Greetham, esq. the judge-advocate, till a sufficient number answered to their names to compose the court. Mr. Greetham having read the order for the arrest of sir Home Popham, issued by the admiralty, called over the names of the witnesses.-Among whom were, Lord Melville, who was present, and lord Whitworth, who was not present. Mr. Sturges Bourne. L. Maclean, esq. The judge-advocate then read the charges, which were in substance the same with the order to admiral Young, hereafter stated; and produced several documents, by which the charges were meant to be substantiated, of which the following were the most particular :Copy of an order to sir Home Popham, dated 29th of July, 1805. Copy of a letter to Jo. Barrow, esq. dated 2d of August, 1805; directing him to send a frigate to cruize on the south-east coast of America. Copy of a letter to Jo. Barrow, esq.; directing him to return all transports at the Cape of Good Hope, excepting such as were ne. cessary to carry the troops to India. Copy of a letter from the lords commissioners of the admiralty, to sir Home Popham; directing him to Co-operate with major-general sir D. Baird. Copy of a letter from the lords commissioners of the admiralty, to sir Home Popham, dated 25th of December, 1805; directing him to send home all transports not wanted. Copy of a letter from sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, esq.; giving an account of the capture of the Cape, &c. Copy of a letter from sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, esq.; sta-` ting that the Voluntaire frigate, the avant-courier of a French eet, had put into Table-bay, and was taken possession of by his majesty's ships. Copy of a letter from sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, esq. dated 14th of April, 1806; stating that the intelligence by the Voluntaire had led him to conclude that the Frenchfleet was bound to the West Indies, but that other accounts stated them as destined for the Mauritius. Copy of a letter from sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, esq. respecting the weak state of Monte Video. Copy of a letter from sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, esq. dated 30th of April; stating the applica tions he had made to the governor of St. Helena, for a reinforcement of troops from that island. Another letter, dated 19th of July. Copy of a letter of sir George Shee, bart. inclosing attested copies of letters from major-general sir D. Baird. The admiralty order, directing admiral Young to proceed forth. with to assemble the court-martial, of which he was appointed president, was next read, as follows:"By the commissioners for execu ting the office of lord high admira! of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. &c. "Whereas, by our order, dated 29th July, 1805, sir Home Popham, then captain of his majesty's ship Cc3 Diadem, A Diadem, was directed to take under his command his majesty's ships Bel. liqueux, Raisonnable, Diomede, Narcissus, and Leda, the Espoir sloop, and Encounter gun-brig, for the purpose of capturing the enemy's settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, in conjunction with the troops under the command of majorgeneral sir David Baird; which settlements were surrendered to the ships and troops aforementioned, in the month of January, 1806. And whereas it appears by letters from the said sir Home Popham to our secretary, dated the 13th and 30th of April following, that, with the view to attack the Spanish settlements in Rio de la Plata, for which attack he had no direction or authority whatever, he did withdraw from the Cape the whole of the na. Tal force, which had been placed ender his command for the sole purpose of protecting it, thereby leaving the Cape, which it was his duty to guard, not only exposed to attack and insult, but even without the means of affording protection to the trade of his majesty's subjects, or of taking possession of any ships of the enemy, which might have put into any of the bays or harbours of the Cape, or parts adjacent ; all which he, the said sir Home Popham, did, notwithstanding that he had received previous information of detachments of the enemy's ships being at sea, and in the neighbourhood of the Cape; and notwithstanding he had been apprised that a French quadron was expected at the Mauritius, of which he informed us by his letter to our secretary, dated the 9th of April, 1806, only four days prior to his departure from the Cape for Rio de la Plata. "And whereas it appears to us, that a due regard to the good of his majesty's service imperiously demands that so flagrant a breach of public duty should not pass unpu. nished; and whereas, by our order dated the 28th of July, 1806, rearadmiral Stirling was directed to send the said sir Home Popham to Eng land; which he has done according ly: and whereas sir Home Popham was, on his arrival, put under an ar. rest by our order,and is now atawaiting his trial: we send herewith the necessary papers for the support of the charge; and do hereby require, and direct you forthwith to assemble a court-martial (you being the president thereof), which is hereby required and directed to inquire into the conduct of, and to try, the said captain sir Home Popham, for the offences with which he is charged accordingly. "Given under our hands, &c." This order was adressed to admiral Young. The order of the admiralty to Mr. Bignel being read, the following members were then sworn, agree ably to an act of parliament: Admiral Young, President. Captain Graves, S. H. Linzee, M. Scott, .