Richardson, for Mr. Richardson not being a member of the Stock Exchange, the Committee had no controul over him to exact information from him.
Mr. b.u.t.t had employed Mr. Richardson on the Sat.u.r.day preceding, to purchase fifty thousand omnium, of which he the same day sold thirty; and so anxious was Mr. b.u.t.t on that Sat.u.r.day to be possessed of as much stock as possible, that he endeavoured to persuade Mr. Richardson to purchase one hundred and fifty thousand, but Mr. Richardson trembled at the idea of making so large a speculation, and refused to go beyond the fifty thousand.
You have these persons, then, linked together in such manner, as will render them perfectly inseparable in these various stock transactions; having dealt for some little time; having bought and having sold; having this tremendous balance, this world of Stock, under which they were, on the Sat.u.r.day evening, bending and groaning, on the Monday morning they had disburthened themselves completely of this with a profit of a little more than ten thousand pounds. If the telegraph had worked, that ten thousand would have been nearer a hundred thousand--that the telegraph did not work, was not to be ascribed either to them or to their agent.
Gentlemen, when all this was ascertained, the Committee apprised those who had appointed them of the result of their labours; they printed an account for the information of the members of the Stock Exchange; they then had some private information, that Du Bourg really was De Berenger; but on enquiry for Mr. De Berenger, they found he was gone off; they had not, therefore, any positive proof, and on that account they very prudently said nothing upon the subject. When they had printed this information, for the use of their own members only; it did get out, and there were published in the newspapers some accounts of their reports, some of them correct, and some of them incorrect, but sufficient undoubtedly to direct the eyes of all men to these three individuals, Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t.
Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t, felt that it was requisite for them to give some explanation upon this subject. Mr. b.u.t.t was extremely indignant at suspicions being thrown out respecting him, he abused those who had libelled and slandered him, and threatened prosecution, a threat which he has not executed, nor ever will. Mr.
Cochrane Johnstone, too, equally threatened prosecution, and he has equally failed in the execution of his threat; but one fact stated by the Committee, roused the indignation of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone. It had been stated by the Committee, that whereas Mr. Cochrane Johnstone and Mr. b.u.t.t, had been satisfied before the 21st of February with doing business at the office of their agent, that on that morning they commenced business at an office, taken by Mr. Cochrane Johnstone for the use of Mr. Fearn, in Shorter"s Court, Throgmorton-street, an office most conveniently situated, just by the side door of the Stock Exchange itself. This office consisted of three rooms, in one of which rooms were Mr. Cochrane Johnstone and Mr. b.u.t.t; in a second Mr. Fearn, and in the third a Mr. Lance, a person also employed by them; and the Committee stated, from Mr. Fearn"s information, that Mr. Cochrane Johnstone had taken this office for Mr. Fearn, even without his (Mr. Fearn"s) knowledge.
Mr. Cochrane Johnstone was extremely angry at this; he declared it to be a most unqualified falsehood, and that he was ready to swear positively, that he never had done any such thing; that the office was Mr. b.u.t.t"s, and that Mr. b.u.t.t had given it up to Mr. Fearn; now that would not signify much, for I will shew, that Mr. b.u.t.t and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone are one and the same. Gentlemen, I am sorry to say, that after what I have seen of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone"s conduct in this transaction, I am not surprised at his denying this, merely because his denial is in contradiction to the fact, but I am surprised that he should dare to deny it, when I have a contradiction not only by a witness, but by a letter under his own hand. I will prove to you, by the owner of the house, that Mr. Cochrane Johnstone did take this office; he not only took this office, but he was desirous of taking the whole house; he had taken the office before the 17th of February, and on the 17th of February he called on Mr. Addis, who had the letting of the house, and he wrote and left on his desk this letter: "Sir, I called again upon you to know if you have power to sell the house, part of which I have taken." This is Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, who is ready to swear that he never took any office at all--"_part of which I have taken_." Gentlemen, mark the remainder, and apply it to the morning of the 21st of February.--"_As I find there are several persons in the house at present, which is rather awkward, and makes it too public_--WALLS HAVE EARS." Mr. Cochrane Johnstone and Mr. b.u.t.t did not like that their consultations should be liable to be overheard--their guilt might then be proved by other than circ.u.mstantial evidence. "If you have powers to sell, I will immediately treat with you; have the goodness, therefore, to leave the terms with your clerk, or send them to me at No. 18, Great c.u.mberland-street. I will however call again this day, before I return to the West end of the Town."
Gentlemen, that is the letter of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and so much for Mr. Cochrane Johnstone"s denial of his having taken the office in Shorter"s Court.
