"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 circumstances which afterwards occurred) I breakfasted with
him, at his residence in Cumberland-street, about half past
eight o'clock, and I was put down by him (and Mr. Butt 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, Cock-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 circumstanced 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
assisting 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
anticipating 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 circumstances 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 passed
with Captain Berenger, which from the circumstances 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 circumstances, 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 advertisement 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. Butt, 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 nobleman 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 circumstances 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 assisting
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 assistance.
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 circumstance is resorted to by Lord Cochrane, and indeed by his
associates, as a defence which affords another proof of the infatuation
of guilt. They have thought it a favorable circumstance 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 circumstances 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.
Butt, 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. Butt 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 circumstances, 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. Butt, were paid into the hands
of trustees, to wait the event. Mr. Butt was not satisfied with this
arrangement, and he was clamorous for his money. They said, "wait a
little, Mr. Butt, you shall have it presently, if you are entitled to
it."--"No," he says, "give me my money."--"It is perfectly safe, Mr.
Butt, 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 arcâ._
Gentlemen, that was the consolation to which Mr. Butt 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 circumstance, 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 Saturday 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 circumstances, 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 circumstanced, 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 assist 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 assistance, 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 assistance 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 Saturday the 26th?--Mr. Cochrane
Johnstone. On Saturday 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, assign 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. Butt, 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.
Butt's were £4800. Mr. Butt 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. Butt? "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. Butt, 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 associates in this transaction, Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane
Johnstone, and Mr. Butt; 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. Butt, 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. Butt, 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.
Butt; and, as if these persons had been anxious to link themselves to
each other inseparably, Mr. Butt, 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 passed 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. Butt. 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.
Butt, 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
assigned 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. Butt, upon which Mr. Butt
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 circumstances 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. Butt knows in what manner De Berenger became possessed of these
notes, I call upon Mr. Butt 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. Butt 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. Butt, they are one and the same, there is an identity
between these three persons that hardly ever existed, they have but one
mind, they are inseparably connected.
Gentlemen, I have to apologize to you for having in this large mass of
matter omitted one thing, I stated that I should prove to you that Mr.
Cochrane Johnstone had called at the house of De Berenger the day before
he finally went off, I shall prove that by Mrs. Davidson, with whom De
Berenger lodged, and I shall, by her evidence and that of her husband,
falsify the Smith's affidavits, for I will shew by them that on the
night in question De Berenger slept out, and that the fact of his
sleeping out was known to Smith and his wife, who have made the
affidavits.
Now, Gentlemen, it appears to me that I have done a great deal more than
sufficient to prove these persons guilty, but they are never contented
with giving evidence against themselves; upon the arrival of De Berenger
in London they began to apprehend that the hour of detection drew near,
and that they must strike a bold stroke to ward off the blow, and on the
12th of April, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone writes a letter to the Chairman of
the Committee of the Stock Exchange which I will read to you--"Sir, I
have this moment received a letter, of which the inclosed is a copy, and
lose no time in transmitting it to you, for the information of the
Gentlemen composing the Stock Exchange Committee; from the bearer of the
letter I am given to understand that Mr. Macrae is willing to disclose
the names of the principals concerned in the late hoax, on being paid
the sum of £10,000, to be deposited in some banker's hands in the names
of two persons to be nominated by himself, and to be paid to him on the
conviction of the offenders. I am happy to say that there seems now a
reasonable prospect of discovering the author of the late hoax, and I
cannot evince my anxious wish to promote such discovery more than by
assuring you that I am ready to contribute liberally towards the above
sum of £10,000 and I rest assured that you will eagerly avail yourselves
of this opportunity to effect the proposed discovery, and an object you
profess to have so much at heart, by concurring with me in such
contribution, I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient humble Servant,
A. Cochrane Johnstone." And then there is Mr. M'Rae's letter inclosed,
addressed to Mr. Cochrane Johnstone. "Sir, I authorize the bearer of
this note to state to you that I am prepared to lay before the public
the names of the persons who planned and carried into effect the late
hoax practised at the Stock Exchange the 21st of February, provided you
accede to the terms which my friend will lay before you, I am, Sir, your
obedient servant, A. M'Rae." Mr. M'Rae's friend must have been the
bearer of some message, for you observe that Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's
letter states more than Mr. M'Rae's letter offers, Mr. Cochrane
Johnstone does not receive an answer, and that he considered as very ill
treatment. Six days afterwards he writes another letter, "Sir, I have to
request that you will be so good as to inform me what are the intentions
of the Stock Exchange on the subject of the letter which I addressed to
you, relative to the proposal of Mr. M'Rae; Lord Cochrane, Mr. Butt, and
myself are willing to subscribe £1,000 each, in aid of the £10,000
required by Mr. M'Rae."
