 After four of the barristers had spoken , Mansfield announced that the court session would resume the next morning rather than continue into the night , which gave Erskine the time he needed to present a full speech rather than a brief comment . In it he accused Sandwich of cowardice and of orchestrating the attack on Baillie , arguing that Baillie was merely doing his duty by attempting to bring the problems with the hospital into the public eye , and was therefore not acting in bad faith . If the issues with the hospital were not acknowledged , Erskine claimed , the Royal Navy would be " crippled by abuses " , with seamen no longer willing to risk their lives for a fleet that would fail to treat them well in their retirement . Erskine was successful in having Baillie found not guilty , and after leaving the court was met with a standing ovation ; Emory Speer writes that " It is probably true that never did a single speech so completely ensure professional success " . 
