The Sun. — London, England, 1807-03-11 00:00:00

1 the gth of April, that I had sailed with the squadron under my orders for the-Rio de la Plata, that Board Aid not at first apparently disapprove of my condua, an.t I think I am borne out in this conclusion by the - tenor of Mr. Marsden's letter, acknowledging mine of the date last mentioned. The Iptter ita ques tion is dated August 6,, and is, conceived in the f01..' lowing terms : ' S have received and cOmmunicatcal to 'my Lords Conimissioners of the Athitiralty . sour letter of the 9th of April last, informing them ,of your intended proceed ings with the squadron under your orders. I ant, &c. • • • WM. MARSDEN. Now, Sir, on comparing the preceding letter with a letter from Mr. Marsden, :dated the Ist of March, 160i5 e .in answer to one, from me conveying a piete of intelligence ivhich cannot 'but suppose . must have been gratifying, the two letters • will prove to be written exaCtly in . the same style. The letter of the Ist of arch is as follows • : Sirt ,---1 haVereceived and laid before my Lords Corrimis- ELontrS of the Admiralty .r.lur Letter of the 13th of . January lust, with the several Papers therein referred to relative to the Capitulation of the - Town and Cape of Gaccl 7 hope. - i am, Sir, your's, Ex. Wild.. MARSDEN. The conclusion which I thinle every unprejisdiced 'twin wonldedraw from the perusal of.these two let tars. is, 'that if the Admiralty Board did not. judge • proper to express to me any approbation, not merely •of my owri conduCt, a Cominander of •the naval force employed in the rednetion of the Cape, brit of that of-the Officers and Seamen ikho contributed to this comeliest; still the Board could not be well dis pleased with it ; and that by their Secretary having leA me also in the dark, Or rather to my own conjec tures, in his reply to my letter acqiiainting him of my having sailed with my squadron to the Rio de la. . Plata,. it was equally presumable that the Board did not then disapprove' of my having proceeded on that Exped:tien ; that i's, by the tone and charaeler of the two letters, they looked upon the capture of the Cape, and the arrangements for the squadron's sail ing to Rio de la Plata, precisely in the•sarne point of view, or that one was as likely to meet their appro bation, or to prove advantageous to the country, as the other. In 'the course of the defence, Sir Home dwelt strongly on the manner in which he bad been treated -by the present Board of Admiralty. With one of the above letters in the same packet was another, ac knowledging the receipt of one from Sir Home, in ,c:osing a letter from Capt. Donelly, of . the Narcissus, detailing his account of the destruEtion of the Bello na French privateer, in which Sir Home was direet :ed by their Lordships to express to Capt. Donelly: their warm approbation of his conduet, and that of .his officers and 'men, while, for the capture of the Cape, Sir. Home had not one word. The army .had- been thanked,' and spaken of in the handsomest terms, ' , but not one Word from the Board of Admi ralty in praise, or even speakirig of his condua on the occasion in terms ,of common satisfaction. By • :another letter he received acknowledgment 'of their Lordships having -received his Plata of operations•l against the Settlements of the Rio de la:Plata.—Tbe same coldananner was here 'obserVed as in the for , firer. case. Their Lordships had received his corn munieations,, and the Secretary' had the honour to be his most obedient humble servant. Surely, said - - Sir aome, if my' condua had been disapproved, it - would.have beep no difficult matter to have hinted it ; or was I not rather to think, that the news cf . the surrender of the Cape of Good ellope'beingae lthewledged, in terms Eirnilar, and' that being an ac quisition of- undoubted' importance; I might also conclude, by a fair inference, that my' operations were eapprovedhy the same taciturnity ? -He com plained of the manner in which he had been sent home, in a small prize brig, miseifthly manned and vem - se armed. But he thanked God he had arrived I sate to meet the accusations that had been heaped up for his reception... He commented with much force, and a considerable deo - ree. of eloquence, - on the Manner -in which the charges were drawn up againtt him ; the usual style of which was to stig, mat ise him kin the words of the order) with a &grant neglect of duty ; which the &ame order, On the' face of it, says, in their Lordships' opinion, aught not to go unpunished. .fitter Sir H. Popham had conCluded.his defence, he proceeded 'to call his witnessm, a list of whom was read otter, consisting of Lord Melville, Mr. Huskiss,on, Mr. Sturges Bourne, Mr: <Marsden; Mr. King, Mr. Maclean, Mr. Madden, 'Sir Home's Secretary. The first witness examined was Lord Melville, who was sworn agreeably to the custom of all Naval Courts Martial. His Lordship addressed the Court, , stating the awl: ward situation in which he stood, as it appeared likciy, from the first question pOt to brm, that the answers would lead him to commit himself, by the disclosure of matters of that importance, which, from their nature, it would be improper to put be- , fore the public. He • therefore bespoke the indul gence of the Court not to press any questions to vliich he might feel obliged .W refuse an answer; in the propriety of which the: Court concurred. The principal questions put to his Lordship by the Prisoner, were as to the - confidential communica tions, from time to time, made to him by Mr. Pitt, a'; wed as by his Lordship, on the subject of South America ; particularly relative to, some proposals tnacie to Goyernment by Gen. Miranda, in which communication Sir Home bore a conspicuous part, being at one time left in company with, General 'Miranda, for the express purpose of ascertaining niinuttely all the General's plans ; and afterwards, by his Lordship's direction, drawing up a memoir and projet, which was submitted for the considera ti .n of- Government. His Lordship distinctly ad mitted, that he had frequently turned, his serious thoughts to the subject of South America, with \a "conosiriplative view of the advantages that might be dirtied by obtaining a footing in it for the introduc- - tion - of our tnanufadures.. He stated that Sir Home bad certainly been employed at different times by the Government on -confidential services, and had, given satisfaCtion by the way in which those services had been executed ; but his Lordship did not say - -that Sir Hbme had. been authorised "to make an attack upon, tile Settletoent. of Buenos Ayres - . Mr. Sturges Bournrwas the next witness called. ' His testimony went iirincipalty to prove, that 'Sir Home 'Popham had had interviews with Mr. Pitt on the subject of the Cape of Good Hope; and that iu consequence of some commonication made by Sir Howe to Mr. Pitt, the latter had dire6led the witness to make further inquiry, and take some steps ; the result of which completely confirmed the information • given by Sir Home Popham. This witness was particularly guarded in. his answers, - from apprehension - of revealing any matters of State se cret or of iMportance that might have been confided to him. Mr. Marsden here caused it to be expressed to the Court, that be was very desirous of being next examined; that be might be at liberty to return to London ; but Sir Home Popham stated, that he con ceived it io be very irdterial that the next witness in order to be examined should be Mr. Huskisson—who was, of course, called in and. sworn. This Gentleman's evidence was delivered in a most candid, clear, and distill& manner—but cau tiously avoiding the disclosure of any'rhatter that ap peared of moment to be withheld'. He stated the different interview Sir Home had had with the late Minister and himself on the subjeCl of South Ame rica, and the anxiety e.7:Pressed by Mr. Pitt to make Use of the naval superiority of the country for the purpose of gaining an advantage.there, - and admitted that it had been constantly an objea that was'deem 'ed very desirable. He, stated, that he had himself, . by Mr. Pitt's direEtion, made very particular indui ries on the subjea; and had taken some measures thereon—the precise nature of which, however, he prudently declined explaining. This was the last witness examined this day, and the'Court adjourned to the next morning. In, the 'course of the , examination, Mr. Jervis, the Prosecutor, -took occasion to state objections to several of the questions;; which