PRINCE PAUL ESTERHAZY AND DE BETTERA.

Middlesex Sessions, June 27.

Mr Bolland appeared on behalf of the King in the case of Prince Paul Esterhazy, ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from the Court of Vienna, against Vite Marie de Bettera, praying the Court to detain the prisoner in custody until the ensuing sessions. The learned gentleman said it would be necessary for him to state at length his grounds for making this application, which, he admitted, was a very unusual one. The learned counsel said he held in his hand four affidavits, and perhaps, for the present, it would be better to read them one by one to the Court, and he would reserve to himself his reasons, until he heard from his learned friend, Mr Adolphus, his answer to the affidavits, which he would now read.

The first affidavit was that of Sir Richard Birnie, made on the bench, stating, that, on the 20th ult. Mrs Percy, the wife of Mr Humphrey Percy of Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, appeared before him at Bow Street, and swore the affidavit, of which the annexed is a copy.

Mrs Percy's affidavit stated, that, a few days ago, she heard Monsieur Vite Marie de Bettera, who lodged in her house, complain much of the ill treatment he had received from his excellency the Prince Paul Esterhazy, in not paying him his just demands; and that, if he were not settled with, he would take his pistols, and first blow out the Prince's brains, and afterwards destroy himself. These threats the prisoner expressed in such passionate language, and many oaths, that the deponent verily believes the Prince Esterhazy's life to be in danger from

him.

The third affidavit was that of Mr Wright, a medical gentleman, made yesterday, stating the indisposition of Mrs Percy; and, from her being now in the last stage of pregnancy, it would endanger her life to come to Court in a coach to give evidence against the prisoner.

The last affidavit read by the leared counsel was that of Prince Paul Esterhazy, which in substance stated, that from the violent manner of the prisoner, his constantly annoying him, and from the statement of Mrs Percy, he verily believed his life to be in danger.

Mr Adolphus commenced his answer to the application, by asking the date of the Prince's affidavit ?

Mr Bolland answered, the 7th of March last.

"Yes," said Mr Adolphus," and upon that affidavit my client was taken into custody, and bound over to keep the peace towards the Prince, himself in L.400, and two sureties in L.200 each; and, although the Prince has received no annoyance from M. de Bettera from that time, my learned friend comes forward, and modestly claims the detention of this gentleman for upwards of two months. As to the affidavit of Mrs Percy, it appears me to amount to nothing, for how could she understand the blustering of his client in German? And the affidavit of Mr Wright, the surgeon, was worse than nothing in behalf of this puissant Prince. In the whole course of my practice I never read or heard of such a request being put forward upon such affidavits.”

The learned gentleman, in strong lan guage, asked, why Prince Esterhazy had allowed a whole term to expire without applying to the Court of King's Bench? Surely Mrs Percy wai not so ill, but she might, during the last term, have gone to the Court above, and made the necessary

affida

to

But that would not have answere purpose intended by the prose- of his client.

r Bolland attempted to account articles of the peace not being bited against Monsieur de Bettebut was interrupted by

r Adolphus, who requested the uction of the commitment; and it it appeared evident, there was e influence used somewhere against lient.

he chairman, Mr Bevill, said, that the whole of the case, as stated Ir Bolland, no satisfactory answer given to the prisoner's counsel, for les of the peace not having been bited during last term; and cery, upon the affidavits exhibited, bench would not be borne out in ining the prisoner in jail till the

sessions:

fr Bolland did not require that isieur de Bettera should remain in on for two months, but that he ild give new securities upon his mitment of the 20th of May. Ir Adolphus now took a general of the whole case, arguing, from laws and constitution of England, nothing short of oppression somere could have kept the prisoner in From the 24th of May till the pretime, when he had clearly shewn, , on the 7th of March, he entered sureties towards Prince Esterhazy, that not even the shadow of proof offered of committing in any way each of his recognizances. The oner was committed to the sessions. e he now was ready to take his 1; why did not his prosecutor come vard, like a brave man, and prose? Did Prince Esterhazy suppose, : England was filled with bastiles, other countries which might be ationed? He would tell that Prince, t not he nor all the princes on earth, 10, not our lord the King,-could p his client any longer immured in

prison; and the learned gentleman concluded, by requesting the immediate discharge of Monsieur de Bettera.

Here Mr Maule of the Treasury, who sat on the bench, inquired the practice in such cases. He was answered, that it depended on the bench whether he would be discharged now, or at the end of the sessions.

The chairman said, he would, as a matter of course, be discharged at the conclusion of the sessions.

Mr Adolphus here remarked, that if his client had been a common individual, he would have been forthwith discharged.

The prisoner was then removed from the Court in the custody of the turnkeys.

