majority of 140 against 44. On the 19th of July, lord Erlington read a letter from his lordship, deprecating any appeal to mercy on account of his services. If he were guilty the sentence would not be too severe. Still, however, he (lord Erlington) would persevere, and keep the question as much as possible distinct from the guilt or innocence of lord Cochrane. He objected strongly to the punishment of pillory generally; it was brutal and base, by appealing to the populace. Why so degrade a gallant officer, whose eminent services he recounted, and which had received the applauses of the country and the thanks of the house. When the noble lord was struck out of the navy list, when he was shorn of the honors of knighthood, and stripped of his plumes and of his rank, would any man say that equal justice, and no more, had been handed out to him? He contrasted the sentence on lord Cochrane with that which had been passed on a noble marquis for seducing sailors to quit his majesty's service to enter on board his own yacht. This offence was surely as great a one as that which lord Cochrane had been guilty of; but what was that sentence of the noble marquis? Why, four months imprisonment, and a fine, which, considering the situation of the party, could not be called a large fine. The noble lord moved an address to the regent, that he would, on account of the former distinguished services of lord Cochrane, remit that part of the sentence that went to inflict the punishment of the pillory. Lord Nugent seconded the motion. In every case, former character was admitted as a plea, in mitigation of the punishment due to an offence. The sentence with respect to lord Cochrane was much more severe than in the case of the others. Without intending to inculpate the judge, it still might be permitted to charge the sentence with undue severity. He hoped the present motion would be successful, and that the constitutional interference of that house would be received with grace on the part of the crown.

The Solicitor-general said in some cases, undoubtedly, the consideration of former

services might be taken into account; but they could be no alleviation of a crime founded on meanness and infamy. Sometimes former services should operate in a different way from mitigation of punishment, and lord Cochrane had no claim to favour above any of the other individuals who had been convicted along with him. The motion was ostensibly founded upon the plea of former services, but was not confined to that alone; for allusion had been made to the innocence of lord Cochrane, to the severity of the punishment, and to evidence having been withheld. He had read the evidence on the trial, and the comments of the noble lord who presided on that occasion, and he declared solemnly before God and that house, that had he been upon the jury he should have been bound to have given the same verdict. It had been also said that lord Cochrane had not been well defended. He could take upon himself to state from undoubted authority, that the brief had been drawn up by the instructions of lord Cochrane, and had been read to the noble lord, and one particular corrected by him. The circumstances of the case were such as to prevent the house from interfering with propriety with the prerogative of the crown, of the exercise of which, however, he knew nothing.

Lord Hamilton thought it impossible not to decide for innocence, where guilt was not completely proved. The noble Lord declined all indulgence, and chose to stand only on his own innocence, therefore he could say nothing on the score of mercy.

He had a painful duty to discharge; but he could not discharge it without at least avowing, that he had very, very great doubts of lord Cochrane's guilt.

Mr. M. A. Taylor.-A court of justice was the only place where innocence or guilt could be decided. Mercy was seated in the breast of the crown; and to that quarter the application should be made.

Mr. C. Wynne asserted, that there was no prerogative of the crown with which the house might not interfere by way of advice. The services of lord Cochrane were not to be all washed away by this offence,

as though they had never been performed. It would be hard indeed, if, because he had previously merited public gratitude, he should on that account be more severely visited.

Mr. Hurst defended the propriety of parliamentary interference.

Lord Castlereagh could not see why that house should have doubts where the jury had none. It was certainly painful to man of lord Cochrane's rank, and who had rendered distinguished services to the country, placed in a condition so degrading; but he could not see any distinction that any privileged orders in society had to exempt from those punishments which the law had affixed to certain crimes. He had now to inform the house, that the crown had taken steps to interpose its mercy to omit that part of the punishment, not only with respect to lord Cochrane, but the other two persons who had been sentenced. (hear.) He must, however, state expressly the grounds on which its mercy was so extended. It was not from the slightest doubt being entertained, either of the guilt of the parties, or the propriety of the sentence. But the crown, having taken into its consideration the unfrequency of such crimes, so little known among Englishmen, hoped, that this warning would be sufficient to deter other persons from the commission of similar offences.

Sir F. Burdett said, that if the noble lord had been pleased to communicate the information (with which he concluded his speech) at an early period, it would have saved the noble lord (Erlington) from the trouble of making his motion, and himself from the necessity of a long speech.--He was surprised to hear the grounds upon which the noble Lord had stated the crown to have acted on this occasion. It appeared that frauds at the Stock Exchange were things so little known among Englishmen, that it was hoped no other instance would ever occur, and that an example was unnecessary. Now, if he were to state those grounds in the lobby, he believed that every one would laugh in his face. He felt, however, obliged to the noble

lord for the advice he had given to the crown on this occasion, not for the sake of lord Cochrane, who despised that part of the sentence, but for the sake of the public, and of that gallant profession of which he had been an ornament.

