Chapter XIV (4)

The interest of the manufacturers was also consulted in an act encouraging the growth of madder, a plant essentially necessary in dying and printing calicoes, which may be raised in England without the least inconvenience. It was judged, upon inquiry, that the most effectual means to encourage the growth of this commodity would be to ascertain the tithe of it; and a bill was brought in for that purpose. The rate of the tithe was established at five shillings an acre; and it was enacted, that this law should continue in force for fourteen years, and to the end of the next session of parliament; but wherefore this encouragement was made temporary it is not easy to determine.--The laws relating to the poor, though equally numerous and oppressive to the subject, having been found defective, a new clause, relating to the settlement of servants and apprentices, was now added to an act passed in the twentieth year of the present reign, intituled, “An act for the better adjusting and more easily recovering of the wages of certain servants, and of certain apprentices.” No country in the universe can produce so many laws made in behalf of the poor as those that are daily accumulating in England: in no other country is there so much money raised for their support, by private charity, as well as public taxation; yet this, as much as any country, swarms with vagrant beggars, and teems with objects of misery and distress; a sure sign either of misconduct in the legislature, or a shameful relaxation in the executive part of the civil administration.--The scenes of corruption, perjury, riot, and intemperance, which every election for a member of parliament had lately produced, were now grown so infamously open and intolerable, and the right of voting was rendered so obscure and perplexed by the pretensions and proceedings of all the candidates for Oxfordshire in the last election, that the fundamentals of the constitution seemed to shake, and the very essence of parliaments to be in danger. Actuated by these apprehensions, sir John Philips, a gentleman of Wales, who had long distinguished himself in the opposition by his courage and independent spirit, moved for leave to bring in a bill that should obviate any doubts which might arise concerning the electors of knights of the shire to serve in parliament for England, and further regulate the proceedings of such elections. He was accordingly permitted to bring in such a bill, in conjunction with Mr. Townshend, Mr. Cornwall, and lords North and Craysfort; and in the usual course, the bill being prepared, was enacted into a law, under the title of, “An act for further explaining the laws touching the electors of knights of the shire to serve in parliament for that part of Great Britain called England.” The preamble specified, that though, by an act passed in the eighteenth year of the present reign, it was provided, that no person might vote at the election of a knight or knights of a shire within England and Wales, without having a freehold estate in the county for which he votes, of the clear yearly value of forty shillings, over and above all rents and charges, payable out of or in respect to the same; nevertheless, certain persons, who hold their estates by copy of court-roll, pretend to a right of voting, and have at certain times presumed to vote at such elections; this act, therefore, ordained, that from and after the twenty-ninth day of June in the present year, no person who holds his estate by copy of court-roll should be entitled thereby to vote at the election of any knight or knights of a shire within England or Wales; but every such vote should be void, and the person so voting should forfeit fifty pounds to any candidate for whom such vote should not have been given, and who should first sue for the same, to be recovered with full costs, by action of debt, in any court of judicature.*

* For the more easy recovery of this forfeit, it was
enacted, that the plaintiff in such action might only set
forth, in the declaration or hill, that the defendant was
indebted to him in the sum of fifty pounds, alleging the
offence for which the suit should be brought, and that the
defendant had acted contrary to this act, without mentioning
the writ of summons to parliament, or the return thereof;
and, upon trial of any issue, the plaintiff should not be
obliged to prove the writ of summons to parliament, or the
return thereof, or any warrant or authority to the sheriff
upon any such writ; that every such action should be
commenced within nine months after the fact committed; and
that, if the plaintiff should discontinue his action, or be
non-suited, or have judgment given against him, the
defendant should recover treble costs.

So far the act, thus procured, may be attended with salutary consequences; but, in all probability, the intention of its first movers and patrons was not fully answered; inasmuch as no provision was made for putting a stop to that spirit of license, drunkenness, and debauchery, which prevails at almost every election, and has a very pernicious effect upon the morals of the people.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

BILL FOR MORE EFFECTUALLY MANNING THE NAVY.

