Adm. KEPPEL's trial, continued. [98.] After the charge was read, Adm. Keppel requested, that the log-books of the feveral mafters might be ordered to be delivered into court, and lie on the table for the infpection of the members. At first Adm. Pallifer objected to this, on the ground of its not being poffible to authenticate them until the mafters were fworn; but finding an inclination prevail to have them produced immediately, left they fhould fuffer any alteration, he waved the objection.

The examination of the witneffes was begun Jan. 8. Adm. Pallifer defired, that an oath fhould be administered to each mafter, That the log-book he delivered was the true and original fhip's log-book, without any alterations or additions fince made therein. Mr Arnold, mafter of the Robufte, refufed to take the oath. Adm. Pallifer. Do you object to the cath on account of alterations or additions? Anfwer. Both

Adm. Keppel. Were they made since it was known I was to be tried? A. I believe fome of them were ten or fourteen days ago.

Q. By whom? and by whofe order? A. By the Captain's order, copied by one of the mates.

Q. Were they given in writing? A. Some were verbal, fome in writing.

Did you, upon the Captain's requiation, refufe to infert them yourself? A. No, I could not.

Q. Was there any officer present at the time? A. I believe the first lieutenant. Q. Were they made by the ufual perfen who keeps the log-book? A. Yes.

Q. Where were the alterations made? A. In the great cabin of the Robufte.

Q. Did the Captain fee the log-book? A. The Captain fees the log-book every day.

QAfter the action, did the Captain approve of what was put into the logbook relative to that day's work? A. It was not inferted in the log-book until it had received the Captain's approbation.

Q. Were the alterations for the 27th and 28th inferted at that time by the Captain's approbation? A. The Captain frequently found it neceffary to add to, or interline.

Capt. Hood, of the Robufte, was examined on the 14th of January. On his being fworn, Adm. Keppel faid, "Mr VOL. XLI.

that after the hiftory which the court Prefident, I know it is expected by fome, had received of the alterations made in Capt. Hood's log-book, by his order, fince it was known that my trial was to come on, I fhould object to his evidence: but, anxious as I am to hear the teftimony of all that ferved aboard my fleet, refpecting the operations of that fleet, I rather with to hear Capt. Hood's evidence.

Adm. Pallifer. I beg Capt. Hood to inform the court, what thofe alterations were, before gives his evidence.

Capt. Hood. Mr Prefident, Before I proceed to give evidence, I beg leave to inform the court of the nature, the fum, and fubftance of the alterations that I ordered to be made in my log-book. I never conceived that the evidence of a log-book was held to be fatisfactory, or that it could contain any charge whatever. The winds, the courfes, the diftances in the Robufte's log-book ftand unaltered. The corrections are in the narrative part; and not knowing but I fhould be called here a prisoner perhaps, and not an evidence, I was willing to have it correct.

I ftand here an attacked man. From the 11th of Auguft my character has been wounded. I have feen the abuse go forth into the world refpecting me; letters have been fent to the first characters in the kingdom. In one paper, I was put under arreft for difobedience of orders; in others I was faid to be broke; anonymous publications have faid, that the rear-divifion was the caufe of our not fucceeding that day. I was very much alarmed, when, in a public affembly, the whole of the rear-divifion was blamed. I therefore thought it neceffary to correct my log-book for the honour and the fafety of the officers of that divifion. I fhall beg leave to call the mafter of the Robufte to elucidate and clear up this matter; and I truft that I fhall not be found to have done any thing to the prejudice of the Hon. Admiral. I beg affo to call Lieut Pitt and Lumley, who will produce the original log-books; and by them the court will fee what alterations have been made. I conceive that a captain of the navy has a right to alter and correct his log-book; and if that right is taken away, he is in a most deplorable fituation; my honour, my reputation, and my existence, depends upon it; and I declare that I will

BEYER

never fet my foot on board a king's ship again."

