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part of the punishment of her son, and that it might be followed, very soon, by a free pardon. But this, he said, was not to be done without money, for there was to be a guinea paid in one way, and a guinea in another, so that he was to have nothing of it himself. If the money could be procured, the pardon would follow as of course. The jury would easily conceive that a mother, believing that a pardon could be thus obtained for her son, would strain every nerve to procure the money. At first she could only raise three guineas, part of the sun which the prisoner required for this purpose; part of this she borrowed and gave to the prisoner. He then said he must have more money. He appointed the next day to see her for that purpose. He afterwards

gave the mother hopes that pardon would soon arrive; in the mean time he had two guineas more of her. She saw no more of him for a month, during which time she was in the most anxious suspense, dreading the execution of her son, but still waiting for the hopeful effect of this man's interest with these great characters. On a subsequent application from the prisoner to obtain another guinea from this poor woman, he had it, and that was all she could raise; she then said she hoped the pardon would soon arrive. He said it was actually accomplished, and only waited for certain matters of form that were absolutely necessary in such cases. He then asked her, in case the pardon came, how much more she would give him? She said, she would make it ten guineas. He asked how that was to be paid? She said she would give him her note of hand. No! a note of hand would not do; and finding he could not get any thing else from her, he made

use of a sentence that disgraced the character of a man. He damned her blood, and said he would do no more for her son: in that state he should leave her, and that he would use his influence to stop the pardon from going any further. In this distracted state this poor woman was left by the prisoner. However, she had afterwards an opportunity of stating her condition to those who, for the purposes of public justice, instituted this prosecution. The prisoner's pretence was, that he had interest with the duke of Portland. That noble duke was at the head of that department of the state, from whence, on such occasions, the royal mercy flowed. It was the most valuable, the most important, and, he believed, he might add, the most pleasant prerogative of his majesty, to shew his royal mercy; but he was confident that the noble duke would never suffer an appeal to be made to it, in his name, but in the most delicate manner, and on the most proper occasion. It was not to be obtained for money, nor by any influence whatever, except in cases where it was just and proper that appeal should be made to the fountain of mercy. He should therefore be under the necessity of calling upon the noble duke to declare whether the prisoner had any influence with him not that any man of sense in the kingdom could suspect such a thing, but merely out of form, to support one of the allegations of this indictment. He should put the same question, for the same reason, to sir Watkin Lewes and Mr. Baldwin. He should call the other witnesses to prove the case, and then, he believed, the jury would congratulate themselves on the opportunity they had of doing justice to the public in this most important case.

The

The conviction and sentence of John Sanders, the person for whom the prisoner pretended he would obtain a pardon, was proved, as a necessary point of form.

Ann Keys, the mother, was then called. She gave her evidence as follows:

I had a son of the name of John Sanders, he was convicted and confined in Newgate. I know the prisoner very well. He became acquainted with me by means of a woman of the name of Sells. He had done something for some smugglers that were confined. On the 1st or 2d of July, I do not know which, he came to me from Sells. He came to my house on a Saturday, but as I was not at home then, he came again on the Sunday after noon. The first thing he asked me was, if I had a son in trouble? I told him I had. He told me he could be of great service to him, but it would be attended with a very great expense. I told him I was a poor woman, but I would do all that was in my power. He said he was sometimes a rich man himself, sometimes a poor man, sometimes a house-keeper, and sometimes a room-keeper. He told me he was a serjeant under sir Watkin Lewes in the city militia. He asked me what I would agree to give him for getting my son on board a man of war? I told him my son had served his majesty, and was wounded on the 1st of June, and that I wished him to serve his majesty again. He told me he could do it with a great deal of ease; that he had cleared smugglers, and that it was a great deal easier to clear a criminal than a smuggler, because smugglers were against government. He said, if I would put five guineas down, he would make no doubt but that he

