BOOKS.

LORD DIINDON.S.LD'S AUTOBIOGB 4 PEIT.*

[SECOND VOLI^A1E—YIRST NOTICE.]

TILE second volume of the Earl of Dundonald's Autobiography was advertised on the 13th of last month as ready that day, but we are not aware that a single copy of it was issued to the

press, or was offered for sale, until the beginning of this week. The copy now before us, which we received on Tuesday last, bears

on its title pate the words " second edition" whence it is to be in-

ferred that one whole edition was privately disposed of before the volume was actually published in the ordinary course of trade. The eagerness of public expectation thus indicated is fully, justi-

fied by the contents of the book, and cannot be too thankful that time was granted its illustrious author to leave on record so

complete a vindication of his spotless honour. It was not until he had reached his eighty-fifth year that Lord Dundonald was in full possession of the materials requisite for this posthumous volume; had he died without writing it, the event would have been no- thing less than a national misfortune.

The first volume of the Autobiography ended with a narrative of the attack on the French fleet in the Aix Roads, the partial success of which was due to Lord Cochrane alone, whilst the enemy owed the escape of their ships from total loss solely to the supineness of the English Commander-in-chief, Lord Gambier. The Ministers of the day however, to serve their own political

purposes, insisted on converting a disgraceful failure into a glorious victory, and carrying a vote of thanks to Lord Gambier. Lord Cochrane refused to be included in the vote, and gave no-

tice that he would oppose it as a Member of the House of Com- mons. The First Lord of the Admiralty endeavoured to buy off his opposition by the most tempting offer he could make to such a man—that of an independent naval squadron and a regiment ; but Lord Cochrane was inflexible, and Lord Gambier felt con-

strained to call for a court-martial. The infamous history of

that court-martial forms the subject of the first four chapters in the new volume, and is fitly designated by the author -" A Naval Study for all Time." The court was picked by the Government, and was principally composed of officers who had been ordered to hoist their flags to qualify them for sitting on the court-martial, and were ordered to strike them again, when it was ended. The witnesses were selected with eqnn)., care most of those summoned either having not been present in the action, or being known to be in the interest of the Commander-in-chief, whilst officers who had commanded ships in Aix Roads were not summoned if they were suspected of not approving Lord Gambier's conduct. Lord. Cochrane was not per- mitted to be present in court during the examination of the wit- nesses, and care was token to prevent his knowing the names of those who had been summoned ; but he had a knack of dis- covering secrets; and this one did not foil his scrutiny. Ac-

cordingly he wrote, a note to the court, pointing. out the unfair- ness shown, in the choice of witnesses, and 'naming other officers who ought to be examined, one of whom was the late Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm. These were then summoned, and their evidence, as quoted by Lord Dundonald, will be conclusive to the reader, although it had no weight with a court which had assem- bled for other purposes than to ascertain and declare the truth. The case set up for Lord Gambier rested mainly on two allega- tions, both of which were false. These'were, the formidable cha-

racter of the batteries on the Ile d'Aix, and the existence of a

shoal between those called Le Bogart and. Les relies. These imaginary facts, denied by captains who had personally tested them both on the spot, were held to be substantiated by the observations from a distance of inferior officers, who contradicted themselves and each other. But the grand evidence for the defence, and ,that on which the court.martial had based its

decision, was a false chart fabricated for the occasion, and adopted as authentic, whilst the genuine French chart was rejected and thrown under the table. After the trial, Lord Cochrane sought

permission to see the charts which had been produced before the court. " The request was evaded both. then and afterwards, even

though persisted in up to the year 1818, when it was officially

denied that the original of the most material chart was in the possessidn of the Admiralty. Even inspection of a copy, admitted

to be in their possession, was refused." During Lord Derby's

administration, Lord Dundonald renewed his request, and it-was promptly granted by Sir John Fakington, and also by his suc-

cessor 'the Duke of Somerset, who ' came into office infer) the chart 'had been seen by Lord Dundonald. " The reader may judge of my surprise," says the latter, "on' discovering, in its proper place, bound up amongst the •Naval Records, in the usual official manner, the very chart the possession of which had been denied by a former Board of Admiralty ! Subsequently to the publication of his first volume, Lord Dun- donald received letters from two naval officers, now living, who

ought to have been examined before the court-martial, but were not summoned. Captain •Hutchinson was in action throughout the whole affair in the Aix Roads, and he " can bear testimony to the indignation which pervaded the whole fleet in witnessing the total want of enterpnse,. and even common sense of duty, which then permitted so many of the enemy's ships to escape, when they were entirely at our meitiy." The other officer, Admind Sir Francis William, Austen, is grateful for kindliest; • The Autobiography of a Seaman. By Thomas,. tenth Earl of Dundonald, G.G.B. Vol. 8. Published by Bentley.