Mr Pitt and Mr Lumley produced their log-books; and on being called upon to take an oath of their being exact copies from the original log-book, they owned they alfo had made fome trifling alterations in the month of October.

Adm. Pallifer. What were the alterations you made in the log-book ?

Capt. Hood. The airft alteration is in fending out the fhips to chace in the morning; my log-book firft ftated, that the Vice-Admiral fent out the fhips to hafe; I altered it to, "the Admiral made fignal for our fhip and others to chace. The fecond alteration fpeaks more fully to the Admiral's fignals in the afternoon to wear down. The other alteration is the fecing the three thips in the morning of the 28th, which was omitted in the original.

Next day Capt. Hood was cross-examined by Adm. Keppel, thus.

"Q. Where is the entries of the Robufte's log-book of the 27th and 28th, as it ftood originally? A. I really do not

know.

Q. Did you fee any rough minutes of thefe two days tranfactions before they were entered in the log-books? and were they approved by you? A. I certainly did fee it in a rough manner, and not knowing at that time but it was correct, it was inferted in the log-book.

Was it inferted by your approbation? A. I directed it to be wrote in the log-book.

Q. When was it that the alterations and additions were made? A. I do not remember the day; but the master having been already before the court, I fubmit the day to his recollection.

Q. As you cannot be precife as to the day, you can fay, whether you then had heard of Adm. Keppel's intended courtmartial? A. When I took into confideration the alteration and correction of the Robufte's log-book, I had not heard of any intention that exifted of trying Adm. Keppel.

Q. When you ordered thefe altera tions to be inferted, had you not then heard of the intended court-martial? A. I had not heard of Adm. Keppel's court-martial, but it was rumoured here.

Q. Capt. Hood will be fo good, as to explain what he means by a rumour of a court-martial which he never heard of,

A. What I mean by rumour is, a great many people were talked of to be tried in common conversation.

Q. When thefe alterations were ac tually made, had you then heard o Adm. Keppel's intended trial, or not A. I have already faid that I had no heard of Adm. Keppel's intended trial.

Q Capt. Hood has referred to wh his matter faid relating to thefe alter tions; may I beg to have the clerk's m nute on that article read?

It was accordingly done; and the m nutes faid, "That, to the beft of 1 (Mr Arnold's) knowledge, the alter tions were made in the log-book after was known that Adm. Keppel was to tried by court-martial."

The minutes neglected one mater expreffion of Mr Arnold's, which within the recollection of all the cou "I think the alterations were ma (fays he), twelve or fourteen days ag Capt. Hood informed the court, that must be more; fince he was in Lond by public leave, twenty days, viz. fr the 16th of December to the 3d of nuary. He then stated several reaf for invalidating the evidence of I books, till he was ftopped, it being reign to the subject.

The Prefident begged leave to rem Capt. Hood, as he had appealed to for the truth of his having been twe days in London previous to the 3d January, that if he meant to ufe tha a proof of his not having heard of intended trial of Adm. Keppel, that fore that time (that is before he Portsmouth on the 16th of December) was known, though not officially, t the trial was to come on.

Adm. Keppel. Then I am to und ftand, Sir, upon the oath you have ken, that you had not heard of my tended trial when you directed there terations to be inferted? A. I beli I have anfwered that question already.

Q. I do not understand that you has and I muft beg of you to anfwer it no ftraight and direct? A. I beg my f mer answer may be read.

The clerk recurred to the former qu ftions and anfwers, beginning with t words, "When you ordered these terations," &c.

Adm. Keppel. I beg my queftion m be again afked. Am I to understar Sir, upon the oath you have taken, tl you had not heard of my intended t

wh

when you directed thofe alterations to be made? A. I had beard it as a common conversation, but no further.

Q. Had you not heard, when the alterations and additions were inferted, that Sir Hugh Pallifer had charged me with fome offence? A. I never heard of any charge, nor what the offences were. They had not come to my knowledge.

Had you not then heard that Sir Hugh Pallifer had exhibited a charge agift me, though you did not know the riculars of it? A. I had heard there was to be a court-martial, therefore I new there must be a charge.

