Star. — London, England, 1815-01-19 00:00:00

TR! IL OF SIR ANN AIWALir. M'EDNESDAY—THIRD DAY. The Diri:ir Junes-ADVACATI this morning an nounced the decnien of the Court relative to three questions proposed by Admiral Hallowell, an d oh jested to by Sir John Murray t which decision de. tlaretl, that the first question as to the signal made by the Bristol of a farce 'of '2,000 men appearing near Balaguer, was regular and legal, as applicable to the tw., former charges, and ought to appear in the p r oceedings of the Conn, without the assent or ad- S'ir John Mumy. The other two, re.l fe— ! to the landing of the troops at periods subse•l r...tent to t c embarkation at Tarragona, could not . l it, these occurrences not horning any part i)# 1:::' charges which the Lieutenant-General had 'led upon to defend. The general directions ‘r , Admiral Hallowell stated himself to have re. .• I to substantiate by evidence the allegation ,:;teal in his letter of the 14els of Jana 1813,1 c ,, ; 1 • .not authorise that Court to take cognizance oil ,atter not directly applicable to the charges in t. The object of tile Admiral being merely ..iklication of his own character, t h at object ,;: be considered as already attained, as far as it „Ivo!• ed under this head, by the anxiety already his part to press this enquiry. lint, at c! •atti it might oc descrying of remark, that i.illowell had it in his power, if h. cond., c* a further investigation as essential in jus- 1 r:! !tun it !!, to have brought it before the Court, by mAltirt4 it the ground of a *separate and addi coca; :barge • . Admiral 'A &Howell * t i lt rateednisto itaite his re :sue , t.• pu • k its . i.questifins• an to express his r e po .0 u.c derm.ion of the Court, when he was by the Ptesideut, who informed him, t!. 1• t j t urt h.tvios decided that the questions we r e all further ebservatic* on them was nem. : t! erecluAei. c 4! Then I submit most re. to the judgmlint of the Cdurt." Tee Leiner' Judge•Advocatt said, he had received .real General Donkin, expressing a wish to e evidence, as he apprehended some misre re- e rr Aden had taken piece, of what had fallen from i.. m oe te e Leh of June, 1813. at Tarragona ; and ,raced te knot- Whether Admiral Hallowell was to call him as one of hi, witnesses. '!'he (kenning, Sir John Murray intimated that he teeeld c.ul him in his defence. C intain lnglefield's examination was then resumed. I) you recollect, that in consequence of the V.:eel's signal on the 14th, the Cossack and Kennett s fire on the enemy, and obliging them to Yes, I do recollect it. Cross-examined. Q. Li.) they retire behind the hills, or merely in a Cirecti.in to avoid the fire of the vessels ?—A. ratted to the westward. (:), Yea have said that -General Donkin ordered Jtj on the 13th to proceed with your boats to the westward or upper pert of the beach of Tarragona, in order to assist in the embarkation of the troops— veiy d:d you not comply I---A. Because Admiral lielleyeeii's order was to embark the heavy guns - And artillery stores; Which order I thought it was my duty to obey, anthelecause at that time there were by troops ready to embark. •Ysva have raid ehteer General ticmldtr iftfaillted you that the troops wets to be put on boat d imrne diatel7 why then did you pay more Attention to the same information, witen it came front Lieut. Cole, and two other unnamed odi.-ersr—A. Because some Cole had elapsed since General Donkin's directions, 1n 1 heeaesel sate clearly, that as the batteries were g, it was Sir John Murray's intention certainly raiz.:: the siege. Q. At what hoer was this ?—A. At one o'clock m. or. the 12th. Q. Why did you doubt the statement of the Quar to-Mister-General, and yet act en the same infor mation, when you had collected it from accidental eitcuaerances r--A. Because there had been before se mate , reports. Admiral Hallowell informed me eel the Sth, that Sir John Murray had it in contem elatein to embark the heavy guds, which was not carried into effect. I Considered, therefore; that this right be a similar rumour, particularly as General Doelcir did not give me the directions in the name of tee Commander of the Forces. . Q, flat not the actual embarkation of the troops then commenced ?