Part 176

A. Some months.

Q. Then it was not at Mr. Cochrane Johnstone's desire that you became a surety for the Rules for this person?

A. Certainly not.

Q. Was Mr. Cochrane, who, I understand from Mr. Brushoft, was your co-surety, any relation of Mr. Cochrane Johnstone?

A. No.

Lord Ellenborough. That has been proved over and over again; nobody made an observation upon it.

Mr. Park. I beg your Lordship's pardon; there could be no other motive, I conceive, in calling Mr. Brushoft.

Lord Ellenborough. I understood him to be called to prove, that Mr. Tahourdin was a surety for the defendant; I never heard an observation made upon Mr. Cochrane, as being a relation.

Mr. Park. Are you acquainted with the hand-writing of your client, Mr. De Berenger?

A. Perfectly.

Q. That letter, or those letters lying before his Lordship, which have been proved, I think you say they are his hand-writing?

A. There is only one.

Q. Have you ever seen that letter before you saw it yesterday? (handing to the witness the letter sent to Admiral Foley.)

A. Never; I just saw it yesterday, and that was all.

Q. Upon the knowledge you have of the hand-writing of Mr. De Berenger, is that, in your judgment, the hand-writing of Mr. De Berenger or not?

A. Certainly not.

Lord Ellenborough. Be upon your guard.

Mr. Park. Be upon your guard, and look at it attentively. You have many times seen and read his letters?

A. A thousand times, and received a thousand letters from him.

Q. And you do not believe it to be his hand-writing?

A. I do not indeed; it is not his hand-writing.

Lord Ellenborough. That is the Dover letter?

Mr. Park. Yes it is, my Lord. If your Lordship will look at that and the other letter, you will see a marked difference.

Lord Ellenborough. The gentleman may look at the two letters; but that furnishes no argument, for a person would certainly write a disguised hand at that time, if ever he did in his life. This gentleman does not go on belief that it is not, but he swears positively that it is not his hand-writing.

Mr. Park. Certainly, my Lord; and there is, on the other side, only Mr. Lavie. This gentleman having seen Mr. De Berenger write a thousand times, and received a thousand letters from him. Do you, in your judgment and conscience believe, that that is a disguised hand of Mr. De Berenger?

A. I do not.

A Juryman. Why did you take the two letters up to compare the two hand-writings, if you had no doubt in your mind?

A. I had no doubt at all of it.