QUIET OF IRELAND RESTORED.

The intestine broils of Ireland were happily composed this year, by the prudent management of the marquis of Hartington, lord lieutenant of that kingdom. By his steady and disinterested conduct, his candour and humanity, the Irish were not only brought to a much better temper, even among themselves, than they were before their late outrageous riots and dangerous dissensions happened; but also prevailed upon to acquiesce in the measures of England, without this last being obliged to give up any one point of her superiority. The leading men in the parliament of Ireland were the first that conformed; and though the ferment continued very high for some time after, among the middling and lower ranks of people, it was at length entirely allayed by the wisdom of the lord lieutenant, and the excellent law which he encouraged and passed for the benefit of that nation.* The primate of Ireland, who had been very busy in fomenting many of the late disturbances, was, by his majesty's command, struck off the list of privy-counsellors; and the greatest part of those patriots, whom faction had turned out of their employments there, were reinstated with honour.

* Among other objects of the attention of the legislature of that country, ten thousand pounds were granted for making the river Nore navigable from the city of Kilkenny to the town of Innestalge; twenty thousand pounds towards carrying on an inland navigation from the city of Dublin to the river Shannon; four thousand pounds for making the river Newry navigable; a thousand pounds a year for two years, for the encouragement of English protestant schools; several sums, to be distributed in premiums, for the encouragement of the cambric, hempen, and flaxen manufactures; and three hundred thousand pounds to his majesty, towards supporting the several branches of the establishment, and for defraying the expenses of the government for two years.

{1756}



TREATY CONCLUDED WITH PRUSSIA.

The parliament of England, which had adjourned on the twenty-third day of December, met again: the house of commons on the thirteenth of January, and the lords on the nineteenth. On the sixteenth of the same month, the treaty between his Britannic majesty and the king of Prussia was signed, importing, that, for the defence of their common country, Germany, and in order to preserve her peace and tranquillity, which it was feared was in danger of being disturbed, on account of the disputes in America, the two kings, for that end only, entered into a convention of neutrality, by which they reciprocally bound themselves not to suffer foreign troops of any nation whatsoever to enter into Germany, or pass through it during the troubles aforesaid, and the consequences that might result from them; but to oppose the same with their utmost might, in order to secure Germany from the calamities of war, maintain her fundamental laws and constitutions, and preserve her peace uninterrupted. Thus, the late treaty with Russia was virtually renounced. Their majesties, moreover, seized this favourable opportunity to adjust the differences that had subsisted between them, in relation to the remainder of the Silesia loan due to the subjects of his Britannic majesty, and the indemnification claimed by the subjects of his Prussian majesty for their losses by sea during the late war; so that the attachment laid on the said debt was agreed to be taken off, as soon as the ratification of this treaty should be exchanged.



NEW MILITIA-BILL.

On the twenty-first of January the house took into consideration the laws then in being relating to the militia of this kingdom; and, finding them insufficient, ordered a new bill to be prepared, and brought in, for the better regulating of the militia forces in the several counties of England. A bill was accordingly prepared to that effect, and presented to the house on the twelfth of March, by the hon. Charles Townshend, esq., who, to his honour, was one of the chief promoters of it. After receiving many amendments in the house of commons, it was on the tenth of May passed, and sent to the lords; but several objections being made to it by some of the peers, and it seemed to them that some further amendments were still necessary, which they thought they could not in that session spare time to consider so maturely as the importance of the subject required, a negative of fifty-nine against twenty-three was put upon the motion for passing the bill; though every one must have been sensible, not only of the propriety, but even of the absolute necessity of such a law, which was ardently desired by the whole nation.



SESSION CLOSED.

On the twenty-seventh of May, his majesty went to the house of peers, and, after having given the royal assent to the bills then depending, thanked his parliament, in a speech from the throne, for their vigorous and effectual support. He acquainted them, that the injuries and hostilities which had been for some time committed by the French against his dominions and subjects, were then followed by the actual invasion of the island of Minorca, though guaranteed to him by all the great powers in Europe, and particularly by the French king; that he had, therefore, found himself obliged, in vindication of the honour of his crown, and of the rights of his people, to declare war in form against France; and that he relied on the Divine Protection, and the vigorous assistance of his faithful subjects, in so just a cause. The parliament was then adjourned to the eighteenth of June; and from thence afterwards to the eighteenth of July, and then it was prorogued.



CHAPTER XI.

Letter from M. Rouille to the Secretary of State..... The two Nations recriminate on each other..... The French threaten Great Britain with an Invasion..... Requisition of six thousand Dutch Troops according to Treaty..... Message from the King to the Parliament..... A Body of Hessians and Hanoverians transported into England..... French Preparations at Toulon..... Admiral Byng sails for the Mediterranean..... He arrives at Gibraltar..... engages M. de la Galissonniere off Minorca..... and returns to Gibraltar..... Ferment of the People at Home..... Admiral Byng superseded and sent home Prisoner..... Account of the Siege of St. Philip's Fort in Minorca..... Precautions taken by General Blakeney..... Siege commenced..... English Squadron appears..... General Attack of the Works..... The Garrison capitulates..... Sir Edward Hawke sails to Minorca..... Rejoicings in France, and Clamours in England..... Gallantry of Fortunatus Wright..... General Blakeney created a Baron..... Measures taken for the Defence of Great Britain..... Proclamation..... Earl of Loudon appointed Commander-in-Chief in America..... His Britannic Majesty's Declaration of War..... Substance of the French King's Declaration..... Address of the City of London..... Trial of General Fowke..... Affairs of America..... Colonel Bradstreet defeats a Body of French on the River Onondaga..... Earl of Loudon arrives at New York..... Oswego reduced by the Enemy..... Further Proceedings in America..... Naval Operations in that Country..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Calcutta besieged by the Viceroy of Bengal..... Deplorable Fate of those who perished in the Dungeon there..... Additional Cruelties exercised on Mr. Holwell..... Resolution against Angria..... Port of Geriah taken by Admiral Watson and Mr. Clive..... Their subsequent Proceedings in the River Ganges



LETTER FROM M. ROUILLE.

In the month of January, Mr. Fox, lately appointed secretary of state, received a letter from M. Rouille, minister and secretary of state for foreign affairs to the king of France, expostulating, in the name of his sovereign, upon the orders and instructions for committing hostilities, which his Britannic majesty had given to general Braddock, and admiral Boscawen, in diametrical opposition to the most solemn assurances so often repeated by word of mouth, as well as in writing. He complained of the insult which had been offered to his master's flag in attacking and taking two of his ships in the open sea, without any previous declaration of war; as also by committing depredations on the commerce of his most christian majesty's subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, the faith of treaties, and the usages established among civilised nations. He said, the sentiments and character of his Britannic majesty gave the king his master room to expect, that, at his return to London, he would disavow the conduct of his admiralty; but seeing that, instead of punishing, he rather encouraged those who had been guilty of such depredations, his most christian majesty would be deemed deficient in what he owed to his own glory, the dignity of his crown, and the defence of his people, if he deferred any longer demanding a signal reparation for the outrage done to the French flag, and the damage sustained by his subjects. He therefore demanded immediate and full restitution of all the French ships, which, contrary to law and decorum, had been taken by the English navy, together with all the officers, soldiers, mariners, guns, stores, and merchandise. He declared, that should this restitution be made, he should be willing to engage in a negotiation for what further satisfaction he might claim, and continue desirous to see the differences relating to America determined by a solid and equitable accommodation; but if, contrary to all hopes, these demands should be rejected, he would consider such a denial of justice as the most authentic declaration of war, and as a formed design in the court of London to disturb the peace of Europe. To this peremptory remonstrance the British secretary was directed to answer, that though the king of England would readily consent to an equitable and solid accommodation, he would not comply with the demand of immediate and full restitution as a preliminary condition; for his majesty had taken no steps but such as were rendered just and indispensable by the hostilities which the French began in time of profound peace, and a proper regard for his own honour, the rights and possessions of his crown, and the security of his kingdoms.

