ness in her carriage when she went out? A. Yes, he did.-Q. Was he in the habit of waiting at table when his royal highness the Duke of York was present ? A. He was. Q. Did he constantly wait as a servant in Mrs. Clarke's house? A. He did.-Q. How long? A. During twelve months.-Q. When he lived with the witness in Gloucesterplace, did he do work with the other servants? A. Yes.-Q. Was he known to his royal highness? A. He was.-Q. What is become of him? A. He is gone to the West Indies.-Q. What regiment did you get him into? A. He is on the staff, and in the 16th regiment of foot.--Q. In consequence of your application to the Duke? A. Yes. The com mittee adjourned to the following day.

Tuesday, Feb. 14. The house having resolved itself into a committee, proceeded to con sider the charges against the Duke of York.

Mrs. Bridgeman, confectioner, of Bond-street, stated, that Pearce, Mrs. Clarke's butler, asked her to change a bank-note of 1001. for him in the summer of 1805, and that she could not.

Mr. Alexander Shaw proved the hand writing of Col. Shaw, and that he paid 300l. to Mrs. Clarke on account of his son's appointment of Bar

rack master.

Col. Gordon proved that Sir H. Burrard had interested himself much with the commander in chief to procure promotion for Major Shaw, and that it was principally in consequence of his recommendation that he was made assistant Barrack master at the Cape of Good Hope. This witness underwent a long examination respecting the nature of military applications, appointments &c. being asked :—

Did the commander in chief ever

speak to you of Colonel Shaw, except when you introduced the subject to

him? A. It would be hard for me to answer that question, when it is con sidered that there are 11 or 12,000 offi cers in the army, almost all of whom, or their friends, address me. Q. Did the witness ever hear of Mrs. Clarke selling, or pretending to sell commissions in the army, till he heard it in this house? A. I never did hear of it, till it was mentioned in the numerous libels lately published against the com make an inquiry on the subject? A. I mander in chief. Q. Did you never have told you already, that being informed that improper practices did exist, I set on foot an inquiry, commu nicated the result to counsel, who ade vised me that there was no redress, the practice not amounting even to a misdemeanor. In consequence of that, a circular letter was published, and a clause had since been introduced into the mutiny act, making it felony to interfere in the sale of commissions in the army. Q. From what source did you receive your intelligence? A. I believe it was anonymous, but I found it true; I traced it to a person of the name of Froome, an army broker, who I found had received a sum of about 1000l. for a quarter mastership in the German legion. He, however, had only received a per centage on this sum, the principal part of a going to a Mr. Heb den, an army clothier in Parliament that I was not a little surprised at the street. I may be allowed to mention, impudence of this man, for, on my pressing him on the subject he told me that he had received the money, and would tell me no more about it.

Q2

Was Mrs. Clarke's name mentioned in this transaction? A. It was not.

The case of Samuel Carter, appointed an ensign, was next gone he had been recommended by Lieut. into. It was given in evidence that Sutton, of the royal artillery, and that he was supposed to be his natu

ral son.

This was followed by the case of Captain Whichcote Turner, of the 3d dragoons, whose resignation was not accepted for some days in consequence of a letter to the comman der in chief from a Mrs. Sinclair, alias Sutherland. Col. Gordon proved there was nothing particular in

this case, and that it was the practice of his royal highness to refer all charges against officers, even those anonymously preferred, to their commanding officers.

Mr. Nicholls was next examined. He proved that Mrs. Clarke resided in his house at Hampstead, and that he understood from Mrs. Clarke that she was married to Mr. Dowler, but that she was afraid if the Duke of York knew it he would send him abroad. When she first came to his house, she represented herself as a widow, and after she was about three months,there she told him she was married to Mr. Dowler. The witness proved that Mrs. Clarke had burned a great many let ters she had in her possession, and she had given the witness a large packet to light the fire. These packets contained various letters relating to the transactions now before the committee. The witness did not burn these letters, but had them now in his custody. He was asked if he had examined any of them. He replied in the negative. Mrs. Clarke wished him to restore them. The witness objected to do so, having been applied to for these letters from another quarter. Mrs. Clarke was rather angry at the witness's refusal, but he continued inflexible. The witness still persisted in refusing the letters.

