THE Law Magazine and Law Review: OR, QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE. No. XX. ART. I. THE TRIAL OF LORD COCHRANE. 1. The Trial of Lord Cochrane and Others for a Conspiracy, in the Court of King's Bench, Guildhall, on the 8th and 9th June, 1814, taken in short-hand by W. B. Gurney, short-hand writer to both Houses of Parliament. London: Butterworths, 1814. 2. Report of Lord Cochrane's Trial in the " Times" newspaper, 1814. 3. The Autobiography of a Seaman, by Thomas, Tenth Earl of Dundonald. London: Bentley, 1860. THE second volume of the Autobiography of one of England's greatest seamen was scarce published, when, within the precincts of Westminster, was dug the grave which received his mortal remains. Lord Cochrane's exploits, his genius as a warrior, his victories over the foreigner, and his persecution by his countrymen; his outrageous mistreatment by the government of the day, his uncompromising politics and erratic disposition—are, however, not themes for our pages. One passage, nevertheless, in his long and checkered career-that of his prosecution at the instance of the Committee of the Stock Exchange, for conspiracy, with other speculators, to effect, unlawfully, a sudden rise in Stocks-may properly be considered here; because VOL. X. NO. XX. it is a very remarkable trial; and having been again discussed by the late Earl himself, very minutely, with new evidence adduced in the second volume of the "Autobiography" before us, public interest in the criminal proceedings, of which he was the victim, has been revived. About midnight, on the 21st February, 1814, a person calling himself "Colonel du Bourg, aide-de-camp to Lord Cathcart," presented himself at the Ship Hotel, at Dover. He represented that he had just arrived from Calais by a French smack-that he was the bearer of important intelligence from Paris, to the effect that Buonaparte had been killed by the Cossacks-that the allied armies were in full march for Paris, and that immediate peace was certain. He forwarded the news to the PortAdmiral at Deal,1 with the view of its being thus officially communicated to government, and probably the thickness of the atmosphere alone prevented the government telegraphs being employed to transmit the intelligence to London. This Colonel du Bourg was dressed in a grey military great-coat, and scarlet embroidered uniform. He was decorated with a star and medal, and carried with him a small portmanteau. After he had despatched his letter to Admiral Foley, he ordered a post-chaise and four for London. He produced Napoleons and one pound notes to pay his bill, and set off for London. At Canterbury and Dartford, the post stages, the good news was repeated and spread, and the distinguished colonel, and happy bearer of the important news, reached London in triumph, where he got out of the chaise. 1" To the Hon. J. Foley, Port-Admiral, Deal. "Dover, 1 o'clock a.m., February 21, 1814. "Sir, I have the honor to acquaint you that the L'Aigle, from Calais, Pierre Duquin, master, has this moment landed me near Dover, to proceed to the capital with dispatches of the happiest nature. I have pledged my honor that no harm shall come to the crew of the L'Aigle; even with a flag of truce they immediately stood for sea. Should they be taken, I have to entreat you immediately to liberate them. My anxiety will not allow me to say more for your gratification, than that the allies obtained a final victory; that Buonaparte was overtaken by a party of Sachen's Cossacks, who immediately slaid him and divided his body between them. General Platoff saved Paris from being reduced to ashes. The allied sovereigns are there, and the white cockade is universal; an immediate peace is certain. In the utmost haste, I entreat your consideration, and have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, "R. Du Bourg." This he did at the Marsh gate, on the Surrey side of the river, and then taking a hackney-coach, he drove to the house of Lord Cochrane, 13, Green Street. This Colonel du Bourg turned out to be Charles De Berenger, a prisoner within the rules of the King's Bench. The news which De Berenger thus brought was carried into the city by those who sought to profit by using it early, and Stocks and Funds rose in consequence. "Omnium," which was quoted at ten o'clock at 27, rose to 30. It began to droop about twelve, from some suspicion as to the authenticity of the information; but between twelve and one, confidence was again restored by the appearance of a post-chaise and four driving through the city, with three persons in it, two of whom were dressed like French officers. They made a triumphal progress through the city, dispersing little billets corroborating the intelligence which De Berenger had brought. These French officers turned out to be persons of the names of Sandon, M'Rae, and Lyte, who, with Lord Cochrane, Johnstone, Butt, Holloway, and De Berenger, were, on the 8th and 9th June, indicted for thus conspiring "to injure and aggrieve the