The Sun.
London, England, 1812-12-17 00:00:00

RENEWAL OF THE CHARTER.

The CHAIRMAN then briefly touched upon the
important subject of the Renewal of the Com-
pany's Charter, observing, that at present'be was
usable to submit any distinct proposiOons from
the Directors to the Proprietors, but trusted
that in a very short time he should be fully em-
powered to state such points to them as had oc •
curred upon a consideration of the subject; that .a
Court would then be called, and the Director§
Would be happy in hearing the opinions of the
Proprietary in general. He was followed by Mr.,
RANDAL JAcKs'ots-F, who avoWedhis- perfect satis-
faction with what had fallen from the Chair, de-
,
Glaring that nothing further could be expected at,
the present ; that the propositions likely to be
presented would be satfsfactory lie had no doubt,
and whatever might be the final issue, it was gra-
tiiying to reflect that, the general body had, in
every thing that related to the affairs of
conducted themselves with the dignified liberality
of British Merchants. He observed, that the
opening of the trade in general would hazard the
very existence of our power in India, and that in
this opinion he had the powerful support'of such
distinguished characters as Mr. PITT, Lord MEL.-
viLLs, andMr.Fox,who allcontended tlmt a mono=
' poly,. well regnlated, should remain in the hands of
the Company. He observeu, that such also appeared
at one time to be the opinion of the present Ad-
ministration, though some variation of sentiment
bad since taken place and a declaration had been
ruati!. of an intention to allow a general export to
India. Hence it Nras. inferred, that a general im-
port also would take place ; but as the sound po-
licy of a continued monopoly, under due qualifi-
cations, was admitted by all intelligent men, be
doubted not that the interests of the Company, as
connected with those of the Empire, would not,
want proper support in Parliament. He was
followed by Mr. Alderman ATKINS, and Mr. S.
DtxoN, and after the Chairman had repeated his
declaration, that a Court should soon be called,

AMIIIIALTV SgSSIONS.)

00) BAILEY DEC. id, ISIS.

At nine o'clock Sir W. SCOTT attended, Ancl
charged the Grand Jury. The- Court thed a&
journed tin ten o'clock, at whieh hour Sir W.
SCOTT re!tirned, actompanied I.)V Lord ELLEN2d-
ROUGH, -Mr. Baron TIIOMPSOIS, and several Doc-
tors Of Law. The Duke of CLARENCE was on the
bench. Pie Jury were then sworn, to try the
Marquis of Stparl, who appeared in Court, and sat
by his counsel', Messrs. DAUNCEY, DAMPIER, and
SC.CRLETT.

Before the trial began, Mr. DAuNor.Y stated,
that his Lordshiu wished to plead guilty as to
part, and not guilty as to the rest ; and wished,
therefore, only part now to he entered into.
Dr. RoatNsoN, on the other side, was not un-
willing to accede to this arrangement ; but Lord
Ellenborough said, that the indictment must not
lie garbled. He must plead guilty to the whole,
or• not guilty to the whole. - _

