The Sun.
London, England, 1810-02-13 00:00:00

THE INQUIIiY.

Are tho'e reports subniitted to the Board
they
_are not generally,' the Master General sotilo
such thing,. as he thinks may' be of u4e to the 140:tr,t.
and not every thing.
'As you do not ,recolleEt that siege artillvry•
ordered for two distin6.l sieges, was-there not a Tar& r
.proportion, bOtkof siege artillery and 'field artil!ery,
ordered and prepared for this expedition tli'm for
any other since you have been in the ordnat.cr
YeS. '

MINUTES OF EVWENCE,

Taken before the Committee of the whole [louse, apFoinfed
to consider of the Polity and Condut of the law fixpedi-
,tion to the Scheldt-.

FOURTH DAY, F. 8.
The Right Hon. Sir lona ANST RWT HER, Bart. in the
Chair.

General Sir THOMAS TRIGOE, Lieutenant-General

of the Ordnance,
Examined by the Committee.
You are Lieutenant.L.General of the Ordnance ?
I am.

Can you state the amount of
.the field art:l4-).-
and the siege artillery prepared?—l have 11,4 t'
account of the field artillery ; the siege artilleul

have stated.

At what period did you receive instruaions to
prepare ordnance for the expedition to the Scheldt ?

From what particular ;ranch of the ordnance
parturient is the Committee to obtain a return (tf
field artillery the Committee .orders-a letter
be written to M.r. Crew, Secreta'ry of Ordnaick-„
it will be, done itnrnediately, or I can 'myself order
it, if The Comfnittee dired me so to

On the l9th of June, .1809. •
When were the ordnance preparations com-
pleted ?—lt was about the end of June; but I
really do not recolleet Oe precise day on which they,

Was not the ordnance preparation embarked, ar

were completed.
Could that amount of ordnance have been pre-
pared at an earlier time, if earlier orders had been
given ?,-.They could have been prepared at any
time, if orders had been 'given ; I beg to say that I.
really am not at all certain as to the time-at which

ready to assemble in. the 17)6%-vns as soon as-the other-
._
branches of the expedition arrived there
ways understood it to be soI have no immedi3te
weans Of
_knowing it, bOt I believe, it was so.
Werenot transport supplied for.the ernbarkatio4
of the Ordnance equipment, in the proportion that
they were required. Within the tine that was neces
sary to complete the hrrnament'at the period is v. as
reqUired to assemble in' the Downs ?---r:de trans-
ports were very quickly supplied, and I have no re.;:
collection. of
,any transports being waited for, f r
any con,;ide.table time. [The Witness` was directed
to wit hdi aW.]

they were completed.
Has any account of the amount of ordnance been
prepared ?—I believe it bas, I do not recolleotpar-
ticularly ; I know such accounts have been made
out.,, but whether they have been given in for-the
use of the House, Lam not certain. •

Do you tecollea what amount .of battering artil-
lery you ,kere directed to prepare i—There were 70
pieces of battering train of guns, sixty-two 24-
pounder, and eight .GB-pounder carronades, and 74
mortars.

. •
Sir RUPERT.GEORGE, Bart.,Chairman of the Tran -
E port Board, was called' in

Do you recollea, in the ihstruaions, you receiv-
ed from Government to prepare Ordnance for the
expedition for thcSCheldt, that two distinct batter-
ing trains Were to be prepared ?—I never sand any
such instructions ; I only knew the amount of the
ordnance to be prepared, and what I havemention-
ed was the battering train only ; I have not men-

Examined by the Committee.
State to the Committee at what tqne #rttl
instructed to prepare transports for the ion ta
the Scheldt.—On the 20th of May.
State to what aniount.'—l was not ordered to t.ro-
vide to any particular amount ; but that a number c.f
transports wou!d be wanted.

tioned the field artillery.
Are you aware, whether in the. embarking the
battering train, it was allotted into.different ships So
as to go into. different branches of the Scheldt at the
same time I am not able 'to give' any in-,
formation upon that point ; I never knew in 'what
manlier the ordnance were embarked as 'to par-
ticular ships.
In whose department is it to' superintend' the.
embArkation ?—The 6mbarkat ions are superintended
by the Officers of rank`ln the artillery at Woolwich,
with all the other Officers of different xanks under
their direction, :Ind also,: by• the Civil Officers of the
Ordnance ; I "never understood it, to bc, my ;
• I am generally wtending the B'e in London.
Were any instructions given from I he, Board as to
the-particular mode of ernharkingthe battering train,
with a view to the dividing'it into different trains-at
the same time believe not, I have no. knowledge
of them. „ . .

