Star.
London, England, 1805-02-06 00:00:00

fre(h fupplies of flores were obtained—and, in the
cod& of the months of November and December,
other fupplies, to the amount of four thouland pounds
wets charged to the public. This was finely a very
exti4ordinary charge, but it was one contained in the
Report of the Commiffioners of the Navy Board, and
cotiftquently, worthy of the utmnfl attention. The
next point to which he wiffied to dire& the attention
of the Houfe, was the comparative ftatemeht of the
Journal of the Captain, and the feveral othcrjournals
of the expenditure which had come under the infpec-
tion of the Commiflioners. On this part of the cub-
jed it was impollible for him to go into any technical
detail:—but it would be fufficient to refer generally
to the tone and temper of the Report, the language
of which clearly imported that the Journals were
both irregular and in many inflances contradifrnry.
In the Report it was diflindly (laced, that articles for
the ufe of the Romney and la Senfihle had been pur•.
chafed at a muff enormous rate, and that other arti.
eke, on the contrary, had not been accounted for in a
tatisfadory manner, or rather had been difpnled of at
1r Is than the 2ctli part of their real value. Among the
charges was one for a fifty hundred anchor, purchaf-
ed in the room of one which had been 101 l in the In-
dian feas. Here, however, a remarkable circumstance
occurred, that when the inquiry was inflituted at
Sheernefs as to the (fate of the Romney, it was flirt-
ed that when the failed from England the had the
identical anchor which was found on board after her
return. While this was mentioned, it did not at all
appear that the other anchor, in room of which the
fifty hundred anchor was purchafed, had ever been
nr if it was loft, that it had ever been recovered.
In addition to this he had to add, that, in the report,
charges for ftores are taken notice of to the amount
of four or five thoufand pounds, of which the necef-
fity of no other account is given than that it was de-
rived from the high charader of the officer under
whole command the velfels were at the time the
charges were fuppafed to have been incurred. It
was afferted that the Romney, when the left Eng-
land, was fully provided for twelve months with all
requifite (torts. lint after the molt minute inquiries,
the Commirroners had Brand, that in a very Hutto
time after her fariiirg the had received repairs, and
that nearly nine thouland pounds had been charged
for there repairs. Sorely in this there was vet y little
of the appeararce of wconomy, and it was tit, at
fuch a period as the prefent. that the brilinen thatild
ire folly inveiligated. The Commillioners had Itated
the charges to he enormous, and it was proper that
the grounds of their decifion thould he rimed. With
refped to the charges on the repairs of the other vef
fel, the fame opinion as to extravagance was deliver-
ed, mid the fame neceflity for full inveftigation ezift-
ed. Whether the Hon. officer at the time the fop.
pored repairs were made, was tinder the orders of
Admiral Rainier, or whether, as he had heard it in-
tinuated, he had an independent command, he con-
ferred himfeif unable to detiele. If he was under the
orders of Admiral Paiuier, it certainly mutt he al-
lowed to have been a molt extraordinary circutn-
fiance, that the fuperiar officer had not been c"nfult-
ed on a tlep which was furely one of very great con-
fequence, and neceffarily attended with va9 expence.
The Rep to which he alluded was the changing nf,
la Senfible into a thirty-two gar frigate. The
Hononrable officer might have had grounds for this
alteration, but it could not be pretended that he had
communicated his reafons to the Admiral on the Eaft
India Nation. On the contrary it appeared, that a
month previous to the arrival of the (hip at Calcutta,
the cordage, rigging, and other articles neceffiny to
form the alteration, had been ordered and were in
a finite of preparation. Thus, it appeared, that the
Honourable officer had taken the whole refporifibility
of the Instinct's on himfeif, and it was proper that the
gronnds on which he proceeded fhould be explain-
ed. It was ftated that before the Senfible had
been altered, her fituation had been fully examin-
ed, but what he had jolt flared refpen%ng the or-
ders for ftores, completely refuted this idea. There
were other accounts of tranfaEtions in the Red Sea
which were not a little curious. The Honourable
officer feemed to have found, contrary to general
opinion, every thing quite aa converient for the repair
of (hips as if he had adtially been in the heart of the ri-
ver, and in the vicinity of our arfenals. It was proper
that the public thould under:land the whole of there
trantadions, which were neceffary to complete the
view of the fubjed. Conneded with this part of the
queflion, the thould alto take the liberty of moving
for certain letters from Marquis Wellefley relative
to the expenditure of the veffils under the command
of the Honourable Officer while in the India ICA:•.—
Before he fat down, he wifficd to fay a few words as
to the mode of inveffigation which he had thou ;lit
it his duty to prupofe. It might be affied, whether
this was the only potlible mode of it ye ligatiro
the fubjed ; whether there was not anoth o tribu-
nal, before which the men:* of the queoi n
might not be more &fist:glorify decided ? It :nig] t
beeurged that the Board of Admiralty were much
more competent to try a miettion of this kind than
an atremltly compofed as that was ssi iclt he
had the honour to addrefs. To this his anfwer
*as plain and fatisfadory. Ile had heard, on au
tlanity which to him appeared highly relpeetatne,
that the late Board of Admiralty had detigned to in-
Ititute a criminal prolecution againft tile Hotioura•
ble Officer. The change of adminiftration which •
took place, however, prevented them from cart) ing
their views into effed, and there was no profped of
the prefent Board of Admiralty fedowing tip the
reffiltition of their predecerloi s. When he fa w the
Honourable Officer not only invelltd with an impor-
tant command, but apparently high in the confi-
dence of his Majelly's Minideto, he tilovglit it was
not at all unnatural to fuppofe, that nn fort of pro-
ceeding relpeBing the Honourable Officer's condo&
was in contemplation. It might be laid again, that
this fubjeO would, with notch more propriety, have
been fubmitted to the confideration of the Cemmil
lion appointed to inquire into naval abures. For his
part, he thould have felt pride and fatisfadion in
having the merits of the rotation tried b:oro. that
Board. Never, be believed, did any men, inverted
with great powers, diteharge their duty to the Hnufe
and the public with more zeal, and more fidelity.
But a; it was underflood that this Board bad it not
in their power to take cognizance of the butinefs,
lie had felt it his duty to fubmit it to the e
of the higheß tribunal in the cow
prounds he hoped he would receive ft
gurity of hia motives. He walled it

