I have the honor to acquaint you that the L'Aigle from Calais,
Pierre Duquin, Master, has this moment landed me near Dover,
to proceed to the Capital with dispatches of the happiest
nature. I have pledged my honor that no harm shall come to the
crew of the L'Aigle; even with a flag of truce they
immediately stood for sea. Should they be taken, I have to
entreat you immediately to liberate them. My anxiety will not
allow me to say more for your gratification, than that the
Allies obtained a final victory; that Bonaparte was overtaken
by a party of Sachen's Cossacks, who immediately slaid him,
and divided his body between them.--General Platoff, saved
Paris from being reduced to ashes. The Allied Sovereigns are
there, and the white cockade is universal; an immediate peace
is certain. In the utmost haste, I entreat your consideration,
and have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
R. DU BOURG,
_Lieutenant Colonel and Aid de Camp to Lord Cathcart_.
"To the Honorable J. Foley,
Port Admiral, Deal, &c. &c. &c."
And did then and there send, and cause and procure to be sent, the said
false and counterfeit letter to Thomas Foley, Esquire, at Deal; he, the
said Thomas Foley, then being the Commander in Chief of His Majesty's
Ships &c. employed on the Downs Station, with intention that the said T.
Foley, should, by Telegraph, communicate the false matters in the said
false letter, to the Commissioners of our said Lord the King, for
executing the office of Lord High Admiral, &c. and that such false
matters should be promulgated &c. to the liege subjects of our said Lord
the King.
And that said _Charles Random De Berenger_, did also then and there
unlawfully &c. assert and report to Timothy Wright, and other persons,
that he, the said _Charles Random De Berenger_, had just then landed and
arrived from France, and that the French were beaten, and that said
Napoleon Bonaparte was killed, and that the Allies of our said Lord the
King, were then in Paris; and the said _Charles Random De Berenger_, on
same day &c. did travel from Dover towards London, and did unlawfully
&c. falsely assert and report at Dartford in the County of Kent, and at
other places on his way between Dover and London, the several false
matters and things last mentioned, to divers other of the liege subjects
of our said Lord the King with intention that the said last mentioned
false matters &c. should be believed to be true, and should be generally
reported, &c. by the said liege subjects, &c. to whom he asserted the
same to divers other of the liege subjects, &c.
And more especially, with intention that the said false assertions &c.
should reach London, to be reported and rumoured and believed there. And
that on the said 21st February, at the parish &c. aforesaid, at London
aforesaid, to wit, at Dartford aforesaid, the said _Ralph Sandom_,
_Alexander M'Rae_ and _Henry Lyte_, in pursuance &c. of the aforesaid
conspiracy did unlawfully &c. hire and take a post chaise to go from
Dartford, and did go from thence, the said _Alexander M'Rae_ and _Henry
Lyte_, then and there having white cockades in certain cocked hats,
which they wore; and the horses drawing the said post-chaise then and
there being decorated with branches of laurel, to and over London
Bridge, and through the City of London, unto and over Blackfriars
Bridge, and unto a certain place called the Marsh Gate, in the Parish of
St. Mary Lambeth, in the County of Surry, with intention thereby to
induce the liege subjects, &c. whom they should pass, and who should see
them in their route and way from Dartford to near the Marsh Gate, to
suppose and believe, and to report and rumour to divers other of the
liege subjects, that they the said _Ralph Sandom_, _Alexander M'Rae_,
and _Henry Lyte_, were the bearers to the Government of this kingdom, of
great and important foreign news, highly favorable to the interests of
our said Lord the King, and his subjects, and thereby to occasion an
increase and rise in the prices of the said public Government Funds, &c.
in order and for the purpose that the said _Sir Thomas Cochrane_,
_Andrew Cochrane Johnstone_, _Richard Gathorne Butt_, and _John Peter
Holloway_, respectively should then sell and cause and procure to be
sold for them respectively to divers subjects, &c. divers large parts
and shares of and in the said public Government Funds &c. at higher and
greater prices than they would otherwise sell for, with a wicked and
fraudulent intention, to thereby cheat and defraud the said last
mentioned liege subjects, of divers large sums of money.