Without all doubt the late transactions had afforded specious arguments for both nations to impeach the conduct of each other. The French court, conscious of their encroachments in Nova Scotia, affected to draw a shade over these, as particulars belonging to a disputed territory, and to divert the attention to the banks of the Ohio, where Jamonville and his detachment had been attacked and massacred by the English, without the least provocation. They likewise inveighed against the capture of their ships, before any declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy; and some neutral powers of Europe seemed to consider them in the same point of view. It was certainly high time to check the insolence of the French by force of arms, and surely this might have been as effectually and expeditiously exerted under the usual sanction of a formal declaration; the omission of which exposed the administration to the censure of our neighbours, and fixed the imputation of fraud and free-booting on the beginning of the war. The ministry was said to have delayed the ceremony of denouncing war from political considerations, supposing that, should the French be provoked into the first declaration of this kind, the powers of Europe would consider his most christian majesty as the aggressor, and Great Britain would reap all the fruits of the defensive alliances in which she had engaged. But nothing could be more weak and frivolous than such a conjecture. The aggressor is he who first violates the peace; and every ally will interpret the aggression according to his own interest and convenience. The administration maintained the appearance of candour in the midst of their hostilities. The merchant ships, of which a great number had been taken from the French, were not sold and divided among the captors, according to the practice of war; but carefully sequestered, with all their cargoes and effects, in order to be restored to the right owners, in case the disputes between the two nations should not be productive of an open rupture. In this particular, however, it was a pity that a little common sense had not been blended with their honourable intention. Great part of the cargoes consisted of fish, and other perishable commodities, which were left to rot and putrefy, and afterwards thrown overboard, to prevent contagion; so that the owners and captors were equally disappointed, and the value of them lost to both nations.



THE FRENCH THREATEN GREAT BRITAIN WITH AN INVASION.

The court of Versailles, while they presented remonstrances which they knew would prove ineffectual, and exclaimed against the conduct of Great Britain with all the arts of calumny and exaggeration at every court in Christendom, continued nevertheless to make such preparations as denoted a design to prosecute the war with uncommon vigour. They began to repair and fortify Dunkirk; orders were published that all British subjects should quit the dominions of France; many English vessels were seized in the different ports of that kingdom, and their crews sent to prison. At the same time an edict was issued, inviting the French subjects to equip privateers, offering a premium of forty livres for every gun, and as much for every man they should take from the enemy; and promising that, in case a peace should be speedily concluded, the king would purchase the privateers at prime cost. They employed great numbers of artificers and seamen in equipping a formidable squadron of ships at Brest; and assembling a strong body of land-forces, as well as a considerable number of transports, threatened the island of Great Britain with a dangerous invasion.



REQUISITION OF SIX THOUSAND DUTCH TROOPS.

The English people were seized with consternation; the ministry were alarmed and perplexed. Colonel Yorke, the British resident at the Hague, was ordered by his majesty to make a requisition of the six thousand men whom the states-general are obliged by treaty to furnish, when Great Britain shall be threatened with an invasion; and in February he presented a memorial for this purpose. Monsieur d'Affry, the French king's minister at the Hague, having received intimation of this demand, produced a counter-memorial from his master, charging the English as the aggressors, and giving the states-general plainly to understand, that, should they grant the succours demanded by Great Britain, he would consider their compliance as an act of hostility against himself. The Dutch, though divided among themselves by faction, were unanimously averse to any measure that might involve them in the approaching war. Their commerce was in a great measure decayed, and their finances were too much exhausted to admit of an immediate augmentation of their forces, which for many other reasons they strove to avoid. They foresaw a great increase of trade in their adhering to a punctual neutrality; they were afraid of the French by land, and jealous of the English by sea; and perhaps enjoyed the prospect of seeing these two proud and powerful nations humble and impoverish each other. Certain it is, the states-general protracted their answer to Mr. Yorke's memorial by such affected delays, that the court of London perceived their intention, and, in order to avoid the mortification of a flat denial, the king ordered his resident to acquaint the princess regent, that he would not insist upon his demand. The states, thus freed from their perplexity, at length delivered an answer to Mr. Yorke, in which they expatiated on the difficulties they were laid under, and thanked his Britannic majesty for having freed them by his declaration from that embarrassment into which they were thrown by his first demand and the counter-memorial of the French minister. The real sentiments of those people, however, more plainly appeared in the previous resolution delivered to the states of Holland by the towns of Amsterdam, Dort, Haerlem, Gouda, Rotterdam, and Enckhuysen, declaring flatly that England was uncontrovertibly the aggressor in Europe, by seizing a considerable number of French vessels; that the threatened invasion of Great Britain did not affect the republic's guarantee of the protestant succession, inasmuch as it was only intended to obtain reparation for the injury sustained by the subjects of his most christian majesty; finally, that the succours demanded could be of no advantage to the king of England, as it appeared by the declaration of his most christian majesty; that their granting these succours would immediately lay them under the necessity of demanding, in their turn, assistance from Great Britain. From this way of arguing, the English may perceive what they have to expect in cases of emergency from the friendship of their nearest allies, who must always be furnished with the same excuse, whenever they find it convenient or necessary to their own interest. Such a consideration, joined to other concurring motives, ought to induce the British legislature to withdraw its dependence from all foreign connexions, and provide such a constitutional force within itself, as will be fully sufficient to baffle all the efforts of an external enemy. The apprehensions and distraction of the people at this juncture plainly evinced the expediency of such a national force; but different parties were divided in their opinions about the nature of such a provision. Some of the warmest friends of their country proposed a well regulated militia, as an institution that would effectually answer the purpose of defending a wide extended sea-coast from invasion; while, on the other hand, this proposal was ridiculed and refuted as impracticable or useless by all the retainers to the court, and all the officers of the standing army. In the meantime, as the experiment could not be immediately tried, and the present juncture demanded some instant determination, recourse was had to a foreign remedy.

Towards the latter end of March, the king sent a written message to parliament, intimating, that he had received repeated advices from different persons and places, that a design had been formed by the French court to invade Great Britain or Ireland; and the great preparations of forces, ships, artillery, and warlike stores, then notoriously making in the ports of France opposite to the British coasts, together with the language of the French ministers in some foreign courts, left little room to doubt the reality of such a design; that his majesty had augmented his forces both by sea and land, and taken proper measures and precautions for putting his kingdom in a posture of defence; that, in order further to strengthen himself, he had made a requisition of a body of Hessian troops, pursuant to the late treaty, to be forthwith brought over, and for that purpose ordered transports to be prepared; that he doubted not of being enabled and supported by his parliament in taking such measures as might be conducive to an end so essential to the honour of his crown, the preservation of the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of these kingdoms. This message was no sooner received, than both houses voted, composed, and presented very warm and affectionate addresses, in which his majesty was thanked for the requisition he had made of the Hessian troops; a measure which at any other time would have been stigmatized with all the satire and rhetoric of the opposition.



HESSIANS AND HANOVERIANS TRANSPORTED INTO ENGLAND.

Even this precaution was not thought sufficient to secure the island, and quiet the terrors of the people. In a few days Mr. Fox, the new minister, encouraged by the unanimity which had appeared so conspicuous in the motions for the late addresses, ventured to move again in the house of commons, that another address should be presented to the king, beseeching his majesty, that for the more effectual defence of this island, and for the better security of the religion and liberties of his subjects, against the threatened attack by a foreign enemy, he would be graciously pleased to order twelve battalions of his electoral troops, together with the usual detachment of artillery, to be forthwith brought into this kingdom. There was a considerable party in the house, to whom such a motion was odious and detestable; but considering the critical situation of affairs, they were afraid that a direct opposition might expose them to a more odious suspicion; they therefore moved for the order of the day, and insisted on the question's being put upon that motion; but it was carried in the negative by a considerable majority, which also agreed to the other proposal. The resolution of the house was communicated to the lords, who unanimously concurred; and their joint address being presented, his majesty assured them he would immediately comply with their request. Accordingly, such expedition was used, that in the course of the next month both Hanoverians and Hessians arrived in England, and encamped in different parts of the kingdom.—As the fears of an invasion subsided in the minds of the people, their antipathy to these foreign auxiliaries emerged. They were beheld with the eyes of jealousy, suspicion, and disdain. They were treated with contempt, reserve, and rigour. The ministry was execrated for having reduced the nation to such a low circumstance of disgrace, as that they should owe their security to German mercenaries. There were not wanting some incendiaries, who circulated hints and insinuations, that the kingdom had been purposely left unprovided; and that the natives of South Britain had been formerly subdued and expelled by a body of Saxon auxiliaries, whom they had hired for their preservation. In a word, the doubts and suspicions of a people naturally blunt and jealous, were inflamed to such a degree of animosity, that nothing would have restrained them from violent acts of outrage, but the most orderly, modest, and inoffensive behaviour by which both the Hanoverians and Hessians were distinguished.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



FRENCH PREPARATIONS AT TOULON.