Gentlemen, these letters call for more than one observation; I cannot
forbear to make one upon the term which Mr. Cochrane Johnstone employs
to describe this transaction--"A HOAX," a mere joke, a matter of
pleasantry. Gentlemen, a young, a giddy, an unthinking and careless man,
who had no concern in the transaction, and who had never been suspected
to have had any, might perhaps, in conversation, make use of that term;
but Mr. Cochrane Johnstone is not young, he is not giddy, he is not
unthinking, he is not inexperienced, he has seen much of the world, he
is a cautious man, he is a man of high and noble family, he knows that
he is suspected of having been a party in this transaction, and yet he
calls it a HOAX! I beg to know what word in Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's
vocabulary is to be found to express FRAUD? I presume he would call
obtaining money by false pretences, an indulgence of the imagination,
and playing with loaded dice, a mere exercise of ingenuity. Is it
possible for any innocent man, situated as Mr. Cochrane Johnstone then
was, to describe this foul fraud by the name by which Mr. Cochrane
Johnstone here describes it? But, Gentlemen, look at the proposal
itself; what must Mr. Cochrane Johnstone have thought of the Stock
Exchange Committee? surely he must have thought that they were selected
for their extraordinary gullibility, when he made this proposal to them.
Undoubtedly they would have had no objection to the assistance of an
accomplice, but it must not be an accomplice chosen by his associates.
No, Gentlemen, an accomplice chosen by his associates is not chosen to
divulge, but to suppress the truth. I should have thought that Mr.
M'Rae, knowing that they had complete proof against him--which had been
obtained at a cheaper rate than £10,000 might have made a more moderate
proposal. I should have thought that impunity for himself, which is the
common price of an accomplice, would have been sufficient to have had
the evidence of Mr. M'Rae, but Mr. M'Rae's price is ten thousand pounds;
his worthy companions are willing to contribute three--that is, they
will give him three thousand, and will obtain for him seven thousand
more; and I have no doubt, that if the offer had been accepted, Mr.
M'Rae would very honestly have earned the whole, and have duly
recollected to whom he was obliged for it.
Gentlemen, when Lord Cochrane, a few years ago, was preparing for an
attack upon the French fleet in Basque Roads, suppose the French
admiral had sent this letter to him:--Sir, You are preparing to attack
me to-morrow, the bearer is the best pilot on our coast, I should be
sorry that you should run upon a rock, he will pilot you safely, do but
accept his services; but as his skill is great his price is high--he
requires ten thousand pounds; but so anxious am I for the success of
your enterprize, that I will give him three if you will but give the
other seven.
Gentlemen, this is the modest proposal which Mr. Cochrane Johnstone
makes to the Committee of the Stock Exchange; and when he has so done he
affects to be extremely angry that the Committee do not accept
it.--Gentlemen what can be said more; what men would have resorted to
this expedient but men who felt that they were on the eve of detection,
and who tried this desperate expedient to see whether they could ward it
off.
Gentlemen,--I believe I have now arrived at the end of my long trespass
upon your attention. Survey the whole of these transactions. You find
that the principals,--those who were to benefit above all others, were
the Cochranes and Butt; Holloway in a smaller degree, but still not
slightly;--De Berenger the principal agent;--the others, subordinate
agents, who could have done nothing unless the foundation had been
previously laid by De Berenger, in the character of the officer from
Dover; his news had had its effect upon the funds even before the second
arrived. Though it cannot be shewn, as in many cases it cannot, that
these parties met and conferred and assigned to each his respective
part, yet if you find a coincidence in object, and a coincidence in
time; if you find the mode of execution precisely the same, is it
possible to doubt that these underplotters were the agents of the great
conspirators;--That the great conspirators were the authors of the plan,
and that the others were executing their subordinate part?
Gentlemen, I have given you the best assistance in my power to
understand and apply the evidence which will be laid before you. They
whom I represent, have no wish but that justice should be done; they
have investigated this subject with great care, with great assiduity,
with great diligence, with great anxiety. They have had no personal
difference with any of these defendants; they have never come in
collision with them, to have the smallest possible difference; they have
no wish but justice, and I am sure that at your hands they will attain
that justice; and your verdict to day, (which I am sure after you shall
have heard the whole of this case, will be a verdict of guilty,) will be
a most salutary verdict:--It will shew the world that as there is no man
beneath the law, so there is no man above it. It will teach evil minded
persons, the absurdity of expecting that schemes of fraud can be so
formed as to provide for all events. It will teach them that no caution
can insure safety: that there is no contrivance, that there is no
device, no stratagem, which can shield them from detection, from
punishment, and from infamy.