The Sun.
London, England, 1805-12-27 00:00:00

NAVAL ,ArE Jr's.

PLYMOUTH,' 'DEC. 135.—The Ships wh'cli sal,
yesterday from Cawsand Bay were the Ville de Paris,
or 110 guns, Admiral - CORNWALLIS, the Princess
Royal, Glory, and
Windsor .Castle; of gs guns each,
Nl:agollitr'll:firn7d,4 aguftelirsqeauicltilinglthteba‘wy;
Ccescq:,,,of 80 guns, Impcteui, Captain, and illon-
atb'the
. efiyn
stoode breeze
to
Eastward,: for the purpose„it is supposed, of being
joined by that part of the Fleet which ,bore UP fur
Torbay, and were, it is understood; to sail from that
anchorage yesterda •
Y.
The.Begona, of 74 guns, and Penelope Frigate,
went ouf of Harbour yesterday; the former came
to in Cawsand Bay, and the latter in the. Sound.,
The Bellona remains in the Bay with the St. George
and Bar, of 98- guns, and Pompee, of SO gulls._
The Frehch Squadron which boarded the Ocean,
and have bpen since seen by the ..ilanene Is'rigate,
are without doubt the Rochefort gqiiadron, and it i 5
stated that the Calcutta- (lately captured by there)
haS been-seen in companp
c..Fun'Ocr jury-masts.
li.
, -
Arrived the Swoqijk..(ialliot..:,lnt, CapppqAik:?'
laden with Wheat, from Itiantei, bound to Lisbon,
detained by L'Ekyptienne Frigate,.
. ,
Powrototrin, pt c. (..:ti.---;\,:tivei the, iinkg
~.
Gun-brig froni a Cruize. -`.
Sailed, the Locust Gun-brigon: a Pru4e.,
Ca
The Ludy ShaShanStewart Tratikort, pt. PEsai,
is captured zod burnt by the F m
rench. Squadron fro
which the Tiber, Capt. Simrsasiescaped.
Arrived the.::Di.e' - Eida.:o. Ng U4,101'.0, ' front
Will'\‘,lle;t'il.a. flour, de':
Nautz, bounJ to Lisbon,
laineckby-L'Egir I el gate., ,• • . •
''); ieiii ri • '•.
Sailed -Lilo Alm Cattec, for Has , -
. ' ' - ,* • i
SHELRlcr•ss, MX. `2O:--ArriVeil the i !rot ~
Captain E I, , • . d ..iii•itii?ii; binfill .cf!UAlf'
. 1,..tt , and ,
; . ,
MAN i; V.
. .
..ii.:Cd b for the It' ' • Sail of Fait Indiaracn.
y
Ships as per last. ••

'led

• L
DEAL, DEC. 26.—Tin back the likla al" •
Convoy, which Sailed on the 04th inst. fOr Port -
mouth, and remain in the Downs with Or
Ships
as per last.

