The Sun.
London, England, 1805-06-07 00:00:00

FIRST REPorr.

he ScelfEt Committee to whom the seven' Papers pre-
sented to this House, relating to the Rapairs of His Ma.
jesty's Ships the Ruitiney,atid Sensible, while under the
Command of Sir 110i45 1201,1.1 AP, arc r..tferi;l.cl, to exa-
mine into the sevetal Matters coot:nue(' therein relative
to the said Repairs ; and to the PrOceediNs of the A4,-;
iniralty and Navy hoards:- and of tr.,..! C.,in.,:.i..sioners of
1,1 Naval Inquiry thereupon ; and also t,, inquire the
circumstances attending the public:4oA; of the :port
"of the Navy Ilvaßi, dated Fe,,ruarY; tgc4, and
the' loss of certain. Vouchers and Documents art Which
that Report *Vag fo.anien ; and also into the cireuni_
stances attending the impressing el Mr. DA itY EWEN
1/A*l'llol.oM EW and to report'the saint, tLigerticr with
their P roceedings and Observat ions thereupon, twin time
to tittle to the House ;--and who were empowered to ex:)-
. mineinto the Expenditure and Putele:e ot allSto:.os for
the uk of the said Ships ; —Have, pursuant to, the Order
of the Hinae, eiamined accordingly ; and have agreed
to the following Report
Your Comniittee having'taken, into consideration
that part of the reference which relates. te,the re-
pairs and stores of the" Romney' and Sensible" find,
from the papers' referred'.to them, and the evidence
they have received, that there does not apeceir any
ground whatever to impute to Sir rlio:ez FornANX
any fraud, or connivance at any fraudulentor cot-
rupt praetice, whatsoever.
. .
With respe& to the Sensible, your Committee
observe, that Sir 130 Mr. POPITA.M. appears to have
ordered that ship to proceed to 'Calcutta from the
Red Sea (instead of sending her to be repaired at
Bombay) for the purpose -of tarnishing a Convoy
to several Transports and Merchantmen bound to
.Bengal; that he gave to her Commanding ,Officer,
Captain SAusa, at Calcutta, orders dated the 1 Ith
October 1801, 'lO use his utmost exertions to re-
pair the said ship,"'and " to complete her with. Ox
months stores ;" and that Captain SAUSI4 having
never rejoined him after the execution of those or-
ders, Sir Home POPHAM cannot be considered an-
swerable for the manner in which they were exe-
cuted.--Your Committee do not mean, by this re-
mark, to impute any blame to-Captain SAUSE, liOt
having considered any transadion relating to the
Sensible, as the subjeft of the reference. made to
them, further than as,such transaCtion could be con,
netted with the condu& 'of Sir HOME PornAM.
Your Committee observe; that Sir HOME POPHAM
appears to have gone on shore from the Romney
-.few days after her arrival in the :River Hughly, in
August 1801, and before her arrival, at Mayspour ;
and to have proceeded up the country, in compli-
ance with the desires of Marquis WELLESLEY (with.
whom he was 'specially direaed by his Instru&ions
to communicate), for, the purpoSe of couferring-with
his Lordship concerning certain great objects than
incontemplation, in which Marquis WeeeeSLEY
required his advice and assistance ; that, he left that
ship under the command of the First Lieutenant,
Mr. Dams; an Officer on whose integrity and
knowledge of the Service,' he states himself to have
had the utmost confidence; and that he did not return
on board the, Romney till after that Ship, had sailed
from Mayapour; it appears therefore, to your Com-
mittee, that if the Sails and Stores of the Romney,
sent on shore at Calcutta, were not 'regularly sur-
veyed before they were condemned (a point 'which
your Committee, owing to the circumstances of the
Ship having no Master, and the Boats Wain being
sick at' the time, and of Mr. I)Avies, the First
Lieutenant,' being now absent front England, are
not able corresstly to ascertain), the' blame of such
irregularity is not to be imputed to'Sir ii()NIE Poe-
Ham ; and in support of this observation your Com-
mittee beg leave particularly to refer to thdievidence ,
of Captain BOW'EN.
Your ebmtnittee.find, that the quantity 6: Stores
demanded by Sir HOME POPHAM) while the .itaia7
my was under repair, and supplied by Mr. Louts,
who had been previously app tinted, by'Admirai
RAINIER, His Majesty's Deputy Naval Officer at
Calcutta, exceeded the-quantity allowed for a twelve
month's expenditure, estimating that quantity ac-
cording to the calculation made in His Majesty's
Dock .Yards, and mentioned in the Report of the
Navy Board of the
.20th of February 1804 ; but that .
Sir Ho m e hasaccounted for th is eimnstance;
by stating, that he did not confine his demand to a
provision of stores for any particular period, but took
on board as large a supply as the Ship could conve-
niently carry, having a view in demanding snch
stores to the probable ex.igencies of the service upon,
. which he was expeeted to be employed.
Your Committee find, that Sir Home, PoPirAIYI,
in addition to the sails which were allowed by the
establishmentof the Navy, ordered several to be made
and supplied for the use of the .IPrn nay, which were
not authorised by the strict rules of the service;:, but
it appears to your Committee, from the concurrent
testimony of several persons examined ''on the Sub
jeft, and particularly from that of Captain Masobt„ 1
who speaks from experimentlt made -under his own
observation, that those ettra sails were highly gad.''
vantageous in the Indian Seas.
Your Committee have not thought .proper to state
in this Report some other instances iii which Sir
Home Po eirsee appears to have deviated front the Eitirkt
rules of the Service, by directing the Naval Officer to
supply him with articles for the use of the Romney,
viliich are ddscribld in the evideam,and were not eon.
!bramble to the usages of the Navy ; such irregula-

