The Sun. — London, England, 1804-03-07 00:00:00

„ rternoon some ilfoniteurt to the 26th were received, but which throw no further light on the very extraordinary Plot which we de tailed in our Paper of yesterday. That Plot carries to our mind many marks of having been fabricated by the Chief Consul himself; for the purpose of getting rid of a very dangerous rival, MOREAU, who is known to have entertained the most sove reign contempt for, and irreconcileable hatred to, the Corsican Upstart. General PTCHEGRU, in the French Official De. tails, is asserted to have arrived at Paris about the end of January —We are assured that he was in London on the isth of last month, only two days before the date of the Report of the Minister of Justice. 'He may have since the fad o f his being in London on the Isth, if true, as we are assured it is, proves that the Re port proceeds upon false grounds. W e last night received some Dutch Papers to the 26th, which state that an Embargo had been laid in the Ports of Holland, to prevent the'escape of Gene ral PICHEGRIT. MOREAU . 'S Brother, a Member of the Tribunate, stood up in that Assembly to assert the innocence of his Brother. All he wanted was an oppUrtunity of defending hiinselT, to prove his innocence. This, we apprehend, 'will avail him little. W e b el i eve the whol e , as we havealready said, be a p l ot of BONAP A R TE ' S contriVance to get r to id of Mo. READ ; and those who know the characler of the Chief Consul, will hardly entertain a doubt of his carrying his dark and diabolical scheme, whatever it may be, into complete effea. Strange and contradictory as it may seem, the Embargo which had lasted for eiiiht Weeks in the Ports of France, was last " week taken Off --at the Hmoment too Wh en one is laid in all the Ports of olland. The next -accOunts from Paris cannot fail to be particularly inteteiiiln with a g. Mott ty EA was popnlar considerable Portio n of the Army, and was muchrespeCied and beloved in private life ; but so degraded and brutalized is public feeling in France, that we much doubt whether. the public execution of the ablest General, and one of the best of the few good men that France ecntains, would exc i te the Smallest sensation. W e give some further Extra-as thi s d ay from Papers, which will be fo un d in terest. The Paris ing. —The Papers to the 2 6 t h age chiefly filled with Congratulatory Addresses to Consulthe Chi e f froth the Institute., the C lar G uard, and the diff onsu erent Civil and Clerical A , Milita r y, uthorities, in the usual strain of coarse and fulsome panegyric. The Fir st C onsul, on being of the Conspiracy, affeeled tranquilli ty. Mott tAu the utmost's Brother and had been. arrested. Th ese he ordered t his S ecretary o be relea std . A few h ours a f terwards an order was•iasued to ar . test tte latt er again —but he had m a d e hi s escape . Yesterday, the arrival of the Castle Eden, an d Walpole was announced at the East India House. The Castle Eden and Walpole sailed from Madras 13th of Sept e mber ; and from St. Helena, sth of lanuary, 1804. Lord Castlereagh arrived at Madras, itth of September. Union (extra ship) was left at Madras. Earl Howe arrived at Madras, 29th of August, and Etr roe on the 28th. Sailed f or Beiwil,Septemb er to. Wexford sa il e d f rom Madras for China, August 24. 'Preston sa il ed for Bengal, August 19 ; and Sir H on the 23d. j sir _ ugh Inglis . Castle fin, 4th February, spoke the Duke of Portlaul, Whaler, from St. Helena, who joined company, and the 27th of the:same. month spoke the Inspedor, Whaler fror sr, !lelena; )vho also joined company. • n 12 c0r " , ,i Sarah,. W halers, let at St. Helena, 4th January. g.and arrived at St. Helen a 23d November. On the 26th August, the Gel:jai...Stuart (extra ship), Cap . _ tared the French ship Aureora France, bound to BourdeAuxN'y tons, from the Isle of hlaedree2iisowit ast India goods , and sent her to St., Helena, veniber. arrived the 27th No. Ganges and Cyrus, Whalers, prizes to the S corpion, h a d not sailed fr om S t. H elena the 4th )anuary. Lord CLIvE, Governor of Maer ras , arrived on Monday l ast , i n the , Castle Eden East-Indiaman. An ove r l an d di spatch left. Bombay the 25111-Sep_ temper : the 41thinstone w as a b out to proceed to tengal for rice ; a great scarcity of. rice