Gentlemen, besides this denial of the fact, and this offer to swear to it, these Gentlemen chose to make some criticisms on the report printed by the Committee of the Stock Exchange, and the first criticism was one of great importance.--One person had said, that Colonel Du Bourg got out of the post chaise into the hackney coach, and another person said, he got into the hackney coach having just alighted from the post chaise, and it was supposed that that was a material contradiction. You will find the fact to be, that he stepped from the one into the other.
Another was, that one person called the great coat, a _mixture_, and another called it _brown_. In truth it was a greyish mixture, a military great coat.
Another was, that one person had called the lace on the cap _gold_, and another called it _silver_. It happens to be a pale gold, which according to the light in which you view it, will appear like either gold or silver. I will produce to you a fac simile of both coat and cap.
But it was felt that these criticisms would not suffice. Lord Cochrane must account for his visitor, and Lord Cochrane came forward with a declaration upon this subject, in a manner, which, I confess, appears to me most degrading. If a person of his rank thought fit to give any declaration, I should have thought that the mode of giving it would have been under the sanction of his honor. Lord Cochrane thought otherwise, and he chose to give it under the half and half sanction of a _voluntary affidavit_. I call it so, Gentlemen, for this reason, that although he who makes a voluntary affidavit attests his G.o.d to its truth, he renders himself amenable to no human tribunal for its falsehood, for no indictment for perjury can be maintained upon a voluntary affidavit. I wish that none of these voluntary affidavits were made; I wish that Magistrates would not lend their respectable names to the use, or rather to the abuse, which is made of these affidavits; for whether they are employed to puff a quack medicine or a suspected character, they are I believe, always used for the purpose of imposition.
Gentlemen, this affidavit I have before me, and I will prove the publication of it upon Lord Cochrane, it is thus prefaced:
"Having obtained leave of absence to come to Town, in consequence of scandalous paragraphs in the public papers, and in consequence of having learnt that hand bills had been affixed in the streets, in which (I have since seen) it is a.s.serted, that a person came to my house, No. 13, Green-street, on the 21st day of February, in open day, and in the dress in which he had committed a fraud, I feel it due to myself to make the following deposition, that the public may know the truth relative to the only person seen by me in military uniform at my house on that day.
COCHRANE."
"Dated 13, Green-street, March 11th, 1814."
Now comes the Affidavit:
"I Sir Thomas Cochrane, commonly called Lord Cochrane, having been appointed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to active service (at the request I believe of Sir Alexander Cochrane) when I had no expectation of being called on, I obtained leave of absence to settle my private affairs previous to quitting this country, and chiefly with a view to lodge a specification to a patent, relative to a discovery for increasing the intensity of light. That in pursuance of my daily practice of superintending work that was executing for me, and knowing that my uncle, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, went to the City every morning in a coach, I do swear on the morning of the 21st of February, (which day was impressed on my mind by circ.u.mstances which afterwards occurred) I breakfasted with him, at his residence in c.u.mberland-street, about half past eight o"clock, and I was put down by him (and Mr. b.u.t.t was in the coach) on Snow-hill about ten o"clock; that I had been about three quarters of an hour at Mr. King"s manufactory, at No. 1, c.o.c.k-lane, when I received a few lines on a small bit of paper, requesting me to come immediately to my house; the name affixed from being written close to the bottom, I could not read; the servant told me it was from an army officer, and concluding that he might be an officer from Spain, and that some accident had befallen to my brother, I hastened back, and found Captain Berenger, who, in great seeming uneasiness, made many apologies for the freedom he had used, which nothing but the distressed state of his mind, arising from difficulties, could have induced him to do; all his prospects he said had failed, and his last hope had vanished of obtaining an appointment in America, he was unpleasantly circ.u.mstanced on account of a sum which he could not pay, and if he could that others would fall upon him, for full 8000. He had no hope of benefitting his creditors in his present situation, or of a.s.sisting himself, that if I would take him with me, he would immediately go on board and exercise the Sharp Shooters (which plan Sir Alexander Cochrane I knew had approved of;) that he had left his lodgings and prepared himself in the best way his means allowed. He had brought the sword with him which had been his father"s, and to that and to Sir Alexander he would trust for obtaining an honorable appointment. I felt very uneasy at the distress he was in, and knowing him to be a man of great talent and science, I told him I would do every thing in my power to relieve him, but as to his going immediately to the Tonnant with any comfort to himself, it was quite impossible; my cabin was without furniture, I had not even a servant on board. He said he would willingly mess any where; I told him that the ward-room was already crouded, and besides, I could not, with propriety, take him, he being a foreigner, without leave from the Admiralty. He seemed greatly hurt at this, and recalled to my recollection certificates which he had formerly shewn me from persons in official situations: Lord Yarmouth, General Jenkinson, and Mr. Reeves, I think, were amongst the number. I recommended him to use his endeavour to get them or any other friends to exert their influence, for I had none, adding that when the Tonnant went to Portsmouth, I should be happy to receive him, and I knew from Sir Alexander Cochrane that he would be pleased if he accomplished that object. Captain Berenger said, that not antic.i.p.ating any objection on my part from the conversation he had formerly had with me, he had come away with intention to go on board and make himself useful in his military capacity.
