The Sun. — London, England, 1820-10-27 00:00:00

coftl e is U ` - t TIC! t►c 39' I 1116 ' • , . • . • • , . . .. ~ . b ut 'C .: O - '111(1! not t e ll w heth er they .ivete the Voices ' of mitt or women. Why perjurers who have Pue deep into falsehood occasionally stop short 'l'd express doubts, is not for me to say. but, Qay L or d s, is the charge brought here against the ueers at all reasona b le ? Th e Q ueen w a s tra thling itt the ni g ht i n a h ot country, so f at i gue d t at she cou ld h ardly sit upon her horse, and t aking two. h ours rest un d er a tent ; a nd I wou ld ask, if there is a man whose mind is so warped „ s a ° suppose, th a t i n th ese two.short hours, and "tier those Circumstances, she could have had a l'Y idea of adultery ? I f there be such a man, I Pity Ill s un d erstanding. He would now proceed .t ° say a word or two on • those scenes on which sru much time had already b ee n spent; he al luded to th e po l acre scenes. A n d h e b egge d `vier- Lordships to bear_ in : mind,, that he v a s entitl e d to say th at t h e Q ueen o f ' H gland entered th a t polatre ,'unstained ; un bP°tted, uncontarhi na t e d, and free from even a her e • of suspicion. The Learned Doctor er e went over the evidence relating to the ar „,iaugetaaits ma d e i n t h e po l acre prev i ous l y to t i , ev a lluYal Highness coming on board, and eon tihued that all% the subsequent alterations were he necessa r y consequences o f th e a l tere d cir 'ainstances of their situation. The awning was rrst erected in consequence of, the stench arising 1 ,' 41 the cattle the were taken On board at ri hnis and stowed in the hold. He therefore got , (1 ''f the saignia arising from that circumstance.. .6 W ai said then, that under the same tent slept ti er gatni for six or seven weeks, but extorted .as ~ le , evidence of _ Hownam , had been, and taking . a el, his belief from his own hearsay, he (Dr. t'°'uington) would say, that never was convic it.);l founded upon such evidence.—But (said Th . • Lushinaton), I will not appeal to your own Ni- 1143 on this ground •; in the name of my Royal 13: str ess, 1 diaciairn and abandon- it. Giant that z ei ' a r g;nii slept under the tent--I acknowledge it, hoar I . justify it. With respect to the tent on 1,., a. ship, in which such scenes of guilt had li '- a l , l said: to have been committed, it was posi sLY a misnomer to call it a tent ; it should • i ti c -t hY be considered and spoken of as an awn 've' extending-over the whole breadth of the av „el ; so loosely- was it constructed, so slightly Ei "s it erecte d , t h at i t was - not even ca l cu l a t e d to y t (lt er persons under it from the blasts of Hea, 1 e .,7. 1 in the evidence of Lieut. Hownam, the fa- ~Y with - which this tent might be opened, was . t i'''e ' a llY-point e d out to their Lordships' considers °h' Not on ly was it sworn that there existed 0 4,i it '' ` i itlicultv i n o pening it, but Lieut. Flynn actually • 'ulten e d it, by putting aside the canvas. Next i s ets to li e . r emembered, that there were two ait:iwus at the helm, and ten men on watch every 1,..5." 1- , near this much talked of tent. Let it not tie, f °rgott en that the hatchway was open.; - that a a , hatahea also were open, and that they we-re t C'er the awning ; that Lieut. Hownam believes I t 'at th e Qaeen .and Bergami never undressed. 11 - was true that the witness Garguillo thought . ti " reutarrikaa•d the hatchway being closed ; but f u lS thought of Gargalli° was • proved to have ma 1, -°4 (latiou i n . tri•ith by the evidence which had tt ' 1 given.. Lieut. Ilownato distinctly stated ), at ha' never a . reinembered the hatchway to have a h '''''' closed... It was a. very material fact, also, : til at a light was constantly burnt in . this tent, un ,,,r i t Was coasidered dangerous to have a light I L a nY sort on deck, as it exposed them to the 1 ) - : g"/ of being- attacked by pirates. Then, and l' i " . till Own,' was this light 'dispensed with. ', - `, ‘v I° '-'ci had ventured to assert, that in his cabin liehilt- heard the creaking of a bed abover ; and it was very clear, from . the manner in t a"ch this Tart of the evidence was submitted to a; f . *l r Lord s hip s , what it was wished they should a‘ .. * :' was the cause of this creaking. Was it not C r aordinary--was it not sufficient to prove the s '43 " falsehood of this I\lajpcci, that no other per -3l' could hear this creaking, which he swore had t °l isfinctly caught his ear?, There were ten a '4 , - , th en, two Steersmen, and the captain, but j a a e of them had heard any such noise. Was it li ••' was it rational, to suppose that guilt would a. e a l;erpetrated in this manner, where detection q i -1 , 114 he certain, concealment morally impos •ti "•• The Queen had many other opportuni va;'saof carrying On this- adulterous intercourse,. ai•,`"ut exposing herself to the certainty of being E a; 4 '°vare t l, had she really been the slave of a pas . t i -1 ' which would in the mind of every man have t u t