The Sun.
London, England, 1806-06-13 00:00:00

SATZS RDAY,
,IThe LORD CHANCELLOR told the S.,ticitor-GenevlZSir
Samuel Itoinillyl,.that now heirtay prnce;M. •.

A iteesoine additional evidence was,, b rst !Traduced With re-
, epeet-to,the-appaintments held by Lord Melville, from which
it apl)vared that, Lortf. Melville had been. Keeper of the Signet
Scialandebot had erased to p ,ssess that post, which was
held by hiS soli; Robe it Doloias., Slintlsr evidence e: is
alduced on the emolument., which his Lordship derive,i arum.
the Maces of Keeper of the Prilg Seal in Scotland, residzike
of the'Board-of ContrOul, Treasurer of the Navy, &c.
The 11-lanagers.also put-in the Report of the/Coittimissiohers
of Naval Inquiry, the Articles of Impeachment by the Coin-
m ons of Great Britain and I rviand„Mr. Whioiread's Message
to the Lords, on presenting the Charges, and such'otht rdoeu-
rients, as were thought necessary in point of form. After
„
which, the Lord Chancellor again called upon tne Solicitor-
General to poiceed. , • -
Sir SAmuEto ItomtLiv then addressed the Court. He
began by stating to their Lordships what had been the grounds
of the proceedings, and upon what Circumstances the charges
- were established. This was a duty -winch he considered as
due tothe Commons of England anti Ireland, and even to•the
accused himself ; for the character Of Commons-was above
. the suspicioa of their entertaining any personal hostility to.
the Noble Defendant ; so tar were;; they from' it, that they
could not without poitiful feeliogs, contrast the situation of
the Noble Viscount, When possessed of
.power,t authority,
'and the.favour and confitienee of his Sovereign, with that in'
' which he',witsplaged,at their, Lordships' Bar; as .:delinquent,
-.stripped of all those ,advantages, anlr obliged to justify him-
self against charges of ,high crimes and haisdcmc.riours. But
',the Managers were, at the same time, awfully iiiipresool with
a due sense of t heserions, dpties ien posed 'upon •rliem, and tke re-
"sPousioility of, their situationewlieti they heel, at thcsarnetitite,
to sustain :ths dieqiity and charactcr;of those who seat them
there,.and,to deal
.‘34 ithjostice towards the Mai vidualaccused.,
In the'first place, then, he would State what were the crimes.
'Of which the Noble Viscount: was•avetised ;. afterwards, Mite-
nature of. the evidence, as it applied to the proof ofthem ; •
and, firtally..how tar he cousidered fire eparges to. have beep--
proved. The'crime was that ola yrollition of the laW,
• in the,breach of an Ad of :Parliament, and the appropriation
of the-,public Money to. his own purposes, both of which
were, in fad, resolyedinto one and the. same criuic. Jecould
be no 'hardship to-the accused, if- the Managers weilt Upon
stubborn and substantial' facts. They charged hint wtth the
misapplication-of ,to,oool. time !moiler of einplm,,ing
lie had lett them ito.possible means Of tracing. Tile accused
had no possible excuse for Ins conduct: When the law or,
dained that he shotilil not"appl t the public money, put tirr
public purposes, he received an additionaliSalary; in cornien-
sation fur not doitig 50... This was the.coaniition on which lie
held his office, and obtained an additional salary, and yet .it
was proved, beyond the prikSibility 'of occintradieticoi, that he
received the-additional salary., anal, at the same-time,- violated
the condition upon which he obtained it. •T‘o wind up the
climax of his criminality,` it would be sufficient for hint to
mention, that this-law, -which he violated, was of his own
produdioo, as had,been proved by the. Managers, who, this
day,. put in •an abstract from. the 'outwits of the House of
' Commons, frain yehich it appeared, that the Right Hon. •
Henry Dundas was one of the persons app4inted to prepare
and bring in the bill ..! The Managers, lie observed, laboured
under a peculiar difficulty in coudutting this prosecution. as. '
they had no other evidence to resort to but the undestroyed
accounts and letters of Lord .-Melville himself:. and the
.strangest thing of all was, that even thisevidence was objeded
to by his Counsel, who, instead of endeavouring to afford ahy
explanation'' ehtered, on his part, solemn protestation
against it.. Their Lordships, no doubt, would know how to
appreciate this species of defence;. for, in his opinion, the
objections of Viscount; Melville's. Counsel t 9 allow tile pro.
