HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



37 



services to his country, should 

 have thought it neceissary to set 

 up his own opinion against the 

 opinion and experience of so many 

 others.— Mr. C.W.VVynnedid not 

 deny but there might be cases in 

 which the House might think itself 

 called on to interfere, even in cases 

 of courts-martial. Here, however, 

 all the evidence was on one side ; 

 and opposed to it, the solitary opi- 

 nion of the noblelord. — Mr. Whit- 

 bread put the question, whether, 

 after a court-martial had declared 

 Jord Gambier to be honourably 

 acquitted, it followed that they 

 must grant him the thanks of that 

 House ? From the disagreeable 

 situation in which that House was 

 now placed on both sides, they 

 •must unavoidably have the mi- 

 nutes — Sir Francis Burdttt said, 

 that lord Gambler's plan, seemed 

 to be a desire to preserve the fleet, 

 that of his noble colleague to de- 

 stroy the fleet of the enemy. He 

 Lad never heard that the articles 

 of war held out an instruction to 

 preserve the fleet. What if lord 

 Nelson, in the battle of the Nile, 

 or that of Trafalgar, had acted 

 uponthis principle? He had never 

 iieard that lord Gambier in the af- 

 fair of Basque Roads, pretended to 

 liave done any important or hard 

 service. His only merit seemed to 

 consist in what he omitted to do. 

 That omission might, indeed, have 

 been wise and prudent, but could 

 never be the object of a vote of 

 ihanks. 



In the course of this long dis- 

 cussion, the charge was attempted 

 to be in some measure turned 

 against lord Cochrane himself. — 

 Captain Beresford said the noble 

 lord liad forgot how he himself 



formed his charts and log-books ia 

 favour of the evidence to be ad- 

 duced before the court-martial.— 

 Sir C. Hamilton, said, that if his 

 information was correct, the fault 

 that more damage was not done to 

 the enemy's fleet, lay with the 

 noble lord Cochrane himself; and 

 that if the minutes of the court- 

 martial were produced, he should 

 engage to bring evidence to that 

 effect before the House. If the 

 noble lord had followed the advice 

 of a senior officer, in reserving 

 some of his fire-ships, he would 

 have been able to destroy all the 

 ships of the enemy. — These 

 charges, with some remarks from 

 gentlemen on both sides of the 

 House, called upon lord Cochrane 

 for an explanation, and a vindi- 

 cation of his conduct. Having 

 spoken for some time in his own 

 defence, he said, in conclusion, 

 " If, Sir, there were no other rea- 

 sons for the production of the mi- 

 nutes which I have called for, but 

 that I am now put upon my de- 

 fence ; that accusations are made, 

 which, in justice to my feelings 

 and my character, I must refute, 

 I iiumbly submit to the House, 

 that, in justice to me, they ought 

 now to be produced, and I trust. 

 Sir, that for reasons more impor- 

 tant to the country, they will not 

 be refused. Sir, I shall not detain 

 the House longer than to re-assert 

 all that I have pledged to prove, 

 and to stake every thing that is 

 valuable to man on the issue. If 

 the minutes are granted, I shall 

 expose such a scene as will, per- 

 haps, make my country tremble 

 for its safety. I entreat the House 

 well to consider that there is a 

 tribunal to which it is answerable: 



