The National Register. — London, England, 1809-08-06 00:00:00

t• T . • TH E N rm.. . don't think that the ships could have been sent in sooner than they were: It did not appear to sue that there was the smallest se- Clect or unnecessary delay on the part of the Commander in hief. Captain• Alexander Ker, of the Revenge, bein7 sworn and ex amined by Lord Gainhier,.among other things, stated, that from the tir4t attack on the ships of the enemy, to the final cealion of hostilities, every thing was done that could be tigne to effect their destruction, .41r. Wilkinson, Secretary to. Lord Gambier, again called, and examined by his Lordship. Q.. Do you remember LordKochrane coining on board the Caledonia, on the evening of the 15th of A prit, and saying, any thing to me about the loss he qlculated on if any of the king s ships had been sent in, and state the substance of it ? A. I heard Lord Cochrane, in conversation, tell the Admiral, that had the signal he had made on the 12th been complied with, he calculat-„ CA upon the loss of three or four of our ships.—Q. Did he say any thing of my own conduct or misconduct. or that of any of the officers of the ships ? A. He spoke generally of the mis, conduct of the smaller vessels, and a great many of the fire-ships . .he particularly tnenti.ned the ! s on-brigs. I was confident the -sloops were included, from the circumstance of the Beagle being mentioned. Lord Gambier expressed his regret, that his Lord ohip entertained so had an opinion of the small vessels, and par . ticulaily asked Lord Crichrane. with respect to the Beagle, oh serviaig the conduct of the .Beagle had gained the admiration of himself and the officers of the fleet who had observed her, and said surely she behaved. well. Lord Cochrane in reply said, a have great regard . and esteem for Captaiu Newcomb , and from . his having been an nl4l messmate.of mine, it may he supposed 1. would say , eot: thing in his favour,. but I can't make any ex , ce.p . tioo. He said nothing of liord . Ganibier's conduct in my pre _ seikce, but spoke generally as. stated. lle commented on the canduc4 of other .officers, whickl shall not relate; unless the Court rpipires it.---Adjuurned. • • . • • . . SF:TENTH • 1)4 1 1/:. • • Sir 'Mirky Neale % Capta . in..a J. 7 Me Fleet, • sworn, and ex a - • mined by Coact. • , 9. Did the signal Isieutennantell-fthe.CAleannia, on the Llth . • April, report•lo you :hat the - itsfperiense had in',..ormed • the CommantleV itrChier, Atli. if :Mem ed to 'remain she' could de . • strey-the enemy'sships? I w asz W7ll k the' Roof) .%% hen I was directed by the Contriiander in C;liief's order for the' signal • recall() he made to the•l inperimis% Lord Cochrane, which • replied " Tf permitted to reinaio, coo destroy the enemy."—Q. Was any thing done in consequence of that signal, and what ? A. Yes. Captain - Wolfe, of the A igle, was ordered to take the command of the in-shore squadron, and the Imperieuse %vas directed by telegraph to communicate s ith the Aigle; hut w he • ther he did coinmunicate in consequence, I do not know.—Q. -• Did the Aigle go into Ai x Roads, in consequence of that sig nal.? A. Yes.a•EQ. Is the A igle of nearly equal forte to the linperieuse., so as to he as well caletil'ited to destroy the enetn . 111 , the Imperieuse? A. • Yes, she is. —Q. Was any other ships • tfr vessels sent in in consequence of that signal ? A. To the hest of. my recollection all, the smaller vessels were sent In the day before, no other was sent in upon that occa s ion, Cap'ain Newsome, of the Beagle, tieing sworn and examined, stated- - That being under weigh. on the I:2't It of April, and it be ing .reported to him that a signal was made to the Commander in Chief, for.the frigates to go and assig the linpetieuse, he pro . ceeded to Aix Ronds„—My situation was such that I could stand . in and annoy the Aquilon, w hen the others could not. The Ville de. Varsotie had previously yielded, and was in the wake of the so as to prevent most of our ships acting against the Aquilon, wltholit -firing into the Ville de . Varsovie.—Q. Was the Beaide . oklhe Patois Shoal at high water? A. I ‘..ras not • there at high water.