Star.
London, England, 1808-03-16 00:00:00

- • -
emPleYed on the EfrAtlOn,-irhli ehe. knoWledge of
his being under areestc-had pnaishicta. libel upon the
conduct of himself and others; which libel had been pa
tronized and distributed by aVield 011lcei:Of another
regiment. Irritated by these attacks, he still abstain-
ed from answering any of the Zaluinnics Which had
been propagated against him, and awaited his day of '
trial for his justification. This he mentioned, lesb;ll',
should be conceived that he had contiWitancau
dication of his conduct, which had :=sit•d 14';
some person unknown to hint.
3iis trial
as an appeal from popular claMour Mhimburable and,
candid minds ; and he flattered himseltthat heshonld,
in this respect, have found a proteetof even in his pro7*
secutor ; and that, considering his anomalous, he ho-
ped he might say, without offence, his almost incom-
patible duties, he would have divested himself of every
feeling connected with pnbliC prePidice ; and have per-
mitted his trial to have commenced at last, without
the extraordinary comment which hadexcited somuch
surprize in all who heard it—a A comment," said
General Whitelocke, " which, in the situation he fills,
and considering the
.last character he is to sustain
"' after the proceedings are completed;and Pair. deli-
bemtions commence, of an adviser On pointionwhich
" you may require his assistance, T can Way think,
" could be deemed justifiable at an peeiod Cif such a
"trial, after any evidence, hoe/ever ntreq, Aid been
.
.41dcluced."
The Judge-Advocate had stat •an , the
shoul(Vollovz the example of his-prgeleCessors, upon
similar occasions, by abstaining, in thli'itage of the
proceedings, from any detailed observations upon the
charges. The only case of importance, he believed,
in which a Judge-Advocate had stood in a similar
situation to the present, was. on the -trial of. the late
Lord. Sackville, on which occasion the late. Sir
Charles Morgan, then .Mr. Gould,. madeno Address
whatever to the Court, on opening the prosecution ;
and, in his reply, most studiously avoided- offering
a single observation that could in the most distant
way be considered as addressed the passions of the
Court, although the circumstances which gave rise to 1
that trial had excited more of popular feeling than
any which had before occurred, so mach so as to
leave it, possibly for ever, a subject of historical dish I
pine, whether the judgment of the Court•was not in
some measure influenced by that feeling?
He rut it to the liberality and candour of the Right
H( now able the Judge Advocate, whether he had
not m rre little right to complain, and cause to 'la-
mint, that he had not followed the example of his I
predecessor, and abstained from stating to the public I
Cfor such an Address could not be intended for the
ourt) that hopes had been (as he was pleased to
say) justly as well as generally entertained of discover-1
in new markets for our manufactures, and giving a'
wider scope to the spirit of mercantile enterprize, and I
opening new sources of treasure, although every in-
formation as to the state of South America, and 'the
hostile and implacable spirit of its inhabitants towards
us, had proved that those hopes were completely fal-
lacious, He repeated his regret that the Judge I
Advocate had not abstained from calling in aid of
those charges the attempts daily made to exclude our !
trade from the continent of Europe. Well might re-
ports to his (the General's) prejudice :survive and I
continue, if in a Court of Justice these topics could
be enforced with such studied strength of expression,
by a person whose rank and station in life, and pub-
lic character, could not but stimulate the already too
much exasperated state of the public Mind upon the
transactions now in question.
- A great and important expedition had failed, and :
as no difficulty Could have existed as' to the selection
of particular events and facts which led to this failure,
little did he expect that he should have been called
upon to recollect and defend every act, every order,
every expression, and almost every thought, not of•
himself only, but of others—every detail, however mi-
short, as the prosecutor had avowed and
ited, not merely the causes which prevented the re.. ,
ion of Buenos Ayres, but his whole conduct in
expedition. Still less could he • have supposed I
the protection of the Court was necessary to pre-
: a prosecutor, educated in legal habits, from pur-
ag him even to his private moments, and requiring
Secretary to state all the conversations that in the
Ifidence of their relative situations had passed be-
itween theni ; 212 a yet it was at this point only that,
-augh the interposition of the Court, the. prosecutor
. stopped .his enquiries;
'He intreated the Court calmly to review the evi-
dence, and to separate and throw aside the opinions
- to his operations founded upon the experience ac-
-eptired by Misfortune, and not upon.any thing that
or could be previously known, upon which alone
could have acted, and upon which he was to be
Aged. He would put it to the . Members of the
:ourt, who had commanded important • expeditions,
',halter any long train of military operations, bow-
.ver successfully terminated, could stand the test of
:h an enquiry as had been instituted.into the pre.
ant. 'He most earnestly entreated the attention of the
iCourt to these and a variety of other leSi important
general observations ; that they Would gear them in
mind. as applicable to many observations which he
should have to make upon the evidence in detail..
He then proceeded to the subject of inquiry. He
maintained, that he should prove false information to
lave been given to Government, both by his instruc-
tions, and the evidence produced and to be produced.
This was necessary to his defence ; for unless the po-
litical situation of that country,and the dispositions of
the inhabitants towards us, were fully understood, no
judgment could be formed urin the propriety of his
conduct ; and the fdlacy, and consequent disappoint-
ment of pur hopes, had given rise to the greater part
of the exasperated feeling which had been excited. It
had been conceived, that the dissatisfaction which had
been escited in South America, by the restrictive jea-.
lousy of the Spanish Government, had rendered that'
:ountry ripe for revolt Trom the parent state. It was
never conceived that such a rooted antipathy could
mist against us as their deliverers, as to justify the as-
sertion that we had not, when we arrived in America,
one single friend in the whole' country ; little was it
conceived that the whole population were originally
hostile to us ; still less that they had become hostile
from any thing that had occurred in the capture 'of
Buenos Ayres, or while we retained possession of it.
The first admission would have condemned the on
nal attack 1- and the last would have implicated the
conduct of those who took, and for a thorn time re.
tanned possession of' Buenos Ayres,
Monte Video had been represented as containing a