And that the said _Defendants_, in pursuance and further prosecution of
said conspiracy, afterwards, to wit, on the said 21st February, did, by
means of the premises aforesaid, unlawfully &c. cause and occasion a
temporary increase and rise in the prices of said Funds, &c.
And the said _Sir Thomas Cochrane_, _Andrew Cochrane Johnstone_,
_Richard Gathorne Butt_ and _John Peter Holloway_, in pursuance and
further prosecution of the aforesaid conspiracy, did on the said 21st of
February, unlawfully, &c. respectively sell, and cause and procure to be
sold for them respectively, unto divers subjects, &c. divers great parts
and shares of and in the said public Government Funds and other
Government Securities, (that is to say,) the said
_Sir Thomas Cochrane_ £139,000 Omnium.
_Andrew Cochrane Johnstone_ £141,000 Omnium, and
£100,000 Consols
_Richard Gathorne Butt_ £224,000 Omnium, and
£168,000 Consols
_John Peter Holloway_ £20,000 Omnium, and
£34,000 Consols
at and for greater and larger prices than such parts and shares of and
in the said public and Government Funds, &c. would otherwise have sold
for, with a wicked and fraudulent intention, then and there to cheat and
defraud the said subjects respectively, of divers large sums of money,
of the respective monies of the said last mentioned liege subjects, to
the damage of the said last mentioned liege subjects, to the evil
example &c. in contempt of our said Lord the King and his Laws, and
against the peace of our said Lord the King, his crown and dignity.
[_Second Count._]--That the _Defendants_ on the said 19th February,
unlawfully &c. to induce the subjects &c. to believe that a peace
between our said Lord the King and his Subjects and the people of
France, would soon be made, and thereby to occasion an increase and rise
in the prices of the public Government Funds, and other Government
Securities, and to greatly injure and aggrieve the subjects of our said
Lord the King, who should on the 21st February, purchase and buy a part
or parts and share or shares of and in the said public Government Funds,
&c. on said 19th February, with force and arms, &c. unlawfully &c. did
conspire &c. together to make and propagate, and to cause and procure to
be made and propagated, a false report and rumour, that the French had
then lately been beaten in battle, and that said Napoleon Bonaparte was
killed, and that the Allies of our said Lord the King were then in
Paris.
And that they, the _Defendants_, would by such last mentioned false
report and rumour induce the subjects, &c. to suppose and believe that a
peace would soon be made, and occasion an increase and rise in the
prices of the public government funds, &c.
And that _Sir Thomas Cochrane_, _Andrew Cochrane Johnstone_, _Richard
Gathorne Butt_, and _John Peter Holloway_, respectively, should then
sell and cause, &c. to be sold for them respectively, to divers of the
liege subjects of our said Lord the King, divers other large parts and
shares of and in the said government funds, &c. at higher and greater
prices than said parts and shares would otherwise sell for, with a
wicked and fraudulent intention to thereby cheat and defraud the said
liege subjects, &c. of divers large sums of money.
And that on the said 21st of February the _Defendants_, in pursuance of
said conspiracy, &c. unlawfully, &c. did cause and procure divers false
reports and rumours to be made, spread, and circulated unto and amongst
many of the liege subjects, &c. in certain parts of the counties of Kent
and Surry, to wit at Dover in the said county of Kent, and in and along
and near unto the King's common highway leading from Dover aforesaid to
the said City of London, and also in the said City of London and parts
adjacent thereto, that the French had then lately been beaten in battle,
and that the said Napoleon Bonaparte was killed, and that the Allies of
our said Lord the King were then in Paris. And that a peace between our
said Lord the King and his subjects, and the said people of France would
soon be made, with intention thereby to occasion an increase and rise in
the said funds, &c. in order and for the purpose that the said _Sir
Thomas Cochrane_, _Andrew Cochrane Johnstone_, _Richard Gathorne Butt_,
and _John Peter Holloway_, respectively, should then sell and cause and
procure to be sold for them respectively to divers liege subjects, &c.
divers other large parts and shares of and in the said public government
funds, &c. at higher and greater prices than they would otherwise sell
for, with a wicked and fraudulent intention to thereby cheat and defraud
the said subjects of divers large sum of money, &c.
