The Sun.
London, England, 1809-05-23 00:00:00

a way which I thought an insulting►
c.I
ESIDENT.-YOU are at liberty, Admiral Hanky,
to ask Lord Gambier any questions you may think
yr6per.

, . .
.• Croo-exumined by Admiral HARVEY.—Q. Did
i your Lordship ever eaetimutticate with me officially
;
', on the stibiect of attacking the enemy in Aix
Road.---A. I had some conversation with liiin 'on
the practicability of it.
Q. Did not your Lordship consult the junior
Officers of the Fleet previous.. • .
PRESIDENT.— " 1 eery, touch fear' that the Coin-
. Alder lit Chia' should not be asked that question."
~ Q. Does not Lord Gambier know that I offer-
i' ed to make any apology to • him that an Officer
er Gentleman could make, consistent with my )ho-
{, l l'"Ir i—Certainly Ido know it, and. would be most
\I happy to accept it, had' it been consistent with
l- air duty to my country, to my profession, as a
Naval o,iicer, and to what I owe to the charatter
Vitt I ii.... 1 as a Commander in Chief, and to my
.Public (hay generallf, for I must state, that I hear
Po personal enmity or resentment to Admiral liar-
Vey whatsoever.
Lord Gambier withdrew here. ; ,
1 Captain Sir H. B. N4ALE was next examined,
zed he stated that Admiral Harvey came on board
the caledUnia, and said, that be never saw a man so
unfit ter the command of the fleet as Lord Gam-
bier; that instead of sending boats to sound the
Channel, which he considered we best manner ut
attacking the enemy, he had employed himself or
amused himself with mustering the ships' cornea- •
flies; that he bad not taken pains to ascertain
I whether the enemy had phicecl any bomb in front
, of their line ; that if Lord Nelson had been there,
Ile would not have- anchored m
,Basque. Roads, but
have dashed at the enemy at Dace;, or words. to ,that ,
effel:t ; that he had spoken his mind to the' Coin-.
Vander in Chief; that Lord Gambier had received
f-im Very coldly after the battle of Tralalgar, and
..i'ad used hint very ill, in having transmitted , the
4viaster of the Tonnaut's letter for a Court Martial
' tilao9 him.
Q. What were the•'words used by Adm. Harvey
to Lord Cochrane, expressive of his disapprobation
of his (Lord GaMbier's) conduct ?—A. When he
Cline into my cabin, lie -went up and shook hands
*_hh Lord Coeheince, assuring tern; he should have
. uutql -very happy to have seek) hint on any other oc-,
teasion than the present ; teat his (Lord Cochrane s)
• Pell% ordered to execu e the service on thii occasion
*ail an insult to that service, ,and that he would
Strike his flag as soon as that service was executed.
' I..nice Coeuratie answered, " I assure you I did not
' Seek it : j we-nt to town."
Q. 1)4.1 you know of any other instances of lan-
. §oaee being used by the Rear Admiral to you, re-'
eo-titi upon the. charafwter of the Commander in
' Chiaf ?—A. I retnember upon one occasion,. since
Lord
, Gambier's appoi.tent as Commander in
ehiel, and ' previous to the affair at the Basque
b
6"-Nids, Admiral 'Harvey said thin Lord Clarnhier had
etidca,,hlred to wake it pleasant in the Fleet, other-
*, iss there, would be ito bearing him ; a man must
have barne good.
Q. With. this spoken in the hearing of any of
the °dicers or men of the Fleet ?---4. Not to toy
knowledge.
Lttere the Ptas4ent asked, "whether at this time
Admiral Harvey was second in 'command ?, Admiral
Harvey, in explanation, said, he never. was second in
Command except in Basque Roads.)
Ant In a conversation, either with Lord Mul-
trave ar the Beard of Admiralty, it.was..mentioned
to me that the expedition; was composed of bombs
and fire-ships, for the purpose of destroying she
French fleet in the Islo ut Aix. I answered that it
was a seivice very easy to, be executed. I was
.: asktil if I vvuuld undertake it ? I answered, yes.—
Admiral Harvey said, ilea he meant vothini per-
sonal to heti (Lord Cot inane) ; he had a high ()pi-
. Inuit 01 hint.; he spoke only to the insult. Then
folli,u,s e hat I have before stated relating to the
Admiral. -Admiral Harvey likewise said, that he
had made an otTer to go in with the Tonnant, . to
bring out the enemy's three-decker.'
(Admiral Harvey had no ' question to ask this
Wiln"l') •
' ,Lo rd COCURASIZ ex amined:.
. , Q. Was your Lordship present when Admiral
. Larvey came to Sir li.. Neale's cabin on.the 3d
April, alter his having an interview with the Coin-
Mender in Chief ?—A. Yes, I was.
Q. Tell what passed on• that occasion ?—A.. The
only iltiormation that I. had- of hisThaving been
'vitt) Loud Gambier, was from 'Admiral Harvey
himself, and he said, that he had a conversation
with Lord (katithier, relative to appointing a Junior
Officer to act against the enemy's fleet. He said,
' 141 he had voluuttered his services to be eM-
,, PlOYed, but wits refused. ', He also mentioned, that
!ill had been treated several times lightly, and that
1:: did not think his services had been attended to it)
acti way that he deserved. There were other things
re5,,,2',2,,t cennetited with the ether, they were
--r-'4"4 a man's religious principles or coodua
on Shore. All that Admiral Harvey said, was
evidently unpremeditated, and appeared to 'proceed
-"to llom the warmth of his feelings at the mo-
i.nwit, which I conceive his cooler judgment would
• not have induced hint to stay. In the course: of the
c,.t-itiversation he said, " he was no canting metho-
rl It, nu hypocrite, nor no psalm-singer. I do not
t:heat old woinen mit of , their estates by 113)67;
tisY and canting." He said that he had volun-
teered to perform the service that I came on, and
would have been happy to have seen me on any-other
occasion, and expressed himself very sorry to have
an inferior Officer placed over his head. He also said
that he had spoken to Lord Gainbier with the same
degree of prudence which he liad.clone to me in the
presence of Sir H. Neale. .
, (Here Admiral Harvey submitted that the evi-
"ow- given did not go to support the charges.]
The-Solieitor, Mr. 'Bicknell, then desired Lord
. '
,Cochrane would be pleased .to state what reply he
made to Admiral Haritey ?—A. Lord Cochrane
refuted that it was general, , and it would be impossi.:
ble for him at that time to repeat it.
Q. Pid your Lordship make any Ofiservations 4o
these expressions of the. Admiral?---A. I said, yOu
have a Strange notion of prudence.
Q. Was your Lordship atlerwards present on the
. quarter-deck of the Caledonia, and did you. hear
iii).► and what observations-"made by the Rear-Ad-
. ul-ita. to Captain Bedford, or- any other person rt-