existing at Bomb ay i n consequence of the late fire. At the time the above East-Indiainen sailed, no account had been received of Admiral LINO IS' Squadron ;it was supposed that lndia wi t h out touching •at he was gone to the Cape of Good Hope. , • DUEL —This morning en a Duel was fough t be twe was C---d and a. M r . B . i n which the for mer killed on the spot. on Mon • Dispatches from Admiral C OR NWAI , IS, received day, state, that the French Fleet in the Outer.:Road of Brest remained ready fur Sea, and that several more Ships in th e Inner Harbour were in a state of preparation. His Royal Highness the DUKE of YORK has or dered the Brigade of Foot Guards, commanded by General BURRARD, to be immediately instructed in the new bayonet exercise. HIS. MAJESTY has been pleased to appoint Colo nel Sir-SAktuHL AUCHMUTY, of the loth Infantry, to be a Brigadier-General upon the Staff' of Great Britain. • The S out h war k V olunteers mustered very nu merously, and • were insTeded by C o l one l JE NKI N. B °N) whO. paid them En.4ny high an d well deserved co mpliments, An apology was made for Colonel TI'S RN EY - 's absence, and Wel'itnderitancl . that he has resigned the .command,of the,Corps. Died at Pisa, on the 28th of January last, the R,,j&ht Hon. Lady MARY EYRE, relict of the late EYRI, Esq. of Hassop, in,Derbyshire,,, and cuter of the late HENRY ZrIF4UCO:I`.O3EI?.! A'APAL NEWS: PLYmotrril, MARcU s.—Arrived the Prussian C;alliot Johannes Van Lotten, of Embden, E. W. GRANwoLo master, from Cherbourg : sailed two days since, cn which day the Embargo which has existed on all vessels in the Ports of France for the last eight weeks, was taken off. Arrived the Defence, of 74 guns, and Acasta Frigate, from the Cannel Fleet. PORTSMOUTH, MARCH 6.—Arrived this day the Walpole, Capt. SAND I LANDS, from Madras and St. Helena. She sailed from Madras 13th Septem ber, in company with the Castle Eden, and from St. , Helena the sch January. Left at St. Helena the G.orgiana Packet, two French Whale-Fishery Ship's, Prizes, arid a Ship from Batavia, with bale goods, captured by the General Stuart, Extra Indiaman. The iPalpole and Castle Eden reached so far to the Eastward as Beachy Head, when the wind head ing them, they bore up, and the Walpole arrived this morning. PASSENGERS PER. Tilt WALPOtE-Mr. Atkinson, SeniOr Merchart ; Mr. BurnaSy, Merchant ; Capt. Knowles, Capt. M'Gregor, Company's Service ; Mr. Stodclart, Se nior Merchant; Lieut. katthew, Swiss Regiment ; Lieut. Johnson, 19th Dragoons ; Mrs Davis and t‘W) children, family of the late Dr. Davis of the Madras Establish ment ; Capt. Johnson, 34th RegiMent, left sick at St. - Helena ; Mr. Lock, and Mrs. I'arberry and two children, from St. Helena. PASSENGERS PER CASTLE EDEN—LOrd Cli e, Family and Suite; Colonel Dallas; Lady; and two Chil&en ; Colonel Iklacalister, Captain Easters, Major Young, Mr. Strachey, and Nlr. 111`Connochy. Capt;.zin Blair, of the Coast Artillery, died at Madras, and Lieutenant Noble, of the 7,3 d Regiment, at St. Helena. DEAL, MARCH Majesty's Ship Eurjthites Came iii from Dungeness; and .Nmoi-talitt= and Archer Gun.brig from a Cr uize. DURHAM, MARCH 4 THE Poll was opened on Friday mart - jing o as was expelled ; and to prevent tumult and conNsion, it was agreed between Mr. SHAFTOE and Mr. TivEb DELL, that they should pursue the cundtkk'ob_ served at the last elettion, and potririlallieil' It will net, therefore, be known who has the best of the contest, until one party finds it difficult ftimake up his tally It is supposed 'that the contest will terminate about Wednesday. Fk 1 1 61.'r. -Mr. Shaltoe, 76 i Mr. Tweddell 78 SATURDAY'S Shaltue, 192 I Mr. Tweddell 194 The reason of Mr. Tw EDD EL L being two ahead, arises froin two voters of Mr. SHAI . TOE'S hat ing been objeCted to. CORN EXCHANGE, MARCPI 7. To-day there are not many fresh samples of grain arrived ; higher prices 'are isked for Wheat ; we have some fine Foreign at hand, that is in demand, and sells at sgs. per quarter ; in Barley, Malt, or Pease, we see little fluatiation ; Tick Beans are cheaper—not having many; and hut few Foreign Cargoes come in, they are considered a ruing ar. tick fur the present ; the Flour Trade is brisk. Wheat 3os a 43,5 a 54s od Fine ditto - 555 566 6d Rye - - -23 s . a Sts od Barley - - iSs a 1.35 6d Malt - - 485 a 555 od White I'ease 335 a 405 ott B eans 3os a 363 . ad Tick Beans -25 S a 31s od Oats -17 s a 2.05 a 23s od Jand ditto 24 ; a 25 6 , 1 Rape Seed - - 351 a 381 Fine Flour -40 s a 44s od Seconds 35s a . 