The Sun.
London, England, 1810-02-27 00:00:00

BIS NARRATIVE..

Ids the date marked upon the .intelligence- present
ed by your Lordship,:inz. the 15th of October, cor-
n:6ly rnarkedl-4-It is.' - •
Vv as the- time ..of its leirig drawn up ?—ft
wasin a great•measure drawn up at that time, ai:d
therefore it. bears thot darei I did not -think it' pio-
per to ciehser u at ,that time, it Wins not deliveied
course till tht.l,ttli February ; I had reasons f,r
not .cleilvet ing it, but I th6ug,lit it better
,to preserve-
the ;Efate at which it mas in. fact 'drawn up ; there
were after that time none.but vt-rhal. or critical al-
teration.* ; 1 considered the report as finished on that
day. • •
Is this the only narrative or memorial, or paper of`
ptty.drticription; which has- b( en delivered to .his
Brliiesty:by-your Lordship on te subject of the ex-
pedittot:y—rl have stated !kt tl.is v'per was prepar-
ed as my. repots of me proceeding, in the Scheldt,
and that it was delivered to his'l\laj,, such "on
the 14th of Ft,hruary; tiaat is all I can State on the
subject' of this paper which is before:the House.
Wqstht...re any oth'et-
or Memorandum of any sort, dedvereu to his
jesty upon thiq stinkftt by )ADur'l,o!dst,ip L.. J bt-rve•
already siat--'d • that this p:tpt.r.wis piepired -nu the
-15th of October very 'ready :to state,-: if
it is -wished, the rt ason 1 did -.1:ot . deliver:
tbep ; reason 1 did not- driiver if was,:thfit I did
iiutsthink it
.was right for rue. to state, iti tact; whit
would cons.itute. tuy defence in case.of an intjuiry, -
' whether civil or militari,,:that w.is the reason I did
not delive+ it , Ltlid..4leliver ii •as my rt.pott of ivy
prouteain.gs, on the. 14th .-of. February ; that is all
the e%,:lvation I can trive op the .sohjeet Li.the id-
per that is before the House; • • -
• /
Was any other paper, narrative, memorial, or me-
. morindum of any sortdelivczed-set his 111t,jesty utron
this subject. your Lordihip.?—This paper, which •
is no., Litiore the House, _is -my tttlici Itepoft,of
, .oceedings ; when altlied with respeoi..,to
any o her paper, or to any other emit tanstances -.1:0t •
coming under that description, S (.1:, not feel myself
at• liberty to enter at all into any examination ot:titat
sort,., and I must beg to-decline giving any answer to
the question put to [rte.?.. • •:'
Was' th.. I\arri-ttiN,e.,n6w before the 'House sub..-
mitted'to any of-his 11.1'ij.esys Ministers -either otfi-.
ei•lly or othcrsvie, presloii.sly to its being deliVered
to his Nl.-j(-st,y ?—Not inet: ioitsb was submitted
toi.the Cabinet the day that it was 'delivered to the'
King. • • •
.before or after its delivery-?—:Aftcr. • .
Was any Conitnetticalion- made by your Lordship
to any of his Majesty's ..Ministers of your intentioy
to..deliver such a narratiye to the King, previously io
its.being delivered was de.ivercd after the Le-
vee; .1 think 1 stated to several of his Majesty's
'fluter's that I meant to deliver. it.that day, -
:Did your Lot riship- aeriu,!int several of his Majes-

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-Ministers at the Levee, :of 'your intention• to •
' deliver it previously td,its being delivered ?f--I.think -
I stats:d it ruereiy in convers4lioti, to deliver
It myself to -the Kung, having received mr_in6true-
lions under the Sigit -Manual,. I thought it' proper to.
present my, report untne..tiatrly to t-ife King, wh;cll
was afterwards laid btifore the Cabinet.
Will your tordsl.ip have the goodness to State
hich of his -Majesty's Alitusters'M ere pfesent at the
LtWet', fid to: willed of ti:em your Lordship
the cf: ?—I realiy 'cannot ; I -
b.t-heve. most of the Ministers- were there I
;did not state it-to tltein in any official t;-ay, there,-
, tore itcappear.ed very immatt.)rial whether I stated it
or. _ • •I
D.:es, your. Lordship recolle6,l that the cor.eluditigi
p tragraph,in• the insdritatonsi 'trader the Sign Ma-.
• :mat' runs thus During Jour 1./4-dship's continu-'
crt this Nemec; you are to.,seml-or•:Hint: to be
sent.. to us,, through one of our principaf.-Sed'earies'
of-State, constant accounts of , aII ,t i parses ; and
you are to folloW ail such ordt.ls and Oirettionias we
send you, . either under ourfStgit Alaimo!, or
• through one ill our princieal B,icretaries of State ?"
--Certainly ; and I acted always iu stria couforruity •
thereto. • • •,
;Can your Lordship state- any reasons for having
deviated from -the usual cot,rs,.,, under The ust3~i in
structiops .(as I suppose these, to bt) -of delis eri
your nairative of; such service. through one of toe
-principal Secretaries of State ----4B.itig on the sc,or,
thought -it more prupgr, in the situation in which
I-stood, to make t 1 mYself to Majesty

