Star. — London, England, 1815-02-07 00:00:00

_ OFFICE OF ORDNANCE, Jaa. 27, 1815. THE MASTER-GENERAL and BOARD df ORDNANCE having, on the 2?-d July, 1814, thought proper to issue certain Instruction* for the guidance of Nook om rnissioned Officers and Soldiers, pensioned from the _ Corps under the Ordnance, and it being necessary that all men who may have beets placed on the Pension List previodslyibilie 10th August, 1814, should be fur n as welt as d u ly-mustered; these arc to _eiveautleerthat-all-P-evisioners wbo ma) have been discharged prior t o th e 10th August,lBl4, from The Royal Horse Artillery, Marching Battalions of Artillery, Invalid Battalion of Artillery, Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, and Corps of Royal Sappers and •Miners (formerly seed tilt Royal Military Maws); Ars'. are now resident at Wcmhvich, in London, or their F.nvi ton:, and who may have usually received their Pensions either at WoolWich or in London, are.to appear personally' on the days and at the places hereafter mentioned, and to bring With them their discharges and other do,:nnients under which they may have re ceived their Pensious respectively, viz. The Men resident at Woolwich to assemble at the Office of the Chief CoMmissary of the Field Train at Woolwich, at eleven o'clock in the morning precisely. 'The Scrjeants and Corporals on Tuesday, the 7th March next The Bombardiers and Gunners, and all others whose surnames begin with the letter A to H inclusive, on Thursday, the 9th of March; and 'Whose from l to Z on Saturday, the 11th of March. The Mon resident in London and its environs, to assemble at the Office of Ordnance, Tower, London, on the following by., at eleven o'clock in the twining precisely. The Serjeants, Corporals, and Bombardiers, on Monday, the 13 h March next. The Gunners' Nl a tt r osses, Drivers, and Horse Brigade, from A to H , on Tuesday. the 14th of March; and • Those from I to Z on Thursday, the 1 etli March. Such of the above Pensioners who way be incapable of per sonal attendance at either of the foregoing places, from bodily or mental infirmities, are hereby requited to trauamita cezdficato of that tact from the Ministers and Churchwatdens of the Pa risliee in which they reside, together with their di.charge,or other documents rider which they receive their pension. The letter to be addreved "'lb WilGam Lees, Esq. Tower," unleer cover s To the Secreeary of the Board of Ordnance, Pal-Mall, Lon don," marked on the Lack, " Certificate, Sec. for Ordnance Pensimiers:" Ihe letter to be forwarded so that the same way be received on or before the day stated for the appearance of the Pensioner. And the aforesaid Pens'oners are desired particularly to notice Ilia: if they. do not personally attend, or transmit the required Certificate in proof of their inability to appear at the foregoing laces, at the dates and in tine manner specified, they will be considered as 44, or otherwise provided for, and their names struck off the List accordinelv. By Order of the Board, R. H. CREW. See. COURT-MARTIAL. TRIAL OF LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR JOHN MURRAY, WINCHESTER—FIFTEENTH AND.LAST DAY. MONDAY, IPZIOVART 6. Upon the Court being, declared open. Sir Joan Murtaav addressed the Court, and observed,• that he had not hitherto adverted to the publication of the Minutes of the proceedings of the Court, contrary to the express wish of its Members, whatever might have been his feelings on that subject. A mistake had occurred, however, in those publications within the last few days, which he could not overlook—he alluded to a report which had been made of the ex tract of a letter Yrom the Duke of Wellington to him, dated the ‘23d of May. The passage which had been read, and the report which had been given, he would take the liberty of reading ; it would be for the Court 'then to adopt that course with respect to this mistake, which their own judgnient.might dictate. The gal lant General then read the passage to which he al luded, from which it appeared, that the Doke of Wellington had stated—" that the French forces m;glit at all times be taken at more than they were stated to be; and that whatever he (Sir John Mur ray) might have been informed their numbers were, he would find them more than a match for him."