dudion of his,,OWn accounts, and of his own_ .hand,.writing,
afforded the most complete evidnice and conviction of his
guilt, The rules of law were not ,so, mud' at variaaice. with
those of common sense as to rejed this proof ; for surely the
;same documents, Which; if favourable. would, have justified
the accused, int4t, when unliveknrable, he allowed to operate
. against. him. The learnedGent;einan then went into a long and
,circumstantial statement of all the various accounts referred
""coin the course of the trial, currioariog the official with- the,
Bank accounts from day to day, &ct The last that he dwelt
upoo.was_the declaration made by Vivomit ttelville, ii the
House of. Commaps, rim of all the. sumseof public money
coining through: his handise as Treasurer of the Navy, none
was applied to.other than naval purposes, except the Sum of '
tooaool. and hat what manner Ice employed that his sense-of
public duty' would prevent hint. front ever disclosing to that '
'House ori 'many human being. Such a declaration, made in
the face of the Nation,. within the wails of the House of-Com-
moos, .and in the teethof an Aet of Parlia‘neiit, must, if sirho.
mitttoUtd,.have the preposterous and monstrous allot of put-
tined Public Acicoilutaiit above the l'aiv and stiperior to
responsibility. flOw was this ntystioy to be unravelled ?
, Was he authorised to'do so by his Majesty, or by any other
' authority .nperior 'to Ins own ? That'lle did lint deign_ to
- tell. - In Emits country there was no man • possessed of pub-
lic money for which. he was not accountable. • Fie how_:,•.ver, openly cleclarei that he woo I. not:Jet:omit fur it. The
Learnea b6t lernan then contended, trcini the evidence of Lord Melvilleebetbre-the Committee; that he knew of the
application of the public. money to private uses by NI% Trot-
ter - • He then called the attentioh of their:Lordships t(i't he
Broliositionanade to•L'otcfMetv)l,le ;to applyoiart hf the mo-
rte'ldigedin the 'Bank to purchase.lndia Stock,-.but th it his
Lordship had iodignautly rejected this proposul. But how,
heasked, was tins indignation rolloWed.up ? Ina very short
time Lord-Melville agreed that Mr. ,Tratter should obtain a
loan of Honey,, for the porpose.of allowing his Lordship to
purchase the stock. The stock was to be obtained without
any other security than, the stock. itself. Now, was it inlhe
slightest degree.probable; that a person possessing such a
knowledge °h-tilt; world as Lord le, with the advan-
tage too of a legll education, silo:11,1,1ot- • a moment suppose
that money court be raised upon swell security ? -or, . that any
person would ~esuch'a tool as to lend Money fora small pre-
mium7to another, when that eel's-;n pable a applying
it to the siiirie advantage os the borrower ? Tlw Learned Gen.'
-tlertian [lieu c'orninehted Mion'tlie' execution 'of: [tie release,
and the des triMielho tle.you hers, for relsoucould
possibly beNyen, In a 'Court case; their Lordships knew
well, that it a party, eStroyedeVidenee, he was ChargeT to
thesfull extent that i evidence,.if before the. Court, Would.
have gone aghnist -Thls' -point he pre:iged to the consi:
(Elation of their Lordships, and c9ncluded'hiS 'speech by.
again_c:illingoo the attend u'of their Lordshi its, the ruin in,
the Country blight haVe been i:“rolved by ttie condlied
or,a man to whom millions,of the public-, money were en-
trusted. .

ThC,LORD en ANCt. L LOR then InCittired whether ,any or
the Alanager,s,‘liisheti\O tut further heard eras an...vered
by ‘,lr. I TAREA Li iu thz negative:—Adjourned to Tues.

TIM DEFENCE. ,
TI,ESTS.IY, Mly DAY.

As soon as the Court was opened; with the usual formali-
ties, the LORD CHANCELLOR Caltad OD the Counsel fur the
Defendant to proceed.