railed her • to the rank of a common prosti- Q'• But their Lordships were required to be-__ c a E ' that which must be in 'opposition to their ( la n,'4ll °n' sense.; so largely was their credulity al a d-•wlt upon, that it was really expected they to -till give credence' to ,evidence which tended t o Pv "ve that the Queen had preferred exposure atatc"cealment ; for at the times when it was it •e ' l t his adulterous intercourse was going on, ' so w as its th e power of any man onboard' the ves , in t h e tc r emove the canvas, and catch . the parties . de ar s 'act If, after having duly considered evi -1 of this nature, a Judge could be - hardy 1 le ugh to give a verdict of guilty, such Judge I ow , , ' • a :' himself be,guilty of judicial murder. Ma jtachke: also fixed himself to the bath being -rt into the Queen's room, and as it after wale la tu rned out this was a- clear and uncle . - b eaa .. Proof of his gross, Wicked, anti deli -1,),," Perjury. Lieutenants Hownam and ahlJ.,llll afterwards proved that it was not possible C to coata be taken into the Queen's room. 11: 1 4 a more satiafactory answer be given : to iaa ong story that had been trumped up respect- LeSathe bath ? " Gracious God (continued the has rued Couns e l), w ill it be b e lieved that it th at :en imputed as a crime to her Majesty, p ar . for long and faithful services she conferred o th: us honours upon Bergami, and amongst a tai ;s that of Knighthood ? It should be con tatittlY borne in mind - during this highly impor- . afr ee‘ i nvestigatio n how 'much 'mischief may be a asy 'Y'd by persons of vicious disposition ; how Int o it 'night he for innocence to be' perverted i at r guilt. The mason's story, also forms too tiot t i c est ilag a feature to be passed over without 11,, e • Thi s man h as sworn that he, walked into (4 ,, Pal ace, nay, into the v ery chamber of the, .‘e a ,. "s through all the variety -of attendantsa torming R6yal - establishment;; without lot*, ruption, without interrogation. That iheOneen wes lying down, but whether on a sofa„ b. 4, or chair, he does not know, and that he theik shut the door of the apartment and went away He was only there fora single moment,blit that in" the twinkling of an eye," to use his own expression, he saw the Queen's breasts expOsed. It was neces sary to give an accurate definition of an Italian twinkling of. an eye ; for, after having sworn to this fact, he afterw a rds admitted, that as . he , was going away, he was accosted by some per son with " what do- you 46 here, you dog ?" To this he replied, that he Wanted materials for his men to work. Thus this moment, this twinkling cyan eye, turned out to be long enough. to admit of a question- being put to, him, and of his giving a reply. At length Majocci gets to Lake Como, and there he .venturesto describe a bathing scene, in which the Queen is stated to have bathed in ; water,. three quarters of a yard deep, and that when she cane out of the water her clothes were all wet at the top. It was really much to be lamented that the time of their Lordships. should have been occupied in listening to such ridiculous evidence, and should it.make any impression upon their. Lordships'. minds, which the Learned Counsel firmly trusted it would not, the fact would be transmitted to after apes' as -an extraordinary example of human credulity. Much had been said respecting the gross indecency of Mahomet's dance; in all probability many of their Lordships Were sufficiently acquainted with this 'dance, to know - ., that it was devoid of impropriety ; that although it might not be characterised by grace, it was at least free from indecency. Nay, a stronger proof could not' be given of the purity of this dance, than that Mahoinet was actually en gaged. 'by Mr. Elliston to repeat it to a British. audience, at Drury-lane Theatre. At least the Learned CounSel had been informed by respect able authority that this was a positive fact. It is worth while to see how the malice of man can distort the most innocent acts. In page 438, speaking of the Barone, Sacchi says, persons of low rank and character were introduced, and proceeds to shew that parties withdrew for im proper purposes, and that the Queen was aware of the cause of their leaving. But if we look at the evidence of Lieutenant Hownam and Vassali, we shall find that the Barona was a Small coun try house, which my Learned Friends would 'Magnify into a large estate, conferred upon her favonrite, Bergatni ; that it was carnival time, that the 'Queen pre these balls to the farmers' daughlerS,• and that the servants did not come in until the Queen had withdrawn. Were not the prosecutors, even if the fact had,been as Sacchi represented it, bound to produco the evidence of all the servants AVho were at the Barona ? There are one or two observations upon the occurrence at Carlsrhue, which are worthy of notice, as the evidence is that of Cresse, wh i : is forced by her Government to attend at your Lordships' Bar. say that Cresse is perjured, or that the Minis ter of the Grand Duke of Baden has told a false hood ; Cresse says that she was asked to come over here by M. de Birstett, who told her that if she did not go voluntarily she would be forced—and. forced she was by this , Minister ; if he did not force her„Cresse has sworn he did, what shall I say to such means of procur ing testimony ?—[Here Dr. Lushington read part of the correspondence between M. de Birstett and our Ministers, in which he says that no agents of his Government had interfered to compel wit nesses to come here against the Queen.] -4 will not shame your Lordships' judgment by suppos ing that any one who sits here will inflict a wound upon his conscience, by taking the testimony of Cresse as any evidence against her Majesty. For the honour of England, I will believe that the Hanoverian Minister, and his brother inspectors of dirty sheets, were not set upon their abemin able labours - by 'any other prompting than the wicked feelings of their own hearts. The Coun sel for her Majesty did not call the Countess of Oldi, the sister of Dumont, Schiavini, and Wil ' liam Austin, because the Queen's case was tri umphant without those witnesses. Had it been necessary to call other 'witnesses, her Majesty's Counsel, would not have exposed females to a: • cross-examination like that which Lady Char lotte. Lindsay underwent. 'Where the cross examination related' to the Queen only, he feared nothing; but when domestic ties .were to be violated by it, and when Noble Lords asked questions about ceilings which were never alluded to, no, not even in the Attorney-Gene ral's opening speech, then indeed he might pause before he brought forward a single wit ness, whose testimony was not. essential to the interests of her Majesty. It was the first duty of a Counsel not to expose his client U., injury. He 'was justified in saying, there ' was not one point in the cause which required further evidence, and speaking comparatively of the witnesses, he was fairly entitled to say, all the honesty and respectability was on her Majesty's side. Their Lordships knew that the charges against the Queen were inquired into by a Commission at Milan. He did not know how that Commission proceeded to the end of their instructions, 'but it was evident that they began wrong. They received the testi thnony 'of persons of suspicious character, without inquiry whether that testimoy could be refuted by evidence of the greatest respectability. The case of the witnesses for the prosecution could. not stand the test of investigation. Rastelli and Sacchi were first eXamined, and then sent to seek for a confirmation of the testimony they theMselves had given. Gracious God ! (said the Learned Doctor) what confidence can be placed in such evidence ? Rastelli and Sacchi were em ployed by the Commission, and kept with Ma jocci for the purpose 9 of the prosecution. From the - characters .of these men, the presumption. was, that the Commissioners were most active in procuring evidence in support of the foul charges against her Majesty, and totally regardless of all evidence which might acquit his Royal Mis tress. The Queen had not been tried for what she had done, but for what witnesses, in a moment of passion, or out of revenge, said she had donei— The Witnesses employed had no, character to lose they had nothing to fear, and had every jadute. mentto do the thing they were paid They had every hope . of reward instead- , of punishment if they succeeded in their odious purpose. Col. Brown, Vimicarti, Riganti, and Rastelli were the persons accused .of improper conduct with re spect to procuring evidence ; and although they might prove or disprove the charge, not one of them was forthcoming, Rastelli, who was sup posed to be ready for examination, had been' sent to Italy upon false pretences. Riganti was not produced, although his evidence in any Court of Justice would have been considered necessary, to oppose the evidence of Pomarti. So far a s Vimicarti was concerned in the dia bolical part which had been taken, he . said nothing. Perhaps the proper time would come for inquiry ; but it was extraordinary, with all the power derived from the influence of Government and the First• Lord of the Treasury, that more respectable witnesses had not.been produced in support of the accusation. Why were not Dr. Holland, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, Sicard, and others who knew all the Queen said or did, brought forward for the prosecution ? , It could not be denied that great exertion had been made by persons concerned in the prosecution ; but if half the industry had ken bona fi de, it *mild have saved, their Lordships' much trouble', the country incalculable confusion, and the public an enormous expense. Dr. Lushington, near his conclusion, observed—" At the end of the Queen's case I haVe 'to thank your Lordships for the indulgence with which you have heard me. I thank your Lordships for your patient hearing: and now with perfect confidence I leave the cause of her Majesty to your Lordships. Assured of your honour and propriety, I appeal not to your mercy, but your.justice, for an acquittal." Mr. BROUGHAM then.said" My Lords this closes my case." Earl GREY, immediately after, reminded the House that he had, on a former day, expressed his intention' to move that Sacchi and Dumont be again called to the bar, in order to prove, by examination, whether there was any contradic tion in the testimony of these witnesses. In con sequence of what had since occurred, he was not inclined to persevere in that motion. The Noble Earl had no longer any wish to see either Sacchi or Dumont again.—The House then adjourned. LONDON JOURNALS. [DAILY EXTRACTS.] FROM THE MORNING PAPERS. [Morning Post.] Tii. QUEEN.-Dr. LUSHINGTON yesterday made his speech. The subject had been so com pletely exhausted by his brother Advocates who had preceded him, that nothing very important remained for him to do, and it is scarce necessary to observe, that nothing effectual as to the main points of charge has been or could possibly be advanced by any of them. The Learned Doc tor went over the evidehce, as his Colleagues had done, and of course founl no difficulty in coining to the conclusion at which they had arrived. One point he dwelt upon with great emphasis as be longing peculiarly to liiimelfas a civilian, and that was the singularity of the case, observing he had never before known a husband to seek relief for the infidelity of a wife, who was fifty years of age ! He - would thence have it supposed the crime charged could not have been committed. He, however,, had known cases of infidelity where the Ladies were forty-five. Now, at the time the adulterous intercourse with Bergami is stated to have commenced, .her Majesty was only 46, and therefore if she was anxious to have precedents for what she did, she might be excused for think ing that she had found them in the case& of those ladies with which Dr. Lushington was acquainted. In fact, it is impossible to conceive any thing more injudicious, or less likely to serve her cause, than the ground of defence chosen by the' Advocates of the unfortunate Queen. After the dariming facts admitted even by her Own witnesses, pallia tion of criminality, and not utter defiance of truth, would surely have been the course most likely to be successfully pursued by her Ma jesty's Counsel ; but, instead of this, they preferred appeitling to the basest passions of the vulgar and ignorant classes of the community, in the hopes of maintaining by means of rude and popular Clamour the high but fallacious ground of innricence, which in the desperation of their case „they so imprudently assumed. Pro ceeding in this indiscreet course they affected in the first instance to consider her Majesty's case safe, - without having recourse to the .plea of recrimination ;_ but completely failing in the vain presumption, poor Dr. Lushington, though indulging' in a similar affectation, has been re duced to the humiliating necessity of urging that part of her defence with the utmost bitterness. professing certainly•to.have made his remarks with much pain, and not venturing to say that they were foUnded on any proofs. lie would admit of no distinction between the case of a King and Queen of a moral people and that of an ordinary couple in humble private life. Ile could not of course take into his consideration this important difference, that in the one case the dignity of the Crown and the character of the State are in volved, while in the other it is merely the feeling of an individual that is to be consulted.. The King does not present himself in the present case merely as a, man requiring personal Teller, bat us the Sovereign of a great and moral JFaripire, whose duty it is not only to maintain the dignity of his Crown, but to preserve the national honour, - ;',nd be watchful of the moral character of hiS people. The present proceSs•is, theiefoit, not in behalf of his .Majesty, but of the State ; and, under this consideration, it excites Our astonish ment, even in these sad times of bae httcl itifa_ mous delusion, to - find overlooked: by ,men of legal learning, the obvious distinction betWee'n the wife of a, private individual anti the wife of a Sovereign; who, if sheyemain such, must be • at die head.of female society in England! WA respect to the . early separation of the Miyal Par ties in question, upon which the factious and the mischievous so much delight•to dwell, we believe„ there is not a dispassionate individual in the kingdom who is not now enabled (front tve dis gusting facts that have so clearly been brought to light),, amply and satisfactorily to account for the 'circumstance. In fine, we put it 'to* the com mon sense of the country—we put it to its pride —we put it to its prudence, whether it viOntd. not 'be improper, disgraceful, and impolitic, to suffer their King, who marries for their. interest, and not according to his own inclination, to re main the husband of a public criminal, in the event oilier being so pronounced by 'Parliament, to