should clear him, so that in a very little time he should go and serve his majesty. I agreed to give him five guineas. He told me if he could not get him to serve his majesty on board a man of war, he would return me my money again. He said he had an influence with Mr. Baldwin, and if he knocked at the door of the duke of Portland's house, he was introduced to his grace when noblemen in their carriages were obliged to wait. He told me he should not ask for any more money; but if he got my son on board a man of war, he should leave it to my generosity. He said he had an influence with his grace the duke of Portland's groom of the bed-chamber, and that he had been with him a great many times. I told him I had but three guineas then, but that I would the next day give him the remaining two guineas. I gave him the three guineas, and the next day he came for the other two. He said he had no doubt but that he should get the pardon, and that very soon, to go on board of a man of war, but if his free pardon came down he should not be surprized. All I wanted was a pardon on condition of his serving his majesty. He said that Mr. Baldwin was a great friend of his; that he was a serjeant in the city militia. Nothing further passed then. About a fortnight afterwards he came to me and shook hands with me; he wished me joy, and told me all was finished, but wanted to know if [ could let him have a couple more guineas. I told him it was not in my power. He asked me if I would meet him in Newgate on the next Sunday, and let him have one guinea more? I agreed to meet him in Newgate, and I met him there in the condemned room, where my

son

son was, and there I gave him one guinea. He shook hands with my, son's friend, and wished him joy of his friend's pardon, which was come down, he said. I did not see him afterwards for a fortnight or three weeks, at which period he called at my house, and told me that all was settled, but asked me to let him have two more guineas. I told him it was not in my power to let him have it. I told him the agreement was for five guineas; and that I would give him more when my son was pardoned on condition of serving his majesty, upon which he put himself in a great passion, and said-" Damn his blood, he would not do any more for him; and he would stop what he had done for bim." He told me that he saved his life. No," says I; "you have not saved his life. Mr. sheriff Liptrap has saved his life, if it is saved; for he had presented a petition for him." The prisoner said, it was the same sort of business as the smugglers' he had been promised 30%. for that, but had only 13. He asked me what money I would give him of my own generosity, if his pardon should come down. I told him he had had six, and that I would give him four more, to make it ten. He said, "Ten!-what is ten?" "A great deal," said I, "for such a poor woman as I am." He asked me how he was to come at that money? I told him I would give him my note of hand. He said, that would not do. I said, "I would seil the bed from under me, when ins pardon comes, to give you the money." He said, that would not do it was not enough. At this time I began to suspect him. I thought he was a bad man. He said the money went through so many different channels, that he

should not have a halfpenny of it left for himself. From that time I saw no more of him, until I saw him at Bow-street.

Sarah Hackett corroborated the last witness, and swore she saw some of the money paid to the prisoner, who came to the mother's house in consequence of an application that she understood had been made to him by the wife of Sanders, and who made that application to the prisoner after having heard that he had procured the pardon of some smugglers.

The duke of Portland was then examined, to prove, the matter of form stated by Mr. Garrow. The noble duke said, that the prisoner had no influence whatever with bim.

Mr. Baldwin said, that certainly the prisoner had no influence with him, but on the contrary. That he held a confidential office under his grace the duke of Portland, through which the letters of pardon came, He had seen the prisoner, Knowles, before. He did not know whether it was for the purpose of soliciting pardon that he came to his office. He believed he might have come to his office to solicit pardon for Gee and Richards, two smugglers. The prisoner presented a petition at his otfice, and he thought he said he came from sir Watkin Lewes. Gee and Richards were pardoned, but they were pardoned on condition of serving in his majesty's navy, and they were very good seamen, and therefore it was thought proper, under these circumstances, to pardon them. Some time after this the prisoner, he thought, brought another petition to the office; whether it was for Sanders, or for a person of the name of Hill, he did not know. He asked the prisoner how

he

he came to have any thing to do with these matters, for he then began to suspect him, and doubted whether he was not improperly employed in that sort of business; and therefore told him, that any petition which he should bring after that would not be attended to, because he had great reason to think the prisoner was acting improperly. He therefore forbade his coming to the office on any business whatever: notwithstanding which, he believed that in a day or two afterwards he met the prisoner coming from the office. He asked him, how he could have the assurance of coming there after what had passed between them? and he would venture to affirm, that the prisoner never could have any influence, or any chance of succeeding in any application that he should make at the office for pardon or any other fa

your.