,
: Mr. PLOME R then rose, and began by saying, that,, stand-
log in such a situation as he, then did, he stood in need of all
the candour and indulgence that the .Court could possibly
spew bird, as the.duty whiels he owed to the Noble Defend.
ant, that High Court, and the Public, required all the ener-
gies that could he possessed by minds of more capacity than
' he found himself possessed of. It iwas true, indeed, that. he
. was released trom apprehensions :which, on ordinary ()Cpl..
signs, he mrght very , justly entertain, as lie was convinced
the liberal and enlightened minds' of..their Lordships would
not he susceptible of those injurionsl impressions which pre-
vailed amongst the generality of the Public, by speeches and
publications, prepadging the cause WhiCh he had now to ad-.
vacate. Theiri Lordships Here,.-no dpubt, 'sensible of the-
inequality of .the parties now before them. The Commons
came to the prosecution, armed with all the power and antno-
rity which justly belonged to that ittiportant branch of the
Legislature; and the .ILlanagerS-,—beSides ' being persons en-
dowed with no ordinary share: of learning, eloquence, in-'
dustry, and ability, had the additional and important
advantage of all, the poWer, dignity,. and authority, that
the .Coinmous of Great' ftritain could confer upon them;
but he litact, notwithsranalini 'all this,. the consolation and'
satisfadion to know, that their Lordships' decision would
he made according to the -justice and merits of rite ease.
He then adverted to the Report of the Naval Cominissionet,
'' which had gone abroad, and taken possession of the public
mind, before the Noble Defendant could have been aware of
thelnjury winch .his' reputation Nvai sustaining from the no-
toriety of the abuses which prevailed in the department com-
mitted to his management. Atter this, it was perteelly tit
and proper that the:public should have the _matter sited to
the buttons, and now whether the Noble Viscount, now
litirni •his.t fiat, had encouraged or employed them for his own
benefit or not. However, before this inquiry. could be made,
one of the first steps taken.was to strike the Noble Viscount
from the-ptesence, coancils, ' and confidence of his Sover.:in
for eve?. .The Noble Viscount was also 'stripped of all the
offices, polder, and' influence,' which he Might
.before fnive
-po)sess gf.' ' Every obstacle that couldhave opposed. itsel f to,
inquiry was speedily temoved, and witnesses were. oiamined,
' trains... week td week, and 11'6111 'day . to day ; all 'the' N4b..,..

Viscount's passers sand' correspondence ransacked, and his
'private dealings 'scrutinized in vain for grounds of ,cris
•,attinality.. After stating so- mach, Oleic- Lordships mast
skink friar thd Noble Defendant., instead of, gentle treat-
Meta,- had • been very hardly (bent by. .13ut his accus-
ers and.eneiniel did nor stop here ; for the Noble Defendant
el further to complain of• that extraordinary, not to -say
airicioria,'out rage roan justice and lhumanity, by infamous
circulmed,through all parts of• the. kingdom, with an
astonishing edegree -of industry and a,Ctivity. These libels
were not only scattered and disseminated .abroad, to: inflame
the minds of the people, but were even carried to the foot of.
the Thronte•and registered amongst the records of his7Lord-
.iship's accusers. Nay, they had.gone so-far as to pass an Ad
of Paeliatnent to facilhate the means of bringing evidence
againat him. lil this manner was the d
natural purity an
integrity of the minds •Of; Englishmen disturbed and prelin.;
diced by -hbeilous speeches, publications, and proceedhsgs.
of every kind. Under all these disadvantages, he must once
more observe, that he stood in need of their Lordships' ut,
most candour and indulgence. The IdAre •Manager himself
(Mr. •Whitbread), who opened these charges With a manly.
candour and lib •rality, which did him the highest honour,
declared, thatalle " bah:yed Lord Viscount Melville to paa.
