The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-08-01 00:00:00

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Q. After the euelityl; klitpe had run tip the .
_Charente, cculd they have even approached by a:ly
.of the Bo itish ships ?—A. Ni.
Q. 1,; the navigatioit of Are Roads • dilhcelt for
large ships, and tuueh limited in space ?—A. Very,
difficult for large shills, deeOraler very much lie •
Ander]. •
- Q. Their the space for nnefroarage mast be very
much eentined, and water around it simal?—A.Yes.
• Q. Were hou essiple)ed swim-fin:4and surveying
withia the Safe of Aix,?—A. I wa,, Irmo the 17th to
41Ih of Apo el.
Q. Did the geticral kowale.l;.roo you obtained,
while so entploytd by my order., agree with the
churl, or :Peptone Francoes, of that part koe.A.
le some pi'lts it agreed, in other parts I have
fermi a. wide difference ; the Neplerre Francois
we vnere water then found in many places.
pa yeti would between the Boyar: Shoal and
tlit. PelKis Shred ?—A. I !wised between them
tliro-oe or four time, ; I took aouniliiigs at those
tenet.
Q. IA *O,- account that you gave of 16 awl 12-
het miter, at low water, between these two shoals,
rtrived from the information of your own sound-
ing, ? A. Not entirely from my eivoi
frit Foin the soundings taken by the master of the
Dotterel!, whom I sent for that purpose, who re-
ported, in writing, to me those *number..
Q. Hat you any opportunity of ascertaining
what is the rise of the tile no Aix Raids. or the
vicinity of Aix Routs, at spring tiales?-a-A. The
lead was hove, awl the depth of water carefully
ascertained, every half-hour, nil board the CeThrio-
isiu, emit her departure from Basque Roads,
whereby we ascertained, beyond all (1111113er of
doubt, that the actual rise of water in Basque
Roads wits 19 feet in spring tides, and eight feet in
dead neaps.
Q. If the riser of the tide is 19 feet in Basque
Roads, must the rise lw greater or less in Aix
roads ?—A. The rise of the tide found in Aix roads
is 21 feet at high sprang tides, which iv inure than
we ever found it rise in Basque roads.
Q. Could the three French ships which were
aground on the sand, and afterward, warped off,
and run up the Charente. ever have Weis attacked
by hue of battle ships?—A. No; they never could
have come near enough for the shot to reach.
Q. Could any wore of the enemy's ships have
been destroyed, hail tiny of the King's ships been
sent to attack them at day-lilt on the 12th of
April ?—A. if we had attacked the enemy's ships
on the morning of the 12th, iu the posiiion of the
Foraroynat, and tho? dirce-ileeked ships.
I think we should have sacrifired our own ships,
without anakon; any impression on the enemy; the
only time that they could have been attacked,
with any prospect of siiccesi, was at the time the
sneak was made. The tide hail then ebbed,
nod the ships were fist on the ground, with their'
sterns to the westward, and they .could not bring
any guns to bear on the attacking 'hips; and tinder
that circumstance, in my opinion, w owed our
whole !wefts ; for had the French ships grounded
with their broadsides, in flanking the passage, they
would have been able to have defended themselves,
and could not have been attatked.
Q. As you weie employed some time iu the In-
ner Road of Air, you had an opportunity of
ascertaining the strenath of tue curteut of the tide
in the Road of Aix T—A. I had.
Q. Was it sostrong as to pryer in fast-sailing ships
from working over it and beatim4 out against the
flood ?—A. The flood tide and the .prilogs run
at leaat three knots at hour, so that it is impossible
that ally ship call work agaiust the tide.
Q. Then, ships going in at the eml of the fhb,
must necessarily remain during the whele of the
flood They must.
Q. You have said, that if any ships of the line
had gone into Aix Raids on the mooning of the
12:h April, they could not possibly have got out
*gain that day ?—A. They conlil
Q. Is that en opinion you line formed since yon
left Basque Roads, or was it your opiiiam leo the
12t1i of April ?—A. It was Inv opioliom on the
morning 41 the 13th, and I have twee had any
reason .• it ever to alter it.
Q, W.•re ynu consulted on the pr.i'trability of
going sir awl. -cut of the Road of Aix, et. the Nth
of Apr. -k. I was not particiitailv coesulted ;
but Si- i tarry Ne4tic. on the nioniiiia of the 13th,
seesit; • oc enemy's ships on shore, asked me what
I thou;_ait (or words to that eerie) could he clone,
is taking the line-el-battle ships in to attack the
enemy ? l told him, perh ups we inioxlit destroy
some of their ships. bet that we slionild sacrifice
Our Ow•i. hotting uo ides whatever of any of the
• ships hews ante to return.
Q. Are ion quite clear that yon ore that ispi-
Ilion to Sir 11. Beale. en the um gof the 12th

EFir'rl7'

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Ve%
E. 1 think you haven't' that you had no komvs. i
•vhatever of the anchorage within the Isle of I
n'•ere shit" of the hos- may title in five Lt.
•• ar.,1t0., till after the litle of April I
tot tcnorlydse of that aochorage until after
Q. It yt.a !ti"O of that anchorage hefore
th. IVI of Apr', Wo ,i.l t.o: ilde have admitted
shy, ~t• the line !are NOWc to it 11.1 the noir 1111 l g
of that day I.:••-• The tide would pot have atAnnt-
tA the ships of the hue to have gone to that an-
ebarage, until twelve or one o'clock-on that day.
Q: 'Were you on latard the Caledonia on the
afternoon of the I nth April ?—A. Ver.
Q. Do you know the ranee of the fleet being
sowed that afternoon I mentioned to esp.
teio Bedford, *boot seven in the evening.the items-
sity of mooring the fleet, that they might not
swung out board of smolt other-A.460s the weather-
tide; he insotioned it to Lotil Gauthier, and the
fleet 1V.,14 111011:1•11. To unmoor nits solely the basil-1
moss of half au hour.
Q. Had three or foie line of battle ships been.
*demoted towards the Isle of Aix, and laid dorm;
the night at single anchor. could they. by weigh-.
ing when Lord Cox-home made lite signal. about
fie- in the morning, at that time of tide, have go..e
jitto the road of Aix, without the greatest damzer, to
have attacked any port of the enemy ?--A. !lad
four sail of the fiber gone into Ate hoods, alien
Laird Cochrane made the signal. liter *mild there
have mat a force equal to thensselve,; they would
have in 41i, an 1.•,4C1.: miler every disadvautage ; the
ti •• of Isle na wet; os the are of the 1411.
Avarua. the Costard, and Oita*, would have been