-C. Boyle. Then the judge-advocate wa sworn not to disclose or discove the opinion of any particular men ber of the court-martial, unless thereunto required by law. The several documents before enumerated, abstracts of which had been annexed to the charges last preferred, were tendered in evidence, and proved after the manner of documentary testimony. They were afterwards severally read; when the prosecution was stated to be closed. Mr. Jervis appeared as counsel for the Admiralty; Mr. Harrison for sir Home Popham. Sir Home Popham was called on by the court to state, when he would be ready to proceed on his defence. Sir Home, in an animated address, observed to the court, that the first charges sent him by the Admiralty, about half an hour after his arrival in town, referred only to three documents; and by which alone, he had supposed, that they were meant to be substantiated-whereas, the new charges, which had been exhibited against him, and which had been presented to him half an hour after his arrival at Portsmouth, had reference to eighteen documents, of which he had not been furnished with copies, nor had any knowledge of their contents, but from having heard them hastily read in court. Although it might not be necessary in respect to the court, yet he thought, with respect to the public, it might be expedient for him to take a little time in preparing his defence against the charges, in their present novel form, in order to remove any impression which they might have made on the public mind. He, therefore, however reluctantly, must request the indulgence of the court till Monday; when he should be perfectly prepared to enter on bis defence. The second day (Saturday) was chiefly occupied in some uninteresting formalities, and in the reading of the several papers and documents which were to support the charge, on the part of Mr. Jarvis. On Monday the proceedings were resumed, and sir Home entered upon his justification, as follows: DEFENCE. Mr. President; After having devoted the greater part of my life to the service of my king and country, I am brought before you and other members of this honourable court, to vindicate my conduct from charge, of a nature as extraordinary, and as unprecedented, perhaps, as ever was submitted to the investigation of a court-martial. In applying the epithets of extraordinary and unprecedented to the accusation exhibited against me, I speak of it generally, and not with a particular reference to the irregular, and, I believe I may venture to add, the illegal manner in which it is worded. On this point I shall animadvert hereafter. But I cannot, sir, enter into the substance of my defence, without observing to you how extraordinary it is that I should be brought to trial by that superior authority, to which every officer in his majesty's naval service looks up for reward and protection, for having employed the means placed at my disposal in making a successful attack on a possession belonging to the enemy, instead of suffering them to remain inactive and dormant.-Nor do I conceive that it is less unprecedented to criminate an officer entrusted with a command of some importance, for having exercised that discretionary power, without which no service can be carried on with energy or effect, C c 4 when when the result of such an act, so far from having been attended with any ill consequence, has, on the contrary, been glorious to his majesty's arms, and honourable to the country. Yes, sir, the success which crowned the united exertions of general Beresford and myself, se conded by the bravery and perseverance of the land and sea forces under our orders, was proclaimed by his majesty's ministers to the in. habitants of the British metropolis by the usual signal of triumph; and the news of the conquest of Buenos Ayres was re-echoed, with exultation and gratitude, throughout every quarter of the united kingdom. But now to proceed to the charge before you. I trust I shall be able to show, that the discretion I exer. cised was not only such as, under the circumstances, was fairly admissible, but such as the ministers, under whose orders I sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, fully warranted by their concurrent opinions, at least by the concurrent opinion of those who were understood by all to hold the leading influence in that administration. I shall, however, not only shew that an expedition to South America was a favourite ob ject with Mr. Pitt, that he had it in contemplation, and actually took some steps to carry it into execution in the course of his former administration--but that he never lost sight of it, being only restrained