Among the bills that miscarried in the course of this session, some turned on points of great consequence to the community. Lord Barrington, Mr. Thomas Gore, and Mr. Charles Townshend, were ordered by the house to prepare a bill for the speedy and effectual recruiting his majesty’s land-forces and marines, which was no more than a transcript of the temporary act passed in the preceding session under the same title; but the majority were averse to its being continued for another year, as it was attended with some prejudice to the liberty of the subject. Objections of the same nature might have been as justly started against another bill, for the more effectually manning of his majesty’s navy, for preventing desertion, and for the relief and encouragement of seamen belonging to ships and vessels in the service of the merchants. The purport of this project was to establish registers or muster-rolls of all seamen, fishermen, lightermen, and watermen; obliging ship-masters to leave subscribed lists of their respective crews at offices maintained for that purpose, that a certain number of them might be chosen by lot for his majesty’s service, in any case of emergency. This expedient, however, was rejected, as an unnecessary and ineffectual incumbrance on commerce, which would hamper navigation, and, in a little time, diminish the number of seamen, of consequence act diametrically opposite to the purpose for which it was contrived.--Numberless frauds having been committed, and incessant law-suits produced, by private and clandestine conveyances, a motion was made, and leave given, to form a bill for the public registering of all deeds, conveyances, wills, and other incumbrances, that might effect any honours, manors, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, within the kingdom of England, wherein public registers were not already appointed by act of parliament; but this measure, so necessary to the ascertainment and possession of property, met with a violent opposition; and was finally dropped, as some people imagine, through the influence of those who, perhaps, had particular reasons for countenancing the present mysterious forms of conveyancing. Such a bill must also have been disagreeable and mortifying to the pride of those landholders whose estates were incumbered, because, in consequence of such a register, every mortgage under which they laboured would be exactly known.--The next object to which the house converted its attention, was a bill explaining and amending a late act for establishing a fish-market in the city of Westminster, and preventing scandalous monopolies of a few engrossing fishmongers, who imposed exorbitant prices on their fish, and, in this particular branch of traffic, gave law to above six hundred thousand of their fellow-citizens. Abundance of pains were taken to render this bill effectual, for putting an end to such flagrant impositions. Inquiries were made, petitions read, counsel heard, and alterations proposed; at length the bill, having passed through the lower house, was conveyed to the lords, among whom it was suffered to expire, on pretence that there was not time sufficient to deliberate maturely on the subject.

HABEAS-CORPUS ACT AMENDED.

The occasion that produced the next bill which miscarried we shall explain, as an incident equally extraordinary and interesting. By an act passed in the preceding session, for recruiting his majesty’s land-forces and marines, we have already observed, that the commissioners thereby appointed were vested with a power of judging ultimately, whether the persons brought before them were such as ought, by the rules prescribed in the act, to be impressed into the service; for it was expressly provided, that no person, so impressed by those commissioners, should be taken out of his majesty’s service by any process, other than for some criminal accusation. During the recess of parliament, a gentleman having been impressed before the commissioners, and confined in the Savoy, his friends made application for a _habeas-corpus_, which produced some hesitation, and indeed an insurmountable difficulty; for, according to the writ of _habeas-corpus_, passed in the reign of Charles the Second, this privilege relates only to persons committed for criminal or supposed criminal matters, and the gentleman did not stand in that predicament. Before the question could be determined he was discharged, in consequence of an application to the secretary at war; but the nature of the case plainly pointed out a defect in the act, seemingly of the most dangerous consequence to the liberty of the subject. In order to remedy this defect, a bill for giving a more speedy relief to the subject, upon the writ of _habeas-corpus_, was prepared, and presented to the house of commons, which formed itself into a committee, and made several amendments. It imported, that the several provisions made in the aforesaid act, passed in the reign of Charles II. for the awarding of writs of _habeas-corpus_, in cases of commitment or detainer for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, should, in like manner, extend to all cases where any person, not being committed or detained for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, should-be confined, or restrained of his or her liberty, under any colour or pretence whatsoever; that, upon oath made by such person so confined or arrested, or by any other on his or her behalf, of any actual confinement or restraint, and that such confinement or restraint, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person so applying, was not by virtue of any commitment or detainer for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, an _habeas-corpus_, directed to the person or persons so confining or restraining the party, as aforesaid, should be awarded and granted, in the same manner as is directed, and under the same penalties as are provided by the said act, in the case of persons committed and detained for any criminal or supposed criminal matter; that the person or persons before whom the party so confined or restrained should be brought, by virtue of any _habeas-corpus_ granted in the vacation time, under the authority of this act, might and should, within three days after the return made, proceed to examine into the facts contained in such return, and into the cause of such confinement and restraint; and thereupon either discharge, or bail, or remand the parties so brought, as the case should require, and as to justice should appertain. The rest of the bill related to the return of the writ in three days, and the penalties incurred by those who should neglect or refuse to make the due return, or to comply with any other clause of this regulation. The commons seemed hearty in rearing up this additional buttress to the liberty of their fellow-subjects, and passed the bill with the most laudable alacrity; but in the house of lords such a great number of objections were started, that it sunk at the second reading, and the judges were ordered to prepare a bill for the same purpose, to be laid before that house in the next session.

SCHEME IN FAVOUR OF THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.

His majesty having recommended the care of the Foundling hospital to the house of commons, which cheerfully granted forty thousand pounds for the support of that charity, the growing annual expense of it appeared worthy of further consideration, and leave was granted to bring in a bill for obliging all the parishes of England and Wales to keep registers of all their deaths, births, and marriages, that from these a fund might be raised towards the support of the said hospital. The bill was accordingly prepared by a committee appointed for the purpose; but before the house could take the report into consideration, the parliament was prorogued.--The proprietors of the privateer called the Antigallican, which had taken a rich French ship homeward bound from China, and carried her into Cadiz, where the Spanish government had wrested her by violence from the captors, and delivered her to the French owners, now presented a petition to the house of commons, complaining of this interposition as an act of partiality and injustice; representing the great expense at which the privateer had been equipped, the legality of the capture, the loss and hardships which they the petitioners had sustained, and imploring such relief as the house should think requisite. Though these allegations were supported by a species of evidence that seemed strong and convincing, and it might be thought incumbent on the parliament to vindicate the honour of the nation, when thus insulted by a foreign power, the house, upon this occasion, treated the petition with the most mortifying neglect, either giving little credit to the assertions it contained, or unwilling to take any step which might at this juncture embroil the nation with the court of Spain on such a frivolous subject. True it is, the Spanish government alleged, in their own justification, that the prize was taken under the guns of Corunna, insomuch that the shot fired by the privateer entered that place, and damaged some houses; but this allegation was never properly sustained, and the prize was certainly condemned as legal by the court of admiralty at Gibraltar.

PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE AFRICAN COMPANY.

As we have already given a detail of the trial of sir John Mordaunt, it will be unnecessary to recapitulate any circumstances of that affair, except such as relate to its connexion with the proceedings of parliament. In the beginning of this session, lord Barrington, as secretary at war, informed the house, by his majesty’s command, that lieutenant-general sir John Mordaunt, a member of that house, was in arrest for disobedience of his majesty’s orders, while employed on the late expedition to the coast of France. The commons immediately resolved, that an address should be presented to his majesty, returning him the thanks of this house for his gracious message of that day, in the communication he had been pleased to make of the reason for putting lieutenant-general sir, John Mordaunt in arrest.--Among the various objects of commerce that employed the attention of the house, one of the most considerable was the trade to the coast of Africa, for the protection of which an annual sum had been granted for some years, to be expended in the maintenance and repairs of castles and factories. While a committee was employed in perusing the accounts relating to the sum granted in the preceding session for this purpose, a petition from the committee of the African company, recommended in a message from his majesty, was presented to the house, soliciting further assistance for the ensuing year. In the meantime, a remonstrance was offered by certain planters and merchants, interested in trading to the British sugar colonies in America, alleging, that the price of negroes was greatly advanced since the forts and settlements on the coast of Africa had been under the direction of the committee of the company of merchants trading to that coast; a circumstance that greatly distressed and alarmed the petitioners, prevented the cultivation of the British colonies, and was a great detriment to the trade and navigation of the kingdom; that this misfortune, they believed, was in some measure owing to the ruinous state and condition of the forts and settlements; that, in their opinion, the most effectual method for maintaining the interest of that trade on a respectable footing, next to that of an incorporated joint-stock company, would be putting those forts and settlements under the sole direction of the commissioners for trade and plantations; that the preservation or ruin of the American sugar colonies went hand in hand with that of the slave trade to Africa; that, by an act passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for extending and improving this trade, the British subjects were debarred from lodging their slaves and merchandise in the forts and settlements on the coast; they, therefore, prayed that this part of the act might be repealed; that all commanders of British and American vessels, free merchants, and all other his majesty’s subjects, who were settled, or might at any time thereafter settle in Africa, should have free liberty, from sunrise to sunset, to enter the forts and settlements, and to deposit their goods and merchandise in the warehouses thereunto belonging; to secure their slaves or other purchases without paying any consideration for the same; but the slaves to be victualled at the proper cost and charge of their respective owners. The house having taken this petition into consideration, inquired into the proceedings of the company, and revised the act for extending and improving the trade to Africa, resolved, that the committee of the African company had faithfully discharged the trust reposed in them, and granted ten thousand pounds for maintaining the British forts and settlements in that part of the world. The enemy were perfectly well acquainted with the weakness of the British castles on the coast of Africa; and had they known as well how to execute with spirit, as to plan with sagacity, the attempt which, in the course of the preceding year, they made upon the principal British fort in Guinea, would have succeeded, and all the other settlements would have fallen into their hands without opposition.*

* Robert Hunter Morris represented, in a petition to the
house, that as no salt was made in the British colonies in
America, they were obliged to depend upon a precarious
supply of that commodity from foreigners; he, therefore,
offered to undertake the making of marine salt at a moderate
price in one of those colonies, at his own risk and charge,
provided he could be secured in the enjoyment of the profits
which the work might produce, for such a term of years as
might seem to the house a proper and adequate compensation
for so great an undertaking. The petition was ordered to lie
upon the table; afterwards read and referred to a committee,
which, however, made no report. A circumstance not easily
accounted for, unless we suppose the house of commons were
of opinion, that such an enterprise might contribute towards
rendering our colonies too independent of their mother-
country.--Equally unaccountable was the miscarriage of
another bill, brought in for regulating the manner of
licensing alehouses, which was read for the first time; but
when a motion was made for a second reading, the question
was put, and it passed in the negative.

SESSION CLOSED.