received from Lord Gambier, and wishes to say as little to his prejudice as possible, but even he is constrained to admit that he acted injudiciously. " Much of what occurred," says Sir Francis, " I attributed to Lord Gambier's being influenced by persons about him who would have been ready to sacrifice the honour of their country to the gratification of personal dislike to yourself, and the annoyance they felt at a junior officer being employed in the service." lust such as this was the spirit that animated the Tory ministry, and the first proof they gave of it was the sum- mary rejection of a plan which would have completely acoom- plished the purpose of the disastrous Walcheren, expedition. It was an improvement upon that which its author had employed in the Aix Roads, and had he been allowed to put it in operation on the Soheldt, nothing, he felt assured, could have saved the French fleet and the Flemish dockyards from destruction.

" The cost of this plan to the nation would hare been ten rotten old hulks, some fifty thousand barrels of powder, and a proportionate quantity of shells. The cost of the expedition, which faileia,—in addition to the thousand, of lives sacrificed, 'vas millions; and the millions which fol- lowed by the prolongation of the war, by the refusal of the Admiralty to put in operation any naval expeditionealeulated to effect a beneficial object, who shall want ? So much for war when conducted by Cabinets ! But I was now a marked man ; and the Government evidently considered it pre- ferable that the largest force which England-had kter despatched from her shores should incur the chance of &Rime in its ehjeet, Than that the simple and easily-applied plans of a junior post-captain should again jeopardize the reputation of his Commander-in-chief."

Seeing that it was now a fixed principle'vrith the Ministry that the expenditure of millions for defeat was preferable to cheap viotory, if achieved by a man so obnoxious to them as he was, Lord Dandonald applied himself in his parliamentary capacity to promote the welfare of the noble service in which he was no longer permitted to hold a command. He was very active in assailing the rennet:roue abuses of the Admiralty Court, abuses, " even exceed- ing those prevalent in Spain, under the infamous administration of Godoy." While thus engaged, he determined to go to Malta, to overhaul the proceedings of the Maltese Admiralty Court, which had actually brought him in debt for the prizes he had taken in the Imperieuse. He found in the usages of the Court nothing but illegallity from beginning to end, and his demand that the prize accounts of the Imperieuse and Speedy should be taxed according to the authorized table of fees, was refused, The sequel was ex- ceedingly ludicrous, One day Lord Coohrane demanded the table of fees from Dr. Monorieff, the Judge Advocate, who denied that he knew anything about them. His lordship searched for them it the Court, where by Act of Parliament they ought to have been hung up. They were not there, and as the Judge was not sitting, he looked for them in the robing-room, with no better result; but in-a wateroloset adjoining it, he found what he sought, wafered up behind the door. He took 'it down, and reentered the Court in the act of folding up the paper before putting it in his pocket. Dr. Moncrieff instantly saw what he had got, and rose to prevent his egress, but desisted on being told that guardino. the Judge's watercloset formed no part of his duties as Judge Advocate. The paper was on its way to Sicily half an hour afterwards. Lord Cochrane was commanded to restore it, and as he did not comply, it was ordered that he should be arrested for an insult to the Court. The marshal proceeded to execute that order, but was told that, as he held his office illegally, it would not be safe for him to lay a finger on a man who was prepared to treat him'as one with- out authority of any kind, The Marshal declined the risk, which his deputy was then ordered to encounter. But lie too was made to understand that his position was illegal, and after following Lord Cochrane about Malta for many days, he at last saved his bones at the cost of his office. His successor was duly appointed, and by him Lord (bchiane submitted to be arrested. He was asked to got) at inn and remain there on parole, but he would do nothing of, the sort, and finally he was earned out of the room on the chair in which lie had been sitting, carefully deposited in a carriage, and driven to the town gaol to which he had refused to walk. In the gaol he mutilated the same passive attitude under his illegal im- prisonment, and smote •his civil gaoler with dismay by refusing to order dinner. He would not pay for so much as a crust, and if he was starved to death, the Admiralty Court would have to to answer for it. The consequence was an immediate order from the Marshal to a neighbouring hotelkeeper to supply the prisoner with whatever he chose to have.

