The Sun.
London, England, 1809-07-27 00:00:00

vote of thbnks being moved to ,Lord Gambler,
t,5 the tnd that their Lordstips may he enabled'to
j•ilge how tar your Lordship's objections may be of
w..ture to justif:,-,the suspension of the intended.
in Parliament, or to call for any further in-
vestigation. Jan), My Lord, &c.
(Signed)
To Captain Lord Cochrane.. kt.

W. W. POLE.

LORD COCHRANE'S ANSWER:

4' Portman 5quar0,,:j=50—,1!.309,.

" Sln,—T have to acknowledge the* receipt of
your letter of yesterday's date, signifying the direc-
tion of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to
me, to state fully, for their information, the grounds
on which I objea /to the Vote of Thanks taping
moved to Lord Gambier, to the end that their Lord-
ships may be enabled to judge how far My' objec-;
tions may be of a nature to justify the suspicion of
the intended motion ill Parliament.

" I have to reqqest, Sir, that you will submit to
their Lordships, that I -shall, at all'tirdei, entertain
a due sense of • the honour they will calmer by any
dlietlions they may beipleased.t6 give nee ; that, in
put:soitig the object of those directions, my exertions'
will invariably go hand in hand with my duty ; and
c.at to satisfy their Lordships' tmnds in the present
ingtance, on the point.of • information regarding the
late service in Basque Roads, I beg leave to state,
that the Log and Signal 'Jog Books of th'e fleet there
etnplbyed at the period alluded to, contain the parti-
cutars,of that service, and furnish premises whence
accurate' conclusions may be readily drawn ; that as
those books are anthetitic public documents, and as
I must necessarily refer to them as to tithes and cir-
cumstances, any thing that I
,could offer upon the
stibje6t would, to their Lordships, be altogether su-
perfluous, and appear presumptuous interruption to
their Lordships' judgment, which will doubtless al-
ways tbdnd itself upon these grcauds only, that can-
not be disputed.
" I have the honour to be,, Sze.
(Signed)
To the Hon.-W. W. Pole, &c. Szc. &C.

~'.•COCHRANB•"

LLTTER FROM LORD , GAMIIER TO THE SECRETARY

AT WAR, FOR A COURT MALTA L.

" London, May ito9.

mu letter to yod of the loth
instant detailed the whole of the, proceedings of the
fleet under my command in the attack,on the enemy
in the Road ofikii, I had flattered myself that I
should have received some iii;i:ification of pn appro-
bation of rny,condua, and have had.the gratifying
task of conveying to the Officers and men under my
command, the estimation in which the gallantry and
disc iplin.e displayed by them upon the, occasion were
held by his Majesty and their COUnfrk. •
" Understanding,-: however, that there'are some
doubts whether the fleet is to be, so honoured, and
feeling that even a doubt upon such a subject cannot
be entertained, consistently with my reputation as
Commander in Chief, I request that you will be
pleased to' move the Lords Commissioners 'of the
4dtnirally to dire& a Court Martial to. be assembled
as early as possible, for the purpose of enquiring into
my conduct as Commander in Chief, and all the
thosaaions relating to the Fleet Oder my command
from the 17th March last, 'when the Caledonia an-
chored in Basque Roads, to the tirne'4 her quitting
that anchorage for England, on the 29th ult.

- _
" 1 have the honour. be, &c.
(Signed) Gmlist ER."
The Hon. W. W. Pole,. &Q.

