LONDON. 
138 
her prifon, who were to fuffer under the fame experiment, 
for witchcraft, and as a means of extorting confefiion. In 
this lituation of alarm and horror, the young woman per¬ 
illed in her innocence, the poniftirpent was inflicted, im¬ 
properly called picketing, which is a military punifliment, 
perfectly diftinCt. This is not picketing, but the torture. 
It is true, that the foldier, expoled to this, does ltand with 
his foot on a picket, or fharp piece of wood, but, in mercy 
to him, a means of repofing is afforded on the rotundas ma¬ 
jor, or interior of the arm. This practice, I hope, will 
not in future be called picketing, but pi&oning, that it may 
be recognized by the dreadful appellation which belongs 
to it. Her pofition may be eafily deferibed. The great 
toe was lodged upon a fharp piece of wood, while the op- 
pofite wrift was fufpended in a pulley, and the other hand 
and foot were lathed together, fo that it ivas impoffible 
Ihe could afford herfelf any relief from the anguifh fhe 
fuffered. In this flate of agony, fhe confeffed that Carlos 
Gonzalez had ftolen the property ; but was continued in 
this dreadful fituation, under the infpeCtion of a magif- 
irate, during the fpace of fifty-three or fifty-four minutes 
by a watch, which was provided, from fome fuppofed no¬ 
tion, that the torture could not be inflicted for more than 
an hour at a time, and that the pleafure of feeing the vic¬ 
tim might not occafion it to be continued longer than the 
perfonal fecurity of the officer rendered prudent. The 
firft punifliment not being fufficient, the horrid ceremony 
svas again repeated.” [The learned counfel here produced 
a drawing in water-colours, in which the fituation of the 
fufferer, and the magiftrate, executioner, and fecretary, was 
deferibed. He then proceeded :] “ It appears to me, that 
Ihe cafe, on the part of the profecution, will be complete 
when thefe faffs are eltabliflied in evidence; but lam to 
be told, that, though the higheft authority in this coun¬ 
try could not praCtife this on the humbled: individual, 
yet, by the laws of Spain, it can be perpetrated in the 
ifland of Trinidad. I fliould venture to afi'ert, that, if it 
■were written in characters impoffible to be mifundcritood, 
that, if it were the acknowledged law of Trinidad, it could 
be no juffification of a Britifli governor. Nothing could 
vindicate fuch a perfon but the law of imperious necelfify, 
to which we muff all fubmit. It was his duty to imprefs 
upon the minds of the people of that colony the great 
advantages they would derive from the benign influence 
of Britifli jurifprudence ; and that, in confequence of be¬ 
ing received within the pale of this government, torture 
would be for ever banifheo from the iiland. It is, there¬ 
fore, not fufficient for him to eliablifli this fort of apology ; 
it is required of him to fliovv, that he complied with the 
inttitutions under the circumftances ol irrefiltible neceffity. 