4os od THE WHIG CLua. —Yesterday there was a Meeting of the Whig Club at the Crowrrand An chor Tavern, the Duke of NORFOLK in the Chair. The most remarkable thing that occurred was a Speech from Mr. Fox, of which the following was a part " He would not take upon him to - assert,. that the Mem tiers of the present Adniinistration were men of no capaci ty ; their friends, those who supported them, admitted that they were weak and inefficient. But what was the claim of such a Ministry to support ? Had they not chine into power upon the ground of being eneanies to religious toleration, .upon-opposing, those measures tiMcli were-neces sary to forma real union -of mind and afkdiati with the ,pCo 'pie of Ireland ? If in sonic respects they were inefficient, .they had been efficient enough to pass a Bill . of Idempity ,for some of the worst as of their predecessors, thus holding out the example of impunity for all mal-administration in future. In some of their own ads they had gone lengths to which none of their predecessors had ever ventured. They had in .eMel said, that. the King's Civil List should be unlimited, and that, whatever, might be its nominal amount, His Ma jesty was at liberty to_spcnd whatever he pleased. They had been efficient enough, to make Peace, and what they had called a solid Peace, but Which in their hands had been only a hollow truce. They. had since.been efficient eno4h to plunge the Country into an unnecessary. War, which' they could neither carry on with vigour, nor terminate with ho nour, They were efficient enough, therefore, if not to ;do any thing good, at least to do mischief, and they had atted so as to justify an opposition to the bad measures of 'which they are guilty. There could not be a more fatal error, than.to imagine that weak men Were not likely to do mis chief. Weak men,. though incapable of serving their Country, had the means, it in high stations, to involve it in the' most dreadful calamities. Bat without farther inquiry into the measures of the present Ministers, it was enough at present -to say, that they stood in those principles which the Club had been formed to oppose ; that they . were enemies to rcli gious .toleration, and that they had involved the Country its an unnecessary War, and had brought it into extreme danger. That we were in extremedanger was admitted by all, it was the constant theme of Ministers thentselves, and it was fit that they should be called to account for those dan gers, and to answer for the measures which they had pro.. vided to - repel them. The Volunteer Force had been the subject of much discussion, and whatever opinion might be formed of the mode in which this Force was to be employed, there could be no doubt that the cliOrts of the Volun teers had been most glorious to them as individuals.— But even with this Force, on which they relied so much, Ministers had involved themselves in . disputes. After ac cepting the services of Volunteers, they shewed every dispo sition to render the service no longer voluntary. In this contest the Volunteers , had obtained a most decisive tory, which he hoped would be a prelude to a victory over the other Enemies of the Country, s h ou ld t h e French attempt to invade this Country. - Minist ers , indeed, had s i nce pre .. tended that they did not intend to compel the Volunteers to serve, though they had contrived, several months to do it ; and, perhaps, in the same manner the French might: say,• that, after all the bustle of Invasion, tliv.never meant se riously td invade us. B ut w h atever were the intentions of the• Enemy, he had no d o ubt t h at they would be repelltd by the spirit and courage of th e C ountry. " The Master and Wardens, of the Bakers' Company waited yesterday on .the Right Honourable- the L 0 RD M . AyoR, to set, the Assize of, B rea d, w h en his Lord.' ship . continued i t e h i e n . A t s o s a i f z e otih, Wheaten,sam eas f 1 ore, viz. and 7d. of Household -Bread., • - THE TRIAL OF THE CORDONS. OXFORD ASSIZES BEFORE ME, JUSTICE LAW.RENCE AND MR. JUSTICE 1..1' BLANC THE Commission was opened .by Mr. Justice