app icing your Committee to be.w.kolly
uh wortlly of 'Parliainen tary atteritidu, or edny other
rff Aire. u 1 that which of cour.ie they ought to line
rcechied, ae,..sortiii:g' to the flustorns -of tht, servieejin
the cons'i(Vl%ttiati of Sir tiomg PcirliA:4l3 Accoutitt;
when any extmeharge would be disa]lowel,
deemed to liav 3 e:;i)f.,,cUemt under the circent-,

• • • • ,- •
ritariceS Oi CliCll Thirttettalr
4

Your Committee,• hov‘ ever, think tilerrisclvei
tailed tipon, in stria justice io Sir HomE PormAm;
distinaly to state,,, that they have not met with
any instance, in (iXeCting the Repairs, or in • th,
Supply or Expenditure of Stores,_ which hr :s
attended With any persdnal advantage or emoluntent
to himself • nor have Our Cominittee the L.r.tt rea
. -
son to suspeß, from the el'idence before- th.eni,
his condua, upcni any bcCasiOn, iii V,•hich the miss
of the Navy hate notbeen" rigidly- observed; was in
fluenced by any priVate consideration ; ha, •on the
contrary, your 'Committee feel It to he their duty t:,)
obsT.rve, that Sir • floNie rOFIT AM OpPejfi to, 1z we
teen•dattated. by na other nrbtive but that of au ar
dent zeal for the Public SerVice. .

Your Committee do not think it rieceF.stiry to state
their ob-servations, in detail, upon all the pbints Men-
tioned in tito.Report of the Navy Board of tilt,: Qoth.
February, I 8(11. , conceiving., that as far as relatei to.
Sir Flomp, PornAst, that Dociimeia appears tatheli
to .be;naterially inaccurbte.
Your Commtttee ob;erve, that Sir li. POPTIAIVC
appears to have used his utmost endeavours to _ob-
tain Money for drat ou England upon 'the tnort fa-
vourable terms fdr the experices of the Squadrau
under his cotrimand.

Your Committee have thought it their duty, in
justice to the charadcr of a meritorious Officer—
(who; so far from encouraging or conniving at any
pudic waste, appears, in cuidcnce Wore your Com
mittee, to have fireeled very considera!;le savings)—to
make a Special. Report on the circumstances of hig
case; being the first head of their Inquiry; though
the Evidence on which their Report is fciunded is so
blended With that which relates to the other particu-
lars referred to them, that they inust-postpone te-
porting that evidence until the other heads of in-
quiry are also brought to a conclusion.