Under the cloak of an invading armament, which engrossed the attention of the British nation, the French were actually employed in preparations for an expedition, which succeeded according to their wish. In the beginning of the year, advice was received that a French squadron would soon be in a condition to sail from Toulon; this was afterwards confirmed by repeated intelligence, not only from foreign gazettes, but also from English ministers and consuls residing in Spain and Italy. They affirmed that the Toulon squadron consisted of twelve or fifteen ships of the line, with a great number of transports; that they were supplied with provisions for two months only, consequently could not be intended for America; and that strong bodies of troops were on their march from different parts of the French dominions to Dauphine and Provence in order to be embarked. Notwithstanding these particulars of information, which plainly pointed out Minorca as the object of their expedition; notwithstanding the extensive and important commerce carried on by the subjects of Great Britain in the Mediterranean; no care was taken to send thither a squadron of ships capable to protect the trade, and frustrate the designs of the enemy. That great province was left to a few inconsiderable ships and frigates, which could serve no other purpose than that of carrying intelligence from port to port, and enriching their commanders by making prize of merchant vessels. Nay, the ministry seemed to pay little or no regard to the remonstrances of general Blakeney, deputy governor of Minorca, who, in repeated advices, represented the weakness of the garrison which he commanded in St. Philip's castle, the chief fortress on the island. Far from strengthening the garrison with a proper reinforcement, they did not even send thither the officers belonging to it, who were in England upon leave of absence, nor give directions for any vessel to transport them, until the French armament was ready to make a descent upon that island. [372] [See note 2 Z, at the end of this Vol]



ADMIRAL BYNG SAILS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN.

At length, the destination of the enemy's fleet being universally known, the ministry seemed to rouse from their lethargy, and, like persons suddenly waking, acted with hurry and precipitation. Instead of detaching a squadron that in all respects should be superior to the French fleet in the Mediterranean, and bestowing the command of it upon an officer of approved courage and activity, they allotted no more than ten ships of the line for this service, vesting the command of them in admiral Byng, who had never met with any occasion to signalize his courage, and whose character was not very popular in the navy; but Mr. West, the second in command, was a gentleman universally respected for his probity, ability, and resolution. The ten ships destined for this expedition were but in very indifferent order, poorly manned, and unprovided with either hospital or fire-ship. They sailed from Spithead on the seventh day of April, having on board, as part of their complement, a regiment of soldiers to be landed at Gibraltar, with major-general Stuart, lord Effingham, and colonel Cornwallis, whose regiments were in garrison at Minorca, about forty inferior officers, and near one hundred recruits, as a reinforcement to St. Philip's fortress.



ADMIRAL BYNG ARRIVES AT GIBRALTAR.

After all the intelligence which had been received, one would imagine the government of England was still ignorant of the enemy's force and destination; for the instructions delivered to admiral Byng, imported, that on his arrival at Gibraltar, he should inquire whether any French squadron had passed through the straits; and that, being certified in the affirmative, as it was probably designed for North America, he should immediately detach rear-admiral West to Louisbourg, on the island of cape Breton, with such a number of ships, as, when joined with those at Halifax, would constitute a force superior to the armament of the enemy. On the second day of May, admiral Byng arrived at Gibraltar, where he found captain Edgecumbe, with the Princess Louisa ship of war, and a sloop, who informed him that the French armament, commanded by M. de la Galissonniere, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, with a great number of transports, having on board a body of fifteen thousand land-forces, had sailed from Toulon on the tenth day of April, and made a descent on the island of Minorca, from whence he, captain Edgecumbe, had been obliged to retire on their approach. General Fowke, who commanded at Gibraltar, had received two successive orders from the secretary at war, with respect to his sparing a battalion of troops, to be transported by Mr. Byng, as a reinforcement to Minorca; but as the two orders appeared inconsistent or equivocal, a council of war was consulted, and a majority were of opinion that no troops should be sent from thence to Minorca, except a detachment to supply the deficiency in the little squadron of captain Edgecumbe, who had left a good number of his seamen and mariners, under the command of captain Scroop, to assist in the defence of fort St. Philip's. These articles of intelligence the admiral despatched by an express to the lords of the admiralty, and in his letter made use of some impolitic expressions, which, in all probability, it would have been well for him had he omitted. He said, if he had been so happy as to have arrived at Mahon before the French had landed, he flattered himself he should have been able to prevent their getting a footing on that island. He complained, that there were no magazines in Gibraltar for supplying the squadron with necessaries; that the careening wharfs, pits, and store-houses were entirely decayed, so that he should find the greatest difficulty in cleaning the ships that were foul; and this was the case with some of those he carried out from England, as well as with those which had been for some time cruising in the Mediterranean. He signified his opinion, that, even if it should be found practicable, it would be very impolitic to throw any men into St. Philip's castle, which could not be saved without a land-force sufficient to raise the seige; therefore, a small reinforcement would only add so many men to the number which must fall into the hands of the enemy. He observed, that such engineers and artillery-men in Gibraltar as had been at Minorca, were of opinion that it would be impossible to throw any number of men into St. Philip's, if the French had erected batteries on the two shores near the entrance of the harbour, so as to bar all passage up to the sally-port of the fortress; and with this opinion he signified the concurrence of his own sentiments. The first part of this letter was a downright impeachment of the ministry, for having delayed the expedition, for having sent out ships unfit for service, and for having neglected the magazines and wharfs at Gibraltar. In the latter part he seemed to prepare them for the subsequent account of his misconduct and miscarriage. It cannot be supposed that they underwent this accusation without apprehension and resentment; and as they foresaw the loss of Minorca, which would not fail to excite a national clamour, perhaps they now began to take measures for gratifying their resentment, and transferring the blame from themselves to the person who had presumed to hint a disapprobation of their conduct: for this purpose they could not have found a fairer opportunity than Mr. Byng's subsequent behaviour afforded.



HE ENGAGES M. DE LA GALISSONNIERE OFF MINORCA.

The admiral being strengthened by Mr. Edgecumbe, and reinforced by a detachment from the garrison, set sail from Gibraltar on the eighth day of May, and was joined off Majorca by his majesty's ship the Phoenix, under the command of captain Hervey, who confirmed the intelligence he had already received, touching the strength and destination of the French squadron. When he approached Minorca, he descried the British colours still flying at the castle of St. Philip's, and several bomb-batteries playing upon it from different quarters where the French banners were displayed. Thus informed, he detached three ships a-head, with captain Hervey, to reconnoitre the harbour's mouth, and land, if possible, a letter for general Blakeney, giving him to understand the fleet was come to his assistance. Before this attempt could be made, the French fleet appearing to the south-cast, and the wind blowing strong off shore, he recalled his ships, and formed the line of battle. About six o'clock in the evening, the enemy, to the number of seventeen ships, thirteen of which appeared to be very large, advanced in order; but about seven tacked, with a view to gain the weather-gage. Mr. Byng, in order to preserve that advantage, as well as to make sure of the land-wind in the morning, followed their example, being then about five leagues from Cape Mola. At daylight the enemy could not be descried; but two tartanes appearing close to the rear of the English squadron, they were immediately chased by signal. One escaped, and the other being taken, was found to have on board two French captains, two lieutenants, and about one hundred private soldiers, part of six hundred who had been sent out in tartanes the preceding day, to reinforce the enemy's squadron. This soon re-appearing, the line of battle was formed on each side, and about two o'clock admiral Byng threw out a signal to bear away two points from the wind and engage. At this time his distance from the enemy was so great, that rear-admiral West, perceiving it impossible to comply with both orders, bore away with his division seven points from the wind, and closing down upon the enemy, attacked them with such impetuosity, that the ships which opposed him were in a little time driven out of the line. Had he been properly sustained by the van, in all probability the British fleet would have obtained a complete victory; but the other division did not bear down, and the enemy's centre keeping that station, rear-admiral West could not pursue his advantage without running the risk of seeing his communication with the rest of the line entirely cut off. In the beginning of the action, the Intrepid, in Mr. Byng's division, was so disabled in her rigging that she could not be managed, and drove on the ship that was next in position; a circumstance which obliged several others to throw all aback in order to avoid confusion, and for some time retarded the action. Certain it is, that Mr. Byng, though accommodated with a noble ship of ninety guns, made little or no use of his artillery, but kept aloof, either from an overstrained observance of discipline, or timidity. When his captain exhorted him to bear down upon the enemy, he very coolly replied, that he would avoid the error of admiral Matthews, who, in his engagement with the French and Spanish squadrons off Toulon, during the preceding war, had broke the line by his own precipitation, and exposed himself singly to a fire which he could not sustain. Mr. Byng, on the contrary, was determined against acting, except with the line entire; and, on pretence of rectifying the disorder which had happened among some of the ships, hesitated so long, and kept at such a wary distance, that he never was properly engaged, though he received some few shots in his hull. M. de la Galissionniere seemed equally averse to the continuance of the battle; part of his squadron had been fairly obliged to quit the line; and though he was rather superior to the English in number of men and weight of metal, he did not choose to abide the consequence of a closer fight with an enemy so expert in naval operations: he therefore took advantage of Mr. Byng's hesitation, and edged away with an easy sail to join his van, which had been discomfited. The English admiral gave chase; but the French ships being clean, he could not come up and close them again, so they retired at their leisure. Then he put his squadron on the other tack, in order to keep the wind of the enemy; and next morning they were altogether out of sight.

