The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-06 00:00:00

THE LATE INDICTMENT AGAINST

MAJOR BERESFORD.

A public meeting having been held at Derby, repro-
bating the conduct of Mr. Coppock and several others
who, it was alleged, had corruptly withdrawn the indict-
ment against Major Beresford, Mr. Coppock has written
a letter to the editor of the Derby Reporter, in which he
states the grounds upon which the indictment was aban-
doned. The following are extracts :

At the last election for the borough of Derby a Libe-
ral candidate lost his return and a Tory member was
elected, in consequence of gross and notorious bribery.
I was selected to conduct the proceedings which became
necessary to restore to the Liberal party the seat which
had been filched from them. After some months of
labour those proceedings terminated by the complete ex-
posure of an organised system of bribery, in which
Major Beresford and the electioneering management of
the Tory Government were implicated, by the unseating
of the Tory member elected through that bribery, by
the restoration of the seat to the Liberal candidates by
the declaration that the charges against Mr. Bass were
frivolous and vexatious, and by the conviction of the in-
strument by which the Tory bribery had been adminis-
tered. Never was success more complete.
There was a general feeling that the House of Com-
mons should order the prosecution of the parties who had
been concerned in the organised system of bribery ; but
as this did not seem likely to be done, I was pressed
on all sides, promised support by some, and urged by
many, to undertake the prosecution for public good.
At a public dinner in Derby, Mr. Bass made some strong
remarks as to the propriety of bringing " W. B. and the
gentlemen of the Lead Works to justice," upon which
the whole meeting rose and cheered vociferously, and
when I subsequently stated, as I had privately and pre-
viously said I should, and as I was authorised to do,
" that if the House of Commons did not order the At-
torney-General to prosecute, I would bring all parties
before the Central Criminal Court," I was greeted with
unanimous approbation.
I gave instructions for the preparation of the indict-
ment, and having waited until it was quite clear that
the House of Commons, who had ordered the prosecu-
tion of a bricklayer's labourer at Chatham, would not
interfere with Major Beresford and the rich men of
Derby, I caused a bill to be preferred at the Central
Criminal Court, being advised by counsel that it could
not be removed from that court, as an act of Parliament
had just passed which would prevent removals by cer-
tiorari from the Central Criminal Court. The grand
jury found a true bill. I calculated upon an early trial,
and at no very great expense. But the defendants got
the case removed by certiorari to the Court of Queen's
Bench, where it could not possibly come on for several
months.

The effects of this delay were dangerous. I was as-
sailed by persons of both political parties, some appeal-
ing to compassion, pitying Major Beresford, who had
been deserted by his own party, and had been grievously
punished already. Others urging that bygones ought to
be bygones, and that peace and quietness ought to be re-
stored to Derby. Some who had prompted the indict-
ment now disowned all participation in it—thought that
public justice had been satisfied—that if it did not suc-
ceed our triumph would be marred ; and those who had
eagerly tendered subscriptions towards the large ex-
penses which the trial would entail, now held tight their
purse strings. I have worked long enough in party
matters to know that success is the test of merit, and
that all gratitude and thanks for past efforts are wiped
off and effaced by one failure. I was anxious for suc-
cess, but not disheartened, and did not dream of any
abandonment of the prosecution. •
Up to the 24th November I received numberless ap-
plications to obtain a settlement of the indictment. Of
that date I received the first written overture coming
direct from the defendants—the letter is now before me.
It " entreats that the conspiracy trial may not come be-
fore the public, and begs that a termination may be put
to the ill blood which had so long divided parties in
Derby—pleads hard for the defendants, whose expenses
had already exceeded 2,0001., begs me to be generous,
to do a most praiseworthy act by the withdrawal of the
indictment, and offers to pay any sum of money for
costs." In a subsequent letter from the same party are
the following expressions :—"I wish you could help a
settlement of this unfortunate business. All expenses
would be gladly paid to get rid of their troubles." The
writer of these letters was a leading partisan of Mr.
Horsfall, and a most intimate friend of Messrs. Cox and
Mr. Huish.

Since that time not a week has passed without letters
from friends of the defendants urging me to withdraw
the indictment. I have the letters now in my posses-
slon. They are mostly marked private and confidential,
and I shall not publish them. Sufficient to say that I
can produce them, if the writers give permission for me
to make them public. Without that permission, I am
not justified in stating more than the purport of them.
My own feelings on the matter will be best shown by
my written replies.
To one warm liberal friend, to whom offers had been
made on behalf of the defendants to pay all expenses,
and who communicated those offers to me, with his own
strong wish that all further exposure should be avoided,
I thus wrote in December last :
" I cannot under any circumstances make the considek
ation for giving-up the prosecution a pecuniary one.
..Nro
sum of money would induce use. The only considera
would be the good of the party here and in Derby-the
.
desire of promoting peace in future, and the belief,
sufficient had been done to satisfy the past." ef, that
To a leading partisan of Mr. Horsfall,, who pleaded
hard for a stay of the indictment, I thus wrote
"If it is possible to put an end
to all further anxiety
trouble, I shall be no obstacle in the way of doing so.
common
' If there had been less vituperation more
sense on the part of the defenders and friends of Mr. Hors-
fall, much of the unpleasantness that has occurred might
have been avoided. To defend an indefensible seat—to
charge M.,r li
,r. Bass with corruptpractices— to allege conspiracy
's friends, ware all acts of folly, and
have brought 2lrougltreir"thpunishment. If without compromise
of character, I can restore peace to Derby, and put an end
to bad feelings, I will do so. I should not like to be any
party to the arrangement. What I have done has been
from no private or personal .feelings. I only wished and
intended to do the best for my friends, and to punish their
( enemies."
Up to the 27th of January, as my written communi-
cations will show, I held precisely the same tone. At
that time, counsel having fully considered the case, saw
many difficulties of a technical nature, as to the ad-
mission of statements made by the defendants—how
far they would, if admitted, affect the others of them—
as to the different acts of the conspiracy—as to its
venue in Middlesex, and all the many obstacles in
the way of legal proof, which in a case of this kind
would Abe kept most strictly in view. Subpoenas
for the witnesses were issued and served ; some, how-
ever, were not to be found, but preparations went on for
trial. On the let of February I went to Derby. I saw
Mr. Moss and Mr. Madeley, with whom I had acted
from the very beginning of the affair, and without whom,
up to the preferring of the indictment, I had not done a
single act. With the indictment they had nothing to
do ; they never advised it, they had never encouraged it,
but, in every other matter connected with the Parlia-
mentary enquiry, and with the petitions, they had been
my advisers, and my sole advisers. Mr. Moss had from
the first acted gratuitously ; he refused to be profes-
sionally concerned. Mr. Madeley had worked hard and
zealously, . . . .
I told .Mr. Moss and Mr. Madeley everything that
had been done, I aplaiued how putters stood, try ?dm