--..A. No : stores and* guns wily were then embark e d. Q. A eer the conversation with General Donkin, Ajd yr . receive no orders from the Admiral to con tinue ;he eraoarkation of the guns till two o'clock ? A. I did. Q. Flow do you reconcile this statement with }our former evidence, that at one o'clock you went. to the linnet - part of the beach to assist in removins . ffniheary stoles, but was prevented from removing ant by the intelligence which you there received ?—A. I aid not %tate that I was prevented from removing row, bet moo / . When I came to the beach I found seve t:el boats loaded and just going off, which I obliged to take in an additional quantity. Mote, however, were left en the beach inconsequence of the orders of hir John Murray. • 9. YOU have stated that the march of the whole "tench army was afterward% stopped by the fire of yeur gut:-bunts • at what period did thi s ta k e place? A. Aleut the beginning of August, but I cannot tater the particular de y. 9. Was it not after Lord W. Beutinck had rein jested Tarragona ? —A. Yes, it was. Q. How many practicable roads arc there between Villafranca and Tarragona, to which the fire of boats ereflci :tot extend ?—:A. I am not competent to an v.^er that questioe. I know of none, never having examined the country. Q. Did not the enemy reach Tarragona subse 41ently, and dteeroy the works, notwithstanding the Jae Of the navy ?—A. They did : by turning off in inether direaiou, they were enabled to destroy the *oils, to the best of my recollection some time in kptemher. ate -examined by Admiral HALLOW £LL. Q. It you Brad complied with the order of General ITonkin, must you r s'.• have left the guns .on the beach opposite to the beats ?—A. Yes, certainly. 9. V.'lieu yet; went teethe other part of the beach had you seen all tie gu:is cnibarked I—A. Yes, to the best of my recollection, all that then lay on the 1-e.tcb. • too l • *, 2, 0 1.1, n). ',!t..."•F i N., 7 t v. i •,',... • • , Q. DO ion teeolleet that the lire of the gun• and the Malta frigate owned the march et the commanded by Sucbet at Torre'/* Barra ; aLI thapil on the secan..l dAy afterwards the enemy were sects, on the hills above Tarragona, after our troops haft retired at daylight? --A. I recollect perfectly wen,' but do not know by which rout* the army retired. I Q. Did the fire of the navy on that occasion cam. pel the enemy to retire, and prevent them from ad• vaulting on Colonel Adana i—A. Yes.. In explanation witness stated that General Dentin did not communicate his orders as proceeding from Sir John Murray himself, but merely desired him to go to the upper part of the beach in order to assist in facilitating the embarkation of the troops. Liititenant Cout, R. N. was next sworn. Q. Are you not an agent fir trao‘ports, and were you not employed under Captain Withers in Tarr.i gona Day, on the ISth of June, 11119, in embarieinz goys and stores when the siege of the town was rais. td ?—A. I was. Q. At what time did ybu collie to anchor, when did you receive your orders, and what were they ? A. 1 came to anchor at half-past See in the morn. ing, went ashore, and received orders from:the Quar. ter-Master General at nine o'clock 01. General Dunkin came to that part of the bench where I was, and desired me to desist from eenbarkini: my, mote guns or stores, and W get the boats ready for the re. ception of the trovs, as the enemy were within two Noon and a hall's march of them, Captain %them* then came up, _IQ who m .. G4lcrSlPog - kilk OPINItet the same statement ; and on his remaining silent.' said he would go and gLt the order from the Com mander of the Foresa il if that was necessary. We then proceeded to mestete Admiral lialloweH's ;As structions, and about noon all the guns on tile beat " were embarked. .(2. Were any st•wes landed on the 91,h ?—A. Yes, some ay:munition. Q. State to the Court what occurred on the 12th. A. I saw no troops embarked before two o'clock on that day. Cross-ex a mined. Q. Did General Donkin state to you positively oti the 12th, that the enemy was within two hours and a hall's march t—A. Yes, to the best of my recol. lection. Q. Did you not receive orders from Admiral Hal lowell .or Captain Withers, to continue to embark the guns, after yon had received contrary directions from the Quarter-Master-General ?