He could not go to Lord Yarmouth or to any other of his friends in this dress, (alluding to that which he had on) or return to his lodgings, where it would excite suspicion (as he was at that time in the rules of the King"s Bench) but that if I refused to let him join the ship now, he would do so at Portsmouth. Under present circ.u.mstances however he must use a great liberty, and request the favor of me to lend him a hat to wear instead of his military cap. I gave him one which was in a back room with some things that had not been packed up, and having tried it on, his uniform appeared under his great coat, I therefore offered him a black coat that was laying on a chair, and which I did not intend to take with me; he put up his uniform in a towel, and shortly afterwards went away, in great apparent uneasiness of mind, and having asked my leave he took the coach I came in, and which I had forgotten to discharge, in the haste I was in. I do further depose, that the above conversation is the substance of all that pa.s.sed with Captain Berenger, which from the circ.u.mstances attending it, was strongly impressed upon my mind; that no other person in uniform was seen by me at my house on Monday, the 21st of February, though possibly other officers may have called, (as many have done since my appointment;) of this however I cannot speak of my own knowledge, having been almost constantly from home, arranging my private affairs. I have understood that many persons have called under the above circ.u.mstances, and have written notes in the parlour, and others have waited there, in expectation of seeing me, and then gone away; but I most positively swear that I never saw any person at my house resembling the description and in the dress stated in the printed advertis.e.m.e.nt of the Members of the Stock Exchange. I further aver, that I had no concern, directly or indirectly, in the late imposition, and that the above is all that I know relative to any person who came to my house in uniform on the 21st day of February, before alluded to. Captain Berenger wore a grey great coat, a green uniform, and a military cap. From the manner in which my character has been attempted to be defamed, it is indispensibly necessary to state that my connection in any way with the funds arose from an impression that in the present favorable aspect of affairs, it was only necessary to hold stock in order to become a gainer, without prejudice to any body; that I did so openly, considering it in no degree improper, far less dishonorable; that I had no secret information, of any kind, and that had my expectation of the success of affairs been disappointed, I should have been the only sufferer. Further I do most solemnly swear, that the whole of the omnium on account which I possessed on the 21st day of February, 1814, amounted to 139,000, which I bought by Mr. Fearn (I think) on the 12th ultimo, at a premium of 28-1/4; that I did not hold on that day any other sum on account, in any other stock, directly or indirectly, and that I had given orders when it was bought to dispose of it on a rise of one per cent. and it actually was sold on an average at 29-1/2 premium, though on the day of the fraud it might have been disposed of at 33-1/2. I further swear, that the above is the only stock which I sold, of any kind, on the 21st day of February, except 2000 in money, which I had occasion for, the profit of which was about 10. Further I do solemnly depose, that I had no connection or dealing with any one, save the above mentioned, and that I did not at any time, directly or indirectly, by myself or by any other, take or procure any office or apartment for any broker or other person for the transaction of stock affairs."
Gentlemen, Lord Cochrane has complained that he was not called upon by the Committee of the Stock Exchange to give his explanation personally.
It appears to me that he has no reason to complain that they did not so call upon him--would that he had been so called upon: what would any man have given to be present to see whether any human countenance was equal to the grave relation of this extraordinary story. Let us examine it, Lord Cochrane tells us that being at this manufactory of Mr. King"s he received a note, the name of the writer of which he cannot read, yet, that he hastens home directly; engaged as he is in the superintending the making of a Lamp for which he had a patent--engaged too in this tremendous stock account, which is at this very moment, under the guardian care of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone and Mr. b.u.t.t, abruptly closing, he instantly quits the City, and hastens home to see a person whose signature he cannot decypher, and when he comes there he finds Mr. De Berenger to be the writer of the note, and he has all this extraordinary conversation with him about going on board the Tonnant to instruct the crew in sharp-shooting, and then when a negative is put upon Mr. De Berenger"s application at least for the present, Mr. De Berenger tells him he _cannot_ forsooth "_go to Lord Yarmouth or to any other of his friends in this dress_." Why, I beg to know, cannot Mr. De Berenger go to Lord Yarmouth or any other n.o.bleman or gentleman in the dress in which he waits upon Lord Cochrane? if he was dressed as Lord Cochrane describes, there could be no impropriety; but still more, "_or return to his lodging, where it would excite suspicion_," _coming out_ of his lodging in this dress might to be sure excite suspicion, for persons who saw him might imagine that a gentleman thus dressed was going a little beyond the rules of the King"s Bench, but how could his _return_ excite suspicion? If he was returning to his lodgings why would he want any other dress? except that he was afraid to return to his lodgings in that dress because it would afford the means of tracing and detecting him.