Mr. Perceval insisted, on the necessity that existed, for the letters being laid on the table.

It was then suggested by Mr. Yorke, that Col. Wardle, and four other gentlemen, should be appointed as a select committee, to pick from the parcel such letters as applied peculiarly to the charges, and to suppress the others that were foreign to the charges,

Mr. Reid, who keeps a hotel in St. Martin's-lane, was next examined by Mr. Perceval. He said, Mr. Dowler was in the habit of coming to his house for two years. He used

to come sometimes with a lady, whom he represented as his wife; otherwise she should not have been at his house. She and Dowler were there, for the last time, on Friday se'nuight.

Wednesday, Feb. 15.

Mr. Leach brought up the report of the select committee for inspec ting certain letters relative to the pending investigation into the conduct of the commander in chief. It stated, that the committee had inspected the letters, and that they had selected certain of them which bore upon the points now under investigation, but that they by no means took upon themselves to decide whe ther such letters were admissible evidence or not.

After some desultory conversa tion, the house went into a com. mittee.

Mrs. Clarke was called in. She looked at the leiters which were han ded to her, and proved them to be the hand-writing of General Clavering, Samuel Carter, the Baroness Nollekens, and W. H. Elderton: she afterwards took occasion to add, “I never told this Mr. Nichols, who was examined last night, that I was married to Mr. Dowler; I believe he has been bribed to say so."

S. Carter's letters to Mrs. Clarke were then read. In one of them, dated Isle of Wight, 20th Oct. 1804, which appeared to be written after he had obtained the appointment in the army, he writes, "I must return you a thousand thanks for your be nevolence towards me." He then goes on to request the continuance of it, in order to fit him out for his situation, and gives a long list of va rious articles of wearing apparel which he had purchased.

His next letter was dated on board of a transport at Portsmouth, 4th Jan. 1805. In this he laments his wretched situation, from the want of a stock of provisions for the voyage, and complains "that he had

only the usual allowance of salt beef and bad rum." He begs Mrs. Clarke's assistance in this piteous case, to enable him to procure a few com

forts.

:

The first letter from General Clavering was dated 5th Sept. 1804. In this letter the writer explains a proposal which he had before made to her, and which he was afraid she did not then comprehend. By the defence act the men were not compellable to serve out of the kingdom, and were to be disbanded at the end of the war he therefore proposes to raise a battalion from the militia, to be officered by officers on the halfHe begs Mrs. Clarke to communicate this plan to his Royal Highpess, for his consideration.-2d let ter, dated 20th of Sept. In this he says, “I thank you for your attempt to serve me, though ineffectual;" and in a third letter, dated 12th Dec. 1804, he expresses a wish to know whether any new regiments were then to be raised.

pay.

Mrs. Clarke was called in, and asked by Mr. Wardle, Through what influence did you obtain a paymastership for Mr. Elderton?-A. I obtained it from his Royal Highness, yery much against Mr. Greenwood's wishes.-Q. Did you ever apply to the Duke of York in consequence of the Baroness de Nollekens's letters to you? A. Yes, I did; there were several wishes of the Baroness, on the subject of which I applied to bis Royal Highness. I understand the object of the letters pretty well. The Baroness wanted a pension of 4001. a year.-Q. Whether in consequence of the letters which the witness received from the Baroness Nollekens, she applied to the Duke of York on the subject? A. Yes, she did, She did not know the subject of the letter. There had been several applications from the Baroness, which she had submitted to his Royal Highness. She shewed him all the letters of the Baroness.-Q. The witness

had said, that Mr. Greenwood had been obliged to give the paymastership, by the desire of the Duke of York, against his own wishes--How did the witness know that?-A. His Royal Highness had told her so himself; and it is very likely that Mr. Greenwood would say so too.