[_Third Count._]--That the _Defendants_ on the said 19th of February
unlawfully, &c. by false reports, rumors, _arts and contrivances_ to
induce the subjects of our said Lord the King to believe that a peace
would soon be made between our said Lord the King and his subjects, and
the said people of France, and thereby to occasion _without any just or
true cause a great increase and rise of the public government funds, &c.
and to injure, &c. the subjects of our said Lord the King who should_ on
the said 21st of February _purchase and buy any part or parts and share
or shares of and in the said public government funds, &c._ then and
there, to wit, on the said 21st of February, unlawfully, &c. did
conspire, &c. to make and propagate, and cause and procure to be made
and propagated unto and amongst divers of the liege subjects, &c. in the
county of Kent, to wit at Dover, Deal, and Dartford, and other places in
that county, and also unto and amongst divers of the liege subjects, &c.
at London aforesaid, and places adjacent thereto divers false reports
and rumours that the said Napoleon Bonaparte was killed, and that a
peace would soon be made between our said Lord the King and his subjects
and the people of France.
And that the said _Defendants_ would by such false reports and rumours
as far as in them lay, occasion an increase and rise in the prices of
the public government funds and other government securities, with a
wicked intention to thereby greatly injure and aggrieve all the liege
subjects of our said Lord the King who should, on the said 21st of
February, purchase or buy any part or parts and share or shares of and
in said public government funds, &c. To the great damage of all the last
mentioned liege subjects, &c. To the evil example, &c. and against the
peace, &c.
[_Fourth Count._]--That the said _Defendants_ unlawfully contriving,
&c. to injure and aggrieve divers of the liege subjects, &c. on the 19th
February unlawfully, &c. did conspire, &c. to write and cause to be
written _a certain other false and counterfeit letter_ containing
therein divers false matters of and concerning the Allies of our said
Lord the King, and the said Napoleon Bonaparte and the French people,
and to send and cause and procure the said last mentioned letter to be
sent to the aforesaid Thomas Foley at Deal, the said Thomas Foley then
and there being the Commander in Chief of His Majesty's ships and
vessels employed on the Downs' station, with a wicked intention to
impose upon and deceive the said Thomas Foley, and to induce and cause
the said Thomas Foley to communicate the false matters contained in the
said last mentioned false and counterfeit letter to the said
Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of Great
Britain. And also with a wicked intention, that by the means in this
Count mentioned the said false matters contained in said last mentioned
false and counterfeit letter, should be promulgated and publicly made
known to the liege subjects, &c. and thereby to occasion _a temporary_
rise and increase in the prices of the public government funds, &c. and
to injure and aggrieve all His Majesty's liege subjects who should
_contract for_, and also, all the subjects, &c. who should _purchase_
any part or parts, share or shares of, and in the said public government
funds, &c. _during such temporary rise and increase_ in the prices
thereof, to the evil example, &c. in contempt, &c. and against the
peace, &c.
[_Fifth Count._]--That the Defendants unlawfully contriving, &c. to
injure and aggrieve divers of the liege subjects of our said Lord the
King, afterwards to wit, on the said 19th February, at the parish and
ward aforesaid, &c. unlawfully, &c. did conspire together, to make and
propagate, and to cause and procure to be made and propagated unto, and
amongst divers of the liege subjects of our said Lord the King, divers
false reports and rumours _of and concerning the said Napoleon Bonaparte
and the French people_, and thereby to occasion a temporary rise and
increase in the prices of the public Government Funds, &c. and to injure
and aggrieve all his Majesty's liege subjects who should _contract for_,
and also all the liege subjects of our said Lord the King who should
_purchase_ any part or parts, share or shares of, and in the said public
Government Funds, &c. during such last mentioned temporary rise and
increase in the prices thereof, to the evil example, &c. &c.