been
ni Is:
6rehi Oalsettrlog
. . .
JERSEY, Die. 14.'
1 .
. .
1 . rr................. . _
iv...
1110 '
pions, for the Naval- Vigor}' off Cape Trafalgar, ti.e
on ;
ALlitary and Inhabitants. General Gospol, C°',::
wander in Chier mid Lieutenant-Governor,
titol;
the
to say
first in giving • a public testimony of 111's J°f'
wisdotu and
„steadiness of • whose •3dmill!'tretid
res inu6;tabi.stiplearthoi:life-13its,1:roaij)eostitey aDo I
equally prornole..the l'fiteresti of his Sovereips
the
edelicacy,
he prosperity of Ill'lsland, as finit in Oar, v/31,11i3
nighty achieveriaeut-Ncias celebrated by almost „.sdCiffile,...
gmt dinner at the GOvernment-flonse. ' tastei'- /11
which 'was most predPal'lnest' oflols
proitisial, V
1t,,,
or hospitality in the
andLo wines} at this mu)),
,splendid etitert3iLlfrieloq,
Lord Viscount MATtatw, Major-General, _
_fi:TONE, Rear-Admiral the Duke of. Bouit.i.os..:
iia.:
DEAN of the Island, all the C'oininaiidera of Gftr;
and principal Naval Officers', -foritaed a ParL,°,Ls to
_numerous, but -4erea 63invinv. Ais tieui`'
" dole--
rbsay: that -.several approPriate.loasts we, xf,'-,,-
v.rhat " to the immortal memory of P)rd 'E- 131,4
spread a momentary tinge of
. was received „with applause and. enthesiasin.s loss
it was' observed that the recolleEtion of has
~„.
'i4rltY of the company.
It Wll9, 11000r/i9aystii
dispersedi by the reflection, that a 'o3ttilr,°, usei,
g ory, in the arms of Victory,lii the beiti ?' Too-
ita defence of ever thing dear to Man, 1.105,, al
ryot Liberty, and Laws, is so enviable a e.staly
it'
ought` to alleviate sillef, and disarm otniaion Ter,
Inbited a grand liilltilingiOn'-"4"aleillaC3111°11)Yle
highly.pleised with the ,entertainaient, P., 51l-
the;attention, politene— end d banitY ,of tp,
b.,r
tertainer. -
The en ' . liouse (!):‘
suing evening.
o,l:Y:egeceaVtemrynahnolpuss,eiiiiiindSotv..efiltebilteie‘P‘r,:as‘i.ieidrinlSl:tii.el'iEtiEtb:°lttlielrivir:r• ::--oci'i'c:b'aiwel'i
cidc was one blaze of light.. lii the tdaisliA 1)‘ a
Oil
Iris,,b‘,.r-viicline_oirtroutrri ci
0, decorations,
aaits
ward of iod:
iterdtah el
had_ ttT.3lte:leeexieet 18:::: cr:le d
loyal
n lt
l :1 e:;°rd:re:iti:ll,l.lir
b;ictlecit4 'l'll :1;1:1:01;;
devices
each other in Manifesting; 1)y orias inge.rivai.;
:f_e_. ices • and fizireS.,*their,hk;lii.seive,ofiti°74ttbe
:tiac worth of S-01014', mid. o.lor :liappiaes4 " 7
icesi sof his Majeity'ii-Arnas, e• : •
oi)portotfutviatylouorf,.w:sgeri.nugOt itho
tit pgr:ehrt:.ilieclex"tspet,;ivoans.
Ladies, -.Often the inciters. as well-,•415;41 .110
Accordingly the, propriety of a , Ball and Scil'Pe and
......eni:ae,suggestedrsl.i‘,sav‘.aitsaldlbliyei
ld,
eagerif II
tiue; ,
nEataixlldncei
ndllt.
ali. eit(litoloc!ciaareoled:citeiolrviicaicatl
with
brCr
y; 1
3opißelrit):::,:,:::, ri.,11.1:::
ii)::,
.1,
teiti.ailhb.stile:l.fia.:lNlt'vtirshAti:ovl, -:::lllloPtr.lilia°ein.
Ball
_ye ion. To the usual ' brightness of' a 'PT ,•,401,
t. coilier
tio-nsle iill)Per did great credit' to the taste on'
ma.na 9` Ith:l9r-General JOJINSTONS, iiiltt the
c.,4
SUpereerit it
WIS-plentiftil, it WO elegant, it, `t/':,l
'Charn
wine Eagtle, -Burgnudy, . and every ' other e
it.
of
the rr„ e• exhilerated the joyous society. 'file w'''Tsi.
tiinTsis3 Arms •cernictihblyy
, __
,e Midst of these ineeds of vi,ttory were Vivo
good 1111,a tor
':;tl...ietilent portrait of the revered ADAIIIIA,) do
Kin7s4ll,neroy , andabove them the-British Unit!its`o,
adapted to the occasion. The CoralnanAt to
presided, added new life arid 511';our,
ti 0.431
n!he eXcellent Toasts he proposed. This enjwal
isongt:esftivitY was CUncluded, by the favourite atit re,
tired 9(t " Rule Eritannia ;" and the
I. ClriZT"igr ll'
52.41° use the -expressiou of lie g•------E
cuAN) " highly' delighted." •
~.
IK:itlijeisclit:mattr,aildidilibi.di%ii,°i,ti
:Itayilitlr*,li:ol.altit:ill
tsiseorloicet elisilsoel itlia.v,eicie:cd:iiciiiej:,t,ior.ti:o;,,

TRIAL OF

-TICE-.4Di11R..4L SIR 11. CalLbin, &MT.

