rendered so strong by nature and art as to set at defiance the attempts of every other nation if defended by Britons. Sixty-five pieces of ordnance, in all, fell into our possession ; fifty-seven of which we embarked on board the 'Phoenix;' the remaining eight were rendered useless, and abandoned. To conclude my detail, I humbly commend the gallant officers and men, of every description, acting under my personal command, upon this arduous enterprise, to the consideration of the Board, for whose justice and liberality I have the highest veneration.

(Signed)

Hon. Company's Frigate Bombay,'

Looso Roads, Aug. 3, 1804.

JOHN HAYES.

Nott's personal appearance, and his general bearing and conduct while engaged on this expedition to Muckee are thus described by one who was his companion at the time and remained his friend to the day of his death:

I was a great deal with Nott in 1803, 1804 and 1805. He was rather tall, but not lusty; neither was his figure such as indicated agility; still he moved about without awkwardness. He had a fine oval head, dark hair, sallow complexion, and not a joyous countenance; on the contrary, without being morose, it was expressive of a calm observation of what was passing, for he was rather a looker-on, than a delighted participator of the gaieties of his associates. His temper was impetuous, yet he could curb it so as not to be disagreeable to his companions; there was enough in it, however, to scare away indiscreet familiarity. I was his junior officer when on shore at Muckee, and passed the

VOL. I.

C

nights with him shut up in one of the stockades; he was then, if I may so express myself, in his glory: no precaution was omitted to prevent a surprise; his unwearied vigilance rendered it impossible, and his preparations to resist any attack which might be made, proved what might be expected from him when he might become the commander of an army. Those nights welded us together for ever.

I cannot say whether he was studious or idle: at that period the world was in arms; life was passed in action rather than study; books seldom fell in our way; our minds were solely engaged with the General Orders of the day.

For some supposed offence committed by Lieutenant Nott, Captain Robertson, who commanded the Lord Castlereagh,' mentioned in the foregoing despatch, ordered him into arrest, and he remained under arrest, until the Expedition, on its return, was about to reach Calcutta. He then directed Nott's release, but of this Nott refused to avail himself, and so returning to Calcutta under arrest, he immediately demanded a court-martial against himself on the charges preferred by Captain Robertson.

It will be the fortune of the biographer to say many honourable things and describe many honourable actions of William Nott in the course of these volumes, but it may be fairly questioned if any single event of his life reflected greater brilliancy upon his character than the emanations of his lofty spirit disclosed in the defence before the court. Let it be borne in mind that he was at this time but nineteen years of age, impetuous and imperfectly educated. The sense of

wrong, however, inspired the intrepid youth with eloquence suited to the occasion, and reminded the hearers of the daring temper and fiery resentment of the immortal Clive.

Into a specification of the charges on which Nott was tried it is not necessary to go, because he has recapitulated their substance, and occasionally repeated their terms in the defence, which ran as follows:

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Court-Martial, I am standing before you accused of crimes so unbecoming the character of a British officer, that, were I really guilty of the imputations contained in the charges, I should feel myself unworthy of being a member of the honourable army in which I serve, and certainly should not have persevered in demanding the present inquiry into my conduct. But I come here arrayed in the full consciousness of innocence, well convinced that no contrivance whatever, no art, nor any malice can be so refined, as to reach that honour, which is fairly committed to your care and pro

tection.

Gentlemen, I hope to be indulged with a few minutes' attention to the situation in which I was placed on board the Hon. Company's ship 'Lord Castlereagh,' previous to my entering on the merits of the charges now before you.

I was placed under the command of a man totally unacquainted with military duty; a man called from a merchant vessel and raised to the command of a 50-gun ship; a man who never had a commissioned officer under his command; nay, who never had the honour even to serve with one, until I had the misfortune to be placed under him. Thus, Gentlemen, was I reduced to the hard necessity of either

abandoning a profession, to which I had dedicated my life, or receive the unofficer-like orders of a man, whose ignorance of military affairs rendered him incapable of judging whether an officer did, or did not, do his duty.

Impressed with the indignant feelings which have been roused by the recollection of the injurious treatment received by me and the detachment under my command, while on board the prosecutor's ship, I am induced to inquire of this Court, in case I should be honourably acquitted, what punishment is to be inflicted on my prosecutor for false imprisonment, and for preferring groundless charges? For the former, I can obtain reparation in a civil court; as to the latter, were he endowed with those delicate feelings peculiar to British officers, I would in that case leave him exposed to the infamy which must ever attach to an individual who prefers a groundless charge. But he is void of all sense of shame and regard to veracity; he is dead to every idea of justice, lost to all feelings of humanity. Were he indeed amenable to martial law, I should be enabled to bring him to a fair and open trial; and I have not the least doubt but he would, in that event, be dismissed the service with infamy for his cruel and inhuman treatment of the detachment under my command while on board his ship, and for his shameful behaviour in face of the enemy on the 27th of July last. But he well knew that he was not amenable to martial law, and therefore continued his ill-usage to the last, and seemed to triumph in his cruelty; but it was the short-lived triumph of a low, illiberal mind, uninspired by sentiment, untinctured by humanity. Most assuredly, Gentlemen, he shall not escape with impunity.

Gentlemen, before I proceed to notice the charges, it will be necessary for me to inform the Court, that on the

27th of July last I received an order from Captain John Hayes, Commander-in-Chief of the Hon. Company's forces assembled before Muckee, to take possession of the forts evacuated by the enemy, as well as the command of the whole of the detachment employed on shore.

Gentlemen, my prosecutor has declared that he is unable to substantiate the three first charges in consequence of the absence of the evidences he wished to be able to produce in support of them; and he has moreover declared, that those witnesses are on board the 'Bombay' frigate, and he expects by this low subterfuge, to escape the infamy that awaits him for preferring malicious charges; for I pledge to this Honourable Court my sacred word of honour, which is dearer to me than life, that there was not a man (except Lieutenant Lloyd, who is now here) belonging to the Bombay' frigate, in the fort at Muckee, when the altercation took place between Captain George Robertson and myself; it is therefore impossible for him to call any evidence from that quarter to substantiate the charges. But if the gentleman is of opinion that the evidence of any person now on board that ship would tend to substantiate his charges, he certainly will confer on me a great obligation by deferring this investigation until the return of the 'Bombay' frigate, which will be in a few days. But this I am sure he will not do, well convinced it would be to no purpose.

Gentlemen, as my prosecutor has declared himself unable to substantiate the three first charges, it is not therefore my intention to trouble this Honourable Court with any evidence in regard to them; but as my prosecutor has taken the liberty to reflect on my character as an officer, I hope to be indulged with a few minutes' attention in order to state to this Honourable Court a few words with regard to them.

Gentlemen, the first charge is, in my humble opinion, so