Star. — London, England, 1807-03-11 00:00:00

which he had read compofed all that were referred to in the charge before the Court. Mr. J. iris aiked, whether the Hon. Captain ad ruit,ed the receipt of the original inftruttions of the 29111 July, 1805 ? Sir HOME Poetam" Certainly ; and I admit every document referred to in the charge, which pur• ports to baxe been mitten by nie ; alfo fuch as I re • coved." The inflruZlions were read over again as evidence .—but Come of the documents which immediately fol lowed being but copied, with Come blanks, the Court adjourned for fome time, until the originals weie fent for afbore. Sir Hom s POPHAM Rated, that he never received the numbers 3, 4 and 5, until the other day on his re turn to England. He therefore could know nothing o f the orders they contained. There was good rea fon indeed, that thefe difpatches never reached him, for the Belle Poule packet which contained Come, was, as he underflood, captured by the enemy ; and The Lyar, by which the other was fent, never touched at the Cape. Mr. Jeans admitted therefore, that thefe dif patches did not form evidence to affctl the Hon. Cap tain, as knowing their contents. He adduced them merely as evidence, that fuch orders were iffued by the Admiralty. Sir Hosts POPHAM afked then, if not againa him, why bring them forward at all upon his trial ? Mr. Jaavis" To Phew that the Board of Admi ralty believed the Hon. Captain to be at the Cape to receive orders." The PRESIDENT..." As there is no evidence of the receipt of thefe orders, of courfe no charge of difobe dience can arife out of them." Sir Home Pop isant— ,, Then for what purpofe are they laid before the Court, if they ate not meant to ailed% me ? I really cannot conceive the obje& which the Learned Counfel has in view. Ido not mean to argue a point of law with that Learned Counfel." P R ESIDENT.—" He is not here as Counfel—he ap- pears here as Profecutor, to which the Admiralty have appointed him." Sir H. POPHAM—" Then he officiates in a double capacity as Counfel and as Profecutor." PRESIDENT...." We know him here only as a Pro fecutor." The Juno g Anvocava alked, whether there letters should be admitted ? PRISIDENT" Let them be receive& the Court will confider afterwards how far they bear upon the cafe before it." After the letters, &c. admitted by the Prifoner, had been read in evidence— Mr. Jeav; Rated, that the cafe for the profecution was doled. The Leatned Gentleman obferved that the Honourable Captain, in a letter officially receiv ed frr,m him yefterday, placed a good deal of em phatis upon what he called the introduCtion of new Meatier into the charge which had recently been con ve-ed to him. But having feen the charge, a copy of which was tranfmitted to the Honourable Captain immediately after his arrival in England, he declared that he law no material difference between that and the former. He was lorry, that in the former the documents to be adduced in evidence were not fpeci lically delcribed, as the Honourable Captair pro. felled to feel fume inconvenience on account of that ontitlinn. Sir Hosts Por Hare obferved, that the difference would be obvious to ;my man who reviewed the do cuments themfelves. Indeed, there were Come pa pers read to-day, which be had never Peen or heard of. The PRESIDLNT telling Sir Home Popham that he was now at liberty to enter upon his defence—Sir Home requelled liberty to retire with his Counfel for a few moments, which was granted. Upon his re turn to Court, Sir Hom E Paid he mull cnnfefs that he could not feel himfelf comfortable if called upon to enter into his Defence before Monday. He fhould be happy to come forward to-morrow, if it were in his power,but lie hoped the Court would feel it very natural that he ghoul.' be prepared, when they reflefted that there were Come letters advanced in evidence againft him which he never heard of until this day, and that Come proceedings bad been taken by his Profecutors, of which he was not apprifed till he came to Portfmouth. PALM/INT.—There are officers here who have been called away from various Rations, where they are engaged in the fervice of their country, therefore every convenient expedition is defirable. Perhaps by to morrow you may be able to prepare your De. fcnce—in that hope we (hall adjourn the Court until then ; if not ready, you will Rate when yon can be I trull you will endeavour to come forward as loon as poflible. Sir Home Popuera.