While he lay-to with the rest of the fleet, at the distance of ten leagues from Mahon, he detached cruisers to look for some missing ships, which joined him accordingly, and made an inquiry into the condition of the squadron. The number of killed amounted to forty-two, including captain Andrews of the Defiance, and about one hundred and sixty-eight were wounded. Three of the capital ships were so damaged in their masts, that they could not keep the sea with any regard to their safety; a great number of the seamen were ill, and there was no vessel which could be converted into an hospital for the sick and wounded. In this situation he called a council of war, at which the land-officers were present. He represented to them that he was much inferior to the enemy in weight of metal and number of men; that they had the advantage of sending their wounded to Minorca, from whence at the same time they were refreshed and reinforced occasionally; that in his opinion it was impracticable to relieve St. Philip's fort, and, therefore, they ought to make the best of their way back to Gibraltar, which might require immediate protection. They unanimously concurred with his sentiments, and thither he directed his course accordingly. How he came to be so well acquainted with the impracticability of relieving general Blakeney, it is not easy to determine, as no experiment was made for that purpose. Indeed, the neglect of such a trial seems to have been the least excusable part of his conduct; for it afterwards appeared that the officers and soldiers belonging to the garrison might have been landed at the sally-port, without running any great risk; and a gentleman, then in the fort, actually passed and repassed in a boat, unhurt by any of the enemy's batteries.

Mr. Byng's letter to the admiralty, containing a detail of this action, is said to have arrived some days before it was made public; and when it appeared, was curtailed of divers expressions, and whole paragraphs, which either tended to his own justification, or implied a censure on the conduct of his superiors. Whatever use might have been made of this letter while it remained a secret to the public, we shall not pretend to explain; but sure it is, that, on the sixteenth day of June, sir Edward Hawke and admiral Saunders sailed from Spit-head to Gibraltar, to supersede the admirals Byng and West in their commands of the Mediterranean squadron; and Mr. Byng's letter was not published till the twenty-sixth day of the same month, when it produced all the effect which that gentleman's bitterest enemies could have desired. The populace took fire like a train of the most hasty combustibles, and broke out into such a clamour of rage and indignation against the devoted admiral, as could not have been exceeded if he had lost the whole navy of England, and left the coasts of the kingdom naked to invasion. This animosity was carefully fomented and maintained by artful emissaries, who mingled with all public assemblies, from the drawing-room in St. James' to the mob at Charing-cross. They expatiated upon the insolence, the folly, the cowardice, and misconduct of the unhappy admiral. They even presumed to make their sovereign in some measure an instrument of their calumny, by suggesting, that his majesty had prognosticated Byng's misbehaviour from the contents of his first letter, dated at Gibraltar. They ridiculed and refuted the reasons he had given for returning to that fortress, after his scandalous re-encounter with the French squadron; and, in order to exasperate them to the most implacable resentment, they exaggerated the terrible consequences of losing Minorca, which must now be subdued through his treachery or want of resolution. In a word, he was devoted as the scape-goat of the ministry, to whose supine negligence, ignorance, and misconduct, the loss of that important fortress was undoubtedly owing. Byng's miscarriage was thrown out like a barrel to the whale, in order to engage the attention of the people, that it might not be attracted by the real cause of the national misfortune. In order to keep up the flame which had been kindled against the admiral, recourse was had to the lowest artifices. Agents were employed to vilify his person in all public places of vulgar resort, and mobs were hired at different parts of the capital to hang and burn him in effigy.



ADMIRAL BYNG SUPERSEDED AND SENT HOME PRISONER.

The two officers who succeeded to the command in the Mediterranean, were accompanied by lord Tyrawley, whom his majesty had appointed to supersede general Fowke in the government of Gibraltar, that gentleman having incurred the displeasure of the ministry, for not having understood an order which was unintelligible. By the same conveyance, a letter from the secretary to the admiralty was transmitted to Mr. Byng, giving him notice that he was recalled. To this intimation he replied in such a manner as denoted a consciousness of having done his duty, and a laudable desire to vindicate his own conduct. His answer contained a further account of the engagement in which he was supposed to have misbehaved, intermixed with some puerile calculations of the enemy's superiority in weight of metal, which served no other purpose than that of exposing his character still more to ridicule and abuse; and he was again so impolitic as to hazard certain expressions, which added fresh fuel to the resentment of his enemies. Directions were immediately despatched to sir Edward Hawke, that Byng should be sent home in arrest; and an order to the same purpose was lodged at every port in the kingdom; precautions which, however unnecessary to secure the person of a man who longed ardently to justify his character by a public trial, were yet productive of considerable effect in augmenting the popular odium. Admiral Byng immediately embarked in the ship which had carried out his successor, and was accompanied by Mr. West, general Fowke, and several other officers of that garrison, who were also recalled, in consequence of having subscribed to the result of the council of war, which we have mentioned above. When they arrived in England, Mr. West met with such a gracious reception from his majesty as was thought due to his extraordinary merit; but Mr. Byng was committed close prisoner in an apartment of Greenwich hospital.



ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF ST. PHILIP'S FORT IN MINORCA.

In the meantime, the siege of St. Philip's fort in Minorca was prosecuted with unremitting vigour. The armament of Toulon, consisting of the fleet commanded by M. de la Galissonniere, and the troops under the duke de Richelieu, arrived on the eighteenth day of April at the port of Ciudadella, on that part of the island opposite to Mahon, or St. Philip's, and immediately began to disembark their forces. Two days before they reached the island, general Blakeney had, by a packet boat, received certain intelligence of their approach, and began to make preparations for the defence of the castle. The fort which he commanded was very extensive, surrounded with numerous redoubts, ravelins, and other outworks; and provided with subterranean galleries, mines, and traverses, Cut out of the solid rock with incredible labour. Upon the whole, this was one of the best fortified places in Europe, well supplied with artillery, ammunition, and provisions; and, without all doubt, might have sustained the most desperate siege, had it been defended by a numerous garrison, conducted by able engineers, under the eye and auspices of an active and skilful commander. All these advantages, however, did not concur on this occasion. The number of troops in Minorca did not exceed four regiments, whereas the nature of the works required at least double the number; and even of these, above forty officers were absent. The chief engineer was rendered lame by the gout, and the general himself oppressed with the infirmities of old age. The natives of the island might have been serviceable as pioneers, or day-labourers, but from their hatred to the protestant religion, they were generally averse to the English government, although they had lived happily and grown wealthy under its influence.



PRECAUTIONS taken by GENERAL BLAKENEY.