The longest and warmest debate which was maintained in the course of this session, arose from a motion for leave to bring in a bill for shortening the term and duration of future parliaments; a measure truly patriotic, against which no substantial argument could be produced, although the motion was rejected by the majority, on pretence, that whilst the nation was engaged in such a dangerous and expensive war, it would be improper to think of introducing such an alteration in the form of government. Reasons of equal strength and solidity will never be wanting to the patrons and ministers of corruption and venality. The alteration proposed was nothing less than removing and annulling an encroachment which had been made on the constitution; it might have been effected without the least pang or convulsion, to the general satisfaction of the nation; far from being unreasonable at this juncture, it would have enhanced the national reputation abroad, and rendered the war more formidable to the enemies of Great Britain, by convincing them that it was supported by a ministry and parliament who stood upon such good terms with the people. Indeed, a quick succession of parliaments might have disconcerted, and perhaps expelled that spirit of confidence and generosity which now so remarkably espoused and gratified the sovereign’s predilection for the interest of Hanover.--Other committees were established, to enquire into the expense incurred by new lines and fortifications raised at Gibraltar; to examine the original standards of weights and measures used in England; consider the laws relating to them, and report their observations, together with their opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining and enforcing uniform standards to be used for the future. The commons were perfectly satisfied with the new works which had been raised at Gibraltar; and with respect to the weights and measures, the committee agreed to certain resolutions, but no further progress was made in this inquiry, except an order for printing these resolutions, with the appendix; however, as the boxes containing the standards were ordered to be locked up by the clerk of the house, in all probability their intention was to proceed on this subject in some future session. On the ninth day of June sundry bills received the royal assent by commission, his majesty being indisposed; and on the twentieth day of the same month, the lords commissioners closed the session with a speech to both houses, expressing his majesty’s deep sense of their loyalty and good affection, demonstrated in their late proceedings, in their zeal for his honour and real interest in all parts, in their earnestness to surmount every difficulty, in their ardour to maintain the war with the utmost vigour; proofs which must convince mankind that the ancient spirit of the British nation still subsisted in its full force. They were given to understand that the king had taken all such measures as appeared the most conducive to the accomplishment of their public-spirited views and wishes; that with their assistance, crowned by the blessing of God upon the conduct and bravery of the combined army, his majesty had been enabled, not only to deliver his dominions in Germany from the oppressions and devastations of the French, but also to push his advantages on this side the Rhine; that he had cemented the union between him and his good brother the king of Prussia, by new engagements; that the British fleets and armies were now actually employed in such expeditions as appeared likely to annoy the enemy in the most sensible manner, and to promote the welfare and prosperity of these kingdoms; in particular, to preserve the British rights and possessions in America, and to make France feel, in those parts, the real strength and importance of Great Britain. The commons were thanked for the ample supplies which they had so freely and unanimously given, and assured on the part of his majesty that they should be managed with the most frugal economy. They were desired, in consequence of the king’s earnest recommendation, to promote harmony and good agreement amongst his faithful subjects; to make the people acquainted with the rectitude and purity of his intentions and measures, and to exert themselves in maintaining the peace and good order of the country, by enforcing obedience to the laws and Lawful authority.

VIGOROUS PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, &c.

Never, surely, had any sovereign more reason to be pleased with the conduct of his ministers, and the spirit of his people. The whole nation reposed the most unbounded confidence in the courage and discretion, as well as in the integrity of the minister, who seemed eager upon prosecuting the war with such vigour and activity as appeared almost unexampled in the annals of Great Britain. New levies were made, new ships put in commission, fresh expeditions undertaken, and fresh conquests projected. Such was the credit of the administration, that people subscribed to the government loans with surprising eagerness. An unusual spirit of enterprise and resolution seemed to inspire all the individuals that constituted the army and navy; and the passion for military fame diffused itself through all ranks in the civil departments of life, even to the very dregs of the populace; such a remarkable change from indolence to activity, from indifference to zeal, from timorous caution to fearless execution, was effected by the influence and example of an intelligent and intrepid minister, who, chagrined at the inactivity and disgraces of the preceding campaign, had on a very solemn occasion, lately declared his belief that there was a determined resolution, both in the naval and military commanders, against any vigorous exertion of the national power in the service of the country. He affirmed, that though his majesty appeared ready to embrace every measure proposed by his ministers for the honour and interest of his British dominions, yet scarce a man could be found with whom the execution of any one plan in which there was the least appearance of any danger could with confidence be trusted. He particularised the inactivity of one general in North America, from whose abilities and personal bravery the nation had conceived great expectations; he complained, that this noble commander had expressed the most contemptuous disregard for the civil power, from which he derived his authority, by neglecting to transmit, for a considerable length of time, any other advice of his proceedings but what appeared on a written scrap of paper; he observed, that with a force by land and sea greater than ever the nation had heretofore maintained, with a king and ministry ardently desirous of redeeming her glory, succouring her allies, and promoting her true interest, a shameful dislike to the service everywhere prevailed, and few seemed affected with any other zeal than that of aspiring to the highest posts, and grasping the largest salaries. The censure levelled at the commander in America was founded on mistake; the inactivity of that noble lord was not more disappointing to the ministry than disagreeable to his own inclination. He used his utmost endeavours to answer the expectation of the public, but his hands were effectually tied by an absolute impossibility of success, and his conduct stood justified in the eyes of his sovereign. A particular and accurate detail of his proceedings he transmitted through a channel, which he imagined would have directly conveyed it to the foot of the throne; but the packet was said to have been purposely intercepted and suppressed. Perhaps he was not altogether excusable for having corresponded so slightly with the secretary of state; but he was said to have gone abroad in full persuasion that the ministry would be changed, and therefore his assiduities were principally directed to the great personage, who, in that case, would have superintended and directed all the operations of the army. All sorts of military preparations in founderies, docks, arsenals, raising and exercising troops, and victualling transports, were now carried on with such diligence and despatch as seemed to promise an exertion that would soon obliterate the disagreeable remembrance of past disgrace. The beginning of the year was, however, a little clouded by a general concern for the death of his majesty’s third daughter, the princess Caroline, a lady of the most exemplary virtue and amiable character, who died at the age of forty-five, sincerely regretted as a pattern of unaffected piety, and unbounded benevolence.