Without specifying either the tonnage, or tlic
number of men ?—WithOut - specifying ether 1.. e
tonnage or the :ntamber Of men At that time
At- what time wa's it :statedthat they would be
wanted ?---!.-As soon as possible. r gave notice in Ike
hall of the Transi:ort Board, that transports would
be wanted,- and we gave notice also at Lloyd's ;
that none would be received who would not be re,dv
on the part of thq owners, in a-week from the !Intl.). ".
of May. .
State what passed in consequence.—After the ex:-
piratiOn of a week, we had'not sufficient transports.
I had daily communication with the Secretary of
-State, inleed several times in the day, and I report- ,
eJ progress ; and at the end of the week, there we, e
;:n" means a *sufficient number for the set-
, vices utvierstood were t?eterinined upon.
What number. were -forthcoming at the end of
-the- Nti e cannot precisely says Aor we reneted
it at-the end of the week: but the whole-nuinher

. . .
If any such instruaions had been given, would ,of transports we . took up for that expedit'oa ,
an-loaned to between t wenty-three and twenty-fee-
they have come before you in the dischargeof your
official duty ?—Not necessarily. so ; the orders of :thousand :tons..
that kind are given by the Master-General, and lie i . Was that the whole number that was required ?a-es
'No,- eat the whole number that was required; fes
communicates such parts of his orders so the Board.
as he thinks proper; and I do not believe he made . we hail upwards of , a hundred thousand tons em-
any communicatido of that sort. ' ' ployed•for the whole exped,tion : but only twenty-
In the,absence of the Msster-General, do you three-or twenty-four thousand- were taken up in coos
not supply his place.?—Not exasitiy ; r have not the seqeenee of the. orders we received on the ssoth. of
. •
same powers. . . - May. i
By whom are the powers -of the Master-General ' The remaining transports were before in preee-
ration ?—No ; we had about twenty thousand toes
executed when the Master-General is absent ?—By
' of transports, I' cannot speak to- the 'easact =li-
the Lieutenant-General and Board conjointly; in
sben, but perhaps. two or three and twenty thousand
matters purely militaty the Lieutenant-General gives
tons in the service when I' received the order; art
orders of his own authority, because the command !
other transports in the course of the equipment er-
of the military corps devolves. to him, as being Co-
' lonel-enesecond• of-those corps, but all other lanai- rived Irons different parts of the -world,- particularly
nesS is done by the Lieutenant-General and the i from Spain and. Portugal,''Whitsh I believe were or,
Board conjointly. - . . ' e dered inane with a view to-some Service_ that was
Did' Lord Chatham, - the Master-General, himself . likely to take place: '
~ . ,
give the orders fox' the ordnance _for -tee expedition : rt.
At ,what time were you instructed to pin-
to the Scheldt ?—He did. ' vide cavalry transports, and to what amount ?--e& t •
To whom were those ordersdirefled ?.—I belie e till the troth of May; : Lit C iact, transports w ere
he gave his orders to the Military Officers at Wool- wanted for infantry, or cavalry'. andl stores, the
wick, but on the leth of June his' Secretary, by his ships that were tendered were reported accordingly;
order,' communicated to the Board that such . such as were fit for cavalry were appropriated- to
ordnance were ordered to be . prepared for foreign cavalry, the other for infantry, and such as were
service ; -the Master-General frequently gives orders fit for neither infantry or cavalry were reported tot e-
to the Military Officers at Woolwich, and to the Civil t . ceive stores, ' ,
Officers at Woolwich, •for ordnance to be prepar- Do you remember any particular difficulty in pro-
.
' ed, and communicates it soon ' afterwards to the viding cavalry transports ?—There was more diffi-
' Boards but these orders do not go through the,Board, cuity in providing cavalry transports than in provid-
