The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-09 00:00:00

EON. CAIVALIA- LAKE.

The
The followingis the most smatenat part ,of the,
evidence laid on ;his. table Of. the, House of ,com-
mons, addFced,oo the Court _Martial ,of Captain
Lake,_ which_ .was; confirmed. by several other wit.
nesses : ••. • _ . • .

MR. EDWARD SPENCER,

Late Master of his 'Majesty's 410 Op Recruit, called
• in and sworn.

The Judge' AdvoCate asked :—You will be
pleascctto 'state to• the: Court what you know Of
the charge againSt Captain Lake ?—On the t3th
of Deeinber, 1807, standing to the northward-on:
she isl.ind of S:mbrero, bearing east from the ship,
di,statit from her about a mile and a half (which
is; indjs about five or six leagues from the Deg
and Prickly Pear Island, .in the West Indies)—
Captain Lake came on ileck, and came to the gang-
way where he was standing,. between the hours
of trVe and -six in the dtternoon, And asked, what
island is this ? I answered, it was the Island of
Sombrero. - Capt:Lake said, have we not some
thieves on board ? To whi...11 I said, yes; there are
two who have lat-.ett.gnilly of theft. Capt. Lakeim-
mediately send*up Jeffery here. The man soon
came up. Capt. Lake told him he would not keep
such a fellow in his ship, and that'lle should send him
on shore. Capt. Like alter wards.weet up to Lieu-
tenant Mould, Second .Lieutenant, who was carry-
rng-on duty at the time, and spoke to him; but I
did not hear what -passed: In about a quarter or half
an hOur afterwards Captain Lake said bear a-hand,
and land the man, and eome off. At this time Lieu-
tenant Mould As in the boat astern, as was also
Robert Jeffery, from the time he was called to the
gangway until I saw him pass the gangway, to go
into-the boat; he was at that time 'looking for his
things, and he was called to go into the boat over the
stern. I did not see the boat put'off; but after
she was off .1 .heard, Captain` Lake, hail the Lien-
tenant to bear a-hand and land
.the man, and -come
off again. I have omitted mentioning, that before
the man was ordered into the boat, • Captain • Lake
ordered the painter "to get a piece .of canvas, and
paint on it " Thief," which I did not see done. I
was on deck between the hoOrs of seven and eight
o'clock,' when, the beat returned, and Jeffery was
net 'then in the boat: the boat was hoisted up, and
we made sail to the Northward.
The Court asked, Was there any water Or pro!
Visions put into the .aat•, thit landed .Robert Jet-
lesy, for his use?—l did not see-any ; neither did I
hear:any/ordered. • • • •
Were his clothes-put, into, the boat ?—No, they
were hot ; I saw them, the next. day,. I think, on„
board: -He was dressed in a •frek and trowsers, not
having any hat or shoes on. at the time I saw him.
On the following day I dined Kith Captain Lake,
and just as be was rising up to .quit the table, Cap-
tain Lake-said, I wonder how old Jeffery .comes
on now ; I supphae 'he is got housed by this time."
.A,re there any houses on Sombrero ?—None: I.
was on the Island .afterwards on the 18th ' day of
February, 1-808. I was sent. on shore by order of
Captain Lake, accompanied by Lieutenant-Mould,
to see if I contd see any thing of. the. Man
(Jeffery), _and , see what sort of an'-island it was.
I -went on shore with Lieutenant MOuld in the
boat, and walked over some • part .of the Island,
where we found a great Many eggs, and young
birds•sitting on their nests, not capable of flying
away ; they are large birds, and when at fell - size
are called Noddies,' but could not find any fresh
water. I tasted many pools, and it was all salt
water which I- tasted. The island was entirely
barren, nothing but a kind of rough 'grass weed, '

