Star.
London, England, 1820-10-09 00:00:00

. HOUSE OF LORDS, OCTOBER 7.
DEFENCV.—FIFTII DAY.
(In eaniistsiatimfrms at of Sarzedny's STA IL)
'• Ernaiinotion of Lady CUADLOTTN LIND WY
The LORD C 11.% NCELLOR :aid, he untlerStoo.ther Lady-
ship.to hbme stated she left the Princess in consequence of a
tonimunkation from her brother, • and that it was .mad: in
writing ;he conceived that-her Ladyship might be asked its to the ,
general terms of the letter.
-The Earl of L A UD eIRDA LE to Lady Charlotte-Lindsay.—
Can your Ladyship state the general terms of that letter?—l
have nu distinct recollection of it, farther than a wish that I
should resign my situation, and stating some pecuniary arrange-
ments consequent on it.
Cen your Ladyship say whether your brother gave his advice
without assigning any reason for it?—l do not recollect that be
did; but I have -some indistinct idea that the reports already
entioned might have been stated In the letter. • ' " *
To what reports do you alludga.eThe reports which, in an.
ewer to a question from a Noble Lord, I meationed. yesterday
—reports of an unpleasant nature whiCh induced me to wish to
leave my situation. • - 0. 1T-
Lord ERSKINE.—DOes your Ladyship mean those cern'
which were inconsistent with your own observations?
Question objected to.
JAn II hilcombe was' then called in, and was on the point of
being sworn, when
The "Rad of LAUDERDA LI.: rose, and said, that, as new
difficulties might arise, he thought the House. should wait the
return of the Judges, and not proceed to the examination of
other witnesses.
Lord 110 L LIN D did not conceive the presence : F the Judges
necessary during the examination of a witness, or even during
the arguments of Counsel, as their opinion should be given in-
dependent of both.
The Esil of LIVERPOOL had no objection to their Lord-
ships' goitie, on, alzhaugh it was contrary to the course they had
hitherto adopted.
Tile Earl of LACDF.R DALE contensled, that the Judges
should not be called on for their opinion Without hearing the
arguments of Counsel.
John White:num. teas thcn sworn, and examined by Mr. TYNDA LL.
What situation in life do you hold?:1 am valet to the Hon.
Keppel Craven.
How long have you held that situation?—Six years. •
Were you in the service of Mr. Craven when the Princess of
Wales went to Naples?—Yes, I was. .
Ho you remember, on the first night of your arrival at Naples,
where Bergami slept ?.—No, I do not.
• hive you seen the room'.'—No, I never saw it.
Do you recollect the room where Bergami slept on the second
night ?—l'es, perfectly well. • .
Was there a passage cammunicating between that room and
the room of the Princess?—There was a long passage, at one
end of which was the room of her Royal Highness, and at the
other end was that of Bergami. '

In which room did William Austin sleep ?—ln the room next
• her Royal Highness.
Where did I lieronimus sleep?—Next to William Austin.
'Where did Dr. Holland sleep?—Next to Hieronimus.
Did these three roams lay on the same -side of the passage?
—Yes.
Was there a door from the room of Hieronimus.that opened
in the passage?—Yes there was. •
Where did the door of Dr. Holland's room open into ?—lnto
another passage towards the dining-room.
Was Dr. Holland's room at the corner of the two passages?—
It was. .
Did the dopr of Dr. Holland's roam open opposite to the door
of Beigami's room?—No, BergamN room did not open into that
passage. De Mont slept in a room over that of Dr. Holland. I lie
been iu that room frequently, late as well as early. De Mont
generally invited him to go there. Another female servant of
the house was sometimes present, but has been alone with De
Mont in the room very frequently. Oa some occasions, when ,
thus alone with her, the.door was locked and bolted.
The Soxicivosti:Gemen.xx here interfered. He s.dd, that the
object of this course of examination must be evident to their
Lordships, and surely no argumentswas necessary to show that
it was illegitimate.
Mr. Dvistax:22- My Lirdi, we ivill not pursue it.
The LORD CHA NCELLOIL—You have pushed it as far
as you possibly could—(.4 bough).
Examination resumed.
RecoUtos the masked ball given at Naples. Part of
.the
sorrants were dressed in character; Sicard, Dergami; and ilie-
ronimus, after the Turkish fashion. Sass. Ilergami, in the latter
part of the evening, in his plain clothes.. He was walking about
the rooms, and at times. assisting in handing aSout refreshments.
Wa:s at Naples all the time the Princess was there. Bergami
conducted hiin-.1.1f towards the Princess in the same way as the
rest of the servants—as they all did. ,