Lord Girthier then Presented to the Court.all the
orders lie receivid lrorn the Admiralty while com-
manding the Channel Fleet.
tat. InstruCtions• to proceed, under certain cir-
cumstaDcvs, off Cape Finisterre, to send a frigate to
look into Col unna, and Ferrol, &c.
2d. Informing Lord Gambier, that ten additional
uti-vessela and fire-ships, and Mr. Congreve, with
his 'octets, were ordered to join his Lordship, &c.
3d. Secret Instrutlions from' the Admiralty, di-
recting Lord Gambier to assure to the Masters of
1- ssels emplOyed upon this service, remuneration
for 1. of ships, &c.
4th. Situation of the enemy upon the day of the
Proposed sttack, with the plan of Sir Rictl. Keates,
23d Aprtl, 1807.
501, Secret letter from the lion. W. W. Pole to
Lord Gambier,
,signifying the wishes of the Lords
of the Admiralty
.that ,hi Lordship should employ.
"Lord Cochrane upon a particular service.
fitli. Letter Iron) the Hon. W. W. Pole to Lord
Gambier, with furthpr instruaions.
71h. Orders from the Lords of. the' Admiralty' to
Lord Gambier, direeting, hint to send
,some ships and
iiigates to intercept the enemy, in case he should en-.
tleavuur to get into Brest or L'Orient harbours.
St b. Letter from the Hon. 'W.W. Pole to Lord
GaroWer, acquainting him that certain ships which
acre ordered to prOect the.tode, inte, the
L'Orient squadron, were to be under his Lordship's

confroand.
Mr. Stokts, Master of the Caledbnia, the first
wit ness -sworn and examined, produced tht log booki
of that ship.
Q. Vir.re the contents of thc:..-e 6 Enka under your
dairy hispeahm, and are their contents true
'l`htr}• were written by one of the Mates under my
inspeaion, aad to the best of my'knowledge and be-
►h 3 ►hey are t; orrea.
Q. Produce a sketch or drawing of the station
and situation of the British and, French at Isle

Did you prepare this drawing,; and is it Cur-
Y.ek't to, the blit of your knowledge and belief, and
f+utn what authorities, in form tion and.observation ?
A. Partly from the knowledge I
,gained from the
soundings andobsertations taken of "tlcelsle of Aix,
(1-a a Vt-ench Chart,-thei)osition of the
enemy's flee!, &c. &c. which are accurately d;:-
ribed .:cording to_ the, best of my knowledge and

b
Lieut. Hawk;us, the Signal Officer of the Caledo-
ri), Nwnr-r; atid examinert•:—
Q. Were you Signal Lieutenant on board the Ca-
ledonia ?—A. I was.
Q. Produce the signal logs of that ship.
Q. Were their contents written by yon ?—A.
They, were, under u inspecion;Aay the Mate of
the Signals. .
Q. Are their contents true They are, to the
best of my -knowledge.
Mr. John Spurting, Mamter of the Imperiense,
being sworn, produced• and verified the contents
of • HL. log-book of that ship, same as - the former
witnem

tit Hare you made arty addition of alteratiou'in
it t..iace your arr;v4l In England ?
Q.. (Frou) Lord Gambier)—Do you remember
going on board. toe Indefatigable aucut the luth
14y last ?--A..1 do.
Q. For what purpuse did you go, and by win,re
order's For my own information, and not by.

i any person's order or sugpstion.
Q. Do you .recolled attetnpting to make a dot)), of
! the log of that ship, and were yno not interrupted
by the First Lieutenant, who forbad your doing so,.
and took the log from you I—A. I recoiled want-
ing to make a memorandum from it, of the time of
the ships' coming into aaktn, but the First Lieute7
naut said Iliad better not do it, as I could not do it

without Ca-pt. Rodd's leave ; then I said it was im-

material.
Q. Then you made no alteration in the Live-
rieuse's log afterwards ? A. Not any.
Q. (By a Meinber) Did you make any observa-
tion respetaing that tog to any one on your return
to the Imperiuse ? A. No ; none whatever.
, Q. Did you confer with yoar Captain, Lord
Cochrane; on going on board the Indefatigable fiat-
this pUrpose, or was it directly or indirectly with his
Lordship's knowledge or privity ? A. I do not know
that his Lordship knew of it. I did not tell him of
it. I can't say whether he knew of it or not.
Q. You have said you went on board to aseerr
taro what time the action began ; what was your
tnotive for wanting to know the time ?—A. Merely
for my own information, to satisfy my own mind as
to the time we came into action, not being on deck
at the time the Indefatigable commenced firing.--:-
I might have gone to any other ship in the fleet, but..
as I knew Lieut. James, I took the liberty of asking
him, having unit -intention before I: went on board
the Indefatigable.
. Q.. It has been observed, that in' the afternocin
log of the 12th of April, there are various insertions
of material:events and circumstanees-: How did it
happen that there are insertions of transaaions in
thetfiernoon of the 12th of. April, inserted in the
margin -and not in the body of the log ?—A. After
the aClion wasnver, I received orders from Captain
Lord Cochrane to proceed with a boat, to ascertain
the depth of water between the Imperieuse and the
French Admiral's ship,.which occupied my titre un-
til it was quite dark.' On my return I entered such
part of the transaetion relative to the a6lion, then in
my memory'. Next day, having ti:e middle watch,
looking over my log-book, as I might not have au
opportunity to fill it upon the next day, I found that
bad omitted .these things which are entered- in the