—A. Yes, either from the on 9 or the other. Re-examined by Admiral HatLowELL. Q. Can you not recollect from which of the two A. 'l'o the best of my recollection, it was from Ad miral Hallowell. • Lieutenant P(Avran iworn. Q. What vessel did you command in Tarragona Bay in June, 1813 ?—A. The gun-boat No. 23. Y. When did you come to anchor ?—A. On the 2d of June, at four p. Q. What orders did you receive on joining Admi ral Hallowell, and what occurstd duting their execu tion ?—A. To go in shine and cover the landinwol . the troops.. I first brought the chief of the Spanish Staff, Cavernes, on board the Admiral, and then lay off the Mule-heal of Tarragona at ten o'clock till day light, when I returned for Cavernes. I then anchored across the beac!i in order to cover the lautfi-: ingot the troops. On the morning of the 3d, I re turned to the Mole-bead, and fired some shots into the town.. On the morning of the 12th, 1 was dim. patched to Tom de Barra to cover the advance of General Copons' army, and sailed at ten a. m. I arrived there at three p. m. I went immediately ashore, and saw Colonel Mansol, who asked Me if the troops were withdrawing from Tarragona, and said he had certahi inteliigence of it. During our conversation a peasant arrived, who reported that the French, to the number of +OOO, had taken post at Villafranca, with two mountain guns, two field pieces, and one. howitzer. Colonel !Annul then marched away, and I returned to Adm. Hallowell. Q. Was your vessel in tuck a situation wblst the siege of Tarragona was raising, as to command the high wad to Tarragona from Villafranca, and to be . capable of stopping the advance of the enemy on that road ?—A. Yes, it was. Q. Were you not in constant communication with me, so as to be enabled to inform me at any time by sigma that the enemy were in sight ?—A. Yes. Cross examined. Q. In what language did the conversation pass winch you held with Colonel Mansol and the Spanish peas.int ?—A. In the Spanish. Q. 1)o you understand Spanish ?—.(k. Yes. Q. Was your knowledge of it such as to enable you to understand the peasant's description of the enemy's force, field-pieces, and position ?—A. I con tinued my inquiries till, with Colonel Mansol's assist ance, I perfectly comprehended his report. Q. Did you understand the peasant himself, or Colonel Manses interpretation I—A. I understood the peasant's description. Q. Did be use the Castilian or Catalan dialect?— A. The Catalan chiefly, but with a mixture of the Castilian. Q. Could yuu understand a dialect so different from the common dialect of Spain that oar best in- suructed officers find it difficult to converse in it I—A. Yes, well enough to make out what the peasant re ported. Q. How came you, then, to require Colonel Man son; interpretation I—A. Because there were one or two words in the Catalan dialect which I did not en tirely understand, and because the man directed his conversation to Colonel Maosvl. The witness, in answer to another question, stated, that he knew Spanish sufficiently well to understand perfectly that the peasant said that the French were at Villafranca. Captain John Smddarr, the next witness, com manded the Strombollo bomb-vessel, on the 12111 of June, 1813. He WAS sent on that day to Tone de Dana, and directed by the Admiral to take a pusi lion for covering the road to 'Fannon", in case the enemy should advance from the eastward. He was Also directed to obtain what intormatioa he could .re specting the situation of the enemy. He went on shore accordingly at Torre de Barra, and saw Colo nel Mania)), who stated to him, that he had received orders about an hour before to leave his post!ioth. and, asked him it the troops were about to einbArk hum Tarragona? H. replied, that he believed they were.; Colonel Mansol expressed great regret and astonish-- ~'~''er~=—" . . • 1•:.:••• " . • :gent at hearing it. tie then asked Colonel Mails°, 1144 Cher eould give bim any inforoutitia about the. CY. and whether they were likely to adv4oce.l nel Minsol give it as his opinion that they were not likely to advance. The Cr.urt considered that the mere opiniot) of colonel Mantal was net evidence to be admitted. The witness then continued his narrative, :cod said t he had also been informed by other pet soils of the situation of the enemy. He went on shore the next roosting tor tie purpsse of obtaining in?ornia. Lion. About ten in the morning, of the 13th, he conversed with a peasant who had left Villafrance at half-past seven, and intortned him that he had left a French division of About 5,000 men there, having two meuntain-gues, two fieldvieces, and a howitzer., He asked the pas int, was it probable that the Freed, %vele adrane Il? but the peasant could nut tell. After haying received this information, he returned and joined Admiral Hallowell. 