Star.
London, England, 1812-05-16 00:00:00

cation has been closed, and you are now called upon bressors foundthemselves again mistaken ; for the
to make any defence you may have, or to produce tact
was, I had not written to them, although it would.
any witnesses yon wish to be examined." have been a most meritorious' act to have die so.a-
PRISONE110•-"
I leave it to my C.ounsel, my Lord." ; because, according to all ac COTIpiS, it was in affair:
Mn ALLEv"-" Your Counsel ;Ando nothing more i, compounded of stupidity- and iniquity. While thus
than exaniiiie your witnesses." ; imprisoned, 1 wrote to Sir .Stephen Shairpe, the Con.
PRISONER.,-" Then I beg to be indulged with the -'sul General, as well as to Lord G. L. Gower, the
documents and papers taken out of my pocket, which Ambassador from Great Britain. The consequence
are necessary for my defence." I was, that the former addressed a letter to the Mili.
JOSEPH _Herne, Esq. M.?. was then called by Mr. Lary Governor of die district, desiring an explanation
CARROW to produce the documents belonging W 0 the of the circumstances, that if I wore illegally detained
Prisoner, which he had kept in his posit:swan. llie I might be instantly liberated. I remained for a long
Honourable Gentleman stated, that lie had taken peeing in `this miserable situation, and at length the
them from Bellingham 's person, but afterwards cor- Governor wrote to Sir S. Sliairpe, stating what was
meted his evidence by observing, that he had received • utterly false, namely,-that I was legally detained, and
them from the hand of General Gascoyne, who bad that I had behaved indecorously. At the same time
taken them
out of the Prisoner's pocket. They bad it was known that I had nothing to do with the So-
been kept by the witness exactly in the same slate as jus ; and yet Sir Stephen Shairpe had the audacity
when he obtained them, excepting that they had been and the weakness.to countenance these proceedings,
numbered. i for the sole purpose of diverting the course of justice.
These documents being handed to General Gas. I Lord Levison Gower also, as I little expected, wrote
coyne, he deposed that. they were the same that he , me word, that by the letter of the Governor, he was
had given to Mr. Hume in_the lobby, on the 11th of . 'precluded from interposing—but that if I would pro-
m:fly. The papers were all of them handed to the ; duce vouchers, establishing the truth of my allega-
privaler, who immediately began his Address as ' tions, he- would' then write to the Governor. Very
follows: . good ! • I was now in some hopes of a restoration to
.0 Gentlemen of the Jury, freedom andto my:family, but I was again doomed
gi I feel that lam under great obligations to the to be disappointed. .• 1 sent the letters and papers to
learned Attorney-General for inducing the Court to .the Procureur, for tau purpose of establishing my in-
dismiss the objection that was made by my Counsel nocence, and the affair being-so grossly impure and
on die ground of insanity ; because it is 14 .far More I so perfectly notorious, the Procurtur was obliged to
fortunate for me that such: a plea should be cletermi• i report upon therubut .liom that hour to this mo-
lted to be unfounded, than that it should be estab. nient, I never heard a single syllable item Lord
Baled. At the same time I must express_my grate- ' Gowe;, or from Sir S. Sliairpe. Reflect now, Gen-
mude to my Counsel, whose object was certaurty most
,tli-men, if you can imagine yourselVes in a state of
meritorious. 'that I am insane I certainly am per- 'such accumulated misery, what must have been your
fectly ignorant, and assure you that I never had .an feelings, and from thence judge of mine.
idea of it, with the exception of one instance in ,4 .I had been but recently'married to a wife then
Russia, where my insanity was made a matter of pub- only twenty years of age, with an infant at her breast,
lacnotoriety.--(ThePrisoner here appeared much mbar and & pregnant with a second
chilli ; yot was I tiGom-
nousgi, and after a short pause proceesid.) Gentlemen, ed to continue immured in adungeon for six months
I beg pardon for thusdetalning you, but lam wholly. i , burst longer.—/-/ zi e Prisonerinto sears ; as soon a: he
unaccustomed to situations like the present, and Ibis was again collected he proceeded.)—Gentlemen, it so
I the first time I ever addressed a public audience ; happerad, that of this juncture a new Civil Gover-
I therefore-hope to receive your candid indulgence, nor,- Baron Asch, was appointed, and to him I stated
and trust that you will pay more attention to the mat- thecruel circumstances under which I
was detained.
ter detailed than to the- manner in which-it is deli- lie very candidly said that I was either innocent os
vexed. We are now engaged in the investigation of guilty it innocent I ought to be disch .rged, and if
the facts of this most singular affair, and the car-
outl ty I ought to be tried. He ti ok up my cause,
cumstances under which lam brought (it .may use'Vicr• I had no tricot's besides: I was storounded by
-.hit bar. Do -