Saturday, June 28.

M. Vite Marie de Bettera appeared this day at the bar, when Mr Const, the chairman, addressed him nearly in the following terms:

"You were yesterday brought to this bar, sir, for the purpose of being farther detained, upon the warrant which I now hold in my hand, until the ensuing sessions; but if you had not then been supported with counsel, as you ably were, the Court had not the power of detaining you upon this warrant. In declaring you to be now at liberty, let me caution you most sincerely from throwing out threats against any person living in this country, but more especially against any foreigner distinguished here as the representative of a foreign potentate. Their persons are particularly sacred amongst us in England; and, moreover, no man can here with impunity be permitted to use threats towards another. A repetition of such conduct on your part, may subject you to be called upon to give so heavy sureties for your future good behaviour, as most likely will again immure you within the walls of a prison."

TRIAL OF ANDRew riding, foR THE ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE SAMUEL

HORROCKS, ESQ. M. P.

Lancaster, Monday, Aug. 18.

At nine o'clock this morning, Andrew Riding was put to the bar, and arraigned for feloniously, wilfully, and maliciously cutting Samuel Horrocks, Esq. with intent to do him some grievous bodily harm, by wounding him with an iron cleaver, on Sunday, the 27th of July last, at Preston, in this county. There were several counts in the indictment, varying the form of description. The prisoner pleaded "not guilty" in a firm voice, and added, in answer to the usual interrogation of how he would be tried, "I suppose by God and my country." He is a slight young man, 23 years of age, with a remarkably shrewd expression of features, pale, and thin; he exhibited a constant elasticity of mental feeling, knitted his brow occasionally at the delivery of parts of the evidence, and was in the frequent action of moving from one side of the dock to the other; at times projecting his body so forward (he was a little deaf) as to be almost entirely out of the dock, and upon the shoulders of the people in front. His gesture, while speaking, was peculiarly animated; indeed, at times violent. His diction was free, and rather above that of the ordinary class of society to which he belonged; his reasoning was mostly consecutive, when he spoke, and parts of his crossexaminations were acute. His manner was throughout not only unembarrassed, but when he first entered Court, marked by extreme levity.

He looked around upon the multitude assembled with a laugh upon his countenance, nodded familiarly at some whom he recognized, particularly one female in the gallery (his mother, we

believe) who was in tears and sobbing loudly; he shook his head, as to upbraid her, but without evincing the smallest sympathy, for his laughter continued, and he employed himself in eating apples voraciously. He wa dressed plain and decent, and held in his hand a newspaper, and a bundle of manuscript.

The avenues of the Court were crowded to excess so early as eight o'clock, and a number of persons had improperly obtained private admission before the doors were thrown publicly open. When they were unfolded, the rush was tremendous, and the Court was filled in an instant, in such a manner as to create, during the whole day the most inconvenient pressure.

Soon after nine o'clock, Mr Justice Bayley took his seat on the bench, and Mr Starkie opened the pleadings.

Mr Scarlett stated the case to the jury. He detailed the whole particu lars of the attack upon Mr Horrocks by the prisoner, at Preston, on Sunday the 27th of July last. The learned gentleman remarked, that he feared the attack, and the deadly object of it, would be brought too home to the prisoner to admit of either denial or justification. An attempt might per haps be made to prove him insane; but the jury would look with very great caution at such a mode of shielding a desperate offender from justice; if, however, a case of insanity were clearly made out, the law fortunately provided a mode of protecting the public in future from the attacks of such a man. He was instructed by Mr Hor rocks to say, that all he asked was, for a calm investigation of the affair; be deprecated any undue severity, and only wished to have the prisoner's codition fully and properly ascertained having the fullest confidence that the jury would decide with calmness, pa tience, and humanity.

The first witness called was Samu

rocks, Esq. M. P. examined by Starkie. I was at the Preston h church on Sunday the 27th of , and afterwards went to call upon Miller, my partner. This was near o'clock in the day. The road I to go was a gravel coach road; at Miller's there is a side gate for passengers to go up to the house. is in the act of opening the gate, n I received a blow at the top of head. Not suspecting anybody, ought something had fallen down the place upon me ; it was immeely followed by a tremendous blow he back of my head. Finding mythen wounded, I turned round on left, and saw the prisoner with an fted cleaver, ready to strike again; aid, "ll kill you."

The prisoner.-My lord, I may be wed to ask him one question? The Court.-Not yet.