—Q. At the time you yeas there, were an. of ther ships 111...4 afterwards escaped up the Charaute within nsaultor being. destroyed by our shot ? A. No —Q. Can you stale • ant( iii9soce of neglect, misconduct, o r i na tt ent i on i n t h e pro . eet P 4ings of the Commander in Chief during your service in Bastille Roads? A. None whatever, save and except the Corn ot-Indt.r in Chief thought proper to have sent the ships in sooner, there '‘sits a possibility of annoying the enemy more than thee were, but our ships must have been subjected not only to the Are of the enemy's ships at anchor, but also from the Isle d'Aix. J catt:tot presu:ne to place my judgment in competition with t ha' of L•.rd Gambier, bow far it was proper to send ships If • tie snips had been seat earlier hi t 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 t h e time of your leav ing Basque Roads, was there, in your judgment, - every thing dyne that was practicable to be doue, to destroy the enemy's ships? A. I think there was. Captain IVoye el - mined by the Court. Q: When you joined the Imperieuse nn the 14th of April, for the purpose of relieving that ship, and conituct kg the farther operations of the ves s els against the enemy, what commtiMeation had von with the Captain of that ship ? A. Shortly after we ;whored, Lord Cochrane came on board, and after saying I had come to relieve him, 1. him what he would recommend to do With the vessels under isi`Y orders for the destructioa of the enemy's ships; he told me that the large morpir on hoard the /Etna had burst, and the only thing we had to do, was to bom. bard as long as the shells of the other mortar lasted ; and if an opportunity otTered of sending the fire vessels, it should he done by day-light, as many officers of the tire vessels had made such had business of it on the night of the 11th. Feeling the great responsibility on me, I asked him it there was any thing else he could suggest for the destruction of the enemy. - .I(thidk he said. nothing more than to bomb them while the shells lasted, and I believe they .were all expended that night:—Q. Was any attempt made to employ the fire-ships against the enemy ? A. None, as I did not think it ()rudest' so to do—from the impraciVeablity of their getting at them for want of water, as the tide would not serve only at day light—next, thitt they were so well protected .• by the batteries, numerous armed vessels, boats and'inen, ho were doing all that lay in t heir tower to lay them up higher.--•- -Q• Lord Cochrane having remarked to you, t tat some of the fir!'-ships upon the first attack upon the enemy hid not been well managed, do you know of any pirticatar tire-ship, or ships, that were improperly conducted on the 11th April ?. A. I cannot part icularize those that were hadl% managed; the ship that . passel between us and the Island of Ott Vera, and got on shore there, was the our I. noticed: . I hailed five that Como very near us, from our own ship, being- nearly s& lire to by •tito•e that were badly ircinaged. I could only learn the names of t‘vo of the officers of the fire-,liip who behaved welt ; five h.,'lntved very well, one.was'cOmmaniled by Captain Nees comb, w Ito- desired me to remember lie had passed tts. Lieutenant Cookery, of the Gibraltar, was another who begged l would keep my eye on hint, as:he should not fire his vessel till he was amongst them. 1 did, and saw him rtin onboard a two-decked ship of the enemy. . Front the first breeze of wind, I could not .hoar of. t•lie.names of the other officers. Another came-to on board of me, - and begged I would notice his conduct.—Q. Did you see the ex plbsitm vessel blo . • up ? A. Yes.—Q. From every opnortanity you had of observing the proceedings of the bomb, the stoops. of war, and the gun-brigs, did it appear to on that a ty of these vess,ds were in :Inv instance iv hatever' im properly conducted ? A. Ido not recollect that theiv did. I think if Were had I should have seen it. EIGHTH DAY. • Capt. Malcolm, on being asked what portion of time might •he termed a delay on the part of the Commander in Chief, •aid not more than half an hour or three quarters of an dour; f►►r the time tl:e shil►s quitted their defensive position, until the ships were sent in by the signal. was all that can possi. hl v he - termed dela v ; on the whole les• than an hour. Captain Burtch'll examined.—Q. From the tirst attack to the time of your leaving Ba,que Roads, according to !..otti . judg itient, was every thing done that could he dune to effect the (lc.. oructinn of the enemy's ships? A. I think there was, —Q. From the time of the Commander in Chief's arrival in Basquo Roads, to the time of your quitting it , can you stale any initance of neglect, misconduct, or inattention to the public service in the proceedings of the Commander in Chief? A. 1 know oi wine. NINTII DAY. The Court met this day, at ten o'clock, when the PreSident, Sir Roger Curtis, Hart. stated his having received It letter from Lord Cochrane, purporting his wish to he examined on several points, particularly relating to the conversation with Lord fiambier, after the action. The Court did not tbink proper to accede to his wish of being examined, but agreed 'he letter, which he had written to the President, should b* entered on the Minutes, which was done, and is as follows: " Aug. 4, 1809. " Sia,—Having learnt from my brother Officers, repart has gone abroad, that 1 censured, in general terms, the conduct