the phrase) a coViativie volunteer to t,

you

suppose me the man to 'go with a deliberate design,
without cause or provocation, with a pistol to put an
end to the life of Mr. Percevat ? No, ,Gentlemen. l
far otherwise. I have strong reasons fur my con-
duct, however trxtraordinar y teasens velticii, %then
l have concluded, you will acknowledge to have fully
justified me in this fatal tact. Had I not possessed
these imperious incitements, and had murdered him
iu cold blood, I should consider myself a nionster,
4ot only unfit to live in this world, but too wicked
for all the torments that may be inflicted in the next.
Circumutauces may justify every thing; and I have
Doi to unfold to you a scene of •oppression and Mi.
qujty which is without a parallel, and which, had not
the facts been authenticated by original documents
laid oeture Marquis Wellesley, as has Lordship can
prove, would be utterly incredible.
"'l he learned Attorney-Generalhascanditily staled
tb, lea, that he has not the• elig,htest imputatiVir
against my honour or character lip to the fatal Ca.
tisuophe which must be. lung tamented, anti which
I regret with the utmost simerity—none can feel
mare pain upon the subject than I du, not exceptisg
even the !amity or Mr. VcrcevAl. I hope 1 shall be.
bble to mak the: truth of this assertion distinctly ap-'.
pee, by setting the affair-in its true light. For eight
years have l now been persecuto-d on account of car.
cumstances that Were men invention for my t uin ;
vas driven almost to el Ipair, and I had even a carte
Manda.from the British Ministers to-right myself in any
way ! might be able to discover. I have done so. -1
am now unexpectedly called to judgment, though for
the lalt eight years I have sought judgment and jus-
tice from Govet matt in -vain. klere i stand unpre-
pared with many necessary. documents that- I have
been usiable fivin the shortness t I the. notice to pia.
Lure, and I am besides, in a great toeastme, without
witnesses., which are equally requisite tor my vindi•
cation. it will be necessary ..fur. me, Gentlemen, to
go back to transactions malt ng ago as 180.1, for from
that period I may date my .onsery, and to set the
r4hject in a clear point of; vies, 1 soall beg leave to
nit(' to 3011 the copy of a .putttott %hick tats crafts;
Milted through my solicitor, Mr. \Vindle, to the
Prune - 6e, -itber, 1807-

my family wad liked aly.akba was la a state at
horror. next applied to the Treasury, ccesceiving,
that there I might obtain some consideration for mit
claims. My pretentsions, however, were neglect
"and I received a letter from the. Secretary df thiTrea-
v Bury, inctosing my documents and negativing my re-
quest, 'My next application was to the fountiin of
,IkraCe itself, to the Prince Regent. It appeared from
Colonel Ivl.Malron's letter, that my first petition was •
laid. 1 therefore seat a second, nearly similar to
the former." - -
.
[Here the Prisoner read the Petition. lt.contaus.
ed a—digested narrative of his case, nearly sueh as he
had already stated in his defence. In the course of
reading it, he commented upon several parus. When
he came to that passage which related to thealeclara.
;ion of bankrrptcy that had been issued out kaiust
him by the Chamber of Commerce, he exclaimed :]
Wnat a scene of iniquity does this disclose ! Such
sufferings; and such ruin, produced by falsehood
alone. My Counsel has endeavoured to advance in
my defence the plea of insanity. I might surely -
have been thought insane, if I had asserted such a
case as this, unsupported by documents. Gentle-
men,'l assure you, if an Angel from Heaven had
come and told me of such a transaction, I should
have'been incredulous. Yet it was permitted to tap
place, and se permitted, it was an eternal disgrace
to Lord Gower. His Lordship f understand is in
Court ;,if so; I challenge him to come forward and,
disprove thesecharges—l call upon him to deny.
that I asked him to make a repret.mtation of my case
to the Russian Ggvernment, and which he refused.
e. Well, Gentlemen, this second petition I for.
warded to his. Royal Highness the Prince Regent,
and received an answer from Mr. Becket, Secretary
to Mr. Ryder, dated the 18th February, It
litter the prisoner read, it was the same as has
already appeared in the public prints.] —ln conse-
quence of this reply, referring me to the Council
Office, I had the honour of communicating with
Lord Chetwynd and Mr. Buller. Upon operues my .
c,ise to them and stating my hopes of compensation,
Mr. Buller said don't know where the m .ney is to,
come from ;* and he added, definitively, that I had
nothing to expect. I asked why the-Council refused
to attend to his Royal Highness's rtfurenc..., but
could obtain no answer. It was my duty then to
communicate the affair to the Prince Regent. I had
a pktitine to-the Parliament drawn out. This I sent
.
R.