the Honourable Officer, not leis tl ar. of •he
:hat niattn- Ihould be fatisfafloii:y
what
was Rated in the Reputt to which he had .•:
often alluded, !hoo!d turn out to be unfounded,
fhould lincerelv- rejoice at it, and lie WAS fore t!
Honourable Officer would be harpy to have an o;,•
portunitv of vindicating hi; condaa. After a few
wore üb.fervations, the Honourable Gentleman con-
chided by moving—

For a Copy of the Statement of the R7pain of the Romney in
TBOO.

A Cnpy of t"e Report of the ConiniiiTisners of t'ac Navy Bnar
refpeeting the Repairs of the Romney and la Setifilde, while ti-d,
the command of Sir Home Porilati, rrefetited in Fehruory t ;4,• 4.
A Copy of all the Account; of h'r. Spearman, the Otlicrr soui
furcrititended the pin-chafe u.` Stores for thole (hips iir the Red :sr..,
and any Ripon of the Navy Board on the (abject. And
Copies of all Letters from M3rgliii t 1 dl.G.y It) the Court of
Directors refreding the fame BuGa.fs.

.
As f ion as the &ft motion was put from theClia'o
Sir HOME POPHAM got up, and iorured the
Houfe, that no man in exittence was more ariiiHo
than himft.:l; to have every part of !u condo& lo;:.
canvatied ; no exertion had been omitted on his pal!
to have a fair opportunity of vindicating liimlelffront
any charges which were fo induffrioutir circulated
against kim in an anent =MS pamphlet, from which
the Honourable Gentleman who introduced the btoi-
nels, appeared to have drawn all his information.
The Honourable Member had expreffed his furprife,
that no anfwer had been given to that pamphlet. He
begged leave to aifure the Honourable Gentleman
and the Houfe, that this had as ifen from no hark-
wardnefe on his part, to meet the fcandalous falle-
hoods which that pamphlet contained. The fat':te
however, was, that a certain degree of caution and
alarm in the profs had retarded the publication of his
anfwer; which now, however, was before the public.
From this anfwer, he begged leave to read a few
extracts of letters which had pat Ted bet'veeit him and
the Board of Admiralty, from which it world be
clear beyond all pollibility of doubt, that he had on
every occafinn evinced the molt ardent &Ire, not
only to throw no obttacles in the way of the invelli-
gation of the charges, but had, on the contrary,
preffed upon the Board of Admit alty, every confide.
ration which feemed to him the !call calculated to
accelerate the difcaffi on. In iiipport of this i.bferva-
tion, the Honourable proceeded to read art
extract from a letter to Lord St. Vincent, as Firt
Lord of the Admiralty, in Italy, 03..)3, in which he
alludes to the grufs and iiiamendcd charges made
againit him, and foheits their Lsrdillips to tote no
time in ordering a flail invelligation of his conditet.
To tins letter he received an antwer, that the bufincts
(hook! be referred to theCommiflioners of the Navy
Board, and as loon as they had prepared a report on
the lubjeCt, a copy Humid be foenithed him. The
Honourable Officer, !lilt anxious to accelerate the
inveltigation, wrote another letter, reprefenting the
proriety of his being called before the Navy Board,
to afford fuch explanations as would materially faci-
litate a final decifion. 'rhe whole of his correlpon-
dence with the Admiralty had, he maintained, this
difpatch in the invettigatiun as the objed dearest to
his heart. It could not be at all contended, there-
fore, that if the matter was not folly inveffigated,
any blame was to be attached to him in the butinefs.
Indeed, from a review of the whole of his condo 1,
