n obtained.

Gentlemen, there is another circumstance I must take leave to press upon
you. It seems to me that a conspiracy of this sort could never be
carried into effect without some broker being concerned in it. If my
clients had been concerned, they would certainly have consulted some of
the brokers who have been examined. It is impossible that they could
have kept the secret from these brokers; and yet I think it is perfectly
clear that they knew nothing of it. It is not pretended by the
prosecutors that they had, and from the fairness with which they have
given their evidence, it is but just to acquit them of any participation
in it.

Gentlemen, I beg to be understood in what I am now about to say, as not
intending to impute any thing wrong to Government or to the Stock
Exchange; though I think I may venture to say, that what has been done
as to the breaking open the trunk, and the searching for these papers,
cannot be justified by law; for I know of no law that justifies the
Government of the country, or any magistrate whatever, in breaking open
trunks and taking away papers on suspicion of a misdemeanor; yet I am
not disposed to impute blame to public officers, when impelled by proper
and adequate motives, they go a little beyond the strict letter of the
law; but where such powers have been exerted to detect guilt, if guilt
had existed, it could not have escaped detection. There has been a
degree of activity exercised to bring home the guilt to these persons,
which I never saw on any former occasions; liberties have been taken
which I never saw in a case of misdemeanor before. All De Berenger's
papers have been ransacked and taken from him, at a moment when he could
have no idea that they would be taken, and therefore could not have
destroyed or secreted any, and yet not a single paper is found (but the
bank notes), not a single letter; the parties to the conspiracy are
never brought together in connection, and it does not appear that there
has been any communication by letter. Here seems to be a conspiracy
without any possible means of conspiring. I do not see how men are to
conspire without communicating with each other, and I am not aware of
any other modes of communication than conversation or writing; yet you
are desired to find several persons guilty of a conspiracy, without any
communication having been proved to have been had between them, and
without any writing of any sort having been found.

Gentle