Lord Aldborough sentenced to Newgate prison. Mr. Knaresborough.

Chapter XXX.

High Life in Newgate

Lord Aldborough quizzes the Lord Chancellor - Voted a libeller by the House of Peers - His spirited conduct - Sentenced to imprisonment in Newgate by the Court of King’s Bench - Memoirs of Mr. Knaresborough - His extraordinary trial - Sentenced to death, but transported - Escapes from Botany Bay, returns to England, and is committed to Newgate, where he seduces Lady Aldborough’s attendant - Prizes in the lottery - Miss Barton dies in misery.

Lord Aldborough was an arrogant and ostentatious man; but these failings were nearly redeemed by his firmness and gallantry in his memorable collision with Lord Chancellor Clare.

Lord Aldborough, who had built a most tasteful and handsome house immediately at the northern extremity of Dublin, had an equity suit with Mr. Beresford, a nephew of Lord Clare, as to certain lots of ground close to his lord-ship’s new mansion, which, among other conveniences, had a chapel on one wing and a theatre on the other, stretching away from the centre in a chaste style of ornamental architecture.

The cause was in Chancery, and was not protracted very long. Lord Aldborough was defeated with full costs - his pride, his purse, and his mansion must all suffer, and meddling with either of these was sufficient to rouse his lordship’s spleen. He appealed, therefore, to the House of Peers, where in due season the cause came on for hearing, and where the Chancellor himself presided. The lay lords did not much care to interfere in the matter; and without loss of time Lord Clare of the House of Peers confirmed the decree of Lord Clare of the Court of Chancery, with full costs against the appellant.

Lord Aldborough had now no redress but to write *at *the Lord Chancellor, and without delay he fell to composing a book against Lord Clare and the system of appellant jurisdiction, stating that it was totally an abuse of justice to be obliged to appeal to a prejudiced man against his own prejudices, and particularly so in the present instance, Lord Clare being notorious as an unforgiving Chancellor to those who vexed him, and no lords attending to hear the cause, or if they did, not being much wiser for the hearing, it being the province of a counsel to puzzle not to inform noblemen.

Lord Aldborough in his book humorously enough stated an occurrence that had happened to himself when travelling in Holland. His lordship was going to Amsterdam on one of the canals in a trekschuit, the captain or skipper of which, being a great rogue, extorted from his lordship for his passage much more than he had a lawful right to claim. My lord expostulated with the skipper in vain: the fellow grew rude; his lordship persisted; the skipper got more abusive. At length Lord Aldborough told him he would, on landing, immediately go to the proper tribunals and get redress from the judge. The skipper cursed him as an impudent *milord, *and desired him to do his worst, snapping his tarry *finger-posts *in his lordship’s face. Lord Aldborough paid the demand, and on landing went to the legal officer to know when the court of justice would sit. He was answered at nine next morning.

Having no doubt of ample redress, he did not choose to put the skipper on his guard by mentioning his intentions. Next morning he went to court and began to tell his story to the judge, who sat with his broad-brimmed hat on, in great state, to hear causes of that nature. His lordship fancied he had seen the man before, nor was he long in doubt! for ere he had half finished, the judge in a voice like thunder, but which his lordship immediately recognised, for it was that of the identical skipper! decided against him *with fill costs, *and ordered him out of court.

His lordship, however, said he would *appeal *and away he went to an advocate for that purpose. He did accordingly appeal, and the next day his appeal cause came regularly on. But all his lordship’s stoicism forsook him, when he again found that the very same skipper and judge was to decide *the appeal *who had decided *the cause, *so that the learned skipper first cheated and then laughed at him.

The noble writer having in his book made a very improper and derogatory application of his Dutch precedent to Lord Chancellor Clare and the Irish appellant jurisdiction, was justly considered by his brother peers as having committed a gross breach of their privileges, and was thereupon ordered to attend in his place and defend himself, if any defence he had, from the charge made against him by the Lord Chancellor and the peers of Ireland. Of course, the House of Lords was thronged to excess to hear his lordship’s vindication. I went an hour before it met to secure a place behind the throne, where the Commoners were allowed to crowd up as well as they could.

