The Sun.
London, England, 1815-11-25 00:00:00

TRIAL OF riAvALETTE.

r.~~ -.~.~..~°'

-1

•
•
ICONTINURD FROM rfilE SUN OF YESTERD.AYI
111. Ferranti said, I had nn expectatiOn of this
proe7.ccding.; had any of it occurred to me,
should have requested M. Dessoles fd send me a
detachment of the National Guard. Having,
however, received this- inforMation, Count Fer-
ranti crossed the ball to his rabinet, in which
**ere some papers which be wished to remove.
There he saw M. Lavalette, whey said he ntiOtt
tale his papers, which he did.
Count Ferranti ordered po.t-horses, but when
he was about to set out, the CheValier de p'illa'rs,
Secretary for the Post-office department, informed
him that M. de .Lavalette had refused a permit for
tIA-. horses. Aladante Ferranti then went herself
to ask the permit, but having stated that her hits-
hand wished to join the King at Lille, -M. tic La-
alette gave her a formal denial,and would not let
her have
,a permit, except on the condon that
COUnt Vertand should go with his family to
Orleans.
M. Ferranti afterwards stated, that be ,could;
Five no information respeeting the understanding
which the prisoner was supposed to have had widt.
-the cletks of the Post-office de.partment ; that .he
never perceived it ; and that if such understanding
dicl exist, it could only. have been with the cou-
riers, who were almost all appointed 'by the ac-

•citsvd.
- • i I'de Li elette being asked whether he wished
to say any thin 7 on this evidence, spoke to the
following effect :—" Before entering into an ex-
planation of the facts, I 'consider it my duty to
express the sentiments of personal- regard .Which
I • entertain towards Count Ferranti, for nl:inn I
hive always fth the greatest. respect, and who,
'after he replaced me in the Office of Director-Ge-•
-neral of the Posts, prorured .for me from -the
Ving, tiithout any solicitation, not a pension,
but an allowance ps former Director-General
say without any solicitation, for I must confess
that I wgs• somewhat piqued at not having been
considered as Counsellor ot. State, but I wa3
}tot the less grateful for the conduct of Count

I' errand.
I arrived on the 20th Of March.—ln. the
morning I met on the Boulevard M. Sebastiani
iii
his cabriolet. • He told me the, news ;; I said to
him, I wish to to. the Post-office to inquire
what is doing there : he accompanied me thither ;
we entered the audience ball •togetber ; we met.
a Gentleman named MacareL I went up to him,
and said in a tone, which-ought-not to have been
Considered insolent. is Count Ferranti still in
Faris he answered, yes, Sir ; I asked whether
I cofild sec bin lie went away, and I continued
in, walk abont-the ball waiting for his answer. •I
conceive he must have 'been -informed that' I had
assumed the air of'a Master in the Post-office,' that
I had said in a solemn tone of voice, " I takepOsseS:
sion of the administration in the name of the Em-:
'peror ;" but this is false. 1 was at thefire-place when
Coma remind passed through the ;
be held in his hand the key of his cabinet. I ad-
vanced towards bhn- and said ," Monsieur le
COmte,"--but before .1 could 'finish the -sen-
tence, he opened the door of his -cabinet without
linsweriwt me,•and I remained in the hall. • Count
Ferraud- mistakes therefore, when he deposes t-hat.
3 told him he might:carry away his papers. how
tould I have held such a discourse. 1 requested
an addicnce of hi,t, ; tic did not grant it, but
-entcredhis cabinet; he cid not refuse it, becanse,
be did not an.i.+'er nie : it, was plain. that I had 'to
; I did 'so. Such was my reason for rennin-
the Post•office. •
-As to my- having refused horses to Count
17errand, with Which I am reproached, it will be
seen that than accusation destroys- ivself.
• '' It is said that the Chevalier-Villais eatne to
mv Cabinet about hall-past twelve to reqw.:st...a
Post permit fur the Conn, tk-Ferrand ; I omitted
the Post-office -at ten o'clock, and did not returft
until one.
" One of the witnesses for the prose ion, the
.11litster of the Post Horses for-Parisovas present.
If I gave bite any orders that day, let him say at
what our and in what place, they were given.
"For eight days before 1 had not'seen Madame La-
val, tte ; site was pregnant, much indisposed, and
full of _anxiety respectine. my fate.. I remained
with her at my hone, Ntte de Grenelle, St. Ger-
inain, till _one o'clock. ,M.,de Villats, therefore,.
could not have seen me at-the Post-offh!e at the
sane hour. But besides, "1 shall prove that Cntint
Ferranti had no need of a Yost-permit to enable
to depart, -
" This point of: the accusation is founded on a
•fu'it•understantling. The Chevalier de Villars,
s•Ao tats my Secretary for Si'X years, probably
d.ats hot know what a Post-permit is. A Post-
perinit, is necessary fur a traveller, who, on leav-
ing Paris, does not N%'.lSll to take the post at Paris,
in eni,cr to avoid the expellees of the Royal Post,
tvilidu are double. The permit enables him to
obtain horses at tie second • post. But Count
Fen'and had no need of any such docuthent;
_for
having obtained Paris post-horses, there could ,be
ito difficulty in getting them elsewhere."
Ptesident,-11 appears front Count .'..lSerrand's
declaration, that you opposed his getting horses,
except on the condition that he should vp,to Or-

