near her rudder torn off, and was otherwife fo damaged as to be unable to proceed to the Wett Indies. This circumftance was stated in the letter fent by the admiral to the board on his return, which was dated March 14, in which he faid he could not proceed in any other fhip where he could not have the accommodation and comfort he enjoyed in his own, and which the precarious ftate of his health rendered neceffary. It also stated, that he did not wish to delay the convoy, and he had fent it on under the command of another officer. His other letter, in answer to the order of the board of admiralty to proceed in the Aftrea frigate, stated, that his health would be endangered by going in a frigate, and requefted that the board would permit him to wait until the Royal Sovereign fhould be ready. This letter was produced to fupport the charge of difobedience.

Sir Charles Cotton was called as the first witness. He had failed in the fquadron of admiral Cornwallis, and, upon arriving in a certain latitude, had delivered certain orders from the lords of the admiralty to him on board the Royal Sovereign. The mafter carpenter of the fhip was then called, to give an account of the damages fuftained by the Royal Sovereign, in confequence of the accident with the Bellifarius. He faid, that as foon as the weather permitted him, he had examined the fhip: the damages were fuch as to prevent him from proceeding to the Weft Indies. They could not be repaired at fea, because it would be neceffary to heave the fhip down; nor could they be repaired, unless the hip was taken into dock. The repairs, therefore, could not be made in the Weft Indies, after he fhould arrive there.

THE DEFENCE.

Admiral Cornwallis then requefted leave of the court for his friend to read his addrefs for him; which being granted, Mr. Erfkine, as counfel for the admiral, read a long and able fpeech, of which the following is a fketch:-After expreffing his concern, that fuch heavy charges fhould be made against him, who had fo often diftinguifhed himfelf in the fervice of his country, he proceeded to state, that on the ift of February he had received his commiffion to go to the West Indies. This station was not imposed on him, he took it voluntarily; therefore, if his health had been fo bad at that time as to make him defirous to decline the fervice, he might have done fo. He thought, therefore, that he could quit the fervice at a fubfequent period, when his health was fo bad as to make it neceffary; and particularly fo, as his fervices in the Weft Indies could be only of a fecondary nature, there being an admiral (fir John Laforey) already there, who was fuperior to him in command; and he did not know whether that officer was to give up the command to him or not. With refpect to the duty which he (admiral Cornwallis) thought himself obliged to perform, he conceived it to be no more than that of convoying thofe fhips which the Vengeance had left behind; but he thought it would be prefumption in him to fuppofe that his perfonal fervices were neceffary in the West Indies. He thought his only bu finefs was to guard the convoy. While he was proceeding to the Weft Indies, the Bellifarius tranfport ran against the Royal Sovereign, and was intangled with him for an hour. The weather was at the time fo bad, and the night fo

dark,

dark, that he could not speak with the Belifarius, nor could he hold any communication with any of the convoy, which, however, he was determined to push forward. On the 5th of March, he examined the ship, and found he could not proceed in her to the West Indies; and as he had no other fhip to go in, and did not wish to delay the convoy, he delivered it over to the care of captain Lewis. He could not go in the Mars, the Minotaur, or the Quebec, for they had their private orders; and he did not even know that they were to accompany him, until fir Charles Cotton came and delivered his orders on board the Royal Sovereign. He thought, if he had gone in any of them, he fhould have been liable to a court-martial. The fituation he was then in, was one in which he conceived he might exercife his own difcretion. It was not an action, nor any thing that required his perfonal attendance; and if he had at the time gone on board any other flip, he must have endangered his health to fuch a degree, as to render fuch conduct an unneceffary zeal, which could not benefit the service. He was not in a ftate to go to a strange place, where he should have no comfort or accommodation. Befides, the court must fee how difficult it would have been, and how great a delay it would caufe the expedition, if he had shifted his flag. They must know what a time must be taken up in removing ftores, ammunition, &c. from one fhip to another. Befides, he did not think the fervice required fuch a change, not that there was fuch a preffing urgency as required his prefence with the convoy. If, therefore, he had not done that which was beft to be done, he lamented it much;

but he did what in his judgment was the beft: no difadvantage happened in confequence of that; and had that been the first command he ever was entrusted with, fuch an exercife of his judgment could not be afcribed to the abandonment of his duty. It was well known that he had, on a former occafion, exerted himself in the fervice of his country. He could not conceive that the board of admiralty would apply to his conduct any base or criminal purpose; but that it was at moft only an error in judgment, for which every defcription of courts in this country had always made ample allowance, and punifhed nothing but wilful mifconduct.