—Really, Sir, I am anxious to come forward as (non as poflible, but from the va• riety of new matter that has appeared,from the pub licity which is likely to be given to this hulloes, through the number of Reporters now prefent,l hope this Honourable Court will feel, that it is due to my charaCter to leave no endeavour unremi:ted to meet every part of the accufation. I (hall ufe my utrnotl etertion to comply with the wither, and to abridge the trouble and attendance of the Court; but 1 hope they will feel the propriety of my propofition for farther time to confider my cafe. One of the Members of the Court, we underllood it to he admiral Holloway, exprelled a with that the detore should be entered upon to morrow, or at lead the Guisfaaory realon thould be affigned for the pro iety of farther delay. Sir HOME POPHAM thought the new letters brought forward this day quite a fir fficient realon for the delay he required. Betides, there were tome letters for which he had applied to the Admiralty, and which he had not yer received. Mr. Jtevis was lorry that the Ilon. Captain fhonld feel any realon to complain upon this occafion. Any letters he had it in his power to furnifh rhombi be at the Service of the Hon. Captain. He held in his hand copies of all the documents referred to in the charge, and would immediately prefent them to the Hon. Captain or his agent. Thefe letters were accordingly received by Mr. Lavie. After fome converfatinn, the Court ad journed till eleven o'clock to-morrow—the Pref . '- dent expretling a hope that the defence would be then ready ; and the Hon. Captain Rating his fears that it could ma, although he would wilingly stay up all night for the purple, if that would enable him to comply with the Wililts of thc Court, SECOND DAY. Sir Horn rOPHATit, upon his appearance in Court , was anted by the Prefident whether he was ready to enter upon his defence ? The Hon. Captain replied, that however anxious he mug be to gratify the with of the Court, and to bring this bufinefs to a conclufion, he was moll fincerely unwilling to occafion the Court any delay that could continently be avoided. But from the alteration which appeared between the charge origi nally ftrved upon him in London, and that which he had received from the Judge Advocate fence his ar rival at Portfmouth ; the former referring to but three letters, the latter to no lefs than eighteen, Come of which he had heard for the &II time yefterday, haßily read in Court ; from the very fevere animad verfions upon his conduit, which had been made in the Senate ; and the party animadverfions Rill more fevere which had appeared in Come of the periodical publications ; he felt it effentially neceffary to his charater to enter at large into all the faits which he had it in his power to adduce in his defence. He therefore found it impoffible to come prepared at that moment, the more efpecially as it was among other cireumitances, his misfortune recently to meet with a very feri ,us &picnic affliEtion, ariting out of the animadverfions he had already alluded to. For thefe realans, which he hoped the Court would feel fvfficient to enervate and difarrange any man's mind, he regretted to fay, that he was quite unable to com ply with the wifhes of the Court, by entering into his defence at prefent. But there were Come letters, which in order to fave time, he wifhed now to have read. Thefe letters were, that which was addreffed to him by the Judge Advocate, dated the 4th MR. and alfo his own letter to Mr. Secretary Marfden, requiring a copy of the trial Of Captain Thompfon, with whom be (Sir Home) had failed as a Midthip man for three years ; alfo his letter of the 3oth of April from St. Helena, the mere addenda to which were read by the profecutor ; alfo the Gazette of the 27th of July !aft, in order to compare it with his let ter of the fame date ; alf) the inclofures in his letter to the Admiralty of the 9th of ClEtober, iBos. The Parstotwr diced Sir Home, whether the let ters he required to have read were neceffary to his defence ? Sir Hosts replied, that in his defence he meant to refer to them. Mr. Jsavis obferved, that the charge before the Court was word for word the fame with that which he had teen before the Hon. Captain came to England, and which was prefented to him, he underßood, im mediately upon his arrival. The learned Gentleman then entered into tome legal objeaions to the right of the Hon. Captain to demand papers or evidence from his profecutors. He