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130
TRIAL
Vj Adnir.il CORNWALLIS.
THE DEFENCE.
(Concluded frcm our Lift.)
THE admiral laid, that being indisposed
/With a weakwfs in his eyes, he mouldrequrfi
‘‘the indulgence of the court, to permit his
friend, Mr. Erskine, to read the paper which
lie has prepared lot his defence
Fcrmiflion being granted, Mr. Ertkine was
defiled to taxe his Ration near the Prefidrnt,
Lor<l Howe, and read, in a diftiuft and im
preflivc, hut manly and uuafl'ted tone, a pa
p-r, of which the following is an outline. In
the whole of this paper, the admiral appears as
the iirft person ; and for the faktsof precision,
we (ball observe the fame method in our report.
“ I am nhw railed upon, after a long and
laborious lib*, to aufwer charges brought a
g.imit me, from a quarter of high authority,
’ which, if well founded, would go at once o
deprive me of the merit f that aHiduity -i.d
zeal, wliich I trust I have ever trftified to
difeharge the duties of roy.profeflion, and to
promote the public service. A ch irge is
brought ag uinft me ly the hoard of admiralty ,
that Id .uiied ray services at a moment when
they were wanted for the public, and called
tor by thole who indisputably had a right to
command them. If this cha v :e be true, the
<onfequenr.es to me mutt be lerious indeed. I
am, therefore, deeply anxious that all the cir
curnft nees on which this charge was founded,
should be properly investigated, and the mo
tives which guided my conciuft on the occa
sion thoroughly explained. My anxiety is
inertafed, not merely from personal feelings,
but from the higher consideration of the dig
nity and independence of the Navy, which i
tiarinnt hut regard a* implicated in the issue of
this case. If my honour should, in the prelent
inll.mc'e be dellroyed, the honour of the ref
pci.tahle personages who compoic this Court,
whole characters from the highest ornament,
and the belt iecutity of their country, may be
ttfrnilhed by the fame means, which will then
have beep fuccelsfully employed against mine.
Early in February, I was appointed to the
command of a fqnadron deltined lor Barbado-s.
My ftite of health had, tor fome time been so
precarious, that had I beendifpofed to ihrink
Tlomthr service, I might have declined the com
mand without any fear of reproach. No dil
'friulty would liave been found to supply the
appointment, as it was a situation of honor
and emolument, wliich many are naturally de
lirous to fill. The state of the Weft-Indies
was then extremely critical. From the incle
m-ncy of ihe winter and autumn, thelhipi de
ft: :r-d for that quart-r, had been prevented
from failing lor a ronhdrrable space of time,
Tmd it was Vealonably to Oe concluded, that
Tuiniflers would be driirous to take the firil
opportunity to exo dite the necelTary supplies.
Tii • urgency was not pointed out to me, un
der which my services were particularly re
quired, nor was any communication made that
1 should oe t quiredto take upon me the chi- f
command. A superior officer was at that time
on the llition for which I was deltined. U.>-
cler thole cirumllatices 1 accepted the ippom -
moot. I never conceived :h it it was inond ■
that I should filp'rccd: another. I received no
intimation that admiral fir } >!m Laforey,
would deliver up his command to me, ri ,r
was 1 ntrufted with any ini mediate melLg
to that commander. In this fituJiiou I cotud
n t be sensible of the urgency which has finer
been a Hedged of my presence on the itation
I conceived myfelf to be chiefly employed for
the conduct of the convoy. Tneir expeditious
difpalc.h and their, fafe arrival, were the fir It
wbjrtt of my solicitude and attention : such
was the ;;r. predion under which I failed
The accident which b-fri the Royal Sovereign,
at ?n early period, has been already detailed
ill the Journal which was read to die court.
