Star. — London, England, 1809-08-03 00:00:00

COURT MARTIAL ON LORD GAMBIXR. SEVENTH DAY.—POKISVIOUTI4, AUGUST g. Admiral STOPFORD being called to correct an error in his former testimony, to the effect that the da !waged boat piciced up by the Lyra was not totally lieszroyed, the COURT asked him its general question, whether the witness could state any one insta.ice of elect in the Commander in Chief during he wnole ,orrice ?—A. So far from it, that it alismys appeared me that the Commander in Chief was actuated by a warm zeal for the service, and a desire to discharge the duties entrusted to him with punctuality and care. Lieutenant IltwKrits re-examined._ Q. (Br the COURT) You have said, that on the I , th April a signal was made by the Imperieuse, to sly that the enemy's ships might be destroyed ?.—A. The s i g nal Was, 6 6 If permitted to remain, can de 6tr„. t he enemy." Q. To whom did you report the making of that s i g nal ?—A. To Sir H. Neale, Captain of the Fleet. Q. Do you know whether any thing was done in cons eqaence of it ?--.A. I believe there were launches l ea in by the Admiral, and vessels passed about the beet in consequence. Q. (By Lord GAMBIER). Was net there a signal gl ade to the Imperieuse to communicate with theAigle i n cons equence of that signal ?--A. There was a te lerph signal. Q. Did the Aigle go t the anchorage where the imperteuse was, and relieve her, and how soon ?—A. r can't exactly s y the time she anchored, but she it went i n immediately after she removed the prisoners. a (By the Couar). Were any operations under taken against the enemy upon the junction of the Aigle with the Imperieuse ?—A. Not immediately upon that junction, but the next day the Etna bomb w as sent in, and the gun-brigs, there being then no I other bomb wish the fleet. Q. (By Lord GAMBIER). Was the other bomb, the Thunder, sent in directly she arrived ?—A. Yes. Q. (By the Couar). Did the Vesuvius bomb ar rive before all operations had ceased ?—A. No other arrived before they had ceased. Q. Were any of the enemy's ships within the range of bombs after they arrived ?—A. I don't think they were. Q. (By the Cotnr.) Did you forfn that opinion on beard the Caledonia, or were you at any time in Aix Road,, to form it there ?—A. On board the Caledo nia. Q. (By Lord GAMBIER.) What day was the Re. gibs on shore under the town of Curas, got off, and ran up the Charante ?—.A. At day-light on the morn ing or the 29th, as appears on the log. Lord GAMBIER—" Mr. President, previous to my withdrawing yesterday from this place, I intimated 22 intention of closing my evidence and my defence ; and this I did from respect to the Court, being averse to ettgage more of their time than I conceived to be necessary, satisfied that every material point of the charge had been fully refuted ; but as all the Captains of th.. in-shore squadron have been before the Court, with the exception of only three, I would claim your indulgence so much further, as to call in those Officers, intending only to put to them a very few questions. One of them is Captain Newcombe. As his name ppeared yesterday inevidence, and it might lead to ,ntk:ence prejudicial tea thntmeritorious Officer if, ,v , (lnot not - ice his conduct,* I beg lea'e to assure this °xi, that he acquitted himself in the command of J't Beagle, in Ale Roads, in a manner highly ho urable to himself', and certainly satisfactory to me." 'it HARRY NEAill called by the Gourt, saws, sx doxiond. • Q. (By the COURT).Did the signal. Lieutenant of Caledonia, on the 14th of April, Teport• to you signal made by the Imperieuse, that if allowed to in, he could destroy the enemy's ships ?—A. I walking the poop, when I directed, by the mander in Chief's order, a signal of recall to made to the Imperiense, who returned a signal, • srted to me, a If permitted to wait, can destroy enemy." Q. Was any thing done in consequence of that 'gni ?—A. Yes ; Captain Wolfe, of the Aigle, was rested to proceed and take the command of the in squadron, and the Imperieuse was directed by legraph, to communicAte with the Aisle ; but whe ore Iher he did communicate any information or plan in consequence of that direction, or to the Commander is Chief, on his return, I am ignorant. Q. Did the Aigle go into Ais Roads in conse quence of that signal ?—A. Yes. Q. Is the Aigle a ship of equal force with the Im perieuse, so as to be as well calculated to destroy the rtty as the Imperieuse N.—A. Yes, she is. Q. Were any other ships or vessels sent in with he Aigle, or in consequence of that signal ?—A. To best of my recollection, all the small vessels had en sent in the day before : no others were sent in en. I think only the Lyra, if any, was left. . Q. By Lord Gouston. ) Had you any conversa en with Lord Cochrane at any time respecting the Curacy of , the French charts ?—A. Yes. Q. What did he say as to their accuracy or iaaccu. , ?