The National Register.
London, England, 1813-03-28 00:00:00

TTIE NATIONAL REGISTER.

ice that it is expected that, upon the present occa-
of her late Royal Highness Augusta Duchess of
2rsons do put themselve, into decent mourning; the
begin on Sunday next the (.?Atti instant.
NORFOLK, Earl Marshal.
'tiered, that the Officers of the. Army and Navy wear a
their left arm with their uniform.

been salvised to issue a Commssion tin. an Inquiry into matters • I
which involved some eminent persons in this country. In that • ,
Commission his (Lard Ellenborougles) name was inserted, without •
his knowing any thing of the matter. Once engaged by his Ma-
jesty's command, lie did his duty to the best of his power. Bid
it eras in the performanre of that duty that some person, with the 6
most abandoned mil detestable slander, had dared to charge him
with the gross act of dishonesty ; him, on whose character for In. 4
tegrity, diligence, and care, depended more of the property and
interests of the people thin on those of any man in the country ; yet 4
of him it was foully andalauderously alleged, that be hod filisitie4
the evidence given before the commission, giving in as a document,
evidence that was not received, and suppressing that whielvnitia
;lethally Civet'. T:tis was all a heemati vile idauder,—ell false as Hell. i'•
He would not violate the propriety of that House ; lie knew !be
respect and decency whielt it reirtired ; but he mustgive the lie to
falsehood. In the ecurse of the enquiry his Noble Colleagues ..
inought it proper to have some person to take down and arrange
the evidence. His Majesty's Sidieitur-General at that time, (Sir .
Samuel Romilly,) was the version Axed on. One evenieg the Cu ma
Mission having on I', and tile witnesses being in kitten/Noce,. it was
thought better not to detir the examination,. and lose the evening.
though front some circumstance or other Sir Samuel Romilly was
not in attendance. The Commisaioners requested, that he, (1.014
Ellenborough,) as lie had been in the habit of taking down evidence.
:11111 probably in the year toots downtwice as much has any man in
the king& m, should take down the evidence of the witnesses in
attendance. He declare!' upon the moat stirred asseveration that
could be made,— tbi, most solemn sanction of an oade—that every. 1
word of that deposition came from the lips of the winless in clues.
tiou, that every word of it wtis read over to her, if not paragraph by
paragraph as it was taken down, certainly all atter4 was taken, and
every sheet signed with her name. if it would not be going into the
particulardiselosure, which nothing could induce him to allow or ad-
vise, the bare inspection of the paper would be enoogh to abew that
fabrication was impw.sible. It was fell of interliueations, the mind
of the patty was expressed in its language,—.any man .might have
seen, in its changes and corrections, that the deposition went to s
ascertain the HI meaning of the witness, and could not have been_
the work of him, Or the other Commissioners. Bnt how .absurd
was the change? Would hi, noble Colleagues have glittered him to .
vitiate the evidence I Wodid they have allowed him to set down- a
word on the paper which was not deposed by the witness ? Their
Lordships could not blame him for standing forth to repel in the
strongest minter so base and impudent, and miscreant an imputa-
tion. (Hear.) Nay, the thin?, was foolish as well as wicked. It
was despicable from its very stupidity.. It charged him with put-
ting leading questions. Now what wee the case in which leading
questions could be. put i It was, where there were contending.
parties ; and leading questions were only improper when 'be couu-
sel might be suspected of instructing his .own witness. • But the
Judge had a right to put any question which appeared to him likely 1
to el neidiite the truth. There was another case, when the Wituesa
was adverse ; but here the rule had its•extreptions,• and nothing-to
be derived from it could impeach the putting of any questions by
Commissioner:, who could have had no object but the .trath. It
remained for this stupid and cursed impudener,—for impudence
was a curse,—to" add another query, 'and gravely demand sail the
examination had not been written it-question and answer. Hot
was there tt. man .grey.lteaded in the to who had ever heard of such
a thing 2 If the whole of the facts conk! be detailed, no prejudice
on the subject could lie on the minds of the public tor au instant.
But as a Privy Councillor he could not address this Prithat likegent
for that purpose—( Hear !)—One of the most alarming sysaolasea
of the age was, that brutal and savage indifference with which men
threw about slander at the.highest characters : this was 14 twain
firebrands," and then saying, ,g am I not in sport i" lint in the
whole transaction; he and the Noble Comini,siouers, he ;unit be
allowed to say, felt, not perfect indifference, (for who could feet
iudifference?) but a single desire to do their duty—(Hear 1)-1.1e
was sorry to have so far troubled the House. His purpose was
not vindictive, but exculpatory For whale al- punishment the.
offence might call, he would call for none ;—lie was only desirous
to stand unimpeached in the opinion of the country. and toneA in
the eves of his fellowmeue—(dear.).
Lord EttsgtNn was one of .the Commissioners, and felt the .
im-
portance of having the character of high Magistrates clear in the A.
public eye. The Commissioners hall to complain. that if they had
done justice, justice had not been dune them. If the ]Magistrate
were not permitted to put leading questions to witnesses, the most
•
fatal consequenees might follow. lint if the 'Render was intended
to eittivey ittl impntation that he v; as guilty of any fabrication of