On the sth March, the (hip fullered so severe-
Jy from the confcquences ot that accident, tha
me could neither lie at. anchor in security, or
kerp tlie sea with falety ; it was then that
knowing her to he totally unfit for foreign fir
vice, I formed tlie det-unination to return to
port. There was then no proper (hip near me,
>to which I could transfer mv flag. I should
have thought it criminal to deprive mv country
of any reiourcc applicable to its service, by em
ploying it under fircurftitances, in which it
could not pofliblc he available. Still, howev
er, lo much was I lmprelfed with what I con
ceived to be the original and chief object of my
appointment, that previous to m\ return, 1 re
ftfived to carry on the convoy beyond the la
titude wherein they would be molt exposed
to danger. This object being accotnplilhcd,
I delivered the convoy to Capt. Lewis, of the
Minotour, and returned to port. lam blam ft
lor not sh siting mylligto another lb ip. In
anfwertothis I have to remark, that the Yquad
ron under my orders was par ed. Th*’ Alfred,
(he Undaunted, and the Promptc, had been fe
prrated from the Royal Sovereign The other
three, the Mars, the Minotour* and the Quebec,
independently of their inllruteonsto accompa
ny me along with the convoy, had other secret
*id-rs under which they were to ad. So lit
tle was it then the intention of the admiralty,
that the ships should compose mv iquadron, or
be employed for immediate service on the lla
tion in which I was destined to ad, that Iliad
even no communication with them onthe fub
jrte I admit, that I had the power to have fu
perceded tiicir secret inftrutlions, and to
have employed th-rn for any purpose of the
service, if any ftroar and imperious nec ffiiy
had called for the adoption of such a measure.
1 migfit therefore have removed my flag to ei
ther of thefc ships, and thereby Interfered with
the operations of the secret orders. Unques
tionably 1 might so havead*d, if eitherneceflt
fy demanded, or expediency fanftioned the
propriety of (hitting my flig ; but by such a
hep, I should have rendered myfelf liable to a
court-martial, tor an enquiry into my conduft;
and it is extremely hard, that an officer by fol
lowing his own judgment, should be fubjetl
to ,he very percedmg, which would have
ocenthe confequeace if he had adopted a dia
lirtncally oppofue line of conduct, Bolides,
the ships were not fined for for ten lervice,
nor were they fufficfently provided with Hires
nnd pi ovitions, I had twelve m mths ago, in
an off.cu l capacity, stated to minuter*, mat the
M potautr :.ad dc.ccfi •* her bottom, that Ihc
Columbian jHufeum,
was boxed ; and I have ftnee learned that foe
had been two or three times ashore. If, in
fhilting iny flag to another ship, I had merely
transferred my perlon at the rifle of my health,
and m e life, I Ihould not have felt muchrrluff
ance to ha"* made a facrifice which was requir
ed by my duty. But as an officer, it was not
my bufmefs to throw myfeU into r.nother ffiip,
wnere I was 1-nfible that my exertions could
b- of :to service. It would liav” h-en unwor
thy of the honest pi ide of a Bruifli sea men to
li ave given up his real duty, lor the appearance
of an oltentatious and fruitlefs zeal. It w'ould
have been inc rnfiftent with naval cuflom, and
certainly not beneficial to th- public intemft, to
have given up offi.*rs, whose fidelity, from the
long experience of th*:r tri"d worth, had insu
red mv confide nee. and whose ufiful services
merited my grateful efleem. It surely could
not be expect a nd; that in the precarious state of
my health, I should not embark in an ardu
ous and critical service, with officers to whom
I was entirely a ftrang-r, and without the aflifl
ance of thole whole charaCW I approved,
and to whose talent? I could fafely repose th”
execution of my orders. On the other hand,
to h?.ve made the regular change to officers and
crew, would have retarded ilr 1 convoy, whofi*
voyage it was of foinuch consequence to accele.
rat", id would have exposed them to all th
dangers of delay. Befiacs, it was confide red
wfiiat length of time mult be coniumed, and
wiiat inconvenience incurred, in moving stores
and provisions, to ships not intended or equip
ped for service. If during that period, the en
emy bad made their appearance, not only the
convoy would have been exposed to the moll
imminent hazard, but even his majesty’s ships
would have been endangered, and the confe
quenc.es might have been extremely fatal to th n
naval interells of this country. Really in this
point of view, the plan adopted, must appear to
be the brft that could have been pursued for
hismajefty’s service.