This governor ought to have been aware, that the torture 
is not known in England ; and that it never will be, ne¬ 
ver can be, tolerated in this country. The trial by rack 
is utterly unknown to the law of England, though once, 
■when the dukes of Exeter and Suffolk, and other minif- 
ters of Henry VI. had laid a defign to introduce the civil 
law into this kingdom as the rule of government, for a 
beginning thereof, they erected a rack for torture, which 
was called in derificn the Duke of Exeter’s Daughter, and 
Itrll remains in the Tower of London, where it was occa- 
fionally ufed as an engine of ftate, not of law, more than 
once in the reign of queen Elizabeth.' But when, upon 
the afiaffination of Villers duke of Buckingham by Felton, 
it w.i: propofed in the privy council to put the affafiin to 
the rack, in order to difeover his accomplices, the judges, 
being confulted, declared unar.imoufly, to their own ho¬ 
nour, and the honour of the Englifh law, that no fuch 
proceeding was allowable by the laws of England. Such 
are the obfervations of the elegant and learned author of 
the Commentaries on the Law of England on this fubjeCt ; 
and, as the ftrongeft method of (bowing the horror of the 
prnCtice, he gives this queftion in the form of an arith¬ 
metical problem : The ftrength of the mufcles and the 
feniibility of the nerves being given, it is required to 
know what degree of pain would he r.eceflary to make 
any particular individual confefs his guilt. But what are 
we to fay to this man, who, fo far from having found tor¬ 
ture in practice under the former governors, has attached 
to himfelf all the infamy of having invented this inftru- 
ment of cruelty ? Like that called the duke of Exeter’s 
daughter, it never exifted until the defendant curfed the 
ifland with its production. I have inconteftible evidence 
to (how this ingenuity of tyranny in a Britifli governor ; 
and, the moment I produce the fanguinary order, the man 
is left abfolutely without defence. The date of the tranf- 
aCtion is December 1801, and in 1802, the miniftry di¬ 
rected a commiflion to conduct the government of Tri¬ 
nidad. Among the perfons appointed to this important 
fituation, was colonel Fullarton. In the exercife of his 
duties in that fituation, he obtained knowledge of thefe 
faCts; and, With this information,he thought it incumbent 
on him to bring tii.is defendant before you ; anil, with the 
defendant, I (hall produce the victim of thisxnormity ; 
and you will learn that (lie at this moment bears upon her 
the marks of the barbarity of the defendant.” 
Louija Calderon, attended by a Spanifli interpreter, was 
then fworn, and examined by Mr. Adam. 
Were yon at Trinidad in 3801 ?—Yes. 
Were you acquainted with Pedro Ruiz ?—Yes. 
Did you live in his houfe ?—Yes. 
Do you remember a robbery committed in the houfe of 
Pedro Ruiz ?—I do. 
Were you fufpeCted of committing that robbery?—I 
was, and alfo Carlos (Gonzalez). 
Do you remember his being apprehended Yes. 
Were you, and your mother, alfo taken up ?—Yes, the 
fame night. 
Before whom were you carried ?—Before governorPiClon, 
Did he order you to be committed to prifon ?—Yes. 
Before you were fent there, what did the defendant tell 
you ?—That if I did not confefs, the hangman was to put 
his hand upon me. 
Do you know a perfon of the name of Beggorrat ?—Yes; 
Is he an alcalde (magiflrate) ?—Yes; be came to me in 
prifon, and examined me frequently as to the robbery. 
Was there an eferivano (notary) of the name of Fran- 
eifeo de Caftro, who alfo attended ?—Yes. 
After fome examinations, were you carried into a room 
where there was a picket ereCted in the gaol ?—Yes.—[The 
witnefs was here defired to give a deicription of this in- 
ftrument of torture, and of the manner in which it was 
applied to her perfon, which file did nearly in the way in 
which it was explairied in the opening of the learned coun¬ 
fel. Wihen the drawing above-mentioned was handed to 
her, reprefenting, in a itriking manner, her fituation, fur- 
rounded by her judges and executioners, ihe gaveafliud- 
der exprefiive of horror, which nothing but the molt pain¬ 
ful recollection of her fituation could have excited ; on 
which Mr. Garrow exprefled his concern, that his lord- 
lhip was not in a pofition to witnefs this accidental, but 
conclufive, evidence cf the fact.] 
How long did you remain tied up in this fituation ?—» 
Three quarters of an hour. 
Were you upon the (pike all that time?—Yes. 
Were you at any time drawn up by the rope connected 
with the pulley ?—Yes. 
Had you feen any perfons in the fame unhappy condi¬ 
tion before ?—Yes, two others. 
What was the effect of this torture ?—I was in great 
agony, and, after it, my wrift and foot were very much 
fwelled. 
Were you alked to make confefiion of the robbery, be¬ 
fore you were tied up ?—Yes ; Beggorrat enquired if I 
would declare who took the money. 
Were you fworn before the torture was applied ?—No; 
but. the holy crofs was held up before me. 
Did you confefs ?—Yes; after I was fufpended, I faid 
Carlos took the money, 
Whers 