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it would have been- open to. me, unaer that instine-
Oop, to have made it tiiroitOi the Secretary of State,
,ut I telt,it,inore proper to do it as I did, and that it
,hophigo to the Seeretary.of St& afterwards,

Did. your LOrdship male any wt it ten comMunica-
tion by way of narr..thre, or otherwke, of what
had passed inter your Loldship's command in the
E4pedition to the Schildt to his Majesty's Prin-
cipal Secretary of State on yourreturn did not,
I thought my, dispatches were sufficient.
Was 'any narrative or t required by :anyof
his Majesty's Ministers of yOu'r Lordship,ttfier youf
return, ?------Nof none.. - .;

Was your Lotdsbip asked officiAly. by; his--Ma
jesty'sAliniSters; alter your ri-turn,' for- any account
'of your pric.Teedings beyond whin had -beet> Convey-
ed in the dispatches ,of the expedition under. Lord-
shifs:comthand was -itht. ,
Does your Lordship recollrct the circumsthnce of
!•an Address presented by-the City of. Loudon to his
Majesty On the SUbject 'of the Expedition to the
Sheldt ? do-perfectly ; 'and I believe the letter
I wrote ih consequence is before this House.
• Was your Lordship consulted by any of his Ma.:
j:sty's Ministers, preViously fn the answer gi‘en.
by his Majesty to_ Address, upon the" -satisfaction
he. had telt \Villa 'both the serVices Upon the Expe-
(linen 'to 41:e Scheldt should bave'no difficulty.
in answering 'that gnostic:la. I, baVe sowedoubts
One as to.its propri,..tty, as that question cannot he
asked of me as -a miliiary man. I had ceased to be in
the cOnnnand '; I was never asked officially any
qneslion•opon it. Ibelievethatby'my tt.r,whit
isnpen the table here, it seen that I was no
party at:all ; that I was, not present at any discussion
whatever les; caing the answer to that Addriss.
When did your Lordship cpprehend yot r. com-
mand to cease, and ti.at you were not consulted as
a General Officer was" hardly consulted as -a.
General Otlicer after my return. I, ceased tot be in
command of the EXpeditiou in Zealand on the -^2.3th.
of Slatemb,:r.
Was-your-Lordship Consulted ip youir c -
pacity .011' the, pioprit ty of retaining the I, lan.l
Walclleren after )(ant- Lordshi.o's ;coral'? t!,ink
not'; not officially I.was sum
cetine6ed with it, but 1 du 'think I -was
any•distin6t opinion, upon it. •
Yottr Lo'Cdship-bas• stated that your reasons for.
not 'delivering 'your Narrative to the King earlier
than the 14th of February, Were, 'that you choseio
reserve your del-ncetiil the Inane when anymilltary
or
,inquiry might take plaCe ; will ioui Lord-;
ship state your reason for delivering it on'-the ote-
cise day of the 14th of February ?—I had no of:O-
-cular reason for doh- o)- it on that precise da‘ , except
that it happened to be a Levee day; why I wished
to do it about that nine was; that 4 conceived there
was no objection at that Inn& to my ,s 0 doing, 'and
besides that I felt a desire that' as I had not been .
called upon at that rime to be'. examined here, and
that the Admiral had, my account of the proceed-
jogs in the SClteldt .might, 'in' some way or other,
come beforelhe r knew that could not
be done but
.by delivering it to -the King. • I here
think it necesSary to slate in addl.' ion; that one of
the reasons w- ,y I wished for a ceitain t tine to deiay
delivering thiSrepat was? tilat I uas in expeEiation
that some acconot of hi, orricceiliogs.'"Would have
been delic,..ted- in -by Sir; Richard .Sfrachan ; I bad
indeed neat-stood that he had tte-o,caled upon fiie
something of that sort ; know that with a view
it he bad -asked for pa:nu:Lir' reports and details Of
seveml'Of the Officers under him. I c-onceived lie
would" be called upon to make some narrative of. his
proceedigs. and I was.very anxious that theYshdukl
both-Conte -up precisely •:it- the same time, that I
should not state my narrative first before any state-
meta was given in by him.
From whbm did your Lordship understand that
Rt. Riehard.•Strachau had been-called upon for a 'tar-,
rative of his proceedings did hot know it from
any gobd authority, for probably the tiling:would'
ha're taken place if I had. , I allude to that which
was very gLnerAly understood. 1 i•-new that all the
Officers under Sir Richkd Strachan had teen called
m.onfor minute repoits of their proceedings. I
suppose I was mistaken, or -probably a report would
have appeared;-ii it was called. for from him-; but
nudersiumbit from rumour; and I thought-irprOba
ble.

