The Sun.
London, England, 1808-03-16 00:00:00

seleaing particular este' Ms and fa&s which 'led to
this failure, as grotindS' of chaige against myself, and
for Which .1 was to 7acceiunt I did not complain,
becauSo I did not feel that I had a right .to do. so in
such a case,. at additions being made to the puritan:.
Lars so seleaed, after the charges had (for the purpose
"of enabling me to prepare to defend myself, been, first-
with a-eandid liberality delivered twine ; but I had
hoped, =i When I read these charges containing such
. specifications; and with such epithets as could not but.
excite feelings of mertification which could hardly be
increased even by any sentence of this Court, that
I' heard all which was so alledged,againSt me ; and.
little did I expeCt or imagine, that I was to be called'
,upon, to , recolle& and defend every ea, every
order, every expression, and almost every thought,
. not of myself only, but of others—e Very detail,
however minute, and whether it bad orought to have
been brought under my cognizance as. Commander
or not ; in short (as the Prosecutor has avowed and
stated) not merely the causes which. prevented the
reduaion of the province of Buenos Ayres, but my
whole eondu& in the expedition; an investigation now
(as he truly stated), for the first tiene, and, I hope for
the sake of justice, for the last time, instituted in a
Military Court • still less could I suppose, that
the proteaion Of the Conn could have been neces-
sary to prevent_ a Prosecutor, educated in legal ha-
bits, from Ipinsuing me even to any private mo-
mews, and requiring my Secretary to state all the
conversations that in the eoutidence of our relative
situations had passed between us; nud yet it is at this
point only, and that through the interpOsition of the
Court, the Prosecutor has stopped in his inquiry.
' " I intreat the Court calmly andcandidly to review
,the evidence, and to separate (tin .easy. task) that,
which is applicable, to myself, from that which ap.
plies only to othe*.leit more particularly to sepa,-,.
rate evidence of opinions as to our operations found-
! ed upon experience accpsired by misfortune, and net
upon that which was, or could be, known before'
i the operations 'Wok place, and ttpon which Only I
' have acted, and by which -only I am 'to be tried---
in • short, all the evidence which applies the result
' and subsequent, knowledge, instead of previous in-
formation, as the .criterion by which the' propriety
of the measures adoptedis to bearied. Let it not be ,
said that this arose out of the nature of the proseCu-
tion ; for if it did, nothing can more strongly evince
the injustice of such a course of proceeding. The ac-
dosed has Ito protection against it--a nakuo is
°fatly interposition which bears the 'most dis-
tant appearance of shutting out any investigation,
however remote its application, prevents the pos-
sibility of his interference. I hope I cannot be
accused of having interposed captiouS or trifling ob-
jeetions : I have studiously eedeavoured TO avoid'
• doing so ; but .it canupt have escaped observation, ,
nor will it hereafter, when this trial is -reterred, to„
that, in the few instances in which:l have ititeriinag
andhave' in which I retired from the Court witLthe
openly expressed opinion of some of the Members of
I tne Court in favour of my Objeaion, lea'ving , the
Prosecutor in the extraordinary situation of advising
the spurt as to the propriety of his own .question, or
the validity of my objection, I have fallen Under the,
misfortune of finding the Court unanimous against.
me. The Court, in elaborate narra
tivesOli-such (ix•
tended grounds, comprising every a& and word, can
hardly ititerfere. .The witness, without legal as well
as military knowledge, cannot selea that whin he is
either ;bound to stop„or is justified in stating, 'fititts
that which is not evidence against the person cbarg-
cd ; the necessary consequence (and against which
I. should 'have been emitted to, and shbuld have
had, the benefit of the' Judge Advocate's protec-
tion, if lie also had not been my Prosecutor)'is,
aim every occurrence, irregularity, every cotiver7
satioo of others, is . brought to make an aggre-
gate most prejudicial to me ; not merely with
'reference to the protraaion of the investigation
(in itself no trifling evil), but also in the impression
'produced even on those most capable of separating
. that which is applicable from that which ix not. I
might with confidence ask every Member of the
Court, whether be• can possibly divest himself of
general impressions arising opt of Such a, course oft',
evidence—and .whether the necessary consequence
'of such a ciatirse of proceeding is not to give a
coley and unfavourable complexion to all the errors
I ,may have myself committed ? whether, in het, it
has not,_ in some, the necessary and inevitable ten- I
dency,. even with the strotigest minds, and with
. those who are bound in duty to resist such impression
(much more with the public, already too deeply ex a-
perated against me), to load me with all the errors
which may have beet) committed by others, as:well as
,by myself, from the first hour of mylanning to mj' '
quitting the Continent of South America, ? But in
addition to this consiileratien, I ask those lionour-
ableivlembers of the Court, who have either corn-
mauded, or accompanied in high stations, important.
expo ditions and militaryoperations, whether any ex-.
pedit ion, or long course of military operations; how.
ever successfully terminated, could stand the test
.of
.61.1 C“ an inquiry,'-'
.so : coudneed) I put it to
.the candour and liberality` of an individual Mem-
ber Of the :Court, Who has been. so situated,
whether, hi looking back' with the benefit more
particularly of subsequent knowledge and ex-
perience, of localities and circumstances, he ' can
not discover' hundreds of instances, in which he
would have. pursued a different course with respect
to many inferior and accessary details and Opera.
tions.? Let it not for' a moment be supposed,
that I state this as depreciating the talents of those
to ' whom I am making this appeal, or as com-
paring mine with theirs. Their high public and
military estimation, derived from acknowledged
talents: as well as success, must "immediate),
repel such a suspicion. 1 ask only the benefit, as ap-
plicable to myself, in shewing Me hardship and in-
justice, in every point of view; of such a course of
proceeding; satisfied, that, when the Court here-
after, and the public, at future periods, apply these
remarks.to the conduct of the Prosecutor, and the
mode in which the evidence, and the nature of a very
large proportion, it will
.be seen and felt, that I do
nor complain of this wit bout bbundant cause. I think,
that. when the peculiar nature of the trial, and still
int:tie from the professional' 'rank and experience of
....

the. Members, this case will be referred to in military
' history and jurisprudence, as p precedent, they ; join with me in !affirming that the course pf pro.
needing has put upon their minute:ow int;th evidence