lord Spencer had not mentioned any circumstance of the kind to him, or left any memorandum, having emptied his drawers previous to his (lord St. Vincent) tak

"nicated by you, which requires us to for his sanction; and his answer was, that adopt a different line of conduct."Feeling much disappointed at not having the opportunity of giving the explanation which I wished to the commissioners, and being desirous that your lordships shoulding possession of his office room. I then not remain in ignorance on this subject, I take the liberty of submitting to your lordships the following statement and declaration, which I should at any time be ready to verify upon my oath before the commissioners, or in any other manner in which it might be thought desirable that I should swear to it. I have the honour to be, my lords, &c. &c. (Signed) 4. S. Hamond."

told his lordship, that it became my duty to inform him of various particulars that I considered absolutely necessary he should be acquainted with. I mentioned to him the circumstances under which the merchant builders were then going on with the 74-gun ships contracted for in 1800; that instead of having complied with their request to increase the price they had en gaged for, I had been authorized by lord "Statement and Declaration.-On reading Spencer to give them assurances, that if the eleventh report of the commissioners they went on and built the ships accordof naval enquiry, and particularly the evi-ing to contract, their case should be fully dence given by the earl of St. Vincent, as considered, and a compensation made them stated in the appendix to that report, for their losses, if the same should be made which appears to me not to be correct; I appear to the satisfaction of the navy have judged it proper to make the follow-board; this, lord St. Vincent fully ap ing declaration. I declare, 1st, That I proved of at that time. I also informed have written documents in my possession his lordship, that Mr. Lindegren was em (copies of which are hereunto annexed)ployed as an agent to procure hemp for which appear to me to prove that his lord- the navy through the neutral merchants, ship had a thorough knowledge of one of (the Russian ports being then shut against the transactions; all knowledge of which this country); which his lordship also aphe has denied:-And, 2dly, I declare, proved of, and continued.—I stated likethat although I have no written testimony wise to his lordship, all the circumstances to prove that his lordship was actually ac- that had occurred in the change of the quainted with the other transaction set mode of paying the navy bill; shewing forth in that report; and also stated in what an immense saving it had been to the the appendix by his lordship to have been public; and the difficulties which arose unknown to him; yet that his lordship in 1797 in first getting the ninety-day bills was not unacquainted with its having taken into circulation; and informed him of the place; and the fact of his having denied expedient the treasury had been obliged the one, which is capable of distinct proof, to resort to for keeping up their credit, may tend to confirm my declaration upon when there did not happen to be money the other, as the same degree of forgetful-in the exchequer to discharge them.-And ness which occasioned his denial of the I do as confidently assert, upon the same one might occasion a similar mistake in principle, and either at the same time, his denial of the other. I therefore de- or shortly afterwards, I informed his clare, that feeling it to be my duty to take lordship of all the circumstances of the care that the first lord of the admiralty should be informed generally of the transactions of my office, and particularly, of such as were out of the ordinary course of proceeding; I took occasion not long after the earl of St. Vincent came into office as first lord of the admiralty, to ask his lordship if his predecessor lord Spencer had acquainted him with any services going on under the authority of his approbation or order, that still remained unexecuted, and to which I might have occasion hereafter to call upon his lordship

transaction relative to the issue of the 100,000 7. stated in. page 491 of the com missioners' report, and which is described by me to be of a nature not fit as yet to be made the subject of a public report: and I add now, that. I not only am ready to give to your lordships the most conplete explanation of the transaction; but I subjoin to this statement and declaration a copy of a letter, which, though subsequent to my examination, yet previous to their making their report, I sent to the commissioners of naval enquiry, tender

ing to give them also every information visable,under the present circumstances of upon that point, provided they would not the war, that an attempt should be made make it the subject of a public report; for carrying into execution the project sugand which letter, if they had added to their gested in the inclosed paper for choaking appendix would have shrewn that it was up the entrance into the harbour of Bounot a transaction which I had any wish logne; and the success of such an enterto keep secret, except so far as the dis- prize depending in a great measure upon closure of it would be detrimental to the the secrecy and dispatch with which the public survice; and I do declare, that I preparations may be made; I have the believe, if the commissioners had entered king's commands to signify to you his ma into this examination, which I tendered jesty's pleasure that you do take these prein that letter, that they would have had parations under your immediate control, no difficulty in stating, that the reasons and that you do communicate confidenupon which I was desirous to observe this tially with Mr. supplying him with secrecy, were perfectly satisfactory and such funds, and giving him such orders for sufficient. And I do declare, that with the purchase of vessels, and providing the respect to the last issue of 30,000l the or- stone and other materials which you may der for which is dated from the treasury judge necessary to be embarked, as shall on the 14th March 1801, it was consider- be requisite for accomplishing the object ed as forming a part of the above trans-in view, The advances you may have oc action, and took place before Mr. Pitt casion to make for this service will herequitted office, although the bills were not after be replaced by the treasury. As actually passed until the 9th April, and soon as the vessels shall be sufficiently latherefore this particular issue was not dis- den, you will give directions that they tinguished by me, when I related the cir- should proceed with all possible expedicumstance to lord St. Vincent. (Signed) tion to the Downs, where all further or A. S. Hamond. Navy Office, 22d April ders will proceed from lord Keith. I am, sir, &c. (Signed) Hobart. Sir A. S. Hamond, baronet, comptroller of the navy.'