' • After some conversation between the Counsel,
the trial proceeded i the indictment was read,
charging the Marquis with unlawfully receiving
on board his ship William Elden, a seaman in the:
King's. service, and detainirig, concealing, and
secreting hini.
Thesecoad count 'charred him with enticing
and persuading to desert the said seaman.
. The third count, with receiving the said Elden,
knowing him to have deserted.'
There were other counts with respect to. other
seamen, and a count for an assault and false im-
prisonment.
Dr. Rounascsr, who opened the case for the
prosecution, stated, that this was an offence of the
greatest. magnitude, and had been attended in this
instance ,with circumstances of aggravation, both
in the mode of enticing the men, and afteraeardS
in the abandonment of them in such Li manner that
they might all have been, as' some were, entirely
lost to his Majesty's service.. The defendant was
a young Nobleman, who was on hiS travels in the
year It 10;and had tonchedat Malta, where he had
been introduced to Capt. Spranger ; wished to
have a vessel of his own, and hired one, called the
Pylades. He had received assistance from Capt.
Spranger in the outfit of his vessel, and had been in
the habit of being carried backwards and forwards
in the Captain's boat by four picked men : before
• the vessel of Captain Spranger left that station,
two of these met' were missing,,--men of tried fr-
alelity, and long standing, and to whom long al.-.
-rears of wages were due,- and who, it was to be
supposed, .would not have:-deserted .on .a slight
occasion ; these men had attracted the notice
and adMiration of the defendant, and from a sus-
picion that they were in his service, Captain ,
Spranger paid hint a' visit. 'l he defendant ex-
pressed himself-hurt at the suspicions of Captain
Spranger, who, from his. acquaintance with the
Martinis, contented himself with cautioning him
on the subject, and representing to him the sate of
the Service, which was then very low. He then,
left the• defendant, and sent to him a descrip-
tion of the persons of his men who were missing,
desiring' the Marquis •to. send them to Malta, if
they should come td him. Six witnesses, who
would he brought before the jury, would prove
these' facts : it Would appear that they had been
accosted by the defendant's servants at Malta, and
by them made drunk, and in that state had been
conveyed aboard his vessel. When they became
sensible, they were introduced to his Lordship,
who treated their wish to go back tOtheirships with
levity. On the 13th May the vessel sailed to Pa-
lermo, and from thence to Messina : here constraint
was exercised towards them, Italian sentinels, arm-
ed, were placed over them to prevent their getting
on shore. At Messina his Lordship obtained a pro-
tection for theta for six months, inserting false
names in the liSt, and pledging, as he told his
craw, his word and honour that there were no
men-of-war's-men„-on board. dire vessel then
proceeded on 'its 'course, and on the 30t1 of
May was
.boarded by it. boat from his Majesty's
ship the .Active. The officer of that ship had
heard rumours of deserters being on board the
Pylades, and sent a lieutenant and a midshipman
to search the defendant's vessel. 'They were in-
troduced to the defendant, and told their
busi-
-ness : he, denied that he had any such men on
board, and during the search went through the'
ship them with a lighted candle. They asked if
they had seen all the crew ? The Marquis, on his
word, assured them that they had, though the
seamen Whom he had enticed were concealed in
-a place under: the defendant's cabin.. This part
of the evidence was „the. less liable to objection, as
the defendant had himself acknowledged it in a
letter. - the defendant • then went by Milo, to..
Patinos, where ten of the crew were allowed to
go on shore for two or three days, and it was told
them that the • vessel would not sail for 13 days :
the same evening, however, it sailed without ti em,
leaving them in - the greatest distress. They
went to Scio to- the British Consul, -who took
therm in a bOatto the4essel of the. Marquis
would take only four. of theism, and tat the rest.
ik a most inhuman manner to find their way back
to England as they could. Some of them had
surrendered them Selves wait-es ships, and had
been tried by Courts-martial ; but the two most
Material witnesses, 'Lee and Lloyd, of the War-
' Aloe, could not be produced in Court, as Lee had
'died at Athens, and Lloyd had not yet returned to
this conntry.
Other persons might have been made defendants
-in this' indictment, but his Lordship was selected
as being the principal,. and in order that the rest
might bear evidence in the historyof, the trans-
actions.

Captain Spranor. (examined by the ATTORNEY-
GENERAL), stated, that in April, 1810, the Mar-
quis was introducedto him by letter from Admiral
Martin ; his Lordshipappeared desirous of making
a tour, and for that purpose hired a vessel called
the Vylades : the witness gave him all the assist-
ance in his poweriby sending t 6 him riggers, and
carpenters, 4nd gunners, who were lent to him
for the purpose of outfitting his vessel, .but still
remained part of his (Capt. Spranger's) crew. In
the course of these transactions, his Lordship
passed and re-passed in a boat called the gig,
which was rowed by four men, Charles-Lee, Rob.
Lloyd, Jas. Foljambe, and Jelin Walker ; the) had
belonged to the boat. for three years, .and were
constantly in it. The defendant observed, that