Ar Horrocks resumed. He struck in with all his force, and I had just to lift up my left arm; he struck e, if not four times after that, in ix or seven times. The latter blows on different parts of my left arm, one inside my left hand. I thought ad knocked the cleaver out of his d, as it flew about two yards from 1. He ran towards it, and attempt. to take it up again; but I rushed ward, and succeeded in getting it. *then looked round as if for another apon, as I thought, and finding nong on the spot, he ran away. I then led out to the people to stop him, 1 he was stopped before he got out my sight; he was afterwards taken newhere. I went in, bleeding very ich, to Mr Miller's house. I had ▸ cleaver with me when he was taken, it I gave it away, to whom I do not ow, owing to the state of confusion to which the attack threw me.

The following letter was then hand. I in by witness, and he said he receid it on the 4th of April ; it remained

in his custody ever since. He threw it by, as it was anonymous. The letter was as follows:

"SIR,

you

"If do not advance the wages of cotton-spinning, at least 20 per cent, you may expect your life to be taken away by a cotton-spinner from Manchester. You was the cause of falling of wages in Preston. Preston spinners are working more than 20 per cent under Manchester, and I understand that the spinners at Bolton, and their masters, are at difference about dropping the wages there; the masters offer them more than you give ; but I hope they will be obliged to give them the same that they had before. There are many cotton-masters who deserve to lose their lives; but you are, it is said, and I believe it is true, the worst of them all; therefore your life must go first, and the rest in rotation."

The post-mark upon this letter was Manchester, April 3, 1823, and it was addressed to Samuel Horrocks, M. P. Lark-hill, Preston, Lancashire.

Cross-examined by the prisoner.You say, Mr Horrocks, that immediately after I struck you I said " Į would kill you?"—I have answered that already.

After I struck you, did I not look at your head, and then down upon the ground, in this way?-(The prisoner accompanied his words with significant gesture.)

When the prisoner rose, after attempting to regain the cleaver, he then looked at me, as well as I can recollect, and turned round, looking about him as I thought for something else to strike me with, as I had possession of his cleaver; he seemed to be searching for some other weapon, and none being there, he ran away.

After I struck at you, and the wea

pon, fell from me, you saw me close no doubt ?—Yes, I did.

Then did I not look at you, first at your head, and then downwards on the ground, three or four times?—I do not recollect.

How long do you suppose the cleaver lay on the ground before you took it up?-A very few seconds.

Was it not 30 seconds?—No, nothing near that from first to last.

You did not see me attempt to take up the cleaver while it lay on the ground before you grasped it ?—Yes; I did indeed.

Will you be so good, Mr Horrocks, as to describe to his lordship the man. ner in which you say that I tried to take up the cleaver? Pray do, Mr. Horrocks. I can only describe it by going to the spot where the cleaver lay on the ground, about two yards where I stood, and then stooping as if to take it up.

Can you positively say that the cleaver lay two yards from you? Can you safely say it was more than one yard off?-I think, as near as possible, it was two yards.

Now, Mr Horrocks, that is not an answer to my question. Can you safe ly say that it was more than one yard? Yes, certainly, I can say it was more than one yard.

Did you attempt to catch the cleaver in your hand as it fell from mine? -I do not think it fell. I think I was more in the act of warding off a blow which you were making at me at the time.

How was you warding it off?With my left hand, and I think by my action I knocked the cleaver out of your right hand.

You say you think; then you only think you did so?-That is all.

Do you think so now ?—Yes; I am inclined to think so now.

Oh, then you are only inclined to think so! I think the cleaver lay there,

Mr Horrocks, for 30 seconds; and why do I think so? Because I saw it lying there for what I suppose to be that time; I looked at it several times; and let me ask you, did you not stand with your legs open at that moment? I really cannot tell you how I stood exactly at the time.

Did you stand with one leg before, and one leg behind, cannot you tell that?-I really cannot say how I stood with such particularity.

Why, you were in your senses at the time, Mr Horrocks, were you not? -Yes, I think I was.

How many seconds then passed be fore you took up the cleaver, can't you say that?-Half a dozen perhaps.

Did you run to take it up?-I made all the haste I could.

Did you run, or walk, or fly? You did not fly, I suppose, so you can say whether you ran or walked ?—I went as quick as I could.

Did not your hand tremble, as you took up the cleaver ?—Yes, it might.

Could I not have rescued it from you if I pleased?--I think you would have had great difficulty in getting it from me after I had got it in my hands.

How did you hold it, then, in your hands?-I really cannot say, but I

held it.

Then you were, perhaps, out of your mind?—I think not.

And yet you are describing what you say I did. Did I make any attempt whatever to rescue that cleaver from you?-I think you did.

Did I not stand before you some time before you took up that cleaver? I do not think you did.

Speak positively, Mr Horrocks, don't say you think.-I don't believe you did stand still.

As you say you were in your senses at the time, can't you speak positively, Mr Horrocks, yes or no?—I can only say I think you did not.