'e witness was then asked, was the Strombello in a position to have prevented the enemy from coming ins the high road from Villafranca to Terragons ? He answered, that there was a -broad roadie tiling Acing tlarbe;tcli, which he conceived that he was perfectly in a situation to cover. He did not •linuw, letwever, whether this was called the high roid or not. Admiral Hallowell observed, that this was the road which he was enquiring about.. The witness Jut:thee Stated, dull be was all the time in immediate enntmo'nfeetion with the Admiral, Ila .could.4mve .isamesilaitip-ialtania4Liksins- if the enemy had been advancing. Admiral Hallowell then stated to the Court, that he was extremely sorry that the information derived from the opinion of Colonel Mans& could not be al lowed to be given .in evideuce. That talker cont. mended the brig ide in a4vance, and was the most likely person toile well informed of the situation of the enemy. He, however, often received his inky cation from the accounts given by peasaitt3. The Pasemetsr of the Court itti - amid Admiral Hallowell, that although such intbrmation might be very good ground for an officer to act upon, yet i that it could not easily be made good legal evite,Ce before a Court-martial. • The witness was then cross-examined by Sir Jons %Janne, and asked the following questions : . Q. Was the peasant known to him, or a perfect stranger t--A. He was a perfect stranger. Q. Did the Aicalde or any other respectable roan the village at for the peasant's being descry. iqg of credit, or even for his not being a spy of the eratosy t—A. No. • sir Juba Murray stated to the Court, that his oh. jr in asking those questions was to chew on what Igrounds those charges were supported. be witness being examined as to his knowledge in the Spanish, language, said that he dad not wider stinsd it sufficiently well to cowry on a conversation in it/ but he understood it well enough to know per. featly what the peasant said to hint about the French 1 biOg at Varela:lca. Oa his return to Admiral Hallowell, he repotted• to him both the opinion of Colonel Mansol and wtrat he had himself heard from the peasants. , Then, isia . re-epainination by Admiral Hallowell,' he g these reports 11 . 0 been also conathae& b ' fingdse inhabittnts of 'entre. de. Serra ret tun -0 in f 4 d ie 13th to' their lionsusiftnui Which they hasl7l de ors geialitthat flie Freisch were at Vitlaftanca. 1 The next witness was Lieutenant-Colonel William. son, who commanded the Artillery at the siege of, Tarragona. He, like most of the preceding w;:nesses, proceeded by a statement in the way of narrative. About half past eleven, on the night of the 11th, he met a Staff Officer, who informed him that Sir John Murray desired to see him at his head-quarters. He arrived there about twelve, and Sir John told him that he in tended to raise the siege, and desired him to make preparations for gelling the guns immediately off. He expressed great regret to Sir Johe upon the cir cumstance, and that he bad not made him sooner ac quainted with the circumstance. He alsorcpre;ented to' him that it was then half-past twelve, and that it would be day-light in about three hours, it would be impossible to get sufficient working-parties, and to remove the guns from Oliva before day-light, when the men would be exposed to the fire of Tartagoon, which almost enfiladed part of the road to the beach. He told him that he had never been led to suppose that he would raise the siege in a hurried and preci pitate manner, without previous arrangements or prepar , lions ; and pledged himself, that it Sir John would stay till the next night, he would takeevery thing safely to the beach, where, by the assistance of Ad miral Hallowell, they might be all embarked by six or seven o'clock the.next morning. He also assured tile Genital that by this