[_Sixth Count._]--That the _Defendants_, on the said 19th February
unlawfully, &c. did conspire, &c. to make and propagate, and cause, and
procure to be made and propagated unto and amongst divers subjects, &c.
a certain false report and rumour, _that a Peace would then be soon
made_ between our said Lord the King, his subjects, and the people of
France, and thereby to occasion a temporary rise and increase in the
prices of the public Government Funds, &c. and to injure and aggrieve
all his Majesty's subjects who should contract for, and also all the
liege subjects, &c. who should purchase any part or parts, or share or
shares of and in the said public Government Funds, &c. during such last
mentioned temporary rise and increase in the prices thereof, to the evil
example, &c.
[_Seventh Count._]--That the _Defendants_, unlawfully contriving, &c.
_for their own lucre and gain_, to injure and aggrieve divers of the
liege subjects of our said Lord the King, on the said 19th February,
unlawfully, &c. did conspire, &c. by divers _false and subtle arts,
devices, contrivances, representations, reports, and rumours_, to
occasion without just and true cause, a rise and increase in the prices
of the public Government Funds, &c. and thereby to injure and aggrieve
all his Majesty's liege subjects who should contract for, and also all
his Majesty's liege subjects who should purchase any part or parts,
share or shares of and in the said public Government funds, &c. during
such last mentioned rise and increase in the prices thereof, to the evil
example, &c.
[_Eighth Count._]--That the _Defendants_ unlawfully, &c. contriving to
injure and aggrieve divers of the liege subjects of our said Lord the
King, on the 19th February unlawfully, &c. did conspire, &c. by divers
_false and subtle arts, devices, contrivances, representations, reports
and rumours_, to induce, cause and occasion, divers and very many of the
liege subjects of our said Lord the King, _to suppose and believe,
without true and just cause, that a peace would soon be made between our
said Lord the King and his subjects, and the people of France_, to the
great and manifest injury of divers and very many of the liege subjects
of our said Lord the King, to the evil example, &c.
_Plea_--NOT GUILTY.
The Indictment was removed into the Court of King's Bench, at the
instance of the Prosecutors, in Easter Term.
COURT OF KING'S BENCH, GUILDHALL,
_Wednesday, 8th June, 1814._
Before the Right Hon. LORD ELLENBOROUGH.
_Counsel for the Prosecution._
Mr. GURNEY,
Mr. BOLLAND,
Mr. ADOLPHUS.
_Solicitors._
Messrs. CROWDER, LAVIE, and GARTH.
_Counsel for C. R. De Berenger._
Mr. PARK,
Mr. RICHARDSON.
_Solicitor._
Mr. GABRIEL TAHOURDIN.
_Counsel for Lord Cochrane, The Hon. A. C. Johnstone, and R. G. Butt._
Mr. Serjeant BEST,
Mr. TOPPING,
Mr. SCARLETT,
Mr. BROUGHAM.
_Solicitors for Lord Cochrane._
Messrs. FARRER and ATKINSON.
_Solicitors for the Hon. A. C. Johnstone, and R. G. Butt._
Messrs. BRUNDRETT, WAINWRIGHT, and SPINKS.
_Counsel for R. Sandom, J. P. Holloway, and Henry Lyte._
Mr. Serjeant PELL,
Mr. C. F. WILLIAMS,
Mr. DENMAN.
_Solicitor._
Mr. YOUNG.
_Counsel for Alexander M'Rae._
Mr. ALLEY.
_Solicitor._
Mr. TWYNAM.