Croweramisted by the Souctvote-GENERAL.—From a long series
of questions about the position of the rooms, unnecessary to be
repeated, it appeared that besides the passage common to the
rooms of the Princess, Dr. Holland, Hieronimus, William
Austin, and Sagami, there was another parallel passage by
which B..rgami could go to the room of the Princess, without'
passing the room doors of Dr. Holland, &c.
Jhe witness being ordered to withdraw.
Lied IiSK INE rose, and requested the attention of their
Lordships to that part of De Mont's evidence which related to
lit.r sleeping alone at Naples. She had sworn that she had .lept
alone " every night"—" The whole night"—" Alone"—" All
alone ;" and that she did not recollect where Mr. Keppel Cra-
ven's servant slept on any one night, While at Naples. Ills
Lordship' wished that the witness Whitcombe should be re-
called, and asked whether he passed any night, or part of a
night, in the roam of De Mont when she was there and in bed'.'

`The Souciroii-Cinutarin submitted .to their Lordships, that
the question was one which ot.glit not to be put. It was at-
tempting to do that circuitously and by a aide wind, which could
not have been done directly. The objnt of it was to fix the
guilt of a certain connection do Re Mont; and if, as he submit.;
ted, t? be quite clear, De Mont could. not have been asked to
criminate herself; it was ipcompetent by questions to another
witness to come at the same result.

Lord ERSKINE vindicated his right to put the question.—
A witness night be asked a • question which he was act bound
to answer, but nothing could prevent Counsel from putting it.
Ilis Lordship when at the Bar had once tendered a Bill of Ex-
ceptions on this very point, and though that Bill had not been
argued, as the cause-it raerred to was of no importance, it
had ever since been regarded as a settled rule of practice, that
Counsel might put questions to a witness, tending to criminate
that witness, leaving it in the Gptinn of the witness to answer
them or not. When Dc 3lont was asked whether she had slept
alone, no objection was taken to the relevancy of the inquiry;
and his Lordship could not see how it was now irrelevant to as-
certain whether the answer she gave to that question was tree
or false.

The LORD CHANCELLOR observed, that when he first
entered into practice at the Bar, the tele was, that when a
question was put to a witness, the answer to which might critni-
nate that witness, the Judge put the witness on his guard ;
but more recently the practice Ball been altered, and it was
now usual to allow a criniinawry question to be put, leav-
ing it to the witness to determine for himself whether he
should answer it or net. At the same time, it was equally a
settled rule of practice, that if a witness was asked a question,
tending to fix on him the guilt of some offence, and if he a 6.
swered by a denial, it was not afterwards competent to prove
by other witnesses that he was guilty. ity .Tpealing to the
witness's own testimony, the right to resort to any other
testimony was for aver and completely abandoned. Time only
difficulty, therefore, which remained in the present ease,
was, to determine whether the questions put to De Mant, as
to her sleeping alone, necissatily it.Volved the imputation of an
impute connection? If they did, then, in his I.ordshi2's
nion, the question proposed by his Noble and Learned Frie:.d
(Lord Erskine), could nut be pin.
Lord LIVERPOOL said, that it was possible to. reconci:e