He had received a letter, upon his return, from the first lord of the admiralty, lamenting the difafter which had caufed him to come back, and, without making any complaint against him, defiring that he would continue the command of the Royal Sovereign; therefore he was at a lofs to know at what time his conduct had affumed the criminal fhape in which it came forward that day. So far he had vindicated his conduct against the two first charges. As to the third charge, which was certainly the heaviest of all, he would not, in the defence he was going to make against it, attempt to fap the foundation of difcipline, by faying any thing like a juftification of it; but he would fay at once, that he did not difobey any order. His ftate of health was fo bad, that when he fhould arrive at the West Indies, he fhould only be fit for an hofpital, inftead of an arduous command. He faid in his letter to the lords of the admiralty fuch was the cafe, and as it might be highly injurious to him to go out in a frigate, he was ready, he faid, to go out in (B 3)

the

the Royal Sovereign, when the fhould be repaired. This letter was no more than a propofition to the board; and how, then, could it be called difobedience? If the lords of the admiralty had repeated the order, he should have gone: but they did not; and the first anfwer he had to the propofition which he made, was the order for that court-martial which was then enquiring into his conduct. He had fubmitted his reafons for not being able to go in the Aftrea, and he received an order to remain in his hip at Spithead. He was written to by the first lord of the admiralty, as one who was declining a particular fervice. It was very difficult to lay down a fixed rule for perfons in a high command; they were to act by the beft of their judgment and difcretion; and if they were to be charged with the confequences of fuch conduct, there was an end of all that confidence that ought to be placed in officers of high rank.

Captain Whitby, of the Royal Sovereign, was then called in behalf of admiral Cornwallis, who defired him to relate to the court the account of the accident that happened to the fhip, and what he (the admiral) felt on the occafion; because it had been infinuated, that he was glad the accident happened, inafmuch as it furnished him with a pretext for returning to England. Captain Whitby faid, that the order to fail had come down to the admiral on the 25th, at Portfmouth, and that he failed on the 28th; and as there was 100 fail of merchantmen ordered to go, it was impoffible that any perfon could have used more expedition in fetting out than he did; nor did he ever see more zeal difplayed on any occafion. The admiral expreffed

great concern and anxiety on the melancholy accident that happened to the fhip, though it was not usual for him to be dejected by disasters. He appeared, by his words and actions, to be ftruck with real regret; and he thought it best for his majesty's fervice to return to Great Britain. He wished to stop at fome port where the damages could be repaired, and for that pur pofe he repeatedly examined the charts, but could find none fit for the fhip to go into. With refpect to the admiral's health, he was frequently very ill. He would get up of a morning apparently well; in the course of the day he would catch cold from fome unknown caufe, and in the evening be dan geroufly ill in bed.

Mr. Alexander, mafter of the Royal Sovereign, confirmed the evidence of the laft witness, as to the regret which the admiral expreffed in being retarded in his voyage.

Mr. Thomas Kain, the furgeon of the Royal Sovereign, called to give evidence as to the admiral's health, faid it was very precarious. He had frequent complaints in his bowels, and was fo ill at times, that he ufed to be obliged to fit up with him almoft the whole night. He had many great and fudden changes of the gout.

Admiral Cornwallis then informed the court, that he had no more witnesses to call, nor any more evidence, except fome letters which had paffed between him and the lords of the admiralty.

Earl Howe informed him, that the court would hear thofe letters read, but could not receive them as evidence, nor lay them on the table as documents.

The first letter was then read: it came from the fecretary of the

board

board of admiralty, defiring him to continue on board the Royal Sovereign till further orders, as he had declined going out in the Aftrea. This letter was dated the 16th of March; another was read which the admiral had written on the 17th.

Admiral Cornwallis faid, he had a great many more letters, but did not wish to take up the time of the court by reading them.

Earl Howe defired him to take his time, and faid, the court was ready to hear every thing which he might deem neceffary for his defence.

One was then read from earl Spencer, in which he cenfured the admiral for declining to go out, and faid he could not continue him in command without injuring the fervice.

Earl Howe faid, that lord Spencer had defired every ufe to be made of his letter that might be thought ncceffary; but, at the fame time, these letters coming as from a private perfon, and not from the board, had nothing to do with the queftion.