The governor ordered his officers to beat up for volunteers in the adjacent town of St. Philip's; but few or none would enlist under his banners, and it seems he would not venture to compel them into the service. He recalled all his advanced parties; and, in particular, a company posted at Fornelles, where a small redoubt had been raised, and five companies at Ciudadella, a post fortified with two pieces of cannon, which were now withdrawn as soon as the enemy began to disembark their forces. At the same time major Cunningham was detached with a party to break down the bridges, and break up the roads between that place and St. Philip's; but the task of destroying the roads could not be performed in such a hurry, on account of the hard rock which runs along the surface of the ground through this whole island; nor was there time to demolish the town of St. Philip's, which stood so near the fort, that the enemy could not fail to take advantage of its neighbourhood. The streets served them for trenches, which otherwise could not have been dug through the solid rock. Here they made a lodgement close to the works; here they found convenient barracks and quarters of refreshment, masks for their batteries, and an effectual cover for their mortars and bombardiers. The general has been blamed for leaving the town standing; but if we consider his uncertainty concerning the destination of the French armament, the odious nature of such a precaution, which could not fail to exasperate the inhabitants, and the impossibility of executing such a scheme after the first appearance of the enemy, he will be found excusable, if not altogether blameless. Some houses and windmills were actually demolished, so as to clear the esplanade and the approaches. All the wine in the cellars of St. Philip's town was destroyed, and the butts were carried into the castle, where they might serve for gabions and traverses. Five-and-twenty Minorquin bakers were hired, and a large number of cattle brought into the fort, for the benefit of the garrison. The ports were walled up, the posts assigned, the sentinels placed, and all the different guards appointed. Commodore Edgecumbe, who then anchored in the harbour of Mahon close under the walls of the castle, sailed away with his little squadron, consisting of the Chesterfield, Princess Louisa, Portland, and Dolphin, after having left all his marines, a detachment from Gibraltar, the whole crew of the Porcupine sloop, and the greater part of the Dolphin's, as a reinforcement to the fort, under the immediate direction and command of captain Scroop of the Dolphin, who, with great gallantry, offered himself for this severe duty, and bravely signalized himself during the whole siege. The French admiral might certainly have blocked up this harbour in such a manner, as would have prevented the escape of these ships, and divers other rich merchant vessels, which happened then to be at Mahon; but in all probability, they purposely allowed them to abandon the place, which, on any emergency or assault, their crews and officers would have considerably reinforced. The enemy were perfectly acquainted with the great extent of the works, and the weakness of the garrison, from which circumstance they derived the most sanguine hopes that the place might be suddenly taken, without the trouble of a regular siege. After Mr. Edgecumbe had sailed from Gibraltar, and general Blakeney had ordered a sloop to be sunk in the channel that leads to the harbour, the French squadron made its appearance at this part of the island; but without having attempted anything against the fort, fell to leeward of Cape Mola. Next day they came in sight again, but soon bore away, and never afterwards, during the whole course of the siege, approached so near as to give the garrison the least disturbance.

On the twenty-second day of April, the governor sent a drummer to the French general with a letter, desiring to know his reasons for invading the island. To this an answer was returned by the duke de Richelieu, declaring he was come with intention to reduce the island under the dominion of his most christian majesty, by way of retaliation for the conduct of his master, who had seized and detained the ships belonging to the king of France and his subjects. If we may judge from the first operations of this nobleman, he was but indifferently provided with engineers; for instead of beginning his approaches on the side of St. Philip's town, close by the outworks, where he might have been screened from the fire of the garrison, his batteries were erected at Cape Mola, on the other side of the harbour, where they were more exposed, their fire much less effectual, and indeed at too great a distance to be of any service. The fire of St. Philip's was so severe, and the cannon so well served on this quarter, that in a little time the enemy thought proper to change their plan of attack, and advance on the side of St. Philip's town, which ought to have been the first object of their consideration, especially as they could find little or no earth to fill their gabions, and open their trenches in the usual form. On the twelfth of May, about nine at night, they opened two bomb-batteries, near the place where the windmills had been destroyed; and from that period an incessant fire was kept up on both sides, from mortars and cannon, the French continuing to raise new batteries in every situation from whence they could annoy the besieged.

On the seventeenth day of the month, the garrison were transported with joy at sight of the British squadron, commanded by admiral Byng; and Mr. Boyd, commissary of the stores, ventured to embark in a small boat, with six oars, which passed from St. Stephen's cove, a creek on the west side of the fortification, through a shower of cannon and musketry from the enemy's post on the other side, and actually reached the open sea, his design being to join the squadron; but this being at a great distance, stretching away to the southward, and Mr. Boyd perceiving himself chased by two of the enemy's light vessels, he returned oy the same route to the garrison, without having sustained the least damage; a circumstance which plainly confutes the notion of Mr. Byng, that it was impracticable to open a communication with the garrison of St. Philip's. Next day the hopes of the besieged, which had prognosticated a naval victory to the British squadron, a speedy relief to themselves, and no less than captivity to the assailants, were considerably damped by the appearance of the French fleet, which quietly returned to their station off the harbour of Mahon. That same evening they were told by a deserter, that the English fleet had been worsted in an engagement by M. de la Galissonniere; and this information was soon confirmed by a general discharge, or feu-de-joie, through the whole French camp, to celebrate the victory they pretended to have obtained. How little soever they had reason to boast of any advantage in the action, the retreat of the English squadron was undoubtedly equivalent to a victory; for had Mr. Byng acquired and maintained the superiority at sea, the French forces which had been disembarked in Minorca, would, in all probability, have been obliged to surrender prisoners of war to his Britannic majesty. The case was now much altered in their favour: their squadron cruised about the island without molestation, and they daily received, by means of their transports, reinforcements of men and ammunition, as well as constant supplies of provisions.

The English garrison, however mortified at finding themselves thus abandoned, resolved to acquit themselves with gallantry in the defence of the place, not without some remaining hope that the English squadron would be reinforced and return to their relief. In the meantime, they sustained and retorted the enemy's fire with undaunted resolution. They remounted cannon, the carriages of which had been disabled; they removed them occasionally to places from whence it was judged they could do the greatest execution; they repaired breaches, restored merlins, and laboured with surprising alacrity, even when they were surrounded by the numerous batteries of the foe; when their embrasures and even the parapets were demolished, and they stood exposed not only to the cannon and mortars, but also to the musketry which fired upon them without ceasing, from the windows of the houses in the town of St. Philip. By this time they were invested with an army of twenty thousand men, and plied incessantly from sixty-two battering cannon, twenty-one mortars, and four howitzers, besides the small arms; nevertheless, the loss of men within the fortress was very inconsiderable, the garrison being mostly secured in the subterranean works which were impenetrable to shells or shot. By the twenty-seventh day of June they had made a practicable breach in one of the ravelins, and damaged the other outworks to such a degree, that they determined this night to give a general assault. Accordingly, between the hours of ten and eleven, they advanced to the attack from all quarters on the land side. At the same time a strong detachment, in armed boats, attempted to force the harbour, and penetrate into the creek called St. Stephen's Cove, to storm fort Charles, and second the attack upon fort Marlborough, on the farther side of the creek, the most detached of all the outworks. The enemy advanced with great intrepedity, and their commander, the duke de Richelieu, is said to have led them up the works in person. Such an assault could not but be attended with great slaughter; they were mowed down as they approached, with grape shot and musketry; and several mines were sprung with great effect, so that the glacis was almost covered with the dying and the dead. Nevertheless, they persevered with uncommon resolution; and though repulsed on every other side, at length made a lodgement in the queen's redoubt, which had been greatly damaged by their cannon. Whether their success in this quarter was owing to the weakness of the place, or to the timidity of the defender, certain it is, the enemy were in possession before it was known to the officers of the garrison; for lieutenant-colonel Jeffries the second in command, who had acquitted himself since the beginning of the siege with equal courage, skill, and activity, in his visitation of this post, was suddenly surrounded and taken by a file of French grenadiers, at a time when he never dreamed they had made a lodgement. Major Cunningham, who accompanied him, met with a severer fate, though he escaped captivity; he was run through the arm with a bayonet, and the piece being discharged at the same time, shattered the bones of his hand in such a manner, that he was maimed for life. In this shocking condition he retired behind a traverse, and was carried home to his quarters. Thus the governor was deprived of his two principal assistants, one being taken, and the other disabled.