leans.
Lavalette—As- Count Ferranti did not see me,
lie of course speaks of what he learned through
de .Viliars. The whole miSanderstanding proceeds
from his supposing*that horses could not be had itt
,l'aris without a permit..
Count .Ferrand s'aid,-that he understood the na-
ture of a. post-permit perfectly well, and as •apro4
that h' knew. it %vas necessary for his lesving
ris, ht had only to state,. that he had already .geot
post-horses- when he apidiedlor it. 'l3iit he was
afraid. that when he tame ..to the second post, he
wig ht find that orders had been given by M. de
I.,.avalette, which would prevent hith from cowl-
lining his route.
LaValetre—l do• not recollect having seen Mb
deVillars, but 1 am certain he never said to me
thing relative to the departure of Count 'kr.,
rand. On Imy first examination, when this OP-
cumstance was mentioned to me, the first words I
said were.,- 1 had not seen M. de Vittars.
Ca, What did you say to Ithidanie Ferranti when
aLe asked you for the post permit 1 A. 1 was in

the cn a tidy, chnilucte(lby
cameAo_ inc. 'Ow Lady* smd, Count.
Teti-and requires a pWi; permit to go to Lille to
the , I replicn with 'vivacity, that I
could not con:oly, and it Was ilnpossible for
te' to comprehend ,0:e utility of it, as Count
•Fe'rrand had already post horses, acid depart
wlt4en he thou,ht prOper. •• Well, 'Sir, ltt, him
have it to go to Orleans to his family." Ma- I
dame, I have it not." Y`. But, Sir, it is for his
safety." At this • word 1 could no longer resist.
I hastily entered my cabinet, took a pen, and
wrote ntv name on a piece of paper, adding, I
believe, Orleans, and delivered it to:itilad. Ferrara'. •
Q. If von say that you had not aken posses-
slim of the_ adminis;ration of the Post-Office, how
do, you explain giving that paper to the COuntess
Ferrand A. That is what Ido not rightly com-
prehend tltyseif. 1 supposed that a- permit might
in some way or other be useful ; but I said to my-
self, surely as Count Ferranti is Director. General
of the Posts, he can draw up, and sign his own
permit.
Q. It appears astonishing that Madame Ferranti,
who had horses in lice carriage', should be oblig-
ed tolyply to you,. for a permit. There must
have been some obstacle to her departure which
you only could remove. A. It arose from a mis-
understanding
.‘vhieli, I think I lave explained.
With' regayl to the other charges.: it has been
'stated that I 'attended meetings, AAid to be cri.-
minal, 'at the Duke of Bassano's, the DuChess of
.and' Madame 1-14melin's. • • I:never in my
life set my foot in -Madame flantelin's house. I
have seen her ; but it was 15 years ago, in the
country-: 1 never Intl her in Paris. • With•lNE:de
litissano I never had any connection; except what
eelateil ter the public service ; I never on a
footing of,intiMacy with Itint.
As tor Madame St. Len (and here, Gentlemen,
I mustcoli less that my heart was wrung at hear-
.log accusations against an unfortunate woman,
who,is still followed by calumny even in a foreign
that lady, received no eiimpanY except such
as is ere friends•to the King, who had loaded het-
with benefits. She knew that Buonapat te would
never pardon her lot haying accepted favours from
his Majesty. The return of lluonaparte gayc her
great pain:• Bince t'm' pet iod she has 'been mi-
serable. Tooputch taint ought not to be given
to. public c 1 r.
[A.siight",murmur heard in all parts of the
Court, .testified sur!wi,c with which the pub-
lic heard so many strange awi unexpected decht-

rations..] •
Q. Why wepe you cc. limb MaLme St.
Lett's bone for a tew clays plecediing the King's
departure?—A. j retired to, het- uj because s c
was not there. It eras my '.Visit to co,npr,,n,is., no
one, anti I'did not compromise ber, lot I in
a separate building Which she did not live in.
. .
Q. If you were not concerm.4 any plot,
whar was the canse of your office ding yourself?
,---A. it related to the private opinio.t yI
,tad-t)i'
the Minister just .appointed ; tour to 41,6 hal
elapsed since I was entreated to depar, , as.l.might
be arrested. I rejected that tat,,-ice. Four days
before my arrest I wrote',to M. de Itenevente,.the
Ptime -"Miniver, to .appoint Judges to try Inc. I
have nothing. to teprtacli myself with. • I !egret
that M. de Pertaind dill not grant me an audience
when I asked him.. I should not certainly have
hcen.here.