did not with to prefs this objec tion, but yet he withed it to be under-Rood, that he felt it to be perfealy tenable. The learned Gentleman was proceeding, when he was interrupted by the Court, who told him that he could not be allowed to go into any obfervations of that nature. The JUDGE ADVOCATE nhferved, that the letter from him to the Honourable Captain, was only meant to apprife the Honourable Captain of the intended trial, in order that he might be fully prepared. Sir HOME POPHAM. " lut 1 only received that note of preparation on Thurfday lan. I approach this Honourable Court with great deference, and I offer my fentiments with extreme diffidence; but I mutt deprecate the learned Gentleman's perfeverance in his legal difcuffirms. I am furl); idled that the learned profecutor lbould take advantage of the abfence of my legal ftiend and advifer (we rinderßood the Ho nourable Captain to mean Mr. Harrifon, who was abfent) to engage in difcutlions of this nature. Al though I am aware, that I am under the proteelion of a more paramount Counfel, the Prefident of this Honourable Coma, I cannot help remarking, that it would have been more liberal in the profecutor to have fufpended, under the circumtlances I have mentioned, his animadverfions upon the law of evi dence. 1 am upon good authority jutlified in be lieving that intlances have occurred, in which fuch requelts as I have made for papers, and as the learned Gentleman deprecates, have been immediately com plied with. But even fuppoling no precedent had exifted, would it be derogator y to the dignity of the Admiralty, to introduce a liberal precedent in my favour ; as it has thought proper to ellablith a pre cedent fo new as that of fending down the learned Gentleman as the profecutor againft me; as it has thought proper to appoint one, who independently of tke advantage derived from his confultations with that Honourable Board in London, is alto enabled to avail himfelf of the information he had the oppor tunity of obtaining from the ingenuity and profound knowledge of the Counfel to the Admiralty, with whom no one is more intimate than the learned pro fecutor ? But my incapacity to contend with the learned Gentleman, particularly upon queltions of legal difficulty, will be hill more evident to this Honourable Court, when I nate, that even here he has it-in his power occafionally ::o retort to the advice of the Counfel for the Admiralty ; to the advice of one who has never before been heard of in a Court Martial, although on this occafion his profound judgment and elevated talents can be referred to by the profecutor, while this learned Counfel is by the ufe of a Int of invifible ring, concealeJ from the light and from the avowed knowledge of this Court." The PRESIDENT defired the Honourable Officer would read the lilt of papers he deemed it expedient to have read to the Court. Sir HOl4 s gave in the lift required, and after the Court had confulted for a few moments with Mr. Jervis, all (hangers were ordered to be excluded.— The Court was clofed for about an hour, and upon our re.almiffion,the Judge Advocate read the follaw lowing decifion, addreffing himfelf to Sir H. Popham: " The Court having taken into confideration your application, to be allowed until nine o'clock on Mon day morning to prepare your defence, have content ed to your requeß ; but as the principal reafon you have given for Acing for more time, is the introduc tion of a great variety of new matter into the charge, the Court think it neceffary to obferve, that between the copies of the intended charge as fent by the Se cretary of the Admiralty, and that delivered to you by the Judge Advocate, there is no material differ ence; that no new matter has been introduced, the only differ -e.e.e_e between them confifting in the infer tion t f a lilt of papers intended for the fupport of the charge, and the Court confider it to be more regular to hear your defence before any other docu ments thall be produced."