--A. I was conversing about 6th of April last Lord Cochrane, respecting the distance at which '• Brisish fleet was anchored from the French, his dship stated the fleets were 9 miles from each . I replied that they were only 6 ; that it had en ascertained by angles as well as cross-bearings Pon the chart. His Lordship replied (speaking of French chart), the chart is not to be depended on. (It was the Neptune Francois, and his Lord a tmderstood it to be so.) The French, he added, : .e in the habit of giving a smaller space upon their art than was true; that he had had an instance of t!pon some former occasion, when standing in to , he expected to have found by the chart that e Space was small, and he fOusuiLkuearly five or six les bread. Q. What number of furnaces for heating shot did ' , :tl Cochrane report to me he had observed in the crt of Isle d'Aix, in reconnoitring previous to the Itit April ?—A. I did not hear him report to you, t he told me he had been in, in 1800, and saw five aces burning at that time. Q. Was not the firing of the explosion vessel eon• marl to Lord Cochrane ?—A. Entirely so. Lord GAMBIER...." From the peculiar circumstances Ineer which Sir Harry Neale stands as my ccutfidea !ial friend and First Captain of the Caledonia, I shall Isis him no more questions." Q. By the Cot/la.—Did Lord Cochrane state how Imlay guns he bad observed on the battery ?—A. No, he did not ;he 'repotted the west-end of the &relics-, ion to be in a stale of rubbish, but it was visible to he fleet it was newly formed. Lord GAMBIER" It `s material fbr me to observe, tlhat Lord Cochrane had, on the 18th, made the sig nal to, me can destroy enemy,' on which account I recalled the Imperieuse, but as nothing had been ef foct•!d by his Lordship, when on the following day he made the signal to me, when recalled— , If permitted to remain can destroy enemy,' I thought it unneces sary to pay more attention to this signal than to direct his Lordship by signal, to communicate with the Aigle, which ship Lord Cochrane knew I had or dered to relieve him. I concluded, therefore, Lord Cochrane would communicate to Captain Wolfe any measures he had in contemplation for destroying the enemy, and wished to have his Lordship's report of proceedings, that I might transmit my report to the Admiralty without delay." Catitain HARDMAN, of Me Unicorn, sworn and examined. Q. (By Lord GAMBIER ). What time in the after noon of the 12th of April, were you directed to pro ceed with the Unicorn to the attack of the enemy ? A. As near as I can recollect, about half past two. Q. Were the three ships of the enemy that were on shore upon the Palais shoal that day, and which after wards got off, at any time in a position to be attacked —I mean from the depth of water round them, and other circumstances ?—A. There were two ships tfloat prior to the frigates going in, and the enemy's three-decker, ashore and upright, with her broadside to the entrance ground of the Isle of Aix. The three enemy's ships on shore appeared to me not to be in a position to admit of an attack upon them by any of the British ships. Q. Was every exertion used, according to your judgment and observation, by every ship and vessel sent to the attack of the enemy ?—A. To the best of my judgment, every exertion was used. Q. Were the brig-sloops and gun-brigs advanced nearer to the enemy than the squadron at anchor ? A. To the best of my knowledge, none of the fri gates, except the Beagle, were in the advance of the British ships during the attack of the 12th ; I mean between the British frigates and the enemy. The Beagle continued under weigh between the enemy and the attacking frigates. Q. Did the Beagle appear to you to be as far ad vanced towards the enemy as the depth of water would admit ?—A. Not having sounded at any dis tance between the Unicorn and the enemy, I cannot say whether the depth of water would have admitted the Beagle to have closed more with the enemy. Q. How much nearer to the enemy than the fri gates do you suppose she was ?—A. To the best of my judgairnt, three or four ship's lengths. I did not observe her to anchor in the afternoon of the 12th. Q. Did she engage the enemy under weigh A. Yes, she did, and I believe continued to do so until the general firing of the British squadron ceased. Q. Was the Beagle placed between the British ships. and the ships of the enemy aground, and being under sail, subject at any time, in your apprehension, to re ceive any damage by the shot of the English ships ? A. Yes, I think she was; but I do Rot know that she received any damage from them. Q. From the time of the Commander in Chief ar riving . in Basque Roads to the time of your leaving it, can. you state any instance of neglect, misconduct, or inattention to the public service in his proceedings? --A. I cannot ; the Unicorn was the advanced Fri gate from the day of anchoring in Basque Roads antil the afternoon of the 12th of A pril. Q. Were the exertions of the brigs and small yes sels continued after the 12th of April for the destruc tion of the enemy's ships, until they had removed entirely out of their reach ?—A. From the 13th of April until the Unicorn was leaving Basque Roads, I have no reason to suppose that there was any want of exertion on the part of the brigs and vessels ; but it blew so strong, that the small vessels often could not carry on any operations against the enemy. Captain SEYMOUR, of Me Pallas, sworn and examined. Q. (By Lord GAMBIER.) What time in tha after noon of the 12th of April did you proceed in the Pallas to attack the enemy ?