— The report of this passage, which had appeared in a public paper, was as follows :- 4 I He acknowledged he had always found the French in the field fully more in numbers than they were represented to be; but he thought that General Murray would be fully a Match for him." This mis-statement was so ob vious, that he considered it due to his own character to point it cut, so that it might be corrected. The Juuoe ADVOCATE said the matter must rest here. In all probability, the purpose of Sir John Murray would be answered by the statement which he had made, as those through whom the mistake had gone abroad, would no doubt feel anxious to • *correct it. ADMIRAL HALLOWZI4I;s REPLY. Admiral liaLt,owati. now proceeded to address the Court in reply on the Third Cbarge : The examinatioa of the witnesses on both sides, be said. h av ing now closed, I shall beg your permission to offer a few observations on the evidence which is before you, and to reply to the address of Sir John Moray, which has been read to the Court in his Je. fence. That address, Sir, is full 01 declamation, without offering one substantial re: , SOD for raising the siege of Tarragona in the manner be slid. To fol. low him throughout all his voluminous statements is ; I will, therefore, select only such of them as have been offered with an intention of attaching severe criminality to my conduct. Sir John sets out by stating, that private animosity had induceAne to write the letter which is before the Court; and that it is owing to the manner in which I transmitted that letter, and its publicity, that he owes not only all the illiberal abuse poured out upon him, and his suspension from all military command, but also it is owing to this letter that be is now placed in his pre. sent situation before this Court. In reply to this observation, I beg to state, that I bad received written instructions from my Cowman der.in.Chief to transmit to the Admiralty an account of my proceedings whenever I had an opportunity of doing it more expeditiously than by sending the in. formation to him the first instance, taking care to forward the original letters to himself by the first opportunity afterwards ; but on no account to send a man of war out of the limits of the station if it could be possibly avoided. In obedience to this older, I have been in the habit of sending to the Admir.diy. duplicates of my letters to Sir Edward Pellew, whey on detached service, and the - receipt of those letters bad been acknowledrd by their Secretary. nil letter was sent iti the same manner. I sent. it in the; usual way that every dispatch of importance is for. warded. I seat kby an placer who was capable of giving teeny explatgatian their Lordships might eat quire on the suluesit. That letter, Sir, was never tent. by me tathe Date of Welliegtou ; his Grace could ave no knowledge of that letteruntil he had received , copy of it from Lord Bathurst. Its publicity, of which Sir John Murry complains (if it did exist) ,, did not originate witlOw, and I do not believe it hitt ever appeared in any public paper, therefore it can not be by the publicity of this letter that he has suf fered any inconvenience, but snore,likely by the pub licity of ?it - conduct which caused the necessity cif my writing it. Sir John Murray wishes to establish an impression that I sent this letter away in great secrecy, and that I had determined on sending it as early as the 12th. That I did determine to send a letter to my Commander-in-Chief, as soon as I could after the embarkation of the troops, is natural enough. 1 shoul A ; have neglected my duty if I had not done so. Captain Carrol I alto wrote a letter to the Duke of Wellington. On my arrival at Balaguer, on the afternoon of the 13th of June, I found Sir John Murray on shore ; in the evening he went on board the Malta, and I soon followed him. I asked him if he meant to write to the Duke of Wellington. His answer appeared to me doubtful. I replied, I should write if he did not ; and I wrote a letter that evening, stating to his Grace the precipitate manner in which we had retreated from Tarragona, but without stating the offer I had made to take off the guns. On the morning of the 14th I spoke to Sir John Murray again about writing, as I thought our opera tions were so combined with the Duke of Welling- 1 ton's movements, that every moment's delay was toll his importance. This,was my .reason for wri tin g his Grace. How far it was sent away in secrecy, the Court will be able to judge—but I do not think much secrecy could be attached to an event which was pub lished by general signal to the whole fleet. Captain Carrol was superseded in the command of his ship to go with it. Sir 3. Murray was informed of his intended jour ney, and he was the bearer of Sir John Murray's dispatch to the Duke of Wellington. The charge of having sent the Hyacinth away in a harry, has been clearly disproied bygre evidence already before the Court. The meastmeaaken upon my letter were unknown to me until .1 received no., lice thereof from the Admiralty ; and my being placed in the situation of a prosecutor was unknown to me until after Christmas last—the letter of the Secretary of State leading me to suppose that I was only to be examined as a witness. He (Sir John Murray) has charged me again with illiberal conduct in writing this letter to Sir E. Pellew, after my having' perused his dispatch to the Duke of Wellington ; and that I did not give him notice of my having wnttln, this letter until S 7 days after it was dispatched, when I knew that long before it must have reached its desti nation, and produced its desired effect on the cha racter of the man for whom I was even then profess. ing a personal regard. As he (Sir John Murray) has stated that I saw the letter, I will not flatly deny his assertion : but I do most solemnly declare, that I have not the slightest recollection of such a cir. cutnstance having taken place. Colonel D'Aguilar, who is now before the Court. was some months ago at Tarragona, collecting do cuments for this trial; he then asked me if I had seen the letter of Sir John Murray, before it was sent away ? I told him I had aot. He expressed his as. tonishment, and said he understood the letter had been shewn to me b?fore it was sent away. I again denied my having seen it, and told him, that if I had perused it, my opinion of Sir John Murray would not have been altered by it. The anxiety which many of the officers of the Malta have witnessed on my part, to see the letter alluded to, and the astonishment I expressed on ready ing the first line in it, which states, 4 , Admiral Hal lowell has just informed me, that the Hyacinth is just going to Alicant," will strengthen the belief that I had no knowledge of its contents, until it appeared in the public Papers. His letter, detailing the pro ceedings before Balaguer, under Captain Adam and Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost, I saw, and probably Sir John Murray may have mistak en this letter for the other ; with the permission of the Court, I will here read it. " His Majesty's Ship Malta, June 14, IEI4. re Ssa—After the fall of Fort St. Philippe, some days elapsed before 1 got the official report of the siege, and the pressure of the business in whisk we have b th been engaged since, has prevented rue from sooner expressing to you the high sense of obligation I -feel for the very ample and important assistance the army received on that occasion, from the naval force sent there by your orders. 66 The whole army is sensible of their obligations to you on this, and, indeed, on every other occasion, and no person in It, I assure you, more than myself. • the proper channel of communication, I hope you will excuse my requesting of you to communicate to Captain Adam and the officers and seamen under his immediate command, how ninth 1 feel indebtedlor their meritorious services on that occa sion. Captain Adam's exertions were unwearied, and the ar rageosent he made and saw executed, moo: materially coutrk bated to the success of the undertaking. • Captain Carrot, of the 'Volcaut., took a most active part. during the siege, and to bins was entrusted the placing the guns on du: breaching battery. within SSO yards of the place, which he had by his activity and gallantry nearly effected, when he was disAbled front further exertions, by the explosion of a shelL Captain Stoddart succeeded him, and most -ably &tidied what Captain Carroll bad left undone. " The services of Lieutenant Corbyn, of the Invincible, have been particularly noticed by Lieutituant-Colonel Prevost, and in the management of a battery entrusted to his charge, he was particularly distinguished. I shall esteem it a favour, If you will draw the attention of the Commander-in-Chief le the Mekliter- rauean, to his services on tbis occasion. " I Dave the honour to be, Sir, " Admiral Hallowell, &c. " MURRAY." The public letter to the Duke of - Wellington, de tailing these proceedings, must have been the one shewn to me, if any one was shewn. Unwilling as I am to make any thing like - what concerns myself the subject of this reply, yet the very peculiar situation in which I stand , compels me, in justice to myself, to trespass a few minutes upon the time of the Court. It was not till I ar— rived in London, a few days after Christmas day, that I knew I was to be the prosecutor, and not till the day before I left London, to proceed to this place, which was the day on which the Judge Advocate left London, that I first heard, that in contrasficaion to the orders from the Secretary of State, that I should substantiate the statements made in my tette* to. Wt. E Pellew, that I found myself confined , by the Leans of the third charge to. the tunsactious up to the 12th instant inclusive, and that I