American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1825-08-16
From The National LgteH,gencer.
NAVAL COURT MARTIAL.
LKncL ssaosIo.a a...-...I q,
Washington, august 6.


Washington, august 6.
j Continuation Of Com. PoRrER's Defence,
Embracing the Cd charge, of which Ito make ouu
report the more intelligibe) we have obtained the
Perusal, and give the following summary:
CHARGE 3D." Insubordinate conduct and conduct un
becoming an officer" -
srEcIrIcArIos 1stThat he wrote and transmitted tc
the President of the United States letter of an nsubor
dnate and dsrespectl character on the 18th Anr
and to the Secretary of the Navy varous letters of
nsubordnate and dsrespecul character viz on the ooh
January 10th March, 18th April and 18th June all in the
year 1875 thereby violating the respect due the head
OF the Department. mparng tine discipline of the service
and setting most dangerous and pernicious example"
NoTE--Al these letters, except that to the President
are to be fodnd in the National ntelgencer of the 3b
March last in the National Journal of the 10th lime an
in Com. Porters pamphlet.
SPECIFICATION Cd The publication, in Commodore Por
ters pamphlet OF the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry
after the Court had terminated its Inquiries and had trans
med its report to the Secretary of the Navy and before
the Executive had authorized the publication of the pro-
ceedings r.
SPECIFICATION 3d." An incorrect statement Of the mo-
ceedings of the Court" in the same pamphlet
SPECIFICATION 9Th The insertion in the said pamphlet
various remarks statements, and nsnations not
ranted by the facts, highly dsrespecu to the Secretary
OF the Navy and the said Court of Inquiry'
SPECIFICATION 5th-That he did, in the same pubica-
ton 1.-THE pamphlet before referred ol without any ahor
y or permission for that purpose, make public official com
muncaons to the government and official correspondence
with the governments and, other OCCASIONS between
OStoDNTs 1928.
authority permission therefor. made public orders and
instructions from the government, and official correspon
dence with the government"
NorEIhis last branch of the specification is understood
to refer to the publications in the Inelpencer o
3Oh March, and National Journal of the 10th June before
mentioned
The second branch of the accusation has from the
first occasioncd me little perplexity which has,
in no degree, been relieved by any calculation in the
course OF the present trial. Whether any and what
sort OF justification it made incumbent on me, was
not so easy to determine, from any matter Of crimi
natlon either distinctly pronounced, or properly to
be inferred from the context of the charge or the
specifications.
The process both of the evidence and the arpu.
ment, by which the gist of the prosecution and the
points on which it turned, should have been dis.
nctly explained or openly indicated has not tend.
ed to possess me with any more clear or detailed
information of The specific quality and degree of
the offence, with which was to be charged, or OF
the penal consequences supposed to be attached to
liz than might have been collected from the extreme
ly vague and indefinite, if not unintegbIe, terms
OF the charge and the specifications. Indeed, the
mpenetrable reserve, affecting mystery, If not stu
dlous concealment, by which such dim and partial
views OF these points have been vouchsafed, would
seem to indicate the darkest suspicious, and ne,
cessy Tor prosecution as unrelenting in its pur.
pose and as interruptions in its means, as could be
were dealing with some willy and veteran offender,
skilled and experienced in all the subteties of eva.
sion, and who was TO be caught in his iniques only
by pouring upon him unawares, and by concealinp
from him the quarter of attack, till the unseen blow
pushed home and felt in all its force, should have
overwhelmed him with the shame of open detection,
while unprovded with subterfuge, and cut off from
all retreat.
was instructed by the clear and unhcsa,ipp adj
nv hu
into the merits of the question: as could be obtained
by my own common sense, to conclude that this
branch OF the accusation purported to charge me
with no offence, OF which this court had any Judi
cal cognizance; and my own conscience, as far
as it had been enlightened by any knowledge or con-
lecture OF the transactions so darkly alluded to- was
equally void OF any offence, to which any degree Of
guilt, either legal or moral, could be imputed. In
deed it was clear enough, upon the face Of the accu
satinn ITSELF how scduousy the responsibility of ha
wing imputed any thing, immoral or dishonorahle,
had been guarded against; and accordingly, that
instead OF definite and precise charge, supported
by specifications, in any proper and legitimate sense
OF the term, vague ceDsures clothed in loose gene
ralties, and in the most ambiguous and perplexed
phraseology, had been introduced by strange abuse
OF terms, under the name of charge and specifca.
tons.
Perfectly consistent with the original frame of the
accusation, has been the method, in which it has
been followed out, in the proof and in the argument
Voluminous masses of documents, consisting of
miscellaneous correspondence, and printed pam
phet of more than one hundred pages, were produ-
ced in evidence, under the several specifications,
and Unfortunately read, from beginning to
end, without any specific designation, or reference
whatever to the passages the circumstances
wherein the offensive matter was supposed to con-
sis; with the single exception of the alleged oms-
sions, deficiencies, and verbal inaccuracies, charged
upon that part of my pamphlet which purports
to set out the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry