lonel Du Bourgh; and, having got out of the post-chaise at the Marsh-gate, took a hackney-coach, and went off. Concurrent with this part of the hoax another was going on from Northfleet, whence came two gentlemen, accompanied with a person, named Sandoin, who is stated to have absented himself from the rules of the King's Bench. These persons, when they arrived at Dartford, took a post-chaise and four, dressed the horses in laurel, spread the same news that the pretended Du Bourgh had spread, drove over London Bridge, through the City, over Blackfriars' Bridge, and having alighted near the turnpike, called the Marsh-gale, at Lambeth, they went to the bank of the Thames, took a boat to go to Whitehall, and thus disappeared. This branch of the hoax made a great stir in the City, especially among those who were interested in the price of stock. In the meanwhile, as has been stated in the public prints, expresses, amounting in number to ten or a dozen in all, conveyed in post-chaises and four, were pouring in from Dover and Northfleet with the intelligence to particular persons; a fact both curious and important, because it shows, that the fund-dealing transactions include a regularly established system for the obtaining of early intelligence from the coast, which, of itself, appears to be little short of the act alleged against the pretended Du Bourgh. These expresses appear to have confirmed the success of the delusion. Some of the wary birds were shy, at first; but, as in the case of the bird-catching à la Pipée, practised in France, when the pies, the jays, the crows, and jackdaws began to flock in, the noise and confusion were such as to be sufficient to terrify even the birdcatcher himself. To this scene, which those who witnessed it appear to be utterly unable to describe; to this scene of joy and and of greedy expectation of gain, suc; ceeded in a few hours, that of disappoint

ment, shame at having been gulled, the clenching of fists, the grinding of teethy the tearing of hair, all the outward and visible signs of those inward commotions of disappointed avarice in some, consciousness of ruin in others, and in all boiling revenge, so strongly and so beautifully, or, rather, so horribly, depicted by the matchless pencil of Hogarth.

Unless we take into consideration, that it was under the influence of feelings like these, so naturally opposing obstructions to the operation of reason and common sense, and so necessarily hostile to the ascertaining of truth and the doing of justice; unless we take this into our consideration; unless we consider, that it was under this senseless, this mad, this almost infuriated influence, that the pursuit after the authors of the Hoax was commenced and continued, we shall in vain seek for a cause sufficiently powerful to have produced those assertions, so flagrantly inconsistent in themselves in some cases, and so audaciously false in others, on which the charge against my Lord Cochrane, his Uncle, and Mr. Butt, has been founded, and which assertions, after a few more words in the way of narrative, it shall be my business to refute and expose.

A Committee of what is called the Stock

Exchange, and the true description of which body I may hereafter have to give, was formed; and, for the sake of greater dispatch of business, I suppose, they appointed what they called a SUB-COMMITTEE, consisting of ten persons, whose names were as follows: CHARLES LAWRENCE, CHARLES NAIRNE, BENJAMIN OAKLEY, L. A. DE LA CHAUMETT, CHRISTOPHER TERRY, FRANCIS WAKEFIELD, FRANCIS BAILEY, JOHN LEWIS, JOHN CAPEL, WILLIAM HAMMOND. These gentlemen, on the 7th instant, made and published a Report, and added to it what they called "Minutes of Evidence," which

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'on being answered in the affirmative, he 'went into the parlour apparently for that purpose; that he took his portmanteau and sword in his hand, and laid them down, as if familiar with the house: that on Crane's asking for more money, he came to the parlour door and gave him another shilling; that Crane then left him in the house, and the door being 'shut, he drove away; that he should know the house again to which he drove, and also that he should know the Gentleman again by his speech; that he looked like a foreigner, had a cough, and was a red'faced man, about the middle size; that he had on a brown great-coat, with red-coat under it, and a fur-cap with gold lace; that the servant who opened the door was a short man, rather elderly, ' and dressed in black clothes.

"SAYER, the Police-officer, stated, that on Saturday, February the 26th, he went 'with William Crane, the hackney-coachman, to Green-street, in order to identify the house. When they arrived there, he • desired the coachman to knock at the door, and (under some pretence) inquire for the Gentleman whom he had set down there on Monday. He did so, but was answered from the area, that the Gentleman did not live there; that Mr. Durand did live there, but that he had just left it that the family now residing there was 'Lord Cochrane's, and that they came in only on Friday last. Sayer asked the 'coachman if he had any recollection of the servant, he replied, that it was not the same footman who opened the door on 'Monday when the Gentleman alighted.

At a subsequent examination, Sayer 'stated, that he had obtained information ' in the neighbourhood, that Mr. Durand left No. 13, Green-street, on Wednesday, February the 16th, and that Lord Cochrane came in a day or two afterwards.Sayer being instructed to obtain the most correct information upon this subject, stated, at another examination, that he had ascertained that Lord Cochrane came into the house, No. 13, Greenstreet, on Thursday, Feb. 17, but that it is uncertain whether Mr. Durand slept there that night or not; he likewise stated, that he had ascertained that Lord Gochrane, his brother, and three or four more men, live in the house; that the man• servant had been turned off, and another hired; that the servant who let in the

pretended Du Bourgh is sent into the country; that the maid-servant is not allowed to be seen or spoken to; that the house is Mr. Durand's, who has let it (furnished) to Lord Cochrane; that Mrs. Durand has been seen to wear such a cap as the one which the pretended Du Bourgh is said to have worn.

MR. LAURENCE (chairman of the com mittee) stated, that he had been to 'Messrs. Bond and Co. bankers, and had 'ascertained that the four 11. Bank-notes

which the pretended Du Bourgh is said to have paid away to the landlord of the 'Ship Inn, Dover, together with another 11. note which he had paid away on the road, were in their hands between the 'hours of one and two o'clock on Satur day, the 19th of February; on being ' asked whether they could tell to whom they had paid away any quantity of 17. notes after that time on Saturday, they said they could not without a great deal of trouble, but that if Mr. Laurence would ' mention the name of any person, they 'would turn to their account, and endea vour to ascertain the fact: he requested them to see if any cheque of Mr. Fearn's was paid on that day, wholly or in part, in 17. notes; but it did not appear that any ' of his cheques were paid in that way. One three or four o'clock on that day, Mr. Tho ' of his clerks, however, stated, that about mas Christmas, a clerk to Mr. Fearn, requested to have fifty 17. notes in exchange for four 101. notes and two 51. notes, ' which were accordingly given to him.

MR. THOMAS CHRISTMAS stated, that he was a clerk to Mr. Fearn, but could not recollect having exchanged the notes in question; he, however, said, that he would not take his oath he did not. After much hesitation and apparent unwillingness, he at length acknowledged that he had exchanged the four ten-pound and two five-pound notes for Mr. Butt, to whom he delivered the fifty one-pound notes.

MR. GLOVER, from the Bank of England, investigator of Bank-notes, stated, 'that the four ten-pound bank-notes which ' had been delivered by Mr. Butt to Tho mas Christmas, in order to get exchanged, were paid on February 16, by Messrs. 'Bond and Co. in part of the value of a draft for 754. drawn by Mr. Fearn, and payable to Mr. Butt.

aiding and assisting the Sub-Committee with all the means in its power; previous to the promulgation of these Minutes, all sorts of means had been taken to prepossess the public mind against the three gentlemen in question. A placard, containing their names, was stuck up at the Stock-Exchange, clearly signifying that they had been the authors of the hoax. This placard immediately found its way into the news-papers, and that pack of curs opened, full-cry, upon all the three parties, but especially upon Lord Cochrane and his Uncle, who were, by these impudent and unprincipled men, destined to be expelled from Parliament and to be put in the pillory. It would be endless 'to give an account of all the abominable paragraphs which were published before this Report and these Minutes of the Sub-Committee appeared; but, the appearance of these was the signal for such a general, such an outrageous assault upon the character of these gentlemen as the oldest man living has not witnessed; and, the wonder really is, that their houses were not demolished by the populace and themselves torn to pieces. It was spoken of as a matter quite settled, that my Lord Cochrane was to be turned out of the naval service, and that both he and his Uncle were to be expelled from the House of Commons.

In this state of things, Lord Cochrane made and published the affidavit, which was inserted in the last Number of the Register, and which certainly gave a turn, or, at least, a check, to this tide of public opinion. But, the accusers, though time had, in some degree, cooled their rage, appeared to be unwilling to let go their prey. My Lord Cochrane has made another publication since, which seems to have produced a proper effect. I have, therefore, now much less to do than I at first expected; nevertheless, it will be necessary to go into every point of charge, and to show, that every thing, on which these infamous calumnies have been founded, is false. As I proposed, therefore, I shall state the assertions, on which the charge has been built, in distinct propositions; and then examine those propositions, under their separate heads, applying, or referring to, my autherity or evidence, as I proceed.

1. That the Hoaxer went directly from the Dartford post-chaise to Lord Cochrane's house, No. 13, Green-street, Grosvenor-square.

2. That Lord Cochrane went home to him immediately, from the city, upon receiving a note from him.

3. That Lord Cochrane was at Mr. Fearn's, the Broker's, office, in the city, at ten o'clock, on the morning of the Hoax, along with the other two gentlemen.

4. That, immediately after this, one of Lord Cochrane's servants was turned away, and another sent to the country. 5. That the gold Napoleons, expended by the Hoaxer, on the road, were purchased by Lord Cochrane, at Binns and Co. by the means of a draft on his banker.

6. That the Bank Notes, expended by the Hoaxer on the road, were obtained by Mr. Butt, at a Banker's, in the City, on Saturday, the 19th of February.

7. That the office, used by Mr. Fearn, the Broker, had been taken for him, without his knowledge, by Lord Cochrane and Mr. Cochrane John

stone.

8. That, on the afternoon, Saturday, the nineteenth of February, the three accused gentlemen, purchased above a million of stock, which was all sold for them on the morning of the Hoax, that is to say, on the very next Monday the twenty-first of February.

Now, when the reader has gone through these propositions; these assertions, so boldly, so unqualifiedly made, he will not be surprised, that the public should have believed in the charge; for, though some of them are of a nature not to be believed; though it is to set reason and nature at defiance to believe them to be true; yet, taking them all together, they form a chain of circumstances so complete, that conviction becomes inevitable, especially as the greater part of them come forth under the name of "evidence," the public not adverting to the important circumstances of this "evidence" not having been given upon oath. I have, if I can find time and room, much more to say, and I will say it now or hereafter, of the conduct of this Sub-Committee of the Stock-Exchange; but, at present, I shall go on with my inquiry into the assertions, above stated, in their regular order.

1. That the Hoaxer went directly from the Dartford post-chaise to Lord Cochrane's