Part 35

Sarah Alexander is called, and she proves very material circumstances as to the preparation for this North-fleet expedition, to take place at the same period of time as that from Dover. She says, "I live at Fetter-lane; I have lived there ever since last September. I know Mr. M'Rae; he lodged on the same floor that I did; he is a married man; his wife lived with him; on Saturday the 19th of February, he came to my room." The other military uniform, you will recollect, was purchased on this very same day for the Dover scheme: "He brought a small parcel, and gave it to his wife; he said it was of value, and bade her take care of it. He went out on Sunday the 20th; he went out between ten and eleven, and returned before twelve, and brought with him two coats and two opera hats; they were inclosed in a bundle; I saw the coats; they were very dark blue, done with braiding; they were officers coats; the flowers were of worsted embroidery; they were flat hats; one coat was lined with white silk; one coat and one hat was better than the other; the one had a brass plate and gold tassel; he put them on, and walked about, and asked whether he did not look like an officer." So that he was representing and playing this character before-hand: "He went out again, and came home before one, and brought some ribbon with him; he wanted two cockades to be made round; he applied to his wife; his wife asked what he was going to do with them; he said, to deceive the flats." So that he not only exhibits the materials by which he was to effect the fraud, but avows the object, "to deceive the _flats_;" that is, I suppose, _credulous persons_. "He put the cockades into his pocket, and the hats and coats in a bundle, and went out, saying he must be at Billingsgate, to start at two by the Gravesend hoy. The next day, I met him a quarter before two in Cursitor-street; he was dressed the same as he went out, in his own clothes; he had apparently the same bundle; he brought home one coat and one hat; the best coat and hat were in the bundle; he said he had slept at North-fleet, but he had the appearance of not having been a-bed at all; he brought home the cockades in his pocket; he appeared very tired: His wife unripped the cockades, and took the white lining out of the coat, and carried it to the dyers to be dyed black." Then she says, "From December to February we lodged together; we kept but one fire, and lived a good deal together; he was in a state of great indigence, and never had any money except a shilling or an eighteen-penny piece now and then; after the North-fleet expedition, he had a £.10 and a £.1 note, and the day before he finally left his lodgings, he had three £.2 notes; he finally left his lodgings on the 2d or 3d of March. On Sunday the 27th of February, he bought a new coat and a new hat; on Monday the 28th, he said he was to have £.50 for what he had done; he wished when he went away finally, for nobody to know where he was going; and I wished not to know." On the 2d or 3d of March this gentleman disappears as the other De Berenger had done on the 27th; such were the nearly contemporaneous and similar actings of these parties. Both of them on Saturday are making preparations for a scheme which is to operate on London at the same period; you will consider whether there was not a communion of purpose in these persons, whether they did not conspire to produce a common end, though they might not particularly know how the others were co-operating with them at that time; in short, whether there might not be one master workman, who played the puppets in both directions. Then you have the course of the Northfleet people.

Philip Foxall, (the next witness), says, "I keep the Rose Inn at Dartford;" a letter was shewn to him, he says, "I received that letter from Mr. Sandom, I knew him by his frequently having chaises from my house." That note is one in pencil, ordering a chaise, "please to send me over immediately, a chaise and pair to bring back to Dartford, and have four good horses ready to go on to London with all expedition." "I sent a chaise over to Northfleet, and had horses ready, as the letter advised me; the chaise on its return drove furiously into my yard, with Mr. Sandom and two gentlemen with white cockades, and large flat hats, quite plain, except white ribbon or paper, and blue clothes, I cannot say whether they were plain. I forwarded them with four horses. I asked Mr. Sandom whether they would breakfast; he said no, they have breakfasted at my house, they have been out in an open boat all night, and are very much fatigued; I asked who are they? Sandom said he did not know, but they had news of the utmost consequence, and begged I would let them have good horses; they ordered a chaise and horses for Westminster."

On his cross-examination he says, "I think I must have received the note about seven o'clock in the morning; the chaise with Sandom and the other gentlemen came back in about an hour. I was surprised to see it in so short a time. I only know Sandom by his having chaises at my house to Northfleet. I understood he lived there; he had been in the habit for nine months before that, of occasionally having horses from my house." This evidence introduces Mr. Sandom in this chaise, with these persons in this assumed garb, and presents him therefore as acting in this purpose.

