The Sun.
London, England, 1808-06-01 00:00:00

miral 1101);tvton, 31)3 was subsequently condemn-
ed as a DrcM. There were other letters aim-) inviting
Him,'(l.laoriin to get some bales, e.,f very line
goods laadect at the usual stnit,;ging pt;ce; of 14 or
pt:r cells. and this prqa. s tiun was accompanied
with an'apolegy Cor',its illicit. nature. In answer, to
dui variety. ot concurring prools,'::the lionourabje.,
Captain, he:understood, tiatant to rely on his 17aving
dined wan Lord Carttwtallia. It •would, -however,
be felt by every one, Coat it was a very unfair mode
Of seeking indenittity, for the Honoorahle Capni:,;
to atteinirt to bring a charge of,-.Ciirmivance to why
the revered character of that : great and uptiBlit
man, who was now unhappily no more, From:
Dilr. Stuart, who was in .Council with Lord Corn.-
waliis. arid who acted as G-oernor, in the 4bsence
of the Noble Lord from Caleotta, he had a letter",,
Winch he would read, diaelanning all knoWledge of
Capt l'opham's being engaged in any illicit ;raffle.
(Hew the Gentletrimt read Mr. Smart's let-
ter,:statin;,,, tirat he knew Capt. pophatn merely as,
a naval (Jfficer, who had come to India to improve.
hiitselt' in_ profeks'Onal knowlAlge, and had made
trmte useful surveys in the Bay of Bengal.. and as
such, invited hiM to his table, certainly knowing
nothing of his being engaged in an illicit traffic, a
thiug which he had never Countenanced). The,
Houonrable Gentleman then adverted to the hard'
Areatnient of Admiral 'Robinson in the divrthution
of the proceeds ,of the condemned ship. One-
third heionging,to the Frenchman Piron was con,
detuned to ahb captors, but.the opiptors had never re,
ceived one farthing; another third belonging to M.
Constant, a'SWissokas ordered to be restored to him.
bnr M. Constant, was ready to prove at the bar, that
be had never received one farthing : the retnainiog
third was granted to the lirnourable Captain oppo-
site. He would. pot tiwe the House by insisting on
the superior claims of Admiral 'Robinson, after a
service of forty years in the Navy ; after a longer
service by his lather, who had lost a limb at the-
age of sixty, yet Admiral Robinson had nut re-
ceived even the ex pencds of his suit. The established
praarce was, to grant to the captors one half or one'
third of the . property condemned as Drolts of the
Crowu, except in case of specie, of which only one
fourth was given. Tile Hon. Gentleman cited various
caves in proofd this statement. He did not bring shy
charge against the Government that made the grant
to the Hun. Captain. He supposed that Goverp-
ment was ignorant of the facts he stated, or they
.NviAtild not have made the grant. A turn qt' 40,0(101.
bad been Offered to Admiral Robinson, at Ostend,
be woold'release the vessel. He did not meats to
say 'the plt'er was made by the 'Hon. Captain ; but if
the./lon. captain doubted the tact, Admiral
4on ould prove it jantnediately at the Lar. He
trusted that he had made it.evitlent to the
_House,
that the conduit of the Him. Captain, throughout
the whole of lauginess, had been such as he bad
described it to he; attd that having begun by engag-.
ing in illicit coinmetee, he hail coded by imposing
vu his 141aiesty with an uuthunded statement of the
transaCtion, ife therefore moved several Ilesolu,
Lions to the followingeflai

•
" 'first it iprars to this House, that by the Decree of the
tordi Cointnissibncrs of Appeal for Prizes, dated the tith of
August tP.'O3„ the 1,1111) Etrusco, with such part,pl her cargo
as was claimed by R. Popham, Eq. now Sir ljunie Pop-
sect:: condemned :is good and lawtul prize to the icing.