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et-t.t4.• 41•• •'

Oft

the evidence, he thought that it ought to be almosta suflieieht pro-
tection against SitVil a charge, that he and the Nohte Commissioners
ivere pm., vroted ft um appealing. to tact. (Hear.)
' . Ld OR EN N I.LF: ClllllCSscli that he seffered under painful feelings, in
iirswei ieg Itch a charge. The bare circumstance of replying to au ac-
cusation- of falsifying and fabricating evidence,if amen had the least
tpark oflionotiraW feeling, must appear to him no inconsiderable de-
gradation. He cook) not think tle.t they were railed Num, by such
an accusation as this,• to make any defence. There must be the
'Strongest presomptioa—there must be proof, before any one ought
to have 'it imposed upon him—to plead not guilty to the basest
eel Ottlest charge that could be preferred. against the vilest of man-
kind. It was about seven years since -he ha) been cut' usted by his
'Soseereign with the most important duty to %Odell this acensation
'referred :—it was a'tity imposed upon him,—for no man would he
frantic'euongli to desire to. have it to fulfil. Nothing but a sense of
'duty emild tma-ve prevailed upon him to undertake it. He knew that
'they were subjecting themselves to obloquy ;red slander, from power
.01i one side,--fmom faction on the other. They had, •theretbre, n•-
protection but in the undeviating rectitude of their conduct, and to
tat abine they looked for protection. •
• It he should be assailed on the ground of want of formality in the
proceedings, he tett -she matter to those who thought themselves
better lawyei ,-- than Lords Ellenborough and Erskine, and Sit Sunuel
it many: • If these ar at luminaries of the law should -h C proved to
hate erred, he silo* not.blush to own that he had participated he
'the error. But he did not wish to shelter hiaiselfuneler theautlitalty
'?of their great names. He confidently asserted, Oat when the time
• came when the sulmject cou!ii fairly come into discussion, every thin'
'would appear to• have been done correctly i .31 the course of the Ckil..
linnation. l-Te spoke of the subject as it would appear upon the
'face of the authentic documents, not as it might be collected fioni
pocket nurrativt 5, fabricated he knew not. when,--concealed foi
.seven years he knew not where,-,.and now brought firmer(' to. blast ,
'the eltaractos of tholew who migh,,,4l possibility, • have been left J
without any means of (teener : but as long as tin-re was a spark of 1
justice remaining; the very meanest of mankind could not be con- j
drained on such a production.. By such evidence they ought not to j
be tried or condemned. if upon the original examination., anthill- I
;tinted by the signatures of the Commissioners and the witnesses,
it should appear that there was any thing liable. to- objection, he ad.
• milted, that they mast abide by the consequences. Before it was
possible to discuss the subject with any chance of arriving at an
SCem•ate•toneinsion, it was necessary they should have the whole of
the documents, produced ; and upon these terms lie should be ready,
its far as he was personally concerned, •at any time to come to his
Taal. He trusted, however, that neither he nor his Noble Col.
• leagues would do any thing that should look like a violation. Of con-
fidence ; a tintlt so characteristic 'of the present time,. and which
-threatened the mo,t mischievous consequences. If the judgment of'
Parliament, and the public, should be against them in the point of
form, it would give him undoubtedly a painfid feeling: but this was
bottling compared to the storm of indignation which he felt at be-
ing accused,- together,with his Noble Friends, of the loudest crime
:midi vide!' any human being could he charged. 'They had to mewls
of knowing what had been'said, extept ti-om rumour; bat Whatever
• bad been said, he knew the impression which had been pt oduced on
the minds of his friends. l'he charge was, that they had substituted
in the room of the original Minute a fabricated Minute, different in
form and purport, and leading to a diflisrent CollClllbioll . trout the
origiital authentieNinute. That there was one Minute, consisting
of question and answer, which was the real one ;'that there was
. another which was forged, and falsely reported to be authentic. It
might have happened, that at the distance of seven years they
could have nothing but as%ertion to oppose to as Gime an imaginal ion
as ever was harboured by mail : hut lie thanked God they were not
left in this situation. Their 'defence existed in the original Minnie,
in the nand-writing of the Chief Justice, in the very words amid form
in which the evidence was given by the witness. It was taken down
by his Noble. and Learned Friend, at the time mentioned in the
1110C11111Clit, 111 the presence bf the witness,--read to the witness e'er-
tainly,--he believed read by Alm. w itness. This was the. only .I‘li
snite,--it was not iii the form 4 .Iquestion and answer; and upon the
face of the Minute itself them . Were various corrections,' 0 as• to
Make it convey exactly time sense arid meaning of the witness. th-
coda not have instructed Sir S. kt‘e•mily how to have taken a De-
,
position. If he had ti...t aaliPi.m. milty, he shook ratifier have applied
to' s:r S. Konmitly. • le the atexeceor SirSanntel Romilly, who eon'd
te line c properly fist!) upon to take dow le- time evidemite Mien the.
hief Justice of F,egiamt, who t% as , of all others, the most peen-
liarly comet-ant with takisig down evidence, upon whose acenraey
in the discharge of this
duty,
vas he himself had stated, the property

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TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER.