.. ,
ArteiWar ds;s 'aboat a week beicirc be. Saile:ie yid
. a&sed two ref these men, which the'reore sin-p is-
ed hint, as; -they ‘vere Very trusty see!::en, had
never liceli absent or irregtrlar, and, though fre-
onently Soffered ti) go on shore withrms--a Midsiiip-
man, had never in any instance abused this Confi-
dence. They ate d, besides, wages of :r! years due to
them. On the 13th, before he sailed, he went on.
board the FiVades, Pt) see Lord Sligo, and told him of
the eitraOrEfinary circumstance of his missing these
two - men, whom his Lordship probably recol
lected. He , was then going to, communicate to
Iris Lordship some suspicions which his officer 4
had suggested to him, when. Lord Sligo inter;.
rupted him, saying, '' sorely; be (Capt. Spranger)
could not think hint so base as to take awaY•
these men; •after the civilities by him sb6ili
to his Lordship," He further said, that sorne,
of the men Shot Captain s: had lent to him had
offered to desert, but that he had refused to ac=
eept them. lie replied 'to Lord Sligo, that
lie trusted he had not his men, and that he would
not take them or any others from his MajeSt'..4
service ; but lest they should come to him, hie
(Capt. S.) would leave a description of their perz'
sons, and would take his Lordship's word of ho-:
none that he would not receive them, but give
them -up to the Commanding Officer at Malta,who
had,orders to keep them till his return. He then[
left his Lordship, having received his promise
,and word of honour, and having remarked to his
Lordship how serious a thing it was to entice his
Majesty's seamen. The fleet was at that time
nearly -2,000 below its complement, and it was
very difficult to procure British sean:en. He did
not muster his Lordship's crew : they seemed to
be foreigners, in number about twenty or thirty.
His Lordship had proposed to take about 50 men,
as his vessel wits to be a letter of marque : a few
would have been sudicient fir the purposes of na -
Yigation. As soon as he reached the ship, he or-
dered the description of the two men to be • made
out, and it was sent to Lord Sligo ; he received
no answer then, though he afterwards hada let-
ter from his Lordship. (The letter was produced) .
He had never seen Lee or Lloyd since. (The let-
ter was here read, in which Lord Sligo stated,
that in the course of his voyage he found he' hasd.
on board some men-of-war's men, • and that he
was determined•to send them on shore thelirst
opportunity: whatever -expense's he might in-
cur on their account, die should put down 'to. ,
the score of humanity, and glory in it : that
he thought this explanation necessary to Cap-
lain Spranger, who'had treated him like-a gen-
tleman ; but the other Captain, who complained,
be shOuld not notice : if the business.was brought
into Court, he should -do the best to defend him-
self ; and if he did not stleeee:l, he had an ainple
fortune, and could pay the tines). This letter was
dated Constantinople. . .
Cross-examined by Mr. DAuNetY.Said it was"
usual for men on foreign stations to offer thern
selves for other service ;. he' believed Lord'Sligo
had offered permission to search his ship.
Win, Elden, examined by Mc. DA tr N cEy.—De-
posea, that he had,been 'gunner's mate on board,
the Montague, lying of 'Malta, in May, 1810 ;
that he had been- in that ship from January, 1804;
and bad been in the Navy about 13 years; he was
ort shore at Malta, with leave, on the 13th of
gay, and his leave being out; was returning with
his comrades to the ship ; they went into a pub-
lic-house to see if there were any of their shin-
mates to go with them ; saw those two persons
in livery, but did not know them, though he
had since found them to be the Marquis's ser-
vants. They drank together, and got so in-
toxicated that he does not know how he gOt
on board the Pylades : when sober, he found
himself in the pump-well of that vessel; wciielt
was then 'under weigh : 'he saw there, olSo,
two of his shipmates, Fisher and Brown ; and go- ,
iner, on deck, saw M`Dermot, Thompson, Cooke,
Fisher, and Brown : saw Lord-Sligo that evening,
who asked him his name, and whether he helone,---
ed to the Montague ? The next morning he saw
Lord Sligo again, who asked him, and his coni-
panion•Storey; their names. Storey said it would
not do to go.by their real names. Lord Siko then
directed them to, follow him, and he would alter
their. The witness then changed his name to
Smith, and •Sto:ey changed his :to, Weight. ',A.
few days afterwards his Lordship told him, that he
would be useful in exercising the guns ; to ;vhich
Ire replied, that be saw none -there who did not •
know the use of the guns as well as •Ititn-
self : he then saw nine men of the Montague
there, Cooke, , Fisher, Brown, Storey, Sul,-
livan, Thompson, :Myers, M'Dermoc, and -Tra-
vers. Lord Sligo took an active part- in •the
inpagement of the vessel, and assigned to
them all their duties. At Palermo, he asL:ed LoYd
Sligo fdr leave to go on shore, to get clothes; hit,
Lordship gave him five 4 dollar pieces, foi wages ;
he went ou sh6re and returued, not surrendering
hiaiself to any King's ship. At Messina he begged
leave to wiitethe Pylarles, and otE:ted to return all
the money and clothes he bad ; his Lordship would
not suffer hint, and. foreign sentinels were placed in
arms over them to pit vent any from escaping.—
Lord Sligo at Palermo told the crew, that he had.
procured a protectiOn from Adm. Martin, having
pledged his honourthat he had no men-of-war's men
on board. They were afterwards chased by the
Active and 'a brig, were brought to, and a King's
boat came alongside.
,Lord Sligo then desired the
witness to go below, who said-, be would rather
stay where he was ; the, rest were then below :•
Lord Sligo left him_ for a few minutes, but re-
turned and told him he must go down :• he then
went down into the after-hold underneath the
cabin, where were Ode rest of the seamen of the
Warrior and the Montague : the hatch was closed
over them, and a ladder placed at top. In about
half an hour they were called up. They then pco-
ceeded to Patmos, where he and some more had
leave of absence for a few days a took a letter to his
Lordship from his master Liewellin ; the neat day
lie sailed without giving them any notice, and left
him and six more in great distress ; they were forced
to sell their clothing; they had nothing hut what
they stood upright in : they got a boat, but conic),
not overtake the PylatleS: they then went to Scio,
and went with the ilritish Consul to the Pylades,
but Lord Sligo refused to take them in, and
threatened to fire at them : he knew them very
well, as they were all upon deck : be took four