margin.
Q. Have you no recollection of what next follow-
ed in the margin ?—A-.• I have not.
Mr. Raven, Master of the Csar, being sworn and
examined, verfied the, contents of the log-book of
that ship, same as the former witnesses.
~Mr. John Thompson, Master's Male of the Beagle,
being sworn and examined, produced the log-book
•ot that ship, and verfied its contents.
Q.. (By the Cooter)—l see several entries re-
lating to the Imperieuse, in the margin of the
log ; why did you not write it in the body in-
stead of the margin ; or how does it happen that an
insertion of very material circumstances stated to
have occurred at half-past eight . o'clock. tz.m. on
the 12th of April, was inserted in the marginal co-
lumn, instead of the body of the log ?:-L-A. In copy-
ing from the loci-book I missed the signals, and I
copied it itito the log-buok.
Q. Who kept the accounts of the tog-board ?
A. The Master, and I copied it into the kg-book.
, Q. Were the events recorded in this Jog-book,
which you say you wrote yourself, inserted day by day
as the circumstances occurred, or is this a copy of any
-'ether los-book, that was kept it the time ?-e-A. No,
Sir ; it was entered into the log, "every day at twelve
o'clock.
Q. Repeated. A. Every thing was wrote in the
log-book as it occurred, every day at noon, and was
afterwards inspetted by the Captain.. They are en-
tered as they occurred within my own knOwledge.
Captain Lord Cochrane sworn and examined.
Q. Were you ever entrusted by Lord Gambier
with the conduct of the fire-ships in the attack, of the
enemy on the 12th April, in Basque Roads ? A.
I was.
Q. At what time did you arrive in the Impe.
rieuse, and join Lord oa.mbiei ?—L' I have got the
log with me; I cannot swear to it, not having writ
ten it myself, but 1 believe it correct. It. appears.
from it on the 3d of April, but I dO not mYselt ex=
adly recolle& it. I think it was about that day.
Q. What was, the 'strength of the-enemy's fleet
at that time, how moored, and hoW 'protetated,hy
the works on the Isle•ef Aix, and by the shoals at,
the entrance of :the harbour i—A. The enemy's
fleet appeared to'consist of -nine sail of the rep.;
lar line, beside
,one ship of three decks, Calcutta,..
50 guns, tour frigates, and there was another large
vessel, I don't know what she was ; she tnight be
1, a store-ship they appeared.-- to be moored, as near
• • as I could judge, N. and S. I thought they first
inclined considerably more •to the N. E. and, S. W.
They were defended by their own cannon, the ve-
sels . being, in .a very strong position, they 7\i'ere
'flanked by 13 cannon towarcis the N. of Aix,ibesides
the mortarsAm that island. The frigates were sta-
tioned to S. B. of them, apparently tor the purpose
of flanking the other side for their preft.Tdion against
boats and tire-vessels. Between Aix and the Boyart
I do not know Of any shoal. The water is not deep
at Aix, but shelves gradually off towards the entrance
of the harbour.
Q. At what distance from the enemy was the Bri,
tish squadron moored on the evening of the 11th of
immediately previous to the attack by the fire-
ships, and what was its strength, and was the situa-
tion in your judgment properly chosen, and wliat was
the wind and tide ?—A.To thebest of my judgment
the British fleet was .between eight and nine miles
from the enemy's ships on .1 ith April; in the even-
ing-they remained in the same position as on my ar-
rival; from the time of my arrival and until the morn-
ing of the I eth. I believe the British squadron un-
moored that night, but don't know of my own
knowledge. The position chosen by the Commander
its Chief was a very good position for blockading the
enemy, and for observing any material movement of
the sqUadroti. Having already mentioned my opinion
of the-distance, it must be obvious that the destruction
oft he enemy could not be effected while in that posi-
t lion by the siyips there placed, as already mentioned.
The wind was not the same in the evening as the
morning; at eight attack P.M. on the itch in the