— Adjourned till Monday. THIRD DAY. The Court met about nine o'clock, And Sir HOME Pntmem was immediately called upon for hi► defence. The Hon. Captain proceeded in Cul:glance nearly as follows : Mr. PRESIDENT — " After havingderoted thegreater part of my life to the fervice of my King and Coun try, I am brought before you and the other Members this Honourable Court, to vindicate my condua from a charge, of a nature as extraordinary, and as unprecedented, perhaps, as ever was fubmitted to the inveitigation of a Court Martial. In applying the epithets of extraordinary and unprecedexted to the accufation exhibited againfi me, I (peak r , f it general ly, and not with a particular reference to the irregu lar, and I believe I may venture to add, the illegal manner in which it is worded. On this point I (hall animadvert hereafter. But I cannot, Sir, enter into the fubftance of my defence, without ohlerving to you how extraordinary it is that I lhould be brought to trial by that fuperior anthority, to which every officer in his Majefly's naval fervice looks up for reward and protection, for having employed the means placed at my difpnfal in making a fuccefsfill attack on a poi feffion belonging to the enemy, inllead of fuffering them to remain inaelive and dormant. Nor do I ...... conceive that it is lefs unprecedented to criminate an offi:er, entrulled with a command of come impnr• tance, for having exercifed that difcretionary power, without which no fervice can be carried on with ever• gy or effect, when the refult of fuck an 2a, fo far from having been attended with any ill confequence, has, on the contrary, been glorious to his Majelly's arms, and honourable to the country. Yes, sir, the fuccefs which crowned the united exertions of General Be- resford and myfelf, fecorried by the bravery and per. feverance of the land and tea forces under our orders, was proclaimed by his Majefty's Miniders to the in habitants of the 1:1 - itifh Metropolis, by the dual fig nals of triumph ; and the news of the conquett of Buenos Ayres was re-echoed, with exultation and gratitude, throughout every quarter of the United Kingdom. " This being premifed, will it not, Sir, ftrike every unprejudiced Englifliman who Diall idled on the prefent trial, that it mull have arifen from Come other caufe than that ollenfibly let forth in the accufation ? I am of that opinion. Nor have I the fmallett hell cation to affert, that if the Adminittration by which I was feleded for the command which I lately had the honour to hold, had Rill remained in power, I timid have received thanks and approbation for my con. dud, inftead of having been fuperceded, recalled, and then very unexpetedly pot tinder urea and brought to trial. I am unwilling to occupy the time of the Court more than is abfnlutely neceffary for my own jollification, nr it would nut have been difficult for me to have eftablithed there Gets in the molt potitive manner. Bur, under all the circumftances of the cafe, it is perhaps, rather fortunate for me that, after the prejudices which, in almoll every diredion, have • been fo indufiri.arfly propagated againft me, that I am afforded the opportunity by a public trial, of proving, as I truft I (hall molt fatisfaCtordy, that there prejudices arc completely unfounded. However although I am confuted in ionic meafure by this re fleCtion, I cannot help complaining, that the line of proceeding pnrfued by my profecutors had not been rather of a different character. I am not willing to afcribe to men in power a alifpofition to profecute any man—to deprive any one whom they may feel it their duly to acetate of the means of obtaining every def cription of evidence, that he may feel necefrary to his jultification. But I mutt obferve, that it kerns rather fingular, no notice whatever of an intention to bring me to trial was intimated to me when fird ordered home from the Rio de la Plata. Had the defign of my profecutors been then known to me, I might have procured a variety of evidence highly important to my cafe, particularly with regard to my conduit in South America. But in confequence of that omillion on the part of the Board of Admi ralty, I am left to depend on fuch evidence only as accident furnifhes me on that part of my cafe, which is fo nearly conneded with my honour, I mean my proceedings at Buenos Ayres, which have been fn grofbly mifreprefented. Really, the circumftance of no notice having been communicated to me at the Rio de la Plata, of the purpore of the Admiralty to bring me to trial, mud either lead one to think that they had no intention of bringing me to trial at that time, or to adopt a concltifion rather difadvantagenus to their charader.