which wfis• in the middle' of thj island; there

was no house or inhabitant'on it. On th:e• island
• I found 'a remnant of a pair of trowsers much
torn, and the- handle of a tomahawk or.hatchet,
which-were the only things I found on, the island.
I. did not find Jeffery there, nor any traces-of him,
for I minutely surveyed every part .of the island':
it has a craggy ascent, and flat when you get
upon it ;- it is
,about a mile and a half in circum-
ference. We. went back to the. ship at twelve
o'clock, according to Captain Lake's order.; we
mere about an hour and a half at that time on
the •I•land. We hi-Ought off with us some of .the
eggs and young birds.' 'We went a second time in
the afternoon,- and 'carried with us muskets and
• slugs to shoot- birds, and to look for the man ;
then it was we found the trowsers.. Lieutenant
• Mould -and Mr. Hobson, and. Mr. Salmon went
wit4ns. We surf eyed tloe island all curer, taking
different routes : we did not find the man, nor any
. trace's of him-then : we returned- about six or seven
o'clock op board. Captain liske came to the shore
of the island, but did not land, and returned 'with
us on heard.
Did yoU bring the part 6ft lie tomahawk or hatchet
you describe to have. seen on the Island of SoM-
.
Orem onboard the Recruit ?—I did.
Did. yon .form any opinion what it was, or froth
whence it came ?—My opinion wa•, it ova; a 'fisher-
man's ; it
,was very lough ; it was not any thing
belonging to the Navy.
Were the trowsers you found of the same sort
. as those worn by' Jcilery ?--They had the same
appearande-as trowsers served out in his Majesty's

HArrott-Gakntx.—Yesterday. Mana,sseh. Booth,
a native of Shropshire, who has been but a few days
In town, was charged by Mr. W. Busy-Jell, a sales=
mati of Smithfield-market, with taking from under
his'head, while in bed at the sign of the Half-moon
in Smithfield, a pocket-hook, containing 2021: It
appeared that on Wednesday night the prosecutor,
in consequence of knowing the young man's-friends
, in the country, assisted hirn, and otieredihim half
his bed, and to send him into. the country. in the
morning, as he was much distressed. Soon after
the robbery, 'the prisoner went to Mr. Daunt,
butchiw, in St. John's-street, to make .a *small pur-
chase of meat; Where Ira pulled out the identical
bc,ok of Mr. Buswe}l, sheaved a .301. note, and asked
Mr. Daunt whether • it' was-not a ten pound note.
Mr. Daunt; who _had- been in coMpany with: Mr.
Lusweli, reel); rt,sed the boUlt, gave the prisoner in
charge of a Constable, and recovered the whole of
property, which Mr..Buswell swore•;to. The
wAs.cominiqt:•d for ur-exarninuticnt,

BRIGH7'OIV, MARCH 7.

The weather here, though mild, continues damp
and- fluittuating, the rides and'-walks ocetsinallY,
therefore, during the day, have gay appearances,
and occasionally they are entirety .deserted. They
'were respectably decorated with company this morn-
ing.—Private• entertainments are happily again be-
coming "the ton. Lady SHAFTESBURY, Lady 13. A.
COOPER, Lady NEWB.OURGH, and other gees de con-
dition, partook of a friendly fete at Russell-House, on
Saturday. On Monday Mrs. FITZHERBORT, and
others of the first distinaion here, dined With Mrs.
LAMBERT, and enjoyed the festivities, which were
there continued in the evening, an elegant stip*
being inc:uded, in the attractions. Admiral GOULD
bad a selea dinner
.party also, at his house oa:the
New Steyne, on-Monday. Last night Miss Moias-
WORT/4, on the New Steyne, had a fashionable,sep-
per and card.party ; . and Mr. ,BROWKE, a dinner
party, at his resideece on the. Marine. Parade. Ma-
jor MONTALAMBERT, took .his departure from hence
yesterday; fOr London. Mr, and Mrs. PA.RKER and
family, left us this morning, for Bath:
MORE HOAXING.—ThI banns of marriage of a
couple were published by the Minister in the pa-
rish church on Sunday, Which have since been for-
bade, the panics therein Mentioned being scarcely
known to each other. The son of a respectable
tradesman, who was 'announced as soliciting per-
mission-to unite his fate, With the maid of all work
of a butcher; feel's- hiMself not a little nettled on the
occasion, and has offered a considerable reward for
the discovery of the hoaxer It seems that the Pa-
rish Clerk-had " received' the Written docUmerits for
the. Minister, only the night preceding their publi-
cation; each accompanied with a shilling, from a
little girl, -who received them from 'a woman,: a
stranger, who gave her a
.sixpence to dispose
.of
them as she did. 'This boa, therefore at present
stands little chance of involving the author of it hi
merited difficulties.

Another diirision of the- 85th Infantry, and d'e•
tachwents of other regiments, are expected shortly
to pass through this place, on their route fur Putts-
month, there to embark for Portugal.