"If I refused to let him join the ship now, he would join it at Portsmouth, _under present circ.u.mstances however, he must use a great liberty, and request the favor of me to lend him a hat to wear instead of his military cap. I gave him one which was in a back room with some things which had not been packed up._" Then we are to suppose that De Berenger was satisfied; he had got rid of this cap with the gold border which might excite suspicion, and he was content to go. No says Lord Cochrane that will not do. "_Having tried it_," that is the hat, "_on, his uniform appeared under his great coat, I therefore offered him a black coat that was laying on a chair and which I did not intend to take with me_." We are, I presume then, to understand that he put on the black coat, though that is not expressly stated, "he put up his uniform _in a towel and shortly afterwards went away_." Then he was to go off entirely, was he? Gentlemen, I am sorry to find that my Lord Cochrane, filling the high situation that he does, sees nothing wrong in a.s.sisting a person within the rules of the King"s Bench to abscond, for whose stay within those rules sureties have entered into a bond; either Lord Cochrane"s mind has confounded all right and wrong, or what is more probable, he confesses this smaller delinquency to conceal the greater, for I say he would not have made this acknowledgment unless he had to conceal that he lent the dress for another purpose, for which purpose I say De Berenger resorted to him, and which purpose was answered by Lord Cochrane"s a.s.sistance.
Another part of this affidavit is very important, "_Captain Berenger wore a grey great coat, a green uniform, and a military cap._" I will prove to you that the uniform was scarlet; that it was embroidered with gold, and that there was a star on the breast. I will prove that by many persons who saw it, and I will produce it to you to-day.
A circ.u.mstance is resorted to by Lord Cochrane, and indeed by his a.s.sociates, as a defence which affords another proof of the infatuation of guilt. They have thought it a favorable circ.u.mstance for them that they sold out their stock early in the day at a small profit; in my mind it is one of the strongest circ.u.mstances against them. If they had believed the news would they have sold out early, and at that small profit? why did they so sell out? but because they knew that belief in the news would last but a very short time, and that they must take advantage of it without delay, for when I have stated that ten thousand or ten thousand five hundred pounds was the amount of their profit I have very much understated it, their profit vastly exceeded that, their profit was all they had been saved from losing, they had been that which is well known in the language of the Stock Exchange, they had been _Bulls_ and they had been invariably _Bulls_, they had been raising the price by their purchases, their purchases had vastly exceeded their sales, as appears by the amount of the balance, they had gone on plunging deeper and deeper till they were completely out of their depth; the market was flat, if they had sold at 27-1/2 they would have been losers to a small amount, but unless they had made all mankind as hungry for stock as they were for profit, they could not have got rid of their million of omnium and stock, without an immense loss; and when they tell me they sold at once, I say yes, so you did, that is my argument against you: I say you did not wait half an hour when the news came, that as fast as you found the news operate, the telegraphic communication from Shorter"s Court to the Stock Exchange took place, Mr.
Fearn was set to work--he was ordered to sell, and he did sell by twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties of Thousands, and in the hurry and confusion they were in, one sold Ten Thousand Consols less than he had, and the other Twenty-four Thousand omnium more than he had; I think therefore this selling early, and selling at a small profit will not much avail them, but very much the contrary.
But, Gentlemen, it was felt that if the case rested there, they had done very little indeed, because no man could be so infatuated as to suppose that this story of De Berenger and his Sharp Shooters would go down, unless they shewed that De Berenger was not Du Bourg: for, if De Berenger was Du Bourg, it was very easily seen through, and therefore they set up for De Berenger, (who was not forth coming to set it up for himself) that best of all defences if true, which is sometimes resorted to in Courts of Criminal Judicature, and is commonly known by the name of an ALIBI.--It is, I say, the best of all defences if a man is innocent, but if it turns out to be untrue, it is conclusive against those who resort to it. Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr.
