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at the turnpikes he offered napoleons (a French gold coin) for change. While this was going on at Dover, another party arrived at Northfleet, at five on Monday morning, in a six-oared cutter. They called up a Mr. Sandon, to request that he would accompany two of them to town, who represented themselves to be messengers from France, to communicate the death of Bonaparte, and the hoisting of the Bourbon standard in France. They were decorated with white cockades, and the horses with laurels. They told Sandon that they would first proceed to the lord-mayor, and as if with that intention, they actually entered the city, over London-bridge, but their progress was greatly impeded by the mob, who stopped them at every short distance. Recollecting themselves on a sudden, they said it might be deemed disrespectful by the government, if they did not first communicate with the ministers; and then they ordered the post-boys to Downing-street. Before they reached this destination, however, they got rid of Mr. Sandon, and vanished!

As soon as the fraud was discovered, great indignation was excited on the Stock-Exchange, and measures were immediately taken to discover, if possible, all those who were concerned in it. Accordingly it was soon ascertained, that the person who represented the official bearer of the dispatches announcing the death of Bonaparte, had gone to the house of Lord Cochrane; and it was also found that, on the rise of the funds, occasioned by the false rumour, his broker had sold out stock to a considerable amount. These circumstances combined, left no doubt in the minds of the Stock-Exchange, that he was a party in the scheme; and they also fixed suspicious circumstances on his uncle the honorable Cochrane SE Johnstone, De Berenger, who had represented the official bearer of the dispatches, and others. A true bill having been found against them by to the grand jury, they were tried for a conspiracy, found guilty, and Lord Cochrane, with De Berenger and another, were sentenced to stand in the pillory, as well as to suffer the penalty and punishment inflicted on the rest. Cochrane Johnstone had fled from the country before the trial.

The sentence of Lord Cochrane to the pillory excited very general surprise and indignation throughout the country; for great doubts were entertained by many respecting his guilt. Either from his own fault, or the fault of his counsel, his trial was not ably conducted; there were deficiences in the evidence, as well as apparent contradictions in it, which it afterwards was proved might have been filled up and removed. On these grounds Lord Cochrane moved for a new trial; but it was refused him on grounds no doubt sanctioned by law and precedent, but which we must

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nevertheless think very insufficient: a new trial BOOK XIII. was refused him, because all the parties did not join in the application for it; so that, as Cochrane CHAP. VII. Johnstone was absent, it was impossible to obtain it. But can any thing be more absurd, and, at the same time, more unjust than this, to refuse a man a new trial, not because he does not show he is now in possession of evidence to prove his innocence which he could not produce before, but because those who were connected with him in the supposed conspiracy do not join with him in the application? Besides, the circumstance of one of the parties having fled from justice, as in the case of Cochrane Johnstone, may it not happen in a conspiracy, that one is innocent, while the others are guilty; and consequently that one may have reasons and hopes from a new trial, which the others have not? Indeed, it is not necessary to dwell any longer on this part of the business: so general was the conviction that the ground on which Lord Cochrane was refused a new trial was at variance with justice, that even those who thought the sentence of the pillory not too severe, were of opinion that a new trial ought to have been granted.

We shall now consider the circumstances which led a great many to feel an interest in Lord Cochrane, independently of the interest excited by a belief or suspicion of his innocence. In the first instance, the nature of the fraud itself, and the place where it was committed: it was alleged that it was extremely harsh to punish so severely the propagation of false intelligence on the StockExchange among stock-jobbers, for the purpose of raising or depressing the stock, when it was notorious that scarcely a day passed, in the course of which some members of the Stock-Exchange did not either countenance or create false intelligence, for the same purpose as Lord Cochrane was accused of, its influence on the funds. It was well known (it was moreover urged) that nearly the whole transactions on the Stock-Exchange were of a speculative nature, and some of them. what blunt and rude persons would not hesitate to call gambling transactions: consequently, it was to be supposed, that every person who transacted business there, being acquainted with the character of the place, and the mode in which custom had rendered it common to transact business, would be upon his guard, and examine into the truth of every report likely to influence the funds, before he acted upon that report in buying or selling stock. It seemed hard, therefore, in the opinion of many, that Lord Cochrane should be punished for doing that which had been often done before with impunity by the persons themselves who brought him to punishment, and which also seemed an essential part of the transactions of the place itself. In the second place, the committee of the Stock-Exchange, who

and when your grace had planted the British standard in the heart of the enemy's country, you gave a great example to the world of the practicability of that lesson which the great Roman poet taught his countrymen,

Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos.' "I am conscious, my lord, how inadequately I express the sense of my fellow-citizens of your grace's merits-but they will recollect that where I have failed no one has succeeded-the most eloquent of the British senate, and the first authorities in the two houses of parliament, have confessed themselves unequal to the task. But ample justice will be done to your grace by the world at large, who will frequently and attentively peruse with admiration and delight those inimitable dispatches, which, like the commentaries of Cæsar, will hand down with honor the name of their illustrious author to the latest posterity.

"Your grace has been a chosen instrument in the hands of Providence during war. May you long enjoy in peace the love of your country and the admiration of mankind! and, in the discharge of that honorable office to which his royal highness the prince-regent has recently appointed you, may you cement and perpetuate union and goodwill between Great Britain and France, so essential to the peace and happiness of Europe!"

The noble duke expressed his high sense of the honor conferred upon him by the city; and attributed the success of all his enterprizes to the ability with which he was supported by his brother officers, and to the valour and discipline of his majesty's forces and those of the allies. On receiving the sword, he with particular energy declared his readiness to employ it in the service of his sovereign and his country, should it unfortunately happen that the general wish of the nations of Europe for a permanent peace should be disappointed, and that he should be again called upon to assist in the public cause.

On the conclusion of the campaign in France, the duke proceeded to Paris; and, after a short stay in that city, he repaired to Madrid, where ; he arrived on the 24th of May. His reception there was such as his eternal services entitled him to expect. Ferdinand, considering that the rank of generalissimo was but of a temporary nature, granted him, as a permanent distinction, and as a lasting proof of the high sense he enter tained of his exploits, the title of captain-general of the kingdom. He also confirtned all his honors as a grandee of Spain, and a knight-companion of the order of the Golden Fleece; honors, which, without such a recognition, would have been void, in consequence of the royal decree which had brogated all the grants of the late regency. On

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to the high and important function of ambassador- BOOK XIII. extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the court of France. On the 7th of August he had his au- CHAP. VII. dience of leave of the prince-regent, and on the 8th left town for the continent, accompanied by his eldest son, the Marquis of Douro. In his way to Paris, he passed through the Netherlands, and made a sort of military tour to all the principal fortified towns of those countries, in company with the Prince of Orange. On the 20th, he arrived at Paris; and, on the 24th, had the honor of presenting his credentials, with the usual ceremonies, to Louis XVIII. When he was introduced to monsieur, that prince said, "the king, and all the royal family, view with the most lively pleasure the selection which the prince-regent has made, of a hero worthy to represent him. 'It is our wish and hope to see a durable peace established between the two nations, made rather for mutual esteem than for hostility."

Although the months of June and July had been distinguished in the metropolis by an almost constant succession of spectacles of grandeur and festivity, all bearing relation to the great and happy events which had taken place in the earlier part of the year, yet it was determined, in the councils of the prince-regent, that the return of peace should be marked by displays of joy still more striking and appropriate to the occasion, and of which the whole public might be partakers. Of the particular character of these exhibitions, and the time when they were to make their appearance, considerable indecision seems to have prevailed. It was at first understood that the show was to be combined with some entertainment of superior splendour to be given to the imperial and royal visitors; but the shortness of their stay would not allow time for the vast preparations to be brought near to completion. With respect to the subject of celebration, the renewal of peace was naturally that which first presented itself; and over the royal booth an inscription was placed to this effect: viz. "Peace restored under the regency." But, from delay, peace was now become a circumstance with which the public mind was familiarized; and it was at length resolved to associate with it the accession of the house of Brunswick, by selecting the day on which that happy event took place a hundred years before. A new inscription pointed out this intention; and the names of Nelson and Wellington, in great letters upon the booth, further indicated that our naval and military glories were to form other objects to which the joyful feelings of the spectators were to be directed.