evening, the wind must have been about,due
I did not take exa&ly the point of the wind, but
so; the tide at the same floor began to run
Awards the S.E. As to the strength of the British
squadron, it consisted of i I sail of the line, besides

9 frigates and one bomb.
Q. The flood-title runs towards the S. E—A.
Yes, a flood tide had just began to run towards the

S. E. _ _
Q. Did it ippeir to yogi. Lordship that the Ad-
miral made every arrangement for preparing and
sending the fire-ships against the enemy?--A. Every
possible assistance, as well as Admiral Stopford and
.the Captains of the Fleet.
Q. Were the frigates and other smaller vessels
properly placed by the Commander in Chief for af-
fording every assistance in the attack on the enemy ?

Very judiciously placed.
Q. It appearing by the signallog of the Caledonia
that you made several signals for the ships of the
fleet to come up, and from the situation of the enemy,
was it your opinion that it would have been expe-
dient for the Commander in .Chief to have sent in.
half the fleet, or any part of it, to destroy the ene-
my's ships, considering tide, Rre. ; and was it your
opinion such ships could have again got 012 t in satety?
—A. I did make the signal ; the Imperieuse being
the nearest ship, placed by his Lordship in the guid-
ance of- the fire ships; and hdving had the charge
of these vessels, I thought it proper to communicate
to his Lordship the state in which they appeared to
me to be, which' I did by the signals mentioned—
(produces some papers), These are copies of the'
minutes which I made at the time; the time may
not be precisely accurate, but the circumstances are
perfectly correct, and well known by all the officers
in the fleet.

, (Some discussion took place upon Lord Coch-
rane'b referring to his minutes, after which the exa-
mination proceeded.)
It is my opinion that a much smaller force than
half the fleet would have been sufficient; the signal
was directed by the Caledonia to be, repeated.
ordered the signal to be made that two sad of the
line was enough, which I have since undeiSlood
was not made, but that the officer repeated the pre-
vious signal. The fa& was, he thought it would
be an insult to make that signal, and therefore he
repeated the former signal, leaving it to the discre;
tion of the Commander of the fles to send what
portion of the fleet he might think proper. From ,
the time that the first signal was made,in the morn-
ing, until about eight o'clock, it was ebb tide, the
tide was going .to windward. -At eight. o'clock %it -
was low water. There is anchorage out of iange cf
shot or shell for at least six sail of the line. _The
Imperieuse passed in gong in close to the Buoyart;
'it was then nearly high water, about half-past' one
or two o'clock in the day of the 12th; when goi.og.
in. Coming out, it Was also high water. In both
of which courses there was sufficient depth for yes-.:
sels of any size—the impression of mind is, for ves--
•sels of any size, at any time.
Q. Do you recollect what depth you had when you
passed ?—A. think very near the Buoyart we had
six fathoms. That vessels of any size, at any time,
might go in Of outs
I tank you said that six' sail of the line might
lie clear of shot or shell ; have you any authentic
chart, or any evidence to support that opinion
A. It was front the soundings we had, provided
the tide does not tall more than 12 feet. It is so
mentioned on the French char:, which I produce in
Court ; I had no other means of judging. With
resped to depth of water .1 can to a certainty say,
that if the rise 'and fall is not more than 10 or 12
feet, I think there is depth enough at any time. I
think the ship would have gone in as safe, as the
others did. alter w ards.
Q. You have mentioned that there was room for
six sail of the line, did you mean at any time of the
tide to lay .without the range of .shot or shell
A. Yes, at anytime of the tide ; to-that I can Speak,
positively; we were there at all times of the tide—
it was. the height of the springs, and there were riVe
and a quarter fathoms under our bottom at folio
water, and from five to six fathoms at 'a distance
round about us, sufficient for that purpose. That
was my impression 'at the time, but now believe
•
you -mtght put a dozen or 20 sail of the line.
Q. -What, without shot or shells ?—A. Yes.
- Are all the circumstances stated- in this log
correa; according to your knowledge and!belief
A. Ye-s. '
:Q. Did the Commander in Chief, in consequence
of 'signaTiMade, soon after, and when, weigh with
other ships, and proceed near-the Isle of Aix, and
at what time did lie come to anchor ?—A. He
weighed, I Think,about eleven o'clock, and anchor-
ed about half an hour afterwards, having both wind
and tide in his favour. The position taken tip by
his Lordship was nearly • that mentioned in the
French Chart, and which 1 otlered to the Court,
marked .No., 2, in which, is shown the-situation of
the enemy from Jay-light in the morning, of tie
12th, and till the two French ships which' remained
"at anchor cut their cables on his Lord Ship standing
towards.
Q. Was the position then taken up by the Com-
mander in Chief the most proper for obserVing the
-enemy, for sending ships in the most prompt man-
. nor to attack and assist the ships, and might that
position have been taken at an' earlier' period for
• the: good
_cif
,service, and carrying into effect that
service for wich you made signals ?-r-A. It was a
good position to observe the .enemy, if taken at ele-
' ven o'clock, but it was not taken till, two : it was
not. a position for attack; there was no attack at
that time.