he had no reatim to Ihrialt from impiiry. He was
confident that on every occation, and during the whole
of the fervice on ivhich the charge was founded, he
had never looked to private iaterea, but to the in.
terell and the glory of his country. He had ample
tettimonies of the difcipline, the healthinefe, and the
failor-like appearance of the crew of the Romney
while under his command, and he confoled himfelf,
amidll malignant and unfounded charges, Oy the
rcfleaion that he had been fortunate ettough to re-
ceive the good opinion of the molt refpeClable melt
in the Honourable profeflion tr, which he belonged.
He was never confcions of having given an order for
a fingle article which did not teem to him neceirary
to the public fervice. The Honourable Officer next
referred to a letter to Sir Evan Nepean about the
end of July, ifio3, fish prtiiing the expediency of
battening the invetiioation to a dole. He voted
I another letter to the First Lei d of the Admiralty,
propolng a number of epiettions to be put by the
Commillioners of the Navy 11 iard, all of which he
pled d hi.ofelf to anfwer in foe:, ain inner as onto-
pleteiy to do away any charot againtt hi rr. Vet
though he had carneitiy withed thete queilinns to he
propoled, his proplition 100 l met with no fort of at-
tention, and toe inv,oi;gailoti continued to be pro-
n.:sled. As a prod ut the falfity el 0:: charges
0.1 Lim, the I ,yid .1 ieticr
limn an toiicer now employed in the feiv ce ef the
country. this was a voluntary aPidavit from a g.m-
tleinan who went out :1h Limn as hearth Lieuteneint.
and bad gradua4 to be outlier. The Linguae:
of the letter was to the highelt degree gratifying to
the Ilon. Officer's feelings. It pitneg!rized every
part of his concitiA, deferibed the clfoges of ext. a-
vagance as Wk. and malignanr, represented him es
a man of too high honour an.' :me?, itY to wane the
nati-nal refourr:ss committed to his care, and Ite!,t
him tip as an Oricieer who lived only fir the profvei:-
ty, the honour, and the glory of his eouotry.
Sina-
lar taimony in hi., favour the Hon •I
from the letter of a relpecchahle Gentleman in todir,

in which he attributes the 1.0“.•ty of. the Calcutta traa-
(poi t in the Red Sta to the sxei lions or Sir Fiume
Pol2ham, his officers, and crew. Ile mimed i-n tl:c
awn-Mk:ince of I,i) :irerry,,t being made ty. -
to pnrdlitnent as a It?.,;%;•ioill of his h.nticenve.
the Board of Ad•ttira:•y tttoatz:;',. thq !tad a c..s•
111,4;x nut ;Tahiti hit-nov/1 d:d they r.ot I;:-%ag him t
a coint martial .1 hat tl)..ty were not unwill n: t
have done II) can fcarciy !!e &met!, :tr.! their -
ing taken no Ileps in the bidaleis WAS is plea y gaa
th tt they were convinced that
tubilantiate any chat ge him pin-
abot tire. Nt% leis than tllirieen mot.tfr after ld• Tf•
turn elapi-ed before any t cp,•l I I ttoed, attd.tii *
that the Report was bethre the public nearly a ve,t
no Reps had been taken to foilow tip the charge .
I-3e was happy that the lubjz-1 WaF now brought tce
ward, and he trifled that there would rot h:t a t!
fentient voice in agreeing; to the production or
Papers for which the Hon. Gentleman h to moved
14e was anxious to have no ittformati,ti stet : ha, r
and he was highly gratified to think that lie
now have an opportnaity of vindica--in? c•inslii

the confidcratiun I bd.. .re fo hig:l n tribunal. litffore he t! • '
intry. On woe I 1-lon.Oflieer Animadverted on the fcr.:enc: t• •
full credit fur the I, Reiwrt of the,Commitlirm.rs of the Navy
it fat the fake of I was Iliac ajirlittcd by ti.i; Cuinruilioners,
•
• .