—For they could not be quite un aware, that an accufation accompanied or rather preceded by public animadvet firms. which molt fe rioufty impeached my motives of adian, was only to be met with effel by the teltimony of thofe who were the witneffes of my conduit. There witneffes the Admiralty mull have felt chat I could not procure. unlers apprifed; before I left the Rio de la Plata, of their intention to profecute me. But I have raid that they do not appear to have entertained any loch in tention at that time, and I cannot hut think that fume change took place in their mind upon this puipt. For it is fcarcely confident to furpofe that they would by their Secretary have written to me in fuch term% as appear in tome of the letters, to which 1 (hall refer, after they had been informed of the capture of Bue nos Ayres, if they really difapproved of my conduit, at lead if their difapprobation was fo re:loos as to imply a refolution to arreft and bring me to trial.— ( Here the Honourable Officer read the letter from the Admiralty in anfwer to his difpatch announcing the capture of Buenos Ayres). In this letter it ap peared, that although the Admiralty thought it ne cefrary to mark their difapprobation of my conduit, in having undertaken this expedition without orders, [till they were pleafed to exprefs the higheft approba. don of the able and judicious manner in which the expedition was concluded, and of the gallant beha. viour of the feamen and foldiers engaged. From the terms of this letter I had no reafon to think that any other punifitment was in referve than that which its cenfure conveyed, and to that cenfure, fevere as it was, I was willing to fubmit, until I (hould have the opportunity of fubmitting thole reafons, which I flattered myfelf would have ferved to fatisfy the minds of rho& from whom the cenfure proceeded, that con fidering all the circumftances, it was completely un deferved. , g I will not now flop to inquire into thr caufes which poffibly may have operated to p , o 10c..: the change I have alluded to in the dYpotition of the Admiralty. I v. ii I nit now d..veil upon the motives, either political or per corm!, which led to a profecuticn not lopg ;inc.; belfge 2nctber teibaual ; however high the gratification which the -erolt cf that ingn:ry w's calculated to afford to mv ho) , -evcr n)o-h it may affeet my footle life. But the prejudices which led to that iagoiry, 1 Arnold t,. hope, were now ext:na. Unfortunately, however, appear ances ferve t r much to v:arrath a contrary aPPrelleu fion. But yet I Lel conE2ent that no description of prejudice can operate again: me cn this occafi‘tn. at least fu far as this Honourable Court is concerned.—. Looking round me here at f ) many tEitingili:l::d and honourable men, at fit m toy of the lirit ornaments of the profeffion to which it is my psi de to belong. I cannot Puffer myfelf to imagine f)r a moment that prejudice, or any himi of undue infi tence, can have weight here—can operate in the flighteit d ts, affeß the refult of this trial. " But now to proceed to the charge before you. I truß I (hall be able to thew, that the difcretion 1 ex ereift al was not only fuck as, ur.ler the circumliancts was fairly admiffible, but fuck as the Mit:Hers, un der whole orders I fa'lzd to ilie Cape i.t (ann.iii.ore, fully warranted by their concurrent opinions, at least by the c• ncutrent opinion of thole who were under flood by all to hold the leading influence in that Ad minitlration. I (hall, however, not only Thew that an expedition to South Am. ica was a favourite objeCt with Mr. Pitt, that he had it in contemplation, and aftnally took tome Reps to carry it into execution in the courfe of his fa, mer z that he never halt fight of it, being only reftrained from at tempting the executiJn of it by political reafons, which no longer exiled when I telt it my duty, for the intereff of my country, to proceed from the Cape of Good fi , spe upon this long projeCted expedition. " In the courfe of the year 1804, a change occurred in the Government of the country—foon after which, I was appointed to the Antelope in the Downs, for the purpofe of blockading the harbour of Boulogne, in the ablepce of Admiral Louis. While 1 com manded that (hip, Melville, then Firtl Lord of the Admiralty, correfponled with me on the fubjeCt of Miranda's plan, and o - o my coming to town in tF.e month of 04tobe. - ' in that yea, ( a t whi c h p er i o d t h e pr'bability of a Spanifh War had increafed) his Lorclfhip directed me to confult again with Gene:al Miranda, and to digell my ideas on the fobjeCt of an expedition againft the Spanifh fettlements in South America, in the form of a mem )ir. To the bell of my recolleetion, I delivered