, .
. ,
. ,
small OF. isOn of disaffected troops; and his instruc- year 1794, and when englard in the a
tions actually supposed, that after effecting his first au Prince in St. Domingo. ... . '
object, 3,000 men would, in any case, in addition to General Whitelocke having then intimatedehathis
the troop:, he might raise is the country, be amply suffi- defence was concluded, ,
cicnt to retain and keep possession of the ,settlement. The .11.71X1T ADVOdATZ Gestettat. summed up the
He was directed to use precaution as to tlae,fonning evidence in a clear and perspicuous manner. . -
this local forced.. it ;vas stated in his Instructions, After some preliminary observations, he entered
H that snuck aidiNkildicaterivedfrons this source toward: into a general review of all the charges, beginning in
41 securing hi: M4city's possessions, and avoiding the ne- course with the first charge. The evidence of Meier-
" tesSity of too large a demand en the regular forces of General Gower, the Brigadier Generals, and others,
" the country." Such was the impression of thli be clearly recited and fully explained, and as he went
country and Goveinnient on his accession to the on, contrasted it with what the Commander'-in-Chiefcommand. The able 'Officer, who commanded at had said in his defence, stating they his opinion, for
' Monte Video, had discovered the reverse of this which he gave his reasons, that were not by any
to be true, that they were equally inimical to us means relevant to answer the charge as it stood. He
and their own Government ; and on a disorder laid particular stress on that part which had a reference
arising, in which the Viceroy was said to have been to his Majesty's instructions, which were read. It•ap-
Made prisontr by his own people, Sir Samuel Auch- peared from them that his Majesty, halting ordered an
muty wrote to those who possessed the supreme go- expedition to be fitted out to goon a distant service, to
vernment in Buenos Ayres, making them an offer of be commanded by an officer of distinguished rank and
British protection. His letter was answered by Ge- greatmerit,hehadbeenappointedtothechiefeonnand.
neral Linters, the Audienza, and the Cabildo, all of. Those instructions went further, they were to concili-
svhorn treated his offer with indignation and contempt; , ate the minds of the inhabitantsto respect private
and in this sentiment Sir S. Auchmuty found the add personal property, and by every means to protect
whole population to partake, who had been inflamed the inhabitants in the exercise of their civil rights.—
against the English by every species of exaggeration The Prisoner; by way of defence, had endeavoured
and falsehood. The natives of the country were in- to make it out, that in the event of :a bombard
t,
deed disposed to. follow the steps of the North the lives of the prisoners would be' put in imine
Americans, and to erect an independent state. If we peril, and that had made him refrain. fsuppromlied ordering
could promise them independence, they, would in- that measure, although he was amply
I stantly revolt against the Government ; but, though the means of carrying it into effect. The Learned
Inothing but independence would perfectly satisty_ Judge. Advocate said, he had looked into the in-
them, they would prefer our Government, either to structions, and could not find one single sentence
, their present anarchy, or the. Spanish yoke, pro- that gave him such discretionary power ; it . was
i vided we would promise not to give tip the Country therefore free for him to say, that this conduct was
Ito Spain at a peace ; but, until such a promise was not that that ought to be pursued by a British Offi-
i made, we must expect to find them open or secret cer. What ought to have been his conduct as the
enemies. The truth of this information, received Commander in Chief of a British army, even under
from Sir Samuel Auchmuty, was confirmed by the pressure of the cessation of arms by a capitulation
ever; day's, experience. They were unable to pro-, of his advanced corps' Not to have given up the
cure intelligence upon . which they could place the distant post of Monte Video under circumstances that,
I least reliance. They could neither procure guides, did not require it. But in answer to. any application
nor accurate accounts of the country. Force pro- that might have been made to such a
purport from
cured them all they possessed, good-will nothing. the-Spanish General, he should have
ou to l said—l will
ondo
Having gone through this second series of prelim'. every thing in my power to compe y submissi,
! nary remarks, the General then replied more parti. and as to your threats of ill-usage to the prisoners, if
cularly to the charges. . you dare, in defiance of the laws of nature and ofl