was not to, gointo the full detail of my letter. This, with the very different mode of carrying oft Naval Courts-Mattial, trust, account itatisfac torily to This Court for some of the irregularity of the examination of the witnesses, being the first.M.li iary Court Martial at which I was ever preterit, and has deprived mo of the evidence I wished to produce. —lf abuse were proof, if invective were evidence, It should stand a bad chance, but Sir John Murray for -got-ewe/Mtn 'he adtrested himself he forgot that the Judgment of this Court would lead them to con clude, that when a man substitutes abuse for defence it is because he has no better evidence to produce ! and when a man evades to answer the charge made, by a discussion very irrelevant to the subject, it is because he dare not meet the charge. It is no wonder that, brigading over discontent and disappointment for so many months, such a malig nant production should have been brought forth ; this is a harsh term, but not too much so, by any means, 'for those calumniating charges made in his address, many of which were too bad for him to sup port. .even by a shadow of evidence, and some of which, t 4 avoid discussion, he would have abandon ed. The admission of the infirmity of some of those charges he has as readily allowed, as they were deli berately and unjustly made. Sorely he had little respect to the Members of this Court, so well informed in their profession, to sup pose that they would be deceived by high-flown—l had almost said bombastic language. My reply shall be short, and facts, not metaphor, shall be laid before the Court. Having stated, most solemnly to the Court, that I had no personal ill-will to Sir John Murray ; after my assurance to the Court; that, to the best of my recollection, not even an angry word passed between us, is he warranted in his Address to the Court ? Words were used, in this Address. I am connoted in moments of reflection, which his habits, and the circle in which he moved, must have prevented the use of. With respect to my keeping back his letter of the 2d of June, it stands upon the minutes of the Court Martial that Sir John Murray did not deliver it to me until the 3d. That I had no vessel by which I could send it away immediately ; and it is proved by Sir John Murray's letters to me, which are before the Court, that he knew it was sent on the 4th, with the other letters dated on that day ; and he has con. firmed his knowledge of the fact by a verbal confes sion of it before the Court. Whether it was Sir John Murray's intention, in making this statement, to impress on the minds of those who heard him, that I had designedly -kept back that letter, I will not pretend to say ; but that it had that effect no person will doubt. I next come to the charge exhibited against me respecting the Bristol being ordered to anchor at a considerable distance from the landing place at Ba laguer, with no other view than to prevent the Quar ter-Master-General from repairing to head-quarters; and Sir John Murray continues, 4 , w.ll might the Admiral predict misfortune, if he proposed by this exertion of his authority to deprive the army of the service of one of the most active and intelligent of its officers, and to cripple the most impoitint of the de partment by the absence of its chief." On the after noon of the 12th of June, about thrie o'clock, the troops began to march down to the beach for em barkation. A little after sun-set, Sir John Murray went on board the Malta. I remained on shore tilt between two and three o'clock in the morning of the I3th, when I returned to the Malta. and went to bed.' —lt having been reported that the enemy had disco vered a pass round Balaguer, I had previously or-1 dered the. Volcano to go there to assist in covering our troops, which had been sent thither the preceding evening for embarkation. On my rising alkut six o'clock, 1 found the following note on my table, written by* Sir John Murray : "MT MAR will be Captain Carrot to mike the signal to any infantry embarked at Salun Hay, to come down with us. Before you sail, perhaps it would be possible to pet the troops in some order, that is, to get the regiments a little together, that they may be enabled to disembark. My milers are to disembark as far to the northward as possible. " Your's, truly, . " JOON .111URRAT. " After all the staff horses, mules, &c. were embark ed at Tarragona, I proceeded in the Malta to Bala suer, leaving all the transports in charge of Captain Bathurst, of the Fame, to be ready to weigh with them, when I should send him orders for that pm.