Prince of CONDE'S daughter-in-law, next day, visited the Thuilleries, and received the condolence of the King and the Royal Family. The arrival of the Duke of Bounuox from London was hourly expected at Paris. The decease of his Serene Highness the Prince of CONDE has called forth many eulogises from the loyal Parisian Editors ; but those who ars acquainted with the share that Prince took in the French Revolution, will know bow to appreciate these encomiums. At the opening of the Revolution, be signed the famous " Memoire des Princes," address. ed to the King ; and in July, 1789, retired itota France with his family to Brussels, sod thence to Turin. The earlier years of the Prince de Corroz's exile were employed in exploits against his own cone. • trymen at the head of the little army of French loyalists, which followed his standard and bare his name.---After the campaign of 1800 this corps was disbanded, and the Prince repaired to England, where he lived until the King's restoration in 1814. The greater portion of his till, since his return to France has been spent, we believe,st Chantilly. His town residence was the Palais Bourbon. lie was born in 1736, two years before his Majesty King GEORGE THE THIRD. He married at the early period of 15, the Princess CHARLOTTE id Roban.Soubise, by whom be had the Duc DE BOOR* BON, " a Prince familiar with many inhabitants of this metropolis," as a Morning Paper says, and Ms. demoiselle DE CONDE. The labours of the Chamber of Deputies are closed, though the Session is not yet terminated, as. the Peers have not discussed all the provisions of the Project of Finance. As soon as they shall have consented to that measure, an Ordonnance will be issued by the King, and communicated by Commis sion to the two Chambers, to announce their pro. rogation. The two Chambers will be prorogued till the beginning of November. In the mean time there will be a fresh election in 17 departments, for a fifth of the total number of Deputies, who go out by rotation. The only persons of note among those who have to undergo the ordeal of a new election are, CAMILLE JouRDAY, Count DE BONDY, Coupe DO4A:4OIR, Marshal MoaIIER, and M. Sat:a-Calm The Letters from Albi state, that, supposing the Court of Cessation to reject the appeal of the per. deters of FuALDEs, their ma'am) will take placed Albi. Public attention is now directed to the Mt process which is about to be commenced with regard to the several relations of BASTIDE, as accomplices in the murder at Albi. The Sittings of the Diet of Poland terminated on the 27th nit. when the Emperor ALEXANDER sd• dressed them from the Throne upon the differed measures which had been submitted to their delibera• don, expressed his approbation of their proceediee's and enileavnured to impress upon them that the Poke are a happy, free, and indepen dent nation. It will take more than AGEKANDER'S eloquence, howetertie make the Poles believe this. Our Readers will find in our Paper of this Of some highly interesting details of proceedings Geo prosecutions most laudably instituted by the Bolo! of Excise, against several persons charged with, sed found guilty of, selling spurious imitations of tree . -.. I coffee, instead of the ung l ue commodities of 00 in 1 Th eqi