I

I

to

;

ti.e man bf the Wiirrior (Lee); and the sail -itiaker.
The witness hail been §ince tried, and sentenced
tQ receive .200 'ashes, but 'his punishment had,
een remitied.'
Croft-eianziiied.bii Mr. DA.mriEl.--7-Said he con-
ceived that at Messina all the crew wished to
leave his Lordship, but cbuld not.
T. Fisher, cOckswain of the Montagne had been
Seaman from 1802 :, recollected being taken on
e4ard by Lee, the second Mate of the PYlades.-=:--
,41 Sligo saw them, 'and tOld them to give in any
Maine's, it did not signify what, as he knew by
tneir dress they belonged to the Montague : knew
Zee
and Lloyd, as he had often seen them in the
gig-boat of the Warrior. • Lordship said, he
'vislied he had twenty or thirty more such brave
fejlows, and that he would sooner pay 10 or
l 0
ii,ooo/. than that any of them' should come to
'atrms He confirmed the testimony of the last
witness in every material point.
Cross-examined by Mr. ScARLETir-=Said, none
whose to leave the Marquis at 'Messina, when he
gave them the option. The signal for sailing had
oeen hoisted At Patmos,- and a gun fired; never
heard Lord Sligo say they were a troublesome
crew.

Dennis Sullivan, Win. Brown, and Christopher
4.4 ace, all seamen of the Montague, confirmed the
testimony of the above witnesses in almost the
same Words.
Richard Cooke, of the Montague, deposed, that
e bad been met or shore by aservant of the Mar-
quis who asked him to go and see his shipmates
011 board the Pylades. He went, and saw Lord
When he wishedto go back, telling his Lord-
ship that he was a man-of-wait's man, Lord Sligo
said be did not care a d—n : he said be wished to
go on shore, and called a svaternian for that push
Posh ; but Lord Sligo drove away the waterman
(a Sicilian), by two blows on the cheek, and or-
tiered the witness to go below. He was prevented
.from going on shore at Messina by armed senti-
nels : after the search by the officers of the Active,
the Marquis boasted that be had done them all.
. The witness underwent a long cross-examina-
tion by Mr. DAUNCEY, in which he confessed,
that he said that on Lord Sligo's refusing to take
Them in_ at Patmos, that it should be sorrowful
(lay stated also, that he was hired by
a livery servant, of the Marquis hut it appeared
that he meant only that the servant meant or of-
fered to hire him.
Capt. Hayes (who was Lieutenant of the Active
at the time of the search) stated, that he went on
board the Pylades ; saw Lord Sligo, and told him
Isis reason for coming on boa:al, which was for
deserters ; his Lordship said he had none, and de-
sired him to search ; he inquired for the ship's
articles ; Lord Sligo told him he had none,
hat gave him the watch list ; he mustered the
Irian by this roll, and asked his Lordship if all
his men were included in it ? he answered on
his word, or honour (he did not recollect which)
'that they were : he had a list of the deserter 4 from
the Warrior and the Montague, but saw by the
-appearance of the men, chiefly Italians,- that they
Were not the men he was seeking for : be sent two
reidShipmen below, who stated that they found
only one man sick; an Italian, in his hammock.
-Lieutenant Hawkey was one of the Midship-
hien employed in the search ; he stated that Lord
Sligo went before them, and carried a candle : he
torched for a quarter of an hour without success.
Lieu inaut Loo deposed to the same purport.
Mr. DanNchv then addressed the Jury on be-
half of the .6a-end:mt. He did not, however,
stand forward ro defend the whole of the conduct
of his Noble Client, who, thoug prepared to prove
that be had not seduced these men from the King's
Service, yet was ready to acknowledge, that they
had remained with • him, and he had not given
them. up when be had reason to suppose that
they were desetters. At the time when all this
happened, Lord Sligo was a very young damn,
hardly come of age, and had hired a brig, while
at Malta, in the summer of 1810, for the pur-
pose of making a voyage through the .Medi-
terranean, and visiting the Greek islands
so famous in ancient ,history. Newly come
from4he seats of learning and education, such
was the laudable object of which he was in eager
pursuit. The accusation began with a charge, that
all thesei.l4 or 15 men had been :seduced to desert
from the King's ships lying at Malta, by his
-Ldrdship.. On that part of the charge his Lord-
did not feel himself guilty. He had neither
seduced, nor knowingly received into his brig,
the men who belonged to the Wan ior, at Malta.
Why, indeed,-should he have taken the pains to
seduce persons-who were in the habit of leaving
the King's ships daily at that station ? Even ac-
cording to the evidence of Capt. Spranger, of the
Warrior, himself, the sear en Avere for ever doing
so. It was too true, that seamen, whether from
their natural, restlessness, or the temptation of high
wages, were often eager to quit the King's ser-
, vice, and get into any other. It, then, these sea-
men came on board the Pylades (for that was.the
name of Lord Sligo's brig), not as deserters, which
he trusted he should be enabled to establish, there
vas an end at once of the charge of seduction.
The Learned Cohnsel then proceeded to comment,
at great length, on the evidence given in support
of the prosecution. He particularly dwelt on the
expression that had fallen from one of the seamen,
when refused to he received again into the Palades,
that th at sh o uld pro ve an unfortunate dayto hisLord-
hship, as'arguing a doermination to be revenged, by
• blackening the character of his Noble client. They
imagined, no tioubtethat they would exculpate them-
sslves, by throwing, at least, part of the odium on his
Lordship. Some of i.he witnesses had declared, that
they were taken on b'eard Lord Sligo's brig, in a
state of intoxication ; and one of them (Elden).
went so far as to assert, that they were kept there
by force, or at least against their consent. What,
then, was to prevent them from
_leaving, and going
ashore the moment the vtssel reached Palermo,
for there they were 'safe ? At' Palermo the crew
was • mustered and examined by an officer front
' the Cumberland, then lying there, and who was
sent in search of a deserter. Had his Noble client
been tonscious of having seduced these men to
desert, would he have submitted then to the in-
spection of that officer ? There was one charge
attempted to be insinuated by the evidence of the
witnesses, which he must rebut with, indignation.
-It was this, that when the Pylades reached the
island Tattuos, his client left these men on