objections were, fOr the most part, answered' by 'the Prisoner himself. ' Lord Melville was accommodated with a chair; of which, however, his Lordship declined making use fOr a considerable period during his examination ; he.was . in 'exceeding good spirits. Mr. Hu►kisson appeared with his arm in a sling, having not long since had the misfortune to break it. _ The Court, which sat till it was dark, Was even more crowded than it was the first day, thete being several distinguished Ladies present. IMPElaza, PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF PEERS, TUESDAY, MARCH 10. In the Committee of Privileges on the Claim of -Charles Augustus Ellis to the Barony of Hoard de Walden, Lord HAWKESBURY moved 'a Resolution, purporting that the 'said Charles Augustus Ellis is the sole heir of the body of LOrd Thomas Howard, why I.vassummoned to Parliament in the 39th Eli zabeth, and sat as Lord Howard de Walden, and is entitled to the said Barony.' After some observations from the Duke of I`ToR-' FOLK, Lords ARDEN, ELDON, REDESDA LE, and the LORD .CUANCE4OR, this Motion 'Was agreed to, and ordered to be reported to the Hpuse. Lord GRENVILI4,--in order that the House might be in possession •of accurate information re speaing the state of the, Appeals in that House, moved that the.Cierk. should prepare an Account of the Nuinbc.r of Appeals' brought to that House, distinguishirri.those from the Courts here and from F. Scdtland, with the number decided upon, dismissed; ',sce. from i 794 , to I.B'ol ; and also the like Account of Appeals, distinguishing those from Scotland and Ireland, frdm 1801 to the present tune.—Ordered. ADMINISTRATION OF iusticr, IN SCOTLAND. The - LORD CHANCELLOR again stated to the House the receipt of a Paper purporting to b e a Memorial from the .College of Jtistice in Scotland, respe&ing the Scots' Judicature Bill, and requested their Lordships' instructions respecting it, A conversation ensued' between Lords GRENVILi,E, ELDON, KINNAIRD, the Duke of MONTROSE, and the Earl..of LAUDERDALE, all of whom concurred in opinion, that the Memorial could not be received, although the sentiments of, the Lords upon this sub= je6l would certainly be deirable. This under stood, and that. the Lords of Session, if" they wished to' address the House respeCting this Bill, must do it by Petition,-.in their individual characters as Lords of Session, and not as a body, , The - LORD CHANCELLOR put an end to the'cOn versation by stating, that he would make such a COIII%. munication, in answer to the letter he had received ; as without committing- the House Should enable the Lords of Session to put into a proper farm any Pe tition which they might wish to present. Adjourned. ROUSE OF COMMONS. TCLESDAY, MARCH 10. TAUNTON PETITION. . . _. The following are the names of the Committee appointed to take into consideration the Petition, complaining of an undue return for the Borough of Taunton. T. S. Cbke, Esq. W. H. Eellovves, Esq. Sir I. Aubrey,Bart. C. Forreter, Esq. G. Bailey, Esq. ' R. Manners. Esq. I. Paulson; Esq. E. M. Munday, Esq. Sir T. Mostyn, Bart,- Hon. J. H. Grimatone. R. Morris, Esq. T. Trevanion, Esq. R. Bolton, Esq. Nostrus ES —S4 1. D. King, Bart. and Right Hon, N. Bond. Mr, W. FAWKES presented a Petition from the Debtors in York Castle, praying for relief.—Ordered to lie on the table. HON. A. C. JOHNSON. Mr. WHITBREAD rose and said, he held in his hand a Petition signed by the Honourable,Andrew Cochrane Johnson., He, had not the slightest per sonal. acquaintance with that Gentleman, never hay ing seen him until yesterday morning. He then understood that the Petition had been sent to'several Members, who had. declined presenting it. For himself, be thou(rht• it his bounden duty, as a Mem ber of ParliaMent, to present any Petition complain ing of grievances; and couched in 'proper and rcspea ful language. With respea to the allegations in, the present Petition, he begged to be understood as in no degree pledging himself to their, accuracy, nor to any subsequent motion in consequence. The Petition complained of a variety of grievnces,_ arising out of xhe. circumstances of the Judge Ad vocate's receiving the decision of his Majesty on. the sentence of a Court Martial, instead of,the Cotn mander in Chief. • The Petition was then brought up and read— . (the Case which it contained has been already be-, fore the Public.)