ON BOARD HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP THE PRINCE OF
WALES, IN POBTSMOLITII lIARBOCR, ON 11/4ION'DAY,
DEC. 23,; 1805, AND' FOLLOWING "DAM.

THE DEFENCE.—Tano DAY.

At the. meeting of the Court on Wednesday Sir
It. CALDER ,addressing the Court, said, "tbiri.Pre.
sident, and Gentlemen of the Court, I beg leave to
give in this paper Us' My Defence, and to request
that a friend of mine, conversant in the hind, may
be permitted to read it. • •
To this the Court very readily assented.
Mr. GAZELERi as Sir IL CALnEit's friend, then
read his Defence, Which was iin substance as follows':
I • " After. having • been 'employed on an arduous,
difficult, and important -service. during the last ten
months; having, at 'the end of thht period, coin-
peUed into adion a greatly superior fleet of the ene-
rnY, who had, at the same time, the advantage of
the wind; and having, under these ,ditliculties,
gained over his enemy what he conceived, in the
circumstances Of the case, a great and important
vidory, he found himself compelled 'to request a
trial, in consequence of his not having renewed the
engagement during two days. after, in which the
I enemy remained in sight. Surmises and misrepre-,
aentations of his conduct on this occasion had gone
,abroad, to
allow which to pass-over iu silence u•ould
itilVe been construed into a-con sciousness of guilt.
tie had accordingly felt himself obliged to apply for
a Court Martial,. to inquire into his condu&, con-
vinced that the result would completely .refute the
charges with which he had been loaded. The Ad-
miralty
had been pleased to accede to his request ;-
but though lie
had begged that it might be an in-
quiry
into every part of his conduit, both prior and
Euesequent, they had limited it to the days. of the
twenty-third and twenty-fourth, on which days he
was charged, with not having done the best in his
Power, and :all that could have been done, to take
and 'destroy all the ships Of the enemy, which, the
charge °S6erted, he ought to have engaged. This,
ther •
etore, was the only point for the consideration
of the Court. Ile lamented the investigation was
111'4 a a broader and more unlimited nature. If it had'
en! 036tieable for.him to have entered into the , meritsthat
of the case, 'he should have been able to slew
thsithis condnd had been rot only justifiable, but
raise-worthy. That he had not only saved his own
cce,ets but had been.instrunientalin the!saving of his
elidumutry. He trusted with Confidence, that the
jto tl,Tent ,Of the Court, this day, would restore him
for ,P°Q opinion of the country—of that country,
I'l'l4' he had bled, and for which he had con-
r.r44d' The charge against him was not precisely
11 any of the Articles of War, although it, as-
.. ;lam Il
ed one of them as its foundation. e admitted
that it was at all times the duty of a British Com-
%lna. nder to engage any ship of the enemy when it
.night 111 . his power ; but he denied that it .was
Turribent on any such Commander to prove the
le)2atieal impossibility of his so engaging. Neither
es'" he admit that a British Commander, having
bnce met an enemy, whom he had engaged, was
(io'Nnd, so leng as that enemy remained in sight, to
weq,'ry thing in his power to renew the contest. He
two instances of a contrary pradice, observed on
C° movable occasions, and by two of the greatest