deserted; money or clothes;
their teStinninV Might .nnt at any future time be
glven agairist film. •Tiais was ad fliptitation Ofso
base and black.a dye'; that it ought not:to have
Cbme out collaterally; but should hA,e formed the
suhstanee of the chargeitself. low did thiS ttitn
out on tbecioss-exliminatioti ? Why it -ippeared.,
that there were only five or six men . left at Pit-
inoS, while the rest of the fourteen deserters came
off in the PvWes, Whose testimony would have
been quite Sufficiolt; and therefore the imptitation
was 3s false as malignant. The fact was, as he
Should prove, that every sigi.!.l of departure was
given these men.; the blue Peter was hoisted,
two or three guns -Weis./ fired, and the ship made
tacks off the island the greater part of the night,
that these men might come on board if they
pleased.• When the Pyladcs afterwards touched
At Scio, these men came off in a boat with tbe
English Consul ; and though' Lord Sligo refused
to receive all ''of them on board, yet all their

clothes were handed to them, and they received,
their wages, though they were ehtitied to none,
as having broken their contract, and left the ship.
Let not, then, the imputation to, which 'he now .
alluded, go out into the world without, its indig-
nant refutation, or ever be breathed hereafter to
darken the character of his- Noble client. These
seamen not only had their clothes and their money,
but they were put into the way of goin back to
Malta, the place from whence they came. It was
on this occasion, that Elden, one of the witnesses,
declared it should prove a most unfortunate day
to his Lordship ; and full of this rancour they got
back to the vessels from which they had deserted.
Hence originated the present inquiry ; and though
these men have been sentenced to a certain pu-
hishmeht, yet they hope, and probably with rea-
son, that it never will, be inflicted. One of the
witnesses, of the name of Cooke, had acknow-
ledged that he was hired at. Malta, by a servant
of Lord Sligo ; but what would the Jury say,
when they heard, as they should hear, that this
man offered himself, and voluntarily went on
board the Pylacies ? Still .there was one circum-
stance which he should not deny, anti it consti-
tuted the very head and front of his Noble client's
offence : it was this, that when the Pylades was
boarded by the Active frigate, his Lordship 'con-
sented to*the concealment of these men, some of
whom he had then reason to believe were de-
serters. tlad his Lordship acted according to
the rigid principles ofeabstract justice, he would
have pointed out these 'men to the officer of the
Active. Upon the principles of stern and Roman
virtue, he ,ought to have done so But 'was the
turning informer so pleasant an office, that' a Gen-
tleman might not hesitate before he assumed it
These men had been received ()This Lordship on
board his he•iee—they had declared that they would
stand by huff ; and when he thus had them corn-
pletely in his power, he would put it to the feel-
ings
of the Jury themselves, whether they would
have thought it possible that his Lordship could
have given them up. In the letter from his Lord-
ship to Captain Sp.ranger, which hart been read
as evidence; his client had declared this to be his
motive, adding, at the same time, that he would
put the money he might afterwards be obliged to
pay for such'concealutent, to the score of 'mina-
nity, and congratulating himself that his fortune
• was ample enough fine
to ',bear such a without'
much inconvenience. In the indictment his client
was charged with disloyally meaning to' weaken
his Majesty's navy, by the seduction of these sea-
men. This might be called the mere technical
'lariguage of the charge ; but surely,. the cir-
cumstance of a young Nobleman hiring and Man-
ning' a brig, on an excursion of pleasure ,and
liberal curiosity, had not the most distant resem-
blanceof such an intention. So far was he from
any Wish to lower the British flag, that he even
procured a letter of marque for his vessel, from the
wish of making the Crown and Navy of England
more respected in all those islands which he meant to
visit. But who was the man thus technically cherged
with the disloyal design of lowering the British
Navy ? It was Lord Sligo, a Nobleman of high
rank, the grandson of Lord Howe, who had car-
ried to so high a pitch the glory of that Navy.—
Surely, then, his client, trout the illustrious blood
which ran in his veins, nitts,t have 'been the last
man' who could have enterta.ned such an idea.—
Mr. Dauncey concluded 'his speech by admitting,
on the part of his client, that he had offended
against the letter of the law.; he was only anxious
to be liberated from the charge of deliberate se-
duction 3 and so far, at least, he trusted the Jury
would deliver a verdict in 'his favour.