1805."

have the honour to be, sir, &c. (Signed) St. Vincent. Admiralty, 10 March 180+. Sir A. S. Hamond, baronet, comptroller of the navy.".

"No. 1. Copy of a letter from Sir A.S. Hamond to Earl St. Vincent, dated Navy "No. 3. Sir, I have received your letter Office, 9th March 1804.-My Lord, As I of yesterday, inclosing an instruction. had not the honour of seeing your lordship which you had received from lord Hobart this morning when I waited upon you at for the execution of a secret service, and the admiralty, I beg to inclose, for your which I have no doubt will be well perinformation, an order I received the 9th formed; but as the whole expense is to be of last month from lord Hobart; aud to defrayed by the treasury, I do not see ocacquaint your lordship, that in conse-casion for any part of the detail being. quence thereof I have forwarded the ser-submitted to the admiralty board. I revice therein mentioned as far as it was in turn herewith lord Hobart's letter, and my power, and that three ships fitted for the purpose have now sailed down the river to join lord Keith.-I beg further to acquaint your lordship, that I have avoided as much as possible taking any people. or stores from his majesty's dock yards for this service; but, from the want of exertion of the parties whom I was directed to control, and from the necessity which existed for extraordinary dispatch, I have been obliged to have recourse both to Woolwich and Chatham yards, the particulars of which shall soon be laid before the admiralty. I have the honour to be, "No. 5. My dear sir, Lord Hobart begs my lord, &c.&c. (Signed) A. S. Hamond." me to say, that he hopes the vessel's haNo. 2. Copy of an Order inclosed in ving taking the ground, is not an indicaSir Andrew Snape Hamond's letter of tion of her draught of water being too great the 9th March 1804, to the earl of St. for the proposed service. He is going to Vincent. Downing-street, 9th Feb. 1804. settle with lord St. Vincent about the pro(Most secret)-Sir, It being thought ad-tections; and I am going to arrange with

"No. 4. My dear sir, I hope you can report progress. I have not seen or heard from Mr.

since I saw you; lord St. Vincent approves much of the direction being with you, and will himself write to lord Keith when the preparations are suf ficiently forward. Yours faithfully, J. Sullivan. Downing Street, 18 Feb. 1804, Sir A. S. Hamond."

the treasury about the instructions to the in February 1804, namely, the project for Custom House. I am, my dear sir, faith-blocking up the harbour of Boulogne ; and fully yours, J. Sullipan. Downing Street, as I understood both from your lordship 21 Feb. 1804. Sir A. S. Hamond."

and Mr. Sullivan, that the plan had been first submitted to lord St. Vincent, whose opinion was, that if executed by the smugglers themselves, there was reason able ground to expect success, but not so, if put into the hands of the officers of the navy; that it was in consequence of this opinion, that your lordship determined to employ Mr. to carry the project into immediate execution, to direct me to take the preparation under my control, and to provide naval funds for the ex

"No. 6. Downing Street, 23d Feb.1804. My dear sir, Lord Hobart proposes to send a messenger to-night to lord Keith, and hopes you will send your paquet to go by him, Lord St. Vincent's letter will accompany it. Mr. Frewin of the Custom House, assures me that surveyors are not sent on board ships unless notice is given that a drawback will be claimed for any part of the cargo, or unless some suspicion is entertained of fraudulent practice. He will be in the chair of the Custom pence thereof, as the more effectual means House all next week, and will see Mr. of keeping the exdedition secret, and and act upon any communication which was to be repaid by the treasury from him, if it should appear absolutely when the amount was ascertained.As] necessary; but until the necessity shall find a considerable impression is made on occur, he is decidedly of opinion that it the public mind, that a transaction of this would not be advisable to give an order, nature should be carried on by the comp because it would inevitably give publicity troller of the navy, without the knowledge to the business. Mr. Frewin has been of the first lord of the admiralty, I feel fully informed on the subject. I beg of myself under the necessity of requesting you to send me the original paper of your lordship will have the goodness to Mr. or a copy of it. I am, my dear furnish me with some document that will sir, &e. J. Sullivan, Sir A. S. Hamond." fully shew I was not guilty of that breach “No. 7. Downing Street, 26th March of my duty, which I cannot but think is 1804. My dear sir, Though the accom-intended to be imputed to me by lord. St. panying are rather rejective, I have had Vincent, I have the honour to be, my some comfort from the report of who lord, &c. &c. (Signed) A. S. Hamond. arrived about an hour ago. He says, posi- The earl of Buckinghamshire, &c. &c. &t. tively, that the other pilots agree in opi- late lord Hobart." nion with that the project is practi rable, and that if the ships should be placed in the proper births, they will produce all the effect we have been given to expect. and will call on you. I have sent them to lord St. Vincent. Yours truly, (Signed) J. Sullivan. Sir A. S. Hamond, baronet."