Was it merely from common rumour, and not
froiniiiy official person you hod` chi's report ?
I (1--,not think it was. from any 6tficial.yersou.-:

Or any one who had been an official person ?—I
think not.

Or conneCte4 viitli•any offickil person ?—No,
think nut.

ybur Lordship believe 'at the time you: de-
livered in• that narrative- to .the King, that Sir Ri-
chard Strachatt had clAivered in a narrative
.of aty
'suit'?--I did not, I supposed certainly ixit.
• ..After the delivery of that natrative, did your
Lordship .take'any steps to COED' L111:111iCa'e it to Sir
Richard ,Strachan-?—MoSt certainly not, nor should
I have felt myself (if I had been inclined to it) ever')
justified:in it..- I do netfiee vu wh=it possible around
I could have c:l.rumunicated ai official. report made
to the King, I' believe it was moved for. the very day
aft, r it was doiivered to the King'; thorefory Sir.
Richard would kiave it in that way. ,
Did your• Lordship know that there were under
your COM wand Officeis who had be at Antwerp
in the eourstl'of
..tcr*ice?—Yes, I did. '
Did. your I.oidship consult with' these Officers
individually or colleLtively on the: subject of the
Expedition.?--I „had conversation 'with them :or
coiHulted with them on, the sUbjeet of`: the I....Ape-
there were, I believe, one or two Officers
who liad been' these.

Will your LOrdsiio have the goodnes to name"
Who those:OH-leers ere"—Sir
-had been there,' saw him at aeql, and had sotrie
Aviih him cal the 'sphjea of the enter
prize .; and -I believe Ge•,,ieral."CrOs%'enor had- beep
there, he ha..l been, I koow,•00 the fete cie'Sba-
dra, 81:d I rather thilik he 'vas in Antwerp.

Did you Lold,hip, ask, or., receive any opinion
from tore Gem-rat Officers under your command, on
the prol;a';,ili.), o rnprolobtlilylof, the snccess'oi the -
euttris--... —it is ycry ti answer..t hail ques-
tion ; ii..ineaot Jo ask whether I...called upon
R y General to give-: me a . report., of hi,
opiuion on the pramlitli.ty-or improbabliny of tlin
enterprise, .1, certainly did Rot.. 'Thad a gnat deal

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ofconverSation with- dilicitrit Of&ers, but; their
opinions must necessarily. vary from time to time,
according to iutelligence and othercircunistinces;.
DoeS your Lordship recoilea a particular con.-
versation with Sir John Hope,.a: Deal-Or -Ramsgate,
on the subjea of the ,prikability 'success -or
failure I.had a gOOd deal of conversation,
;with Sir. John Hope at Deal, on the general-opera-
tions to be purgued ; but I do "not think that Sir
.John Hope stated to me any distinct opinion one
way or.the other as to the probable success ot faalure
.of the enterpr:ze.
Did your Lordship deliver .46 his Majesty • any
narrative, memorial.,
.paper, or memorandum, rela-
•tivoto the Expedition to the Scht'ldt, besides thee
one wimich is now !von the table of the House .of,.'
Commons ?—I have said that I delivered on the
14th of-February, to his Majesty, my oflidal Re
port of my proeeelings in -the. Scheldt, and .1 roust
be under the nee, ssity of persC3ting in my d, termi-
nation of dechicing to answer any futilier questiOn
upon that subject.
As Commander in Chief of the Expedition to the
Scheldt,'did•your Lordship deliver to his Majesty
any other- paper, narrative, or • memorandum, .r,.-
speeting the operations of that EZpeditton, , besides
,the Narrative' trOw on- the table ot the House. of
Commons ?-4 -can give .rib other .answer. f
have already ; I have stated 111;it 1 de.fivred my
Report, as Commander. of the Expedition,: to toe
-King on the hof February. -
'UpOn what grounds dot's Lord'ship' tetuse to •
answer th'e question just proposed decjinp
answering the I have-stated • all I al. 41 -
nlYmili'"'Y'.c3P3(2)", which is, that '1 delivered my i
ofticial7'report is the King on'tne 14th of Febrnary•;
96- the contents of that report I am fctady tozive
atty.information:
D. es your Lordship iehise to atisVi?er the giiestion
Jgist proAied on the ground of -par. being a. Privy
refuse •it generaliy. I dcciim Ott- i
t lie guest. ion.
Did not the capture or dcstru6ion of erkmy's
form one of Ili!! Most material ebjeas of the
,641-edition, to the Seheldt ?—lt ce:rtaMly,
degeribA in ti:e in.struttions.

