of their ships that might dare to venture out. He accordingly left the grand fleet with four 74 gun-ships, and four frigates, in addition to his own vessel, and in the course of the summer contributed not a little to the destruction of the remaining commerce of France. In the beginning of June the vice-admiral had stretched into the bay of Biscay, and chased three French line of battle ships and six frigates into Belleisle roads; these were fortunate enough to escape under protection of their batteries, but a large merchantman and eight brigs were captured. A few days after, Captain Stopford of the Phaeton frigate, made the signal for a fleet ahead, and soon after reported the enemy to consist of thirteen sail of the line, fourteen frigates, two brigs, and a cutter. The British admiral was determined to haul off, and executed the manœuvre in a very masterly manner. "He retreated with his ships," says the author of the Naval History, "in the form of a wedge, of which the Royal Sovereign-his own vessel-was the apex; and whenever the enemy approached sufficiently near, they were soon taught to keep at a safer distance.

This brilliant exploit reflected equal lustre on the intrepidity and skill of the admiral, and induced the board of admiralty to nominate him to the important post of commander-in-chief in the West Indies. He accordingly sailed in the Royal Sovereign for that station; but in consequence of a severe gale of wind, his flag-ship became so much disabled off Scilly, that he deemed it necessary to return to England. His conduct upon this occasion did not, however, fully satisfy those who presided over the naval affairs of this country, as they thought he ought to have proceeded in another ship. He was accordingly ordered to return on board the Astræa frigate, which was fitted out on purpose to receive him; but he declined compliance, and pleaded the bad state of his health in justification. Not satisfied with this excuse, the Board issued orders for trying him by a court-martial, which accordingly assembled at Portsmouth, April 8th, 1796, on which occasion the gallant veteran admiral, Earl Howe, presided. The charges, as delivered by the judge-advocate, consisted of three in number:

1. "That Admiral Cornwallis, after having sailed from England for the West Indies, and proceeded a considerable way, did return, contrary to the orders and instructions by him received.

2. "That not having a sufficient regard to the importance of his situation as commander-in-chief, he had omitted to shift his flag on board of some other ship of his squadron, after the Royal Sovereign had been disabled, in order to proceed, as he ought to have done, to the place of his destination; but that instead of his doing so, he had given his instructions and the command of the convoy to another officer: And,

3. "That after his return he had disobeyed another order of the Board of admiralty, by not hoisting his flag on board the Astræa frigate, and proceeding to the West Indies, as he had been ordered by their lordships."

After hearing the evidence for the prosecution, the admiral, assisted by the Hon. Thomas Erskine, entered on his defence, and not only vindicated himself from the first two charges, but showed that he was incapable, from the ill state of his health, to comply with the orders of his superiors, and return in the Astræa. The whole of the evidence on

both sides having been examined in the course of the same day, the court broke up, and on assembling again next morning, pronounced sentence, in substance as follows:-" That the admiral was acquitted of the first two charges, and that the third not being proved, he was acquitted of that also." This event deprived his country of the services of an excellent officer during a period of nearly five years; for, thinking himself ill-used upon the occasion, he immediately struck his flag, and, notwithstanding he was included in the promotion that took place in 1799, and in consequence of which he obtained the rank of admiral of the Blue, yet he declined the acceptance of any command so long as a certain nobleman presided at the head of the admiralty board.

No sooner, however, had Earl St Vincent, who had so nobly led the fleets of his country, been appointed to superintend their exertions, than Cornwallis was selected to the high and important station of commander-in-chief of the channel fleet, and accordingly hoisted his flag on board the Ville de Paris, in February, 1801. Brest being the principal naval arsenal of France adjoining Great Britain, and in most respects superior to Toulon, which is chiefly calculated for operations in the Mediterranean, it has always been the policy of this country to watch the motions of the fleets there. To render the blockade more effectual, it is usual to divide the fleet in the following manner :-First, What is termed an in-shore squadron, consisting of frigates, occupies such a station as to be able to watch all the motions of the enemy, peep occasionally into the inner harbour, and give the appointed signal in case of alarm. The out-shore squadron consists of the main body of the fleet, ready, upon the least intimation of danger, to afford succour to the vessels on the look-out, and give the enemy battle, should they dare to venture from Brest water. It is also usual to station the detachments off Rochefort, Belleisle, and L'Orient, on purpose to keep those ports in check; but such precautions are adopted that they can be recalled at a short notice, so that the whole collected fleet may be enabled to encounter any great and sudden danger.

