posts to their out-posts, and as he supposed beyond all their stations, when having taken the green bough out of his hat and gallopped off, be was pursued by several of them who fired a great number of shots at him and this deponent further saith, that he was as he believes, the very first loyalist who escaped from the rebels, and that he proceeded to Carlow without stopping, and on his arrival waited on Lord Tyrone, now Marquis of Waterford, who commanded for his Majesty there, and informed him of every particular with which he was acquainted, and this deponent in like manner waited upon and gave the like intelligence to the King's Brigadier General Henniker, at Kilcullen Bridge, and from thence proceeded to Dublin, where he immediately repaired to the Castle and detailed the particulars to Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Marsden, for Lord Cornwallis's information, being the first intelligence they had received from any body of the then interesting situation of the county of Wexford as this deponent believes, and this deponent then called upon the late Lord Ely, and communicated to him all the circumstances above stated; and shortly afterwards waited on Lord Mount Cashel, Lord Kingston's brother in law, and acquainted him of the like facts, and the situation in which he had left Lord Kingston at Wexford, being the only favour which this deponent is at all conscious of his having done to Lord Kingston in his life-time and this deponent further saith, that his story to the Members of the Government was the same as he has now stated, and that he suppressed no fact nor concealed any circumstance concerning himself, and remained in Dublin unaccused and unsuspected, until the troubles in the county of Wexford were at an end, and the subsiding alarms of those who had suffered by them made way for their resentments, and this deponent having then been informed by a friend that suspicions had been conceived against this deponent, he impatiently hastened to the then Commander of the forces, Lieutenant General Lake, now Lord Lake, and requested that a Court Martial might be called upon his conduct, and that the severest investigation might do justice to it: and this deponent further saith, that the said Lord Lake who knew this deponent's history, and conceived his conduct was generally known, told him he considered his conduct above suspicion; and with this declaration refused this deponent's request; and this deponent further saith, that representations being afterwards made to the Government from certain of the Magistrates and others of the county of Wexford, this deponent was sent to Wexford for trial and was accordingly brought to trial on the twenty-seventh of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, before a Court Martial composed of the following Members, namely PRESIDENT. Colonel William Earl of Ancram, Mid. Lothian Cavalry. MEMBER S. Licut. Colonel Sir James Fowlis, Bart. Mid Lothian Cavalry, Lieut. Colonel John Enys, 29th Foot, Lieut. Colonel Francis James Scott, Dunbarton Fencibles, Major James Kirkman, 29th Foot, Major James Dewar, Mid. Lothian Cavalry, DEPUTY JUDGE ADVOCATE. AND this deponent further saith, that the crime of which he was accused was as follows: "Captain Philip Hay of the 3d Regiment of Foot, or Buffs, charged with being in Arms and being in Rebellion against his Majesty," to which this deponent pleaded not Guilty; and this deponent further saith, that after a trial of seven days, in the course of which no circumstance was proved which this deponent had not himself communicated immediately after his escape, the following sentence was pronounced, namely:-The Court having maturely and deliberately considered the whole of the evidence for and against the prisoner, Captain Philip Hay, of the 3d Regiment of Foot, and his defence is of opinion, that the charges against him have been proved, but it evidently appearing that the prisoner's conduct proceeded from arbitrary compulsion, the Court does therefore Honorably acquit him. THOMAS O'NEIL, ANCRAM, Colonel, M. Lothian Cavalry, President, AND this deponent further saith, that the persons at whose instance he had been brought to trial, and who had formed themselves into a committce for the purpose of prosecuting him, were allowed to produce every witness who could be found to prove acts of disloyalty against this deponent, and pa ed no pains or exertions in obtaining them: and this deponent further saith, that a few days after his acquittal, he returned to Dublin and waited on Lord Cornwallis, who recommended this deponent for a Troop (the amount of the purchase money for which this deponent had so lodged in the hands of Messrs. Fraser and Read, as before mentioned) in the late 23d Light Dragoons, and this deponent was thereupon appointed thereto, and served in the said regiment until their reduction in December, one thousand eight hundred and two, when this deponent was put upon half pay; but in June, one thousand eight hundred and three, his Majesty was pleased to appoint this deponent from half-pay to one of the Field Officer's Troops in the 18th Light Dragoons, which station he still holds and this deponent further saith, that during the said : said rebellion part of his plate which had been left in charge with the said Mr Richards had been plundered, together with Mr. Richards's own by the rebels, and every loyal man who had sustained any loss having put in his claim under an Irish act of parliament, passed about eighteen hundred, this deponent did the same, and stated personally to the commissioners the situation he had been placed in during the time he was in the possession of the rebels, and apprised them of all the circumstances that occurred during that period, and of the before mentioned court martial and its result, whereupon the said commissioners granted this deponent's claim, and he received ninety five pounds from the treasury, which was less than his said loss actually amounted to: and this deponent further saith, that the same persons who had before prosecuted this deponent's trial, in one thousand seven hundred and ninety eight, aided by the said Ear! of Kingston (who was well acquainted with the proceedings before the court martial, and the result of it) petitioned the commissioners of suffering loyalists against this deponent, and prevailed upon them to demand a return of the money this deponent had received, and to signify, that if this deponent refused to reiund it, the question of his loyalty should be tried, but this deponent refused to return the money, and thereupon proceedings were carried on against this deponent, and an attempt was made to force a trial of the question at the quarter sessions for Wexford county, holden at Enniscorthy, in or about the month of February, one thousand eight hundred and three, although this deponent sent