APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



275 



in a letter to the editor, signed 

 " HoNESTus," and set out with 

 saying, " that it had discovered 

 the hardships which Enjilish pri- 

 soners in France were suffering, to 

 originate in a principle of retalia- 

 tion for the miseries which French 

 prisoners in England endured ; for 

 whose maintenance, it is stated, 

 that three millions were annually 

 allowed by government ; but that 

 a large part of this sum was 

 misapplied to the benefit of the 

 commissioners ; that they detained 

 remittances which were sent from 

 the native countries of the prison- 

 ers for five or six months, and em- 

 ployed the money in stock-jobbing 

 during that time ; that government 

 allowed each prisoner a suit of 

 clothes once in eighteen months, 

 which the prisoners never receiv- 

 ed; that the provisions with which 

 they were supplied were of a bad 

 quality, and that they were often 

 causelessly punished with only half 

 portions, and sometimes the whole 

 prison was put upon half portions, 

 by which the commissioners gained 

 from 250/. to 300/. per day in each 

 dep&t, besides the large sums for 

 expenses never incurred ; that the 

 government were likewise interest- 

 ed in the appointment of these 

 commissioners, if they did not ac- 

 tually participate in their pecula- 

 tions ; and that the negociation for 

 an exchange of prisoners being in- 

 trusted to such hands, it was no 

 wonder that exchange never took 

 place; that by the capitulations of 

 Cape Francois and Morlaix, it was 

 agreed that some old and infirm 

 prisoners should be returned to 

 France immediately, which had 

 never been done ; and that it was 

 thus that our enemies were pro- 

 voked to act by us in the same 

 manner, and that we saw many of 



our countr3'-men in despair, sub- 

 mitting to serve on board the ene- 

 my's ships ; and that, unless the 

 constitution were regenerated, we 

 were on the verge of slavery," &c. 

 The affidavit of the defendant 

 was then read, in which he 

 stated : — 



" That he had been a state pri- 

 soner in his Majesty's gaol of New- 

 gate since the 16th of November, 

 1810 : and that in the month of 

 May, 1811, he engaged George 

 Houston as editor of his paper, but 

 that he was obliged to discharge 

 him, for abuse of confidence iu 

 July, 1812 ; that the libel was 

 printed entirely without the de- 

 fendant's knowledge, and that he 

 was even ignorant that it had been 

 so printed, till the Mth of April 

 following, when a refutation of it, i 

 under the signature of " A Friend 

 to Truth," was shewn to the de- 

 fendant by Mr. Houston ; that the 

 defendant expressed his indigna- 

 tion at the insertion of the former 

 letter, and the omission of the lat- 

 ter, and caused that defect to be 

 remedied on the 15th, by the inser- 

 tion of the answer to the libel, 

 which was immediately inclosed 

 in a letter to the commissioners. 

 The answer stated, that the pri- 

 soners' remittances were not sent 

 to the commissioners; that they 

 could not derive any benefit from 

 the property of such prisoners as 

 ran away or died, because the pri- 

 soners generally sold it to their 

 comrades before-hand, or it was 

 expended in burying them; that it 

 was not true that their allowance 

 of clothes was kept back, as might 

 be seen by their garb, or if they 

 were in rags and nakedness, that 

 that was to be attributed to their 

 propensity towards gambling ; that 

 the government allowance of bread 

 T 2 was 



