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

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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 !son-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)411/:.
• • 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 occasion,
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, or inattention in the pro-
. eetP4ings 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 hit 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 the 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.