The British cruisers kept the sea during all the severity of winter, in order to protect the commerce of the kingdom, and annoy that of the enemy. They exerted themselves with such activity, and their vigilance was attended with such success, that a great number of prizes were taken, and the trade of France almost totally extinguished. A very gallant exploit was achieved by one captain Bray, commander of the Adventure, a small armed vessel in the government’s service: falling in with the Machault, a large privateer of Dunkirk, near Dungenness, he ran her aboard, fastened her boltsprit to his capstan, and, after a warm engagement, compelled her commander to submit. A French frigate of thirty-six guns was taken by captain Parker, in a new fire-ship of inferior force. Divers privateers of the enemy were sunk, burned, or taken, and a great number of merchant ships fell into the hands of the English. Nor was the success of the British ships of war confined to the English channel. At this period the board of admiralty received information from admiral Coats, in Jamaica, of an action which happened off the island of Hispaniola, in the month of October of the preceding year, between three English ships of war and a French squadron. Captain Forrest, an officer of distinguished merit in the service, had, in the ship Augusta, sailed from Port Eoyal in Jamaica, accompanied by the Dreadnought and Edinburgh, under the command of the captains Suckling and Langdon. He was ordered to cruise off Cape François, and this service he literally performed in the face of the French squadron under Kersin, lately arrived at that place from the coast of Africa. This commander, piqued at seeing himself thus insulted by an inferior armament, resolved to come forth and give them battle; and that he might either take them, or at least drive them out of the seas, so as to afford a free passage to a great number of merchant ships then lying at the Cape, bound for Europe, he took every precaution which he thought necessary to ensure success. He reinforced his squadron with some store ships, mounted with guns, and armed for the occasion, and supplied the deficiency in his complements, by taking on board seamen from the merchant ships, and soldiers from the garrison. Thus prepared, he weighed anchor, and stood out to sea, having under his command four large ships of the line, and three stout frigates. They were no sooner perceived advancing, than captain Forrest held a short council with his two captains. “Gentlemen,” said he, “you know your own strength, and see that of the enemy; shall we give them battle?” They replying in the affirmative, he added, “Then fight them we will: there is no time to be lost; return to your ships, and get them ready for engaging.” After this laconic consultation among these three gallant officers, they bore down upon the French squadron without further hesitation, and between three and four in tire afternoon the action began with great impetuosity. The enemy exerted themselves with uncommon spirit, conscious that their honour was peculiarly at stake, and that they fought in sight, as it were, of their own coast, which was lined with people, expecting to see them return in triumph. But, notwithstanding all their endeavours, their commodore, after having sustained a severe engagement, that lasted two hours and a half, found his ship in such a shattered condition, that he made signal for one of his frigates to come and tow him out of the line. His example was followed by the rest of his squadron, which, by this assistance, with the favour of the land breeze and the approach of night, made shift to accomplish their escape from the three British ships, which were too much disabled in their masts and rigging to prosecute their victory. One of the French squadron was rendered altogether unserviceable for action. Their loss in men amounted to three hundred killed, and as many wounded; whereas that of the English did not much exceed one-third of this number. Nevertheless, they were so much damaged, that, being unable to keep the sea, they returned to Jamaica, and the French commodore seized the opportunity of sailing with a great convoy for Europe. The courage of captain Forrest was not more conspicuous in this engagement with the French squadron near Cape Francois, than his conduct and sagacity in a subsequent adventure near Port-au-Prince, a French harbour, situated at the bottom of a bay on the western part of Hispaniola, behind the small island of Gonave. After M. de Kersin had taken his departure from Cape François for Europe, admiral Coats, beating up to windward from Port-Royal in Jamaica with three ships of the line, received intelligence that there was a French fleet at Port-au-Prince, ready to sail on their return to Europe. Captain Forrest then presented the admiral with a plan for an attack on this place, and urged it earnestly. This, however, was declined, and captain Forrest directed to cruise off the island Gonave for two days only, the admiral enjoining him to return at the expiration of the time, and rejoin the squadron at Cape Nicholas. Accordingly captain Forrest, in the Augusta, proceeded up the bay, between the island Gonave and Hispaniola, with a view to execute a plan which he had himself projected. Next day, in the afternoon, though he perceived two sloops, he forbore chasing, that he might not risk a discovery; for the same purpose he hoisted Dutch colours, and disguised his ship with tarpaulins. At five in the afternoon he discovered seven sail of ships steering to the westward, and hauled from them to avoid suspicion; but at the approach of night gave chase with all the sail he could carry. About ten he perceived two sail, one of which fired a gun, and the other made the best of her way for Leoganne, another harbour in the bay. At this period captain Forrest reckoned eight sail to leeward, near another port called Petit Goave. Coming up with the ship which had fired the gun, she submitted without opposition, after he had hailed and told her captain what he was, produced two of his largest cannon, and threatened to sink her if she should give the least alarm. He forthwith shifted the prisoners from this prize, and placed on board of her five-and-thirty of his own crew, with orders to stand for Petit Goave, and intercept any of the fleet that might attempt to reach that harbour. Then he made sail after the rest, and in the dawn of the morning, finding himself in the middle of their fleet, he began to fire at them all in their turns, as he could bring his guns to bear. They returned the fire for sometime; at length the Marguerite, the Solide, and the Theodore struck their colours. These being secured, were afterwards used in taking the Maurice, Le Grand, and La Flore; the Brilliant also submitted, and the Mars made sail, in hopes of escaping, but the Augusta coming up with her about noon, she likewise fell into the hands of the victor. Thus, by a well-conducted stratagem, a whole fleet of nine sail were taken by a single ship, in the neighbourhood of four or five harbours, in any one of which they would have found immediate shelter and security. The prizes, which happened to be richly laden, were safely conveyed to Jamaica, and there sold at public auction, for the benefit of the captors, who may safely challenge history to produce such another instance of success.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