"No. 8. Downing Street, 12th April 1804. My dear sir, When you have looked over the accompanying papers, have the goodness to return them to me. If you think yourself at liberty to give me a copy of captain Owen's letter, for the purpose of my shewing it to the first lord, I will thank you for it; I have shewn him in confidence the papers I now send you. Truly yours, (Signed) J. Sullivan. Sir A. S. Hamond, baronet."

"No. 9. Navy Office, 1st April 1805. My lord, As I find, upon reading the eleventh report of the commissioners of naval enquiry, that lord St. Vincent does not appear to recollect the secret service your lordship placed under my coutrol

"No. 10. Grosvenor Place, 3d April, 1805.Sir, I avail myself of the earliest opportunity of acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 1st instant, which did not reach me until yesterday. In order to intimate for your satisfaction, that you had full authority from me to understand, that previous to any determination being taken, the project for blocking up the harbour of Boulogue had been submitted to the cansideration of earl St. Vincent, and that he had approved of my suggestion to place the necessary arrangements for that service under your direction and control. I have further to add, that I siguified to you the king's commands for supplying such funds, and giving such orders as might appear to you requisite, with a view to the ultimate success of the undertaking. Informing you at the same time that the advances which you might, bave occasion to make for the service in question, would be hereafter replaced by the treasury. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. (Signed) Buckinghamshire. P. S. If it be intended that

your communication to me, should be made that case I should consider myself not at a public document, I must request, for very obvious reasons, that the name of the individual principally employed in the business may be omitted. B. Sir A. S. Hamond, Bt."

those of a person unknown to me, and over whom, whilst money was at his command, I could expect to have but little control; I judged it most advisable to have the money imprested to Messrs. Hammersley, and Co. who have no other concern in the transaction than paying such bills as had my approval. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) 4. S. Hamond."

On the motion for their being printed,

liberty to make the communication withoutfirst consulting the government. With respect to the 2d issue of navy bills to Messrs. Hammersley and Co., I beg leave to acquaint, you that lord Hobart, one of "No. 11. Navy Office, 30th Nov.1804. his majesty's principal secretaries of state, Gentlemen, Since my return to town, your signified to me the king's pleasure, that I precept to the navy board has been put should take under my control, and prointo my hands. I find the board has al-vide funds for the preparation of a project ready signified to you, that the navy nine-intended to be carried into execution on ty-day bills, mentioned in your said pre- the enemy's coast (a copy of which I have cept, on the days and for the sums parti- the honour to inclose in obedience to your cularized, were issued, by my written precept); and considering it more for the directions, to the committee of accounts, in interest of the public, that the funds should consequence of secret orders I had receiv-be in the hands of a banker, rather than in ed from government for specific purposes, and which were kept in my possession. I have now the honour to acquaint you, that the first sum stated in your precept, was issued by directions from the lords commissioners of the treasury, dated 4th October 1792, and marked most secret. The subsequent issues, viz. 22d November 1799, and 9th April 1801, were made by Emilar orders. The service for which these naval payments were made, was Mr. Tierney called the attention of the communicated to me in confidence, and I house to the papers. It was a direct and consider it to be of so delicate a nature, wilful perversion to call them papers that that although the late treasury board sig-corrected the evidence of lord St. Vincent. nified in a secret letter to me from Mr. Vansittart, dated 1st May 1804, "That "the individual in question had performed "the service for which the navy bills had “been issued, to their lordship's satisfac-less than one of direct perjury. It was “tion, and therefore directed the navy ❝ board to make out a clearing bill to dis4 charge Mr. and his partners "from the responsibility of the debt to "government;" yet I am decidedly of opinion, that even mentioning the name of the parties, with the sums issued to them at the particular periods before-mentioned, in any report to be laid before the public, would not only endanger the loss of a great part of the money to government, but would subject the party who had been employed to very great inconvenience.1 therefore submit these circumstances to your consideration, as I find it impracticable to give you a copy of the orders under which I acted, "onitting the secret "instructions respecting the services to be performed," as they are contained in almost every line of the authority: I am, nevertheless, ready to lay before you, privately, all the papers relative to the transaction, provided I am assured that it is not to be publicly reported upon, as in