-.—lt. prayed for redress, -andill . at Means should be taken to 0 - evont a re - orreacv: of srievauces, • Mr: W4ITBREAD moved, that the Petition do lie on the table. The S.ECRET4RY at WAR, although the Hon• Gentleman had declared that it was not his inten tion to follow up the presentation of the Petition with any motion, would trouble the.. House with a few words on the subje&, becatise an tpinion Fad gone forth that_ he :(the Secretary at War) had pledged himself to. bring forward a motion founded .on the case stated in this very Petition, and he was therefore glad to have an opportunity of publicly re futing that assertion. The faEt was, as those Gen tlemen who were Members of the last Parliament must recolle6t, that when he had' given a notice on this subje&, he observed. that in other cases, as well as the present, great abuses had arisen in the kr- •-ministration of military justice, from the prathce of .confiding to the Judge-Advocate-General the high and important trust of receiving his Majesty's-plea .sure; with regard to the sentences of Courts-martial, and that it was - very improper that matters of such consequence shouldhe decided upon without a re ference to the Commander in Chief. At that pe riod, therefore, he had given notice, that in the vn suing Session he would bring, forward some mo tion on the .subjeft. In giving that notice, he had stated, that the Petitioner's, as it was one of the most recent, was also one of the strongest cases in point. Subsequently the change in Administration had trt. ken .place ; he. had entered into office; and in con sequence of the representations which he had thought it his duty to - make on the subjedi he was happy to acquaint'the - House, that the pra6tice' complained of would in future be discontinued. The Judge Advo. care General would still communicate to,,his Majesty the sentences of Courts -Martial, but the decision of his Majesty thereon would be received by the Com mander in Chief, and be by him communicated to the army at large. .Of the present case the Com ,mandei: in Chief had no' cognizance but that which he derived from . the Judge Advocate Genera]. One 'object of the Petitiorier, namely; to recover his rank in the army, was by no means a fit subje& on which to institute a , discussion in Parliament ; and the other objed, to prevent the recurrence of such a case,,the statement which he had just made sheav ed it bad been already attained. -He could not re frain from saying thus much in refutation of the calumnies that ' had been so liberally . vented against him. 'Ali'. W. DUNDAS and Mr. PLOMER, whO had se yerally 'declined presenting Mr. Johnson's Petition, signified their dissent from the Hon. Gentleman's cloarine, that it was incumbent on a Member of Pathament to present any Petition nuched. - in re-. spealthl langutge, - without exercising his awn •dis cretion on the matter which it contained: Sir - E. KNATCHBULL, on the contrary, complete ly concurred in opinion with the Hon. Gentleman, and seconded the motion for the Petition to lie on table; tlw which was agreed t 0..• General PORTER gave notice, that on Tuesday, the 14Th of April next, he would submit to the House a motion relative to Mr. Cawt borne. On the motion of General PORTER, Mr. Caw thornc was ordered to attend in his Place an that day. The Sk:CRETARY at WAR proposed to postpone the Order of the Day for receiving the Report of the Mutiny Bill to Thursday, on two grounds ; the one for the pUrpose of accommodating several embers who could not this day attend the discussion (among the rest we-understood to Hon. Secretary to allude to Lord' Ho\vick, as being prevented from coming down to the House , by a oorneAic calamity); the other - in order to give. an opportunity for laying o n. „ , the tame: further Papers, which were necessary to elucidate . the - subjea., . , After some conversation - - between Lord CASTLE REAGH, Mr. PERCIVAL. and Lord I'EMPLE, the.post portement to Thursday was agreed to. SLAVE TRADE AND ROMAN CATHOLIC BILLS. • A long discussion then , ensued with respect to the days on which the Slave Trade