I entreat the court always to hold in re
membrance the difficulty and embarrafTment
which he must experience, who has to form
his decision from the impulse of immediate
and prelling ncceffity. It in this predicament
I have not for.n-d the bed dmiifion wbirh an
unerring judgment would have adopted, for
the honor and advantage ol thole who ar* pla
ced in the fame situation with myfelf, I claim
the exercifeof a fair and rcafonablc diferetion.
By custom, fup*ribr officers are never made
rclponfihlc for petty mistakes, or flight differ
ences of opinion. In ihe present infiance I
have to observe, that the command was not
prelfc-d upon me by authority; it was not only
undertaken voluntarily, but accepted after such
a lories of illness, as might have fufficiently
juftified me in declining it. It was pursued
at a considerable expense of equipment; it was
followed by extreme anxiety and unremitting
acbivily for tlie attainment of that objeft, with
wliich I conceived myfelf to be chiefly entrust
ed. Uad -r those circurnflances, it w'ould be
uncharitable to a r crii”- my conduft to a wilful
abandonment >f the service. It would oe ab
iurd to impute to ad ’liberate purpose to facri
fice the credit acquired by a long and laborious
life. Ido ii'-t briieve that it is polfitile icim
mue to me abase and disloyal intention. Ir
my judgment is pronounced criminal, it will
mly be on the ground that it has been weak
and ignorant. But I entreat the court to be
ware how they countenance the dangerous pre
cedent o!\;tliowing thr solid claims 01 tried
l -rviceto be weigh'd in the fluctuating scale of
I peculation, how they reduce the character of a
mp-rior olfic’r, inv.oiled wi ha great refponfi
biiily, to be tried by nice fnades of opinion.
U is nne thing to decide on the spur of the oc
eafion, it is another to deliberate after the event
has actually taken place. The conduct of a
superior officer is en.iiled to be examined by
lair arid cand'd rules of interpretation, making
every allowance for flight dirterenc-s of judg
ment, and even for those accidental errors
which are inseparable from human frailty. On
the nrft charge I cannot bu; remark, that even
after my return to Spithead, I was continued
in my command, and even honored with frclh
marks of confid mce. This manifeftly lhews.
that though mv itidgment was disapproved,
(till I was not ciiarged wilh ‘he imputation of
any neglett of duty. Had I complied with
ihe IreiK orders, and tailed in the Aftrea, I
should unquefiionibly not have been brought
before this Court Martial to answer for mv
conduft on board the Royal Sovereign. An
offi tr, strongly lufpedted of laboring under a
ch.arge io atrocious, would not have been em
ploy: and in a llation so arduous and critical,
which so many fkilful and meritorious men
could have been found to fill the appointment.
My anlwer to the second < barge as so elTent ially
involved in the firft, that I lhall not detain the
court farther on that head. I now proceed to
the third charge, thai of difobedienoe In the
case of positive orders, I had neither judgment
to form, nor diferetion to exerrite. I had on
ly to obey. I trust that it forms no part of my
principles, nor has it been the aition of any
part of my life, to shake the iniln-ncc of sub
ordination. I solemnly and firmly deny that
I have been guilty of oifobedience of orders.
Wlten I received the orders to go on board the
Aftrea the could no longer be the con
voy. It must he with a view to a£l in the
Leward l(land llation, and such a commiflion
could not be lightly accept'd, under circum
ftauces by which I was d'prived of all the af
liifance on which I was molt accuftom*d to
roly. If the abridgment of my own conveni
ence, and the faciiiioe ol my health had b*en
the only evils to be dreaded, I might have
braved me worst. Bui I was in no lituation
to accept of so i'rious a relponfibility. I'he,
Hate ol my health was such ns gaye me no rea
lonable aifurance as an honest man, of being
able to dilvhnrge my duty properly to the
public. Had I gone out in th” Aftrea, I should
have be-m a fitter objeil for an hospital, than
for the management of an important command.