The folic wing witnessei were then called on the
part of :he defence :
James Needing, -who AN'aS ,now a servant of the
Marquis, :.td who was with him in .that capacity
At Malta, in May 1310, deposed, that when his
Lordship hired the 1.-)Ylades, he directed witness to .
procure men for her. He told witness to get as
many English or 'American seani.en as possible,
but not to take airy King's ..men, or seamen from
the King's.shtps. Wittnls was told to be particu-
lar in his inquiries, and ask them whether they
were so three or four times. They were to. re-
ceive about 18 dollars a month, the usual pay of
merchant seamen at Malta. Witness followed
his instructions and recollected. having kept two
men in his Lordship's house at Malta, whom; in
the course of a few days, he learned to be deser-,
ters from Captain Spranger's ship ; with this he
acquainted his Lordship, -who ordered them to be
given: some moneys and to join their ships. Wit-
ness hired none whom he suspected. RecollectS
having been in a wine house, at • Malta, on the
13th of May, when he hired two men, and took
them on board ; fell in with three others the lame
evening, oneof whom Was the witness Elden, and
who represented himself as having been dis Charged
from a Icing's ship for the loss of an eye. -Not,
One
,of these three was intoxicated when they
went on board the brig; they were only merry
and jovial, but knew very well what they were
doing. They went up the . ship's side of them-
selves, by the use of a rope. Not certain whether
Lord Sligo saw them that night; which Was the
night of their sailing; but he was sure hiS Lord
ship never knew that they were King's-m&. Wit-
ness recollected the search by the Active frigate ;
he had suspected that some of the men were de-
serters before then, butt they always denied
it till then. Was on deck at the time
• when, before- the search, they were ordered

_ .
down ; they-all Went doWn ekCepi. who
said?! be- wimld be cl—d if lie went doWn j he did
dot care for , any Captain in the navy ; but he
al-teracards went dowel. Witness was with Lord
.Sligo during the WhOle of,the'cr'uise, and remem-
bers that at Rainfos the men had leave.to„ go on
shore i saw sonic Of them ,On shore the same
evening the vessel sailed: Witness-knew :hat the
brig was to sail tliat day, ar.d -.told Elden of it
artiOng the Others knows. that a mail was sent to
bring then' back, who said they ref Used to come.
Saw the blue Peter hoisted, which he knows to
be the signal fOr sailing; two or three guns were
also fired ; other signahl Oven as to the sail,-
in.g. The brig stood off and On 'for' fOur
acid was- indeed close in with the harbour all
night. '-‘l,'itneSs reniernbers, while at SciO,
boat eMning off with smile of the men who staid
behind at' Patmos, Lord Slido said they LA
behaved ill, and ref Used to ttdniit them ; sate no
speaking-trumpet used to, communicate with .the
boat, but heard theie inen teiiing the sa:!ors
where their clothes were on board-ship, which
they hail given them, .and also so many days'
pay and provisions. They were left with the
English Consul at Scio.
Cross examined by the ATTORNEY-GENERAL.—
Witness procured Live of the men in qaestion,
three of whom were now in .Conrt ; did not know
who, procured the rest. Lord Sligo himself did.
not hire auy but one man from the Aurora mer-.
chantman. -His Lordship had two other servants
then with him, of the names of Mowbray and
Welsh ; but did not know whether they also were
employed on that si!rvice, Neither of these ser-
vants was.at the wine-house at Malta on the 13th
of May : witness began to suspect that- some of
the men were deserters from ships of war, when
the brig layat' Messina,: when at Palertrio these
men went a-sh Ore every day : never heard them
express a desire to return to theft ships.
John Mowbray, another servant of the Marquis
was next examined. Witness was not employed
to hire men : heard the men often talk of a stow-
hole, which he understood to be a place to con-
ceal themselves in : first. suspected that some of
theta were deserteri, on being boarded by the
Active. •

Patrick \'fe:•,h, another servant of the Marquis
of Sligo, had. got two men for the Pylades, who
told him they were Americans. His evilence was
to show that the men entered voluntarily—were
not in a state of intoxication on coming aboard,
and that they were not known to be men-of-war's
men at that. time.

