280 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



paniedby Lord Ellenborougli, Mr. 

 Baron Thompson, and several doc- 

 tors of law. The jury were then 

 sworn to try the Marquis of Shgo, 

 v/ho appeared in court, and sat by 

 Ills counsel, Messrs. Dauncey, 

 Dampier, and Scarlett. 



Before the trial began, Mr. 

 Dauncey stated, that his lordship 

 wished to plead guilty as to part, 

 and not guilty as to the rest ; and 

 wished, therefore, only one part 

 now to be entered into. 



Dr. Robinson, on the other side, 

 was not unwilling to accede to this 

 arrangement; but Lord Ellenbo- 

 rough said that the indictment 

 must not be garbled. He must 

 plead guilty to the whole, or not 

 guilty to the whole. 



After some conversation be- 

 tween the counsel, the trial pro- 

 ceeded : the indictment was read, 

 charging the marquis with unlaw- 

 fully receiving on board his ship, 

 William Elden, a seaman in the 

 King's service, and detaining, con- 

 cealing, and secreting him. 



The second count charged him 

 with enticing and persuading to 

 desert the said seaman. 



The third count, with receiving 

 the said Elden, knowing him to 

 have deserted. 



There were other counts with 

 respect to other seamen, and a 

 count for an assault and false im- 

 prisonment. 



Dr. Robinson, who opened the 

 case for the prosecution, stated, 

 that this was an offence of the 

 greatest magnitude, and had been 

 attended in this instance with cir- 

 cumstances of aggravation, both 

 in the mode of enticing the 

 men, and afterwards in the aban- 

 donment of them in such a man- 

 ner that they might all have been, 

 as some were, entirely lost to his 



Majesty's service. The defendant 

 was a young nobleman, who was 

 on his travels in the year 1810, 

 and had touched at Malta, where 

 he had been introduced to Captain 

 Sprainger ; he wished to have a 

 vessel of his own, and had hired a 

 vessel called the Pylades. He had 

 received assistance from Captain 

 Sprainger, in the outfit of his ves- 

 sel, and had been in the habit of 

 being carried backwards and for- 

 wards in the Captain's boat by four 

 picked men : before the vessel of 

 Captain Sprainger left that station, 

 two of these men were missing,— 

 men of tried fidelity, and long 

 standing, and to whom long arrears 

 of wages were due, and who, it 

 was to be supposed, would not 

 have deserted on a slight occasion; 

 these men had attracted the notice 

 and admiration of the defendant, 

 and from a suspicion that they 

 were in his service, Captain 

 Spraingerpaidhima visit. Thede- 

 fendant expressed himself hurt at 

 the suspicions of Captain Sprain- 

 ger, who, from his acquaint- 

 ance with the Marquis, contented 

 himself with cautioning him on 

 the subject, and representing to 

 him the state of the service, which 

 was then very low. He then left 

 the defendant, and sent to him a 

 description of the persons of his 

 men who were missing, desiring 

 the marquis to send them to Malta, 

 if they should come to him. Six 

 witnesses, who would be brought 

 before the jury, would prove these 

 facts : it would appear that they 

 had been accosted by the defend- 

 ant's servants at Malta, and by 

 them made drunk, and in that state 

 had been conveyed aboard his ves- 

 sel. When they became sensible, 

 they were introduced to his lord- 

 ship, who treated their wish to go 



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