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'mAncirw.

and lives of the subject might depend? • Hitherto his conduct had
been unimpeaehed in the dischurge of his duty, and he hoped, this
would not be the case in which he should be found to have prosti-
tuted his functian his station, and hisacharacter. •
Earl SPENCER had only to obaerve,that he comp!etely adhered to
all that his noble friend had uttered; and that he perfectly agreed
with them in the feelings they bad expresried. He could • not' but
fret ashamed at. being called upon to defend himself against a charge
of bting concerned in one of the foulest conspiracies that was ever
ascribed to man. Nothing could be more agreeable to him, than
that this Mirth should be investigated in a Court of Justice. They
were only prey► nteil by reasons of public policy from complete ly
convincieg their Lordships, and the public, of the injustice that
had, been done them.
Lord Nloina was anxious to take this opportunity of clearing
himself from certain charges of a different nature from those which
had been made against his Noble Friends. His Noble Frieads had
alverted to the degradation of being esen called upoa to defend
themselves against a charge of fabricating evidence : but how humi-
liating must it he to him, to be called upon to def'endlimself against
a charge of attempting secretly and covertly to procure evidence
against any person whatever ? Fir: t, then, lie never was at the
place where he was staled to have been, for the dirty purpose of
covertly cqllecting evidence,.at any time during the proceedings on
this subject. He was neither there, nor in its vicinity, at any time
during the period in question. Ile not ()lily said this, hat, on the
faith and honour of a bentteman, he had revel spoiltanconsfy sought
for information on the subject ; and he introdaced this, and desired
it be more particularly attended to, on account of the asser-
tions with which he intended to lollow it np--naniely, tiat he not
only awry'. spontaneously sought for iitiormation on the subject, but
th,..t he haul never been instigated to do so-41140r. hear.)— But as a
Councillor in a certain quarter, he cowsidered himself as bound by
his oath, to enter into the examination accidence of in matters
f deep concern to, the honour of the individual, and the interests of
the public. With regard to the examination of a servant of a mi.
taro Noble Lord, that 'had not proceeded from any spontaneous mo-
tion ()ibis (Moira). The Noble Lord in uptestioo„(we understood him
to state,) had solicited an audience, and bad communicated most
nn pleasant and unwelcome information, that the subject was the
talk of the whole vicinity, and that a clamour existed in regard to
it. He (Lord Moira)) had, lion ever, aio.7ested, that there might by
possibility be some misapptehensiou iu the ease, .and that it might
be proper, before any thither proceeding took place, that the ser-
vant should be examined before him ; and so tar waa lie from at-
tempting to procure evidence by any improper menus, that the re-
port which he made was, that it did not appear to him to be neces-
sary to take any further step-, and that it was not proved that the
subject was the common talk of the vicinity, or that it had exeited
any clamour. He recollected that an nun liking winless, a certain
servant, (Fanny Lloyd),ltad stated, that one of the medical men in
question had made an observation which called for attention. Con-
sidering the nature of that observation, the quarter from' whence it
came, and the unwilling manner in which the communication Was
made, it would have been singular, indeed. if some inquiry had not
taken place' in regard to-it. If he had erred as to the most proper
manner of proceeding in that hiqusry, lie must submit to,
the consequences; but he had suggested, that the most proper
and delicate method would be to send for these persons to meet
the Magistrate (Mr. Conant) at his house, to have their examinations
taken there, rather than send them to 31a rlborough-street to deliver
their depositions in the usual manner. Doctor 51ills was accordingly
sent for, but it was found that he was not the person stated to have
made the observation alluded to, and lie was dismissed and desired
to send his partner. He believed he di.l make use of some such
expressions as those mentioned by that partner; but he could !thew
by Mr. Conant's testimony, if necessar,y, al Well as by other Means,
that the e*pressions ni qne;tion were not used in a conciliating tone,
or in such a Manner as to evince any wish on his part to procure
evidence in favenr of a particular side. So far were they from being
iestd in such away, as to reader them liable to be understood iu
that sense which ie person in question was evidently, desirous of
attaching to them, that they were in reality intended ty operate as a
severe check upon 'on account of the pert manner in which he
gave his evidence.. He (Lord Moira) then believed, and be still
relieved, that the mail did make use of' the observation ascribed to
hhn. He did' not meau that this statement of his belief should
operate as a charge against Cie individual who had been the sauect
of the observation ; lint it. was very possible that this rash and ran-
dam observation Might account for all the:strange stories that had
been going about with respect to the chcninstance to Which it re-
ferred. It was obvious that it would have been very desirable for