The three parks were properly chosen for the scene of this civic jubilee, as alone affording space for the expansion of the immense multitudes

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BOOK XIII. that of St. James's, the principal attraction to curiosity was a Chinese bridge thrown over the CHAP. VII. canal, upon the centre of which was erected a lofty pagoda, while the other parts were decorated with pillars and boxes for the exhibition of fireworks. The Bird-cage-walk, and part of the Mall, were hung with Chinese lanterns. In the Green-park, on the edge of the Mall, was placed the royal booth, of a circular form, with a gallery attached to it, for the ministers of state, foreign ministers, and other distinguished. persons. Not far from it, in the same park, was the grand edifice, intitled the Temple of Concord, the general design of which was the invention of Sir. W. Congreve, and the external decorations were by Greenwood and Latilla. From the queen's palace a bridge of communication to the Green-park was thrown over the road of Constitution-hill. In Hyde-park the Serpentine river was allotted for the spectacle of a naumachia, in which a British and French fleet, represented by barges brought from Woolwick, and fitted up to resemble men of war of the line, and frigates, were to exhibit the manœuvres and circumstances of a naval fight. The park itself was covered with a multitude of booths, erected by permission, and fraught with all the variety of amusement and recreation belonging to a country fair.

During the whole progress of preparation, and especially as it approached to completion, the parks were the great object of public curiosity, and became the most crowded promenade of the metropolis. The daily papers were likewise filled with descriptions and speculations relative to the expected jubilee, which even was a subject of parliamentary discussion; and not a little satire, both within and without doors, was bestowed upon the fluctuations of the plan, and particularly upon the mimic naumachia, which, after the late display of real power and grandeur at Portsmouth, was treated as a kind of burlesque, calculated only for the diversion of holiday cockneys. At length, on July 31, the following public notification was issued by anthority: "August 1st is the day fixed for a grand national jubilee, being the centenary of the accession of the illustrious family of Brunswick to the throne of this kingdom, and the anniversary of the battle of the Nile. Hydepark, in which there will be a grand fair, is entirely open to the people. The Green-park will also be entirely open to the people. The Mall of St. James's-park, and Constitution-hill, will also be open to the people, to enter by Spring-gardens and New-street gates. The lawn in St. James'spark, and the Bird-cage-walk, will be devoted to those who have purchased tickets." Then followed a description of the accommodation prepared for the public. The conclusion ran thus:

Let not the people, therefore, listen to those who would poison their minds-to those who are

the constant enemies of all public joy. Let them be assured, that the object of the peaceful festival, is to give to all ranks and orders a grateful occasion to indulge in that full participation of happiness to which their perseverance, in a most sanguine and trying contest, crowned with unprecedented success, has so richly entitled them."

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The appointed day, which began with a lowering sky, turned out perfectly fine, and nothing occurred to prevent the enjoyment of the whole circle of entertainment provided for the public. After a morning and noon spent by the crowds of every rank which thronged the parks, in wandering from place to place, the exhibitions began with the ascent of Mr. Sadler, jun. in a balloon from the Green-park about six in the evening. He rose almost perpendicularly till nearly out of view, when the machine gently moved in the direction of Kent. About eight, the naval action in the Serpentine river commenced; and by a judicious variety of action, and the grand display of a ship on fire, this spectacle afforded more pleasure than might have been supposed from the ridicule attached to it. But the great object of general expectation was the fire-works, of which the centre was the magnificent edifice in the Green-park. This erection at first exhibited the appearance of a fortified castle, from the battlements of which the most brilliant showers of rockets were thrown, whilst the walls disclosed every curious and complicated contrivance of the pyrotechnic art. After every eye had been astonished and delighted for two hours with these displays, the metamorphosis took place of the castle into the Temple of Concord, richly illuminated with a profusion of differently-coloured lamps, and decorated with suitable emblems and devices. The mechanical skill exercised in producing this change, the grandeur of the effect, and the whole of this part of the exhibition, seem to have excited universal admiration. The illumination of the Chinese bridge in St. James'spark, with its pagoda and other appendages, was extremely brilliant; but the close of it was rendered somewhat tragical, by the accidental conflagration of the pagoda itself, attended with mischief to some of the attendants, and even the eventual loss of one or two lives. This was the only disaster accompanying the whole of the day's amusements, notwithstanding gloomy predictions of the pressure and ungovernable violence of the populace. On the contrary, all was quiet and harmony, and the inconveniences of a crowd were less felt than in any common cause of assemblage in the streets of London. On the whole, though the amusements were protracted to a tedious length, and the want of a decided object of festivity deadened every feeling but that of curiosity, the day will live in the remembrance of those who witnessed its splendours, and will not be un

recorded by future historians of the British metropolis.

