GENERAL HISTORY. 



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-carrying its sentence into execu- 

 tion ; but as to what the Crown 

 might be advised to do, he really 

 was not prepared to give an an- 

 swer ; the former noble lord then 

 said, that he would submit a mo- 

 tion to the House on the subject, 

 which would be for an address to 

 the Crown, praying that the part 

 of the sentence relating to the 

 pillory might be remitted, on the 

 ground of Lord Cochrane's pro- 

 fessional services : and he named a 

 day for the purpose. 



On July 19th, Lord Ebrington 

 Tose, pursuant to notice, and said, 

 that before he proceeded, he 

 would beg leave to read a letter 

 which he had received from Lord 

 Cochrane. Its tenor was, that, 

 from a recent vote of his Lord- 

 ship, he had flattered himself, that 

 he stood wholly acquitted in his 

 Lordship's mind : that he could 

 not consent, that any past services 

 of his should be prostituted to the 

 purpose of protecting him from 

 any part of the vengeance of those 

 laws which he was judged to have 

 offended. " If (said he) I am 

 guilty, I richly merit the whole 

 of the sentence which has been 

 passed upon me ; if innocent, one 

 penalty cannot be inflicted with 

 more justice than another." 



Lord Ebrington, in continuance, 

 said that notwithstanding the letter 

 of the noble Lord, he felt himself 

 compelled, by a sense of public 

 duty, to bring the subject before 

 the House. He then began with 

 considering the nature of the pu- 

 nishment of the pillory, which 

 made the populace at once judges 

 and executioners, and which, from 

 a sense of its barbarism, was now 

 rarely inflicted except with regard 

 to wretches with whom it could 



not be borne that Lord C. should 

 be associated. He then adverted 

 to the signal services of the noble 

 lord ; and stated two instances of 

 addresses from that House to the 

 Crown, praying the exercise of its 

 prerogative of mercy with regard 

 to sentences pronounced by the 

 courts of law. His lordship con- 

 cluded with moving the address to 

 the Prince Regent, of which he had 

 given notice. 



The motion being seconded by 

 Lord Nugent, a debate of con- 

 siderable length ensued, in which 

 a great deal of the former ground 

 relative to the trial was gone over, 

 the crown lawyers urging the 

 proofs of Lord Cochrane's guilt, 

 and several speakers on the other 

 side professing doubts of it, or 

 declaring their belief of his in- 

 nocence. 



Mr, Barham, who was one of 

 the latter, proposed the amend- 

 ment to the motion of leaving out 

 " in consideration of his past ser- 

 vices," because gentlemen might 

 vote for it on different grounds. 



At length Lord Castlereagh, 

 after deprecating the interference 

 of the House on this occasion, 

 said that he had no difficulty in 

 stating, that the Crown had taken 

 steps to interpose its mercy with 

 respect to the infamous part of 

 the punishment, not only as far as 

 it related to Lord Cochrane, but to 

 all the other parties. Lord Ebring- 

 ton said, that after the communi- 

 cation of the noble lord, which, 

 however, he regretted had not 

 been made sooner, he did not feel 

 justified in taking up the time of 

 the House longer ; and should 

 therefore propose to withdraw bis 

 motion. After some farther con- 

 versation> Lord Ebrington's mo- 