- pose. The Bristol had been sent round to Salon Bay, on the afternoon of the 12th, for the purpose of embarking part cif the troops, and remained there in charge of transports at that anchorage. After I had passed the Bay of Salun, I observed the Bristol getting under weigh, and made the signal to remain at anchor, and while I was at dinner, it was observed to me that she had got under weigh, notwithstanding the signal I had made to her, ana I immediately directed her by telegraph to return to Salun. From the letter which Sir John Murray had left' on my table in the morning, it will appear evident to the Court, that it was his intention, when he left the Malta, to embark the troops which were at Bala guer immediately, and that they were to be 1 ended r again as far to the northward as possible. It was therefore with a view of keeping all the ships in a state of readiness to move together, as soon as we should have completed our embarkation at Balagner, that I ordered the Bristol to return, and not from any de sire to keep General Donkin from repairing to head quarters. The ships went there solely for the pur pose of embarking the troops ; and General Donkin has declared before the Court, that he never altered the embarkation or disembarkation of troops, except at Tarragona. What injury, then, could they suffer by the absence of that officer ? I can only say, that I received no assistance from him at the embarka tion at Tarragona, for I never saw him after sun-set. Had General Donkin been disposed to visit Sir John Murray, he had the means of doing it by boats, in the slime manner as other officers did; and I found no shfficulty in keeping up my communication with the Fame, through the same channel, although she was lying in •Tarragona Bay, at a considerably greater distance than the Bristol. Sir John Mur ray's head-quartirs were at this time on board 'the Malta, and the Bristol joined the next day, when Sir 'John Murray directed the troops to assemble at Ba laguer. But, Sir, the impression intended to be made against me is of a nature to affect my charac ter, and even my life, were it possible that I could be guilty of the crime alleged against me. It charges me with suffering my private resentment, if I bad any, against an individual, to affect my conduct in the execution of thy duty to my country. It. Rot an insinnation. , —it is a 'direct charge t hut t tiOst that this insinuation will fully do away such an idea from the minds of the Members of the Court, with wl'orrt I have not the honour of being acquaintei ; am sure that every persnn who kn will have no hesitation in declaring that I am iatcapable tif such conduct : . The following letter from Sir John hitirriy, all.l my answer, will support me in this last assertioo : EXTRACT OF A LETTS:et, DATEN CASTALLA, MAY 0, 1813, AND ADDRESSED EY SIR JORDI MURItA% REAR-ADMIRAL IiALLOWELL: " There is a point on which I must say a few words. it is respecting General Deakin's embarkation. Ifit losing with foe is totally out of the question; but it is t•xtremely desirable ast he thould be in a man of war. A trattlen t is ct to separated; and the (2trarter-Master-General is a per, di •I) 1:r cessary on landing, that we dioulti be put to a1?.....ry tnc venience were he absent. I am therefore anxious that 'olive:I.:I be kindnough to attach some man of war toe Mos. It is r the Quover-Master-General, and hot fur General Ty& I make this request. 'the same holds good fcr but not in so strung a degree. (S,gned) 6 ' Writ" 1 r." EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM REAR-AT , MIRAL 11AL/0. WELL TO SIR JOHN MURRAY, DATED 8 1.. M. Writ MAY, 1813: I saw Major Lem yesterday, and I told him C-nerai Ti^a. kin might have either the Bristol (which is In.,ntled for a :dame ral Officer) or the Polly horse-ship, or any °Ott r p 0 swe name. I thought the second in command had a priur (lain; to the Fame, and had theref Ire arranged for Ge;:Lral Citutun :a go in her. I shall Levity happy to do any thing in my ;Power -1 accommodate General Dunkin; and shall be c.lsl;e , Nl to you, rir Wm, If you will point out any way in which I can courr.bute :o his comfort in the expedition hat is naw in contr..ni, huiun, Oi t ned) " tin Li.uvrtt.L. P.S. General Dunkin wry go ht the Thames, ii : el.refttA EXTRACT OF A LETTER, DATED 12.50 P. M. IlItY '2 16 1813, FROM CASTALLA, AND ADDRESSED BY Ell J. MURRAY TO REAR-ADVIIIAL HALLOWELL: " I am extremely obliged to you for your accommodation w}•% respect to General Donkin. Ou that subject I w , ll write wise to-morrow. The post Is just coin= outs and I h .se a r , s deal to do. (Signed) " J. 21UP KAI." EXTRACT OF ANOTHER LETTER. DATED CASTALL M4Y 21, 1813, FROM SIR JOHN MURRAI TO CZAR* ADMIRAL lIALLoWELL I " MY DLAR SlR—General Donkia, to whorl I communize:A such parts of your letter of the I'd' as concerned Mtn, is n•t..