b.u.t.t, published two affidavits of a man and woman of the name of Smith, who were the servants of De Berenger; the affidavits are of the same manufacture with the others. Affidavits are commonly in the third person, "A. B. maketh oath and saith," but I observe all these affidavits, as well Lord Cochrane"s as the rest, begin I A. B. do swear, these Affidavits I will read to you, "I William Smith, servant to Baron De Berenger, do swear, that my Master slept at home on Sunday the 20th of February, 1814, as I let him in about eleven o"clock at night; that he went out early next morning, as I went into his room between eight and nine o"clock, and found him gone out. I went about nine o"clock, and did not return till three o"clock, being that day at my mothers cleaning some Pictures for her, and when I returned, I then found my Master at home, and I went to him to ask if he wanted any thing, he desired me to get him some ale and a mutton chop, which I did; I saw his grey military great coat and his green drill dress, and a black coat which I knew was not his, lying upon a chair in the room; he went out that day to dine between five and six o"clock, and came home about eleven that night; he slept regularly at home all that week, until Sunday the 27th, when he went away in the evening, and desired me to carry a box of clothes with him to the Angel Inn, which I did, and I there left him and have never seen him since, and this is all I know about my Master." This, Gentlemen, we have too upon the sanction of a _voluntary affidavit_. Then comes his wife, "I Ann Smith, female servant to Baron De Berenger, do swear, that my Master came home about twelve o"clock on Monday the 21st day of February, in a Hackney Coach,--that I believe he did, he had on a black coat, he had a bundle with him, which to its appearance, contained his grey military great-coat, and green uniform, he went out the same morning before breakfast without my seeing him; and I do further swear, that I made his bed and cleaned his room as usual, on the 21st day of February, which had been slept in: he always slept at home regularly until Sunday the 27th of February, and he went away that day, and I never have seen him since." Now, Gentlemen, if this be true, to be sure it is idle to talk of Mr. De Berenger having been at Dover on that night; he could not have been at Dover, and at the same time sleeping in his bed within the rules of the King"s Bench Prison.
These affidavits were put out as complete and conclusive evidence, that all the surmises of Du Bourg and De Berenger being the same person were absolutely mistaken, that the visitor of Lord Cochrane, Mr. De Berenger was not, and could not be the impostor Colonel Du Bourg.
Gentlemen, at that time it was supposed Mr. De Berenger, was safe out of the kingdom, and that no contradiction of these affidavits could ever take place; and that being supposed to be the case, these parties grew very bold and there was a good deal of vapouring. Mr. b.u.t.t wanted his money. The Stock Exchange Committee came to this resolution, and it appears to me to be most honorable conduct, they resolved, not that the agreements of that day should be cancelled, but that an account should be taken of the profit made by those persons, who, in these extraordinary circ.u.mstances, had attracted suspicion to themselves. That that money should be paid into the hands of trustees, to await the result of the investigation, and if the suspicions were cleared up, they should have it, if not, that it should be disposed of, in a way that could attach no motive of interest whatever to the Stock Exchange or to their Committee. Upon this resolution, 10,500, the profit made by Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t, were paid into the hands of trustees, to wait the event. Mr. b.u.t.t was not satisfied with this arrangement, and he was clamorous for his money. They said, "wait a little, Mr. b.u.t.t, you shall have it presently, if you are ent.i.tled to it."--"No," he says, "give me my money."--"It is perfectly safe, Mr.
b.u.t.t, for your own honor and character"s sake wait a little."--No reply, but "the money--give me the money."
_----Populus me sibilat; at mihi plaudo Ipse domi, simul ac nummos contemplor in arca._
Gentlemen, that was the consolation to which Mr. b.u.t.t looked, for the contempt to which he found his conduct had exposed him;--that consolation he will not have--he will have conviction and shame, but he will not get the money.
Gentlemen, the complete developement of this business, however, now approached. In the beginning of April, Mr. De Berenger was heard of at Sunderland, endeavouring to get out of the kingdom. A warrant had some time before issued from the Secretary of State for his apprehension; and most fitly had it been issued, for though Mr. De Berenger, as an alien, had a licence to live in any part of Great Britain he had no licence to go out of it; and he had abused the privileges of an alien, by having attempted a gross imposition on a high Naval Officer of the country: and information being given to the officer, who had had that warrant in his possession for three weeks, he set off to Sunderland after him. He found he had gone from thence to Newcastle, from thence to Glasgow, and from thence to Leith; and at Leith, on the 8th of April, he apprehended him.
He was brought to London, and arrived in London on the 12th, and then on being shewn to various persons who had seen him in the course of his journey, he was identified by every one of them as Du Bourg;--by persons at Dover,--by persons at Dartford,--by the drivers,--by the coachman,--and above all by a very important person in this transaction, he was identified by a Mr. Solomon.--And I will tell you who Mr. Solomon is.--An account of the dress of Colonel Du Bourg having been published, the public attention was drawn to that circ.u.mstance, and in the latter end of March a fisherman in dredging in the Thames a little above London Bridge brought up from the bottom a bundle (which had been sunk by pieces of lead) containing a scarlet Aid de Camp"s uniform cut in pieces, and a star and badge which identified it beyond contradiction, and upon this being advertised, a Mr. Solomon, an Army Accoutrement Maker, who has one shop at Charing Cross and another in New-Street Covent Garden, came forward and identified these as the cloaths which, together with the grey coat and the military cap, he had sold to a gentleman on Sat.u.r.day the 19th of February; the gentleman was very liberal in his purchases and said that all these things were to be sent into the country for a person to perform the part of a Foreign Officer.