Count Ferrand that he could not-grant
at which ,v;is never ..keel for;

Q. You have said in your interrogatory that
-you came to the Pos-i7office front a• pule nuiti've
good will, tn give Avice in a moment of possible
trouble, ':.it bulling the Director-Gen-era there
you oni;ht not to Lore remained there? A. After
M. Ferrand had carried away the papers to his
Cabine,, head oftieer of one of the
Atepart!,cros, whalier the Count had given any
'cr(l:_-rs ? lie replied, " No ; his heakis confwed,
.an'! h_e setqns to care for nothing
,hut his depar-
ture." I im med late] y • left the Post-office, and did
not relllvn till one o,'clock, when Count Ferranti

%vas gone.
Q. \VII° directed.you to take upon yourself the
charge..Ot the ,Post=ofliee. administration i—A. 1
did not doubt but that the Emperor would give
me the place which 1 had previously held tor 13
months.
Q. Do you recollect signing these orderS—
. No journals "shall be sent by post this day—
March 20."
" Na Ministerial letters nor dispatches of the
Prefect of the Seine shall be sent off this day—
March 20."
, - -

A. I-did not give to these 'papers the title of
orders, but I certainly signed them. c head
Clerk told me that he wante►l a number of per..
sons to forward the business, and I said to him,
" Well, the only way is to delay sending time jour-
nals until to-morr►►w." lie afterwards said to
me, " There arc ministerial dispatches in arrear ;
will it not be proper to have a supplemental mail ?
I replied. " No ; it wiit he better to send off im-
mediately the dispatches in arrear, that they may
suffer no further delay—the others can be forward-
ed iu their turn."

These Gentlemen, the heads of departments,.
whoSe consciences arc now so delicate, were in no
way scrupulous that clay. They paid great defer-
ence to whatever 1 said, and never started any
sort of objection. They drew up the orders for
signature. Had., hey not taken oaths to the King ?
Did they not all wear deCorations ? They Were,
hoWeyer, eager to anticipate every thing I could
possibly direct.
Here is. a Proclamation, or at least a Circu-
lar 'signed by you.
"The Emperor Will be at Paris in twn hours—
The Capital is full or enthusiasm—All is tran-
quil-13e done what may, there will be no civil

war
Do you acknowledge this paper ?
A. it is certainly from me ; but It has been
said that many were circulated, and that is'outrut.
Q. But there were several ; here are three
four.—.X..l defy any one to spew more than 12

Signed by we.
Q, Why did you write this circular % A. I -NV"
afraid the couriers would have said that Paris was
on fire, and it Was the fear of civil war which
rite to circulate that note. Can that be
charged against we as a crime under a Prince NO°

entertAre; horror at the sl,c(ldin ot,140;“1?.
simple announcement was no +' hire posted.ulf, •
The followino• order was then read :
Post-Mai.ter niu4tflive horses to no per,on velo anPg
not produce an 'orilet stOetihy toe or by the Emperor's Mi-
nisters.7*iiiol.2o. "-LAvALETTE!'
The second witness \llls the Marquis de Fronde-
vilk, formerly Prefect of the Allier. 11e deposed,
tilt on .the 22d he had arrested at Moulins a mail
courier with the circular, but which he had pre-
viously communicated to the Director of the Post,
and the knoidedge of which had produced a great
sensation in the town.
Lieutenant-General Desollcs, the third witness,
declared, that at nine in the morning of the 20th,
General Sebastiani asked, on the. part of M. de
Levallette, a detachment of the National Guard,
to gual-d the chests of the POst-Office Adminis-
tration.
Madame Ferranti was next examined, and con-
rtited the deposition of her husband relative to
the pressing applications which slie"was obliged to
make to M. de Lavaletxe for a permit for horses.
The next witnesses were Officers and Clerks of
the:Post-Office, wlio supported the facts charged
in the indictments.—The hearing of the witnesses,
to the number of 37., being closed at six o'clock,
p. nt. the .Sitting was piorogued to nine the next
morning, for the ,hearing of- the witnesses for
-the defence—ten in numbet:.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN

London, Nov. 21, 1815.

. writer in the MOT Chronicle having
lately given a :,loony account. of the Finances of
the comity, which concludes by informing us,
that the National Debt amounts to the enormous
sum of 814,335,9091. I send you annexed, as a
set-off against sahtstatemenst, and as a source of
consolation and confidence to the pnblic creditors,
statement of the .Sinking Fund, gi‘ing a com-
parison-thereof, as to its power, now, to redeem
the debt, with what it was during the 10,years
peace from 1783 to 1793, by which it May be
seen, that, notwithstanding the large amount of
the presenrdeht,: our future prospect,':as, to its
reduction, is very animating and consolatory to
every fiiend of .Britain.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
J. E.

flee National Debt amounted in 1733 to
Decfea,:e in 10 pe;ice, being- about I-50th
part of the debt— 4,7'0,261

250,733,q.iiR

TheNatinnal Debt Ai present • • 814,333,909
Amount of the SinLiine Fund is 14 millions per
tiMllllll, which, at 5 per cent. cnmpound inte-
rest, raise, in ten 'ycars, a :imp of
176,5,25,0001. which would buy np a capital in'
a percent. aunnitics,-at per cent. of 251,892,800
Being' .equal to 15-50th pm ts of the debt ; con-
sequently the power of tin; Fund is now
13 times greater than it was in 17S1, and would
discharge the whole deht•in.ab.nar•27