" Thns armed with carte-blanche as to the cuisine, I ordered dinner for six, under strict injunctions that whatever was prized in Malta, as well in edibles as in wines, should be put upon the table. An intimation to the gaoler that he would be the richer by the scrape, and to the hotel-master to keep his muse' far the sake of the profits had the desired effect; and that evening a better-entertained party (nabs] officers) never dined Within the walls of Malta gaol. This went on day after day, at what cost to the Ad- miralty Court I never learned nor inquired ; but, from the character of our entertainment, the bill when presented must have been almost as extensive as their own fees. All my friends in the squadron present at Malta were invited by turns, and assuredly had no ward-room fare. They appeared to enjoy themselves the more heartily, as avenging their own wrongs at the expense of their plunderers."

When this had gone on for a fortnight, the Admiralty au- thorities began to regard with uneasiness the possible wine- quences of detaining the Member for Westminster from his place in Parliament. Their 'own titles'to office were unconfirmed, and all that could be alleged against 'the prisoner was that he had been seen to fold up and pocket a dirty piece of paper, but as to what that paper might be, there was no evidence whatever. An attempt was made to get back the table of fees, and get rid of the prisoner amicably, through the interposition of his Excellency, but the obdurate prisoner would not budge without a trial. The authorities were sorely puzzled to know what offence he should be accused of, but at last they resolved to interrogate him in hopes of entrapping him into becoming his own accuser, But they had to deal with one who was more than a match for them, and in- steaa of their worming anything out of him, he elicited from them an admission that the table of fees in question had not been ratified by the King in Council, and was consequently not valid according to the Act. Thereupon, Lord Cochrane protested against the whole proceedings as illegal. The Judge, finding that nothing could be done, asked him to go at large on bail ! This he flatly refused, and the Judge had no alternative but to re- mand him back to prison. His friends now thought the joke had been carried far enough, and advised him to compromise the mat- ter by returning the table of fees, but he would not listen to this, for he wanted the table to exhibit in the House of Commons. "On this the senior naval officer, Captain Rowley, said to me—1 Lord Coohrane, you must not remain here; the seamen are getting savage, and if you are net out soon, they will pull the gaol down, and get the naval force into a scrape. Have you any objection to making your escape ?" Not the least,' replied I, ' and it may be done ; but I will neither be bailed, nor will I be set at liberty without a proper trial.'

This being settled, files and a rope were procured, and three or four nights afterwards, having held a last symposium with his friends at the expense of the Admiralty Court, the prisoner let himself down from the window, pulled tie rope after .him to pre- vent suspicion, " and bade adieu to the merriest prison in which a seaman was ever incarcerated." The Eagle's gig was waiting for him in the harbour—it put him on board the English packet which was becalmed outside,—and he arrived in England a month before news of his escape could be sent home, in those days of slow transit, by the authorities of the Maltese Admiralty Court-

" As I afterwards learned, nothing mould exceed the chagrin of the Ad- miralty officials at having lost, not only their tables of charges, but their prisoner also. No one had the slightest suspicion that I had gone to sea, and that in a man-of-war's boat. Yet nothing could better show the ini- quitous character of the Maltese Admiralty Court than the fact that my escape was planned in conjunction with several naval officers present in harbour, who lent me a boat and crew for the purpose ; the whole matter being previously known to half the naval officers present with the squadron, and, after my escape, to not a feu, of the seamen, all of whom must have been highly amused at 'the diligent search made for me the next day throughout Valetta, but still more at the reward offered for those who aided me in escaping. Yet not a word transpired as to the direction I had taken, or the time occupied in searching for me on the island might have been turned to better account by an endeavour to intercept me at Gibraltar, where I remained long enough to dispose of my yacht, and amuse the garri- son with a narrative of may adventures since I left the Rock two months before."

Here we must pause for the present, having advanced but mid- way into the volume. its remaining portion, which includes among other matter some account of the author's "secret plans" and the history of his unjust conviction, will be the subject of an article in our next number.