The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-06-23 00:00:00

THE WATERLOO BANQUET.

On ThUrsday evening his Grace the Duke of Wellington
gave his annual banquet at Apsley House, in celebration of
the battle of Waterloo.
H yAdegfpeaartk7a d among h
number of pertsoe crnscoold were
lvlectedatretchoegngiasteeds
and in
several
veterans, wearing their medals, adorned with a laurel leaf.
During the arrival of the gallant guests the band of the gre-
nadier guards (the duke's regiment), stationed in the hall,
played marches and selections from the most admired operas.
The whole of the officers who were engaged in that glorious
victory were invited.
The noble duke, who was in excellent health and spirits,
sat at the head of the table, supported on the right by Lord
Hill, (a seat of honour usually occupied by the Marquis of
Anglesey.) We believe the noble marquis was prevented din-
ing with his grace from slight indisposition.
Covers were laid for seventy, and among the gallant muster
were recognised General Lord Hill, Lord Fitzroy Somerset,
General Viscount Beresford, Major-General Sir Hussey
Vivian, Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart.,
M.P.,
John Lord Sandys, Lord Saltoun, Colonel Gurwood, Sir
Lambert, Sir Peregrine Maitland, Colonel Macdonald,
Colonel Rowen, Colonel Ellice, Sir Andrew Barnard, Col.
Townshend, Colonel Davies, Colonel Clive, Sir Edward Bo-
water, Colonel Drummond, Colonel Freemantle, Colonel
Money, Sir George Quentin, Colonel B. Drummond, Sir
Thomas Reynell, Lord Harris,- Sir Colin Halkett, Major-
General Wyndham, Sir Henry Hardinge, Sir Charles Broke
Vere, General D'Oyley, Colonel Reeve, Colonel Ellison, Sir
James Clark, Sir Robert Gardner, &c.
There were also his Excellency General Alava, the Spanish
minister, and his Excellency Prince Castelciela, the envoy
extraordinary from the King of Naples.
All the guests were in full uniform, and wore all their de-
corations. _ _

At the termination of the repast, " the Queen" was the
first toast, and the customary toasts " the- memory of the
heroes who fell at Waterloo," and " the health of our brave
companions in arms," were given in due order.
The party separated shortly_ before half-past ten.

`4k.

~,
-~~ .C,

TRIAL OF COUIIVOISIER, FOR THE MURDER
OF LORD WILLIAM RUSSELL.

, THURSDAY.
This case cameFIRST on for triAY al on Thursday morning last,
before Lord Chief Justice Tindal and Mr. Baron Parke.
Ten o'clock was the hour fixed for the commencement of
business, and about a quarter of an hour before that time his
Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex entered the court, pre=
ceded by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, who conducted him
to a seat on the bench. The whole court rose to receive his
royal highness. Some of the nobility and gentry were also
present, and every part of the court was excessively crowded.
A model of the house in which the unfortunate nobleman
was murdered, was placed upon the table in the centre of
the court.
The counsel for the prosecution were Mr. Adolphus, Mr.
Bodkin, and Mr. Chambers; and for the prisoner, Mr. C.
Phillips and Mr. Clarkson,
The prisoner, Francis Benjamin Courvoisier, was placed
at the bar at ten o'clock. He looked pale, and thinner than
when under examination at Bow-street, but he seemed firm
and collected. Having been arraigned, be pleaded not guilty
in a low tone of voice; and, in reply to the clerk of the
arraigns, said, that he would be tried by an English jury,
waiving his right of having half the jury composed of fo-
reigners.
Mr. ADOLPHUS stated the case for the prosecution. It
was, he said, a most remarkable circumstance, that the father
and brother of the deceased nobleman had both come to an
untimely end, but their deaths had been the effect of acci-
dent, whereas Lord William Russell, in the retirement and
seclusion of his own house, at the advance of 73 years, had
been most foully murdered, and it was the object of their
present inquiry to determine whether that murder had been
perpetrated by the prisoner at the bar or not. The learned
counsel proceeded to detail the transactions of the day pre-
vious to the murder,
_as they related to the deceased and
Courvoisier, the state of the house on the following morn-
ing, the behaviour of the prisoner, and the discoveries which
had subsequently been made of the property concealed in his
pantry and elsewhere. Having taken a close survey of the
evidence that was to be brought forward, and drawn his
conclusions from its several parts, the learned counsel
said, that he would next anticipate the probable defence.
It might be said that the prisoner was without motive.
But there was not altogether an absence of motive. It
would appear in evidence, that the prisoner was un-
happy, and had a desire to return to his own country.
He also supposed, as foreigners e ierally do, that English
noblemen always have a considerable some of money about
them. The natural supposition from seeing the Russia box
with the ivory rouleaus constantly in his lordship's possession
was, that they were filled with gold ; and, if so, here was
sufficient motive. Foreigners, unfortunately, generally made
murder the prelude to robbery ; and the prisoner undoubtedly
expected to get a large plunder in ready money, which would
have enabled him to escape at once ; but, being disappointed
in this expectation, he adopted the measures he had done to
induce the supposition that a burglary had been committed.
Doubtless the jury would be warned against convicting on
circumstantial evidence ; and "he would read to them what
had been said in the case of Patch, who was tried for murder
thirty-six years ago, on the subject of circumstantial evidence.
Chief Baron M`Donald then said, that the circumstantial
evidence was more satisfactory when the chain was complete,
than even direct evidence. It might also be attempted to
show, that the witness Mansell was unworthy of credit, and,
from what had been published, he imagined that such would
be the defence. Her character had never been impeached.
He then proceeded to vindicate the character of the police
from any imputation that might be cast upon them. The
Bedford family merely prosecuted here as petitioners for
public justice; they had no desire to hunt an unprotected
foreigner to an ignominious death. The feelings of pity
might be appealed to; but let them remember, that mercy
was a mitigation of punishment, not a denial of justice. The
safety of the community depended upon the verdict of juries
in cases similar to this ; and it was for them to determine
whether the defenceless female, the decrepid old man, and
the helpless infant should retire to rest and remain in their
beds in safety.
The first witness called was Sarah Mancell, the house-
maid, whose testimony was similar to that given at the preli-
minary investigation. The witness was cross-examined, at
great length, on behalf of the prisoner, by Mr. Phillips. The
only material point elicited was, that a step-ladder was kept
on the premises, which was sometimes placed in the back-
yard, and sometimes in the bath-room which opened from
the yard. On Tuesday Courvoisier, at her request, carried
this ladder out of the passage of the house, and on the morn-
ing of Wednesday it was found leaning against the wall, with
the summit of which its upper part was nearly level, so that
any person could have put his foot from it over the wall.
Respecting this ladder, not a word had been said in the evi-
dence given at the preliminary investigation.
Mary Hammen, the cook, gave testimony similar to that
already published. On cross-examination, she corroborated
the statements of last witness in relation to the ladder.
William Yorke, the coachman, Emanuel Byring, butler to
a gentleman in the neighbourhood, Mr. Elsgood and Mr.
Nussey, the surgeons, Thomas Selwyn, a servant at the
house next door to that of the deceased, and Baldwin, a
policeman, repeated their former evidence. Nothing ma-
terial was elicited in the cross-examination of the witnesses.
The examination of Baldwin concluded the day's proceedings,
and at five o'clock the court was adjourned until ten o'clock
the following morning.
The prisoner, during the latter part of the day, was accom-
modated with a chair. His firmness never deserted him for
a ino---‘