That evidence stood unimpeached. The house had an interest in the character of lord St. Vincent, and his private friends had an interest. The charge here was no

the general fate of all men in high situa tions to subject themselves to calumny, if they touched the work of corruption. He would aver, and that without fear of contradiction, that with regard to the secret expedition, lord St. Vincent never did give his sanction to it. Lord St. Vincent uniformly protested against the appropriation of naval money to any but naval services, or to other purposes than those for which it was voted by parliament. His lordship uniformly took care that not one farthing of the public money of his department should be misapplied. Lord St. Vincent never made any appointment of a single naval officer to the expedition, although he might have desired lord Keith to give it h convoy. The whole was left to the persons appointed by the treasury. The pa pers which were just read, had nothing to do with the charges against lord St. Vincent. By lord Hobart's letter, it appeared that the whole expence was to be defrayed by the treasury. Lord St. Vincent washed

his hands of it when he returned to sir A. [baronet was to blame in what he did on Hamond the letter of lord Hobart. To be the subject of that expedition; that was sure, it was impossible for lord St. Vin-a point which was not now before the cent, as a member of the cabinet, not to house. The question at present was, whehave known of the expedition, but he had ther the evidence of lord St. Vincent was, no participation in lodging navy money in or was not correct, and it really appeared the hands of the hon. baronet. Here then to him perfectly correct. ends, in the face of the house, the first The Chancellor of the Exchequer said charge against lord St. Vincent, and the that whatever might be doubtful, thus remarkable phrase that either the situation much indisputably appeared on the face of lord St. Vincent or sir Andrew Hamond of these papers; that the transaction which would appear from the papers, one in which occasioned the expence, the expedition no man of honour would wish to stand. which had been so frequently repeated, As a seaman, lord St. Vincent gave his was a measure perfectly well known to opinion respecting the project for choaking lord St. Vincent; that to the expence up the harbours of the enemy; but, as a being incurred, he had no objection; that servant of the public, he had never depart-he objected afterwards only to its being ed from his resolution not to use the pub- defrayed out of naval money-(a cry of/ lic money against the votes of parliament. I hear! hear!) have but one more observation to add, which is, that the worthy baronet has my warmest thanks for the production of his papers.

Mr. Grey said, that lord St. Vincent knew of the transaction of some secret service was a fact; but that lord St. Vincent Mr. Canning observed, that the impres- disapproved of and protested against the sion made upon his mind was, that the application of naval money for that purhon. baronet had moved for the produc-pose, was equally indisputable; no naval tion of these papers for the purpose of re-money was, either directly or indirectly, pelling a charge, the substance of which issued for that purpose under the authowas to be decided by the answer to be rity of that noble carl. His answer was given to a question, whether the comp-given to the commissioners of naval enqui troller of the navy had employed money ry with reference to his assent to the naval entrusted to his charge in other services than those of the admiralty? That was the charge, and which charge it was not for him to say had been repelled; that was with the house. But how it might appear to be conformable to, or contrasted with, what might have been said or sworn elsewhere, he left to the consideration of the public.

money being employed to the purpose of that secret service, which assent he most indisputably never gave. Lord St. Vincent was, therefore, perfectly right in that sense, when he said he knew nothing of the transaction.

Mr. Wallace said, that as far as his recollection went, it did appear to him that the noble earl was quite incorrect in the statement he made before the commis sioners; for it appeared from the communications of sir A. S. Hamond, that the noble earl not only knew of and approved the secret service, but that he also assented to providing the funds for it. Most certainly the impression on his mind was directly the reverse of that felt by the hon. gent. (Mr. Grey) opposite to him.

Mr. For observed, that what had just been said by the right hon. gent. was fair, if indeed it was not something more than fair. But he had a right to expect that the point should be put on the true ground, and perhaps it would have been fair if the rt. hon. gent. had put forward the charge against lord St. Vincent. The ground of bringing forward these documents was, that my lord St. Vincent's evidence, as delivered to the Mr. Grey.I say the representation of commissioners of enquiry, was incorrect, as the hon. gent. who has just spoken, is diwas indeed stated in one of the documents rectly the contrary of the transaction to themselves. Now, it was so far from being which he refers. If he means an epithet to so, that there was no incorrectness what-apply to the evidence of the noble earl. ever in that evidence; on the contrary, Sir A. S.-Hamond said it would appear, lord St. Vincent understood the matter at that his lordship directed that the comp the time, as he and every body else under-troller of the navy should have funds for stands it now, and he should be glad to defraying the expences of the expedition, have the incorrectness pointed out. It and he would beg to know whether these was another matter to say that the hon. funds were to come from his own pocket,