Q. Had you ever converfed or correfbonded with Sir Hugh Pallifer, directly or indirectly, on the fubject of Adm. Keppel's trial, before you made the alterations in your log-book? A. I ne ver converfed with Sir Hugh Pallifer on that fubject.

QNor correfponded? A. Letters certainly paffed between us, but nothing relative to this charge.

QDid you ever converfe or correpond with him on the subject of the bg-book? A. Never.

Q. Do you mean to fay, that you neer converfed or correfponded with Sir Hugh Pallifer on the subject of my trial, well as on the additions to your logback! A. Never on the additions to my leg-book till after the trial took place.

Was there nothing in regard to he trial neither? A. At what time? Q. Before the alterations were infertin the log-book? A. Nothing, not he fmalleft communication.

Q. What then led you to difcover, our months afterwards, any error in he ftate of the tranfactions of thefe wo days which you did not discover at he time? A. I was led to the difcoery of the truth for the fake of myself. Q. Did your original log-book ftate hat the Admiral was making much fail the evening of the 27th? A. I do ot recollect that it did.

Q. Do you know that it did not? A. do know it did not. I have said so be

bre.

Q. What hour does that infertion in he log-book relate to? A. It relates o the night.

Q. What hour is it put to? A. As ar as I recollect, it is put to part of the twatch, and part of the middle

watch, but no hour is mentioned; it is in the course of narration. As I am called upon to declare, I will do it to the belt of my judgement.

Adm. Keppel. Mr Prefident, As that alteration in Capt. Hood's log-book tends to affect my life, I shall ask him no more queftions.'

Sir Hugh Pallifer here requested leave to offer a few words to the court, in confequence of what Adm. Keppel had juft faid: and being indulged, he condemned the Admiral's impeachment of Capt. Hood's credit and character, and pledged himself to examine many witneffes in the progrefs of the trial, to refift, defeat, and confute the cruel and invidious attack He was stopped by the court; who declared they could not fit, and hear it called a cruel and invidious attack, in the prifoner, to afk fuch plain and ftraight queftions as were neceffary to the investigation of truth.

Adm. Montagu faid, That he had heard no impeachment of Capt. Hood's character whatever. The Admiral had ftated a plain fact, which was acknowledged by the Captain; and that fact rendered him no longer eligible, howe ver competent, as a witnefs: The expreffions of the accufer might be proper for Weftminster-hall, but they could not be tolerated in a court-martial.

Adm. Keppel faid, That he had afked no indirect queftion of the witness. The alteration had been made, and avowed; it tended to affect his life; and therefore he rejected his further evidence. With the moft feeling fenfibility, and the tear burfting from his eye, he exclaimed, that his aftonishment could not be expreffed, when he first heard that his conduct on the 27th and 28th days of July was accufed. He knew of no one that could prove the charges laid against him; and was fo unprepared, that he had almoft determined to fet up a paper to the public, intreating all thofe that could, to come and clear his innocence. He had from that moment prepared what evidence he could attain; and he hoped that his honour would come out unfullied.

It was determined, that the fpeech of Sir Hugh Pallifer should not appear on the minutes.

The evidence was then asked a few queftions by the court.

"Adm. Montagu. From the whole of the tranfactions of the British fleet on U 2 the

THE BODY is magnificently conftruct. ed, to contain the Nobob and eight attendants; the hind part being formed as a coach, the fore part as a chariot, and the doors, on each fide, open to the front, which preferves the principal centre paintings entire, and gives eafy entrance to the nabob and his attendants, who feat themselves according to their rank, three on each fide fidewife, one on the right and one on the left hand of the nabob on low feats, and the nabob on a raised seat fix inches higher at the back, fo that none of his attendants (who are never permitted) fit fronting him. The lining is a rich white fatin brocade, decorated with filk laces, fringes, gold and filver embroidery and jewelry of various colours.