subjects of their lord the king, who should make purchases of and in the Stocks and Funds, on 19th February, at the parish of St. Bartholomew, by the Exchange, in the Ward of Broad Street, in London." The indictment was nominally prosecuted by a committee of the Stock Exchange, and it terminated, as the reader knows, in the conviction of all the accused. No doubt need be entertained that, with the exception of Lord Cochrane, and perhaps Butt, they were rightly convicted. It, therefore, is not necessary to recall the particulars of the trial as it affected them. But with regard to the evidence against Lord Cochrane, and the circumstances connected with his trial, we purpose to draw attention. We have seen that, immediately on his arrival in London, on Monday, 21st February, De Berenger drove direct to Lord Cochrane's house.1 With this fact the prosecution connected 1 De Berenger does not seem to have personally taken any further steps to spread the false report. He left fame and sharp-eared speculators to do all that was necessary. another, that Lord Cochrane was possessed of a considerable amount of "omnium," which he sold at a profit of 1 per cent., on the particular Monday above-mentioned; and further, that his uncle, Cochrane Johnstone, with whom it was alleged he was intimate, and Mr. Butt, who was his broker, had similar speculations, and had been with him the morning of the hoax.1 It was, however, upon the first two points, viz., De Berenger's visit to Lord Cochrane, and his speculative sale of "omnium," that suspicion chiefly attached. If De Berenger, it seems admitted now on all points, had appeared before Lord Cochrane dressed in the uniform and with the decorations of a French colonel, in which he had imposed on the Dover people, and made his journey to London, it was reasonable to suppose that Lord Cochrane's suspicion might well have been aroused, and that he would have instituted inquiries; and it will be seen a great part of the interest of the evidence turns upon whether De Berenger appeared at Lord Cochrane's in a red coat or in a green one. The latter being the uniform of a corps of sharpshooters to which he belonged, was one he might well wear without exciting particular notice. It happened that Lord Cochrane had, immediately after the event we have related, joined the Tonnant at Chatham, and was preparing to sail for the North American station; but he learnt that injurious reports connecting his name with the conspiracy were abroad, and he applied for leave of absence from the ship. "On my return to town," says Lord Cochrane," "I found that, although the authorities were ignorant of the name of the person who came to my house on the 21st February, public rumour did not hesitate to impute to me complicity in his transactions, simply from the fact of the suspected person, whoever he might be, having been there. "To rebut this insinuation was of the first importance. Ac 1 Lord Ellenborough was very wroth with a witness who termed "such a crime as this is a hoax;" but, we submit, a hoax need not be necessarily petty or playful, nor unconnected with anticipated profit. 'Autobiography, vol. ii. p. 333, cordingly, I immediately consulted my legal advisers. [The eminent firm of Farrer & Co.] "The result was, that an affidavit was prepared and submitted to an eminent barrister, Mr. Gurney (afterwards Baron Gurney), to whom I disclosed every particular relative to the visit of De Berenger, as well as my own previous, though very unimportant, transactions in the public funds. I was advised by him and my own solicitors to confine myself to supplying the authorities with the name of De Berenger, as the person seen in uniform at my house on the 21st ultimo. "With this suggestion, wisely or unwisely-but certainly in all honesty-I refused to comply, expressing my determination to account for all my acts on 21st February, even to the entire of my whole time on that day. Finding me firm on this point, the affidavits were settled by Mr. Gurney, and sworn to; the name of De Berenger for the first time thus becoming known to those who were in quest of him." The affidavit, which it is necessary to give at length, was as follows: "AFFIDAVIT MADE BY ME, DISCLOSING DE BERENGER AS THE VISITOR TO MY HOUSE ON THE 21ST FEBRUARY, 1814. "Having obtained leave of absence to come to town, in consequence of scandalous paragraphs in the public papers, and in consequence of having learnt that hand-bills had been affixed in the streets, in which (I have since seen) it is asserted that a person came to my house, No. 13, Green Street, on the 21st day of February, in open day, and in the dress in which he had committed a fraud, I feel it due to myself to make the following deposition, that the public may know the truth relative to the only person seen by me in military uniform at my house on that day. "COCHRANE. "Dated 13, Green Street, March 11, 1814." "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 with 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 |