Star.
London, England, 1818-05-04 00:00:00

FRENCH PAPERS.

CHAMBER OF PEERS; APRIL "5.
M. Vicomte de Montmsirency made a report from
the Committee on Petitions, on a Petition which had
more seriously occupied the.attention of the Com-
mittee, not only because it was distinguished from
the class of ordinary petitions, but because it was
connected with the remembrance of an affair which
afflicted all good Frenchmen, and which implicated
names the most respectable with those which were
less so. A Peer of Great Britain, or to speak more
properly a Peer of Scotland, who was capable by
election of sitting in the Parliament of England
(Lord Kinnaird), had transmitted to the Committee
on Petitions a letter addressed to the Peers of France,
in which he expressed himself in these terms :
" Messieurs—A Frenchman condemned to death by a Pre-

Total Court made an offer of his services to prevent an assasal.
nation meditated against the Duke of Wellington, some dayt
ore that crime was attempted in the month of February last
This informer, who had demanded as the only condition persona'
to himself, a safe conduct to France, and back again to Brussels,
having seen in a letter from the Duke of Wellington, which
bef
gave the assurance that the French Government was ready to
treat with him, 'a guarsoteg nddch appeared sufficient to the
Duke of Richmond and m came to Paris, where every
thing gave reason to believe that he would have it in his power
to perform a great service. The memorial subjoined to this
petition will explain to you the steps which have led to the im-
prisonment of the man who relied on the word of his Govern-
ment. In vain have I invoked the full execution of the engage-
ments entered into with this individual, by my intercession with
the Ministers of the King. A Peer of Great Britain, I feel it
my duty to communicate to the Chamber of Peers of Frantic
this inftaction of a right the most respeetable, by soliciting its
condescending support of my demand wit/ the Ministers of-his
Majesty.-1 have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed)

" znaulao."

To this letter there was annexed a memorial of
great extent, which was too long to be read in the
Chamber. The only fact in it worthy of interesting
ie in an affair which, under all aspect', was foreign
to its jurisdiction, and belonged essentially to the
'Government and the Tribunals, was the sort of *pi:
peal itself, made by a foreigner to the honour of the
French nation in the persons of.its hereditary Magi-
strates. From this there resulted a fear, pushed even
to scrupulousness, that the indifference or the silence,
of the Chamber might allow to subsist even in ap-
,pearance the slightest stain on French honour, in the
violation of a promise or engagement given. The
`Committee was led to think, and the Chamber would
agree with them, that the Government of the King
had shewn the same susceptibility.of delicacy, and
had either made no engagement, or had fulfilled it.
But desiring to give authentic information, they en-
tered into official communication with the President
of the Council of Ministers. The Duke of Richelieu
'offered to attend the Committee, but being prevented
by a diplomatic conference, his place was supplied
by the Count de Cazes, who gave all the information'
that could be desired, and the most complete expla-
nation of what had happened. The result of that
Information was, Ist, that no safe conduct was given
Ow promised, and that the guarantees which might
have been proposed were all conditional. Nothing
could be more authentic -on this subject than the
declaration of the Duke of Wellington, an arbiter in
matters of honour and generosity, whose authority
cannot be refused, and who in this case was mere
particularly-interested in procuring the accomplish-
ment of a promise made to his countryman. The
following is the manner in which he expresses him-
self in a letter to the Minister of General Police :
" Your Excellency will yourself judge whether my
letter, of which I send you a copy,
.says one word
about the journey of Sieur Martinet to Paris, or gives
him any guarantee whatever. You will see that I
have never taken it upon me to promise any thing
to any person in the name of the French Government,
and that those from whom they pretend to have re-
ceived those guirantees deny ever having given them."
The French Government, in its anxious desire to
discover the author and the accomplices of so base
and odious a crime, had announced its intention of
entering into negociation with any person who would
reveal them. The Duke of Wellington, in his letter
to the Minister of. England at the Court of the Ne-
therlands, announcing this intention, added, that he
personally took no part in the affair ; and that he
confined himself to the official or judiciary means of
discovering the guilty. This single phrase in the'
Duke's letter, however, appeared to have been the
grounds of trust on which Lord Kinnaird relied. in
proceeding to Paris with Martinet. Not only was
any authority or encouragement refused them by the
civil and military authorities of Brussels, but we are
assured that these authorities would have taken the
direct means of opposing the journey, had the party
not set out secretly, and without their knowledge.
2dly, It is equally certain that Martinet, left at li-
berty is Paris for several days, was not arrested fur
:thy cause, either directly or indirectly, connected
with his former condemnation, but as suspeeted by
subsequent discoveries of having taken part in the
plot of which he promised the disclosure, and on
which lie had himself given almost no information.
He was arrested by a warrant of the Juge d'lnstruc-
tion. Since it has been necessary to address the
Chambers on this afflicting affair, it may be proper
to tell them that the Authorities have now in their
power, but by means unconnected with the disclo-
sures of Martinet, the man whom there is reason to
believe the assassin, with regard to whom we ought
to guard ourselves against prejudice, and wait the
information procured by the proceedings of the Juge
d'lnstruction. The Committee might limit itself by
proposing the order of the day, on the ground that
the affair was foreign to its jurisdiction; but not
doubting of the wisdom of the measures which the
Government of the King will take, they proposed to
refer the whole to the Council of Ministers.

