The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-12-12 00:00:00

poini ;rioting down every material information
he could draw from Mrs. Clarke,. upon subjects
not connected immediately with the charges
against the Royal Duke, but with circumstan-
ces relative in general to the private and do.,
mastic memoirs of the Royal Family. The wit-
ness was a long time before he cunt,' be got to
give an explicit answer on this point, and pre-
varicated considerably in the remainder of his
evidence. This part of the witness's conduct
met with the severe animadversion of the Lem rued
Judge, who observed, that nn man of GUM Ilia Ott
decency would have gone such lengths, in grati.
Eying so prurient a curiosity, as the. witness had
evinced, which could be for no good motive.
The witness observed, with considerable smart.
ne.s, that he • had as mulch right as any other
man, to indulge his curiosity. Ile was ordered
to withdraw.

......
Mr. Illingworth, wine-merchant, of Pall-Mall,
was next sworn., and examined by Mr. A1.1.11T.
He said he had known Mai ,r Dodd fur abont
eleven yeais ; but hail never scvn Colonel IVitrille
more than were previous to the tiny Col. %Var.,lle
and Maks*, Dodd called open him in the latter
end of December, 1608, • fur the purpose of
lending his bill to Mrs. Clarke, f.ir 5001.
—The nature of that transacting W 43 thii: The
witness was to give his bill- at three' mouths to
Mrs. Clarke for the purpose of paying Wright ;
and Col. Werdlb and Major Dodd ware to gpar.
suttee him by advancing their own bills fur 3001.
which were to become duo in a few days before
Use 3 months were Atscisidisigly this pro.
ceeding was adopted, end by the time the 2501.
hill became deer, he was put in possession of the
cash tako the 5001. bill up. Wetness called
upon Mrs. Cl:rite to give her the 1011. His never
sa.w her before, and was on that occasion nu more
than live minutes in her company. There was
no secresy imposed by Col. Wardle oil tilts per.
tons acquainted with the transaction.
Simeon Bull, a house-agent, residing iii it elks.
strict, Hanover.square, proved the fact or Mr.
Wright's paying the rent of his house, wliich Mrs.
Clarke bad hired furnished for a month fur her.
self in the magic of Farquhar.
Sarah Mensford, • servant in the family of the
Last witness, corroborated the same circumstance,
and aided, that Mrs. Clarke had tol,l her, on
taking the lodgings, that she was looking out for
a house, which Mr. Wright was to furnish fur
her.
Joseph Cnrt, a roffee.house keeper, residing in
CoyOltry-street, Haymarket, privial that in the
month of October, last year, a lady, named Far.
qnhar, nho afterwards turned out ti be Mrs.
Clarke, applied to him for the purpose of taking
the house In liiresthourite.plaec. 011 enquiring
for a rerumriee, she directed him to Mr. F.
Wright, to whom he immediately applied, and he
gave her Ole character of a resrectable woman,
and adds 1, that if lee had fifty 11:111Jei to let, he
would give her the choice of them 1!1. When
the ern quarter's rent became due, Mr. Wright it
Nisi who paid it.
William Harvey, the carpenter who repaired
the house iq Itiestuourn-place, was called for the
purpose of proving that Wright paid him fur the
work done. therein; However, the expectations
of the Leeriest Counsel In this respect, w.-re dis.
appointed by the esitnesa proving that Mrs. Clarke
paid his bill herself.