Mr. Solomon said perhaps Sir you had better take them on hire. No. He was not disposed to do that, he would rather purchase them, and he did purchase them, and he paid for them in one pound notes and took them away in a Hackney Coach. On Mr. Solomon being taken to see Mr. De Berenger he recognized his person as the person who had so bought the clothes and paid for them.
Gentlemen, what now becomes of these affidavits and of those who made them? what becomes of this alibi for Mr. De Berenger? what becomes of the affidavits of his servants Smith and his wife? what becomes of Lord Cochrane swearing as he does to his green coat? why do persons resort to falsehood, but because truth convicts them? If any person who is found in suspicious circ.u.mstances, and is accused of the highest offence known to the law, resorts to lies to excuse himself, his life pays the forfeit, for no man resorts to lies unless he knows that the truth is absolute conviction: why have these persons thus involved themselves deeper, but because, when they found detection approaching them, they wished to ward it off, careless what were the means, careless who was the instrument, careless too who was the victim.
Gentlemen, suppose I were to rest my case here, and were to call upon my learned friends to answer this case, I beg to know what answer they could give? what are they to say for this impostor Du Bourg, this real De Berenger, resorting to the house of Lord Cochrane thus deeply interested in the success of this fraud? thus linked inseparably with two other persons equally interested in the success of the fraud, who, if a different kind of news had arrived that day, would have been absolutely ruined: for if on the 21st of February that news had arrived, which just a month after did arrive of the rupture of the negociation at Chatillon, there would have been such a fall in the price of the funds that these three persons would have been losers to the amount of upwards of one hundred and sixty thousand pounds. What will my learned friends say for persons thus circ.u.mstanced, thus involved in suspicion, thus by falsehood and by moral perjury, though not legal, endeavouring to defend themselves? Will my learned friends to day call these Smiths? will they put these persons whom they have made commit this moral perjury into that box and expose them to the charge of legal perjury? if they do not put them there they "die and make no sign;" and, if they do I think I shall be able to shew you who manufactured these affidavits, and how these servants, the Smiths, have been dealt with. I will undertake to prove out of their own mouths that their master was from home that night instead of being as they pretend, in his bed.
But, Gentlemen, when my learned friends find it impossible to stand upon the ground which their clients have before taken, perhaps they may say, for in the distress of their case I do not know what may not be said;--well, admitting that De Berenger was Du Bourg, are we to infer from his visit to Green-Street that Lord Cochrane and he were thus criminally connected?--why you must infer the contrary; it is a proof of innocence, for if they had been so connected, De Berenger would not have been such a fool as to pay his first visit to Lord Cochrane, he would have gone to any other house rather than to Lord Cochrane"s. Gentlemen, that argument will not a.s.sist my learned friends, for it is too much to ask credit for rational conduct in those who cannot act criminally without acting irrationally. They who contrive schemes of fraud cannot always provide for all possible events. No, Gentlemen, it is the order of Providence, in mercy to mankind, that wickedness should be defeated by its own folly. When the mind is in disorder the course is not straight and even, but irregular and wavering, it is detected by its obliquity: it is by the winding of the course that you discover you are in the path of the serpent "_Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat_," is a maxim which comes down to us sanctioned by the experience of all ages; and no man who has not slept for the last two years, can hesitate to set his seal to its truth. Gentlemen, it is as true of Stock-jobbing conspirators as it is of those who have lately been entrusted with the destinies of empires. There is always something omitted, the omission here was this; in settling their plan of operations they had forgotten to provide where De Berenger should resort on his arrival in Town, and on his way his heart failed him, as to going to his own lodgings; he dared not enter into his own lodgings in a dress, which dress would lead to detection, and he therefore drove to Lord Cochrane"s to get rid of his dress; and there he, by Lord Cochrane"s a.s.sistance, did get rid of it; he procured a round hat and a black coat, and then went confidently and safely home to his lodgings, exempt from observation and suspicion.
But, Gentlemen, I have to tell my learned friends, that if they could dispose of all this, their task would be but just beginning. You will naturally ask, was De Berenger a person known to the Cochranes?--Can it be shewn from any other source, that they had ever been together before?
Gentlemen, I will shew you that De Berenger was extremely well acquainted with them; that he was a visitor at Lord Cochrane"s, and a visitor at Mr. Cochrane Johnstones; that he made it his boast that he was on very familiar terms with them, and that he had given them important a.s.sistance in stock-jobbing transactions, and that he expected to be handsomely rewarded for his services, for that by his means they would get a great deal of money by these stock-jobbing transactions. I will prove this to you by more than one witness. I will prove their acquaintance, if necessary, by persons even of Mr. Cochrane Johnstones family.
Gentlemen, my proof does not end there. If Mr. De Berenger was the hired agent of these persons, for the purpose of committing this fraud, what would you expect?--why that after they had used him they would pay him and send him away.--I will prove to you, that they did so pay him, and that they did send him away.
