Foxall Baldry is next called; he says, "I am a post-boy at the Rose at Dartford; on the morning of the 21st, I recollect a chaise coming from Northfleet to our house; I have seen one of the gentlemen since; I did not know Mr. Sandom personally at the time; he was one of those persons; I did not know the other two; I drove the leaders. Just as we were coming to Shooters Hill, Mr. Sandom got out of the chaise, and said, give your horses their wind, and when you get up the hill, make the best of your way; I will give you twelve shillings a-piece for driving; my fellow servant ordered me to go over London Bridge, down Lombard-street, along Cheapside, over Blackfriars Bridge, down the New Cut, and when I was in sight of the Marsh Gate, I was to stop." That was the line they were to take, they were to come through the town with these laurels and white cockades, which would attract attention; and it appears that this chaise came about two hours after the other, so that when the rumour began to be languid, this would revive and also strengthen it, the same report reaching London through two channels that morning. "I took that course; Mr. Sandom had on a brown coat, and the other two were in blue coats I think; the horses had laurels upon them; when I was in sight of the Marsh Gate I pulled up, the parties took off their cocked hats, put them into their handkerchiefs, put their round hats on, and they walked away." It had answered their purpose, they had exhibited themselves in the city, and they then resumed their usual habits. "I got to the Marsh Gate about eleven o'clock I should think; Mr. Sandom did not give us any thing at that time, nor pay for the chaise; he asked what house we stopped at; I told him the Bull, Kent-street end, and he came to us there, and gave my fellow servant a £.1 note and the rest in silver; the chaise he did not pay for." Whether it is yet paid for, nobody has informed us.
Mr. Baily is then called again, and he says, "In consequence of inquiries that had been made, Mr. Holloway and Lyte attended the committee of the Stock Exchange. Holloway denied any knowledge of the transaction, after which he came and confessed that he had planned that plot or participated in it; he said that he had done it with view to obtain money by a rise in the public funds; and Lyte said that he had been employed by Mr. M'Rae, at Mr. Holloway's solicitation. Lyte stated, that he and Sandom, and M'Rae, rode in the post chaise from Northfleet to Dartford, and afterwards from Dartford to London; there were present at this time, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. Lavie, and Mr. Chaumette. Holloway and Lyte came together, and what Lyte stated, was in the presence of Holloway; he (Holloway) stated, that he was not aware of the serious turn it would take; but finding that it had taken so serious a turn, he had come forward and confessed it, in the hope that the Stock Exchange would not pursue it to extremities. He was asked, whether he had any connexion with Lord Cochrane, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, or Mr. Butt, and he denied that he had;" and certainly, if his denial was complete evidence of the fact, it would be proper for your consideration in that respect; but what he admits is to be taken as against himself, subject to your discreet consideration of the whole of the circumstances; and you will, upon the whole, determine, whether these defendants conspired with the rest in the promotion of the same end, accomplished by the same or similar means, about the very same period. Mr. Baily adds, that nothing he supposes, but the publicity of the measures, induced Holloway to come forward; and that he believes Holloway stated, that he would communicate all he knew of the business, because M'Rae had offered, for a large sum of money (I believe that sum was mentioned to be ten thousand pounds) to come forward; he denied also any connexion with De Berenger.
Several Brokers are then called. Mr. Robert Hichens, one of them, says; I have known Mr. Cochrane Johnstone for several years, I have never done business for him till the present year; from the 8th of February to the 19th, I made various purchases for him, the balance was £.250,000 omnium, at the leaving off of the business on Saturday; I furnished Mr. Baily with an account of the purchases and sales on Monday the 21st; I met Mr. Cochrane Johnstone as I was coming out of the Stock Exchange, about a quarter before eleven o'clock; I received an order from him on the Saturday to sell £.50,000 at one per cent. profit on the Monday, and that I sold before I saw him on Monday; now it does appear very probable, that the communication this person had made at Dover, might have reached town before De Berenger, for it appears by the evidence of Wright of Rochester, that he had been called up by a post-boy of his brother's at Dover, who had probably brought before De Berenger's arrival at Rochester, some of the news which De Berenger had announced at Dover, for Wright of Rochester addresses him as a person whom he was "led to suppose" was the bearer of some very good news; some such cause appears to have operated, so that the stocks were at 29 early in the morning; on the Saturday he ordered me to sell a certain quantity at an eighth per cent. more; I sold the whole of it that day by his directions, at 29, 29-1/8, 29-1/2, 30-3/4 and 30-7/8. I disposed of the whole which Mr. Cochrane Johnstone held at one or other of those prices.
Then on cross-examination, he states Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's balance on this and different days, and it appears that they had been dealing in the funds, with a view to this particular day; for a length of time they all had their hands full of omnium and consols; and the omnium having obtained a price which would allow of a profit, all was sold, and the object appears to have been as much to raise the price a little, so as to get out without present loss, as to gain a profit; this is the substance of the evidence of the different brokers, who all prove the quantities of stock, and that they were both buyers and sellers; the persons who were interested to prevent a depression, must feed the market occasionally as a buyer, I should imagine, though I am not very conversant in these things.