The queen gave a grand entertainment at her palace to a large party of members of the royal family and other distinguished persons, who came to view the different exhibitions in the park's.

In Ireland, such a spirit of outrage and lawless violence was manifested in several of the counties this year, that it was thought necessary to arm the magistrates with extraordinary powers for the preservation of the public peace.

In the proceedings of the Irish Roman Catholics in the last and the present year, a spirit of disunion had manifested itself in that body, which operated unfavorably upon the efforts that were made towards an improvement of their situation. In the beginning of May was made public a letter sent to the Right Rev. Dr. Poynter from Monsieur Quarantotti, president of the sacred missions at Rome, communicating his opinion, and that of a council of the most learned prelates and theologians, on the letters transmitted by Dr. Poynter and the catholic Archbishop of Dublin, relative to the proposed bill for catholic emancipation. Their determination was, that the propositions should be gratefully accepted, with an explanation of the second article of the oath, by which the clerical person is bound to have no intercourse with the supreme pontiff or his ministers, which can directly or indirectly subvert or disturb the protestant church. It is observed, that if this be construed to prohibit all attempts to bring back protestants to the orthodox faith, it cannot be taken; but if the meaning be only to interdict all attempts to disturb the established church by force of arms, or by disingenuous arts, the oath is unobjectionable. The remaining articles of the bill are declared to be such as may be allowed by the indulgence of the apostolic chair.

A meeting of the catholic board at Dublin being held on May 7th, Mr. O'Connel made a speech, expressing great indignation at this interference of the slaves at Rome (as he termed them) to instruct the Irish catholics concerning the manner of their emancipation. It was on no theological ground, but upon that of its danger to civil liberty, that he objected to the late bill, which would place in the hands of ministers a new and extensive source of patronage; and he would rather that the catholics should for ever remain as they were, than receive it on such terms. He concluded with moving that a committee be appointed to prepare resolutions for the aggregate meeting, which was agreed to. The catholic priests of Dublin also, on May 12, held a convocation to take into consideration the rescript of Quarantotti, when they declared it non-obligatory on the catholic church in Ireland, and passed resolutions against the granting to an anti-catholic

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government any power, direct or indirect, with re- BOOK XIN, gard to the appointment of catholic bishops. The aggregate meeting was held on the 19th, at which CHAP. VII. the rescript above-mentioned was the principal subject of discussion. Mr. O'Connel having proposed the following resolution, "That we deem it a duty to ourselves, and to our country, solemnly and distinctly to declare, that any decree, mandate, rescript, or decision whatsoever, of any foreign power or authority, religious or civil, ought not, and cannot of right, assume any dominion or control over the political concerns of the catholics of Ireland," delay was recommended by another speaker till the opinion of the catholic bishops was known. A great majority, however, opposed delay, and the resolution was adopted. The catholic clergy of many of the provincial dioceses unanimously resolved against the rescript; and at length the catholic bishops, at a general meeting held at Maynooth, on May 25th, passed, among other resolutions, two, of which the first declared Quarantotti's rescript not mandatory; and the second resolved, that a communication be opened with the holy see on the subject of the said 'document, and that two persons be deputed to convey their unanimous sentiments to the chief pastor.

The proceedings of the catholic board had been so intemperate, that it was not to be wondered at, in the disturbed state of part of Ireland, that government should at length exercise its authority to suppress it. On June 3d the lord-lieutenant, with the advice of the privy-council, issued a proclamation, declaring the board contrary to law, and giving notice that if it should renew its meetings, all the members would be proceeded against legally.

We shall close this chapter by laying the substance of Judge Fletcher's charge to the grand jury, at the Tipperary assizes, on the state of Ireland.

His lordship made some preliminary observations on the general duty of the grand juror's office; bound as he was from the station in which he was placed, between the government and the people, to a scrupulous inquiry into the ground of every matter of presentment. After his lordship had expatiated on this topic he proceeded to notice more particularly the state of the country. From the appearance of the calendar, although the quantity of criminal business was very great, he found it had been exceeded on recent occasions, and hoped he might congratulate the country, from this comparison, that some improvement had fortunately taken place in the public manners. If, however, unhappily, the country continued to be disturbed, notwithstanding the enactment of law after law, enforcing a coercion unknown to the constitution, it showed most clearly that the check against this contagion was