'prnmanders the British Navy had ever produced. He
meant that of --.Lord Howa, oti the 'lst of June,
17D4, and that under Karl Sr. VINCENT, on the
14th
et of February, 1797,, bath Of which occasions
these eminent Officers remained for some time in
sight of the enemy, whom they' had previously en.
without courting a renewal of the contest.
Of the latter he 'could speak with more confidence,
having himself heen.Earl ST. VINCENT'S, Captain on
that memorable occasion. Of the propriety of this
Pndilel in the case of these Noble Commanders no
' doubt bad ever been started, and they were allowed
to have exercised a sound discretion. His, be con-
tended, WIS,a case of more necessity than either.—
It Nvaanot the fleet with which he had been en-
gaged that he had alone to contend. He 'had to-
bridewide against an attack from the Bochetbrt and
against an attack from the Rochefort anti
errol squadrons, in addition to that which was then
etsight. m Febru he bad been sent 'by
1/2,4 t ‘QORNWALLI to blockade Ferrol, with seven Sail
of the Line. This was all which could be spared
tiva, -and although.he. repeatedly applied for two
Inar:gates, only one could be spared him. It was,
his meanifig ' to' retied on the 'Willi-
-da'tY. He WaS WCII assured they had enough to.
i 6 snPPly ships where they were most wanted.
t was his. obje& at present to defend himself, not
t° accuse other S.. In the same 'month the, Toulon
and Cadiz Fleets joined, and it was ascertained they
had Proceeded to the West Indies. So dangerous
dives`, his• situation at this time that Lord GARDNER
bilreeted him to leave Ferrol and come •to his- Lord.'
iP"-"thirteen Sail of the Tine being then about
!Lave Ferrol and go to' C'orunthi• On :tho tOth
L. 4 July they, had anu:illY began
.to move, and sig.
' -
tral
Pests had been established between . CaPeTi-
tiesterre and; Corinna to' li`erral, to enable Iberia ,
lud.ge- when to conic out. By an order from,
n. aural e
atstwn LUS, Bear Admiral STIRLING was
,i,ndered to join Sir, Itour.ai, add they Were ordered
0 cruize thirty or forty leagiles-to• the we'stward'for
l'fotx or eight
, Ys and ' return. The enemy's
ifrtele, was then stated to be-sixteen 'sail,
.with
(y b'
Prisoner did not in, they were humedi-
odY„to repair to their respective stations 'off Ferrel
A :4 itochefort. On the 15th he 'was' joined by Rear-,
‘l,lll, STIRLING. The same wind, however,
4'2'01 enabled Admiral STIRLING to /cave Rode-
t) enabled the fleet vhieh he had betal blockad.
,g there to escape ; which it did, as appears from
eiletievidence of Admiral' STIRLING himself, on the
l' to Corunna, where it could get out at ,any
The wind had continued nearly for two days
4t, e fair for their 'departure, and, if they had taken
ertearltage of the night, they might have Joined the
It was out of di:spute that on the e4th the
6i1,1( was, N. E. which was • a favourable wind tbr
ha, (Int, and it was known to all the Court that
' land s occasion w• d • • all blew which might
y
eaahle them to effetea similar purpose.
10,•%.,!t a t this time , •
letter was received, written by
No:" Ngtsori, then bound to Europe, to Lard aiup.
atuf transmitted to Sir Roamer, strongly re-
its a "ending a careful watch to he kepi on Ferrol, ,
tsu,, port into which the Combined Pluto might be
Ptt'e,d to attempt to enter. Actordhigly on the
came in'si4ht, much:lyric-11010ms, how.,