This was in the summer; but whether in the month of July or not, he could not tell. Mr. Baldwin added, he thought it was fit that the court should know, (he was sure it was fit that the public should know), that there was not one farthing of expense attending applications for pardons. No fees what ever are paid, nor any required that he knew of, upon these applications. That whenever a pardon was obtained, it was without one farthing expense in the granting it.

Sir Watkin Lewes was then examined. He said he knew the prisoner at the bar. He was recommended to him as a serjeant in the London militia. He told him he appeared to be too old for that office, but afterwards he told him he would make him a temporary serjeant, and that was the way he came to make use of the name of sir Watkin Lewes. He did not know him

antecedent to that time. Subsequent to that time he had employed him on various occasions, in going about business relative to the regiment, but on nothing else; and that he understood to be the principal employment. He had not the least influence with him. On the contrary, the prisoner desired him to give a letter to the duke of Portland, or Mr. Baldwin, relative to some pardon; but he positively refused, and told him he never did write a letter to the secretary of state, or make any recommendation in favour of any prisoner, unless upon petition presented and recommended by persons of respectability, and whom he knew, stating the pro-, priety of the application, and certifying the general good character and conduct of the person on whose behalf the pardon was solicited.

Mr. Knapp addressed the jury, on behalf of the prisoner, in a speech of considerable length, in which he contended, that, although it was clear from the evidence of the noble duke, of sir Watkin Lewes, and of his learned friend Mr. Baldwin, that the prisoner had no influence with either, yet from all the circumstances of the case it was not unreasonable to suppose, that the prisoner might have thought he could have succeeded in this case as he did in the case of the smugglers, and therefore there was no intent to defraud the person of whom the money was obtained for soliciting this pardon.

He maintained that the parties had agreed in this case, that the prisoner should try what he could do; and although he failed, yet as he had used his endeavours, he had not obtained the money under false pretences, but was entitled to take it upon the general maxim, that every labourer is worthy of his hire. The prisoner said a few words in

The chief baron, in an able charge, stated to the jury the substance of the indictment, the whole of the evidence, and commented upon the points which were most material for their consideration.

This indictment, he said, was founded on an act of parliament passed in the 30th year of the late king. The necessary ingredients to prove this charge were, That the party accused should be proved to have represented himself to be in a situation in which he was not; or stating a thing to have happened which he knows has not happened; or stating that such a thing is likely to happen which he has no reason to believe will happen. These were the three ingredients which were necessary to substantiate the charge exhibited against the prisoner at the bar,

In considering this case, he thought it necessary to caution the jury in this stage of the business, to repress all species of resentment against the act with which the prisoner was charged; to keep their minds perfectly cool upon the matter; and to leave out of the case entirely, for the present, all feelings of resentment against the detestable nature of the offence. This was important in many views of the subject. It was highly important to the individual who stood charged, and highly important also to the public administration of justice. It was impossible that any thing should be more important to this country than this, that the royal mercy should not be obstructed, or interrupted by the artifice of individuals making an impression against the propriety of applying for mercy, by the effect which their conduct might have in cases where they had attempted to

same time imposed on the minds of men, who were overwhelmed with terror when their lives were in jeopardy. And further, that the public opinion should be confirmed that the royal mercy flows in so pure a channel, that nothing can corrupt or injure it. The price which we paid in this country for the due administration of justice and the settled rules of law, applied to the prerogative of mercy, as well as every other branch of distributive justice; because it was impos sible to settle any precise rule of law which might not become too severe, if applied to every particular case that came under the description of that precise rule. Let precise rules be ever so wisely formed, some particular cases would fall under them, which, if judged of rigidly, would be hurtful to the feelings of the most humane and the most considerate; and therefore it was that the prerogative of pardon was given to the king, in order that those cases which could not be disposed of by these rules without great distress to our feelings, might be softened down by the exercise of royal mercy. Without such a prerogative, positive rules might sometimes occasion substantial injustice, and on this account his majesty's power to pardon became one of the great advantages of the subject. With respect to petitions for mercy, it was not to be considered that the leave to present a

petition was matter of favour. It was the right of the subject in this country to petition for mercy as well as for any other object. When these petitions were presented, they were sifted as much as possible at the office of the secretary of state, and the result of the whole was laid before his majesty, who, with the advice of his council, dis

posed