Foxall Baldry is next called; he says, "I am a post-boy at the Rose at Dartford; on the morning of the 21st, I recollect a chaise coming from Northfleet to our house; I have seen one of the gentlemen since; I did not know Mr. Sandom personally at the time; he was one of those persons; I did not know the other two; I drove the leaders. Just as we were coming to Shooters Hill, Mr. Sandom got out of the chaise, and said, give your horses their wind, and when you get up the hill, make the best of your way; I will give you twelve shillings a-piece for driving; my fellow servant ordered me to go over London Bridge, down Lombard-street, along Cheapside, over Blackfriars Bridge, down the New Cut, and when I was in sight of the Marsh Gate, I was to stop." That was the line they were to take, they were to come through the town with these laurels and white cockades, which would attract attention; and it appears that this chaise came about two hours after the other, so that when the rumour began to be languid, this would revive and also strengthen it, the same report reaching London through two channels that morning. "I took that course; Mr. Sandom had on a brown coat, and the other two were in blue coats I think; the horses had laurels upon them; when I was in sight of the Marsh Gate I pulled up, the parties took off their cocked hats, put them into their handkerchiefs, put their round hats on, and they walked away." It had answered their purpose, they had exhibited themselves in the city, and they then resumed their usual habits. "I got to the Marsh Gate about eleven o'clock I should think; Mr. Sandom did not give us any thing at that time, nor pay for the chaise; he asked what house we stopped at; I told him the Bull, Kent-street end, and he came to us there, and gave my fellow servant a £.1 note and the rest in silver; the chaise he did not pay for." Whether it is yet paid for, nobody has informed us.

Mr. Baily is then called again, and he says, "In consequence of inquiries that had been made, Mr. Holloway and Lyte attended the committee of the Stock Exchange. Holloway denied any knowledge of the transaction, after which he came and confessed that he had planned that plot or participated in it; he said that he had done it with view to obtain money by a rise in the public funds; and Lyte said that he had been employed by Mr. M'Rae, at Mr. Holloway's solicitation. Lyte stated, that he and Sandom, and M'Rae, rode in the post chaise from Northfleet to Dartford, and afterwards from Dartford to London; there were present at this time, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Lavie, and Mr. Chaumette. Holloway and Lyte came together, and what Lyte stated, was in the presence of Holloway; he (Holloway) stated, that he was not aware of the serious turn it would take; but finding that it had taken so serious a turn, he had come forward and confessed it, in the hope that the Stock Exchange would not pursue it to extremities. He was asked, whether he had any connexion with Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, or Mr. Butt, and he denied that he had;" and certainly, if his denial was complete evidence of the fact, it would be proper for your consideration in that respect; but what he admits is to be taken as against himself, subject to your discreet consideration of the whole of the circumstances; and you will, upon the whole, determine, whether these defendants conspired with the rest in the promotion of the same end, accomplished by the same or similar means, about the very same period. Mr. Baily adds, that nothing he supposes, but the publicity of the measures, induced Holloway to come forward; and that he believes Holloway stated, that he would communicate all he knew of the business, because M'Rae had offered, for a large sum of money (I believe that sum was mentioned to be ten thousand pounds) to come forward; he denied also any connexion with De Berenger.

Several Brokers are then called. Mr. Robert Hichens, one of them, says; I have known Mr. Cochrane Johnstone for several years, I have never done business for him till the present year; from the 8th of February to the 19th, I made various purchases for him, the balance was £.250,000 omnium, at the leaving off of the business on Saturday; I furnished Mr. Baily with an account of the purchases and sales on Monday the 21st; I met Mr. Cochrane Johnstone as I was coming out of the Stock Exchange, about a quarter before eleven o'clock; I received an order from him on the Saturday to sell £.50,000 at one per cent. profit on the Monday, and that I sold before I saw him on Monday; now it does appear very probable, that the communication this person had made at Dover, might have reached town before De Berenger, for it appears by the evidence of Wright of Rochester, that he had been called up by a post-boy of his brother's at Dover, who had probably brought before De Berenger's arrival at Rochester, some of the news which De Berenger had announced at Dover, for Wright of Rochester addresses him as a person whom he was "_led to suppose_" was the bearer of some very good news; some such cause appears to have operated, so that the stocks were at 29 early in the morning; on the Saturday he ordered me to sell a certain quantity at an eighth per cent. more; I sold the whole of it that day by his directions, at 29, 29-1/8, 29-1/2, 30-3/4 and 30-7/8. I disposed of the whole which Mr. Cochrane Johnstone held at one or other of those prices.

Then on cross-examination, he states Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's balance on this and different days, and it appears that they had been dealing in the funds, with a view to this particular day; for a length of time they all had their hands full of omnium and consols; and the omnium having obtained a price which would allow of a profit, all was sold, and the object appears to have been as much to raise the price a little, so as to get out without present loss, as to gain a profit; this is the substance of the evidence of the different brokers, who all prove the quantities of stock, and that they were both buyers and sellers; the persons who were interested to prevent a depression, must feed the market occasionally as a buyer, I should imagine, though I am not very conversant in these things.