them the opinion of counsel of the first character, Mr. Saurin, the present Attorney General of Ireland, that the question could not be legally tried in that county; and this deponent further saith, that the chairman of the said session having refused to try the case on the ground of that court having no jurisdiction, this deponent was nevertheless served with another process for the next session for the County of Wexford, and given to understand, that similar successive attempts would be made, whereupon this deponent by the advice of his counsel signed a consent to try the question in the Court of Exchequer and put in a plea accordingly; and the cause coming on to be tried in the said Court of Exchequer, the Judges of that Court quashed the proceedings with strong terms of censure on the waste of the charity fand upon so unjust a pursuit: and this deponent further saith, that having failed in the before mentioned modes of proceeding, they, with a view of destroying his military prospects, sent over a most false and malicious statement to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, which was handed to his Royal Highness by the said Lord Kingston, and supported by his own personal misrepresentations; but his Royal Highness caused such representations to be communicated to this deponent, through Major General Lord Page, then commanding the cavalry in the district, where this deponent was quartered, and a reference to Marquis Cornwallis and Lord Castlereagh, produced the following official letters from his Highness's Secretary; Horse Horse-Guards, October 12, 1803. MY DEAR LORD, I have received the commander in chief's directions to inform your Lordship, that the result of a reference made to the persons in whose hands the Government of Ireland was vested at the time when the transactions alluded to in my confidential letter of the 1st instant to your Lordship, respecting captain Philip Hay of the 18th Light Dragoons, as stated to have occurred, has proved so satisfactory both in regard to the character and principles of that officer, as to afford his Royal Highness the fullest conviction, that the insinuations against him are unfounded; and his Royal Highness commands me to desire that your Lordship will take the earliest opportunity of communicating the same to captain Hay. I remain, my dear Lord, with great regard, Your very faithful obedient servant, M. G. LORD PAGET, &c. &c. &. HENRY CALVERT, A. G. Horse-Guards, 12th October, 1803, MY LORD, I have had the honor to submit to the commander in chief your Lordship's letter of the 9th instant, transmitted to me by captain Philip Hay of the 18th Light Dragoons.-The favourable testimony therein borne by your Lordship to the character and principles of that officer, has proved perfectly satisfactory to the commander in chief, and afforded his Royal Highness full conviction that the insinuations thrown out against him, are entirely groundless. I have by his Royal Highness's commands signified the above, by this night's port, to M. Gen. Lord Paget, for the information of captain Hay, and have done myself the honor to make this communication to your Lordship, conceiving you would wish to be made acquainted with the result of the interest you have taken in behalf of captain Hay. I have the honor to be, with much respect, my Lord, HENRY CALVERT, A. G, Gen. The MARQUIS CORNWALLIS, K. G. &c. &c, AND this deponent further saith, that Lord Castlereagh, who, from his situation in Ireland was particularly well acquainted with all the circumstances relating to this deponent's situation with the rebels, having been about this time in London, waited personally on his Royal Highness the Duke of York, and explained to him the infamy of the representations which had been made against this deponent, by the said Earl Kingston and his colleagues: and this deponent further saith, that in the early part of the year, one thousand eight hundred and five, he heard that fresh representations had been made to Lord Cathcart and to the Government of Ireland, to this deponent's disadvantage; and that on this occasion, the said Earl of Kingston had again taken active steps to raise doubts to this deponent's prejudice, with a view to obstru this deponent's professional advancement, and render him a su pected person and this depon nt further saith, that before and since the year one thousand eight hundred and five and down to the meeting between this deponent and the said Earl in October last, the said Earl has, as this deponent has been informed, by persons of the highest honour and veracity on various occasions, traduced the character of this deponent, by representing him as a rebel, and saving a Hangman was the only person fit to meet this deponent, or to that effect; and this deponent has heard, that the said Earl has stated his determination to ruin this deponent's character, or to that effect, all which this deponent believes to be true; but this deponent was dissuaded from instituting any proceedings or taking any steps against the said Earl in respect of his aforesaid calumnies, while the powers of the board of commissioners of compensation for suffering loyalists were in force as this deponent had been informed, that the said Earl had repeatedly stated he was to be the principal witness against this deponent: and this deponent further saith, that the slander of the said Earl against this deponent was by no means the consequence of the compensation this deponent received as a suffering loyalist; for that long before the act of compensa. tion passed, the said Earl, as this deponent is informed, and believes imputed to this deponent in an Anti-room at Dublin Castle, the having headed the rebels at the battle of Gore's Bridge, and having been instrumental to their success on that occasion; and that addressing himself to the late Lord Ely who was acquainted with this deponent, the said Earl Kingston in the presence of several persons there, named this deponent as the person referred to, when the said Lord Ely told the said Earl Kings. ton that he must have been misinformed, for that this deponent had dined with the said Lord Ely in Dublin on the very same day when that battle took place; and this deponent believes he did so, and positively denies he was at any battle at or near Gore's Bridge: and this deponent further saith, that the powers of the said commissioners ceased in the spring of the year one thousand eight hundred and six, from which time till the month of September, one thousand eight hurred and seven, this deponont was detained in Ireland with his regiment, and had no opportunity of seeing the said Earl: and this deponent further saith, that he believes some such meeting of magistrates took place as is mentioned in the affidavit of the said Earl; but this deponent did not know any thing of the said letter of the |