Abolition Bill, and the Roman Catholic Bill, should be read a third time. Mr. WILBERFORCE, Mr., PERCIVAL, Mr. CAN NING, and Mr. PLoNER, were desirous that no'de lay Ihould take place in passing the Slave Trade Bill; and Mr. WILBERFORCE. moved that the third read ing should takd place on Friday. lord TEMPLE,_ as an Amendment to Mr. Vil berforee's motion, moved that the third reading of the Slave. Trade Abolition Bill should be, on Monday next. General LOFTUS and. Mr. H. BRowNE,sugge.sted the propriety of postponing any further proceeding on the Catholic Bill for a fortnight, to allow the IriSh Members 'time to return from the Assizes ; but Sir. J. NEWPORT and Sir J. DOYLE contended that this was wholly unnecessary, as the provisions Of the Bill were already law In Ireland. At length the House divided, when there ap peared— For the 3d reading of the Slave Bill .on Friday 26 Against it - Majority for Monday - 39 The third reading of the Roman Catholic .111 was thus fixed for Friday. VANSITTART brought in, a Bill for allowing a certain quantity of Coals to be brought to London by Inland Navigation ; .as also a Bill for permitting, the Eportation of Salt to the Bahamas in Ameri can. VesSels. Read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-morrow. The Loan Bill .went through a ComMittee, the Report of which was ordered to be received to morrow.—Adjourned. MAILS. . Dut—z Gottenburgh, i Lisbon, i Dublib, 3 Waterford. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT TWEL.VS O'CLOCK. Consols - Onaniuni - - - L 0 D 0 N , WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1807. No accOunt had reached, town, when this Paper -was put to,Press, , respeeling the result of the .Cotirt Marti 4 upon Sir HOME PoknArs. But it is -gene rally,believed that the Trial will conclude this day, a nd under that impression nverai a the •Morning Papers published Reports of it. •We hare hither o, in compliance wit, the direaions (if the Cf.;urt; ab stained from giving any .statement Of .the proeeed ings ; but as they have been published in (Abel . Papers, we trust we shall stand excused for layirig theni before our Readers. A Vessel - has arrived from Pillau, but she sailed before the tesult of the battle of the Bth was known there, and. consequently -brings no intelligence of importance.. It is stated in some Private Letters which have been received, that ,The Russians have retired behind the Pregel, partly on account of the scarcity of provisions, and partly for the purpose of effecting a junCtion with the reinforcements which. were on their march to join the Array. This Morning French, Papers to the esth ult. were received, but they scarcely contain a ward of Intelli gence from the Army in Poland:- The ilford'etir is quite silent with respea to the Battle of Eylati; one of the Minor Papers, however, contains the folk lowing Letter from Thorn, which has evidently been fabricated for the purpose of softening down the late disasters in Poland, • THORN, Fl3/3. 13.—We have had information these three days of a. great battle gained over the Russians by the French Army. The first account of it was brought here on the ioth by a n , Extrabrdi nary'Messenger,, and next day we received the con firmation 4af the news by a numberof private letters, -containing details more or less particular respaing this memorable. event. All these letters agree in re ' presenting the Russian Army as, driven back - anti Touted, after d - long and most obstinate resistance. Various other letters have been received this day, the date of which is .so late as the evening ,ot the 12th. In them 'it: is stated, tlitit the Enemy, doubt less persuaded that 'it was the intention of the French to pursue them to the titmost.of their retreat, did not venture to _take a moment's repost:: for two days after the battle, but made offby forced Porches, and left •.behind in their flight a great m2mber :of stragglers, wounded, and horses, as well as a quart tity of artillery and baggage. This augments still more the- enormous loss which they had befoi;e - sustained- in killed, prisoners, and it pleinents of war. The losS'of the French is not / to be compares with that of the. Russians. Those who estitnate it highest do not Make it equal to a third