SECOND DAY—FRIDAY.
The trial was resumed at ten o'clock on Friday.
Mr. Adolphus said, that, before proceeding with the trial,
he had to inform the court, that some additional evidence
had been procured yesterday, and he wished to know whether
he should state to the court what it was? Chief Justice
Tindal asked if the counsel for the defence wished to hear it?
Mr. Phillips wished to hear nothing on the subject. He had
only heard of this evidence about a quarter of an hour ago.
The officers of police who had examined the premises of
the late Lord William Russell, gave their testimony touch-
ing the course of the scrutiny, and the discoveries which they
had made. Each of them underwent a searching cross-ex-
amination, but nothing new was brought to light. Ellis, his
lordship's former valet, was called, and he identified the
plate, the locket, and other property, and also several articles
of plate produced by Mr. Cummins, a solicitor.
By the evidence of Mr. Harrison, a clerk in the bank of
Messrs. Hoare and Co. of Mr. Thos. Wing, solicitor, and of
the Baroness de Clifford, the £lO note found iu the prisoner's
pantry was traced to his deceased lordship's possession. Lady
Sarah Bailey repeated her former testimony respecting the
locket. Charles Ellis, the keeper of the hotel at Richmond,
where his lordship supposed he had left the lost locket, pro-
duced the letter which was written to him by Lord Russell on
the subject, and described the search that was made in conse-
quence. The watchmaker, who repaired his lordship's watch,
identified the watch found concealed in the sink as the same
that he had in hand. The next witness called was
Charlotte Piolaine : My husband's name is L6uis, I live
in Leicester-place, Leicester-square. I know the prisoner at
the bar. I have known him about four years. He came to
take a place as waiter at our hotel about four years ago. We
used to call him " John." French is the language generally
spoken at the hotel. He stayed a month or five weeks. 1
never saw him afterwards until about six weeks ago. He
asked me how I was, and after remaining a short time, he
went away. He knocked at the door, and 1 said " come in,"
and he walked in. I did not recognise him at the moment,
and he said, " Don't you recollect me ? " I said" No," and
he said, " I am John, that used to live with yon in the
square." He said he was in a situation. In about a fortnight
afterwards he again called on a Sunday. He asked me how I
was. He had a parcel in his hand. It was a paper parcel.
He asked, me to take care of it till the Tuesday following, and
he would call for it. I said I would do so, and he left it and
went away. I locked up the parcel in the closet. I did not
know what the parcel contained at the time. It was tied up
and sealed. I never saw him since. I heard of the murder
of Lord Wm. Russell. The parcel was left before I heard of
the murder. I took the parcel out in consequence of some-
thing I saw in a French newspaper. My cousin read it to me,
and showed it to me. I had some communication with my
cousin, and I sent for Mr. Cumming and another person be-
fore whom the parcel was opened. It had never been opened
before from the time it came into my possession. The parcel
produced is the one left with me. It contained silver spoons
and forks, and two pair of new stockings, an instrument for
for assisting hearing, and a jacket. There was tow in the
parcel, which prevented the plate being felt. We immediately
put up the parcel again, after making an inventory of the
articles, I signed the inventory before putting up the parcel.
Re-examined : There is no pretence on earth for calling
our hotel a gaming-house. The police never took any one
out of the house. I used to talk to my husband about things
that passed and forgot them. I had no idea that the person
I knew as " Jean" was Francis Benjamin Courvoisier. There
is not such a thing as a backgammon table in the house.
By the Court : The parcel was left about a week or a fort-
night before the murder.
Cross-examined : Our house is an hotel. A billiard-table
is kept at our house. The police have not been there lately.
There was no gang of suspected persons taken out of the
house lately, I have never heard of such a thing. The house
is frequented by foreigners. The prisoner was called " John"