In 1806 Admiral Cornwallis retired from the service on account of bad health. For a number of years he represented the borough of Eye in Suffolk, and at one period was member for Portsmouth. Three years before his death, which took place in 1819, he was created a knight-commander of the Bath.

Cornwallis was a talented and courageous officer. It is related of him, that when in the Canada, his crew having declared, by a round robin, that they would not fire a gun until their wages-payment of which had by some accident been delayed-were discharged, he restored complete subordination by calmly addressing them in the following terms:-"My lads, the money cannot be paid until we return to port; and as to your threat, I have only to say, that I shall put you alongside the first enemy's ship I fall in with, and I'm sure the devil himself will not then keep you from fighting her."

Sir Home Riggs Popham.

BORN A. D. 1762.-DIED A. D. 1820.

THIS officer is said to have been the twenty-first child by the same mother, of a British consul at Tetuan in Morocco, whose family, by different wives, amounted to forty-four! He was born at Tetuan on the 12th of October, 1762. At the age of thirteen he was removed from Westminster school to the university of Cambridge; he then entered the navy under the protection of Commodore Thompson. At the defeat of Langara's squadron, on the 30th of June, 1778, he was present in the Hyæna frigate, in which he continued until 1782, when he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and went out in the Grampus as a maritime surveyor to the African station. He returned to England in 1787, but soon after proceeded to India with a view to acquire professional experience. Upon his arrival in Bengal, he was appointed by Lord Cornwallis one of the committee sent in 1788 to survey New Harbour in the river Hoogly, which service he executed to the satisfaction of government. He returned in the same year to Europe, and concluded this voyage without interruption. After a short interval, being unable to obtain employment in the navy, he was induced to proceed in the Etrusco on a second voyage to India, where, in the year 1791, he effected the important survey of a southern passage or outlet from Prince of Wales' island, and caused a chart to be engraved and published; for this service, so beneficial to the intercourse with China, he received a letter of thanks from the government, and a piece of plate with suitable inscriptions was at the same time presented to him in the name of the general in council. Several masters of ships in the East India trade also signified their wishes on this occasion to present him with a piece of plate in their own names and those of others sailing from Bombay, "being," as they expressed it, "highly sensible of the advantage they may derive from the southern channel leading from Prince of Wales, which you have now fully established." The war with France broke out while the Etrusco was on her homewardbound voyage, which occasioned that ship to put into Crook-haven, from whence she proceeded to Cork to obtain a British convoy, and afterwards came to Spithead under protection of the Diadem. After passing the Irish and English channels under convoy of different British men-of-war, the ship and cargo were eventually seized by the Brilliant frigate, off Ostend, and afterwards condemned to the crown on the ground of having traded beyond the Cape of Good Hope, contrary to the laws respecting the trade to India. The king's proctor, after consulting his majesty's advocate-general on this point, reported by his advice, that the capture was made without any particular exertion of skill or enterprise, and in consequence submitted that the consequences were very peculiar, and the question whether any part of the property condemned should be given to the captors, was a matter entirely for the decision of his majesty's government, as no precedent sufficiently applicable to the case warranted a suggestion of any rule proper to be observed. Pursuant to a report of this tenor, and as Lieutenant Popham's

both sides having been examined in the course of the same day, the court broke up, and on assembling again next morning, pronounced sentence, in substance as follows:-" That the admiral was acquitted of the first two charges, and that the third not being proved, he was acquitted of that also." This event deprived his country of the services of an excellent officer during a period of nearly five years; for, thinking himself ill-used upon the occasion, he immediately struck his flag, and, notwithstanding he was included in the promotion that took place in 1799, and in consequence of which he obtained the rank of admiral of the Blue, yet he declined the acceptance of any command so long as a certain nobleman presided at the head of the admiralty board.