In my answer to lord Spenc r’s letter, I m'n
tioned my r*’adinvfs to go oir, as soon as the
Royal Sovereign was refitted. I did not expeft
that such an otter would have been treat ‘d in
the light of a mutinous rciufa! I mentioned
the precarious state of mv health as tke real on
why I flaould not go aboard the Aftrea, But
on the rej-tftion of my petition, there is no
evid*nce that I would have relfifed to obey a
po mve c ‘mmand. After having stated the
difficulties which I found in the way ol com
pliance, my cunfcicnce would then MfvcJiMri
relieved, arid I should have felt less difficulty
to obey a repetition of the order, whatever
might have been the r'fult. My letter con
tained only a proposition ; if that were nega
tived ; if the original li.id been renewed, and I
Hill had declin'd to ob'y, the court would
then have only had to confidcr the single point,
whether or not I was in a capacity to go. The
Noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty,
mentions in one of his letters the example of a
commander who went out in a frigate to the
Weft-India llation, in a former inllance. That
frigate, however, was expressly fitted out for
the purpose and the officers ielefted by the
commander himfelf. In a fubiequent letter,
Lord Spemcer ordered me to continue my flig
hoifleil at Spithead ; it is impossible therefore
>0 charge me with difobcdience to the firft
letter, till th<* second came in answer to my
proposition, which put a complete negative up
on the firft. If it had been hinted to me that
such a tonilruttion would have been put upon
rny propofilion, as I now find to have been the
case, an opportunity would have been aiiorded
me lor explanation. But no luch intimation
was given me ti,l I received the notice ol this
Court Martial, I do not at all Rand in the iitua
tion of an officer juftilying difobcdience.
The intimate connexion in which 1 Hand to
a Noble p -rfon high in office, and the princi
ples which I have uniformly fupobrted. will
prevent me from being readily conl uer’d in
such a light, I did not let up my precarious
state of health as an ultimate bar to the service
on which I was ordered ; I only submitted it
to my lup'rior Officers, as a region why I was
less qualified to undertake it in the particular
circurnflances in which I was placed. If any
rule he adopt'd to render this conduct crimin
al, I (hall be the firft vittim ; and the present
will afiord the firft inllance in which such a
rule has been adopted.
The whole fyllem of Britifb law is calculat
ed, not to entrap men in fr.ares,not to entangle
them with insidious fophiitry, but to afford to
ail a fyftcm or candid interpretation and liter
al protection. It is built on the eternal prin
ciples ol justice ; it is tempered by the mild
spirit of humanity. Having now refufeu the
charge of difobcdience, I mult just remarkup
on the conftruftion put upon iny letter by the
First Lord of the Admiralty—a conftrudion
entirely foreign to my intension, and, I trust,
not obvionfly to be deduced from the expres
sion in winch the letter is couched. Ir, in
those expreftions, there is any thing faulty, I
should have been happy to have aiiorded an
explanation. Thole in our profeflion ought
surely, lead ol all others, in the mode of ex
preflion they may adopt, to be fubjcflcd to
nicety of cricicifm, or puzzled by subtlety of
diftintlions. i’he Noble L >rd imputes to me;
not only my return, but mliauates that I was
ever averse to the service. If a fup'rior Offi
cer, in the exercifeof that diferetion with which
he is supposed td be inveited, is to be exposed
to such mfmuations, the higher his rank the
more painfui is the talk imposed upon him.
ihe du y of a captain is comparatively easy ;
ho has only to obey a lew limple and explicit
orders. Those in a higher rank, who receive
greater latitude ol lnitruiftion, and have a more
ample field ol diferetion, have to encounter
ihe evils of ambiguity, of innocent miibke,
end imputed negietf. With refpffift to the com
mand of an expedition, there are many diiier
ent judgments The situation of an Officer is
peculiarly critical. He is called to a painful
duty, to a dangerous eminence. His character
•tillers from question as well as condemnation.
Vet the service brings along with ii manv ar
duous toils, many severe lacrificcs; nor are
those wounds which aifaii his character the
leall of thole evils which he is exposed to fuf
ier. On this ftffij *cl I feel much —more than
I can well expr'fs, and you whom i now ad
dress will feel along with me. My conic fence
acquits me of all blame ; and if your verdift
fhali be found lo confirm its testimony, my
iatisfaiiliu.-’ will be proportionate to the anxiety
which I l it for your approbation.”