LAWRENCE, on Monday, March 5. The following is a list of the Grand jury : The Marquis of BLAND OR 0, Foreman. Rt. Hon. F. Lord Spencer Aleander James, Esq. Sir Christopher Willoughby Charles Brown, EN. John Fane, Esq, Thomas Toovey, Esq. Oldtield Bowles, Esq. Wm. Henry Ashurst, Esq. William Lowndes, Esq. Robert Veers, Esq. Thomas Stonar, Esq. George Ciarki2, Esq. Francis Pennystone, Esq. tuba Bust, Esq. john Spencer, Esq. Francis Wa.,;tie, Esq. , Henry Calveley, Esq. .. . Willi,n Fahher, I , .:iq. Geo. Frederick Stratton, Esq. Michael Co; . gan, Esq. John Lenthall, Esq. WilliaM lemmett, Lsq. Mr. Justice LA4ItEileE then addressed the Grand Jury in the follo,,;'ing terms: GENTLENIEN, " It will not he necessary for me. to detain you long, explaining the Law on the difffrerit cases now to be brought under your consideration. They are but few in number ; the most considerable, and that which will require your most attentive consideration, is the one founded on the Ad of the 3d of King Henry VII. which makes it capital felony for any person forcibly to take away a woman for the pur pose• of enjoying her property, marrying her, or defiling her person. This Statute very, properly pro vides for the safety of those who, either.byhere ditary descent; marriage, or any other means, come into posiessioh of consider: le property, who would other Wise be liable to fall a prey to violence and in.. justice. Now, in order to prove a felony, and bring it within the meaning of the Statute, it is necessary that I should state to you, that three things are re quisite, in order to prove the crime against which this statute was wisely enatled, and has since been particularly enforced. In the first place; the Statute supposes that the woman is possessed of pro perty ; secondly; that the person who takes her 'away is actuated with the lucre of gain, and has a design upon that property ; and thirdly, that he takes. her off, either with the desigo of marrying her, or violating her person. With regard to the first, it is supposed that a woman haS property ; but when she is married she cannot have any property of her own o however, if her affairs are in the hands of trystees, and her property invested with them, it amounts to • the same thing, , 4ria is eqUally felony, and comes within the meatitng of the Statute. Secondly, it .is auppoied that the. possession 'of property lays at the foundation of this'erime, and tilat the person offend ing is instigated by the hopes t. 4 obtaining it, which he endeavours to accomplish by illicit means, and to Prevent which this Ad was very properly made; for if the property of women, whether hereditary or hoWsoever entailed on them, be not secured by law, infinite iiiichiefs would accrue to society by the rapacity and profligacy elf individuals. The third thing necessary to constitute the crime is the marrying the woman forcibly taken away, or de filing her Person It is hardly necessary that I should explain ro you what this means; it signifies that carnal knowledge or connexion between the sexes, which, When force is used, would be deno minated a rape. It order to constitute this a capi. tal offence, it most be proved that force has been used; and in order to bring it within this indid ment, it must be shewn that 'force has been used in this Co'Onty. Now, though force may have been used in anothCr county, if it is not proved to your saris faaioti that it has been committed in this county, where the indidment is laid, you cannot receive such evith-lice as sufficient to warrant the conviction of the prisoners; but if the evidence adduced be fore you he sufficient to prove that force has been continued in this county, that will be sufficient to establish the guilt of the Prisoners, who will then become liable to the penalties of the Statute. Sup. pose a man, who is indicted for larceny, steals goods in one county, and exposes them to sale in another, he is guilty of stealing thein in the place where he carries them, and is obnoxious to punish. ment equally as if he stole them there. Gentle men, if the fad of force be proved to your sa. tisfadion, that is, if she has been forcibly brought out of another county into this against her own in clination, and by,coMpasion from the Prisoners, it will be sufficient, to'Crituinate them ; and it will not