You have learned from these affidavits of the Smiths, (which so far are true,) that on the evening of Sunday the 27th, (which was the Sunday after he was at Dover,) he quitted his lodgings, and was seen no more.
Who do you think was his visitor on Sat.u.r.day the 26th?--Mr. Cochrane Johnstone. On Sat.u.r.day the 26th Mr. Cochrane Johnstone came to his lodgings, and left a letter for him; that letter, no doubt, hastened his departure, and off he went. He was taken at Leith, and there were found in his possession certain books and papers and bank notes; these bank notes Mr. De Berenger has desired to have returned to him. The prosecutors thought that one bank note for one pound was as good as another bank note for one pound; and in order that Mr. De Berenger might not complain of being cramped in pecuniary matters, they gave over to him notes of corresponding value. But that does not satisfy Mr. De Berenger; he wants the very identical notes taken from him; he has contracted an affection for them I suppose, on account of their having been his travelling companions. They were his solace in a long journey, and the support to which he looked in future in a foreign land. What harm can these notes do to Mr. De Berenger?--He is much too deeply implicated in this to make the presence or the absence of these notes of the least consequence to him. Who can be so blind as not to see, in the _pretended anxiety_ of Mr. De Berenger for these notes, the _real anxiety_ of his fellow conspirators; who having made him their instrument in the fraud, wish to make him their instrument in the destruction of the evidence.
Gentlemen, there have been differences of opinion on the subject of Bank Notes as a circulating medium, but there can be no difference of opinion as to their being most admirable detectors of fraud. I have these Bank Notes here, and you will find that the fears of these Defendants are well founded, for they furnish conclusive proofs of their guilt. I will read to you first, however, a memorandum of Mr. De Berenger"s, in a little book, which was found in his letter-case; from this he appears to have written on the 1st of March, a letter to "C. J." which I take to be Cochrane Johnstone; there are other initials mentioned in the same page, as "W. S." which I take to be his servant, William Smith; and "G. T."
which I presume to be Gabriel Tahourdin, his attorney.
The name of Mr. Tahourdin reminds me of something which I had forgotten to mention. The sureties for Mr. De Berenger keeping within the Rules of the Bench, were a Mr. Cochrane, and Mr. Gabriel Tahourdin, his attorney, and also the attorney of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, they were bound in a penalty of four hundred pounds for Mr. De Berenger keeping within the Rules of the King"s Bench, Mr. De Berenger absconded and left them liable to the penalty of their bond; and I cannot sufficiently admire the good nature of Mr. Gabriel Tahourdin, who not only has forgiven him for leaving him in the lurch, but actually defends him to-day, and is also one of his bail on this indictment.
Gentlemen, there are some parts of this memorandum which I cannot interpret; perhaps Mr. Cochrane Johnstone will give us the letter, and that will supply the explanation. It begins, "To C. J. by March 1st, 1814, 350, 4 to 5000, a.s.sign one share of patent, and 1000 worth shares of Mr. De Beaufain, at Messrs. H. to their care." Now comes the important part; I should tell you, Gentlemen, that Lord Cochrane, Mr.
Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t, allege that their gains were not quite so great as the Committee of the Stock Exchange estimate them to have been. They say, that the gains of the three were but 6500, of which Lord Cochrane"s share was 1700, and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone"s and Mr.
b.u.t.t"s were 4800. Mr. b.u.t.t was the person who transacted the business, being more a man of figures than the other two, and acting as their agent, he had rendered his account to Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; and it should seem as if Mr. De Berenger"s compensation was a per centage upon their gains, for he writes thus: "Believe, from my informant, 18,000, instead of 4800;" he thinks their profit was four times as much as they say; "Suspicious that Mr. B." who can that be except Mr. b.u.t.t? "does not account correctly to him as well as me--determined not to be duped--no restrictions as to secrecy, requesting early answer."
These are evidently the heads of a letter which he has written to Mr.
Cochrane Johnstone. There are other notes of letters to Mr. Tahourdin and William Smith, giving directions, which plainly indicate that he was a man quitting this country never to return.
Gentlemen, there were found I have told you, certain bank notes, and a memorandum book, and you will find in this memorandum book there are the figures 450 and 90 summed up together, making 540. You will find that he must have received about that sum from Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t, he accounts here for the expenditure of a considerable part of it, and as you go along with me, you shall be able to account for it: so here is W. S. that is William Smith, 50, W. S.