arrangement all the stores that had been landed would have been safely em barked, and no articles lett behind. Sir John Murray avtoved of every thing that lie said, and then told him that he should wait till the next night. Atter, , this the witness proceeded to remove to the beach all the heavy guns that remained in the depots and in' ;the other batteries, intending to remove the guns from ;calve the nest night. While the embarkation of the guns and stores was going on, on the misting of the .12th, General Donkin arrived on the beach about nine o'clock, and ordered that the embarkation of the guns should be discontinued. He also informed the, witness, that General Clinton's division was expected; to arrive on the beach in half pn hour or three quer. ters; and that it was the orders of Sir John Murray, that as soon as this division had passed, the guns at Oliva should be spiked and abandoned. Witness was also desired to take immediate steps to cerry those or ders into execution. He immediately dispatched Of fivers with the necessary instructions to the different points, but directed that the guns should not be spiked without further orders, either from him, from the Ge neral commanding at the post, or front the Corn- Inlander in Chief. He then told General Donkin, that those orders ill accorded with. the promise which Sir John had made him the preceding night. l If that promise bad been adhered to, every thing might be tarried of without noise or confusion, owl' in a military mann( i; Admiral Hallowell then beg, ged of him to suspend the execution of the order tar spiking the guns until he had seen Sir Joan Murray, and immediately went to look for hint. On his re: turn lie informed the witness that Sir John Murray deniscl that he had given the order for sptkiug the guns, and said that he would remain till nht. The witness *4 that asked, If the guns h ad hem al-. 44•44. 111, !owed to remain till night, wnnlJ there have been any difficulty in retnovii,g th rn to the beach ? Hithanawer WAS, none in the least. IF air John Murray had given him but three M e ars precious totes tice, be could hese renint:A every thing in the night of thelltb. There could have been no difficulw ip removing the lcuns from Olira on the night of •the l2th, if Sir John Murray had staid till then. The Witness then stated, this Ow order to seike the guns was not given through biro, but pr thably by the act:viral commanding at the post. •,,Two mortars were landed on the 10th, and every day.throeghc ut the siege scores And pruvi'inns xvti v. landed. SUPPIt of stores sufficient for two or three day s' consumption was landed in the first instance, and every day after enough was landed for the coitiumption. He never found the least difficulty in being sty,llied from tho ships with every thing that be retrined. ikdmir 41 Hallowell anticipated all his wants, and give bim the most prompt and ready assistance at all times.— The witness also stated that he was present when 4 Spanish (Aker br6ught a 'letter from' 'Ventral Coyons to Sir Sohn Murray, stating a of vision at the French to be at Villa France.. He believed thAt the order for spiking the guns was given . eilmost itnmediattly after the receipt of this letter . --The fnetliet examination of this. witness acts postponed aiN•scsenkonwr. Wise vial is expected to Issautitt Tuesday next. I,4ll... Atste4sit. ci . p - ta tn ia yr nsiv renla r 4l repo poitc r siunita Hoods ~. R0P411,71: . J~ J, -~ • Yesterday a ntrmerous meeting of the inhablv.nts of the parish of Lambeth, was held at the Horni Tavern, Kenningtm, to consider the ptoprit.ty tsf presenting a pet;tion to Paeliarnent against the rote 07211 el the Property 'L'ait. The Cha;r vrts taken by Mr. bao. , rts, Chincliwary den, who openc.l the his;i.ess of tit • tneet:;lg. Mr. Daxis thin addressed many sprung r , rva. tions to the meeting against the measure, which•bes came the subject of discussion, and ranved'a string of REsolutioas, the principle of which was to pressat petitinn to Parliament Mr. CotuNs seconded the R.esolutions. Mr. Mtt.t.r•.lt compl tined ot btvi!iy been unjustly' assosed. lie had telt the full of oppression. In order to obtain redress fur the seizure of property, which he conceived the Collector had no right to take, he applied for Counsel's opinion, and was told by Mr: Serjeisnt Best, that he might bring an action: in the Court of Lrchequer, but it would cost him CM.