be material to inquire, whether the defilement of her person took place by force, or with her own con. sent. This distindion would have been necessary id the case of a rape ; but the charge here is of a more serious nature, and depends entirely upon the ques tion, whethei force has been wed to bring her into this County ? The other offences, Gentlemen, to he brought under your consideration, are of an in ferior nature; one, indeed, for taking money out of a Letter sent to the Post-Office, is of an alarm ing nature, and regards the security of society, the welfare of individuals, - and the prosperity of the re venue. Gentlemen, you will decide on these cases in proportion to the evidence you receive, and make your report accordingly." The Grand Jury, after sitting several hours, and examining sixteen Witnesses, returned, at six o'clock, a true Bill against Lockhart and Lauden Gordon. SICC)ND DAY-MARC A 1 6. It haying been previously under Stood that. the trial of LOCKHART WO LAUDEN GORDON, would commence this morning at seven o'clOck, the Town, Hall was completely invested before day. light, and notwithstanding the rain came down in torrents, the multitude increased every minute till at last the avenues leading to the 'Hall were blocked up. At seven o'clock precisely, the Judge Sir SOULDEN, LAWRENCE, Knt. and J. LANOsTEN, Esq. theHigil Sheriff, arrived, but wt re u nable to ascend the stair-case leading to the CroWn Court for a considerable' length of rime, the ja velin men and the constables having lOng before been prevented from keeping any thing like a passage to the principal entrance. Here 'a scene of the greatest disorder presented itself, disgraceful to any corpo rate town, but especially to a city that boasts its well-regulated police, • and - afteets, in many particulars, to hold out an example to the other parts of Great Britain. The: officers were compelledto cut their way through the crowd, many were wounded, but the greater put: were br:.lisecl. and trampled upon by the mot•e'rnhult and k letermined assailants. The .pickpackets too, 'voured by the gloom of, the morning, made a Most ample collection ; and many who suCceed ed in obtaining admission, were made to pay hand,omely for the gratification of their eager en rioSity. One person, a farmer. looking Man, lost sol. worth of Bank -notes, and many others their wai-ches and considerable sums of money. graving ascended into the Court Room, the persons who had thus risked their lives and their property in the at tempt, found the whole area fet apart forjnstice, with the eXception of the Jury Box, and a few stars for the Counsel, were filled with persons who had pl a ced themselves in the Grand Jury Room,•and on the arrival of the judge, inundated the whole space deseribed. This our Reporter conceives to have been wholly without the knowledge of the nudge s who, on a personal application the. previous even ing for admittance, most po,itively stated, that no partiality should be shewn, and , that all alike should take their chance for places, with the exception of Gentlemen interested in the pro gress of the Trial. The result proved,' that hiF; Lokiship's determination was abortive, and the places for public accommodation were seized by Persons who insinuated themselves with the Court through a clandestine passage. it was impossible that the individuals without. the area could hear with any distin&ness the proceedings of the Court and as our Reporter was so situated, it will not be expeaed he should give more than an outline of a trial which has excited so much interest, a lid t.he management of which, as far as regarded the ac. commodation of the Public, so badly conducted, and so eartially dealt out. There was a continued riot throughout the whole trial : the crowd wore their hats, and set the constables at defiance, each geer ing and laughing at his own and his neighbour's in_ con v enience. Abut eight o'clock Mr. LOCKHART Go R. noisr and Mr. ',AUDEN GORDON were put to the bar. They bowed respeclfully, and while the indictment was reading, appeared extremely attentive to the different ways. in which the offence charged against them was put. They were well dressed, and nose sessed the air of Gentlemen. LOCKHART wore mourning, and LAUD EN was dressed in a dark green mixture coat. The indiament contained i 6 counts, and charged them generally with forcibly raking, seizing, and carrying away RAcHAF FANNY ANTONINA LEE, for lucre of substance, from her house in Bolton_row ; and afterwards de_ filing her at Tetsworth, in the County o(.Qxford,. to the great displeasure of Almighty God ; to, t! disparagement of the said . RACHAEL ; to the comfiture of her friends ; to the evil example of others ; against the form' of the statute; against the King's peace, his crown.and dignity.