Were you rightly understood as stating that the ing ships for infantry or stores.. : ,
Ordnance Board received instructions to prepare • Do you recollect at what time the cavalry trans-
ordnance on the teal of June ?-0n the 19th of . ports required, and afterwards made use of, were
June the communication was made to the Board of. provided,?-About the 17th or 18th of July the
Ordnance; the ordnance had been before ordered. e cavalry were embarked, all I believe, except the
" Then the communication on the 19th of June draft-horses fie- the battering bairn—
Was not an order to prepare ordnance, but a neti- When were the transports ready for the cavalry ? ,
fication that such ordnance had been ordered ? ' —The 17th, 18th, and igth of July, I think the. ea- !
A notification that such ordnance were ordered, valry were embarked. - .
.
not with a view that the Board should give the order,: ' When were the transports ready for the embark-
but epou the supposition that it was already given, ation of the cavalry ?-seThe whole w ere not really
Who is the Military Officer at Woolwich, who . till about the time that they embarked; a FM Ad
. carries the order Of the Master-General of the Ord- ahem were ready, but not the whole.' .
nance into execution ?—The Master-General (rives. i . From ,whence, were the cavalry transports pro- '
„his orders to Major-General Macleod, Deputy-Ad- cured ?—Almost the whole of them in the river.'
lutant-General of Artillety, he communicates these Then there was no delay in' the preparation for.
orders to the Officer commanding the Artillery at' the embarkation of cavalry, arisipg from the eSpets-
Woolwich before they are carried into execution. tatiou of transports from Portugal ?--ssl think , rat,
Who is the Officer 'commanding the Artillery at arrangemeists having been made by the Secretary of
Woolwich ?—They Nee different departments ; the . State with elle Commander in, Chief of the ;Indy,
senior Officer, General Farrington, I look upon as ' .and the Lords. of the Admiralty ;...e bout the lath ce.
the Officer commanding Artillery, and General 1 tith all the infantry embarked at P s erternouth, et
Lloyd commands the garrison ; they have diffes Dover, at Rawsgate, at Chatham, and at flarwiesc,
rent duties. .
.. ' I
. ; and within two or three days afterwards the casaiw
,Who gives the orders for taking up the transports . Were ernbarkedelexcept a• thousand horses that e. ere
for the ordnance service ?—The Board of Ordnance meant, as i understood, from the Secretary of Staie,
makes -a requisitton to the transpol! Board, ac- fdr the heavy artillery; when I say all, I beg leavie
quaintipg them, what tonnage they want. i to he understood, the great body ; there might he a
When was the requisition made by the Board a few that did not come in exactly on the lath or
Ordnance to the Transport Board for transports to Oth. . . ~ .
take the ordnance to the Scheldt ?—I do not- re w
col- 'were the heavy artillery horses embarked ?
I When
lectexactly•the by, but I believe it,was about the ' We were ordered to provide for a thonsand horSee
19th of June. . - iof the heavyeartillery ; this service was, to be lite.:
At what time were the` transports reported-to be vided for the last of all, and we.esrdiarked I believe,
prepared for the ordnance ?—I -do not recollect; but -, -in a short time, between six and 'Seven hundred 5 I
• indeed than question cannot be answered directly, • think within a' week or ten days' after the °thee.
because the transports were prepared at - different 'lt the exact date is material, I believe I count 1-eiss
links, andleaded as they were: ,ready e they were ni•ih it; it :seas • between - six and seven lartined
, not all prepared on the same day. s' • horses for the heavy artirery. I understood trete
To whom do the military and otfier.officers at . the Secretary of State, that the expeditson migh
Woolwich report?--Thee reperi in 'genetal to the . possibly sail without any of those horses, but tit it
Matter General. ' . ,'1 it would be very. desirable if we could ably sendaise.