--- Alarmed at the Learned Sesjeatit's epinion, he gave up the design of going to law with the Commissit net:, and appealed to the Lords .4 the Treasury. He waited a fortnight for an answer. and then at the ex piration of that time vas informed, that their Lord ships could not interfere between the petitioner and the Commissioners of the district. Mr. Miller stied other instances, in which he considered the conduct of the Commissioner► unconstitutional. Mr. L. KIRBY, of the Common Council of Loh• don, expressed some surprise, that persons had been found to undertake the duties required by the Ac!, because the principal duties were legerd .main. it was playing at blind-man's-buff ynurneiehbonts property. This was a truth which uvery Friar. would adron, who had known what a surcharge was. He was desirous ot bringing before tt,t meeting a picture of those full grown babies, the Commissioners, sitting in the vxercise of their duty. 16 Here sits Mr Com missioner," said the speAker, 4‘ in all the conse quence and plenitude of his pensioned and expected greatness. At his elbow sits Mr. Secretary, panu pered and well fed, with more audacity than. the Commissioner. At their Lacks Mr. Survey or and Treasurer, collecting al. tip. y can, and planning the destruction of many." He might add, the starvation of many, for it frequently happened that this odious tax, in its °Fel ation, took the very bread out of tl.e mouths of the widow and tatherles:. By putting a negative on this measure, they would give a death blow to a dangerous system. of taxation, and pre. vent tax-gAtherers from assuming prover and autho rity, which should be vested only in indep.:ndent men of unquestionable honour and integrity. A sort of Hat lequinade was performing : a new sortof cookery, in which the Commissioners made fish of one, flesh of another. They-endeavoured to persuade the public that their plan was an improvement in the art of cookery, but the public knew better—they knew it never would agree with an English s►omach.-- (Hear, hear.) He preferred the good old times, in which an ancient lady, named Mrs. Glass, gave di rections for cookery. This tax had degenerated the best feelings of Englishmen. and established an in. quisition incompatible with British liberty. It placed a gagg on the mouths of men in all pats of the coun try. If any man had been bold enough to unmask acts of oppression, he had seldom escaped severe pu. nishment in the shape of Income "Tax. Such men had been deprived of that they had reserved for the protection of age, for the protection of orphans, and their dearest connexions. He expressed a hope that the general voice ot the country against this measure would operate as a trighttul spectre, appearing in ghastly deformity to app.it the Minister whenever he may be bold enough to talk of renewing the tax ; that they might fur ever bury it, and prevent its re surrection. Mr. iltrai, a carpenter, said, be could not remain silent amidst charges, certainly made under soma heat of temper. against the unpopular measure. Any oppnsitiisa to the observations made by the Gentle men who had preceded him, might not be admired by the Meeting, and he expected nothing less thaa tb be unpopular in taking up what they would conceive the wrong side of the qu:stion. .'s'lle,t Gentle:Tito were declaiming against the Property Tax, they did not reflect under what circumstances the Act had passed, and whether it was necessary to continue it. Money was the sinews of war. This Tax had berg established by the Legislature, as a salutary measure, and they ought not to condemn it because in some instances the Authority it conveyed had been abused. imperious necessity made the Minister impose a Tax which w .uld be productive ; and, by adopting this L'ax, ih. y had been enabled to terminate gloriously a long expensive war. He lamented tue state et' things, which had compelled Ministers to adopt th:s Fax, and as it might yet be necessary to d•ArAy the expense of rewarding the brave miry and n ivy, he, for one, was nut inclined to join in the invective and odium attached to the aseasurc. Much Dad bent said respecting the misconduct or the Commissioners 4 ~~ ; • rp 4. i` : 4 •