Mr. Baily then states in substance, what from an inspection of the accounts, with which he states himself to have been furnished by the several brokers, Hichens, Fearn, Smallbone, and Richardson, it turns out had been the balances of the three persons, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, Lord Cochrane, and Mr. Butt, in the different speculation they had, which had lasted for a considerable time; from the month of November, according to Mr. Fearn, down to that day, and particularly from the 8th to the 21st of February (the particulars of which are specified in this paper) they appear to have had a larger balance, at least Mr. Cochrane Johnstone appears to have had on an antecedent day, than he had on the 21st of February; but it appears as if they not only were speculating on what they were buying, but they were speculating to such an amount, that unless they got rid of it, every one of them might be ruined; and they had determined, it should seem, on getting a profit of about one per cent. to sell the whole. It turns out, that on the 21st of February, as appears by this paper, £.420,000 of omnium, and £.100,000 of consols, belonged to Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; £.139,000, of omnium to Lord Cochrane; and to Mr. Butt, £.200,000 omnium, and £.178,000 consols. It appears that he sold on that day, £.24,000 more of omnium than he had; and £.10,000 of consols short of what he had; and with those differences merely, they, on that day, evacuate themselves of the whole; and, by Mr. Baily's account, you will see there was a profit upon the whole. The gross amount of the balances of all three, was £.759,000 omnium, and £.278,000 consols, which would make, he says, if the whole amount were reduced to consols and calculated as consols, £.1,611,430, £.3. per cents. Of that quantity of stock they were holders on the 21st of February. When I have stated the total amount as being £.1,611,430, 3 per cents., that is supposing the omnium was calculated in terms of consols; he says, the fluctuation of only _an eighth_, would, upon this large amount, have been a profit of above £.2,000. The profit upon the sales of that day, was, he says, £.10,450. Lord Cochrane's share of this profit was, as he computes, £.2,470.; Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's, £.4,931. 5.; and Mr. Butt's, £.3,048. 15.; he says, "If no news had arrived on the 21st, no person could have sold this large quantity of omnium and consols, without very much depressing the market;" therefore, it was necessary, it should seem, that there should be good news to keep up the market, that great holders of stock might get out of the adventure without loss. "I should think the news arrived in about half an hour after ten; business begins at ten; the news had a gradual effect, as the report was believed, the first decline was about the middle of the day;" he says, "the recovery of the funds was generally attributed to the chaise passing through the city;" therefore one chaise was, in point of effect, a good auxiliary to the other, and the blue coats and the worsted embroidery, aided, it should seem, the effect of the red coat and gold lace; and you will consider whether it was not all part of the same transaction. I think, he says, the chaise through the city carried it to its highest amount; I should think, he says, the accounts were time bargains, from the magnitude of the sums, and it should seem, they were so; but though the gain which these parties made, might not be a legitimate gain arising on legitimate bargains, the evil of this to the fair dealer is palpable, and the argument of its invalidity is a sword with a double edge; its operation, at any rate, is to cut very deeply into the interest of innocent dealers in the funds.

Mr. Wetenall then speaks to the different prices of the stock on that day; he says, "I collect the prices at different times of the day, and furnish the bank with these papers. Omnium left off at 26-3/4, that was the money price; the time price is generally one per cent higher. It commenced on Monday at 26-1/2. On news arriving, it rose to 30-1/4; fell back to 30, and afterwards to 28. After the stocks had begun to fall; on a report of a chaise having come through the city, they rose again."

Pilliner, who was a stock-broker, says; "before the 21st of February I had made purchases for Holloway to the amount of £.20,000 omnium, and £.20,000 consols. I sold for him £.20,000 omnium, and £.14,000 consols. I saw Holloway on the morning of the 21st;" he declines answering whether they were time bargains, or for money; "he desired me to sell his stock, to sell all about the middle of the day. I had acted as broker for him two years."

Then Mr. Steers says, "I am broker to the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery. On Monday the 21st of February I made purchases, as broker for the Court of Chancery, to the amount of fifteen thousand and odd; I bought at 71-5/8 consols; that was the price about eleven o'clock, when the funds had considerably risen; that was all that I did that day for the Accountant General. I can speak to nothing else that day. I purchased £.6,894. 11_s._ 4_d._ consols for the Accountant General, on Saturday, at 70;" therefore the difference between 71-5/8 and 70, seems to have been occasioned by the operation I have before stated to you.

Mr. Wright is next called; he appears to have printed this affidavit by Lord Cochrane's direction, on slips for the newspapers; he says, "In a conversation with Lord Cochrane, when he was giving me directions, he said, I once saw captain De Berenger at dinner at Mr. Basil Cochrane's. I have no reason to think that captain De Berenger is capable of so base a transaction;" giving his own name to the transaction; "but if he is, I have given the committee of the Stock Exchange the best clue to find him out;" he had given them a clue, by giving his name in the manner he has done in his affidavit; but it would have been very ineffectual if De Berenger had carried away his own person previous to that; but it was by accident that he was found at Leith.