Mr. H. W. Elderton's letters were then read. The first, dated Jan. 18, ran as follows: -" Madam, nothing but the tenderest anxiety for the success of a beloved child could induce me to trouble you on the present occasion. I have been able to procure a cadetship for my son Charles, who is a very promising young man. Do you think that his Royal Highness could be prevailed upon to give him letters of recommendation to Lord W. Bentinck, or some other individual high in office in India, in order that on my son's arrival there he may be transferred from the infantry to the cavalry ?”

an

The second was an application for

answer to a former letter, in which the writer hoped that Mrs. Clarke might ever remain a stranger to anxiety which, if she had felt, she would not have failed to answer,

The third was dated the 17th of April, and addressed to the Duke of York, merely expressive of the writer's gratitude to his Royal Highness, for having confirmed the leave of absence granted him by Sir R. Abercrombie.

Two notes of the Baroness Nollekens were then read.

The one was addressed to Mrs. Clarke at Margate, and expressed a hope that she was restored to health, The Baroness was very grateful for her favours to her and her nearest connections, and requested to have the pleasure of a visit from Mrs. Clarke.

The other stated that the Duke of York and Mr. Pitt had been with the King the day before, and expressed the hope of the writer that her request had been attended to.

She was anxious to be informed on this subject, and returned Mrs. Clarke a thousand thanks for the carp which she had sent her.

Thomas Walker and William Macdowall were examined respecting the employment of Samuel Carter, who proved that he waited at table, and worked in common with the other servants.

Some conversation took place respecting the evidence of the latter who appeared to have been drinking to excess, and Mr. Perceval pro posed that the objection be stated in the evidence. Mr. Dennis Browne understood the proposed entry to be that the witness had been sent from the bar in consequence of being intoxicated, by the motion of an hon. member!

Mrs. Favorite, Mrs. Clarke's housekeeper, was called in, and examined by Mr. Wardle.

Q. Do you recollect any thing as to the changing of a bank note, about the time the Duke of York went to Weymouth-A. I do. I recollect that the Duke's servant came in the morning, and by desire of Mrs. Clarke. I gave him a bank note to get changed. He got it, and gave me the money, which I carried up to Mrs. Clarke in her bedroom, where the Duke of York was with her in short, they were in bed together at the time. The servant was a German, called Lodowick. Mrs. Clarke's house was kept at a great expence. There were sometimes two men cooks, and sometimes three. Q. Was Samuel Carter in the same way as the other servants-Did he the same work? A. Yes; he cleaned the knives, the plate, and went behind the carriage, and constantly waited at table on the Duke of York.

Mrs. Clarke was then called in.

Q. Was not Samuel Carter a natural son of Captain Sutton? A. No; I never understood he was.-Q. Did not

Capt. Sutton educate him? A. He took pains with him; he was a good kind of boy, and Captain Sutton was anxious he should go to school at leisure hours. Sutton had been lieutenant in the Grenadiers where in some case in which he volunteered he lost his leg. He had been deputy fire-master at Woolwich

and would have died for want but for me.-Q. Did the witness esteem him above other boys? A. Yes; he was faithful.-Q. Did the witness ever make a return of income tax? A. No.-Q. Was the witness ever assessed for horses, carriages, or mau-servants? A. Yes; I have been assessed.

Mrs. Clarke further stated, that the sum to be paid for commissions was to be much above the regulation, and that the excess was to be divided among Mr. Froome, Mr. Donovan, and herself. She understood from the Duke of York that officers were to be recommended by members of parliament or general officers, which recommendations his Royal Highness was told by Greenwood were necessury, in order to save himself.