this document to Lord Melville, on the 161 h of Chlober, 1804—Shortly after, I was dirated to attend Mr. Pitt, at Wimblc- don, in order that he mien converfe with me on the various points comprehended in my memoir. " In the month IDecember, 180.1., I was fent for by his Majetly's Ministers ro Deal, and at the fame time the Diadem, to which fhip I was appointed, was put in commiflion for the eeprefs ourpote of my proceeding in her on the intended expedition to Snutk America. Various circumitances, however, or curred t t retard the execution this projed ; but with the exception of the !lion interval of peace, it had never been relinquifhed, from the m intent when the idea was firft fuggeffed. There fads, As ta.• as Lord Melville "as concerned, his Lordlhip will .übliantiate. Ii: July iSog, I received an acc ,unt of the weak (late of the garrifon of the Cape of Good Hope, and alfo learnt that a thong fquadron was expeded there from France. Conceiving that the capture of this fettlement, while it would materially contribute to promote the interefts of my country, might likewife afford facilities to the projeded conquetl of the Spa. nigh dependencies on the Eaft coati of SJuth Ame rica, which was a main objed in the mind of Mr. Pitt, I immediately propofed to him that the arma ment fhouli fail without delay for the attack of the Cape. This propofal was acceded to, and, in the courfe of a few days, I received my inflrudions to proceed in the Diadem, as Commanding Officer of all his Majetly's fhips and velfels dellined for that fervice. Mr. Sturges Bounce, then one of the Secre taries of the Treafury, was prefent at the converfation to which I here allude, and will corroborate my ac count of what palled on the occafion. " On the 29th of Juiy, 1805, I took final leave of Mr. Pitt, with whom I had a long converfation nn the original projed of an expedition to South America —Mr. Pitt intromed me that, from the negociation then pending with Ruilia, it appeared that the Em peror Alexander was extremely anxious to attach Spain to the coalition, and that until that matter fhould be determined he (Mr. Pitt) felt a delicacy in regard to the commencement of licttile operations in Soo.h A;nerica ; but, that as foon as poffible after roch an overture fhould have been rejected, by the Spanifh Court, it was.liis fixed intention to enter on the original project, and attack Spain in that di(lant but moll vulnerable quarter. I lament extremely that any proceeding fhould have made it necelfa. y for me to state thefe particulars relative to the calcula tions upon a Spanilli alliance, but the fault is not mine. Any thing that ferves to fliew the value at. tached by thole from whom I derived my appoint ment to that objed, tor the execution of which I am now brought before you as a delinquent, is manifettly proper and requifite for my jollification. From what I have (fated, it will, I am confident, appear evident to every Member of this Honourable Court,that if the attack on the Cape of Good Hope precedod that nn the Spanilli fettlements, the priority was the refult of my own immediate fuggellion to the late Prime Minifler., It will likewife, I am pet-folded, appear not lefs obvious to every unprejudiced mind, that on my in terview with that iltultrious Statefman, he fully and unequivocally firengtheried the convidion which i entertained of his intention to follow up the capture of the Cape, by an attack on the Sp3nifh fettlements ; for at this final interview, Mr. Pitt defined me to furnifh Mr. liuficiffort with a memorandum of the names of the Gentlemen from whom he was likely to obtain any further information he might want on the fubje&. Mr. Pitt was then leaving the Secretary's room at the Treafury, to go into the Board Room ; and Mr. Hufkiffon coming in at the other door jutt at the moment, I inlfantly communicated to him the radiance of what had pafild. The veracity of this allegation will be confirmed to this HonourableCourt by the teflintonf of Mr. Hufkiffon. o When this chain of fads (hall have been com pletely eitablifhed by the concurrent depofitions of Li - id Melville, Mr. Sturges Bourne, and Mr. He kifion, it will not be necelfary for me again to urge to this Honourable Court, that on my leaving Englund, I failed under the arongell convidion e th.o, alter hiving fucceeded in taking tue Cape, nothing wnnld contribute fu efredually to at:cornplifh the view s of thole Miniders by whom I 124c1 been entnified with