The attorney-general said, that there were times in which the honorable baronet thought proper to praise the trial by jury: but when it was necessary to uphold the character of his colleague, and to inflame the minds of the public against the sacred institutions of our country, he had not hesitated to talk of picking and packing a jury. The judges had done their duty in inflicting that sentence which lord Cochrane himself allowed not to be too severe, on the supposition that he was guilty.

8

Lord Erlington rose to withdraw his motion, after the communication made by the noble lord. He regretted and was surprised, that it had not been inade earlier, especially as the noble lord had on a former occasion so earnestly deprecated discussion.

The original motion and the amendment were then withdrawn.

A new writ for Westminister was issued according to the usual formalities, and lord Cochrane was triumphantly and unanimously rechosen representative for that city. The electors were convinced that he was the victim of irritated power, and solemnly declared that no considerations should have induced them to pledge their votes, but a firm persuasion that he was innocent of the crime imputed to his charge.

From a subject so melancholy, it is with pleasure, that I revert to a theme on which all hearts accord, all opinions are united. The duke of Wellington, after leaving the army which he had so often conducted to victory, and joining the allied sovereigns at the court of Louis XVIII. repaired to Madrid, where Ferdinand conferred all the honors, and rewards which he had so well deserved, and which had been so properly bestowed. He also created him captain-general of Spain. Returning to England, his grace was received with every mark of love, and

gratitude, and honor, which the prince, the legislature, or the people, could express. He had never yet taken his seat in the house of lords, and now at his first introduction was placed in the highest rank of the peerage, his various patents of viscount, earl, marquis, and duke, being read on the same day. Here he received the thanks and congratulations of the house, on his return from his command, and for the great, signal, and eminent services which he had so repeatedly rendered to his majesty and to the public. The house of commons appointed a deputation to congratulate him on his return; and the duke on the 1st of July, 1814, attended in the house in person to express his thanks. This was a memorable scene. All the members, uncovered, rose, and enthusiastically cheered him as he entered. The speaker, in an admirable address, touched on those parts of his military character for which Wellington is more peculiarly to be praised-the implicit faith which he communicates to his soldiers, the confidence he had ever felt in himself and his cause, and the skill with which he had united armies of such different and discordant materials. "It is not," said the speaker, "the grandeur of military success, which has alone fixed our admiration or commanded our applause; it has been that generous and lofty spirit which inspired your troops with unbounded confidence, and taught them to know that the day of battle was always a day of victory that moral and enduring fortitude which in perilous times, when gloom and doubt had beset ordinary minds, stood nevertheless unshaken; and that ascendancy of character which, uniting the energies of jealous and rival nations, enabled you to wield at will the fate and fortunes of mighty empires." The duke on his part expressed his admiration of the great efforts made by the house and by the country in times of unexampled pressure and difficulty, for supporting on a great scale those operations by which the contest had been brought to so happy a conclusion." The occasion indeed had called forth all the efforts of the country, but they were adequate to the emergency, and suc

cess could not be doubtful when those mighty means were entrusted to hands which could direct them so well.

In the midst of the general exultation at the late propitious concurrence of events, the people of England were complimented and gratified by a visit from the emperor of Russia and king of Prussia, accompanied by a numerous train of illustrious attendants. The duchess of Oldenburgh, sister to the emperor Alexander, received his imperial majesty at the Pulteny Hotel, where he established his temporary residence. The king of Prussia was accommodated with apartments in Clarence House. If the sedate and melancholy aspect of the Prussian monarch commanded respect, the elegant person, the polished manners, and the condescending demeanour of the emperor captivated every class of society, and especially the fair sex. He was every where welcomed as he passed with loud and heartfelt acclamations. The frank and gallant Blucher was an object of peculiar attraction to the multitude. The crowd, assembled to witness his visit to the prince regent, lost all respect for the decorum of Carlton-house, and, partly by force, and partly by permission, were admitted into the hall. When the prince regent returned with Blucher from his private apartments, he stopped in the centre of the grand hall, surrounded by the people, and placed on the general's shoulder a blue ribbon, to which was hung a beautiful medallion, with a likeness of the prince richly set with diamonds. Marshal Blucher knelt while the prince was conferring this honor, and on his rising kissed the prince's hand. The prince and the general bowed to the public, who returned their condescension by reiterated plaudits.

The

It would be equally impossible and tedious to describe the illuminations, the festivities, the dinners, and the reviews, which these angust personages condescended to honor by their presence. taste and inclinations, however, of the prince regent, and of the good citizens of London, and of our royal visitors, were in some degree at variance. The emperor and the and the king respectfully declined the