THE FRENCH EVACUATE EMBDEN.

The ministry having determined to make vigorous efforts against the enemy in North America, admiral Boscawen was vested with the command of the fleet destined for that service, and sailed from St. Helen’s on the nineteenth day of February, when the Invincible, of seventy-four guns, one of the best ships that constituted his squadron, ran aground, and perished; but her men, stores, and artillery were saved. In the course of the succeeding month, sir Edward Hawke steered into the bay of Biscay with another squadron, in order to intercept any supplies from France designed for Cape Breton or Canada; and about the same time the town of Embden, belonging to his Prussian majesty, which had fallen into the hands of the enemy, was suddenly retrieved by the conduct of commodore Holmes, stationed on that coast, who sent up two of his small ships to anchor in the river between Knok and the city. The garrison, amounting to three thousand seven hundred men, finding themselves thus cut off from all communication with the country below, abandoned the place with great precipitation, and some of their baggage being sent off by water, was taken by the boats which the commodore armed for that purpose. It was in the same month that the admiralty received advice of another advantage by sea, which had been gained by admiral Osborne, while he cruised between Cape de Gatt and Carthagena, on the coast of Spain. On the twenty-eighth day of March he fell in with a French squadron, commanded by the marquis du Quesne, consisting of four ships, namely, the Foudroyant, of eighty guns, the Orphée, of sixty-four, the Oriflamme, of fifty, and the Pléiade frigate, of twenty-four, in their passage from Toulon to reinforce M. de la Clue, who had for some time been blocked up by admiral Osborne in the harbour of Carthagena. The enemy no sooner perceived the English squadron than they dispersed, and steered different courses: then Mr. Osborne detached divers ships in pursuit of each, while he himself, with the body of his fleet, stood off for the bay of Carthagena, to watch the motions of the French squadron which lay there at anchor. About seven in the evening, the Orphée, having on board five hundred men, struck to captain Storr, in the Revenge, who lost the calf of one leg in the engagement, during which he was sustained by the ships Berwick and Preston. The Monmouth, of sixty-four guns, commanded by captain Gardener, engaged the Foudroyant, one of the largest ships in the French navy, mounted with fourscore cannon, and containing eight hundred men, under the direction of the marquis du Quesne. The action was maintained with great fury on both sides, and the gallant captain Gardener lost his life; nevertheless, the fight was continued with unabating vigour by his lieutenant, Mr. Carkett, and the Foudroyant disabled in such a manner, that her commander struck, as soon as the other English ships, the Swiftsure and the Hampton-court, appeared. This mortifying step, however, he did not take until he saw his ship lie like a wreck upon the water, and the decks covered with carnage. The Oriflamme was driven on shore under the castle of Aiglos, by the ships Montague and Monarque, commanded by the captains Rowley and Montague, who could not complete their destruction without violating the neutrality of Spain. As for the Pléiade frigate, she made her escape by being a prime sailer. This was a severe stroke upon the enemy, who not only lost two of her capital ships, but saw them added to the navy of Great Britain; and the disaster was followed close by another, which they could not help feeling with equal sensibility of mortification and chagrin. In the beginning of April, sir Edward Hawke, steering with his squadron into Basque-road, on the coast of Poictou, discovered, off the isle of Aix, a French fleet at anchor, consisting of five ships of the line, with six frigates, and forty transports, having on board three thousand troops, and a large quantity of stores and provisions intended as a supply for their settlements in North America. They no sooner saw the English Admiral advancing, than they began to slip their cables, and fly in the utmost confusion. Some of them escaped by sea, but a great number ran into shoal water, where they could not be pursued; and next morning they appeared aground, lying on their broadsides. Sir Edward Hawke, who had rode all night at anchor abreast of the isle of Aix, furnished the ships Intrepid and Medway with trusty pilots, and sent them farther in when the flood began to make, with orders to sound ahead, that he might know whether there was any possibility of attacking the enemy; but the want of a sufficient depth of water rendered the scheme impracticable. In the meantime, the French threw overboard their cannon, stores, and ballast; and boats and launches from Rochefort were employed in carrying out warps, to drag their ships through the soft mud, as soon as they should be water-borne by the flowing tide. By these means their large ships of war, and many of their transports, escaped into the river Charente; but their loading was lost, and the end of their equipment totally defeated. Another convoy of merchant ships under the protection of three frigates, sir Edward Hawke, a few days before, had chased into the harbour of Saint Martin’s, in the isle of Rhé, where they still remained, waiting an opportunity for hazarding a second departure. A third, consisting of twelve sail, bound from Bourdeaux to Quebec, under convoy of a frigate and armed vessel, was encountered at sea by one British ship of the line and two fire-ships, which took the frigate and armed vessel, and two of the convoy afterwards met with the same fate; but this advantage was overbalanced by the loss of captain James Hume, commander of the Pluto fire-ship, a brave accomplished officer, who, in an unequal combat with the enemy, refused to quit the deck even when he was disabled, and fell gloriously, covered with wounds, exhorting the people, with his latest breath, to continue the engagement while the ship could swim, and acquit themselves with honour in the service of their country.

