The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-17 00:00:00

THE LATE LORD DUNDONALD.

The following letter has been addressed to the
editor of the Times :
Sir,—Will you kindly allow me a word with your corre-
spondent " Veritas," who, in your yesterday's issue, quot-
ing from "Memorials of Lord Gambier," accuses my late
father of saying that " Lord Gambier's charts were fabri-
cated so that he might be acquitted on the court-martial ?"
My father never said anything of the kind. He be-
lieved Lord Gambier incapable of an act unbecoming an
officer and a gentleman. much less of fabricating a chart.
What the late Lord Dundonald said is, that Lord Gambier's
charts, as officially used on board the British fleet, wore
dot produced in mutt, and that in their place were substi-
tuted other charts "fabricated from unauthoritative sour-
ces, and even hearsay." •
Your correspondent further states, in proof of the cor-
rectness of Lord Gambier's charts, that "the French Go-
vernment have now adopted the measurements of •Lord
Gambier's charts in preference to their own." As has been
said, my late father could never have seen Lord Gambier's
charts, because they were not produced on the court-martial.
What your correspondent, I presume, intends to say is that
the French Government has adopted the charts used on
the court-martial, viz.,—the fabricated charts, not those of
Lord Gambier, which were not used. Thls is the fact, of
which any one who will compare the modern chart with
that of Mr. Stokes may convince himself. The adoption
of Mr. Stokes's chart, as my father has rightly said, has
apparently been resorted to with the view of deterring a
British naval force from operating in Aix Roads in case
of future war. Or, to use the late Earl's expressive words
—" No British Admiral in his senses, with the modern
chart in his hands, would be justified in venturing into Aix
Roads." As the modern French chart has been adopted
by the Admiralty this is a matter of national importance.
With regard to Admiral Austen, whose letter appears in
the " Autobiography,", and who has himself kindly pointed
out the error noticed by your correspondent, the explana-
' tion is simple. Not having the honour of Admiral Aus-
ten's acquaintance, and his letter being on the subject of
the Basque Roads, Lord Dundonald naturally supposed
that the letter in question emanated from the same Captain
Austen who was there present. As that officer was not
called in evidence on the court-martial, Lord Dundonald
was quite right as to the fact, though mistaken as to the
person. Admiral Austen's kind letter becomes even more
valuable by the explanation, as showing the feeling of a
distinguished officer as arising from impartial study of the
facts.

As for the remarks of your correspondent about the for-
midable nature of the works on the d'Aix, viz., " guns
mounted en barbette, so that one gun only could disable a
:ine-of-battle ship," it is only necessary to repeat the words
of Lord Gambier, as contained in his letter to the Admi-
ralty of March 11, 1809, threo weeks before the action—
viz., that the fort was " injured in its foundations, and in
no state of progress; it is, therefore, no obstacle t) our
bombarding the enemy's fleet." To this I may add the
testimony of Captain Broughton, that the works looked
like "a heap of rubbish."
A more serious error has escaped the notice of your cor-
respondent, and this it is my duty to mention—viz., the
assertion of my father that Lord Ellonborough was a Cabinet
Minister at the time of the trial in 1814. This lam in-
formed was not the case. That Lord Ellonbortnigh, while
Chief Justice, held also the office of Cabinet Minister, is
well known—though, I believe, without having any official
residence assigned to him. lam further led to believe that
from no public acknowledgment of his retirement from this
double office having been made, and no other judge being
appointed to the same, it was generally understood that he
continued to co-operate with the Ministry. This was my
father's impression, and hence the error of his comments.
In future editions this error will be rectified and in the
fullest manner explained,—Your faithful servant,
DUNDONALD.

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