The enemy having made themselves masters of Anstruther's and the queen's redoubts, from which perhaps they might have been dislodged, had a vigorous effort been made for that purpose before they had leisure to secure themselves; the duke de Richelieu ordered a parley to be beat, in order to obtain permission to bury the dead, and remove the wounded. This request was granted with more humanity than discretion, inasmuch as the enemy took this opportunity to throw a reinforcement of men privately into the places where the lodgements had been made, and these penetrated into the gallery of the mines, which communicated with all the other outworks. During this short cessation, general Blakeney summoned a council of war to deliberate upon the state of the fort and garrison; and the majority declared for a capitulation. The works were in many places rained; the body of the castle was shattered; many guns were dismounted, the embrasures and parapets demolished, the palisadoes broken in pieces, the garrison exhausted with hard duty and incessant watching, and the enemy in possession of the subterranean communications. Besides, the governor had received information from prisoners, that the duke de Richelieu was alarmed by a report that the marshal duke de Belleisle would be sent to supersede him in the command, and for that reason would hazard another desperate assault, which it was the opinion of the majority the garrison could not sustain. These considerations, added to the despair of being relieved, induced him to demand a capitulation. But this measure was not taken with the unanimous consent of the council. Some officers observed, that the garrison was very little diminished, and still in good spirits; that no breach was made in the body of the castle, nor a single cannon erected to batter in breach; that the loss of an outwork was never deemed a sufficient reason for surrendering such a fortress; that the counterscarp was not yet taken, nor, on account of the rocky soil, could be taken, except by assault, which would cost the enemy a greater number than they had lost in their late attempt; that they could not attack the ditch, or batter in breach, before the counterscarp should be taken, and even then they must have recourse to galleries before they could pass the fosse, which was furnished with mines and countermines; finally, they suggested, that in all probability the British squadron would be reinforced, and sail back to their relief; or if it should not return, it was the duty of the governor to defend the place to extremity, without having any regard to the consequences. These remarks being overruled, the chamade was beat, a conference ensued, and very honourable conditions were granted to the garrison, in consideration of the gallant defence they had made. This it must be owned was vigorous while it lasted, as the French general was said to have lost five thousand men in the siege; whereas the loss of the garrison, which at first fell short of three thousand men, did not exceed one hundred. The capitulation imported, that the garrison should march out with all the honours of war, and be conveyed by sea to Gibraltar. The French were put in possession of one gate, as well as fort Charles and Marlborough redoubt; but the English troops remained in the other works till the seventh day of July, when they embarked. In the meantime reciprocal civilities passed between the commanders and officers of both nations.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



SIR E. HAWKE SAILS TO MINORCA.

The articles of capitulation were no sooner executed, than monsieur de la Galissonniere sailed back to Toulon, with all the prizes which had lain at anchor in the harbour of Matron, since the fort of St. Philip was first invested. In all probability, the safety of himself and his whole squadron was owing to this expeditious retreat; for in a few days after the surrender of the fort, sir Edward Hawke's fleet, augmented by five ships of the line, which had been sent from England when the first tidings arrived of Minorca's being invaded, now made its appearance off the island; but by this time Galissonniere was retired, and the English admiral had the mortification to see the French colours flying upon St. Philip's castle. What, perhaps, chagrined this gallant officer still more, he was not provided with frigates, sloops, and small craft, to cruise round the island and intercept the supplies which were daily sent to the enemy. Had he reached Minorca sooner, he might have discomfited the French squadron; but he could not have raised the siege of St. Philip's, because the duke de Richelieu had received his reinforcements, and such a train of artillery as no fortification could long withstand. Indeed, if the garrison had been considerably reinforced, and the communication with it opened by sea, the defence would have been protracted, and so many vigorous sallies might have been made, that the assailants would have had cause to repent of their enterprise.

When the news of this conquest was brought to Versailles, by the count of Egmont, whom the duke de Richelieu had dispatched for that purpose, the people of France were transported with the most extravagant joy. Nothing was seen but triumphs and processions, nothing heard but anthems, congratulations, and hyperbolical encomiums upon the conqueror of Minorca, who was celebrated in a thousand poems and studied orations; while the conduct of the English was vilified and ridiculed in ballads, farces, and pasquinades. Nothing more argues the degeneracy of a warlike nation than the pride of such mean triumph, for an advantage, which, in more vigorous times, would scarce have been distinguished by the ceremony of a Te Deum Laudamus. Nor is this childish exultation, that disgraces the laurels of victory, confined to the kingdom of France. Truth obliges us to own, that even the subjects of Great Britain are apt to be elevated by success into an illiberal insolence of self-applause, and contemptuous comparison. This must be condemned as a proof of unmanly arrogance, and absurd self-conceit, by all those who coolly reflect that the events of war generally, if not always, depend upon the genius or misconduct of one individual. The loss of Minorca was severely felt in England, as a national disgrace; but, instead of producing dejection and despondence, it excited an universal clamour of rage and resentment, not only against Mr. Byng, who had retreated from the French squadron; but also in reproach of the administration, which was taxed with having neglected the security of Minorca. Nay, some politicians were inflamed into a suspicion, that this important place had been negatively betrayed into the hands of the enemy, that in case the arms of Great Britain should prosper in other parts of the world, the French king might have some sort of equivalent to restore for the conquests which should be abandoned at the peace. This notion, however, seems to have been conceived from prejudice and party, which now began to appear with the most acrimonious aspect, not only throughout the united kingdoms in general, but even in the sovereign's councils.



GALLANTRY OF FORTUNATUS WRIGHT.

Sir Edward Hawke, being disappointed in his hope of encountering La Galissonniere, and relieving the English garrison of St. Philip's, at least asserted the empire of Great Britain in the Mediterranean, by annoying the commerce of the enemy, and blocking up the squadron in the harbour of Toulon. Understanding that the Austrian government at Leghorn had detained an English privateer, and imprisoned the captain, on pretence that he had violated the neutrality of the port, he detached two ships of war, to insist, in a peremptory manner, on the release of the ship, effects, crew, and captain; and they thought proper to comply with this demand, even without waiting for orders from the court of Vienna. The person in whose behalf the admiral thus interposed, was one Fortunatus Wright, a native of Liverpool; who, though a stranger to a sea life, had in the last war equipped a privateer, and distinguished himself in such a manner by his uncommon vigilance and valour, that, if he had been indulged with a command suitable to his genius, he would have deserved as honourable a place in the annals of the navy, as that which the French have bostowed upon their boasted Guai Trouin, Du Bart, and Thurot. An uncommon exertion of spirit was the occasion of his being detained at this juncture. While he lay at anchor in the harbour of Leghorn, commander of the St. George privateer of Liverpool, a small ship of twelve guns and eighty men, a large French xebeque, mounted with sixteen cannon, and nearly three times the number of his complement, chose her station in view of the harbour, in order to interrupt the British commerce. The gallant Wright could not endure this insult: notwithstanding the enemy's superiority in metal and number of men, he weighed anchor, hoisted his sails, engaged him within sight of the shore, and after a very obstinate dispute, in which the captain, lieutenant, and above threescore of the men belonging to the xebeque were killed on the spot, he obliged them to sheer off, and returned to the harbour in triumph. This brave corsair would, no doubt, have signalized himself by many other exploits, had he not, in the sequel, been overtaken in the midst of his career by a dreadful storm, in which the ship foundering, he and all his crew perished.



GENERAL BLAKENEY CREATED A BARON.

Sir Edward Hawke, having scoured the Mediterranean, and insulted the enemy's ports, returned with the home-ward bound trade to Gibraltar; from whence about the latter end of the year he set sail for England with part of his squadron, leaving the rest in that bay for the protection of our commerce, which, in those parts, soon began to suffer extremely from French privateers that now swarmed in the Mediterranean. General Blakeney had arrived, with the garrison of Minorca, at Portsmouth, in the month of November, and been received with expressions of tumultuous joy: every place through which he passed celebrated his return with bonfires, illuminations, bell-ringing, and acclamations: every mouth was opened in his praise, extolling him for the gallant defence he had made in the castle of St. Philip. In a word, the people's veneration for Blakeney increased in proportion to their abhorrence of Byng: the first was lifted into an idol of admiration, while the other sunk into an object of reproach; and they were viewed at different ends of a false perspective, through the medium of prejudice and passion; of a perspective artfully contrived, and applied by certain ministers for the purposes of self-interest and deceit. The sovereign is said to have been influenced by the prepossession of the secret. Mr. Blakeney met with a gracious reception from his majesty, who raised him to the rank of an Irish baron in consideration of his faithful services, while some malcontents murmured at this mark of favour, as an unreasonable sacrifice to popular misapprehension.



MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE DEFENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

In the beginning of the year, the measures taken by the government in England seem to have been chiefly dictated by the dread of an invasion, from which the ministers did not think themselves secured by the guard-ships and cruisers on different parts of the coast, or the standing army of the kingdom, though reinforced by the two bodies of German auxiliaries. A considerable number of new troops was levied; the success of recruiting was not only promoted by the land-holders throughout the kingdom, who thought their estates were at stake, and for that reason encouraged their dependents to engage in the service; but also in a great measure owing to a dearth of corn, which reduced the lower class of labourers to such distress, that some insurrections were raised, and many enlisted with a view to obtain a livelihood, which otherwise they could not earn. New ships of war were built, and daily put in commission; but it was found impracticable to man them, without having recourse to the odious and illegal practice of impressing sailors, which must always be a reproach to every free people. Notwithstanding large bounties, granted by the government to volunteers, it was found necessary to lay an embargo upon all shipping, and impress all the seamen that could be found, without any regard to former protections; so that all the merchant ships were stripped of their hands, and foreign commerce for some time wholly suspended. Nay, the expedient of compelling men into the service was carried to an unusual degree of oppression; for rewards were publicly offered to those who should discover where any seamen lay concealed; so that those unhappy people were in some respects treated like felons, dragged from their families and connexions to confinement, mutilation, and death, and totally cut off from the enjoyment of that liberty which, perhaps at the expense of their lives, their own arms had helped to preserve, in favour of their ungrateful country.*

* At this juncture, a number of public spirited merchants of the city of London, and others, formed themselves into a very laudable association, under the name of the Marine Society, and contributed considerable sums of money for equipping such orphans, friendless, and forlorn boys, as were willing to engage in the service of the navy. In consequence of this excellent plan, which was executed with equal zeal and discretion, many thousands were rescued from misery, and rendered useful members of that society, of which they must have been the bane and reproach, without this humane interposition.

About eighty ships of the line and three-score frigates were already equipped, and considerable bodies of land-forces assembled, when, on the third day of February, a proclamation was issued, requiring all officers, civil and military, upon the first appearance of any hostile attempt to land upon the coasts of the kingdom, immediately to cause all horses, oxen, or cattle, which might be fit for draught or burden, and not actually employed in the king's service, or in the defence of the country, and also (so far as might be practicable) all other cattle and provisions, to be driven and removed twenty miles at least from the place where such hostile attempt should be made, and to secure the same, so as that they might not fall into the hands or power of those who should make such attempt: regard being had, however, that the respective owners should suffer as little damage as might be consistent with the public safety.



EARL OF LOUDON APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN AMERICA.

As the ministry were determined to make their chief efforts against the enemy in North America, where the first hostilities had been committed, and where the strongest impression could be made, a detachment of two regiments was sent thither under the conduct of general Abercrombie, appointed as successor to general Shirley, whom they recalled, as a person nowise qualified to conduct military operations; nor, indeed, could any success in war be expected from a man who had not been trained to arms, nor ever acted but in a civil capacity. But the command in chief of all the forces in America was conferred upon the earl of Loudon, a nobleman of an amiable character, who had already distinguished himself in the service of his country. Over and above this command, he was now appointed governor of Virginia, and colonel of a royal American regiment, consisting of four battalions, to be raised in that country, and disciplined by officers of experience invited from foreign service. Mr. Abercrombie set sail for America in March; but the earl of Loudon, who directed in chief the plan of operations, and was vested with power and authority-little inferior to those of a viceroy, did not embark till the latter end of May.



HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S DECLARATION OF WAR.

All these previous measures being taken, his majesty, in the course of the same month, thought proper to publish a declaration of war [378] [See note 3 A, at the end of this Vol.] against the French king, importing, that since the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the usurpations and encroachments made upon the British territories, in America, had been notorious; that his Britannic majesty had, in divers serious representations to the court of Versailles, complained of these repeated acts of violence, and demanded satisfaction; but notwithstanding the repeated assurances given by the French king, that every thing should be settled agreeably to the treaties subsisting between the two crowns, and particularly that the evacuation of the four neutral islands in the West Indies should be effected, the execution of these assurances, and of the treaties on which they were founded, had been evaded under the most frivolous pretences; that the unjustifiable practices of the French governors, and officers acting under their authority, were still continued, until they broke out in open acts of hostility, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four; when, in time of profound peace, without any declaration of war, without any previous notice given, or application made, a body of French troops, commanded by an officer bearing the French king's commission, attacked in an hostile manner, and took possession of an English fort on the river Ohio, in North America; that great naval armaments were prepared in the ports of France, and a considerable body of French troops embarked for that country; that although the French ambassador was sent back to England with specious professions of a desire to accommodate these differences, it appeared their real design was only to amuse and gain time for the passage of these supplies and reinforcements, which they hoped would secure the superiority of the French forces in America, and enable them to carry their ambitious and oppressive projects into execution; that inconsequence of the just and necessary measures taken by the king of Great Britain for preventing the success of such a dangerous design, the French ambassador was immediately recalled from England, the fortifications of Dunkirk were enlarged, great bodies of troops marched down to the sea-coasts of France, and the British dominions threatened with an invasion; that though the king of England, in order to frustrate these intentions, had given orders for seizing at sea the ships of the French king and his subjects, yet he had hitherto contented himself with detaining those ships which had been taken, and preserving their cargoes entire, without proceeding to confiscation; but it being at last evident from the hostile invasion of Minorca, that the court of Versailles was determined to reject all proposals of accommodation, and carry on the war with the utmost violence, his Britannic majesty could no longer, consistently with the honour of his crown, and the welfare of his subjects, remain within those bounds, which from a desire of peace he had hitherto observed. A denunciation of war followed in the usual form, and was concluded with an assurance, that all the French subjects residing in Great Britain and Ireland, who should demean themselves dutifully to the government, might depend upon its protection, and be safe in their persons and effects.



SUBSTANCE OF THE FRENCH KING'S DECLARATION.

In the beginning of June the French king declared war in his turn against his Britannic majesty, and his declaration was couched in terms of uncommon asperity.

He artfully threw a shade over the beginning of hostilities in North America, referring to a memorial which had been delivered to the several courts of Europe, containing a summary of those facts which related to the present war, and the negotiations by which it had been preceded. He insisted on the attack made by the king of England, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, on the French possessions in North America; and afterwards by the English navy on the navigation and commerce of the French subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, and direct violation of treaties. He complained that the French soldiers and sailors underwent the harshest treatment in the British isles, exceeding those bounds which are prescribed to the most rigorous rights of war, by the law of nature, and common humanity. He affirmed, that while the English ministry, under the appearance of sincerity, imposed upon the French ambassador with false protestations, others diametrically opposite to these deceitful assurances of a speedy accommodation were actually carrying into execution in North America; that while the court of London employed every caballing art, and squandered away the subsidies of England, to instigate other powers against France, his most christain majesty did not even ask of these powers the succours which guarantees and defensive treaties authorised him to demand; but recommended to them such measures only as tended to their own peace and security; that while the English navy, by the most odious violences, and sometimes by the vilest artifices, made captures of French vessels navigating in full security under the safeguard of public faith, his most christian majesty released an English frigate taken by a French squadron; and British vessels traded to the ports of France without molestation. That the striking contrast formed by these different methods of proceeding would convince all Europe, that one court was guided by motives of jealousy, ambition, and avarice, and that the conduct of the other was founded on principles of honour, justice, and moderation; that the vague imputations contained in the king of England's declaration, had in reality no foundation; and the very manner in which they were set forth would prove their futility and falsehood; that the mention made of the works at Dunkirk, and the troop assembled on the coasts of the ocean, implied the most gross attempt to deceive mankind into a belief that these were the points which determined the king of England to issue orders for seizing the French vessels; whereas the works at Dunkirk were not begun till after two French ships of war had been taken by an English squadron; and depredations had been committed six months upon the subjects of France before the first battalions began their march for the sea-side. In a word, the most christian king, laying aside that politeness and decorum on which his people value themselves above all the nations upon the face of the earth, very roundly taxes his brother monarch's administration with piracy, perfidy, inhumanity, and deceit. A charge conveyed in such reproachful terms, against one of the most respectable crowned heads in Europe, will appear the more extraordinary and injurious, if we consider that the accusers were well acquainted with the falsity of their own imputations, and at the same time conscious of having practised those very arts which they affected so much to decry. For after all, it must be allowed, that nothing could be justly urged against the English government, with respect to France, except the omission of a mere form, which other nations might interpret into an irregularity, but could not construe into perfidious dealing, as the French had previously violated the peace by their insolence and encroachments.