ADMIRAL BRODERICK’S SHIP BURNT.

On the twenty-ninth day of May, the Raisonable, a French ship of the line, mounted with sixty-four cannon, having on board six hundred and thirty men, commanded by the prince de Mombazon, chevalier de Rohan, was, in her passage from Port l’Orient to Brest, attacked by captain Dennis, in the Dorsetshire, of seventy guns, and taken after an obstinate engagement, in which one hundred and sixty men of the prince’s complement were killed or wounded, and he sustained great damage in his hull, sails, and rigging. These successes were, moreover, chequered by the tidings of a lamentable disaster that befel the ship Prince George, of eighty guns, commanded by rear-admiral Broderick, in his passage to the Mediterranean. On the thirteenth day of April, between one and two in the afternoon, a dreadful fire broke out in the fore part of the ship, and raged with such fury, that notwithstanding all the efforts of the officers and men for several hours, the flames increased, and the ship being consumed to the water’s edge, the remnant sunk about six o’clock in the evening. The horror and consternation of such a scene are not easily described. When all endeavours proved fruitless, and no hope of preserving the ship remained, the barge was hoisted out for the preservation of the admiral, who entered it accordingly; but all distinction of persons being now abolished, the seamen rushed into it in such crowds, that in a few moments it overset. The admiral, foreseeing that this would be the case, stripped off his clothes, and committing himself to the mercy of the waves, was saved by the boat of a merchant ship, after he had sustained himself in the sea a full hour by swimming. Captain Payton, who was the second in command, remained upon the quarter-deck as long as it was possible to keep that station, and then descending by the stern ladder, had the good fortune to be taken into a boat belonging to the Aklerney sloop. The hull of the ship, masts, and rigging, were now in a blaze, bursting tremendously in several parts through horrid clouds of smoke; nothing was heard but the crackling of the flames, mingled with the dismal cries of terror and distraction; nothing was seen but acts of frenzy and desperation. The miserable wretches, affrighted at the horrors of such a conflagration, sought a fate less dreadful by plunging into the sea, and about three hundred men were preserved by the boats belonging to some ships that accompanied the admiral in his voyage, but five hundred perished in the ocean.

DESCENT AT CANCALLE BAY.