No sooner, however, had Earl St Vincent, who had so nobly led the fleets of his country, been appointed to superintend their exertions, than Cornwallis was selected to the high and important station of commander-in-chief of the channel fleet, and accordingly hoisted his flag on board the Ville de Paris, in February, 1801. Brest being the principal naval arsenal of France adjoining Great Britain, and in most respects superior to Toulon, which is chiefly calculated for operations in the Mediterranean, it has always been the policy of this country to watch the motions of the fleets there. To render the blockade more effectual, it is usual to divide the fleet in the following manner :-First, What is termed an in-shore squadron, consisting of frigates, occupies such a station as to be able to watch all the motions of the enemy, peep occasionally into the inner harbour, and give the appointed signal in case of alarm. The out-shore squadron consists of the main body of the fleet, ready, upon the least intimation of danger, to afford succour to the vessels on the look-out, and give the enemy battle, should they dare to venture from Brest water. It is also usual to station the detachments off Rochefort, Belleisle, and L'Orient, on purpose to keep those ports in check; but such precautions are adopted that they can be recalled at a short notice, so that the whole collected fleet may be enabled to encounter any great and sudden danger.

In 1806 Admiral Cornwallis retired from the service on account of bad health. For a number of years he represented the borough of Eye in Suffolk, and at one period was member for Portsmouth. Three years before his death, which took place in 1819, he was created a knight-commander of the Bath.

Cornwallis was a talented and courageous officer. It is related of him, that when in the Canada, his crew having declared, by a round robin, that they would not fire a gun until their wages-payment of which had by some accident been delayed-were discharged, he restored complete subordination by calmly addressing them in the following terms:-"My lads, the money cannot be paid until we return to port; and as to your threat, I have only to say, that I shall put you alongside the first enemy's ship I fall in with, and I'm sure the devil himself will not then keep you from fighting her."

Sir Home Riggs Popham.

BORN A. D. 1762.-DIED A. D. 1820.

THIS officer is said to have been the twenty-first child by the same mother, of a British consul at Tetuan in Morocco, whose family, by different wives, amounted to forty-four! He was born at Tetuan on the 12th of October, 1762. At the age of thirteen he was removed from Westminster school to the university of Cambridge; he then entered the navy under the protection of Commodore Thompson. At the defeat of Langara's squadron, on the 30th of June, 1778, he was present in the Hyæna frigate, in which he continued until 1782, when he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and went out in the Grampus as a maritime surveyor to the African station. He returned to England in 1787, but soon after proceeded to India with a view to acquire professional experience. Upon his arrival in Bengal, he was appointed by Lord Cornwallis one of the committee sent in 1788 to survey New Harbour in the river Hoogly, which service he executed to the satisfaction of government. He returned in the same year to Europe, and concluded this voyage without interruption. After a short interval, being unable to obtain employment in the navy, he was induced to proceed in the Etrusco on a second voyage to India, where, in the year 1791, he effected the important survey of a southern passage or outlet from Prince of Wales' island, and caused a chart to be engraved and published; for this service, so beneficial to the intercourse with China, he received a letter of thanks from the government, and a piece of plate with suitable inscriptions was at the same time presented to him in the name of the general in council. Several masters of ships in the East India trade also signified their wishes on this occasion to present him with a piece of plate in their own names and those of others sailing from Bombay, "being," as they expressed it, "highly sensible of the advantage they may derive from the southern channel leading from Prince of Wales, which you have now fully established." The war with France broke out while the Etrusco was on her homewardbound voyage, which occasioned that ship to put into Crook-haven, from whence she proceeded to Cork to obtain a British convoy, and afterwards came to Spithead under protection of the Diadem. After passing the Irish and English channels under convoy of different British men-of-war, the ship and cargo were eventually seized by the Brilliant frigate, off Ostend, and afterwards condemned to the crown on the ground of having traded beyond the Cape of Good Hope, contrary to the laws respecting the trade to India. The king's proctor, after consulting his majesty's advocate-general on this point, reported by his advice, that the capture was made without any particular exertion of skill or enterprise, and in consequence submitted that the consequences were very peculiar, and the question whether any part of the property condemned should be given to the captors, was a matter entirely for the decision of his majesty's government, as no precedent sufficiently applicable to the case warranted a suggestion of any rule proper to be observed. Pursuant to a report of this tenor, and as Lieutenant Popham's