sets a generous spirit in, regard to alone).— incapaoleof being
fl inuenced by the sordid principle Of avarice." Such 'adeC-14--
ration on the part of ,an accuser„ when coupled with the.,
;known habits of his life„ must render it incredible, that he
should, in this single instance, depart - from his usual cha-
racter, for an object he never was attached -to. Placed as he
was, in a situation perhaps:of all other,, :the most likely to
elevate the mind, tilling, as he did, souse of the Most im-
portant odices of the State, being at the same tidie one Of
ills M ijesty's Principal Secretaries of State, President of the
Board of Controul' over East India A traits, Treasurer of the
Navy, &g. it was-not to be supposed-that he could,sink and
let Isitoseh down into: so degraded a being as these ChargeS
would represent him -to.bc, and that for an object that it was '
inipossible rte could ever be in want of; nor couldd heir Lord-
:ships, he was convinced, Stilfer it to operate to the Defend,
. ant's 'tlisadVatitage, if- he could not, fitter :flit lapse of two
and twenty years, produce witnesses to disprove every article
of charge ; and after the p.rincipalr witness was dead,
,whOse •
testimony would other Wise serve to acquit him. As to the
first •star, the irregular aoplication of which was charged
against the Noble Viscount, it would be-sullicient- for him •
to say, that it arose at a period when there r.‘aSll4 common
nor writteµ law against-it.. He Might, in.full con.4sleace,
rest there; but he would not have 'the House to-suppose,
that he Was flying from the charge, or sheltering himself
der theabsenee of the Act of Parliain&t whieli afterwards
took place. tip far-from its being aciime for a public Ac-
countant to make even the%reatest temporary use of the pube
.-lie money to his,advantage, he-would shew their Lordaisips,
that there was no law, no condition, no, not even apy express.or
implied obligation against it. I t was true, that his.lloo. and
Learned Friend, the Man gcr, who 'summed upstles- evidence,
did orient uelt insist t; poll this point; hilt the floneManager Who
opened the proceedines had boldly thrown down the gauntlet;
and affirmed, that such application was always a crime by
laW, which law was declared and Sandioried by the HoUse of
Commons. He, however denied the- existence of the law,
and if there was,any such, it. was incumbent upon .thern to
shew it, as their Lordships knew very well that no Resolu-
tiou of eithet House of
.Pariiatnent, Oen supposing into ree
Main in full force, et:add-have the died of a• law. This °pi:
nion.of hie was tar from being new, as it was one which, by.
some of the fast Perliameutary Authorities was declared over
and over again, in that very sanCluary of liberty (tire House of
CommonS) which his teamed friend (Sir Samuel Romilly) •
seemed to think virdatel by the declaration anade in it by
'Viscount Melville: • All the- arguments on' the other side
-would haveeTially applied to every former Public Account.
ant ;' but he Wis prepared to chew that it was not then the
.law —was not no w the law--andliever was the law, that such
application of the public money was a high crime and mis:
•eleineanour. He would even -go farther, and shrew that the
contrary was the law, and ltad•heen so declared by the aces-`
tors and relatives not onfy of many of their LordshiPs, but
of one of the presentMatiagers, and that too. in the saniluary '
of liberty. Ile then went into a detail of the numerous
stanr.a!s in which Pantie AccouritantS had ackdbwledged they
applie,tthe.publie moiree re, their Own, advantage,- and nr:in.
tabled
_that they had a right to do so, provided the public sus-
tainea no loss 1w ir: Ile dwelt on the case of the listeLorl IA- •
landew ho, when called to aceitunt tor a balance ornoless than.
4;o,sisol. was so tarlrona ack nowledginglhat heehadno right
treemploy the balance.; in his hands to his own advantage;
-that maisstained rtis bight to do so, and that he was natty
to produee theta whenever called upon, .for ,the ••service. tor
which they.wereintended, Slaty intermediate use he iniehe:
m dee of them being a. matfi4 of indifference to the public.
