3d, It is stated that the sum of one hundred thousand pounds had been imprested, which, had been advanced by the Navy Board, in consequence of directions from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to the Comptroller, marked "Most Secret;" that five thousand pounds had been repaid into the hands of the Treasurer of the Navy, and the remaining imprest of ninety-five thousand pounds taken off by order of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, dated the 1st of May, 1804. It appears also that sixteen thousand pounds had been advanced by the Navy board to Messrs. Hammersleys, for the performance of secret naval services, under the direction of one of the principal secretaries of state; and it would seem from what has transpired, that this was the exact sum expended on the stone expedition. The above only contains a brief outline of the labours of the Commissioners, who sat daily from five to seven hours; and in addition to his particular share in these, Sir Charles Pole has been obliged sometimes to explain, and sometimes to defend their conduct in parliament. Much has been already achieved, yet it depends not on him, but on those entrusted with the management of public affairs, whether his efforts will prove serviceable to the extent hoped for. It has been hinted, indeed, that unless he is properly supported, he means to withdraw from such an Herculean task, it being impossible to cleanse the Augæan stable, without the immediate confidence and support of the government. Whatever may be his ultimate intentions, we doubt not that they will be founded on the most honourable principles, and formed after the most deliberate reflection. The conduct of Sir Charles Pole has obtained for him the approbation of the Public; and we have every reason to suppose that this will either follow him into his retreat, or accompany him in the further prosecution of his honourable labours. The subject of this memoir has but seldom voted in the House of Commons, and indeed never appears to have spoken, but in the character of a commissioner, or a professional man. On the 15th of March, 1804, when Mr. Pitt brought forward his proposition on the state of our naval force, with a view of criminating the conduct of the Admiralty Board, Vicc-Admiral Pole rose, "not for the purpose of assenting to, or dissenting from, the motion of the Right Honourable Gentleman, but merely to give an opinion in the way of his profession, as to the merits and activity of the Noble Lord at the head of the Admiralty. "Of that activity he could not think too highly, when he con sidered that within forty eight hours after it was known that hostilities were to commence, Admiral Cornwallis sailed for Brest, and from that moment to this, with scarcely any interruption, has held the port just alluded to, in a state of the strictest blockade. The energy, assiduity, and enterprize," added he, " of every offcer, and every man in that fleet, from the gallant Admiral, who commanded it, down to the cook's boy, was never paralleled in the naval history of this or any other country. "But it was not only the ports of the enemy, of that power which particularly deserves the name, but even those of its allies, from, he might almost say, Toulon to the Texel, that were kept blockaded blockaded by the extraordinary perseverance and enterprize of the navy of Great Britain. "As to the objection that had been urged against the Earl of St. Vincent, for not employing a greater number of gun-boats, that was a difference between the Noble Lord and the Right Honourable Gentleman on a professional subject, relative to which, although he was not without an opinion, yet he would not then trouble the House with it. But in regard to the employment of armed cutters, he had no motives of delicacy, and he would not hesitate to declare that the taking them into the service was an arrant job; a job, because the men were rarely mustered, and the vessels were mostly in port. "He had his ideas with respect to the proper mode of defending the country, and those were directly against the use of such craft as had been recommended; for our shores, he was confident, would be much better secured by the service of fifty-gun ships and frigates. "There was one remaining point on which he wished to trouble the House, and that was the very considerable number of men that the admirable arrangements and indefatigable exertions of the Board of Admiralty had procured for the navy, and for which, in his opinion, they, and the Noble Lord who presided there, were entitled to the thanks and gratitude of the country." The Vice-Admiral concluded by observing, "that as he considered the proposed inquiry unnecessary, he would vote against the production of the papers that had been moved for by the Right Honourable Gentleman." On a division, Mr. Pitt's motion was lost by a majority of 71. In consequence of the late glorious battle, when the Hero of Aboukir closed his brilliant career by the decisive victory off Cape Trafalgar, October 21, 1805, a promotion immediately took place in the navy, in consequence of which Sir Charles Pole was advanced from the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Red, to that of Admiral of the Blue. MR. ELLISTON. ROBERT William Elliston, whose dramatic talents are well known to the public, was born in the parish of Bloomsbury, in 1774. His father, a watchmaker of some eminence, resided for many years in Charles-street, Covent Garden; his uncle is the Reverend Dr. Elliston, the much esteemed Master of Sidney College, Cambridge, who superintended and defrayed the expence of his education. At the usual age, young Elliston was sent to St. Paul's School, a seminary which can boast of having produced many eminent scholars, and given dignitaries to the church, as well as conferred ornaments on several of the learned professions. This gentleman was originally intended for the pulpit, but such has been his attachment to the drama from his infancy, that instead of taking orders, he has at length become duly authorised, in the language of the play-house, to give them. Private theatricals, which have, in our humble opinion, been productive of much mischief, first seduced our hero from the path that had been marked out for his future pursuits in life, and in which the high respectability of some of his relatives afforded well-founded hopes of travelling to advantage. An English thesis, which, as one of the senior * The subject of this thesis was, "Nemo confidat nimium secundis :" boys, boys, was delivered by him with much effect, at St.. Paul's School, in the year 1790, seems to have hastened his fate; for we find him, in a few weeks after this effort, at the age of sixteen, performing the part of Pierre, at the Lyceum in the Strand, then occasionally opened as a private theatre. His Pursuits of this description naturally produced remonstrance, and finally anger, on the part of those who had pointed out a far different carcer. fancy, however, soared beyond the reach of prudence, and he thoughtlessly threw himself on a wide world unprotected and unknown. His first public debut was at Bath, on the 21st of April, 1791, in the modest yet respectable Tressel in Richard the III.* Notwithstanding the success of his first efforts, it appears that he was unfortunate in his desire of procuring an engagement, the company being full, and the manager of a provincial theatre frequently looking with a suspicious eye to the increased expenditure of twenty-five shillings per week, * Colley Cibber, known only for some years by the name of Master Colley, also made his first appearance in an inferior situation. After waiting impatiently for the prompter's notice, he by good fortune obtained the honour of carrying a message on the stage to one of the chief actors of that day, whom he greatly disconcerted. Betterton asked in some anger, who it was that had committed the blunder? Downs (prompter) replied, Master Colley."" Then forfeit him," rejoined the other." Why, Sir, he has no salary."-"No! Then put him down ten shillings a week, and forfeit him five." To this good-natured adjustment of rewar s al punishments Cibber owed the first money he took in the treasury office. |