Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1824-07-09

isn for miscOneeption or misrepresentation.
What. then, are the pretensiOns Of my pros
scut"r to indifference What his proofs o
f"rbearance He has not, indeed, appeared
upon the stage, placed himself openly by tn,
side OF your Judge Advocate, and persona y
Ipropo2aded To the witnesses the interrogatO.
ries which were To extract the materials Of INV
condemnation. But is it not known to YOU
and TO all who have attended TO the progress:
OF this trial, that he is the spring. though con.
ceaied, by which this whole machinery has
been moved by which the prosecution had
IT'S hrst impulse has been since sustained and
yet continues its mntions? Day after day
hour after hour, during all the examination oil
the witnesses for the prosecution, have you
not seen despatch after despatch Gene from
Capt. Porter, loaded--with interrogatories to
each witness
How many of these inierrogatories have
pfen suppressed, AZ indecOrous, or irrelsv ant,
% applicable TO matters you are not at liberty
even with my conseut) to inquire toto, is
known only to the Judge Advocate himself
put what deliberate preparation has been
wanted what industry withheld ? what in.
curry omitted what means unessayed what
source OF Information left untried, to establish
his accusation? Nothing has occurred to shew
indifference, unless, indeed, his personal alb
sence, which could detract nothing from the
eject VI his interfogatOries, though it might
materially improve the skill Of theiIs prepara-
tson,l De proof OF indifference and forbearance.
II 70 within your recollection, too, that he
proposed to me, during the trial, TO admit Ger
tain papers and letters as evidence though
tat them referred to matters occurring long
nae offences now imputed 10 me and
f1l:<x,r are embraced by the prosecution though
tuat proposal wholly suppressed a transaction,
winch now verify believe, would have dis
closed the secret source OF his ill-w towards
me Though some sfthen related to q matter
which, by deliberately abandoning ever since
my arrest, las you may See by comparing the
charges sent IL me ON the - day Of De-
cember, With those now preferred.) he pre-
| vented me from being prepared To repel. Inv
the proofs. which he knew it was in nv DOW.
er to obtain though, while he proposed to
oiier my lettersaos support charge, he with
ht'd one, aud th6 most mater l one, 10 ex-
plain the transacloDto which tile others al
iuued yet, To lhis strange and unreasonable
proposal. you Will do me the justice IN remem-
Der, did not hesitate one moment in accord
ing. Nay, more, freely consented to impose
NO units To his accusalIUns to place in his
hands the volume Of my life, private and pro-
irsslOnal to allow him TO poin, out any blot
anu erticIse every error he could detect in it !;
aud 10 consider me now OH trial for all the
tent to trust my vIndicattOn to the unprepar-
I'd aud natural explanations, which the incl
dents themselves might furnish. This con-
sent Gould have been inspired only by con-
scious rectitude, or egregIOus folly for what
iotiy Could be greater in one conscious of
guilt, than thus wantonly to throw aside the
| Impenelrable shield the law had raised for hi,
protection, aud TO offer himself unar,ned, na-
ked, defenceIess, 10 the weapon Of AN adver-
| sary, from whom he has hitherto experienced
no Prooi vi signal ioibearance, Or exlraord,na-
| ~ moderation?
If have thus refused to conceal from your
scrutiny, transactions which was at hbrrly
to withhold frOm,aIl inspection, may not in
du'ge the belief, that come before you this
day with some slight claims upon your conf
dence, at least in my frankDess, If not in nv
Innocence. Having thus given to my adver-
sary all vantage of field and sky, with temper
ed weapons, and mailed papopiy to boot,
enter the lists on no gay errand nf courtly
Ut, or knightly tournament, but in deadly
gage, To do battle for my honor, without shield
vi helmet, with no weapon but truth, I enter
these fatal lists, from which both of us NAV
not pass unframed and never in the DAYS
gone by, did knight more deyoutly say than
| do now, God defend the right. The prose-
cnt'on imputestO me, lalsehoOd, malice, base
acts Of defamation. Ii insinuates, ia terms
not To be misunderstood, that ] had palmed
upon the world, as true, IA fabricated and
counterfeit TESTIMONIAL IN my own cOmmenda-
ton. l have asked your confidence Il viii
not abuse it. If these charges be true, will
spare you the pain of deliberating on nv pun
ishment. Lost though l must then be to ey
cry generous and manly sentiment which
should characterize an officer, shall vet ha, e
virtue enough to applaud the justice of the
sentence, which doons me to eternal separa.
ton from the Navy. L own, too, your thanks
will be merited by the officers, who, in procur-
ing my condemnation, shall have protected The
service from the opprobriun, of nv offences
aud the contamination Of my example.
But, should satisfactorily refute eyerv ac.
cusation should it be proved by the concur
ring testimony of my superiors, and my equals,
that, as an officer and man, my condsct had
never before merlted nor received reproach
should it be shown that, without the slightest
real prosocatoD, and on the most futile pre-
texts, my character was cruelty assailpd, in a
mode OF all others most indecorous and often
siye should it become apparent that the au-
thor Of this injury, when appraised of my en-
TIE innocence, aggravated the original wrong
by lofty and cOntumeous spirit, which
deemed me too low for Accommodation Va
significant for redress should be able to sat
isiy you that even the temperate and mode
rate means Of Standardization which | adopt
ed were, by this same haughlness, converted
into crimes, and that, abusing the power which
his rank gave him over me, and soliciting the
most critical moment Of my professional ca
reer, he has attempted to crush aud to ruin
me, under the form Of his prosecution should
all This be sh0wD, will not allow myself to
doubt, that this court of conscience and honor
| will give me back to the navy, untarnshed by