Philip Shee, had been engaged as sail-maker
in the Pylades, and thought the men, when they
came on hoard, were not so intoxicated as not to
know what they were about. He was one of
those who were left in the island of Patmos, but he
was afterwards one of the four whom the Marquis
of Sligo permitted to rejoin the ship.
On this witness being asked, Why he stopped in
Patmos after the signal was made fur sailing, he
answered, that he got drunk ; and oa being ask-
ed, whether that was an infirmity he was subjesA
to, he said, he never refused-a glass of grog.
John Lewellyn, the- acting commander of the
Pylades, on his direct examination, said, that the
men had sufficient opportunities at Palermo, and
Messina, to leave the ship, if they thought pro-
per', anti that: althOu:i he li.aself always -sups-.
posed the men to be Men-of-war's men, yet he
did not know that the Marquis believed it before
their sailing.
On his cross-examination; however, upon the
evidence being read _to him, which he formerly
gave at 'the Court-martial, he acknowledged, that
it-was settled between the Marquis and the men
on the first. day they had, been at sea, what names
they should assume, and also that his Lordship re-
quested them to go below'for the purpose of con-
cealing themsdves when the boat of the Active
came in
_ .

The evidence for the defence being closed,
Dr. ROBINSON replied, at considerable length,
blithe part: of the Vosecutiori. He dwelt at some
length on the plea of humanity set iip in his
Lords'hip's letter, and thought that this humanity
might have been exerted at the Isle of Patmos,
where he left 14 of his crew, absolutely destitute,
for no Other reaso% but because a sudden signal
for sailing %V aS not instantly attended to, although,
in his Lordship's .tour -of pleasure, it appeared
very indifferent whether be sailed half an hour
sooner Or later.

Lord ELLEN'BOROUGII recapitulated the whole
of the evidence to the Jury, and made 'many corn-
thents on the pledge which the Marnuis had given
Of his honour to the Admiral, that there were no
men-of-war's men on hoard, when, on the faith 'of
that pledge, the Admiral granted him protection
for a crew of 40 men. He also observed upon the
particular description that the Captain of the War-
rior had given him of Cie two men who deserted
from his ship, and yet; notwithstanding the obli-
gations he prolOsed himself under to that officer,
those very two men *ere admitted that very night
as part of his crew. those men the Captain of
the Warrior Might well suppose he knew, as they
were part of a boat's crew which had often rowed
him to and from that ship, and whose appearance
he had highly praised. In fact, the Captain had
such strong suspicions that those men were on
board time Pylades, that it was merely his relying
on iris Lordship's wort! that they were not there,
and that he would not employ them, that he ab-
stained from searching the Pylades. In compar-
ing the case of
.the prosecution with the defence,
he must say, that the former was• a plain intelli-
gible story, supported by some Witnesses who
were quite above suspicion whereas, on the part
of the defendant, the witnesses were (with the
exception Of .Shee) participators of the crime, if
crime there was, which was charged On tire de-
fendant. After a variety of observations, he lett
it to the Jury to 'determine on the probability of
the evidence on both sides.
After a shOrt consultation in the box, the Jury
found his Lordship Uoilp of all the counts in the
indictment; except the one- for false imprison-
ment.
The Judge (Sir NATlvt.Scovr) then ordered, that
, his Lordship; Who was•in.Court, should enter into
, recognizance to appear to-morrow to receive
judgment.
The trial lasted till near two o'clock this
Morning.

IMPF:11 TA L PARLI IMEN T.

HOUSE OF LORDS,

ivEDiaBn.ty; DEC. 16.

THE ROYAL AssENr

WaS given by ComMiSsiOn to the Sugar Pretvery
and Starch Manufacture Bilis. The Lords Com-
missioners were the Lord 'Chancelldr, the Earl of
Harrowby, and Lord Waisinghoth.
Conn Set were further heard in the Appeal
Causes-the East India Compny v. :Antrobus etri
others, Clerks; viz. 'MI'. Attorney General onti:e
part of theitespOndents, and Sir Arthur
in part of his reply on bt.:half of the Appellants.--:-
Vurther', hearing to-morniw.
The afar aita and 'St. Domingo Intercourse Pro-
hibition Bill was read a second time, and com-
mitted for to-m04T0w..:---Artjourned.
Their Lordships stand summoned for to-tuOr;,
rOvv, relative to the Gold Coin Bill. •

HOUSE. OF COMMONS,

WEIjNESDAY, DEC. 6.