Before proceeding to 'give a detailed narrative of nations, to tike away an hair from their heads, I will
the proceedings against Buenos Ayres, he would call retaliate with that degree of severity that such con-
the serious attention of the Court to the manner in duct will racrit.—The Court then adjourned, in order
which the prosecution had been conducted against to deliberate on their Sentence.
him. He meant nothing personal with respect to the
i learned and respectable Gentleman, whose high offi-
cial situation naturally entrusted him with this depart-
ment of the trial.: he had no hesitation in ascribing
1 this to the Honourable Gentleman's zeal for the ser-
vice of the country.
I The charges had been attempted to be made out
lin a most unprecedented manner ; not by direct, nor
even by circumstantial evidence only, but witnesses
were repeatedly invited to give their opinions, who in
most instances had not even the sanction of experience
I to entitle them to form coirxt notions of the partici-
Ilar service upon which they were acting : it. was also
! peculiarly unfair he thought, to put questions tending
i to produce:a recital of conversations which the wit-
I nesses either overhears or were parties to, and which
sometimes they could only detail from hearsay ; and
what made the inconsistency of this kind of pro,ce-
dure more striking, many of the conversations alluded
to, had taken place among persons not at all impli-
-1
cated, either as witnesses or parties. The defence
then stated, at full length, from the instructions
given by Ministers at his setting out, the reasons whit b
induced them to fit out an additional armament fey
the complete subjugation of that country.
The defence then went into a narrative of the men-
sures taken by General Whitelocke, from the period
of his landing at Monte Video, to ensure the success
of the expedition. The great exertions he made to
procure horses for mounting the cavalry had been
proved by every witness examined, and the -diffi-
culties attending the procuring of guides, or accurate
' information respecting the country, were great beyond
all measure. These difficulties arose partly from a
want of confidence of the inhabitants in the British
army, and partly from the immoral and unprincipled
dispositions of the natives themselves. Our Readers
will find the General's narrative of the march to Bu-
enos Ayres at full length in our account of the evi:
deuce. When he came to speak-of the mistakes that
had arisen from his not effecting a junction with
General Gower at the Chuello, the defence en=
tered at great length into this branch of the evil
deuce, tending to attach the blame to General;
Gower. With respect to the attack itself upon the
town, and the circumstances which led to the adop-;
don of the plan, the defence endeavoured to prove;
that it was the best which could have been adopted,
under similar circumstances ; although he hoped the
Court would recollect that it was proved, by almost
all the witnesses, that it seemed to be a plan extremely
repugnant to his feelings. The defence concluded.
with a solemn and impressive appeal to the Court;-1
what was dearer t 9 him than his life was in their }mast '
and he fully relied upon their candour and justiee.'
The General's Counsel then proceeded to read 'to
the Court extracts of letters from .Sir Samilel Anch-
muty, while at Monte Video,, detailing the peculiar
difficulties attending the subjugation of the country.
Two parties, Sir Samuel stated to exist in South
America : one was ready for revolt' at all times, and
the other only waited for an oppoitimity Of joining
the strongest party, whether British or Spaniards. •
The while dispatches from the 'West ledies, in the.
year 1174, in which Lieutenant Colonel Whitelocke
is Mentioned as having displayed the greatest possible,
gallantry, and intrepidity, were then read. •
The General then proceeded next day (yesterday)
to call, as witnesses, Lieutenant-Colonel urke,'ln
General White. Colonel Burke spoke to the hand.
Writing of General Gower, in a letter written by him'
to General Whitelocke on the morning of the 3d of
July, in which letter General Gower expresses it to
be his intention to turn the head of the Chuello, and
not to ford the river at the Chico pass ; and Colonel
Burke also swore, that this was the substance of the
conversation he had V. ith General Gower at the mo-
ment he delivered the letter into his hands, to carry it
t to General Whitelocke. -
1. Geherat White [vas then called; and in the opi.,
.character
of this witness, no OMcer could have a higher'
for gallantry and personal bravery, or
itnowlelge of his duty, as an Officers than General
Whitelocke. This evidence alluded to General White.
lecke% services, when a Lieuteniint-Colanel in the

