Note 21 — CHAP. XXV. A NAVAL STUDY—continued.

It is a remarkable fact that many of the witnesses chiefly relied on by the Commander-in-chief, in confirmation of his having done his duty, had not been in Aix Roads at all, and could therefore have no knowledge of anything, except their remaining inactive with the fleet whilst the enemy’s ships were warping off. Mr. Stokes was of this number; yet all were questioned on points known only to officers intimately acquainted with Aix Roads, and present at the action. But for the court to adopt exclusively, as will presently be seen, a chart constructed by a man who admitted that an important portion had been laid down from hearsay, was monstrous; the more so, as the official charts, would have shown the truth.