The king of Great Britain being determined to renew his attempt upon the coast of France, ordered a very formidable armament to be equipped for that purpose. Two powerful squadrons by sea were destined for the service of this expedition: the first, consisting of eleven great ships, was commanded by lord Anson and sir Edward Hawke; the other, composed of four ships of the line, seven frigates, six sloops, two fire-ships, two bombs, ten cutters, twenty tenders, ten store-ships, and one hundred transports, was put under the direction of commodore Howe, who had signalized himself by his gallantry and conduct in the course of the last fruitless expedition. The plan of a descent upon France having been adopted by the ministry, a body of troops, consisting of sixteen regiments, nine troops of light horse, and six thousand marines, was assembled for the execution of this design, and embarked under the command of the duke of Marlborough; a nobleman, who though he did not inherit all the military genius of his grandfather, yet far excelled him in the amiable and social qualities of the heart: he was brave beyond all question, generous to profusion, and good-natured to excess. On this occasion he was assisted by the councils of lord George Sackville, second in command, son to the duke of Dorset; an officer of experience and reputation, who had, in the civil departments of government, exhibited proofs of extraordinary genius and uncommon application. The troops, having been encamped for some time upon the Isle of Wight, were embarked in the latter end of May, and the two fleets sailed in the beginning of June for the coast of Bretagne, leaving the people of England flushed with the gayest hopes of victory and conquest. The two fleets parted at sea: lord Anson, with his squadron, proceeded to the bay of Biscay, in order to watch the motions of the enemy’s ships, and harass their navigation; while commodore Howe, with the land-forces, steered directly towards St. Maloes, a strong place of considerable commerce, situated on the coast of Bretagne, against which the purposed invasion seemed to be chiefly intended. The town, however, was found too well fortified, both by art and nature, to admit of an attempt by sea with any prospect of success; and, therefore, it was resolved to make a descent in the neighbourhood. After the fleet had been, by contrary winds, detained several days in sight of the French coast, it arrived in the bay of Cancalle, about two leagues to the eastward of St. Maloes; and Mr. Howe having silenced a small battery which the enemy had occasionally raised upon the beach, the troops were landed without further opposition on the sixth day of June. The duke of Marlborough immediately began his march towards St. Servan, with a view to destroy such shipping and magazines as might be in any accessible parts of the river; and this scheme was executed with success. A great quantity of naval stores, two ships of war, several privateers, and about fourscore vessels of different sorts, were set on fire and reduced to ashes, almost under the cannon of the place, which, however, they could not pretend to besiege in form. His grace having received repeated advices that the enemy were busily employed in assembling forces to march against him, returned to Cancalle, where Mr. Howe had made such a masterly disposition of the boats and transports, that the re-embarkation of the troops was performed with surprising ease and expedition. The forces, while they remained on shore were restrained from all outrage by the most severe discipline; and the French houses, which their inhabitants had abandoned, were left untouched. Immediately after their landing, the duke of Marlborough, as commander-in-chief, published and distributed a manifesto, addressed to the people of Bretagne, giving them to understand, that his descent upon the coast was not effected with a design to make war on the inhabitants of the open country, except such as should be found in arms, or otherwise opposing the operations of his Britannic majesty; that all who were willing to continue in peaceable possession of their effects, might remain unmolested in their respective dwellings, and follow their usual occupations; that, besides the customs and taxes they used to pay to their own king, nothing should be required of them but what was absolutely necessary for the subsistence of the army; and that, for all provisions brought in, they should be paid in ready money. He concluded this notice with declaring, that if, notwithstanding these assurances of protection, they should carry off their effects and provisions, and abandon the places of their habitation, he would treat them as enemies, and destroy their houses with fire and sword. To the magistracy of St. Maloes he likewise sent a letter, importing, that as all the inhabitants of the towns and villages between Dinant, Rennes, and Doll, now in his possession, had deserted their habitations, probably to avoid the payment of the usual contributions; and he being informed that the magistrates had compelled the people of the country to retire into the town of St. Maloes; he now gave them notice, that if they did not immediately send them back to their houses, and come themselves to his head-quarters, to settle the contributions, he should think himself obliged to proceed to military execution. These threats, however, were not put in force, although the magistrates of St. Maloes did not think proper to comply with his injunction. But it was found altogether impossible to prevent irregularities among troops that were naturally licentious. Some houses were pillaged, and not without acts of barbarity; but the offenders were brought to immediate justice; and it must be owned, as an incontestable proof of the general’s humanity, that in destroying the magazines of the enemy at St. Servan, which may be termed the suburbs of St. Maloes, he ordered one small-store house to be spared, because it could not be set on fire without endangering the whole district. The British forces being re-embarked, including about five hundred light-horse, which had been disciplined and carried over with a view to scour the country, the fleet was detained by contrary winds in the bay of Cancalle for several days, during which a design seems to have been formed for attacking Granville, which had been reconnoitred by some of the engineers; but, in consequence of their report, the scheme was laid aside, and the fleet stood out to sea, where it was exposed to some rough weather. In a few days, the wind blowing in a northern direction, they steered again towards the French coast, and ran in with the land near Havre-de-Grace, where the flat-bottomed boats, provided for landing, were hoisted out, and a second disembarkation expected. But the wind blowing violently towards the evening, the boats were re-shipped, and the fleet obliged to quit the land in order to avoid the dangers of a lee-shore. Next day, the weather being more moderate, they returned to the same station, and orders were given to prepare for a descent; but the duke of Marlborough having taken a view of the coast in an open cutter, accompanied by commodore Howe, thought proper to waive the attempt. Their next step was to bear away before the wind for Cherbourg, in the neighbourhood of which place the fleet came to anchor. Here some of the transports received the fire of six different batteries; and a considerable body of troops appeared in arms to dispute the landing; nevertheless, the general resolved that the forts Querqueville, l’Hommet, and Gallet, should be attacked in the night by the first regiment of guards. The soldiers were actually distributed in the flat-bottomed boats, and every preparation made for this enterprise, when the wind began to blow with such violence, that the troops could not be landed without the most imminent danger and difficulty, nor properly sustained in case of a repulse, even if the disembarkation could have been effected. This attempt, therefore, was laid aside, but at the same time a resolution taken to stand in towards the shore with the whole fleet, to cover a general landing. A disposition was made accordingly; but the storm increasing, the transports ran foul of each other, and the ships were exposed to all the perils of a lee-shore, for the gale blew directly upon the coast; besides, the provisions began to fail, and the hay for the horses was almost consumed. These concurring reasons induced the commanders to postpone the disembarkation to a more favourable opportunity. The fleet stood out to sea, and the tempest abating, they steered for the Isle of Wight, and next day anchored at St. Helen’s. Such was the issue of an enterprise achieved with considerable success, if we consider the damage done to the enemy’s shipping, and the other objects which the minister had in view; namely, to secure the navigation of the channel, and make a diversion in favour of the German allies, by alarming the French king, and obliging him to employ a great number of troops to defend his coast from insult and invasion; but whether such a mighty armament was necessary for the accomplishment of these petty aims, and whether the same armament might not have been employed in executing schemes of infinitely greater advantage to the nation, we shall leave to the judicious reader’s own reflection.