The National Register.
London, England, 1820-11-12 00:00:00

502

9suptrial '4Darlianititt.

11•••••••
HOUSE OF. LORDS
TRIALAW Ilklt MAJEaTV. •
. •
MOl,iwt I', NOT.
The House met at the ;pond hour this morning. After
prayers had been read, the list was c4lled over as limas;
the number of Peers present was nearly 200.
The Marquis of LANSDOW N rose, and said—" My
Lords, I assure your Lordships that I tutu not at all dis-
posed to go at ereat length into the examination Of Ibis
figuration; bar 1 feel it nectssaiy to add a few observa-
tions to lhoge I have already made before. I conic to that
more important feature of the case, the character of this
measure. lam anxious to make sume observations on the
evidence—tint to go through the whole of it, but to advert
to those particular points to which some Noble Lords op-
posite have more immediately referred."—The Noble
Marquis here went over a great part of the evidence,
pointing out its decrepancies, and declaring that where a
witness had been proved to be perjured in any one point,
however trivial, the whole of that witness's evidence
ought to stand for nothing. He then said, he had heard
many Noble Lords declare, with greet appearance of can-
dour, that they would dismiss front their minds different
parts of the evidence, in consideration of the doubtfulness
of the veracity of those who gave it; bat lie would tell
those Noble Lords that they were hutind nut to dismiss
from their consideration one tittle of the evidence, in jus-
tice to the Queen.—(Hear.)--The case of Senegaglia,
and other cases exhibiting the saint- character of falsehood
should be kept in the closest remembrance. It should
also he remembered that the Counsel for the defence were
prohibited front going into general proofs of the existence
of a conspiracy, and if in keeping within the rules pre-
e-ribed to theuu, they had elicited the fact, that somehow
or Miler, through all the parts in which her Majesty ree
sided, there existed a conviction that those who were
ready to give evidence against her would get into the
most sure road to fortune. If their Lordships should pre-
sume from what had come before them that this was the
case, and that a machinery and agency existed from the
German minister down to the German waiting-maid, (a
character as respectable as a German missister engaged in
such' a cause)—if they were convinced that such an
opinion was created by the examination of the testimony
of Sacehi and Cuclti, who seemed to speak so purely from
the love of truth, were they not humid to look upon that
of Paturlo and Garguilo, a hid' had been subject to such
doubt, as likely to be influenced by similar views, and to
infer the general probability i—(Hear.)—The Noble Lord
then spoke with reference to the absence of the Countess
of Oltli and Marielti upon the part of the defence, wit-
ness( s whom it would have been inexpedient to call, as
the time and place which their testimoity could have em-
braced, had not been sufficiently specified, and, of course,
their depositions could slot lead to a distinct conclusion.
He was surprised at a wish expressed by some Noble
Lords, that Bergand himself should be called to the Bar.
—(Loud cries of Hear, hear, hear.)--lie felt no hesitation
whatever in sleclai ing, that whether Bergami admitted or
denied all the facts charged in the preamble, it would not
weigh a feather iu his mind, or in the mind of any other
honourable 111:111.—(Hear, hear, bear.)—Not many years
had elapsed since, in a case of divorce, it was proposed
to call one of the parties to prove his mainexion with the
woman who lay under the imputation. Upou that occa-
sion, a learned situ able Judge declared, that if he were
himself called to give evidence with respect to a leinale,
to whom he was under such circumstances, he wou!tl con-
sider himself absolved from the obligation to state the fact
against her.—(Hear, hear, hear.)—Captain Houk, it was
said, had been called upon a speculation of this nature.
He was sworn, but lie was nut believed.—(Hear, hear.)—
The Noble Lord then pi oceeded to make some olderva•
tious upon the non-production of efficient witnesses by
the Crown. He had conceived that, at the commence-
ment of this inquiry.the cause would have been conducted
as the cause of Truth versus the Princess of Wales, and
be imagined that there would have been no party, except
merely the defendant. To this supposition he had been
led by the Noble Lords opposite, who had said, that
though, for-the sake of form, they had taken the character
of prosecutors, not a tittle of evidence which, in the course
of' the investigation, should appear fivourabie to her
Royal Highness should be suppressed, lie (the Marquis
of Lansdown) called upon their Lordships to look at the
manner in which this purpose, so expressed, had been car-
ried into effect. 'file evideirce of Dr. Holland, who stood
in so peculiar a situation with respect to her Majesty—a
gentleman in independent circumstances, and incapable of
being influenced, might have been supposed to be unex-
ceptionable witness, atid yet lie was not only nut called,
but It appeared that lie had at no period before the inves-
tigation been asked a single question by those who
professed :inch an anxiety to discover the whole truth.
there yet remained one circumstance more, which re-
quired their Lordships' most serious consideration. Pab-
lo; opinion could not appreciate all the mischiefs of this
measure, regarding it as a precedent for the future.—
Some Noble Lord, who had spoken in support of the Bill,
had quoted cases of Bilis fur altering the succession.—
Would those who did so admit that a case of presumption
was sufficient to alter the succession to the Crown ? Would
they skew what there was in the case for this bill, which
was •not equally upplicosle to a case affecting the SAICLES-
aIOII ? The object of this bill was said to be. to save the
country from the great evil with which it was threatened
by the operation of her Majesty's example on the morals
of the country. He alluded to nobody—he looked only
to the general hypothesis that Kings and Quietus of va-
rious characters insist succeed to the 'fbrune of these
realms—and were their Lordships to be told that when
any number of individuals chose to see in the couthict of
any individnal, either iu possession of the regal dignity,
or iii the immediate line of successioti to it, woat in their
inindslwasan unbecoming example—were they to be told
that this was to be made a ground fur deposing and de-
',riving them?—Hear, hear.)—Was that a sort of prece-
dent with which the supporters of this bill wished to
enrich the constitutional history of the country? If it
was not, oil what grutitid could their Lordships advance
further in this ;oat:ceding t Once lay this down as a con-
stitutional practice. and let three or four more such pre-
cedents arrive, and we shutiol come at once to Elective
Atmarclis ? Their Lordships might be started at the
terra, lint the fact was undoubted. It was the whole prin-
ciple of Elective Monarchy to look at the effect of the
personal character of the indiviuual entrusted with the
reins of power. Hereditary monarchy rested on a notion
that the Constitution had provided guards which made