Driir..—A fatal duel took place on the 26th ult.
at Caen, between Lieutenant PICKFORD and M. MA-
RINIER, in consequence of a dispute arising out of
quarrels between other parties, English and French,
at Caen. Lieutenant MORGAN, of the Navy, was se-
cond to Lieutenant PICKFORD, and M. DuntlissoN,
one of the original disputants, to M. MARINIER.—
There was some dispute about distances ; MARINIER
wanted 15 paces ; PICKFORD said he was no shot and
would allow of none beyond four. To this MARINIER
had no objection, provided he had the first fire.—
PICKFORD insisted they should fire together ; but this
was stiffly opposed. Another proposal wAs then made,
that MARINIER's friend should charge one only of
his pistols with ball. and give PICKFORD the choice •
or that MORGAN should charge with ball one of hia

pair and daould let MAntaTtra choose. This was
acceded to. MARINIER first took one and then PICK
PORD the other. They presented together ; the inter-
val between them was about two feet. After a mo-
ment or two of hesitation, the word was given, and
PICKFORD.S ball struck under his adversary's ribs, on
the right side, and passed through his body. He pre-
sently expired.

I, THE EVENING STAR.

LONDON.

MONDAY, MAY 4, 1818.
THE FUNDS
PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWELVE O'CLOCK
Reduced 8011—Consols 81i—for Acc. 811
4 per Cent. 971-I—Navy Ann:. 1071}
India Bonds 96 98 pr.—Exch. Bills 17 20 pr.
Omniuna SU prem.

The Paris Papers of Thursday last arrived yester-
day, and in a preceding column we have extracted
from them the substance of an interesting Report
made to the Chamber of Peers, on the subject of a
Petition presented to them by Lord KINNAIRD. The
Petition prayed, that the Chamber would inter-
pose its influence with the French Ministers, to ob-
tain a safe conduct back to Brussels for one MAR-
TINET, who, upon a guarantee supposed to be con-
tained in a letter of the Duke of WELLINGTON,
had, with the advice of Lord KINNAIRD, gone to
Paris, to make some disclosures respecting the late
meditated assassination of his Grace, but had been

subsequently thrown into prison on a criminal charge
against himself. The Report proposes that the peti-
tion of Lord KIKNAIRD should be referred to the
Puestoswr of the Council of Ministers ; bnt they
state at the same time, that it appears quite cer-
tain MARTINET was not arrested for any cause
either directly or indirectly connected with his for-
mer condemnation, but in consequence of his being
suspected by subsequent discoveries of having taken
part in the plot of which he promised the disclosure,
and on which he had himself given almost no infor-
mation. The Committee take the opportunity of
adding another fact, which our Readers will be re-
joiced to learn, namely—that " the Authorities have
now in their power, by means unconnected with the dis-
closures of Alartinet, the man, Who, there is reason to
believe, is the assassin."

The papers of Friday have also arrived this morning.
The proceedings in the 26th and 27th sittings of the
trial for the murder of M. FITALDES, occupy nearly
the whole of their columns. BAx, one of the accused,
and who has hitherto stubbornly denied all partici•
pation in the crime, has at length turned informer,
and made a full revelation of the horrid transaction,
particularly inculpating Bastide and Jaussioa, as the
principals in the murder.
F It is to be observed, however, that in the same
breath with which he inculpates Bastide and Jaussion,.
he also accuses Beysiere-Vegnac, a young man, in
favour of whom an almost incontestible alai has
been established. From first to last, there never, per-
haps, was a trial in which human credulity was more
shamefully sported with, by varying and contradic-
tory testimonies, than the present.
French 5 per Cents. 68 fr.

Mails from Flanders and Holland arrived in the
course of yesterday, but the following is the only
article of intelligence which they brought worthy of
notice :