After the reading of fome other papers, the trial was clofed a little before one. The court was then cleared, and the members remained there till four o'clock, when they broke up without determining their fentence.

On Friday, at nine o'clock, the court affembled, and remained deliberating from that time until one, when the court was opened and ftrangers were admitted.

The judge advocate then proceeded to deliver

THE SENTENCE: That the court having heard the evidence in fupport of the charges exhibited against the hoBourable William Cornwallis, vice

admiral of the red; and having heard his defence, and the evidence in his behalf; and having maturely weighed and confidered the fame, were of opinion,

That, with refpect to the two firft charges, of his returning without leave, after having been ordered to proceed to Barbadoes, and of his difobeying the orders he had received, mifconduct was imputable to him, for not having fhifted his flag on board the Mars or Minotaur, and proceeded in either of them to the Weft Indies.-But in confideration of other circumftances, the court acquitted him of any difobedience in his conduct on that occafion.

With refpect to the third charge, of his having after his return difobeyed the orders of the board of admiralty, in not going out to the Weft Indies in the Aftrea fiigate, the court were of opinion that the charge was not proveil; and therefore acquitted admiral Cornwallis upon that charge.'

Admiral Cornwallis heard the fentence read without any emotion; and then, making a flight bow to the court, retired with Mr. Erskine and fome other friends.

As foon as the fentence was communicated to the people on board the Royal Sovereign, which lay at a fhort diftance from the Orion, they all got upon deck, and gave three cheers.

23. A letter was received at the admiralty on Tuefday night, from the first lieutenant of the Diamond frigate, off the coaft of France, containing an account of the capture of fir Sidney Smith-Sir Sidney, in the night of Monday laft, went in his boat to cut out a French lugger in the port of Havre.. This he accomplished, after fome refiftance, by which one French(B 4)

man

man was killed; but, deterred from immediately failing by the rapidity of the current, he caft anchor. During the night, however, the fhip drove from her anchor, the cable, it is faid, having been cut by one of the prifoners, and was carried by the current above the town. In this fituation he was attacked on the morning of Tuesday, by all the gun-boats and other veffels which the enemy could mufter; and after a gallant and even defperate refiftance, against a force fo infinitely fuperior to his own, he found himself at length obliged to furrender.

25. The greater part of the town of Frampton, near Sherbourne, was, on Wednesday, destroyed by a fire, fuppofed to have originated from fome fparks, blown from the leads of the church, which was repairing by the plumber. All the houses to the north of the church were confumed, together with the greater part of their furniture, in lefs than two hours.

27. The London Gazette of laft night contains a letter from fir Edward Pellew, bart. dated Falmouth, April 20, announcing the capture of L'Unité French frigate, of 38 guns, on the 13th inftant, by La Revolutionnaire, captain Cole, without the lofs or hurt of a man. Of the French, the captain and nine failors were killed, and eleven wounded.

And another letter dated the 23d, advifes the capture, by himself, of La Virginie, of 44 guns, the fineft and fastest failor in the French navy, on the 20th inftant, after a fharp action of one hour and forty minutes, which would probably have lafted much longer, had not La Concorde appeared in fight. Sir Edward loft not a man; but

MAY.

4. Mr. Bond moved the court of King's-bench for judgment against Ifabella Williams. This perfon was a woman of very genteel appearance, and it was rather a novel fpectacle in the court, and excited a good deal of furprise, to hear that he had fallied forth at the head of 20 men armed with fwords, piftols, and tomahawks, had affaulted and obftructed two revenue of ficers in the execution of their office, and had rescued a lugger containing uncuftomed goods, near Bodmyn. Lord Kenyon faid, this was a very diftreffing cafe to the court. Mr. juftice Afhhurst ob ferved, that if this woman were to go unpunished on account of her fex, he was afraid this fort of bufnefs would pafs into female hands, and that men would withdraw themfelves from the danger of punifhment. The court, however, had taken her fex into confideration, and meant to pafs a lighter punishment than, perhaps, for the Take of example, they ought. Her fentence was, to be committed to the jail of the county of Cornwall, for the fpace of twelve calendar months.

6. In the court of common-pleas came on to be tried, by a fpecial jury, an important caufe between the earl of Cholmondeley and lord Walpole, in confequence of an iffue directed from the court of chancery on this queftion of fact. -Whether the late earl of Orford devifed, by his laft will, any lands and effects to the earl of Cholmondeley?

The cafe is briefly this. On the