what -was-still inure to his purpose, that dod,riao'twas-as—
sseted to by the Minister Oftheday(the late Earl of that:iam),,
an,t tueae two great men, who never agreed in ant' other pot 4st,
were of the. same opinion isponithis. The Resolution of the,
lortie of
,Commoris a.:ainat Stash applications, pissed on the -
tStivrif une„er S'z, and had ever nuke !seen acted upon, but
at all events could not have the form of a-law upon the sub-,
jack: Amongst thg instances he stated in support Of his pro- ,
position, was one-in which a motion witis made, intim House
of..Como-ons, to oblige the Receiver-General of the Land
-Tax tops), its hisbalances to -the Bank, when one of their
Lordships, now present, but then, a Member of the Cother
House, was not ashamed to stand Up in ins place, in that sane-
tuary of liberty, and oppose the motion, on the ground that it
would be a hardship on the Receiver-General. Even a Right
Hon. Gentleman whose name and virtues he was sure would
al ways be 'considered with the highest respedin ;that House,
whierica ledp pon for the 'balances of the-public money•in hand,
required- two months to pay them in, which was tantamount
to a confession that he
.had 'been applying them otherwise
than to the public use; for - which they were intended. If,
therefore, it were true that the. Noble Defendant, in this case,
had been applying any sums of money to Iris own use, it
would he a sufficient defence for him to say. that they were
always promptly, fairly, and honourably paid wheuevereall-
ed upon for the public service ; and as he had already- shewn
it *as of little consequence -w 'tether-he intermediately
plied theca for purposes of profit to himself,-or felt them
deposited iq the Bank, where they could he advantageous or ,
prefitable to one, With respect to the to,eneh. referred to-.
by Lord Melville in the House of Commons, it was a sum
which Was never called for, never was wanted, and which he
need not have sad ant' thing about it he. thought proper.
made no disposition of that money 'until Iris accounts
were passed, and that- he was at liberty to transfer it to
any other branch - the public service he thought pro,:
per, or when it might be wanted. Upon this subject,
which had • been so emphatically dwelt upon, lie must
maintain that his LordAip was under no obligation, either
legal or moral, of telling in what manner he disposed of it
it. was quite•sullicient Fat lien that the money had beets paid.
When called upon to make the discloSure it must bet-einem-
bered, that it ,)/as the call of an -enemy,' the call of an ac-
cused, toconviict himself or high crimes andniisdemeanors.
Was it ever held, to he a principle of law, that when ii mail-'
was put upon his detente, silence .sliould he interpreted a
cringe? As As far as he understood the law of England, a per-
son accused had the liberty of Making' whatever' answer. he
Ai-sought proper,-or if he so chose to do, it was nit hien atheist
!on hint to make any answer ,at all. The Charge .of the Ma-
itagerssagainst the Noble Lord was, that he had. not told.
enough against himself; but lie' believed, that before this
time, silence was never held to be a crime' in that or any
.other Court Wh never. 1 f then it was shewn that.silence
was never befOre deemed a crime, why was it held So now
The reason was, that the Noble Defendant, in the dignity
anti manliness of his nature, spurned aneacensation unwor-
thy of his character. The only - prowl produced in suppint
.of his criminality were the suggestions of the Managers and his
oivn silence. • He candidly confessed, that he felt himself
bound by hot-lobs, and a sense of public duty, not to tell in
what manner be disposed of- the -money, anti was he to suifer
Ihr being influenced by such principles And .was it to be
deemed a crime, it, conscious of being in the right, he 'Close
to carry. his secret with him to the grave, and Make himself;
responsiblefor any consequences-that !nay atteurlit,?' The
Man igers alledged, that he made the applusstion corruptly;
brit of that they had rat been able to produce a single tittle
of evidence. One of the ManagerS (Mr. titan-cad) occupied
some time in representing to their Lordships the, impirsiOns
which this transaction made upon his own mind. Thef-lott.
Gentleman, however,. then went out of Ins way,• and :as,
sturel the character of a witness. • lie had only stated, not
the imp ession- which' it Made upon an tmoiassed mina, •but
. upon the mitts( of an accuser, and therefore not entitled to all
the weight w inch they „might otherwise have for.