Questionsepeated.--;4.. I have no hesitation in
saying it was a good position for observing the mo-
tions of the enemy; and being near, aisistance
might have been sent, to any vessels, had an 'attack
been made upon the enemy. That position might
have been taken at day-light, when, an attack'
might have been made to the advantage of the ser-
vice.

Q. 'lt appearing by the log of the Imperieuse
that you having previously sent in a man to take
soundings, did you weigh
,and advance towards the
enemy by signal from' the Commander in Chief; or
did you do so without orders by signal or otherwise
A. I think it necessary, if I am permitted bythe'
Court, to read, as an answer to this question, 're-
marks which I threw together in consequence of a'
letter from the Secretary of the Admiralty, stating
that a Court-Martial was to take place. These re-
mat Its contain all the transations which took,, place

in tasque Roads, and ;c MlStevcr !).t.
above question. The I mpericese had twen .1.. ir,(
the night before, being the-Captain hasieg the
charge of .the fire ships to effea the destruction cf
the French Aeel, and the Imperieuse had not been
recalled from that service.
- Q. When . you went in en the tell), did yeti
geein, pursuant to the signals of the Commander, or
did you do so without cyders, by signal or otherwise ?
A. t so in cornpliatice with what I considered
the spirit of the orders I had received. The dcing
of it was my own aa. The entry in the log-book
of the Imperieuse, that-1 weighed at half-past ele- -
yen, is not correct, as will appear by the log- books of
the fleet. I weighed at One o'clock ; the Etna ra-
ther preceded me.
. Q.-It appears by the log that you made signals -
of distress e what. was the nature of the distress-of
your ship, and did any one mind, what came to
youy assistance, and was . there any 'unnecessary
delay in that
,respec=t ?—A. -I enquired by hailing,
':Wthet attack was intended-to be made on the one--
my 2 The Commander replied, he was ordered to
bombard; I directed the Commander of the brig
to go close, and that i should prole& them. It
was then one o'clock. The French 3-decker swung
to her hawsers, and the last of their ships began
to move. I had the charge of the fife-ships;
they had failed of every expected purpose. I knew
what the- tongue of slander was capable of, and al-
though I admit that the feelings of my Lord Gam-,
bier tor the honoUr and the interest of his country,
were, and are, as strong as my owne-yet personal
considerations were enough ; the expeaations of
my country, the hopes of the :Admiralty, and my
own prospects, were about to vanish—l weighed -
chore and ran in, and wentbeyond the possibility of
return ; I ordered sail to be made after the stern-
most ships of the enemy, and in standing in, I made
the signal that the chase was superior to the chasing
ship, because the Ville de Varsovie. and Calcutta
were both' afloat, and immediately afterwards, that
we wanted assistance, which signal is absurdly cou-
pled- with the words " being in distress." When
we got up to the Buoyart, we opened out re upon
the Calcutta and Ville de Varsovie. The Calcutta
.was broadside on, the Varsovie lay with her stern to-
wards uteshe being under sail, and the Aquilon was
in the same- position ; the latter did not fire fora
lOng time, they t‘eere employed clearing away their
stern to get guns out. When we anchored it was
about two o'clock. Some brigs had anchored as
marked in Chart No. 2, for the protection. of the .
bomb, and were firing,_ but too far off to be of any
use. -1-niade- the 'signal for them to close, but as
there is no flag to express brigs only, without fri-