again, 20 and so on, with names and sums altogether amounting to 163, and then there is a statement of expences on his journey: he appears from both to have had in his hands 540. From whom do you think he had it? From his a.s.sociates in this transaction, Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and Mr. b.u.t.t; we have traced the notes up to every one of them. I shall be enabled to shew these persons actually paying him this very money, and when? Between the time of his transaction and his absconding. I will shew you that Mr. Fearn on the 10th of February, drew a check on Bond and Company for 56 5s. payable to Mr. b.u.t.t, that that was paid partly in a fifty pound bank note, that bank note was found in the possession of Mr. De Berenger when he was taken at Leith. On the 16th of February, Mr. Smallbone drew a check on Jones, Loyd, and Company for 470. 14s. 4d. made payable to a number, but actually given by him to Lord Cochrane, that was paid in a two hundred pound note, two one hundred pounds, a fifty pound, some small notes, and the fraction in cash. The two hundred pound note was by order of Mr. b.u.t.t, exchanged by Christmas (a Clerk of Fearn"s) at Bond"s, on the 24th of February.--Mark the day, Gentlemen, the Thursday after this fraud, for two 100 notes, those two 100 notes this same Clerk of Mr. Fearn"s carried to the Bank, exchanged them for two hundred notes of one pound each, brought them back and gave them to Mr. Fearn, who put them into the hands of Mr.
b.u.t.t; and, as if these persons had been anxious to link themselves to each other inseparably, Mr. b.u.t.t, in Mr. Fearn"s presence, handed them over to Mr. Cochrane Johnstone. Gentlemen, of these two hundred notes, I will shew you that eleven were pa.s.sed at Hull, Mr. De Berenger having been at Hull at that time; that seven were paid by him at Hull, that seven more have come into the bank from that country, marked with De Berenger"s name, and that sixty-seven of them were found in Mr. De Berenger"s writing desk at Leith.
Gentlemen, I told you that there were two other notes for 100 each. At the same time that Christmas went to the Bank on the 24th, Mr. Lance, who was another of their Agents, went to the Bank, and immediately after Christmas (for the numbers follow each other in the Bank Books) for the other two notes of 100 each, he got two hundred notes also of one pound each, and he gave them to Mr. b.u.t.t. Gentlemen, of those two hundred notes, forty-seven have come into the Bank with De Berenger"s name upon them, and forty-nine more of them were found in Mr. De Berenger"s writing desk. I mentioned to you that another note given in payment of this check to Lord Cochrane, was one for fifty pounds,--that Bank note of fifty pounds, I will prove Lord Cochrane himself paid away to his own coal merchant.
Then, Gentlemen, there is another check paid the 25th of February, 1814, on Prescott and Company by Lance, for 98. 2s. 6d. made payable to Mr.
b.u.t.t, this was paid in a Bank note for fifty pounds, another for forty pounds, and the remainder in small notes. In the memorandum book, there is an entry to S. 50 importing that he had given to Smith 50. I will prove that Smith paid to Mr. Seeks that same note for fifty pounds, and the forty pound note I will prove that De Berenger paid at Sunderland to Mr. Bray, the rest we are not able to trace: add these sums together, they amount to the 450, and the 90, the very figures entered in Mr. De Berenger"s memorandum book, which memorandum book was found in his writing desk when he was taken. Gentlemen, when I thus shew De Berenger, who quitted London on Sunday the 27th of February, having accomplished this fraud on Monday the 21st, thus possessed of notes of this large value, in this great number, which were in the hands of these Defendants on Thursday the 24th; are you not just as certain that he received those notes from these Defendants as a reward of his criminal service, as if you had been yourselves by, seen the notes paid, and heard the reason a.s.signed for which they were paid.
It was stated in the Newspapers, that some of the notes found on De Berenger, had been in the hands of Mr. b.u.t.t, upon which Mr. b.u.t.t directly addressed this letter to the Morning Chronicle, which appeared on the 18th of April. "Sir, Having read in several papers, a paragraph mentioning that Bank notes were found in the trunk of Captain De Berenger, which were in my possession, and were paid to me by Mr. Fearn, one of my Stock brokers, I think it proper in answer thereto, to say, that as the circ.u.mstances will be more fully discussed at a proper period, your astonishment will cease to exist when you see in what manner Captain De Berenger became possessed of the notes in question."
Then Mr. b.u.t.t knows in what manner De Berenger became possessed of these notes, I call upon Mr. b.u.t.t to tell you how they came into De Berenger"s possession; my learned Friends will hereafter have to inform you. And, Gentlemen, you will require something more than my Friend"s statement, for the statement of Counsel you know, is from the instructions of the Client, and the instructions of the Client may deserve no more credit than a _voluntary affidavit_. I call upon Mr. b.u.t.t to shew that by evidence, and if he does not shew you that those notes came into the hands of De Berenger from some other quarter, for some other reason as a reward for some other service, it is impossible for you to resist the conclusion that they were the reward of De Berenger, for the guilty services which he rendered in this fraud; and if so, it was a reward from Lord Cochrane, it was a reward from Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, it was a reward from Mr. b.u.t.t, they are one and the same, there is an ident.i.ty between these three persons that hardly ever existed, they have but one mind, they are inseparably connected.