M r..Gil/ebaod;.clorktilif 'EMI the attorney
fur the prosecution, prtalticed a copy of the re-
cord of the case of Allen the tailor vet-1:a Mr'.
Clarke, from which it appeared that Mr. Wright
became bail for Mrs. Clarke. '
Here Mr. ALLA:- was.gping to produce the po-
licy of insurance from the Westminster Fire-Of-
fice, iii order to shew that the goods vs hich were
sent by Wright into Mrs. Clarke's house in Writ,
b4iirtie-place, were insured not in the oath. of ,
Clarke but of Farquhar ; but as that circutnatatkee
..as admitted in the Defendant's answer to the
bill in cavity, the Court was of opinion, that fur-
ther enquiry into that business !)C
sulurliu-
ons, in as much as the most it could prove would
be a piece of the grossest Folly end stupidity, on
the part of assuring panic:4, in not having in-
sured the property in the real ovate of the pro-
prietor.
The next witness examined was Sir Richard
hut. who stated, that aliout the period
of the investigation he had a got& deal of conver-
sation Stith Mrs. Clarke, in the course of which
tier deliti became the subject of remark.
Amongst other debts she mentioned a sum of
?OWL 'hi• said she owed to Francis Wright, for
th • furniture then in Westhourne-place, aid was
tarrefi.re anxious t I St II her memoirs at the high-
est price. Th•ie conversations pa,.fed sometimes
at Sir Richard Phillips's own house, n::d :At others
in Westhourne-place.
litre the case on the part of the prosecution
closed.

The ATTORNEY GENrRAL then ro‘e on the
part of the Defendants. He said that the corn.
plexiJit and colour of the p►osecution might be
collected not only from the tumult out of doors
(there had been considerable hussaing as Colonel
Wardle went out of Court), but also by the man.
err in which it had been opened. it was nut Eta
unusual thing fur men in distress to take the in-
dependent line, and inveigh against corruption.
In the manner, however, in which this business
was opened, most serious charges were made. It
was said that men were deprived of valuable em-
ployments wa.ler Government, as a chastisement
for having discharged their duty to the country.
Major Dodd, however, could not himself hear this
statement withnnt expressing seme indignation.;
and the fact was, that he himself (the Attorney
General) had given his opinion with respect to the
propriety of his removri, many months before
Major Dodd had come before the Grand Jury.
As to the conduit of Col. Wardle, it was in evi-
dence on the former trial, that he did perfectly
know that Mrs. Clarke was to be produced as an
evidence against him, and did, in consequence,
send her a threatening letter the before, and
directed his Attorney to tell her, th a if she came
forward on the trial, Scrjeant Best would cut her
up in cress-examination ; and he (Mr. Wardle)

