The Sun.
London, England, 1815-02-03 00:00:00

General Dorm tri's examination cont. blued.

Q. When yin Conducted the secret intelligence
department, did you collect anv other int.ama-
tion respecting the French armies of Arragon acrd
Valencia ?—A. I drew up tny statement from the
papers which I now produce, and other sources
which, as I have alicarly stated, were the best I
could obtain. The papers I now give are.—A
statement of Lord IV, Ilington, a I, 'Uri. from Cap%
Grey, and an intercepted return (it Suchet, nhicii
gives a total of 30,719 men in Valencia and As-
ragon, at 15th Oct. 1812.

Cross-examined by Mr..LAR PE NT.

Q. Front your know-ledge of the information-of
Sir J.. Murray, on the 9th of June, is it not your
opinion that he could not believe that any good
could be derived from placing the six guns and
•the four mortars on the batteries, on the higiit of
the I
3t ?-A. was never made actimiinted with
the state and progress of the siege, nur with the
construction of the batteries, nor with the ob-
jects for which they Wert' intended ; this business
was conducted by Sir John Mialay himself, di-
rectly with the Commandant of En.4ineers and
Artillery ; I therefore can form no judgment with
what views the batteries were armed. As far as
my information goes, I think 1.14 e siege should, not
have been continued after the 101 h.

Q. Had the two guns and ntortar3 in question
been carried down to the beach that night, is it
not your opinion, that without actually coma►euc-
ing the en:l4arkation, the whole of .the guns might
afterwards have been saved ?—A. No the siege
not having been raised till the 12th, 1 think if
these guns had not been placed in the batteries,
those which were already there, could not have
been saved without the army being onshore all
the night of the 12th.
Q. Do you know of any preparations made by
Sir John Murray for raising the siege, after re-
ceiving the imformation of Suchet's advance on
Bth or l/th'?--A. I do not.

Q. Do you know of ally proposal having been
made for thitt purpose ?--A. I do not, except that
he, Sir John Murray, told me himself on the 9th,
that he should he obliged to raise the siege; to
which I replied, that it was natural to expect we
should nit be allowed to take the place without
interruption, hnd Abut I hoped we should get off
our guns before the arrival of the enemy. This ob-
servation was made in ignorance of Sir J. Mur-
ray's iuitructions and plan.
Q. Do you know that Sir John Murray had it in
contemplation on the Bth or 9th to raise the
siege ?----A. On'the 9th he told we of it, and left
me, as I.supposed, to make arrangetnents about
it.

Q. Were you consulted respecting the re-land.‘
ing at Balaguer .1 was nut.

Q. Do-you conceive if that measure was per-
severed in it must have brought on a general ac-
tion Certainly .not a general • action. It
might have brought on a partial action pith Sa-
chet's corps, in the plain of the Ebro, on the
western side of the range of mountains.
Q. Do you know if Suchet had not retired with
that force, and De Caen had not retired to %Ten-
drils, the army could have been embarked with-
out loss I—A. ].think if the army had not been
embarked at Balaguer, it would have sustained
some loss; but the ground being exceedingly fa-
vourable for covering such an operation, and our
being in possession of Fort St. Philippe de Ba-
laguer, it would very much have kept him in
check, and protected the troops.
Q. Do you
.mean that he would have been
kept in check if Suchet bal.! gone -round by Reuss,
and united with Dc Caen ?—A. Yes ; because we
should .then have passed to tl►e other side of the
camp, leaving the fort interposed between ns and
the enemy.
Cross-examined by Admiral HAL LO weLt..

Q. At what time did you lust take the order
for embarkation to Admiral- Hallowell on the
12th ?—A. 1 think it was about two o'clock iii
the afternoon, or rather sooner.

Q. Do you recollect telling me, about nine
o'cloCk on the 12th, that it was Sir J.Murt'uy's in-
tention that no more horses should be embarked,
but a few of the Staff horses ?—A. I do not re-
collect this ; but Sir John Murray told me, that
the troops were to be embarked first, and the
horses last ; .and it is• probable I may have made
such a communication. Sir Sohn Murray's horses
were got, I believe, embarked till three o'clock,
and I kno'w my own were not.
Q. Do you recollect being on the beach aboot
the hour I have mentioned, and telling the'officers
to stop the embarkation of guns, and to embark
troops:?—A. I recollect carrying a message from
Sir John Murray to that effect, but 1 cannot re-
collect the hour with sufficient precision to an-,
saver this question ; hut I never carried .tny order
to the beach, but direct front Sir John Murray.
Q. As you
,say you. received only. two orders
from Sir John Murray on the 12th, at what hour
did you receive the order for the retreat of the
troops to the beach, and the other rehtie to the
mode of embarkation->—A. 'did not say posi-
tively I only received two orders, but that I be-
lieved so. The order for the march I received
about one &clock in the afternoon, and the other
for theembarkation must have followed soon after.

CL Do you not know that. other orders and
counter-orders were received by other Officers be-
sides yourself, that day ?—A. I do not know this,
nor• do I recollect hearing any such.
Q. Had you any Officers of your department
detached about ten o'clock of the 12th, to gain
information of the enemy ?—A. I had -not ; that
was a duty Sir John Murray kept
,exclusively iii
his own hands. He may have detached some Of-
ficers of the Quarter-Master-General's detachment,
for that purpose.
Q. Do you .know of any being, detached ?—A.
Ido not recollect of any. I fancy the General
relict! principally on General Capons' intelligence,
who was in his front.

Q. At what time did the Spanish Officer arrive
with intelligence for General Murray. on the

2th It must have boon about eight o'clock
in the oforning, best•.of my recoilecticn.

'An Hailf4elk.wished Getieral'Do-nkin,to
recollect a little. ,He 'was with General Dunkin
when t:ie Spanish Officer arrived, and it was then

o'clvek, r.• M.

General Donkiltsaid, so many events succeeded
:ne another that day, that he could not be pusi-

tire.

The Adio'ral observed, that it must have been:
Liter, as it was about the thne•when the General
WitS returning from Villa Seca.
General Duni:in--Yes, it was about that time;
but I. still think it was about eight or nine o'clock
in the morning.
Q. It appears that a Spanish Officer arrived
eight o'clock, with informatibn that the French
Were in. motion, without stating where. ' Did you
afterwards send any Officer to ascertain. t:his, be-
fore giving the order for spiking the guns I—A.
It was evident, from the' Officer's manner and
couversation, that4he troops at Villafranca, if
mo‘ing, were poniting to Tarragona; and this
was rontirtnul by reading the letter, in which Ge-:
neral Copous writes General Murray instructions
how he was to act ; implying thereby, as I con-
ceived, that he might be attacked iii the course of.
the day. Ido not recollect any Officer having
been sent out.
Q. Did' you know there were seven roads from
Tarragona .to Tortosa, at the. tine Sir J. Murray
was raising the-siege of Tarragona ; or did you
ever visit them before Sir John Murray raised the