for convenience. I never knew him by any other'name. We
take the English papers in. I very seldom read them. I
have not often heard of the murder of Lord William Russell.
My husband is in France : he is master of the hotel. He
has been in France a fortnight. Ido not recollect him speak-
ing to me of the murder. Igo to church on Sunday, but I
never saw placards of the papers as large as he who runs may
read, containing the words, Murder of Lord William Rus-
sell." 1 heard of the murder the day after it occurred. 1
cannot recollect whether I spoke to my husband about it.
I have not time to recollect those things. I was shocked,
but I do not recollect talking about it to his partner, to my
knowledge. I did not say anything about it to anybody, that
I remember. I cannot say whether I spoke to my husband
during three weeks about the murder.
Louis Garde, an acquaintance of M. Piolaine, deposed,
that he was at the house of the latter, on a Sunday, when a
man left a parcel there. He could not say it was the pri-
soner, or that the parcel produced was the same, as, being
only a visitor, he did not give much attention to the circum-
stance. He was taken to the hotel the preceding day, by the
partner of M. Piolaine, in consequence of something which
the latter had read in a French newspaper.
It appears, that the paragraph in the French journal was
copied from an English paper, with an addition, to the effect,
that the murder being supposed to have been committed by
a foreigner, it was probable the plate might be lodged in the
house of some foreigner.
Mr. Louis Garde further stated, that the parcel was pro-
duced in the presence of Mr. Cumming, Mr. Vincent,
Madame Piolaine, and himself, and an inventory of its con-
tents made out and signed by them all. He believed it was
shortly before the murder of Lord William Russell that be
saw the parcel delivered.
Richard Cumming, the gentleman who had produced the
articles shown to Ellis, the valet, deposed as follows :—I am
opened
p e a
r ee clientlit. w ofs
My
mine.
a solicitor, and carry on business in Old Jewry. I saw Mr.
producedyadvice
dv iee w to s
Garde and Mr. Vincent at my office yesterday. Piolaine is
not
Wea wamseken,etdtti
on
nd thetehpe i
hsoeutbe brown
jlec t
opftogether,eoppee paper.
andn
agl
it. I made '
a list of the articles it contained, and put it up
again. Before doing it up I saw the crest on the forks and
spoons, and I went to the bookseller's
shop to ascertain
whose crest it was. I found it was the crest of the Bedford
family, and I i
went to a magistrate and was told to come here.
I came about six o 'clock, and sent a note to the solicitor for
the prosecution. I then came in and
to Mr. Wing and Mr. Nobler. Th
e made a communication
padrcel w was wrapped in
brown paper. The spoons, forks, a
plateshown to Ellis
were those found in the parcel. There has been an address
on the parce
was l. It is nearly erased. Besides the spoons and
forks, there an ear a n
pparatus in the parcel. It
contained,
in in all, four table spoons, four dessert spoons, two silver tea
spoons, four silver forks, one leather box, containing an
instrument for the ears, two pairs of white stockings, one
pair of white socks with marks on each, [they are marked
" C 4",] one flannel jacket, and a small quantity of tow.
Mr. Mortimer, a print-seller, identified the paper in which
the articles alluded to were wrapped as having been sent from
his shop. It was his practice to put a ticket of his address
on parcels, and he had, on the 27th April, sent his lordship,
who MIS a customer, a parcel containing a print of " The
Vision of Ezekiel." Mr. Vincent, the person alluded.to by
Mr. Cumming, corroborated the statements of the witness es
relative to the opening of the parcel • Eleanor Brooks, who
• had washed for the prisoner, examined the socks produced.
'socks
were were marked with Cin the heel. The prisoners Thomas Davies, a
were always marked C. B. at the top.
workman in the employ of Mr. Webster, an optician, proved,
that the silver instruments for assisting hearing,,
Lord William
Russell from the parcel, were made by his master for
Russell : and the valet, Ellis, and Sarah Mancell, the
house-
maid, stated, that they had seen similar instruments in his
lordship's possession. The jacket found in the parcel was