The House was summoned to the HOuse of
Lords to hear the Royal ASsent eiVen by Cam=
mission to two.Biils, for which see. LovdS.

A Petition was resented from the Inhabitants
of the County of Kent; for. leave to erect a
Gaol. The Petition was read, and ordered to lie
upon the table.
Sir F. BURDETT presented a PetitiOn froni
Captain EngEs,. of the Colonial fri,gaie the De-
thin, complaining that his 'crew, whO all had
protections, having been attacked by a prey7gal!g,
succeeded in beating Omni off ; that he, in conse
qnence, Was summoned to the Thames Police
Office, and transmitted from thence to the Cler-
kenwell Prison, where he was confined among
felons, and suffered- many, other hardship's. hi
the Petition he referred for a character of him to
Admiral Hunter, and many other persons of high
respectability.
The SPEAkER suggested to the Honoiirable Ba-
ronet, that as the Petition, appeared to be very
long, it lrould be better, before it was read, t 6
have it returned to Captain Eaglis, for the pur=
pose of compressing it within narrower limits.
•Sir FRANCIS assented, and the Petition was
withdrawn for the present.
The 14th. Report df the Com Missioners ap-
pointed to inquire into the State of the Schools in
. Ireland was laid upon the table.
Mr. DAVIS GIDDY presented a Petition from,
the. Booksellers, complaining of the hardships
to which they were subjected, in being obliged to
supply the Universities with copies of every new
.work.--Ordered sto lie on the table.
Mr. ABERCOMBY moved that there be laid upon
the table an account of all the 'Decrees passed. int
the Court of Chancery, from the 12th of April,'
1812, up to the latest period.—Agreed to.
Also an account of the -number of Bills. filed
in each :,year, from the Ist of January, 1810.—
Agreed to.
-Mr.:WHITBREAD said, he.was desirous of ask-
ing a question, suggested to him by the speech
of the President of the United States, lately re 7
• ceived in this country ; however, as he under-
stood the Noble Lord (Castlereagh) Was indis-
posed, he shouldnot press it unless the Hon.Geii-
tleman opposite (the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer) saw. no objection to answer.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,
that his Noble Friend (Castlereagh) would be'
able hi the course, perhaps, of to, morroW,- to
answer the question himself. •
Mr. NlTurrnitE,6 wished to know when.the ad=
journment was to take plate ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said not
before Tuesday or. Wednesday next. He was not
aware, however, that any new matter would
be brought
.forward 'in the House after Friday
next,

Mr, VirtlyretteND desired to know, what amount
of Exchequer Bills would be outstanding in the
month of February next ?

The enAschuma of the EXCIIERITER sail it
depended upon circumstances. ,The'uniount out-
standing may be at that, tipiie about 2,600,090/.

Mr.CRE,EVEY ‘wished to know the produce attic
Cot:solidatcd Fund and the. War Taxes up to the
last quarter.. He should make a motion to that
purport to-morrow, unless the Chancellor of thc
Exchequci• staid he was ready to bring forward the
account necessary to discover what their produce
was.' lie thought it would bell great convenience
if the property tax appeared upon t..5.-o schedules,
one stating the amount arising front land, and the,
other that arising from trade.

The CIIANCELIIOII of the EXCHEQUER Said, he
could haVe no wish and no interest in withholding
from the public the accounts alluded -to.
Mr_ CREEVEY desired to know if the deficiency
in the revenue was) in reality not' more than.
what was stated .on a former night, namely
90,0001.
_ _ _

The CHANCELLOR of the Excusciuta. replied;
that the accounts Would be very soon before the
House, when it would appear that the deficiency.
was riot more. than 90,00,0/. a great part of whir. it
fell. upon .the Excise.
The Malting Bill, the Chocolate Bill, and the
West India Indemnity Bill, were then read 'a third
time and passed.
The third reading of the Household Bill was
put oil until to-inorrOw.
Mr: WHITBREAD desired to be informed, whe
ther the oath, appointed to he taken by those who
had the direction of his Majesty's Privy Purse,
against employing it for Electioneering purposes
were regularly taken ? He gave.' notice that he
mould to-morrow move for into' mation upon that
Subject.
The HoUse the went into a Committee of &la.:.
ply, and Lord Palmerston proposed an ad:litionj
grant of 2i700,000/. for the army,
gr. WHITBREAD eiCillpt. it strange, that in 4S
hours after another grant had been made, the
Noble Lord should come again to the House with
such an application.
Lord rAttvliasToN said it was his business to
take the estimates from the other- denartngents.
He had no other means of calculating the sum for.
which he should apply. What he proposed the
othier night he thought would .be sufficient. Upon