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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.