ever, thaa had beep sqpposed, not consisting of 14
sail of the line, as Adm. Cots:war...Li:l's accounts
led LO expeCt,- but isf:..a) sail of the line, 7 frig:nes,
2 brigs, and a lugger; while to oppose them there
were only 15 sail of the line, 2 frigates, and 2 cutters.
Notwithstanding this superiority, and every, disad-
vantage of wind and weather, he effectedhis object
of forcing the enemy to battle ; and, amidst the
numberless insinuations which had unwarrantably
been thrown out against his conduct, he bad never
yet heard any-objedion started as to the mode of his
commencing the a&ion on that day, or to his con-
dUCt in the course of it. 13y the valour of the Ad-
miral who was second in command on that day, and
by the bravery of his fleet in general, he had been
enabled to achieve what he presumed to think was,
in such circumstances, a great and important vic-
tory a viaory than which few instances, and those
of modern date, more important, or more decisive
in their nature, had been accomplished with such a
disparity of numbers. At the time the firibg ceased
the enemy were to windward. The Vice-Admiral
then hailed the Windsor Castle, which was in a da-
maged state, desiring her to prepare for action.. He
kept in the smile tack during the whole of the night
to profea her, keeping, at the same time, as close as
possible to the enemy. During the night he was en-
gaged in repairing the damage the squadron had sus-
tained, and being then ignorant of the extent of the
damage, he expected it would be in his power to
renew the engagement. . He accordingly sent the
Frisk cutter, and the Nile. lugger, to colic& the
returns of the,state of the different ships. Theie re-
turns would be laid before the Court, and it would
'..be for them to judge, if he would have been War-
ranted, labouring under the disadvantages which he
shotild have to prove to them, and with his fleet so
much damaged, in attempting to renew the action.
It was not . till about eight in the morning of the
23d, that the Admiral saw the Malta greatly to
leeward. He then made signal for her to quit
the prizes, and for the Egyptiemie to take them
in tow. The
,enemy were then seen at a distance,
about eight or nine miles, to windward. He found,
that of 15 ships of the line, the Windsor Castle only
was declared incapable of sailing, and requiring to
lie to, yet that many of them were very much
crippled; -and, in his judgment, and relying on the
returns which had been made to him, without a mast
which could be relied on in a press of sail. That
this belief was correa, no other evidence' seemed
necessary than the fad that the Repulse sprung her
bowsprit, and the Malta her main-mast, on the
:25th, being the very first press of sail they had
made since the aCtion. Capt. Isistast too, of whose
evidence the Court were already in possesSion, has af-;
forded his testimony, that lie expected, when sent to
chase a frigate of the enemy, on the day after the
aCtion,,tliat his mast would have gone by the board.
Another circumstance which must have resulted
from a renewal of the action, was the capture of
the Windsor Castle, of the prizes, and the frigates,
three or four sail of the enemy's fleet, apparent-
ly in order, being observed watching on the
weather-beam, ready to cut off the separated
ships. This it was the Vice-Admiral's duty to pre-
vent, and to preserve the advantage he had got.—
Another disadvantage under which he laboured
in attempting to renew theaCtion, was the want of
frigates, en which it was Unnecessary for him to
enlarge to that Court. It was far from being his
intention to attempt to adduce any thing which
might tend to diminish that spirit which induces
British Comthanders to contemn every danger when
their Country's interest was at stake ; but he must
deprecate the idea that it Was incumbent on them,
at all times, and in all cases, to combat with une-
qual numbers to
,the uttermost, without regard to
any circumstances winds might exist. Every case
must be governed by its own circumstances, and
must depend on. the judgment of the Commander,
subject to that responsibility which always attaches
to such 'situations, It appeared to him that the :idiots
was highly important, even if' the capture of two-
prizes-had heeti the. only object attained. There
were, however, 16 sail of the line at Ferrol, which,
if they Were.not already at sea, would, in the event
of ilia being' unable to resume his station off that
port, he left at full liberty to pursue any course
they pleased,,and even to (Area' a landing in Ire-
land. He really did netted, in these circumstances,
that he was justified in running the risk which must
have attended a renewaiof the action, unless an op-
portunity'presented itself far more favodrable than
that which he declined to attempt, resolved, as lie
was, to return in search of them $o soon as he had
placed his crippled ships in a place of safety. He
certainly had not offered, .but, at the same time, he
had never avoided a renewal of the engagement; and
though the enemy vauntingly, as one gallant Com-
mander had represented. it, and with a view to cover
the most leeward part of their fleet, as it had
been described by anether:. gallant Officer, had
berne on the British Fleet, .lie was convinced, had
they been serious in coining to action, they would
have received a proper. revenge. . But during the
whole of the' 23d the enemy, as appeared front the
eVidence beke the Court, had the wind, and of
course could not be forced into action. On the 24th,
arday-break, the enemy was seen only from the
mast head, there being. some light breezes. ilut,
even then) supposing it to have been possible to
bring the enemy to action, ' that could only be
accoMplished by a separation ofthe squadron, and
certainly, eyes then, not, in his opinion, without the
consent of the enemy. At six 'o'clock of the even-
ing of the 24th the enemy -was entirely out of
sight. The Vice-Admiral accompanied the Windsor
Castle to a. place of safety, resolved to return to his
station, and, if, possible, to bring the enemy to
action. In case- of not fieding• them in. Ferrol, his
resolution was to repair to therendezVous off Cape
Finisterre. He accordingly returned to Ferrol and
there resumed the blockade ; the Malta returned to
England to refit ; and Admibl STIRLING, agree—
ably to his orders, to Rochefort. The Vice... Ads
miral had to the propriety of his caudal in
these different respeCts, the approbation of the Qom-,
matnler in Chief, who 'net only transmitted to hiM
*letter of approbation and thanks after the aotion
of the 22d, but, as an additional proof of confidence,
on the 17th August put under his, command a fleet
Of twenty sail of the line to blockade Ferrol, and
.with farther instruetioes if they had sailed. The
enemy had, sailed from Ferrol, but the Vice,Ad-
Miral fortunately arrived time enough at Cadiz to
enable 'Admiral CULLINWOOD to secure them
there. _ acted to the,be4 of his judgineut