of that which theEn:,:my has sustained. Though this battle has not, in appearance, had any other immediate re sult than - that of obtaining a brilliant vi&ory to the French army, military men regard it as decisive, as it has produced the greatest discouragement in the just idea army, and given th e F re n c h army a idea of its superiority. This is certain, that the Rus sians had combined, calculated, and prepared every thing for the battle which they have lost ; whereas the French made only general dispositions to gain it. The Russian officers who have been made Prisoners acknowledge that every measure was,concerted on their part to render all subsequent operations de.. pendent on this first effort, and to restore to their army, by a brilliant success, that confidence of Which it had been deprived by, the defeat of the Prussians. We have now to learn how the brill Haut success which the Russians have obtained in the battle of Eylau supply them with this confidence. PLYMOUTH, MARCH 9.—Stived the K en t,. o f 74 g uns, Captain Roe;Etts., fro ;off Rochefort. , The other Ships composing the Rochefort division are also expelled in to refit. - The Atalanta Sloop of War, of 16 guns, was late ly lost near Rochefort, having been driven on the rocks in a.gaie of wind. The Captain is arrived here in the Kent ; some of the Officers and Crew were made prisoners. THE THEATRE.--The Comedy which has been so long expeded from Mr. MORTON, was last night brought forward at CoVent-Garden Theatre, under the title of Town and Country i or, Which Is Best ? We regret that we have . not at present an opportunity of entering into a critical examination of the merits of this Pieee, but the great length of more impor— lant matter must be our apology-. - It is the laud able purpose of this . Play to discountenance the vices; p realence of fashion, and to avert the f o lli es, and mischiefs that result from it. This purpose the author has endeavoured to effect by as ample a representation of the manners of town and country as could be comprized within a compo sition of the kind. His fable, if not striking in no- Velty, is recommended ly:. - , a strong interest. The sentiments are pUre, affeaing, and energetic. The di&ion is. generally corre& and . elegant. The cha ra&ers are numerous and well diversified. There are many admirable strokes of humour and satirical allu sions to fashionable life. • Hondur, reaitude, and be nevolence, are uniformly inculcated. The duties of a mother are painted in glowing colours, and it way hilly be said that no auditor will " go unimproved away," that is not steeled against nature, simplicity, and benevolence. But the moral qualities of the Piece are so judiciously blended with hum Our, that . it affords considerable entertainment while' it exer cises every nobler feeling.—The charaeterslivere ad-. mirably cast, and supported with great ability. KE:Ai3cn has never appeared to - more advantage in the scenes of domestielife. FAW . CETT was humor ous, quaint, and diverting. BLANCHARD exerted himself with great success in a part originally, de signed for IVitNnlis. CHARLES -KEMBLE, indeed, had not onrte a d p i a t r \ t vi q t t i t l it j e n ' c Ignf e 'adaptedj udgment, and EMERY was a strong prop to the Piece in a rustic to haispppeoLedrss,,e very t ea l s l y e , i s n up i t: charaeter. Mrs. GLOVER, Mrs. MATTOCKS,. a n d Miss.BRuNToN, were all entitled to a very com rnendatory .notice. rt f • he Author, howeve r , h as b ent his powers chiefly to- he construetio n . o f the dia. rater of Reuben, which he has nic e ly a d apte d to the talents of KcioLE,z , and which receives the am-: plest justice from the efforts of the Performer; 'l'here were several illiberal spirit s i n th e Th eatre who attempted to obstru& the success of this lute resting Drama, but the zealous and persevering ap probation of a numerous Audience entirely defeated this; despicable hostility. The Comedy was' am flounced for to-morrow by KEMBLE„ . with the hearty, concurrence of the Audience in general; LONDON 'Printed by R. HARRIS (of Martlett;routt; Bow-street), and published by W. A. Scß4rPs (of Sotniv , Moulton-street), at thc StknAglice : 11'2 2 Strand. T H E -S L`t., SOI,ZM QUI.9 DICERL FALSUM AUDIALT ?