And ell this viola hot have happened but by the
connivance of Lord L. Gower and Sir S. Shairpe.
During this period, too—Mrs. Bellingham then in a
state of pregnancy, and one infant in-her arms, was
anxiously waiting for me to accompany her to Eng-
land : I could not, and she was compelled toperform
that dangerous-voyage, alone andunprotected, though
in a condition so interesting, nhile Lord Gower saw,
and permitted so much misery. Oh! my Goo! what
must his heal t be made of!—Gentlemen, I appeal to
you as men, as lathers, as Christians, if I had not
cause of tomplaint.--:Elfere 14e Prisoner was muck ef-
jeaeuJ , and h 4 burst is:to sears: after a pave of opus mo-
ments, he resumed.)—Lord Gower committed a fii st
error, in refusing.to inteifere, cod he afterwards per-
sisted in it. I was the victim, fires imprisoned for 18
mouths by crder of • the Chamber of Commerce, in
order that they might extort from me 2000 roubles.
which, as I knew. I did not owe, I would not pay.
was constantly guarded during this period, and Ire-
'
queenly paraded through the streets of Petersburgh, a
public spectacle. •
" Finding I was too firm to bend to their views, they
then proclaimed me a bankrupt, allowing me, accor-
! ding to the law in Russia, only three months to settle
every claim upon me. And such was die eagerness
of the Chamber of Commerce to ruin me, that they
employed emissaries to inquire out persons to whom
I owed money—their clerks stopped people in t',e
streets, and asked them, •Du you kt ow Mr. 13:1-
• lingham ? Does he owe you auy mote ? Do you
know he is a bankrupt; and that he i. goi ig to Eno.
hind with all his property ?)and c.t er awn lar quer,
dons. Yet, after A, they were cbliged to give a do.
cument, lestifying that there were neither claimants
nor creditors. These docyrra nt. I afterwards placed
in the hands of M.irrptis Welles! .y, and I call upon
the Noble Marquis, whom I see us the Court, to dis-
prove this assertion, if it be false.
" Under such accumulated misfortunes, nothing
but a -SusTAiNitio Pow Ett Ir. us above—nothing but
the express interrosuio of Pnovit.:a.c., could have
preserved me to, visit once more niy country and my
fa-nily. None of my
.friends is England 'ever ex-
pecte Ito see me again. And 1 beg of you
rs-member, Gentlemen, that all Cause sufferings were
endured throuBls ,ha permission of Lord Graver.
It was with ass s.inction and pa:ronage that I was
proclaithed a bankrupt, fc.r withvut it, it could not
have taken pl. ce—and it was throti;is his conni-
my 1 •li

vAnce tt►al

my appea.

to justice was Lever

istened to.

egent, requesting that his Roy%
_ . .

During this peri:id I made repeated opplications to
various Amba-ssadors, and I made a final appeal to
Lord Gower 1:?fi re hi: left Petersburgli, the last time
he was there. His Secretary informed me his Lot d-
ship could net do any thing.—llere I pause, Gentle.:
men of the Jury ; and ask you earnestly to recollect
there proceedi: gs —consijer, -for a mornani, what
must have been the conduct of Lord (flower aad Sir
Stephen t.-liaiipe, men cioathed with the dignity of',
1 the representation of Majesty, to suffer a native of 1
their country to remain in prison, enduring such mul:
tiMied indignities. Thine was a transaction also,
which happened during that very period, calculated
to show, in a still stronger light, the manifest injustice
of my case. A paltry dispute arose between a Cap-
, tarn Gardner, from Hull, and the Captain of a guard
ship at Cronstadt, abotit two rocbles, far pilonage,'
and that business was four times laid before the E n -11
Iperor, by Lord Gower, in the courseof two months.
Gentlemen, while I relate this, I must say, it would
have been fortunate for me, and it would have been
more fortunate for Mr. Perceval, had Lord Gower
received the ball which terminated the life of the latter
i geittlenian." .
V [There was a murmur of disapprobation through
' the Com t, at this sentiment—the prisoner paused for A
1. time, as if disconcerted by it ; and Sir James Mansti::!.l
inquired if he had any thing more to say ? when bete-
' plied in the allirmative,.and resumed as fillows :]
~ After I came to England I presented a memorial
I.
to the Marquis Wellesley, and grounded my claims
1 to compensation upon the erroneous letter already al-
-1 luded to. To this application I received an answer'
1 from the Noble Marquis, dated Foreign Office, Jan.
21, 1811), -in which my papers were returned to me,
land in which I was infOrmed that his Loldship could
rnot en:er into a consideration of my claims, because of
1 the state of relation in which the Court of Petersburgh
' then stood with regard to this country.— (Hese the
twitoner read the leaer.) But, I am at a loss to know
what connection this could have with my case. Mine
was a consideration of justice which no accidental;
circumstances of policy between-two nations could af:
feet. My next measure was to bring, a serious charge
against Lord Gower and Sir S. Shairpe before the