in. all these :partieulats, hc little expeaed tea
have met the reception which he found. await-ing ,
.him in this country. The Court were already
in possession of the testimonial of the gallant:Admiral
who was second in commands
,on the 22d Jule, to
the prOpriety•of his (tile Vice-Admiral's) condu(F.
A similar testithollial he had also received from his
Commander in. Chief ; and he flattered himself
the Country in general
.would agree on his return
home in bestowing the usual tokens of approba-
tion. on his conduCt, and that of his "gallant asso-
ciates. This, at' least, they' deserved, however much
he himself might have merited a contrary treatment.
judge then of his feelings, en finding himself accused;
even by the most moderate ofhis assailants, of having
_trifled with the feelings of the public. This, how-
ever, procheded not from any fault of his, but from
the'mode in which his dispatches were published in
the London Gazette. They were not published
wholly and entire,-. and yet they were not published
as extracts from, - but as copies - of; his letters. He
disclaimed all idea of refleUing on 'the Admiralty iu
this particular. They probably meant .to convey
gratifying intelligence, to the publie,. without being
aware of the interpretation: which might be put on
it, or that it would militate to his 'disadvantage.—
That they could not mean so was apparent, from
the readiness .with which they had allowed 'him
to state the substance of that part which was
Omitted. In doing so, however, ho should take
Care not to prejudice the public, but rather
Himself tO.Suffer any 'odium which might arise
for want 'of explanation. He then read an ad-
ditional, paragraph in, his letter to the Commander
in Chief, giving an account of the action of the 22d,
in which he says, " At' the same time it will be-,
hove me to be en my 'guard, on account of the squa-
dron at Perrol, .and the two captured ships. I have
sent them and the Windsor Castle away." If this
had been stated, the public could not have expelled.
so much. They Wonld • rather have contemplated
with satisfildion what.had been done. His letter
of the (a6th July too, in which he corrected the
unfortunate omission relative to Admiral. STIRLING,
breathed similar language, and shewed that a re-
newal of the enga,;ement for the time was at an
end. As to the report. circulated by Lieutenant
NtenoLSON, that the Vice-Admiral hadassured him,
and had authorised him to declare to the Command-
ing Officer, " that I had it in my power, and Was
determined to force the Combined Fleets to renew
the • action"---if so, why was not Lieutenant Nt-
CUOLSON called on to prove the fad. He eould not.
The Vice-Admiral declared on his. honour that he
never did lend such a message.
Sir R. CALDER—" That'l do most solemnly."
" Every letter shewed hiu intention not to renew
the action till he had conveyed the Windsor,Castle to
• „ 1 a place, of satety. hcst-, hoped, would justify him
in wishing to have an opportueity to vindicate his
charaCter and conduct. 'The question
,divided itself
into two heads: First, could he have renewed the ac-
tion„.if he had inclined ?—Second, If it would have
been prudent so to do ; and if he did not act wisely
and exercise a sound Judgment , in declining to re-
new it ? It was evident that on the 2ad he could
not renew the adton ; and that on the 24th, though
the wind was favourable, he could not renew it
withont separating the sqttadron,and even then it was
doubtful with what success. These he should prove,
and that it was impossible to take the prisoners out
of the captured ships, had it been found necessary
to destroy 'them. He lamented the absence of
Captain PaoUsr, as he woul& have been a ma-
terial witness to prove the fads in ,the case.—
The signal which lie made, for a return of the
damages which the different -ships had sustained
did not impart his determination to renew the, ac-
tion. His only objet NVas to form, a line of
battle, if the enemy had chosen to advance. It was
plain that Captain INMAN made the same distinction
that he did, fur though crippled he gave a negative to
the signal to lie-by, well, knowing the ditlerence
..tween 'the ability to lie-by for aUenemy, and that
of carrying a press of,sail for. the purpose of renew-
ing the ;talon.. He .could sufficiently admire that.
spirit of heroism by which a British Officer was
withheld from making 'a signal of inability, or dia-
"tress ; but he contended that it would ill have
become him, and that he would ill have dischlrg-
ed his duty to the Public, if to' such feelings,
:howeyer magnanimous. in themselves, he had sa-
crificed other more important considerations, As to
what Captain Diativat said,. Ire declared that he already formed his plan, which was not to se-
parate the fleet, and to have ordered Capt. Dontwa
to have kept sight of `the enemy, could only .have
.had the tiled of separating him from the remainder
of our squadron. He declared, indeed, that he was;
surprised at Capt. D.'s having made the, signal be
did. Had he (the Vice-Admiral) required it, he
would have made.a signal for it, In lad the -signal
made to Capt. DuanAm was 77, the signal to bring
to, and not 19, the signal to reconnoitre."

A ;variety of letters and other documents .there
.then .thee pttt 'hi and read ; and amongst Vie rest, the
first Dispatch of Sir R. CALDria to the Admiralty,
after the aetien, as it originally stood, without their
curtailment... The following paragraph from a pri-
vate letter to Sir R. CALDliaj from Adiniral..Cotor-
,wmaas, dated July Wig, was then read But it
was not believed that they (the enemy) had'iio many'
line of battle ships; sixteen being all w.e heard ot;•.:
front a sloop which spoke them, as they 'said, on
board, after they left the West Indts.7

Q. (To the Hon, Capt. GAR6NER, of the Hero)
Is this your report of the damages sustained by the
Hero ?—A. Yes, it is.
The report was then read.
Q. ni,t the enemy ever cline, or make any at-
tempt to &me me to ad.ion, on the '2 3 d of July last ?

Q.. Could I have forced them to come to anion
on that day ?—A. Not if they chose to avoid it.
Q. If I had gone towards the tacitly on the 24th,
with intention to renew the aaion, could I have com-
pelled them to do so, if they had chosen to avoid
it, without approaching so near the shore as to have
enabled them to communicate by signals with Fer-
.rol ?—A. I am not acquainted with the relative sail-
ing of the two fleets, but am of opinion, they could
have comtnunieated with :he shore before they could
have been brought to action, had they wislitld to do
Sc.

Q. Was the British Fleet always kept by me be-
tween that of the enemy and the Port of Ferrol,
while the enemy kept in sight ?-4.. The British

StatadrOn NVAS aIW4Yi nearer to tiro Port of Fqrol
than that of the.enenty.
Q. Was •-your nu't in. danger by carrying
-Witensent by,ine to Adniiral Corn Wallis, on our,ro-
turn to Oshant
,carrying
that duty, winch \vas only performoq ton Sir .11.
Calder's appearing in yi lit of Admiral Cornw:illis'i
fleet, the foremast of the I-ler() vas i 4 danger of° go-
ing over ,the side.
COoicr.--Q. From the manner in which you have
described the state of the fore Mast of the I Icro, at the
time you joined Admiral C9rnwidlis, what do yOti.
Suppose would have been
.the; consequencehadthe
Vice-Adtuiraf found it necessary to Carry sail in pur-
suit of the enemy ?•--A. think the tbrentast, par-
ticularly on titeQ.4tb, when there was a considerable
bad v.7:6 carried sail, must have gone by the
board, from
:its putting oa so bad an appearance after
we had fished, it to the 4tent of our moans.
Q. What, masts of tlitf'f‘lero there nece:;-
sary to be, and were, taken out, when the Ilea) w-as
repaired in port ?-H.A. The foremast .and mainina,c
were both taken out arid replaced l,y rieW ones.
Q. (By the COURT). As the British. Fleet was al-
ways nearer to the shore than the enemy's, while-in
sight, in what way could they approach the shore to
communicate with it before so:he part of the Bri-
tish Fleet,: not, disabled, .could Irtve closed with that
part of the enemy which Was
shore, I 'twilit any rant it .h.4*;ften
terre and Ferrol, IffliOeby yishes
COUlmunieated to Ferrol. •'' •
Q. At what distance wa§you from the shore while
the enemy wasin sight reler to my
book: We were 38 leagues N.. Wf _tom 1..L11-01
the sad, the wind then N..,,K0 E,
Q. Cali you recoiled whether you did nett send a
report of your damages by the Frisk OrNilc, on the
night between the vgd 4..4.±d Yes.: I old
Verbally by Lieutenant Fennel, of the Nile, nearly
what is before the Court.
Q. Did you lay ;lily stress (411. the state Of the lower
masts ?--A. No. I soja they were badly wounded..
Q. As you have said you are not acquainted with
the relative sailing of the fleets, on•what 4rouncl do
you conclude the enemy.could„gaitt the Shore. bAbre
the British Fleet could have fetched them ?--,A.;
Front their *being t 5 or 1.6 lirilcs distant from us at
the time, and•the ertemyl.s line of battle ships being
formed generally to sail ttik well as our's. I say ge-
nerally. .
•
(2. Did. you receive • an- inform...lion from the
t 1
Vice Adthiral after the aftion, that it was his inten-
tion to renew , the adieu ?-A. Lieuteitzint Fennel,
of the Nile, told toe; he Was sent on board to know
the.damages sustained, and that the Admiral meant
to renew the nation in the morning.:
-, Whed did you receive this inibrmation
A. 'Between two and three o'clock in the morning of
the 23d. ,
The following paper was now put in by Sir R.
Calder
" Ladmit that in the night of the '2;,'d laid hope
to renew the
COURT.—You Will please to dispatch Captain
Gardner as soon as possible, because lie iy ordercd
on immediate service.
Sir li. CALDER.,,--.For thatexpress reason I called .
Capt. Gardner first. .‘
•
Q. Did the enemy appear to you to have sturered
much A. No. I'only observed one ruaintopsaih'.
yard gone in the whole squadron. , ETC were too
lar
to judge of their sails. ;
The Hon-Capt. Legge,.?f ihe Repulse.
,
Q. Is tnat th?, Report you made to me of the do-
mages sustainqt, Vy your ship ; chatthe second Report .1 sent in. The Report was th is
en.
read.