The Chancellor, holding the vicious book in his hand, asked Lord Aldhorough if he admitted that it was of his writing and publication? to which his lordship replied, that he could admit nothing as written or published by him till every word of it should be first truly read to their lordships aloud in the House. Lord Clare, wishing to curtail some parts, began to read it himself; but not being quite near enough to the light, his opponent took a pair of enormous candlesticks from the table, walked deliberately up to the throne, and requested the Chancellor’s permission to hold the candles for him whilst he was reading the book! This novel sort of effrontery put the Chancellor completely off his guard - he was outdone, and permitted Lord Aldborough to hold the lights, whilst he perused the libel comparing him to a Dutch skipper, nor did the obsequious author omit to set him right here and there when he omitted a word or proper emphasis.

It was ludicrous beyond example, and gratifying to the secret ill-wishers of Lord Clare, who bore no small proportion to the aggregate numbers of the House. The libel being duly read through, Lord Aldborongh at once spiritedly and adroitly said that he avowed every word of it to their lordships; but that it was not intended as any *libel *either against the House or the jurisdiction, but as a constitutional and just rebuke to their lordships for not performing their bounden duty in attending the hearing of the appeal; he being quite certain that if any sensible men had been present, the Lord Chancellor would only have had two lords and two bishops, his own creatures, on his side of the question.

This was considered as an aggravation of the contempt, though some thought it was not very far from the matter-of-fact. The result was, that after a bold speech, delivered with great earnestness, his lordship was voted guilty of a high breach of privilege, and a libel on the Lord Chancellor, as chairman of the House. He was afterwards ordered to Newgate for six months by the Court of King’s Bench, on an information filed against him by the Attorney-General, which sentence, his lordship told them, he considered, under the circumstances as a high compliment and honour. In fact, he never was so pleased as when speaking of the incident, and declaring that he expected to have his book recorded on the Journals of the Lords - the chancellor himself, by applying his anecdote of the Dutch skipper, having construed it into a regular episode on their proceedings.

Lord Alborough underwent his full sentence in Newgate: and his residence there gave rise to a fresh incident in the memoirs of a very remarkable person, who at that time was an inmate of the same walls, originally likewise through the *favour *of Chancellor Clare, and lodged on the same staircase; and as I had been professionally interested in this man’s affairs, I subjoin the following statement as curious, and in every circumstance, to my personal knowledge, matter-of-fact:-

James Fitzpatrick Knaresbotough was a young man of tolerable private fortune in the county of Kilkenny. Unlike the common run of young men at that day, he was sober, money-making, and even avaricious, though moderately hospitable, his principal virtue consisting in making no *exhibition *of his vices. He was of good figure, and, without having the presence of a gentleman, was what is called rather a handsome young fellow.

Mr. Knaresborough had been accused of a capital crime by a Miss Barton, natural daughter of William Barton, Esq., a magistrate of the county of Kilkenny, who stated that she had gone away with him for the purpose, and in the strict confidence of being married the same day at Leighlin Bridge. Her father was a gentleman of consideration in the county, and a warrant was granted against Knaresborough for the felony, but he contrived to get liberated on bail. The grand jury, however, on the young woman’s testimony, found true bills against him for the capital offence, and he came to Carlow to take his trial at the assizes.

He immediately called on me with a brief, said it was a mere *bagatelle, *and totally unfounded, and that his acquittal would be a matter of course. I had been retained against him, but introduced him to the present Judge Moore, to whom he handed his brief! He made so light of the business that he told me to get up a famous speech against him, as no doubt I was instructed to do; that indeed I could not say too much, as the whole would appear on *her own confession *to be a conspiracy! nay, so confident was he of procuring his acquittal, that he asked Mr. Moore and myself to dine with him on our road to Kilkenny, which we promised.

On reading my brief I found that truly the case was not over-strong against him even there, where in all probability circumstances would be exaggerated, and that it rested almost exclusively on the lady’s own evidence; hence I had little doubt that, upon cross-examination, the prisoner would be acquitted.

The trial proceeded: I was then rather young at the bar, and determined for my own sake to make an interesting and affecting speech for my client; and having no doubt of Knaresborough’s acquittal, I certainly overcharged my statement, and added some *facts *solely from invention.

My surprise then may be estimated, when I heard Miss Barton swear positively to *every syllable *of my emblazonment. I should now have found myself most painfully circumstanced, but that I had no doubt she must be altogether discredited. In fact, she was quite shaken by the cross-examination of the prisoner’s counsel. He smiled at her and at us; and said, “the woman’s credit was so clearly overthrown that there could be no doubt of his client’s innocence of the charge of violence, and he would not trouble the court or jury by any protracted defence on so clear a subject.”

I considered all was over, and left the court as the jury retired. In about an hour, however, I received an account that Knaresborough bad been found *guilty, *and sent back to gaol under sentence of death! I was thunderstruck, and without delay wrote to the chief secretary in Dublin begging him instantly to represent to the Lord-Lieutenant the real facts. Execution was in consequence respited. So soon as I could return to town I waited on Major Hobart and the Lord-Lieutenant, stated precisely the particulars I have here given, and my satisfaction, even from my own brief, that the girl was perjured. They referred me to Lord Chancellor Clare, whose answer I wrote down and never shall forget

“That may be all very true, Barrington! but he is a rascal, and if he does not deserve to be hanged for this, he does for a former affair, right well!” I told him it was quite necessary for me to publish the whole concern in my own justification. He then took from his bureau a small parcel of papers, and requested me to read them they proved to be copies of affidavits and evidence on a former accusation from which Knaresborough had escaped by lenity, for snapping a pistol at the father of a girl he had seduced.

Lord Clare, however, recommended his sentence to be changed to perpetual transportation; but this was to the convict worse than death, and he enclosed to me a petition which he had sent to Government, declining the proposed commutation, and insisting on being forthwith executed, pursuant to his first sentence. Notwithstanding, he was in fine actually transported. He had contrived to secure in different ways £10,000, and took a large sum with him to Botany Bay. I had heard no more of him for several years, when I was astonished one day by being accosted in the streets of Dublin by this identical man, altered only by time and in the colour of his hair, which had turned quite grey. He was well dressed, had a large cockade in his hat, and did not at all court secrecy. He told me that Government had allowed him to come away privately; that he had gone through many entertaining and some dismal adventures in Africa and in America, whence he last came; and he added, that as Government were then busy raising troops, he had sent in a memorial, proposing to raise a regiment for a distant service solely at his own expense. “I have,” said he, “saved sufficient money for this purpose though my brother has, by breach of trust, got possession of a great part of my fortune “-which was true.

In fact, he pestered the Government, who were surprised at his temerity, yet unwilling to meddle with him, until at length they had him arrested, and required to shew his authority from the governor of New South Wales for returning from transportation; which being unable to do, he was committed to Newgate to await the governor’s reply.

Here his firmness and eccentricity never forsook him he sent in repeated petitions to the ministry requesting to be banged, and told me he would give any gentleman £500 who had sufficient interest to get him put to death without delay. An unsatisfactory answer arrived from New South Wales; but the Government could not, under the circumstances, execute him for his return; and liberate him Lord Clare *would *not: his confinement therefore was, of course, indefinitely continued. During its course he purchased a lottery ticket, which turned out a prize of £2,000, and soon after a second brought him £500. He lived well, but having no society was determined to provide himself a companion at all events.

At this juncture the Earl of Aldborough became his next-door neighbour. My Lady A., the best wife in the world, did not desert her husband; and as all women of rank entertain what they call a “young person” to attend on them-that is, speaking generally, a girl handsomer than the mistress, neater in her dress, as good in her address, and in some instances even better in her character - Lady Aldborough brought such a one with her to the prison as her dresser and teamaker. But this “young person” considering, as Swift says, that “service is no inheritance,” and that she had no money of her own, and hearing that Fitzpatrick Knaresborough possessed great plenty of that necessary article, some way or other the metallic tractors brought them acquainted. To run away with him, she had only to trip across a lobby and staircase: so she actually broke the Sabbath by taking that journey one Sunday morning - and left my lord and my lady to finish their prayers, and wonder at the attractions of Newgate, which could set wandering the virtue of their “young person,” whom all the temptations, luxuries, and lovers of London and Dublin had never been able to lead astray from the path of rectitude!

My lady was surprised how Anna could possibly connect herself with a convict for such a shocking crime; but his lordship, who knew the world better, said *that *was the very reason why Anna admired him. However, the whole business in all its ramifications terminated pretty fortunately. My lord had his full revenge on Lard Clare, and got great credit for his firmness and gallantry. Knaresborough was at length turned out of Newgate when the Government were tired of keeping him in; whilst the “young person” produced sundry young people of her own in prison, and was amply provided for. The only set-off to this comedy of *All’s Well that Ends Well, *was the melancholy fate of poor Miss Barton, who married, was soon deserted by her husband, and died in misery.

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