PARLIAMENTAR r PROCEEDINGS.

HOUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 1 S.

REVERSION BILL.
On the third reading of this Bill, the question be-
ing put, their Lordships divided, when there ap-
peared—For the Bill—Present, 26—Proxies, 22
Against it—Present, 69—Proxies 59—Majority, 80.
The Bill was of course lust.—Adjourned. .

HOUSE OF COMMONS-
A petition was presented from eertainFreeholdersof the county
of Sussex, praying to be admitted as parties in defending the elec-
tion of John fulleri Esq.; which was agreed to by the House.
' • ht At.rtow ELIWTION CosithifT crt:.
A. "W`.lt. Colborne, Esq. I. O'Callaghan, Fsq.,
M. A. Taylor, Esq. Right Hon. W. Elliot
C. Jeffery, Esq. James Craig, Eaq.
C. Palmer, Esq. 1). S. Dygdale, Esq.
G. Anson, Esq. R. Benyon, Esq.
Sir R. Williams G. B. Bowyer, Esq.
Hon. A. Prittie

NOMINEAR.
R. N. Milnes, and H. C. Combe.
BEVERLEY BLECTIOV.
Hon. Dudley North N. 1.. Hughes, Esq.
Hon. J. Clements Hon. P. Lambe
Hon. S. M..hon Hon. A. G. Bradshaw
Hon. 'F. N. Burton Lord H. Petty
T. Foley, Esq. laird Stanley
J. Jackson, Esq. J. Buller, Esq.
/4011,11NVZS.
William Browne, and Sir A. Pigot.
On the motion of Mr. PARNEI.L, there was ordered to be
lid before the House, an Account of the real value of all the Ex-
ports of the Growth, Produce, and Manufacture of Ireland, for
the last three years, ending January 5, 1808.
ttd An Account of all Exports from Ireland to America during
the same period; together with an Account of the imports into
Ireland from America, and other parts of the World.
Mr. PARNELL then rose to move fur an Account of all sums
of money Old by Government for expresses between London and
Dublin. His object in making this motion was, that the House
should be made acquainted with the expence attending this new

establishment.
Sir A. WELLESLEY said, that the mode of communication
between the Government of this Court and Dublin, had formerly
Veen chiefly carried on by messengers • but as the frectient inter-
change
of communication was certainly of great importance, it
had been found more convenient to contract with a person for
conveyance of expresses, who received at the rate of ant. ppig day,
•whether any eapresses were sent or not.
After a few words from Sir I. NEWPORT, the motion Was
therefore agreed to.
The Annual Indemnity Bill was brought up and read a first
time. •
Mr. T. GRENVILLE gave notice that he should, to-morrow,
move !iv certain additional Papers, on the subject of the expcdil
tion to the Dardanelles.
• AUDI: QUESTION.
PERCEVAL- moved the order of the day for
the House .resuming the adjourned debate on the
Oude Papers. The question was then put upon the
first of Lord Folkestone's resolutions.
Sir T. TURTON spoke at considerable length up.
en the treatment Lord Wellesley had shewn to the
Nabob of Oude, and thought the business had better
be referred to the East India Judicature Committee.
Mr. H.WE LI.ESLEY, in a neat speech, vindicated
the Administration of the Noble Marquis in India.
Mr. C; JOHNSTONE entered at great length into
the subject of Indian affairsraad_de_precated the un-
warrantable interference • with the -Dtvernment of
Oude. He concluded by assuring the House, that
the system of Government adopted by Marquis Wel-
lesley would in future be dispensed with ; it was, there-
fore, not in contemplation to make anymore conquests
in India; but confine the Company to their present
territory;
Sir JOHN ANSTRUTHER said a few words in
explanation of what le had said in a former debate.
Mr. S.' R. LUSHINGTON justified the conduct
of the Noble Marquis with respect to Oude ; and ob-
served, that the Nabob, under all circumstances, ought
to feel himself very happy in being relieved of the
arduous task of governing subjects from whom he
o uld not command obedtesiee.....(d lauzli.)
Lord CASTLEREAGH defended the Indian po-
licy of the. Noble Marquis geturaily, ancltheAltic
ii
was high time to put the question at rest,

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