Mr. Le Marchant is next called; there is a great deal, he says, which is no evidence against any body but the person who relates it; viz. captain De Berenger, and I do not think it at all necessary to state it; he does himself no credit, and he is a person on the statement of the letters which have been read, whom Government might do very well in letting ride at anchor here without going abroad. He says, however, "I became acquainted with captain De Berenger about eighteen months ago, our acquaintance continued until the 16th of February; from the 10th to the 16th of January he spent his evenings with me occasionally; I learnt that he was connected with Lord Cochrane and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; he stated that he was about to go to America, under the command of Lord Cochrane; upon his mentioning this, I put the question to him, how he could possibly do it under the embarrassments that he lay under, upon which he answered that all was settled on that score; this conversation passed about the 14th of February; he said, that for the services he had rendered to Lord Cochrane and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, whereby his lordship could realize a large sum of money, by means of the funds or stocks. His lordship was his friend, and had told him a few days before, that he had kept unknown to him till that period, a private purse for him De Berenger, he frequently mentioned particular intimacy of dining, breakfasting, and supping with his lordship; he said, in this purse he had deposited a certain per centage out of the profits which his lordship had made by his stock suggestion." This is only what De Berenger says, and the declarations of persons are evidence only against the parties themselves who make them, and do not prove the fact as against any body else. "I afterwards heard of the events of the 21st of February, and made known my suspicions, that captain De Berenger had been active in them, to captain Wright of the East India Company's service, and lieutenant Taylor of the 22d infantry;" he said the per centages were for the benefit of his (De Berenger's) ideas he had given to Lord Cochrane and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone as to stock transactions; it applied to both.

Upon his cross-examination, he says, "I have been corresponding with Lord Cochrane, I am not now a prisoner in the King's Bench, I have never had any communication with Lord Cochrane but in writing; my promotion is not suspended, I hold the situation of Secretary and Register to the Court of Antigua and Montserrat: I have been prevented from going out in consequence of being compelled to give my evidence either at this court or some other court, and only for that purpose; this is my hand-writing; most undoubtedly I must have been compelled to give this evidence upon oath if called upon in a court of justice; I do not give my evidence from resentment, or from any refusal to lend me money; I know one Palfreyman," _he_ is not called. "I am persuaded I never represented myself as having any resentment against Lord Cochrane to Mr. Palfreyman, nor said to him, that I would be Lord Cochrane's ruin;" and it is not proved that he did. "I never told him that I would assist the Stock Exchange; I have a very slight acquaintance with Mr. Palfreyman. The conversation with De Berenger was about the 14th of February; he mentioned to me, that he had expectations of getting some employment in America, to serve under Lord Cochrane; he particularly wished to be employed, that he might be useful in drilling the sharp-shooters, and said other things of that sort; I had a very high opinion of him, as being acquainted with the service; he was adjutant for a number of years in the Duke of Cumberland's sharp shooters. I do not know of his making preparation to go to America at that time, if he should be successful in procuring the appointment he was soliciting."

Upon his re-examination, he says, "The Stock Exchange applied to me to give them information, and sent me a subpoena after Lord Cochrane's publication."

The honourable Alexander Murray is called; he says, "I am not at present an officer in His Majesty's service, I am now in the King's Bench. I have been acquainted with captain De Berenger a year and a half; I was introduced to him by Mr. Tahourdin, who is my solicitor, and likewise Mr. De Berenger's; we were frequently together; when I first went over to the Rules of the Bench, I lodged with Mr. De Berenger in the same house, for about one month; towards the end of January, or beginning of February, I had a conversation with him about a pamphlet that Mr. Harrison was writing, respecting the trial between Mr. Basil Cochrane and Mr. Harrison; Captain De Berenger was, I knew from himself, employed in planning out a small piece of ground for Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; he said that he had a plan in view, with Lord Cochrane and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, which if it succeeded," this is what De Berenger said, "would put many thousand pounds in their pocket; I asked, is that the plan with regard to Ranelagh, which it was proposed to build on Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's land; and he said no, it is not; it is a far better plan. I knew there was a very particular intimacy between Mr. De Berenger and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; I understood Lord Cochrane was a more recent acquaintance, but that there was some acquaintance; I understood that there was a great acquaintance between him and Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, and that he was with him almost every day."

Upon his cross examination, he says, I have known Mr. De Berenger a long while; he is a man of considerable science and attainments; he had been for a considerable time before employed in drawing plans for the Ranelagh. Mr. Cochrane Johnstone has a house in Alsop's Buildings, and about an acre of land behind it, which was to be converted into something upon the plan of the old Ranelagh. As far as I have seen, I believe Mr. De Berenger to be a man of honour and integrity; I saw nothing but the most perfect gentleman during the time I lodged under the same roof.