gates or larger vessels, most of which were'com-
mauded by my seniors, I explained as far as lay'
'-Within -my means, that this signal was intended for
them, by firing from the main-deck; the quartee-deck
shot did not reach them. This signal, I was after-
ev6-cls told, gave considerable offence, and so soon ,
as I learnt that from Sir Harry Neale, I declared to
Lerd Gambier, that it was not my intention, in the
'slightest degree, to Hurt his Lordship's .feelings --
I had then no time to..express by a tedious telegra-
phic communication what I meant to conVey.
were all busily employed, when it was reported to
me that several sail of the line and frigates were
coming to, our assistance. About three the Re-
venge and several frigates came within
,hailing : I
-hailed them to 'anchor, or they would ground,
having taken our birth on the very edge of the shoM
—it was the falling tide. Several that had anchored .
opened their fire on all the ships that' week:: within
reach,- the Varsovie, Aquilon, and Calcutta. I
made signal that the Calcutta had struck, and sent a
boat to inform those who were firing at her that
our boat was then on board of • her, on which the
Indefatigable and others turned their fire to the
Varsovie and isquilon : I ordered our people to
cease firing s' there were then ships enough to de-
stroy . the enemy without the Imperieuse; out
people were much fatigued, they therefore rested
,themselves, with the exception of those ordered to
-repair their _ riggitig the other ships continued to
fire on the Varsoirie and' A.quilon until they- struck,
which was about six o'clock. The Calcutta was
set on fire ; the enemy in a consternation kindled
it. still more : our boats were employed shifty
ing the prisoners; the French were deserting seve•
rat of their ships with every boat that belonged to
them, and pulling and sailing for the Rocotort Ri'
- ver ; an attempt was ieteesloo tertiave been made to
burn the enemy's sbip. Ocean. Capt. Bligh volut.
teered this service: Capt. Maitland regretted that on
. account of Capt. Bligh having previously undertaken
it, thit he was deetived of that opportunity of distal,. ,
guishing himself.- I was too much fatigued to under.
tliatkieguite; themyslf.rlacsoounldisica.rcaeslyniottanddolnherolngolliielyxcleesasrinv7
i,
. since seeing the public dispatches in the papers.e
As the French had taken to their boats to land
their people, they were all ashore that night, and
the next morning there were two or three chassa'
marees in their stead, -lightening the.enetny's ships,
by taking articles from them. There was no delay
H whatever to the best of my belief after the signal fer
assistance was made; on the part of-Lord smbier,
in ordering ,the vessels to our assistance; but had
the attack been made in. the morning ..when
tide was falling until past eight o'clock, and sseteri
the enemy's ships were all, with the exceptiog of
two,-fast a-ground, a three decker andttwo others, :315
shewie in Chart No. 2, lying close together to
windward, with, their masts and yards apparently
locked, in which position they 'continued until one
o'clock ; it is tiny opinion that seven sail of the
enemy, including the three decker, might have
been destroyed with fleility, by two sail of the
line, assisted by the frigates and smaller vesselsi
and it is my opinion, that atter the hour of half-Past
eleven, when the eeemy's two ships that remained.
at anchor until thr Briti,h fleet weighted, the trig.it°
alone, assisted by the smaller vessels; might lia`-e
destroyed the whole of the above- mentioned ships,
the rear ot which afterwards were attacked.
"Adjoat ned until to-morrow morning at n 44