from attempting the execution of it by political reasons, which no longer existed, when I felt it my duty, for the interest of my country, to pro. ceed from the Cape of Good Hope upon this long projected expedi tion. In the course of the year 1804, a change occurred in the government of the country; soon after which I was appointed to the Antelope, in the Downs, for the purpose of blockading the harbour of Boulogne, in the absence of admiral Louis. While I command that ship, lord Melville, then first lord of the admiralty, corresponded with me on the subject of Miranda's plan; and on my coming to town in the month of October in that year (at which period the probability of a Spanish war had increased), his lordship directed me to consult again with ge neral Miranda, and to digest my ideas on the subject of an expeditiou against the Spanish settlements in South America, in the form of a memoir. To the best of my recollec tion, I delivered this document to lord Melville, on the 16th of October 1804.-Shortly after I was directed to attend Mr. Pitt at Wimbledon, in order that he might converse with me on the various points compre. hended in my memoir, In the month of December 1804, 1 was sent for by his majesty's mi. nisters to Deal, and at the same time the Diadem, to which ship I was appointed, was put in commission for the express purpose of my proceeding in her on the intended expedition to South America. Various circumstances, however, occurred to retard the execation of this pro ject; but, with the exception of the short interval of peace, it had ne ver been relinquished, from the inoment the idea was first suggested. These facts, as far as lord Melville was concerned, his lordship will substantiate. In July 1805, I received an account of the weak state of the gar. rison of the Cape of Good Hope, and also learned that a strong squadron was expected there from France. France. Conceiving that the cap. tore of this settlement, while it would materially contribute to promote the interest of my country, might likewise afford facilities to the projected conquest of the Spanish dependencies, on the east coast of South America, which was the main object in the mind of Mr. Pitt, I immediately proposed to him that an armament should sail without delay for the attack of the Cape. This proposal was acceded to, and, in the course of a few days, I received my instructions to proceed in the Diadem, as commanding officer of all his majesty's ships and vessels des tined for that service. Mr. Sturges Bourne, then one of the secretaries of the treasury, was present at the conversation to which I here allude, and will corroborate my account of what passed on the occasion. upon a Spanish alliance, but the fault is not mine.-Any thing that serves to show the value attached by those from whom I derived my ap pointment to that object, for the execution of which I am now brought before you as a delinquent, is manifestly proper and requisite for my justification. From what I have stated, it will, I am confident, appear evident to every member of this hon. court, that if the attack on the Cape of Good Hope preceded that on the Spanish settlements, the priority was the result of my own immediate suggestion to the late prime minister. It will likewise, I am persuaded, appear not less obvious to every unprejudiced mind, that on my interview with that illustrious statesman, he fully and unequivocally strengthened the conviction which I entertained of his` intention to follow up the capture of the Cape, by an attack on the Spanish settlements; for at this fi nal interview, Mr. Pitt desired me to furnish Mr. Huskisson with a memorandum of the names of the gentlemen from whom he was likely On the 29th of July, 1805, I took final leave of Mr. Pitt, with whom I had a long conversation on the original project of an expedition, to South America. Mr. Pitt in formed me, that, from the negocia tion then pending with Russia, it appeared that the emperor Alexan-to obtain any further information he der was extremely anxious to attach Spain to the coalition; and that until that matter should be determined, he (Mr. Pitt) felt a delicacy in regard to the commencement of hostile operations in South America: but that, as soon as possible after such an overture should have been rejected by the Spanish court, it was his fixed intention to enter on the original project, and attack Spain in that distant, but most vulnerable quarter. I lament extremely that any proceeding should have made it necessary for me to state these particulars relative to the calculations might want on the subject. Mr. Pitt was then leaving the secretary's room at the treasury, to go into the board-room; and Mr. Huskisson coming in at the other door just at the moment, I instantly communicated to him the substance of what had passed. The veracity of this allegation will be confirmed to this hon. court by the testimony of Mr. Huskisson. When this chain of facts shali have been completely established by the concurrent depositions of lord Melville, Mr. Sturges Bourne, and Mr. Huskisson, it will not be neces sary |