When Mr. Lrlkme had finifhed the reading
of the paper, admiral Cornwallis ItaLf and to the
Court, that as one of the charges contained in
Lord Spencer’s letter accused him with wish
ing not logo to his llation,’ as if he would be
delircus to snatch the opportunity of
cufe for returning, he was defiroiis that his
captain might he examined, to teftify as to his
’ dilpofition in that refp'ffi.
Captain l\ hitby (ojiht Royal Sovereign) sworn.
Court. — Captain Whitby, do yon remember
at any time after the accident happened to the
Royal whether Admirai Cornwallis
expi ‘lled any uneasiness, at not being able to
proceed on his voyage f A. Ido ; he shewed
he greatest anxiety at being incapable to pro
ceed ; often cxpreiled it to me, and confuted
relpeteng any proper mode of going to the
place of his destination.
Q. Do you remember if the Admiral ever
coniulted you about a port in the paifage, or
in the Well-Indies, where the damage of the
Royal Sovereign might be repaired.? A. Yes,
he often onhiked with me, examined Charts
for that purpose, and Ihewcd the n\oft earnest
solicitude to find a means of repairing the vef
lel, without returning to port.
Q- Have you ever made any observations ref
petting the general state of the Admiral’s health ?
A. I have known admiral Cornwallis several
years, and have always observed that his health
has been exceedingly precarious. 1 hav? known
him rile quite well in the morning, and before
five o’clock, in the evening, feiaed with a vio
lent cold, without a poflibility of difeovering
hmv he caught it, he has then been put to bed,
has remained all night and ilarious, and pollibly
might have loft his life, had it not been for the
accommodations and alfiltance rendered him.
Q. Did he express r'gret at being compelled
to return to England ? A. He did.
Q. Arc you able to fay, from your observa
tion on his health, whether his going out in the
Aftrea frigate, might from its more confined
situation, have brought on indisposition ? A. I
think it would have injured his health.
Thomas Alexander , M.ijlcrof'tkc Royal Sovereign,
Sworn.
Q. Alter the accident, that happened to the
Royal Sovereign, do you remember, whether
Admiral Cornwallis confalted with you about
a port in which the damage might be repaired ?
A. He look'd over all the maps and charts for
luch a port, but we could not find any.
Q. D.J you observe whether the admiral
was uneasy at being obliged to return to Eng
land. Admiral Cornwallis here laid, tha; he
never advised with the Matter of the fiiin on
the m-afureshe might pursue. This w?s
mitted by the Court ; but it was remar'-ed
that the Matter might have observed whethe*
he was uueafy on th- fubjeef or not • n J,’
th'irtore urged ? A. (Matter.) I observed b!
h, s conduct and expreili ms. that he was v-,v
unwilling to return to Eng and, and that hit
return gave him much un^almcfs.
Mr. Kiim, surgeon of the Royal Soverian.Smnm
Q. What fort of a ttate ot health “have Tm,*
observed in admiral Cornwallis ? a V
precarious one. I have known him o ft™
troubled with a vioh-nt bowel complaint, which
has kept him up moft part of the’ night
is also troubled with the gout, and is general
ly iua very uncertain ttate of health. °
Q. Do you think his going to the Weft
indies m the Aftrea frigate would have endan’
§ercd his health ? A. I have no doubt that
the conmird tttuation of that lh
ip would have
materially injured his health.
Admiral Cornwallis here elofed his parole
evidence, and n-xt put in a ruimb-r of lett-n 1
molt of winch have already,been mentioied’
They were letters that had pall and between him
and the admiralty, both befotF- he let fail an( j
after his return. ‘ Some of them from Lord
Spencer, were thought by Sir G. J. ckfon, to
be of a private nature, and unlit to be pr**du
ced, but au tuiral Cornwallis wiftied they ihould
be deceived, as there was nothing in any of them
which he wished to conceal. One of these
letters was mentioned in a very fignifirant nun
ner. It was from Lord Spencer, and was re
ceived at Portsmouth, on the l riday forenoon
at ten o’clock, ordering the admiral to proceed,
as soon as pofliblc, and exprdling an expedla
lion that he would fail on Saturday at latrit
Some objections were taken to the produftioii
of this lettftr, on account of us being a private
one. The Admiral, however, p-rlitßd in hear
ing it read, as it would [how what fort of pri
vate letters a Pirft Lord of the Admiralty
wr.tes to the officers in th? navy. ‘
t The defence being doled about one o’clock
the Court was bleated of ttrang-rs, the doors
and windows of th- Captain’s cabin, in which
it lat were ttrnt up and locked, and the Court
proceeded to conhder its verdift.