Mr. Baily then states in substance, what from an inspection of the accounts, with which he states himself to have been furnished by the several brokers, Hichens, Fearn, Smallbone, and Richardson, it turns out had been the balances of the three persons, Mr. Cochrane Johnstone, Lord Cochrane, and Mr. Butt, in the different speculation they had, which had lasted for a considerable time; from the month of November, according to Mr. Fearn, down to that day, and particularly from the 8th to the 21st of February (the particulars of which are specified in this paper) they appear to have had a larger balance, at least Mr. Cochrane Johnstone appears to have had on an antecedent day, than he had on the 21st of February; but it appears as if they not only were speculating on what they were buying, but they were speculating to such an amount, that unless they got rid of it, every one of them might be ruined; and they had determined, it should seem, on getting a profit of about one per cent. to sell the whole. It turns out, that on the 21st of February, as appears by this paper, £.420,000 of omnium, and £.100,000 of consols, belonged to Mr. Cochrane Johnstone; £.139,000, of omnium to Lord Cochrane; and to Mr. Butt, £.200,000 omnium, and £.178,000 consols. It appears that he sold on that day, £.24,000 more of omnium than he had; and £.10,000 of consols short of what he had; and with those differences merely, they, on that day, evacuate themselves of the whole; and, by Mr. Baily's account, you will see there was a profit upon the whole. The gross amount of the balances of all three, was £.759,000 omnium, and £.278,000 consols, which would make, he says, if the whole amount were reduced to consols and calculated as consols, £.1,611,430, £.3. per cents. Of that quantity of stock they were holders on the 21st of February. When I have stated the total amount as being £.1,611,430, 3 per cents., that is supposing the omnium was calculated in terms of consols; he says, the fluctuation of only an eighth, would, upon this large amount, have been a profit of above £.2,000. The profit upon the sales of that day, was, he says, £.10,450. Lord Cochrane's share of this profit was, as he computes, £.2,470.; Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's, £.4,931. 5.; and Mr. Butt's, £.3,048. 15.; he says, "If no news had arrived on the 21st, no person could have sold this large quantity of omnium and consols, without very much depressing the market;" therefore, it was necessary, it should seem, that there should be good news to keep up the market, that great holders of stock might get out of the adventure without loss. "I should think the news arrived in about half an hour after ten; business begins at ten; the news had a gradual effect, as the report was believed, the first decline was about the middle of the day;" he says, "the recovery of the funds was generally attributed to the chaise passing through the city;" therefore one chaise was, in point of effect, a good auxiliary to the other, and the blue coats and the worsted embroidery, aided, it should seem, the effect of the red coat and gold lace; and you will consider whether it was not all part of the same transaction. I think, he says, the chaise through the city carried it to its highest amount; I should think, he says, the accounts were time bargains, from the magnitude of the sums, and it should seem, they were so; but though the gain which these parties made, might not be a legitimate gain arising on legitimate bargains, the evil of this to the fair dealer is palpable, and the argument of its invalidity is a sword with a double edge; its operation, at any rate, is to cut very deeply into the interest of innocent dealers in the funds.
Mr. Wetenall then speaks to the different prices of the stock on that day; he says, "I collect the prices at different times of the day, and furnish the bank with these papers. Omnium left off at 26-3/4, that was the money price; the time price is generally one per cent higher. It commenced on Monday at 26-1/2. On news arriving, it rose to 30-1/4; fell back to 30, and afterwards to 28. After the stocks had begun to fall; on a report of a chaise having come through the city, they rose again."
Pilliner, who was a stock-broker, says; "before the 21st of February I had made purchases for Holloway to the amount of £.20,000 omnium, and £.20,000 consols. I sold for him £.20,000 omnium, and £.14,000 consols. I saw Holloway on the morning of the 21st;" he declines answering whether they were time bargains, or for money; "he desired me to sell his stock, to sell all about the middle of the day. I had acted as broker for him two years."
Then Mr. Steers says, "I am broker to the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery. On Monday the 21st of February I made purchases, as broker for the Court of Chancery, to the amount of fifteen thousand and odd; I bought at 71-5/8 consols; that was the price about eleven o'clock, when the funds had considerably risen; that was all that I did that day for the Accountant General. I can speak to nothing else that day. I purchased £.6,894. 11s. 4d. consols for the Accountant General, on Saturday, at 70;" therefore the difference between 71-5/8 and 70, seems to have been occasioned by the operation I have before stated to you.
Mr. Wright is next called; he appears to have printed this affidavit by Lord Cochrane's direction, on slips for the newspapers; he says, "In a conversation with Lord Cochrane, when he was giving me directions, he said, I once saw captain De Berenger at dinner at Mr. Basil Cochrane's. I have no reason to think that captain De Berenger is capable of so base a transaction;" giving his own name to the transaction; "but if he is, I have given the committee of the Stock Exchange the best clue to find him out;" he had given them a clue, by giving his name in the manner he has done in his affidavit; but it would have been very ineffectual if De Berenger had carried away his own person previous to that; but it was by accident that he was found at Leith.