the dishonour of his Crown, and the disgrace , of the, country over which he so wisely and so gloriously reigns. [British. Press.] An understanding very generally prevailed yes terday evening among the political circles, that in a conference held between the Earl of Lirer- Pool and Earl Grey, each accompanied by a Lord from their respective'sides of the _House, the fate of the Bill of Pains and Penalties was determin ed. The Earl of Liverpool and Earl Grey were certainly absent from the House yesterday at the same time, for about twenty mi►iutes ; and it `seemed as if the conference had been requested by the Earl of Liverpool, for he first left the House, and Earl Grey, accompanied by a Noble Friend, soon afterwards followed. ing Chronicle.] A report was very general last night, that Mi nisters have determined, now that the Queen's , case is closed, to proceed no farther with the Bill ; and that one great cause of their adopting this resolution is, an intimation from several of the most distinguished of the Tory Nobility . (whose names are confidently mentioned,) that they can not possibly vote for the measure.—lt is certain, that in consequence of - a sign from Lord Liver. pool, Lord Grey, Lord Grenville, and the Mar quess of Larisdotro;withdreW with him for about a quarter of an hour, while Dr. LUshington. Was speaking, and that Lord Grey, on his 7 enterin the House, went immediately to Lord Holland ' , to whom he seemed to Make some cormnunica. tion. Our readers• will not fail to observe also, in our Report, that When Dr: Lushington sat down, Earl Grey immediately withdrew the im portant notice of a motion for the production of the evidence given before the Milan Coinmissiou, as fram what had since transpired, he found it unnecessary to make any farther inquiry on the subject. We consider this perfectly -deciaive of an understanding between Ministers and the Op position that the Bill is to be withdrawn. It is impossible, in any other way, to account for the abandonment of this motion, which, if the Bill were to be persisted in, would be as necessary now as ever. [Alorning Herald.] It will be observed by the Court Circular that Prince Leopold paid a visit yesterday at Bran denim:l.o. Rouse, for the purpose of inquiring after the health of the Queen, whom he under stood to be indisposed. Ife did not leave his carriage, but sent Colonel Addenbroke to make the proper inquiries of Lady Anne Hamilton. — This visit will cause some sensation. It is the first which Prince Leopold has made to the queen since her return from the Continent. [New Times.] • The close of the Queen's Defence, without an attempt to patch up the fatal evidence or Flynn and liownam, has produced a marked and strik ing change in public opinion. In the City, where considerable odds were a short whila ago laid that the Bill would not go to a second reading itt the House of Lords, there is now even betting that it will pass both Houses. On the other hand, many of the Queen's professed adherents..shew unequivocal 'narks of desperation. They no lon ger affect to treat her Majesty's acquittal or degradation as a question of reason, but as one of downright force. For a long time The Morning Chronicle maintained that prudent, reserve which we were the first to notice and the readiest to commend; but yesterday its leading , article 'seemed to vie with those which have so long disgraced the pages of the Mob - -teading Journal. It intimated that because the labouring classes disapproved of the Bill the Lords "would not venture" to pass it--and that " the .t,kristo cracy would not dare to set themselves against the whole of the rest of the counrirthity." . "' It is well for the people sornetinies to speak . out. We are then enabled either to reason with them, if they wish to reason, or to adopt More eilergetit measures, if such should be iieceqsary. Novi , the evident meaning of the passages to which We have referred is to intimidate the 'Peerage of the United Kingdom into a base subserVientyjo "The populace : it is telling thern--We of the Qriecia'S party have got the Mob on our - Side,and - now pass the Bill if you dare. Prince Leopold is like many other fereighets, who mistake the populace of Eltigland foC the people Of • England. Ills Royal : Highness per ceiving that so Many Mobs of glass-blowerS; Wa , termen, &c - . went "to BrandenbUrgh House, seems to have thought it neceshry these weighty examples. • lie therefore ca11i..41 ou her Majesty, who, probably displeased at hiSlong delay, sent, down word 'that she and could not,see him ; ,to which; we understand, the Prihce replied, he had heard she was and theiefore he had called. There is a ffibUlous story.cUtrent; of a letter which Prince f ! - opiold, is said tbhave written to the Queen we believe we can cotfidently state that he did not' write at Ibid.) - The QUEEN has signified her pleasure not to receive personally any more Addresses after Monday next. Addresses after that day-tnay be transmitted to her ; but not, to be preftutect to heiself.