" Thst be a W4ti,olt ut Treasury, tit.te;i the 24th of sep,
*ember, a third ut the proceens of the tuhip 1• trustee,
smarming to 1.9.155 l siopjeta to cettain teduthons, not ex-
ceeding theill, was. grained to Sir i,,nie Popham, who had
b-eu ttete:t. ti in the, It riiisuctit tott pt trAtke, anti who 114
foil? ittSlit.C.
1:10 ii.ix wa“t,. gross Misapplication of the public nr•
nev, cwp.try to ail Cilattilll aid precedent, ii (t4ll,lftilig from
11. e. usage by whh.h rhos,: or weeds had been ilitherto o'..rttett
to the cotoe, ; that it was untrary to the Jaws of the can't.
try, as granted so cue who had tailed in Ills duty as a British
;uhica, and had disgraced the character of a British officer ;
;has as a thcotti..,i;cnicht ti) :he Naval berme;
Anti t hdt it will. an 4,icitelhatt to act in Oviimitioll to the laws
ill the latti, by out tite example of a reweirc! lac*tow.
violated those helve.
klomg rorttaza replied at considerable length,
and wit h much perspicuit) a to the Speech of the Ho-
Douran,e Gentleman. litt began by observing that
tin pains had been spared to asperse his character in
the public'prints, and complained particularly of a
par.tgriph inserted in 7.40 I Imes of the day on which
the Honourable Gentleman gave notice, of his mo.
tiott. This paragr spit accused him of having
'carried arms and ammunition in Tippoo Salt) y a
atatement as false as the crime would have been
atrocious had he committed it. • geforts he proceeded
.to the immediate question, he must be allowed to re-
ply to, the assertion of the Hon. Gentleman, that
his appeintmetwas Captain of the. Baltiulleet, had
',tech an outrage to the service, and had created
general disgust. In, addition in the sentiments of
the Board; which the appointment itself sufficiently
evinced, lie read iv:r 'letters, the one from Admir.il
.14ainilton, the other Iron) Sir 'l'. Graves, in which
those g4ll.tut and experienced Odicers cinigratulated
on the appointment, and expressed their convic-
tion that iaird Mulgrave could-not have, made a bet.
.44:r choice, and that troth his genius And talent, add-
ed to his general pretessional knowledge, as well as
to his particular acquaintancal with the Baltic, the
ltappt sfresults to the tountry were confidently to be
antictpated. tie al,o read severalletters from vsrious
cat icgr s ut the fleet, the signatures of which he would
, riot ttleptiptl Olt litiugh the lion. gentleman was per.
(eCtly at liberty to procure them if be thought -proper),
the writers of which concurred in declaring that
so far trout any disignst having-beet) excited by his
pppoliktilleat, it ',tad crcattli general satisfaaion. But
even had any prejudices existed before his appoint-
ment, he chall4nged the Opt). Gentleman to Wing
forwar,tl- a ngio instatico in which leis conclutt as
Paprain.of the, Baltic Fleet bad been thought liable
to cenairre, Giving thus endeavoured to remove
this impression, lit eitteted into a detailed defence of
the tianaattion immediately under the consideration
of the Howe, And first with req)ea to. his trade
in India ; lee bad had it it) his intention to,gu to
Balapore♦ but his ship striking on a rock in Mni
biqua eliautiela l had been induced to save t.ii
pew to make for Bombay, where he witties.sed
"sreigela taking in goods and trading contrary, to the
jaw., which w,:, e. 'ideality relaxed in. their favour.
Vow then was 140 wrong In availing hinitel cif etas
relaxation ? Flom 13oiubay he went to Madras,
yvhero proceettliio Were freely tarried ot.,
}hider the same colours as et, and, attended with the
pine .circurnatarices, Ercirl Madras lie went to Cal-
Outta I and here he disclaimed ttie slightest intention
of aspersing LQIII CeOrllU atkiii(k.wfbak lie had for-
merly said upon this subjects:'. All that 0,9 meant to
vine was, that Lord Curnwallia.knew at ti at time
',hat
ho was a Btitish subjva, and that be was in. the
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