Lhe Court rose at four o’clock and adjourn
ed till to-morrow morning.
April 8.
This morning, at nine o’clock, the court
again allemblcd on board the Orion, in Porif
mouth harbour, and remained deliberatingfrom
ttu, time until one, when the court wasopened,
and ttrangers were admitted.
The judge advocate then called over the
names of the members ; and after having no.
tie. and, mtheulual forms, theoccafion for which
th- Court had been a li-mb led, the time it had
lat and read, over the charges, he proceeded to
deliver
THE SENTENCE:
“ That the court having heard the evidence
i. fuppor; of the charges exhibited againil the
non. Wi. iam C il’iiwallis, vice admiral of the
leo ; having heard his defenc- and the evi
dence in his behalf; and having maturely
weighed and conndcred the fame were of opin
ion
u Tnat with relp-ef to th- two firft charges,
of his returning without leave, after having
been ordered to proce-d to Barbadoes, and of ■
his disobeying the orders he had received,
mifconduvl was imputatilc to him, for not
Having fhifted his iLg on hoard the Alars of
Minotaur, and proceed in either of them tothe
Weil Indies, liut, in conttdcration of other
circumstances, the court acquitted him of any
dilob ’dience in his conduct on that occasion,
, *. With tcfpcdl to the third charge, of his
having, after his rc’urn, disobeyed th? orders
of th- ooird of admiralty, in not going out to
the Well Indies in the Attrca frig*..-, th- court
>vere of opinion that that charg-’ was no,; pro
vti, and theretore acquitted adm.rai Cornwal
lis on that charge.”
Admiral Cornwallis, who and ‘ring th- trial,
conducted himfeif with gr-at fir.nnefs and
composure, heard the fent-nc- rnd without
any emotion, and then making a flight how.o
the court, reur” 1 -dong with Mr. Erfkiue and
fdirie otlier fri nus.
Ihe court conduct-d itfelf with that grave
and tuitabie decorum which has err charatler
ijed the naval courts martial ot Great Britain.
The court was remarkably crouded.
So many flag officers never la t on any court
martial before.
As loon as the ttntenee was communicated
tothe people on board the Royal Sovereign,
which lay at a ihorr diltan-e from the Orion,
they all got upon deck and gave three cheers.
DUBLIN, March i\.
Hart, the unfortunate boy, who
was executed on Saturday lad for high
treason, through the whole of hisawid
situation, from his arraignment to being
launched into eternity, exhibited a for
titude worthy a better eaufe. On the
morning of his trial, his life was offetci
him on condition of his pleading guilty;
his counsel advised him to accept of it;
but he refufed, alledging as a reason that
the part of the charge which {fated a
conspiracy to murder the protestants was
Life. Alter fcntence hopes of life were
offered him, if he would e * hover who
were his accomplices as a defender; he
acknowledged to tie one himfeif, but
preferred death to the difeovery which
was deiired. The fame conflancy ac
companied him to the fatal b ‘ard. He
looked on the apparatus of deilruffion,
the head’s man with his naked a\e and
long knife, who flood before him, and
the rope by which he was to be flrang
led with aftoniihing unconcern. He ad
drefled the croud in a loud voice from
the platform ; thanked the (heritf ti r tt,
for his humanity, defiredtheir prayers,
acknowledged that he was a defender
and declared that part of what his profe
curor swore was true, and j art lalfe;
when his cap was pulle.l over his ace,
and without any fympton of tea:, he
was plunged into eternity.
Na 33.