0. DM you make a similar report on the ni lit „f
the r„.'2,1 ?—No., I did not then:know that the bow-
sprit had been wont-ied. I_ merely specified that
the rigging had been cut, and sails, as the Officer
from the. Frisk came on board so soon alter the no,
tion, I being the next ship to the Admiral, that I 1)4
no Report made at :that tittle of, the darudge. My
Iteport.was, I believe, transmitted t() tho Adtin-
ralty. •

gir R. Calder.—All the first, or rough report's',
were sent to the Admiralty. • •
Q. Were you etnployed: fishing.,and securini!-
your masts and bow-sprit -all- the ,;Jad ctf july
'A. Arai' the bowsprit was pet considered so badly
wounded avto be fiShed, till after-it spilmg oh the
- evening' of thei 2;5 th. The people were occasionally
employed on the ~.J.3(.1 in knotting and splieing,the
rigging, and repairing the sails.
Q. Did you m.tko tlalrr signal to me on the of
the bowsprit being sprung ?-+A. Yes.
'Q. Was not that the first time we bac! catrivd
much Sail daring the aftion I don't think
that we had carrW any sail to signify b•A`ore that:
The Repulse was their under her three topsaik, and
a fbresail.
Q. laid you about the Sante time, see the .)I.lltA
'•make the signal 'oilier having 'struek her fore-y„nd ?
A. Yes ; and I thin!.. her lower yard. ,•
Q., Was the Sritxldron brought to on
sion on the Repaid tualinig
HOl,l/.101,7, was it before the Reptitse and
Malta Made they 'were re:idy to"pr‘yeec,l.
on Service The Repulse made tin former slo,-
nal at :seyen o'clock in the etoning of the. Whet,
We
,w-pre obligc:d to 14 every thing fly 'to sa,:e
Masts. I made the signal that we wqre ready t:..)
make sail again •as soon as it was dzty. on
AWL

Q. Did the enemy ever chase, or make ali;;; ;!!-'
tempt to bring the British lleetAoadion ou the
ofJuly Never; but always kept bud down to
windward.
Q. Could I have forced them to i.itliotl Oa that
day ?-;-.A..1 think not,
Q. Did the enemy appear to you tohave.sustaid.
ed any considerable damage in theit r ,I,tiAL;kl yards?
• A.- No. 1 could only. distingui,;ll one'shii... with, I
think, her maintopsailiard down. Some others
might have saiN clued up to repair.
Q. 111 had approached, the etiouly, conlkl have
fetched• them„ had they avoided tiJi.t, • b4th.1.1 they
would .lave been able
,to communicate ah the
share l should think not, it. they
avoid, an actiyn;
•
Q. Was the klritish Meet kept between the et.(;-.
my and Ferrol while the enemy were in sight e--
A. I think they woe till the 424th ; ,but not when,
(ating the latter part. of. 'the time, we last saw them ; they then stood to the southward.
W 1 en v.-to parted with them, tkuy have