* obliged to you, and accepts your "MT of the Drilt-d. (Signed) " J. SSIVIRAY.w Here, Sr, yon will see the line of conduct 1 pito sued on our embarkation at Alicant, previous to on sailing to Tareagona ; and I so:el/oily assure the Court, that from the time of our embarkation at tore former place, until the period stated in Sir John Mor. ray's charge, I do not recollect having hied one single word of private altercation with General Dunkin.— As to the charge of writing to Lord Bathurst en the 14th, I will only say, I wrote no such letor, nntwite. standing the comments on my doing se. ei;r J. Mute ray charges me with making the following signal— "We are delighted." Ido not deny it. T:ie Ame rica informed nee by signal, on the 17th, th e T . ' William Bentinck was en board. I answered, "we are all delighted." . Iti melting this reply, I spe . :e_ the sentiment of the whole army, and 1 really beli:.ve of Sir John Murray also. My address to him on the morning of the 12.. h, :4: ten o'clock, and to which Sir J. Murray has ma2.* no reply, fully disclosed to him toy sentiments clay proceeding. I told him the object of my visit was to infenm him of the disgraceful manner in w! , ich Vey are going on upon the beach—that General D nkia bad given directions in his name to spike the guns and destroy the batteries—that we werebeiooing eiee grace on the British character by such conduct, and I intreated him, if he Was determined to :elite t a siege, to do it in a soldier-like manner, and nut in tSe disgraceful way in which wen? then doing it. I eel eluded by stying, if you will allow the guns to re main till night I "ledge myself to take every thing off. Sir John Murray says, that in a peregraph of e,a. letter, I tell his Majesty's Government and the Mks of Wellington that I had promised to embark the whole of the guns if he would remain till night ; ei my advice and opinion he says he knew—hut of sec% offers he has no recollection. I refer to Sis Jei...a Murtay's dispatch to recal it to his reemory ; and I do mysolf speak positively to having pledged mycit to execute the order. I did not make that pkifee without having given it due consideration before I made it. I knew the extent of the operation, are the means I possessed to execute it ; and I never made a promise to the army to perform any service without fulfilling it, and there is no reason to suppoe: I should have lat!ed in this instance. After such a declaration, and Sir John Marc F having persisted in raising the siege of Tarragona .a CI:: manner he did, could he imagine I would be e lent ? Certainly not. His answer to me, whe.i I communicated to him that I had written as stron.:le to Sir Edward I'ellew as I had ever spoken, coe vinced me that he was prepared for it, he replie I-- "I am aware of it—l had every reason to expect from the manner in which you have always % F ele: • I have made my report to Lord Wellington, anJ e feel myself accountable to no one else. With :elastic to. the personal regard which Sir John Murray mar. I was professing for him, l cannot receliect lievie; any communication with him after his leaving Bale guay that was not official. On my a: rival et Alica It I waited on Lnid William Bentinck as the Co!.1- mauder of the forcee, to pay my visit of teepee: to hinl—my next visit was to Sir John Murray, e? ea had just resigned the command, when he Mused Is see me—mid I.never called upon him again until t 1.4 day we marched from 'Meant for Valencia, whir. 1 waited on him to inform him that I liadoillottee a ship for his accommodation, whenever he wished te move. I leave never failed to pay immediete alen tion to every recviest Sir John Mu: ray made to too it was a duty I owed to his rank. Sir John Murray has mede great complaint of the delay in brine % forward this trial ; but he must be aware that tie: delay has heeu in a great measure created by himself. The Court Martial was at fir,t ordered to he astej.- bled at Tarragona. Some of the Members had Ix' tuelly arrived there, and I had assembled the noel witnesses to attend then:. The Judge Advocate, is opening the prosecution, has explained the reasons a its being afterwards directed to be held in Engl4o - John Murray received notification of this chatige 1 so early as the '2Bth of July, as appears by his letter to me. This he thought proper to resist, and wrote home to that effect, complaining of the injustice of such a determination. Perhaps it might have be-a less favourable to him if it had been held at Tarr_' gona, for that spot would have produced the fullest evidence against him. Would Sir John Murray et Tartar= have ventured' to product web evidetto b li f I .. 4. I