—A. About a quarter lafter two, I think. _ _ _ _ Q. Do you remember seeing the position of the enemy's fleet on that morning ; and whether there were any of them afloat at their anchorage ?—A. Two ships were afloat, those of the Rear Admiral and Commodore. Q. Do you recollect what time they. cut or slipt their cables, and ran up the Charente ?—A. Between twelve and one. Q. Do you recollect at what time the enemy's three' ships that were aground on the Valais shoal, and which afterwards got off, removed from that situation ? A. I do not ; I think it was in the last quarter of the tide. _ _ Q. Was it after or before the two line of battle ships ran up ?—A. lam not positive. I was occu pied about my ship. Q. (By the COURT.) When the ships of the line and some of the frigates left Aix Roads, did the Pallas go out with them e—A. She did not. Q. On the morning of the 13th April were there any of the enemy's ships which remained within reach of shot from the Pallas ?—A. No, by a very consi derable distance. . _ _ Q. Was the Pallas then in the situation in which she was when she engaged the enemy on the 12th ? A. She was not, but moved the preceding evening into deep water. Q. Were any of them within gun shot of the situ ation from which she removed ?—A. No. Q. Were any of them in a situation which would have admitted of their being destroyed by frigates and the smaller vessels then in the squadron ?--A. The smaller vessels attacked them on the 13th in the Imorning. I don't think the frigates could have ac companied them to the attack. • I Q. Was the Ocean the only ship within reach of their attack ?—A. The Ocean was the nearest ship, but circumstances afterwards proved the Regulus could have been attacked. Q. Were all the smaller vessels sent to attack'the Ocean ?—A. All that remained in Aix Roads. Q. How long did they continue their attack on the 13th ?—A. Till about four o'clock in the afternoon, when they worked up to the anchorage of the Impe rieuse and Pallas. Q. Do you know why they did not continue their attack longer ?—A. They came back with the ebb tide, which bad ebbed considerably before they weighed, and the Etna bomb had gronsded. The • ,• day closing in Alight he an additional tab& for their Q. Did you we the explosion vend blow IT ?-mi returning. A. Yes. Q. Did you on the 11th see the Imperieuse inforfn Q. From every opportunity you had o ohs-m -, 1 . 0e• the Commander in Chief, by signal, that if allowed the proceedings of the b..mo, the slo , ys of war, and to remain he could destroy the enemy I did. the gun-brigs, did it appear to you that any of these Q. Was any additional force sent into Aix Roads vessels were in any instance whatever ()pet ly in consequence of that signal ?—A. Several brigs conducted ? -A. I d n't recoil. et tha there did. I came in after the 13th, but I do not remember whe. think if there had I should have seen it. ther after or before that signal. Cafilain MALCOLM sworn and examined ay the Court. Q. Had any plan been concerted between the Q. From he first attack on the ships of the enemy, Captain of the I m p er i euse an d yourse lf f or d estroy i ng on t h e evening the Ilth April to th e tim e o f your the enemy's ship s ?—A. N one . l eav i ng B asque Roads. was every thing, accardin < to In answer to other questions, the witness was of your judgment, dune that could be done to effect theft opinion, that no good effect would have been at- destinatton ?-.A. On the morning of the 12th a great tended by the frigates going in, as they could n. t ap- part of the enemy's ships was men on share, the tide proach sufficiently near, or remain there long enough. ebbing about eight o'clock; in my opinion it would Q. Upon the attack of the Ocean, on the 13th, have been highly imprudent to have ordered in any of what number of vessels went in ?—A. I think the the large ships to attack the enemy. There was no Beagle, with three gun-brigs, and the Etna bomb. imnediment to small ships going in ; about that time Q. Were the bomb, and the several vessels that the bomb went in. went in on the several attacks on the Ocean and Re-' It being near five o'clock, the Court was adjourned guilts obliged, on goi ng i n a nd return i ng , to pass I until to-morrow (this day) at nine. under the fire of the batteries in the Isle of Aix ? —A. I They were, at a greater or smaller distance, in pro. portion to their draught of water. Q. Since from your situation on those occasions, you could not fail to have observed the conduct of all the vessels employed against the enemy, did it appear to you that they all were conflicted with every becom ing zeal and judgment, for the benefit of the public service ? —A. The whole of the Commanding Officers appeared to me to be actuated by the same spirit, and I saw nothing like a failure of duty in any vessel whatever. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF CHANCERY, AUGUST 1. EXPARTE ANDEL:SON. Two Insurance-brokersi-etned in their hands some policies of insurance, upon the ground that they had a lien upon them. The Insurance•brokers were part ners in a Banking-house, and it appeared that it vras on account of a debt due to the Banking-house, and not for a debt due to the Brokers, in their separate capacity of Brokers. that the policies were retained. The Loan CHANCELLOR thought they had no right to keep them on account of a debt due to the Banking• house ; and they were ordered to deliver up the secu rities to the Assignees of the Bankrupt in this case, to be sold for the benefit of all the creditors. Q. Can you state any instance of neglect, miscon duct, or in,ittention in the proceedings of the Corn minder in Chief during your service in Basque Roads ?—A. None whatever, save and except the Commander in Chief thought proper to have sent the ships in sooner, there was a possibility of annoying the enemy more than they were, but our ships must have been subjected not only to the fire of the enemy's ships at anchor, but also from the batteries of Isle d'Aix. I cannot presume to place my judgment in competition with that of the Commander in Chief, how far it was proper to have sent ships in. Q. Under the circumstances of the annoyance which the ships earlier sent in would have been subject to from the two French ships remaining at anchor, and from the batteries, and considering the state of the tide and wind at the time, would you, had you been the Commander in Chief, sent the ships earlier in to attack those of the enemy on shore ?—A. The risk, I think, as the wind and tide was, rather too great, -rid a want of a perfect knowledge of the anchorage between the Palais and the Oleron. Fit PA RTE DAWSON. This was a petition from the bankrupt, Ditirs ,, i, to supersede the commission taken out against ;,,o on the ground, Ist, That he was no trader ; 2d, "1. he had committed no act of bankruptcy. Sir ARTHUR nom' observed, that the petitioning creditor had been advised to take out the commission by his Solicitor, and that he had good ground to be. lieve that Dawson had been a trador, and had corn. mitted an act of bankruptcy. But as he had not suf ficient legal evidence to prove this, he could riot object with effect to the prayer of the petition. The commission was accordingly superseded. SIR WILLIAM CURTIS AND HIS YACHT.—Tt is a proof of the good spirits of the Public, and of their confidence in the final success of the Expedition, that there was more conversation yesterday, in some circles, upon the subject of this worthy Citizen's adventure as one of its attendants, than upon any other topic c -n -nected with it. In the banking-houses especially, there was abundance 'of laughter, arising from the following account of the first five leagues of his voyage. We give the anecdote as it is circulated, without answering for its truth.—Sir WILLIAM'S yacht is the finest pleasure vessel belonging to any British subject; and those who know his unaffected manners, will believe that when he spends 16001. a year upon it, he does this, not for the sake of any fashion, but for the sake of " the genuine pleasure derived from it by himself and his friends. With his zeal for the prosperity of his country, and hearty enjoyment of all that does it honour, it was natural enough, that he should desire to see something of the progress of the present Expedition from the deck of this his fa vourite summer dwelling. He accordingly wrote a pressing request to Mr. Peactvar., for permission to sail with the fleet. Mr. Peircivst. answered, that as a friend, he did not like to refuse Sir WILLIAM, but as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he could not write upon the subject to the Admiralty, unless the worthy Alderman would consent to put his vessel under their orders. Sir WILLIAM readily accepted this condition, and immediately began to perform his navel duties by storing his vessel with every kind of viands, substan tial or luxurious, and abundance of the finest wines. The Marquis of HUNTLEY, and several General OP ficers, readily enough accepted his hospitable offers to entertain them on their passage. About three months ago the shop of Mr. Welch, goldsmith, of Plymouth, was robbed (by means of incisions made in the window-shutters) of property to the amount of near 5001. and, notwithstanding the most diligent search and inquiry, added to the offer of a large reward, no trace whatever was discovered of the robbers, till yesterday se'nnight, when a very unexpected discovery was made at Taunton, in So mersetshire. An officer, on the recruiting service, went, on the day above-named, to the shop of Mr. Bunter, mercer, in Taunton, to look at some mus]ins, and during the temporary absence of the shopman, contrived to steal a piece, and-secrete it in his pocket; but the shopman, after he went away, missed the piece, and informed his master ; who, shortly after, obtained a search-warrant, went to the officer's lodg ings, broke open a trunk, and there found the stolen muslin, a piece of cambric, and many other suspicious articles—such as silver spoons, belonging to different inns, for the absence of which, without leave, the ser vants had been repeatedly censured. A great num ber of gold seals, together withother valuable jewellery articles, were also found-41e latter conjectured to be part of the property stolen from Mr. Welch. Mr. Welch is gone up to identify his property ; and, in the mean time, the officer has been committed to ll chester gaol, to take his trial on the charge of privately stealing the muslin, which is a capital offence. FIRES.