The Honourable Manager must excuse him ,for saving,.
that in tile Supreme Court of Judicature Whitbread' the
in wager and ,Whitbread the witness stood its ile•y • differ-
ent charaders. In opposition to those impressions. on the,
'hind of the Honourable Manager, he had to state, that this
Charge had already been clearly and positively disproved by
two witnesses; audit, after .1:11, the ingenuity totirtaltatts
which the Managers could employ ; and these (fatalities in
them he believed neVer to Isaac been exceeded it any set of
Manaeers ; if, after all the most minute researches into the
Oilicral documents of the Noble Defendant, and even the me-
inor io is presented to him; if,. after ransacking 'all his letters
and .:•urre-pouttence; if, after the most labOriots investiga-
tionrinto his privateaccounts, and most intimate and ceinfia
tteoft,i relations in life, they ,were unable to trice- out one
sill .n, rrt t 11,... public money applied to his own oritateuse,
rt w0:,14 be'mOSt unjust -Jnd unteaSonable notets Inter that

,he was iiikacent of these charges. It was Corruption
-profligacy 'thatsonstrutedguilt ; but That could never even
be interred by the transfer. of money from one place
,another.. All the..rhoney sutticientlY and satis7
,faCiorily accounted for, with the exception of tWO
sums, which 'a;rpeared to be placed 'to the Noble. Lord'S
private account, at the Peak of Mr. Drummond land • sap-
posing,:which 'however lie only did for tile sake of argument;
that hp should be int.:l6le to give any account of these gpinsi
yet tbr the .Kfilure accounting tin' such a tittle irt the fli-
mense transaeticiris Offour. and-twenty years, and it not hav+
ing been provcd.thit 'the Noble Lord mane any pri vate.pro.
lit of his oalancz...S, inninng could be inure illioerai
than to draw such a failure an iiverenee of guilt. In
further- eerroboration of his innocente; it app-eared that .at
time when he wasiiirrrtiled ,of hie hiving over-drawn his
banker, he did not, help himself out (it- the public purse, but
repaid the same by remitting from his own' tortiiiie, in Scot:- •
land, though at the time, 'and tut ten "months after, he hid
Mins possession public balances uncalled for to the
Of 56,00a1: As to the Libre .received by a dealt from the Batik'
. winch had 'bean paid to'llinl.,,er's in the city, where' it nail
'been sent in payinent of a bill, it by,lo-nleahs any
thing like the inference riiat was trout it. They'
'were not to inquire into such a Liretiiii,naitee there tit
the MJllirer 111. It ;iii end, Liii ariy occasion, wai resorted u, for,
the dete:.tion of ;I 10-fgerY. It surety scAniti,J o,iltiNg,
Cher he sent this note, or :my otiier warp,: hive takeh
out of his pocket, as the ainuunv Was not found deficient
in the passing,ot his accounts. "I here \vas tiu mote oiriig,a-
ttoti in the Noble Lord thao on his prideeessots trot to keep
the money where'lle pleased. contended, that
'the Batik was the ;Ally place of depriva aortioirsed the Acti
that lie denied. Upon si.cii,se .....,itstruction,' the, Li., could.
never be carried into It Liu:rev:as only root. to ire paid
to three ur foot diMrent per us, 111 tvar4air expellees; rio-
thang count be mare embarrassing, sei.Ll each ut them
with a draught 111)611 tile Bank. Whit id ierie pm-au:able to pay
such 51.11111 as 3S, Ur less, to a, Sailor, wilco he came to de
mand it,..by a eheck' upon the Bank-. The Noble Lord,' Ire
maintained, carried the Ae Into executio,i. in every 1) dui of
poliey',.justiee, and conveilien;:e, The necessity tut the Act
was, that beti.:re it- large balsiass of money were lett fur pay.'
went in tile hands of infert it clerks,lhaving only small sala.
ries, and it- seas not always easy to .„et these balances ,out dt
their hands. these, and a variety of oilier grounds, which
he argtiViti at considerattle leogth, he subnuttes to taiLirLord.
ships, that tine Noble Detrintinit wasuut guilty of ally breacl4
or violation ortile law. '

Th(Ll I,bRU C.HANeF.II.6it Oen. inforincd 'Mr.; IN.akrtx.
that ttie. Loins, being :nit:1111 er
had to ailc,i
.in bcllalt i)i int, and pit., eel v that .
he was then nearly e2thaii,i-ed, by -the
had made, wptia.l ior the pte.,CIII R(ijOUl'll the pro,cettlit),s.
Mr. 'l' Lo>l ER had. then a'uvat thr,:u ilJurs Liiat abali
upon 114 ieba.