-To this Indiament the Prisoners pleaded Nat Gutilty, - ..a - nd were immediately put upon their deliverance.-Mr: FULLER . opened the pleadings; when Mr. MILLS, of Counsel 16r the Prosecution, ad. , dressed the Jury in a speech of two hours long. He began by stating, that the case he had to lay before . them, was as extraordinary as important ; imputing to the Prisoners one of the most outrageous aitacki upon an unproteded female, that the catalogue o f crimes could produce. The enormity of the offence, was the greater, as it was committed by men whose education and rank in life pointed out a different line of conclua. One was the unworthy member of a Reli gion, 'the moral precepts of which, had he practised them, would have suggested the criminality of the undertaking, and the other an Officer in His Ma jesty's Service, where it was natural to imagine he would have imbibed sufficient honor to have pre vented the commission of so gross a violation of the chastity of a defenceless woman. The Learned Counsel next adverted to tip accounts published in the News. papers, which he described as highly indecorous, and particularly mentioned a suppmed interpretation of Mrs. LE V.'s dream,lor which,he said,tliet e was not the least foundation. He had mentioned those bras to guard them against prejudice,and trusted they'would lay aside all they had heard or read, and attend only to the evidence produced before them. He then entered into an explanation of the Statute of the 4th Henry VIII. which alike went to the prote6tion of Maidi; widows, or wives, possessed of real or per'so'nal es tates, in their unprotected state. If either'of them should he forcibly carried away for lucre of sub-. stance nand afterwards married or defiled, then the crime 'was complete, and the punishment was death, without the benefit of clergy. Withi n t h e meaning of that Statute, it was his duty to predi. cate, the Prisoners had placed themselves, The Jury however would remember, that not only tak ing away by force from her house was necessary, bur, that force roust be plainly shewn to exist from that time till the completion of the crime at Tets.. worth. The learned Counsel then detailed the fads in the case, which have already appeared before the arid renders a repetition unnecessary. Se vera l Witnesses were then called, who proved the order given by LocKHAtur GORDON for the chaiSe to be at Bolton-row at seven o'clock; also the subsequent force used to convey. Mrs. LEE from her own house. Mrs. LEE was next called, who having first seated •hersell in a chair provided for her, repeated ,the same testimony she gave on her examination before the Magistrates, at B:)w.street, with no variation 'whlatever: - This 'occupied a space of two hours, when Mr;.'ABROTT proceeded in' his Cross-examination, and drew from the mouth .of the. Witness an admission that put.an' end at once to the Indictment. -She adirkitted that when in the chaise on the road to - Uxbridge, she had said to LAUDEN GORDON, that she found it useless to make further resistance, and tearing from ter breast a gold locket and a camphire bag, she exclaimed, ‘,‘ the charm that has preserved my virtue hitherto is dissolved, adding, as she threw it away, now wetcome plea. sure." It also appeared, that when she went tä biz(' at . letsworth, she desired the chambermaid to tell her husband that 'he might come ,to bed in ten minuses. The' Learned JoLige observed, that it was impos. 7 sible he should permit the trial to proceed furt her. The force hid nut been carried into the County of Oxford, and . the PristinerS ,must be acquitted. At the iatne• time he could hot help remarking, that their cOnd - ua was slianiettil in thc'extreme s partici]. lady that i -ofLOCKHART Gottnoisr, Whose duty it : I was p he being 4 - Cfcisywan, 7 iu instrUet 'and guide ~\ ~` i