Q. Witness said, that persons were recommended to her for commissions by Mr. Donovan? A. Such persons were represented to her as quite eligible by him, as in the case of Mr. Sumner, whom Donovan represented as the nephew of the member for Surrey.-Q. How could you say that any of the letters which you gave to Mr. Wardle served to facilitate negociation? A. Because he told mendation from members in opposition, me so; but I thought that any recomto succeed with the Duke of York.— who where his triends, was not likely Q. What sort of negociations did you propose? A. Such as I had occasionally with regard to young men, and as Clavering managed for ine. She obtained the paymastership for Elderton in her accustomed way; did not tell any one until lately, that she received money for promotions with the knowledge of the Duke of York; because that would have injured her traffic;-the Duke didstate should appear right in the books of the to her that he took care every thing office, and that suspicion should be guarded against.

The witness having withdrawn,

Mr. Wardle explained, that till this moment he did not understand what Mrs. Clarke meant by the negociations alluded to in her letters.

Mr. Beresford wished to know, whether the honourable member had any other letters belonging to Mrs. Clarke than those upon the table?

Upon this question a long conversation arose, in which Mr. Whitbread, Mr. Perceval, Lord Folkstone,

Mr. Wardle, Mr. Lockhart, and Sir G. Hill, took a part, and the result was, the expression of Mr. Wardle's assurance to furnish any letter or information that might appear requisite or relevant to the inquiry, which assurance terminated the discussion. Mr. Greenwood was called in and examined by Mr. Wardle.

Witness stated, that he never saw Mrs. Clarke; never wrote but one note to her to his recollection; did know Elderton; the Duke of York did not recommend him, but merely directed him to inquire as to Elderton's character, in consequence of his application for a pay-mastership. Did not remember how long Froome had been removed from his office; believed about four or five years; removed him in consequence of being anformed that he (Froome) had been trafficking in commissions--the note alluded to had been sent by Taylor -had known Taylor about 6 or 7 years, through Mrs. Sinclair—saw her last about two years ago-paid her a visit of civility-and had no particular object. He was led to the acquaintance by a friend of his -admitted that he was more açquainted with her through the Duke of York.

Upon being asked as to the general character of Mrs. Sinclair, the witness was ordered to withdraw, and a long discussion arose, in which Mr. Perceval, Lord Folkstone, Mr. Beresford, Mr. C. Wynne, Gen. Norton, Si A. Wellesley, and Mr. Windham took a part. On the side of the minister it was contended, that it was unfair with regard to the female referred to, as well as irrele vant to the question before the committee, to inquire into her character, she not having been examined as an evidence-while on the other side it was alledged that the introduction of this lady's letter, and its apparent in fluence at the office of the Commander in Chief, rendered an investigation of her character peculiarly proper and

The

pertinent. The result was, that Mr. Greenwood was recalled, and examined by Lord Folkstone. question being repeated, witness stated that he understood Mrs. Sinclair was under the protection of the Commander in Chief-heard Mrs. Sinclair herself say so-heard her say she was with child by the Duke of York. He recollected having obtained leave of absence for the son of a general officer upon the request of Mrs. Sinclair; never was by Mrs. Sinclair given to understand that she did obtain any commissions from the Duke of York. Witness recommended Elderton to Sir R. Abercrombie in consequence of a vacancy for a paymastership occurring in his regiment; inquired into the character of Elderton before and after such recommendation; found something in the subsequent inquiry which was disadvantageous to Elderton, and represented it to Sir R. Abercrombie.

General Rochford said he believed S. Carter to be the natural son of the deceased Captain Sutton, whom, he supposed, had given him a proper education. Adjourned at half past one o'clock.

Thursday, Feb. 16.

A message from the Lords announced that their lordships had passed Campbell's divorce bill, to which they desired the concurrence of the house.

After some conversation, in which Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Perceval, Lord A. Hamilton, Mr. Curwen, and Mr. Forster participated, the committee on the distillery prohibition bill was postponed till Monday.

The house went into a committee on the charges against the Duke of York.

Lord Folkstone said, before he called in any witness, he thought it necessary to make a few preliminary observations for the information of the house, with respect to certain papers in the possession of Mr. Duff, the solicitor, who then identified