PRIVATEERS AND PIRATES	173
Injury proved fatal to Moore and ultimately re-
sulted in disaster for Kidd. After leaving Mada-
gascar the pirate captain sailed for the West
Indies, and it must have been with a sinking heart
that he received the news which awaited him
there. The piracy of the Adventure-Galley was
already known in England, and a committee of
Parliament had been appointed to inquire into
the whole affair. Free pardon for acts committed
before May 1,1699, was offered by royal proclama-
tion to all pirates who would surrender. But an
ominous exception was made in this proclama-
tion of mercy: Avery, a notorious buccaneer, and
William Kidd were not included.
The cause of this exclusion from grace is not far
to seek. It was not that Kidd was a sinner above
all others; but that he had involved great person-
ages from the King down, and that the Tories were
making capital out of the connection between
prominent Whig statesmen and the misdeeds of
Captain Kidd. The outlaw now determined on
a course which in a righteous cause might well have
been called bold but which under the circum-
stances could only be described as brazen. He
bought at the island of Hispaniola a small sloop
which he loaded with gold coin, gold dust, gems5