would spoiled a report that it was all a trlek br the
Ministry. If Mrs. Clarke had spoken falsely In
this respect, Mr. Corfield, the Attorney, might
have been called to contradict the stateineut. he
Jury must observe, that in this case, the Defen-
. clams were deprived of their evidence by the ma.
'Kettering of the Prosecutors. The oldest or the
most learned man in the profession of theta*, had
never met, either from his experience, or in his
reading, such a ease as the present., It was a
most nnesnal and ult-licard.of course, and it was in
vain to say that there was no other remedy but an
indictment of conspiracy. If the two witnesses en
the late trial, Mr. Daniel Wright and Mrs. CI irke,
had been guilty of perjury, and that it sup-
posed that Mr. Francis Wright had subortied them
to commit that perjury, the natural mode'of pro-
iceeding would he to indict the witnesses for per.
jury, and to indict Mr. Francis Wright fcir sit-
, burtiation of perjury. His Learned Friend (Mr.
Alley)'wa% then mistaken, when he said thu course'
of justice would have been impeded, if any other
I course hail been takes, besides that of indicting
for conspiracy. The Prosecutor now came for-
; ward with every advantage. He glint the mouths
of the Defendants, by the manner in which he
brought the business forward, and at the same time
he opened his own mouth. He really thought, ,
1 that if he pleased, he niiaht now ask his Lord-
1 ship, %healer there was any evidence at all of a
' conspiracy ? Uiscqual, however, as he might ap.
1 pear in the contest for want of evidence, he did
not decline the contest, however unequal it might
appear ; and if the Jury woialti but favour him
with their attention, lie felt no doubt but that he
would not only prove to their satisfaction, that
there way no conspiracy, but that lie would go
farther and prove to their satisfaction, that the
verdict WAS right. In the year 1808, Mrs.
Clarke appeared by no means poor. Upon an
nlil acc•inet it appeared that she had owed Mr.
Wright 26001. of which she had paid him 20001.
Her situation, however, had much changed of
late ; she had no longer the means for continuing
the great expences to which she had been accus.
tamed, and was absolutely hopeless. At the
time she was met by Colonel Wardle, she was ab-
solutely peunyless. Wright was an upholsterer,
who mas under an obligation to her fur former ere-
: ployment and recommendations, and welsh] have
been happy to have served her ; but at the same
time it would be ridiculous to suppose that he
would trust her with 20001. when she already
owed him above 6001. which he had very little
prospect of ever getting. At the same time,
however, that it was improbable that ..Mr.
' Wright. woeld have trusted her, it was not at all.
improbable, that Mr. Wardle would hare given
her credit. Colonel Wardle was a man, who at
Witt time certainly expected great renown front
the course he was pursuing,. if he had no farther'
personal objects. His whole mind was then fixed
on one single object, %etch was the card by which
he steered his course. At that time it was not
known by those who took a part in the investiga.
lion, that Mr. Wardle had given 1001. within the
'first three days that he ever saw Mrs. Clarke ; and
if the circiiiiistan.!e had been then known, it
,reronitl have excited the utmost degree of astonish-
nent. IVheir it was considered that Mrs.
' Clarke had excluded herself, from th moment
That she joined u ith Colonel Wardle, from the
advantages she once enjoyed mad might still hope
to enjoy, it could not be suppnaed that she would
make so groat a sacrifice, without sufficient pro.
(nisei and inducements. Whether the promises
wore defined or not, still it must be snpposed that
she expected him to do something for her. As to
i Colonel IVardle, he considered him implicated up
'to the chin, as far as any man could be by hind-
'nee and interest, without becoming an iiicompe.
tent witness. As to Major Dodd be knew that
Strathing could t more distressing to his illustrious
PsiefteF, than that this investigation should be pro-
'awarded:in against the Duke of York. Knowing
this, as !Major Dodd, must have known it, what
could have been more indecent than Major Dodd
going from the Dote of Kent to Mrs. Llarke, and
rColonel Wardle, without ever appriabor the illus.
HApes Prince of these visits ? Cuuhl it be supposed !
t Mr. Dodd, as well as Mr. Wardle, was not
salaamd by some censiilerations of great personal
advantage to theinselve- ? Mr. Glenny was the
neat witucss, and lie would appear to be as much
interested as kny of the rest, and he said that it
was by mere accident that he happened to make
the party to go down to look at the Stencil°
Towers ; and yet it appeared that he took notes
not only of military affairs, but even of these
things, %hick it would be supposed no man would
wish to register, the secrets which Mrs. Clarke
chase to divulge respecting the Royal Family. As i
to Culotte] Wardle, there was no improbability at
all in Isis pleding himself for the money. Mrs.
earka was so material i witness to him in the cease
which he had so much at heart, that he could have
throe nothing without her. Its could not even
have opened his case without her. What should
have brought Mr. Wardle into the shop of
Mr. Wright, unless for the purpose stated ? He
had every reason to keep away, and yet he was
found spending half an hour, or three quarters of
an hour, in the shop at one time. Nothing could be
more probable than the account given of this by
the Defendant. Francis Wright said, that he
would not have trusted goods out of his shop, un.
less the person on whom he could rely for payment
had been introduced. This ass a good reason for
Mr. Wardle's beiog seen in the shop of Mr. W.
and it was the only good reason. As to the mote
of Mr. I llingworth, it appeared altogether a jug.
gle. There was no reason for the circuitous round.
about course that was taken, but that it was abso-
lutely necessary to conceal the names of Major
Dodd and Mr. Wardle. If they had given
their names directly to Mr. Wright, it would hart
been impossible to conceal the degree in which
they were connected with Mrs. Clarke. The re-
ceipt which had been produced, appeared to be
in itself conclusive of the cause, It rat, as fol.
lows :—" Received from Mr. Illingworth, an ac.
ceptance of 5001. which, when paid, will be um
account of goods delivered to Mrs. Mary Ann
Clarke, at her house in Wesibmirne-place."
LloW
_did that receipt, which—was in their pos.

7 •