ADDRESS OF THE CITY OF LONDON.

Whatever might have been the opinion of other nations, certain it is, the subjects of Great Britain heartily approved of the hostilities committed and intended against a people whom they have always considered as their natural enemies, and the incendiaries of Europe. They cheerfully contributed to the expense of armaments,* and seemed to approve of their destination, in hopes of being able to wipe off the disgraces they had sustained in the defeat of Braddock, and the loss of Minorca.

* Immediately after the declaration of war, the French ships and cargoes which had been taken were tried, and condemned as legal Prizes, exposed to public sale, and their produce lodged in the bank: but in what manner this money, amounting to a large sum, was distributed or employed, we have not been able to discover.

The last event made a deep impression upon the minds of the community. An address was presented to the king by the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, containing strong hints to the disadvantage of the ministry. They expressed their apprehension, that the loss of the important fortress of St. Philip and island of Minorca, possessions of the utmost consequence to the commerce and naval strength of Great Britain, without any attempt by timely and effectual succours to prevent or defeat an attack, after such early notice of the enemy's intentions, and when his majesty's navy was so evidently superior to theirs, would be an indelible reproach on the honour of the British nation. They expatiated upon the imminent danger to which the British possessions in America were exposed, by the mismanagement and delays which had attended the defence of those invaluable colonies, the object of the present war, the principal source of the wealth and strength of these kingdoms. They lamented the want of a constitutional and well-regulated militia, the most natural and certain defence against all invaders whatsoever. They signified their hope, that the authors of the late losses and disappointments would be detected, and brought to condign punishment; that his majesty's known intentions of protecting and defending his subjects in their rights and possessions, might be faithfully and vigorously carried into execution; and the large supplies, so necessarily demanded, and so cheerfully granted, might be religiously applied to the defence of these kingdoms, their colonies, and their commerce, as well as to the annoyance of their inveterate and perfidious enemies, the only sure means of obtaining a lasting and honourable peace. In answer to this address, the king assured them that he would not fail to do justice upon any persons who should have been wanting in their duty to him and their country; to enforce obedience and discipline in his fleets and armies; and to support the authority and respect due to his government. Remonstrances of the same kind were presented by different counties and corporations; and the populace clamoured aloud for inquiry and justice.



TRIAL OF GENERAL FOWKE.

The first victim offered to the enraged multitude was the unfortunate general Fowke, who had been deputy-governor of Gibraltar, and behaved with remarkable conduct and integrity in the exercise of that important office, till that period when he fell under the displeasure of the government. He was now brought to trial before a board of general officers, and accused of having disobeyed the orders he had received from the secretary at war in three successive letters [379] [See note 3 B, at the end of this Vol.], touching the relief of Minorca. Mr. Fowke alleged in his own defence, that the orders were confused and contradictory, and implied a discretionary power; that the whole number of his garrison did not exceed two thousand six hundred men, after he had spared two hundred and seventy-five to the ships commanded by Mr. Edgecumbe; that the ordinary duty of the garrison requiring eight hundred men, the whole number was not sufficient for three reliefs; that, if he had detached a battalion on board the fleet, he should not have had above two reliefs, at a time when he believed the place was in danger of being attacked, for good reasons, which he did not think himself at liberty to mention; that his orders being doubtful, he held a council of war, which was of opinion, that as undoubted intelligence was received of the French army's being landed at Minorca, to the number of between thirteen and sixteen thousand men, and that a French squadron of sixteen ships was stationed off the harbour, the sending a detachment equal to a battalion from Gibraltar would be an ineffectual supply for the relief of the place, and a weakening of the garrison from which they must be sent. He observed, that supposing the orders to have been positive, and seven hundred men detached to Minorca, the number remaining at Gibraltar would not have exceeded one thousand five hundred and fifty-six: a deduction of seven hundred more, according to the order of May the twelfth, would have left a remainder of eight hundred and fifty-six; that the men daily on duty in the garrison, including artificers and labourers in the king's works, amounted to eight hundred and thirty-nine; so that if he had complied with the orders as they arrived, he would not have had more than seventeen men over and above the number necessary for the daily work of the garrison; thus the important fortress of Gibraltar must, at this critical conjuncture, have been left almost naked and defenceless to the attempts of the enemy; and had those detachments been actually sent abroad, it afterwards appeared that they could not have been landed on the island of Minorca. The order transmitted to general Fowke to detain all empty vessels, for a further transportation of troops, seems to have been superfluous; for it can hardly be supposed he could have occasion for them, unless to embark the whole garrison, and abandon the place. It seems likewise to have been unnecessary to exhort the general to keep his garrison as alert as possible, during that critical time; inasmuch as it would have been impossible for the men to have enjoyed the least repose or intromission of duty, had the orders been punctually and literally obeyed. What other assistance it might have been in the governor's power to give for the relief of Minorca, or in what manner he could avoid fatiguing his garrison, while there was an impossibility of relieving the guards, it is not easy to comprehend. Be that as it may, when the trial was finished, and the question put to acquit or suspend for one year, the court was equally divided; and in such cases the casting vote being vested in the president, he threw it into the scale against the prisoner, whom his majesty thought fit to dismiss from his service.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



AFFAIRS OF AMERICA.

The expectation of the public was now eagerly turned towards America, the chief, if not the sole scene of our military operations. On the twenty-fifth day of June, Mr. Abercrombie arrived at Albany, the frontier of New York, and assumed the command of the forces there assembled, consisting of two regiments which had served under Braddock, two battalions raised in America, two regiments now transported from. England, four independent companies which had been many years maintained in New York, the New Jersey regiment, four companies levied in North Carolina, and a body of provincial forces raised by the government of New England. Those to the southward, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, had not yet determined on any regular plan of operation, and were moreover hard pressed in defending their western frontier from the French and Indians, who, in skulking parties, made sudden irruptions upon their unguarded settlements, burning, plundering, and massacring with the most savage inhumanity. As for South Carolina, the proportion of negro slaves to the number of white inhabitants was so great in that colony, that the government could not, with any regard to the safety of the province, spare any reinforcement for the general enterprise. The plan of this undertaking had been settled in the preceding year in a council of war, held at New York. There it was resolved to attack the fort of Niagara, situated between the lakes Ontario and Erie, in order to cut off the communication between Canada and Louisiana, and prevent the French from supporting their new fortresses on the Ohio; to reduce Ticonderago and Crown Point, so that the frontier of New York might be delivered from the danger of an invasion, and Great Britain become master of the lake Champlain, over which the forces might be transported in any future attempt; to besiege fort Du Quesne upon the Ohio; and to detach a body of troops by the river Kennebec, to alarm the capital of Canada. This plan was too extensive for the number of troops which had been prepared; the season was too far advanced before the regiments arrived from England, the different colonies were divided in their opinions, and Mr. Abercrombie postponed the execution of any important scheme till the arrival of lord Loudon, who was daily expected. The reasons that delayed the reinforcement, and detained his lordship so long, we do not pretend to explain; though we may be allowed to observe, that many fair opportunities have been lost, by the neglect and procrastination of an English ministry. Certain it is, the unaccountable delay of this armament rendered it useless for a whole year, afforded time and leisure to the enemy to take their precautions against any subsequent attack, and, in the meantime, to proceed unmolested in distressing the British settlements. Even before this period, they had attacked and reduced a small post in the country of the Five Nations, occupied by twenty-five Englishmen, who were cruelly butchered to a man, in the midst of those Indians whom Great Britain had long numbered among her allies.