Did your Loidship know, prior to your sailing.
frow England, that the French fleet` coold put their
uncie.r tie proreaion of thq ha.tcti,es •at Ai,twerp ?
hail.no very precise information communicated
to Inc upon that subjedi ; it was rather A naval.
quest
In.the event that your Lordship kbotild find, on
your arrival, the fieet had-so put itselfin- protection'
under the. cit add' Of "Antwerp, and.that TA:lr Lord-
ship - find the •oita:.tel a-nd the town or Ant-
wefp it, a •Stale -of defence, had Lor&hip-
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thi4 country fOrmc:d any determination as to what,
were to be your Eurdship's operations under those
eireiunstances have before said, That no ire-
ciqe.plan of operations vas fixer iipcip before I left
this colt try -; and it 'must have dekncled en tit ely
upon: circumstances, and the intelligOnc6 when we
arriVa. „ •

In the'event of your Lordship's finding t'he enerny
in pcissession of tib. artily te,ldY to take the, field
agaitist your Lord-,liip'S • army, but in a s' re crt tit:-
fence in, Aor,Verp; 113 c- your tordAip:fi,rtned
deter ininaCon.as •to your uperat.u‘n, 'Wh'ether, jou
would, in 'order to destr6y the fleet; as one of the
great abje4..ts,-besiege A:nt,Aerp ?H-I had lot rnd nO
detertn'nation below I went ; as I said, that must
depenl 'upon ciTutitaistances- at the.time.
!Then your Lordship li~ti
.formed no plan of
opeeations prior to your .4 14 friarn" 'this cArtury ?
—No detailed' plan of-opet
Prior to your Lordship's sailing frond Et,gland,
had your Lordship any.inteiligetice as to the state of
ArtwerP, and the strength of the enemy in Aut-
werp and its tieighbOurhood ?-7-4
.had no More pre-
cise information upon that suhjea than what. IS
.eoptained in the intelligence that is before the
House. ,
Did your Lordship .find that intelligence correa
do not knew bait' to answer that question cr-c.-
aalyi.
,or how I could-ever ascertain whether it was
correa ; is it meant to he asked whether it was cor-
red at the timeit
Whether the state in which" your Lordship foilind
the enemy *and. his fortresses.,on yo'ir arrival in the
Scheldt, corresponded with that represented to, your
Lordship to be
-the state of the enemy prior IQ your
Lordship leaving this country did not, find on
my Arrival any inforwatioti on this sobjeaf;',l ac-
quired information gradually of the strength of Ant-
werp and the enemy's ibt
Did such information as your Lordship gradually
acquired
.after 'your arrival there, correspond 'with
the' infortmiti`on previously, received here ?—I think
not entirely As ',to Ihe state of Antwerp.
Did it materially differ as to the state of AntWerp?
believe that. the intelligence so far as it went,
not -imniediately on 'thy arrival but at a subsequent
time, went to state that the Works- of Antwerp had
been put into a'state of repair.
Does, your Lordship believe that the works of
An twerp,..: particulailY the citadel of Antwerp; were
not put into a sate of repair until after the arrival
of your Lordship in-,,the Scheldt ?-4 ;should fancy
Velure that'tinio,, but I cannot speak cerreClly. •
Did your-Lordship ekped when you sailed to4nd
Antwerp in a bad state of defence, hoth as to its
fortifications and its .garrison great deal of the
intelligence certainly went to that effect.

:Was your Lordship furnistied; prior to your sail-
ing from this countly,. with heavy ordnance, in, the
event, of its being necessary to undertake the siege
of Antwerp; 'had .you any drdnance' Sufficient to
undertake that .sii.ge!independent of theordnance for
the siege of
.Fiushing, sufficient to enable your Lord-
ship to carry on two at• once it nec,2,7saly ?—I
am afraid I cannot perit;olly answer that
without kno*.ing what circumstances'are suppo'sed
by the question, -,Aineiher under the
,cirOurnsimees
rat Antwerp being in a perfe4.l,state. of ct4cuec,,
With it sofficient aihd ample garrison, or • under aV
other supposition:. • '
Under the supposition either of AfitYvel;P' being
sufficiently garrisoned, and in a sufficieht state of
defence, and (hit it wotiLi be necessary to i:ndert:il.e
a regirl,T,riege, was your Lordship furnished'
heavy niottars sufficient to bonihaid the 'town, in
the ivetit of a bombstrduient being reSortel to.
Ti at ii,a professional ques ion which I do riot-Li,f,v

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