—On the night of Monday the 17th ult. a dreadful fire was discovered to have broken out in one of the out-offices of Mr. W. O'Loughlin inn keeper, at Killimore, county of Galway. The O'Loughlin; owing to the drought of the weather, and a scarcity of water, instantly communicated to his dwelling, and adjoining houses, which, with a quantity of corn, bay, straw, turf, timber, &c. &c. in about an hour presented a dreadful heap of burning cipders. The loss sustained by Mr. O'Loughlin on the above die.. tressing occasion, it is supposed, cannot amount to less then eight or nine hundred pounds. From an attack being made on the above gentleman's house on the 12th instant by some villains unknown, there is great reason to suspect it was the effect of design. while in the ace of rescuing his h orses from the Mr. 'Loughlin narrowly escaped bei n g burned to , stable. Q. If the ships had been sent earlier in, would they have been subject to annoyance from the ship Ocean, as well as the two ships at anchor and the batteries ? —A. I think they would. Q. From the first attack upon the enemy's ships, to the time of your leaving Basque Roads, was there in your judgment, every thing done that was practi cable to be done, to destroy the enemy's ships ?—A. I think there was. Lieutenant HOCKINGS called in again. Q. At what time did the French ships slip their cables ?—A. The Cassard slipped her cable at ten minutes past one. lam positive to this fact. The three-decker hauled off at two o'clock, the other be tween one and two o'clock. Captain KEltil again calbd and examined. Q. From every observation you had of noticing the bomb, the brig sloops of war, and gun brigs, up on all the services in which they were employed against the enemy, did you sec any instance of mis conduct of any kind whatever in any of these vessels? —A. None whatever. Admiral STOPFOZD again called and examined ; gave an account of the state of the enemy in Basque Roads after the action. Lord GAM BIER here declined examining any further evidence, and the Court intimated its intention of calling witnesses to some particular points. Capt. WOLFS again called and examined by the Court. Q. When you joined the Imperieuse on the 14th April, for the purpose of relieving that ship and con ducting the further operations of the vessels against the enemy, what communication had you with the Captain of that ship ?—A. Shortly after we anchored Lord Cochrane came on board, and after saying I had come to relieve him, I asked him what he would recommend to do with the vessels under my orders for the destruction of the enemy's ships ? he told me that the large mortar on board the Etna had burst, and the only thing we had to do was to bombard as long as the shells of the other mortar lasted ; that if an opportunity offered of sending the fire-vessels, it should be done by day-light, as many officers of the fire-vessels had made such a bad business of it on the night of the 11th. Feeling the great responsibility on me, I asked him if there was_ any thing else he could suggest for the destruction of the enemy ? I think he said, nothing more than to bomb them while the shells lasted, and I believe they were all expend ed that night. Q. Was any attempt made to employ the fire-ships 1 against the enemy ?—A. None, as I did not think it prudent so to do—from the impractability of their getting at them for want of water, as the tides would not serve only at day-light —next, that they . were so well protected by the batteries, numerous armed ves sels, boats and men, that were doing all that lay in their power to remove them up higher. Q. Lord Cochrane having remarked to you, that some of the fire-ships upon the first attack upon the enemy had not been well managed—do you know of any particular fire-ship or ships that were improperly conducted on the evening of the 11th of April ?—A. I cannot particularize those that were badly manag ed ; the ship that passed between us and the Island Olivera, and got on shore there, was the only one I particularly noticed. I hailed several (five) that came very near us, from our own ship being very nearly set fire to by those that were badly managed. I could only learn the names of two of the officers of the fire-ships that behaved well ; five behaved very well, one of them .vas commanded by Captain New comb, who desired me to remember he had passed us. Lieutenant Cooksey, of the Gibraltar, was lOW ther who begged I would keep my eye on him, as he should not fire his vessel till he was among them. I did, and saw him run on board a two-decked ship of the enemy, from the fresh breeze of wind I could not hear the names of the other officers. Another came-to on hoard of me, and begged I would notice his conduct.